Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Beginner Tips - Cover, Climbing, and Treasure

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is Naughty Dog’s first Nathan Drake adventure, built around third-person cover shooting, climbing, light puzzle navigation, and treasure hunting. The PS4 version appears through Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, which rebuilds the early trilogy’s single-player campaigns for PS4 with Bluepoint Games support.

Content note: Game metadata rates Drake’s Fortune as Teen with blood, language, mild/suggestive themes, tobacco use, and violence descriptors. This guide keeps those topics non-graphic and focused on player decisions.

This is a spoiler-light first-run guide. It is not an exact treasure route, chapter walkthrough, puzzle solution list, final boss guide, set-piece tactics guide, speedrun route, or trophy roadmap.

Version Scope

Version	What to Know
PS3 original	Original single-player Drake’s Fortune release; game details list no online multiplayer.
PS4 Remastered	Drake’s Fortune campaign with remaster features such as 1080p/60fps, Photo Mode, new trophies, and extra difficulty options in available game details.
The Nathan Drake Collection	A PS4 trilogy package containing Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2, and Uncharted 3 single-player campaigns only.
Later Uncharted games	Keep separate. This guide does not use Uncharted 4, Lost Legacy, Legacy of Thieves, PS5, PC, multiplayer, or open-area assumptions.

If you are playing on PS4 or PS5 backward compatibility through The Nathan Drake Collection, use this guide for Drake’s Fortune fundamentals only. Do not treat it as a trilogy guide.

Essential Tips

1. Play It Like an Older Cover Shooter

Standing in the open is the fastest way to lose control.

Drake can take cover behind walls, obstacles, and barriers, then aim or blind-fire from safety. Make cover your default in gunfights, but keep moving when enemies change angles or when a position stops protecting you.

2. Let the Screen Damage Tell You When to Reset

There is no traditional health bar to stare at.

When Drake takes damage, the screen loses color. If that happens, stop trading shots, break line of sight, and wait until the screen recovers before pushing again. Treat recovery time as part of the fight, not as downtime.

3. Carry Weapons for Different Ranges

Your two weapon slots should solve different problems.

The game includes one one-handed weapon and one two-handed weapon, plus grenades. Keep a sidearm for quick pressure and a rifle, shotgun, or other heavier weapon for the spaces you are actually fighting in. Swap from dropped weapons when your current ammo is low.

4. Use Grenades Deliberately

Grenades are limited, but they solve cover problems.

Grenades are found in areas rather than carried in endless supply. Use them when enemies are dug in, clustered, or forcing you out of cover. Do not throw one just because the button is available.

5. Do Not Rely on Blind Fire for Everything

Blind fire is a pressure tool, not your main aim mode.

Blind fire helps when you need to stay protected, but it is less precise than aiming. Use it to slow a close enemy or survive a bad angle, then aim carefully when you have a cleaner shot.

6. Use Melee Only When the Room Allows It

Close combat can pay off, but groups punish it.

Drake can fight up close and perform combo attacks, but running straight at several armed enemies usually trades safety for style. Use melee on isolated enemies, then get back to cover before the rest of the arena reacts.

7. Read Ledges, Ropes, and Camera Cues

Traversal is a language, not a guessing game.

Drake can jump, climb, swim, grab ledges, and swing from ropes or vines. If a jump fails twice, stop repeating it and re-check the environment: ledges, wall edges, ropes, camera prompts, the hero’s diary, and look-mode cues are usually telling you where to go.

8. Check Controls by Version

PS3 and PS4 do not handle every input the same way.

The PS3 version used Sixaxis motion behavior for grenade arc and some balancing, while the PS4 remaster removed that specific motion-control behavior in game details. Before a long session, check aiming, camera, cover/roll, grenade, melee, reload, diary, and Photo Mode controls for your actual version.

9. Start Below Challenge Difficulty

Hard, Crushing, and Brutal are not clean first-run assumptions.

Gamepressure notes that harder settings can stretch play time through repeated fights, PS3 Crushing unlocks after Hard, and PS4 remaster game details add extra challenge options. For a first clear, learn cover rhythm, enemy pressure, traversal, and resource habits before chasing the hardest settings.

10. Search After Fights, Not During Them

Treasure cleanup is easier when nobody is shooting at you.

Drake’s Fortune hides treasures and one Strange Relic, but this guide avoids exact locations. After a fight, sweep corners, side paths, ledges, and dead ends before leaving the area. During combat, survive first.

11. Use Chapter Select for Cleanup Later

A first run and a completion run are different jobs.

The game includes chapter select for missed treasure cleanup. On a first playthrough, grab what you notice and keep learning. Save full treasure and trophy cleanup for a dedicated cleanup route.

12. Remember This Is Single-Player

Do not look for a multiplayer grind that is not there.

PS3 release data, Gamepressure, and the Nathan Drake Collection page support single-player-only Drake’s Fortune coverage. If you are thinking about Uncharted multiplayer, you are thinking about a later game or a different package.

Combat and Exploration Habits

Situation	Best Habit	Why It Helps
New gunfight	Find cover before aiming	Reduces early damage and gives you time to read angles
Screen turns gray	Stop shooting and recover	Drake’s health feedback is visual, not a numbered bar
Enemy behind cover	Use a grenade or move for a cleaner angle	Prevents wasting ammo on blocked shots
Low ammo	Swap from dropped weapons	Enemy drops and environment pickups keep fights moving
Close enemy	Use melee only if isolated	Groups can punish a long close-range animation
Failed jump	Re-scan ledges, ropes, prompts, and camera framing	The intended route is usually signposted
Cleared arena	Search side spaces before advancing	Treasures are easier to notice after combat

Treasure and Cleanup

Use broad habits instead of a checklist on your first pass:

1. Search after danger clears - Finish the fight, then inspect the space.
2. Check edges and dead ends - Optional rewards often sit away from the main forward line.
3. Look high and low - Drake’s climbing routes can hide side ledges and alternate angles.
4. Use the diary and look prompts - Navigation tools can redirect you without spoiling a route.
5. Save exact cleanup for later - Treasure locations, the Strange Relic, trophies, and speedrun timing need a dedicated route.

Do not turn this guide into a treasure map. It deliberately avoids exact locations and chapter-by-chapter routing.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not stand in open space during shootouts - Get behind cover before aiming for long trades.

2. Do not ignore the screen turning gray - Recover before you re-engage.

3. Do not spend grenades on harmless targets - Save them for enemies in cover, groups, or pressure moments.

4. Do not blind-fire as your default attack - Use it to survive, then aim when you can.

5. Do not charge groups for melee hits - Close combat is safer against isolated enemies.

6. Do not repeat the same failed jump - Re-check ledges, ropes, prompts, and camera framing.

7. Do not sprint out of cleared arenas - Search side paths after combat ends.

8. Do not assume PS4 controls are PS3 controls - Check version-specific inputs before difficult fights.

9. Do not start on the hardest mode blind - Learn enemy pressure and traversal first.

10. Do not mix in later-game systems - Uncharted 4, The Lost Legacy, and Legacy of Thieves advice belongs in separate guides.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Combat	Use cover first, then aim
Health	Let the screen recover before pushing
Weapons	Keep two range options and swap when ammo dries up
Grenades	Use them to break cover or stop groups
Melee	Save it for isolated enemies
Traversal	Read ledges, ropes, prompts, and camera cues
Difficulty	Learn the game before Hard, Crushing, or Brutal
Cleanup	Search broadly first; exact treasure routing comes later