Postal 2 Beginner Tips - Errands, Map, and Wanted Meter

Postal 2 is a mature first-person errand game developed by Running With Scissors and originally published by Whiptail Interactive. The base campaign is built around surviving Monday through Friday in Paradise, completing daily chores, managing public attention, and deciding how much trouble you want to create along the way.

Content warning: ESRB rates Postal 2: Share the Pain M for Mature 17+ with Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language, and Use of Drugs. This guide keeps descriptions non-graphic and focused on objectives and systems.

This guide covers the base Postal 2 / Share the Pain Monday-Friday structure. It does not cover Apocalypse Weekend, Paradise Lost, Postal 2 Complete / A Week in Paradise routes, multiplayer, achievements, Workshop mods, high-difficulty routes, or expansion-specific mechanics in this beginner guide separately.

Essential Tips

1. Check the Map Before Wandering

The map is your objective list, not just a location screen.

Each day gives you errands, and you need to finish all of that day’s errands before returning home to end the day. Some map indicators are general rather than exact, so use them to narrow the search and then read the environment around the marker.

2. Treat Errand Order as Flexible

Postal 2 is not a single hallway of missions.

For the base week, errands can often be approached in a practical order based on where you already are, what supplies you have, and how much police or crowd pressure you have created. Do the nearby errands first when the route is clean, but leave room to detour for supplies.

3. Explore Before You Start Trouble

Useful items are often away from the shortest path.

Paradise has houses, side spaces, and awkward corners where supplies can hide. Explore while the city is calm. Once you have a wanted problem or angry groups looking for you, the same scavenging route becomes much messier.

4. Put Weapons Away in Public

Walking around visibly armed makes life harder.

The manual explicitly supports using the weapon-conceal key to reduce attention. Make that a habit after fights, before passing police, and while moving through public spaces. A fight you avoid is often more valuable than a fight you win.

5. Watch the Wanted Meter Instead of Escalating

Police pressure rises because of what you do.

When the Wanted Meter appears, stop making the situation worse. Hide, break contact, or leave the area until pressure drops. Fighting every officer you see usually turns a small mistake into a long resource drain.

6. Save Often and Use More Than One Slot

Old PC games reward backup saves.

Save before starting a new errand cluster, entering a risky area, testing an odd interaction, or spending a lot of resources. Rotate slots so one bad decision, failed escape, or bug does not become your only save state.

7. Keep Money for Errands

Some chores and purchases need cash.

Do not treat money as a disposable extra. The game uses money for normal purchases and errand completion, so keep a reserve instead of spending everything as soon as you find a store.

8. Carry Health and Armor When You Can

Survival tools buy time when Paradise turns hostile.

Health items, Quick Health, and armor all matter because errands can spill into chases or fights without much warning. Restock during quiet periods rather than waiting until you are already cornered.

9. Use Cover, Crouching, and Strafing

Movement is a defensive tool.

If a fight happens, do not stand in the open. Duck behind objects, move sideways while returning fire, and reposition instead of trading damage in the middle of the street.

10. Conserve Heavy Tools for Hard Moments

Big damage is not free if you waste it early.

Save high-impact weapons and scarce ammo for crowded or dangerous situations. Using your strongest tools on easy encounters leaves you underprepared when an errand or escape suddenly gets worse.

11. Start on a Manageable Difficulty

Higher difficulties change the city’s threat level.

Later versions and modes add severe difficulty options where NPCs carry stronger weapons or become much more aggressive. For a first run, use a normal or lower setting until you understand maps, errands, police behavior, and resource flow.

12. Listen to Warnings and Daily Cues

Audio and newspaper hints can explain what is changing.

Police warnings, character comments, and daily newspaper notes can tell you what the city is reacting to. Postal 2 is easier when you pay attention before the situation turns into a chase.

Campaign and Edition Scope

Version or Mode	What It Means	Guide Scope
Postal 2 / Share the Pain	Base Monday-Friday errand campaign	Covered here at beginner level
Apocalypse Weekend	Expansion after the base game with Saturday and Sunday content and a more linear structure	Not covered here
Postal 2 Complete / A Week in Paradise	Package/mode language associated with combined seven-day play and later updates	Version and storefront details can differ
Paradise Lost	Separate expansion/DLC after Apocalypse Weekend with its own campaign and mechanics	Not covered here
Current Steam app	POSTAL 2 app with Windows/Linux flags, controller support, Workshop, achievements, and level editor category	Check your current build before relying on them
Historical Mac/Linux context	ESRB and RWS list Mac/Linux platform history, while current Steam appdetails do not flag Mac	Storefront support can differ by version

The safest beginner assumption is simple: learn the base Monday-Friday week first. Treat weekend content, Paradise Lost, and edition-specific options as separate routes until you confirm which package and mode you are actually launching.

Police and Survival Habits

1. Holster first: Put weapons away before walking past police or busy crowds.
2. Let heat cool: The Wanted Meter can drop over time, so do not keep feeding it.
3. Break sight cleanly: If police are chasing you, hiding and moving quietly can matter.
4. Know surrender exists: Arrest can restore health but strips weapons and sends you to jail, so it is a recovery option with a cost.
5. Respect group memory: Some groups can stay hostile after you anger them, so a messy errand can affect later travel.
6. Keep an exit plan: Before starting chaos, know where the nearest route out or load transition is.
7. Return home after errands: Once the day’s list is done, ending the day is the objective, not wandering forever under pressure.

Resource Management

Resource	Best Habit	Why It Helps
Map	Check at the start of each day and after each errand	Keeps you from wandering past objectives
Money	Keep a reserve	Several errands and purchases depend on it
Health items	Carry and use Quick Health when pressured	Prevents menu panic during fights
Armor	Pick it up before risky errands	Reduces the cost of surprise gunfire
Ammo	Save strong weapons for serious threats	Prevents weak loadouts in late-day trouble
Saves	Rotate manual slots	Protects against failed experiments and old-game quirks
Weapons	Conceal them in public	Reduces police and bystander attention
Newspaper	Read daily cues when available	Helps anticipate the day’s tone and hazards

Hidden Mechanics

Mechanic	What It Does	How to Use
Faded map areas	Mark places not open yet	Recheck the map each new day
General errand markers	Point near an objective, not always exactly on it	Search around the marked area
Home return	Ends the day after all errands are complete	Head home instead of creating extra risk
Load-zone shortcut	Can send you back toward the trailer after errands	Use it when eligible, but do not expect it inside buildings
Weapon concealment	Reduces unwanted public attention	Put weapons away after using them
Wanted decay	Police pressure can lower over time	Hide or leave instead of escalating
Daily reset	Wanted status resets when a new day begins	Finish the day when the list is complete
Quick Health	Uses a health item automatically	Save it for moments when menus are unsafe
Difficulty scaling	Higher settings can arm or empower NPCs more severely	Learn the game before choosing extreme modes
Steam-era features	Current Steam builds add features beyond the original disc/manual	Match routes and modes to the current version

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not ignore the map - It tells you the day’s errands and where to start looking.
2. Do not carry a visible weapon everywhere - Public attention and police pressure are systems you can manage.
3. Avoid spending all your money immediately - Some errands and supplies require cash.
4. Do not overwrite your only save - Use multiple slots before risky errands or experiments.
5. Avoid escalating every wanted situation - Hiding or leaving is often cheaper than fighting.
6. Do not assume every marker is exact - Some objectives need local searching around the map clue.
7. Avoid starting on extreme difficulties - Learn the city and errand flow before raising NPC aggression.
8. Do not mix expansion advice into the base week - Apocalypse Weekend and Paradise Lost have separate structures.
9. Avoid wasting heavy ammo on small problems - Save scarce tools for dangerous errands, crowds, or escapes.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Scope	Learn the base Monday-Friday campaign before expansions
Objectives	Use the map as your errand checklist
Exploration	Scavenge while the city is calm
Police	Put weapons away and let wanted pressure cool
Survival	Keep health, armor, and multiple saves ready
Money	Reserve cash for errands and purchases
Combat	Use cover, movement, and conserved ammo
Difficulty	Start manageable before trying harsh modes
Versions	Separate Steam, GOG, Complete, and Paradise Lost differences before route planning