Jusant is an action-puzzle climbing game by DON’T NOD about ascending a vast tower, reading the traces of an old civilization, and using careful movement instead of combat. The base game is a single-player climb on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, with the guide below focused on the launch-edition climbing systems rather than a route-by-route walkthrough.
The best mindset is simple: every wall is a small route-planning problem. Your hands, rope, pitons, stamina bar, and Ballast companion all exist to help you climb deliberately, recover from mistakes, and notice optional paths without turning the game into a checklist.
Essential Tips
1. Move One Hand at a Time
Treat climbing as a rhythm, not a scramble.
Jusant lets you control each hand separately. Keep one hand secure, aim the other toward the next hold, grab, then release and repeat. If you hold both hands at once for stability, watch where the climber is reaching before committing to the next movement.
2. Plan the Next Three Holds
The nearest grip is not always the best route.
Before moving, scan upward and sideways. Look for ledges, rest points, wind exposure, wall shapes, and places where a piton would make the next section safer. A slightly slower line with solid holds is usually better than a flashy jump that drains your maximum stamina.
3. Rest Before You Are Desperate
Stopping early keeps the climb under control.
Stamina drains while you move, and resting while stopped refills it to its current maximum. Use rest as a normal part of climbing, especially before long reaches, rope swings, or jumps. Waiting until the bar is nearly empty leaves little room to correct a bad angle.
4. Jump Less Than You Want To
Jumps are powerful, but they cost more than distance.
Jumping and double jumping can cross big gaps, but jumps reduce your maximum stamina during that climb. Use them when the route clearly asks for it, not as the default answer to every awkward handhold.
5. Place Pitons Before Risky Moves
A piton is a temporary safety decision.
Pitons work like manual checkpoints on a climb. Put one in before a jump, swing, or unfamiliar wall shape, then experiment from that safer tether. Since pitons refresh when you reach stable ground, hoarding them through dangerous sections usually makes the climb harder than it needs to be.
6. Use the Rope as a Tool
Falling is not the only reason to hang from the rope.
Your rope and carabiner protect you, but they also create movement options. A placed piton can become the point you swing from, drop from, or use to reposition. When a hold looks barely out of reach, think about pendulum movement before forcing another jump.
7. Follow the Main Line, Then Check the Edges
The obvious route is your anchor, not your prison.
Clear attachment points often show the way forward. Once you understand that line, look around for ledges, rooms, lower drops, and side walls. Optional spaces often hold story clues, collectibles, or quiet environmental details.
8. Use Ballast Echo as a Directional Sense
Echo is a guide, not a full map.
After Ballast’s helper controls become available, Echo can point you toward an objective and hidden points of interest. Use it when a route splits, when a wall feels too open, or when you suspect there is a side path nearby.
9. Keep Collectibles Secondary on a First Climb
The tower is easier to understand when you keep moving.
Letters, shells, cairns, frescos, altars, and other optional interactions reward exploration, but chasing everything immediately can break the flow. If you notice a suspicious route, investigate it; if it turns into a long detour, remember the area and continue.
10. Let the Environment Teach You
Jusant explains itself through routes, shapes, and motion.
Watch how walls, plants, wind, creatures, and climbable surfaces respond to Ballast and your movement. The game often introduces a new idea gently before asking you to use it in a longer ascent.
Climbing Rhythm
The core climb is a repeatable pattern: secure, reach, grab, release, adjust. Do not mash both hand controls just because the wall is steep. If the climber’s body is stretched awkwardly, stop, hold on, and aim the free hand toward a cleaner grip.
When a surface feels confusing, break it into short goals. First reach the next stable hold. Then reach the next piton-friendly spot. Then look for a ledge or flat ground where your pitons refresh. That smaller structure turns a long wall into manageable sections.
Use jump and double jump as punctuation, not grammar. A jump can save time, cross a gap, or start a swing, but it also shrinks your working stamina for the rest of the climb. If a normal reach is possible, take it. If the next hold is too far, place a piton first, rest, then jump with a clear target.
Rope movement deserves practice. Extend the rope, build a swing with the left stick, and watch the arc before letting go. A good swing is controlled from a useful anchor point. A bad swing starts from panic, sends you past the hold, and forces another stamina-costly correction.
Stamina and Piton Management
Stamina is less about speed and more about decision quality. Moving drains it; resting restores it only up to the current maximum; jumping reduces that maximum. That means a wall can become harder because of earlier choices, even if the handholds themselves never changed.
The safest habit is to rest whenever you stop to think. If you are scanning the wall, checking your next handhold, or deciding whether to swing, click into a rest first. You lose nothing by topping off before planning.
Pitons are most useful before uncertainty. Place one before a blind corner, a jump chain, a wallrun angle, or a swing that might miss. If the move fails, your rope catches you closer to the experiment. If the move works, you can keep climbing and recover the piton supply on the next stable ground.
Do not place every piton in a straight vertical stack. Spread them around useful decision points. A piton below a swing point, beside a wide gap, or near a hard turn can matter more than one placed directly above your last hold.
Exploration and Ballast
Jusant’s main route is readable, but the best details often sit just off the obvious climb. If a ledge leads into a room, a lower wall looks deliberately shaped, or a path drops away from the main ascent, attach safely and inspect it. Optional spaces can contain letters, shells, cairns, frescos, altars, or other interactions that deepen the tower’s story.
Ballast helps keep exploration from becoming aimless. Echo is especially useful when the tower opens up, when vertical routes overlap, or when you are unsure whether a nearby shape is decorative or interactive. It can point toward the next objective and hidden points of interest, but you still need to read the actual wall.
Ballast is also part of the journey’s rhythm. Petting or hugging Ballast is not just a cute input; it ties into achievement goals and reminds you to slow down. If you are playing casually, use those moments as natural pauses between climbs.
For a first playthrough, favor spoiler-light exploration. Take the side path you can see. Investigate sounds, rooms, and unusual structures. Leave exact collectible cleanup for a later pass once the tower’s movement language makes sense.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Do not mash both hand controls while moving upward - You lose precision and make it harder to see which hand is actually secure.
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Do not jump before checking for a normal reach - A reachable hold saves stamina and keeps your maximum bar healthier.
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Do not save pitons for later during a dangerous climb - They refresh on stable ground, so use them where a miss would cost time.
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Do not rest only after the stamina bar is almost empty - Rest whenever you pause to plan, especially before jumps and swings.
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Do not place pitons only above your head - Put them where they improve safety, swing angle, or recovery from a failed move.
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Do not ignore side ledges after finding the main route - Optional paths often contain story clues or collectible interactions.
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Do not treat Ballast Echo as an autopilot - Echo gives direction, but the wall still asks you to solve the route.
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Do not force collectible cleanup during your first ascent - Mark interesting areas mentally and return later if completion matters.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Hand Control | Keep one hand secure while the other searches for the next hold |
| Stamina | Rest early and jump only when the route calls for it |
| Pitons | Place them before risky moves instead of hoarding them |
| Rope | Use swings and drops deliberately from strong anchor points |
| Route Reading | Plan a few holds ahead before committing upward |
| Ballast | Use Echo to check objectives and hidden points of interest |
| Exploration | Follow the main line, then inspect side paths safely |
| Collectibles | Save exact cleanup for a later, more deliberate pass |
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6 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Jusant.
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