Cult Stashes don’t just lead to important supplies and ammo in Alan Wake 2, they also provide some insight into the Cult of the Tree and often bring with them a good laugh.
However, finding Cult Stashes is difficult on its own, and when you factor in the riddles and puzzles needed to open them, it becomes genuinely difficult to access these supplies and lore. This guide will solve that problem by walking you through exactly where to find every Cult Stash in Watery as well as providing a brief summary on how to solve them all.
All Alan Wake 2 Cult Stash locations in Watery
There are enough Cult Stashes in Alan Wake 2 that I’ve decided to section them off in different guides by area. The Bright Falls guide is already up, and the Cauldron Lake one is imminent. In Watery, there are eight Cult Stashes hidden throughout the area. Something I have found is that when you’re at, say, five out of eight, looking at a guide might not be the most helpful, because you aren’t actually sure which ones you’re still missing. I have devised a way to bypass this issue, however, and it relies on the Case Board.
When you pull up the Case Board in the game and go to Cult Stashes>Watery, you will see eight slots in a specific order. If you’ve found a Stash, it will have a picture. If you haven’t, there will be a question mark. The order of the slots on the Case Board stays the same regardless of which Stashes you have and haven’t found, so numbering the Stashes according to their Case Board position is the perfect way for you to see exactly which ones you’re still missing. That way, you don’t have to waste your time double checking all eight locations.
These numbers don’t necessarily represent the order that you will encounter the stashes in, simply the order that the Case Board arbitrarily displays them. You will see these same eight numbers on a map of Watery below, so that you can easily check your Case Board to see which numbers you’re still missing, and then see those numbers’ locations on the map. The eight Cult Stashes in Watery are:
- One—Watery Woods Stash
- Two—Coffee World Stash
- Three—Watery Docks Stash
- Four—Trailer Park Stash
- Five—Shooting Range Stash
- Six—Lighthouse Stash
- Seven—Kalevala Workshop Stash
- Eight—Ferris Wheel Stash
Here are those eight Cult Stashes numbered on the map of Watery:
Using your Case Board and this guide, you can quickly and easily see exactly which of the eight Cult Stashes in Watery you still need to find. Then, jump down to the sections on those Stashes below, which will follow this exact same number system and give a brief summary of the solution along with a link to a comprehensive guide. Keep in mind that certain Cult Stashes will require tools like the Screwdriver or the Boltcutters before you can reach them, but all of that will be noted below and detailed in the linked guides.
Alan Wake 2: How to solve every Cult Stash in Watery
Below, you will find a summary of each Cult Stash’s solution, ordered by Case Board number. These solutions will be very brief and will basically just say, “here’s the answer,” if you want a full walkthrough with an explanation of how to get that answer, links to full guides will be provided in each section. Let’s get into it!
One—Watery Woods Stash
This first Watery Cult Stash is located on the trail north of the town, and is super easy to solve. There is no riddle or hidden key; it is simply a matter of copying which buttons light up on the pin-pad lock. When you go to open this Stash, you will see a sequence of red lights one after the other. Simply copy the order after the sequence finishes, and the Cult Stash will be solved. Because this one is so simple, we do not have a guide on the solution.
Two—Coffee World Stash
There are two Cult Stashes in Coffee World—this is the one that has the clue “what hides behind the smile,” not the Ferris Wheel striped cup Cult Stash. This Stash does not have a riddle. You just need to find a key to unlock it. That key is in the southwest portion of Coffee World, on the ground behind the giant statue of the smiling coffee pot. Grab the key, and then return to the Stash to unlock it. If you need more help locating the key, here is a guide that gives its exact location.
Three—Watery Docks Stash
This Stash is at the edge of the dock on the eastern port of Downtown Watery, and it might just be the trickiest Cult Stash in Alan Wake 2. There is a riddle for unlocking it… but that riddle is just a word-form Algebra problem. Yes, you need to do math to get into this Cult Stash. That said, the answer to the equation and by proxy the three digit code you must input is:
- 496
But hey, don’t just take my word for it without seeing the work! Check out this guide that breaks down the setup and solution to this Cult Stash. Fair warning, it is literally just an Algebra lecture.
Four—Trailer Park Stash
This Cult Stash brings with it a little riddle about how the key is somewhere high up so that it is safe from flooding. That “safe place” is quite literally an outdoor power box on a telephone poll. The telephone poll that has the key is directly to the right of the Cult Stash against a fence, and a small ramp will enable you to reach the power box where the key sits. Here is a full walkthrough on solving this Cult Stash.
Five—Shooting Range Stash
This is one of the most important Cult Stashes in all of Alan Wake 2, as solving it unlocks the devastatingly powerful Crossbow. You need a three digit code to unlock this Stash, and that code is:
- 527
To get that number, you need to count the number of arrows in three targets, and then order those targets according to the number of arrows in them and blah blah blah—here is a guide that breaks down solving this Cult Stash to unlock the Crossbow.
Six—Lighthouse Stash
This is one of those dreadful Cult Stashes that forces you to play hide and seek with hidden symbols. Surrounding the Cult Stash are Roman numerals painted onto trees that only show up with the flashlight. Each numeral has a triangle-themed cult symbol built by sticks, and those symbols match the options on the padlock of the Stash. To unlock this Cult Stash, input:
- Two stacked triangles pointing down
- Two stacked triangles pointing up
- Two side by side triangles pointing down
There’s a whole goose chase through the woods to get these answers, but this guide will walk you through the whole thing.
Seven—Kalevala Workshop Stash
First thing’s first—you need the Boltcutters to reach this Cult Stash. Once you have those, you can snip the lock on the gate behind the Workshop and reach this Cult Stash, but that’s only a fraction of the journey. This Stash has a picture based riddle about spare parts for different rides in Coffee World, and you’re supposed to count the parts in the Workshop for each ride to get the three digit code. That code is:
- 542
Here is a guide that covers this solution and highlights some of the dangers you’re likely to encounter along the way. Happy hunting!
Eight—Ferris Wheel Stash
The “only striped cups” Cult Stash in Coffee World has a little riddle about using the Ferris Wheel to get the answer. You’re supposed to power up the ride, and then watch it turn and look at the numbers written on striped cups, then input them in the correct order. The code is:
- 147
If you’d like to know how to solve the puzzle on your own, this guide will explain everything.
Alan Wake 2: Other collectibles in Watery
In addition to six Cold Casey Lunch Boxes in Watery, there is a map of Cult Stashes found inside of the Kalevala Workshop that will place markers for unopened Cult Stashes on your map. Finally, you’ll want to look out for the Lighthouse Key, which will be inside of the last Cult Stash you unlock. Once you have the key, you can unlock the Watery Lighthouse, which contains some interesting backstory on the Cult of the Tree and also grants an inventory space upgrade.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there are eight Nursery Rhymes in Watery, and we have guides up for all of them. Solving these Rhymes and snagging the Dolls that come alongside them is critical for any completionist, as many of the Dolls found in Watery are required to solve Nursery Rhymes in other locations. It’s all connected!
