The Complete All Collectibles Guide for The Last of Us Part II Remastered

When I first loaded up The Last of Us Part II Remastered on a 4K HDR display, I was struck by how much more detail the world held. Every cracked window, every overgrown alley in Seattle, every scrap of paper left behind by someone who had been through the end of the world. That level of fidelity makes the search for every hidden item feel not like busywork but like archaeology. You are piecing together the lives of people who are gone. Over the course of my no damage run on Grounded difficulty, I came to appreciate that a thorough all collectibles guide is not just about checklists. It is about understanding what these objects mean to the story and how they deepen your connection to Ellie, Abby, and everyone else caught in this brutal cycle.

Why Bother with an All Collectibles Guide?

There is a practical reason, of course. Collecting everything unlocks extras like character models, concept art, and the ability to toggle certain gameplay modifiers. But the real payoff is narrative. The Jackson family photo albums, the notes from the Fireflies, the WLF propaganda posters, the Seraphites' religious tracts - each one gives context to a world that has already collapsed. The artifacts you find in Seattle and Santa Barbara are not just filler. They are clues to how people coped, how they organized, how they lost hope or found it. An all collectibles guide helps you see the full picture that the main story only hints at.

During my Grounded difficulty run, I quickly learned that survival and exploration are at odds. You cannot afford to wander into every building when a single infected can end your run. That is where a good all collectibles guide becomes essential. It tells you exactly where to look without forcing you to backtrack through a horde of clickers or a pack of WLF soldiers. It saves you time and keeps you alive.

The Categories of Collectibles in The Last of Us Part II Remastered

The game splits its collectibles into several types, each with its own logic and placement. Knowing what you are looking for makes the search far more efficient.

Trading Cards

The trading cards are a direct callback to the first game. They are scattered across nearly every chapter, often tucked away on shelves, in desks, or behind locked doors. There are dozens of them, and each one features artwork and flavor text that references pop culture from before the outbreak. Some are easy to spot, others require you to solve a small environmental puzzle to reach. On a no damage run, I found it easiest to note their locations during the early Seattle days, when the streets are relatively open and the infected are sparse. Later chapters, especially the descent into the rat king's lair, are not the time to be hunting for cardboard.

Coins

The coins are newer to this remastered edition. They are modeled after old currency and military tokens, and they tie into the WLF's obsession with order and hierarchy. You find them in desks, in safes, and sometimes just lying on the ground in areas you might otherwise sprint through. They are smaller than the trading cards, so you need to keep your eyes peeled. I missed three of them on my first playthrough because I was focused on avoiding a Shambler. A proper all collectibles guide flags these spots clearly, so you can grab them without taking a detour that gets you killed.

Artifacts and Notes

This is the largest category, and the most rewarding. Artifacts include everything from a child's drawing to a broken guitar to a WLF recruitment pamphlet. Notes are handwritten messages from characters you never meet, or from characters you know all too well. The Seraphites leave behind scripture and warnings. The Fireflies leave coded messages and supply caches. The Jackson family photos are among the most poignant, showing Ellie's childhood before the world ended. These collectible locations are often tied to specific story beats. For example, you find a letter from Joel in the museum area that reframes his entire arc. Missing these is like reading only every other page of a novel.

Workbench Upgrades

Technically not a collectible in the traditional sense, but workbench upgrades are scattered throughout the world and let you improve your weapons at the benches you find along the way. They are hidden in the same kinds of off-the-beaten-path locations as the other items. If you are doing a no damage run, these upgrades are critical. They give you a better chance against the tougher infected and the human enemies who are just as well armed as you are. An all collectibles guide that includes workbench locations is worth its weight in ammunition.

Navigating Seattle and Santa Barbara

The game's two main settings could not be more different. Seattle is a rain-soaked, overgrown urban maze. The streets are choked with cars, the buildings are half collapsed, and the infected are everywhere. Santa Barbara is sun-bleached and open, with long sightlines and fewer but more dangerous infected. During the Seattle segments, you spend a lot of time moving between the Seraphites' territory and the WLF's strongholds. Each faction has its own collectibles tied to its history. The WLF coins and propaganda notes, for example, are mostly found in areas they control. The Seraphites' artifacts show up in the church and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Santa Barbara is where the story shifts, and the collectibles reflect that. You find fewer faction items and more personal effects - letters from people who tried to start over, failed, and left behind what they could not carry. The atmosphere is different, and so is the pace of exploration. I found that my all collectibles guide helped me move through Santa Barbara more efficiently, because the open spaces make it easy to miss small items tucked behind a rock or inside a half-buried car.

Tips for a Complete Run on Grounded Difficulty

Grounded difficulty changes everything. Enemies hit harder, you die faster, and resources are scarce. Doing a no damage run on top of that means you cannot afford a single mistake. Here is what I learned from combining a no damage run with a full collectible hunt.

• Memorize the patrol patterns. Both human enemies and infected have set paths. Wait for them to move before you dash for a collectible. Rushing gets you killed.
• Use listen mode sparingly. It is tempting to ping every room, but on Grounded it costs resources. Save it for areas where you know a collectible is hidden behind a door or under a desk.
• Do not try to collect everything in one pass. Break the game into chapters and focus on one area at a time. A good all collectibles guide will group items by chapter, so you can pick a chapter and clear it completely before moving on.
• Prioritize workbench upgrades. They are not optional on Grounded. Without them, you will run out of ammo and health too quickly. Treat them as essential, not as extras.
• Be patient with the playable flashbacks. Some collectibles only appear during Ellie's flashback sequences. You cannot go back to them once the flashback ends, so grab them the first time. The guide will tell you which ones are tied to those moments.

The Emotional Payoff

I will be honest: the first time I played The Last of Us Part II Remastered, I did not bother with collectibles. I was too caught up in the story, too tense to stop and look around. But on my no damage run, I forced myself to slow down. And what I found changed how I saw the game. The artifacts are not just set dressing. They are the voices of people who never got a cutscene. A letter from a mother to her daughter, a WLF soldier's diary entry, a child's drawing of a family that no longer exists - these are the details that make the world feel real. The all collectibles guide gave me a way to find every one of them, and I am grateful for that.

If you are planning your own run, whether on Grounded or on a lower difficulty, take the time to gather everything. Use a reliable all collectibles guide. It will save you hours of searching and prevent you from missing the small, human moments that make this game unforgettable.