The Last of Us 2 No Return: How to Complete All Challenges

How do you complete all Challenges in No Return in The Last of Us 2 Remastered? A new rogue-like mode exclusive to the PS5 remaster, completing a series of Challenges unlocks new Skins and Skin Sets. In this The Last of Us 2 guide, we're going to reveal how to complete all Challenges in No Return. Finishing all the Challenges associated with Ellie faction characters unlocks the Team Ellie Trophy while doing the same for all the Abby faction characters unlocks the Team Abby Trophy.

The Last of Us 2 No Return: How to Complete All Challenges

There are 10 characters you can play as in No Return, all of which have different Challenges to complete for a total of 39 Challenges. They task you with completing special objectives within runs, like killing a certain number of enemies with a specific weapon or unlocking all the skills without dying. You can find them by clicking on the Challenges tab in the No Return main menu.

You can only complete a Challenge if you've finished the one before it in the vertical sequence shown on the Challenges menu. Unfortunately, you cannot jump to the third or fourth Challenge in line and complete it. The Challenges must be finished in sequence. You can at least complete them on any Difficulty you like; Very Light and Light are accepted. Also, you can still complete Challenges in a Custom Run. Below you'll find out how to complete all Challenges in No Return.

Ellie

Ellie is one of two characters automatically unlocked at the start of the game. You do not need to finish any Challenges to play as her. However, there are Skins and Skin Sets to unlock for Ellie, of which you can find below.

Unlock all Perseverance skills as Ellie.

You'll find the Perseverance skills by opening your backpack, which is done by pressing the Touch Pad. From here, push R1 and you'll find them, separated into different trees. You'll spend Supplements to unlock each skill, and these are earned by completing encounters in the No Return mode. The Perseverance skills are found in the first skill tree, made up of Improved Molotovs, Improved Health Kits, and Endure. Unlock them all during a run and you'll earn this Skin.

Reward: Skin — Plaid

Kill 4 enemies with Molotovs in one encounter.

It's best to complete this Challenge against Infected as you can much more easily get them to bunch up, while human enemies will spread out. Alert the Infected, then have a few follow you and throw a Molotov at their feet to ensure the fire spreads and kills them. Repeat this again until you're sure you've killed 4 enemies and you'll finish this Challenge. We recommend having 3 Molotovs to hand and the resources to craft another, just to be sure you have enough to finish the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Rain Jacket

Collect every gun in one run as Ellie.

This is probably one of the most difficult Challenges in No Return as you're relying on luck and RNG to a point. You can get guns from the Trading Post using Coins, and also from Dead Drops that require you to hand in items during encounters. When choosing an encounter, always select the ones that reward the most Coins, and during them, always complete the Gambit you're given for extra Coins. Then, when you're back at the Hideout, buy the guns from the Trading Post and re-roll the inventory if there isn't one displayed.

However, there's no point re-rolling if it puts you in a position where you have less than roughly 10 Coins, as you'll need to buy the gun afterwards — if one appears at all. This Challenge may take a few runs before you stumble upon the right sequence of encounters to get the most Coins as well as enough luck to have the guns appear in the Trading Post.

Reward: Skin Set — Savage Starlight

Abby

Alongside Ellie, you can immediately start playing as Abby because she is automatically unlocked at the beginning of the game. No Challenges need to be completed to play as her. Again, though, you can unlock new Skins and Skin Sets for Abby, which are detailed below.

Gain 50 health from melee kills and attacks in one encounter.

Abby has a Trait that allows her to automatically Heal on Melee Kill, and you'll be relying on this to complete the Challenge. In addition, she has a skill in the Brawler tree you can unlock that will Heal on Melee Hit. With these two active, you'll need to head into any level and first allow yourself to take damage. Then, heal yourself by attacking enemies with a melee weapon.

Abby starts every run with a melee weapon, so you won't need to find one. When it breaks, either use your fists or find another. In our experience, you need to kill roughly three or four enemies with melee weapons to get the 50 health required.

Reward: Skin — Vintage Naughty Dog

Upgrade 3 melee weapons in a run.

In order to upgrade a melee weapon, you'll need one in your inventory as well as 1 Binding (the tape) and 1 Blade (the scissors). Be on the lookout for these resources as you progress through the encounters and upgrade your melee weapon as soon as you have enough. You'll then either want to completely use the upgraded melee weapon until it's lost all durability or swap it for another you find off an enemy. Then, simply upgrade this new one. Once you've upgraded 3 melee weapons, the Challenge is complete.

Reward: Skin — Bomber Abby

Complete an encounter with all melee kills.

With the other Challenges complete, we recommend starting a new run on an easy Difficulty. Select the first Assault encounter you find, then only kill the waves of enemies using either a melee weapon or your fists. Since it's an Assault encounter at the start of a run, you'll only need to kill 9 enemies and they'll be divided up into 3 waves, making things much easier.

Reward: Skin Set — Badlands

Dina

To unlock Dina, you need to first play as Ellie in the No Return mode. You must complete 2 encounters with Ellie, which are the levels you pick from the notice board in your Hideout. Examples include Jackson, Shipping Yard, and Office 1F.

Kill 4 enemies with trap mines in one encounter.

Since you need to get these kills in a single level, we recommend taking a few encounters to prepare your items and resources. Once you have 3 Trap Mines ready and enough resources to craft more, head into an encounter. If you're able to get one with Infected, that would be best. It's easier to bunch them up and get multiple kills at once compared to human enemies. Either way, plant Trip Mines where you know an enemy will walk and kill 4 of them in a single level and you'll complete the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Hangout

Craft 10 times in a run.

This Challenge should come naturally whilst playing as Dina. Simply scour every encounter for resources and then craft as many items as possible. Once you've crafted 10 items, the Challenge is done.

Reward: Skin — Casual

Craft a health kit, Molotov, trap mine, and stun bomb in a run.

Dina is able to craft Health Kits, Trap Mines, and Stun Bombs as soon as you start any run, but you'll need to get the Molotov Recipe from the Trading Post to craft Molotovs. It costs 5 Coins; if it doesn't appear, then either finish another encounter so the stock refreshes or re-roll the current stock. Now you have all the recipes, simply continue with your run and craft these 4 items along the way to complete the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Patrol

Lev

To unlock Lev, you must first play as Abby in the No Return mode. You need to complete 2 encounters with Abby; these are the levels you pick from the notice board in your Hideout. Examples include Jackson, Shipping Yard, and Office 1F.

Get 7 kills with explosive arrows in one run.

Lev can only craft normal Arrows at the start of a run, so you'll need to buy the Explosive Arrows Recipe for 4 Coins from the Trading Post. Now you can craft them, simply get 7 kills in a single run and you'll finish the Challenge. Another option is to buy them from the Trading Post if they're available.

Reward: Skin — Santa Barbara

Craft 20 arrows of any type in one run.

You should be able to complete this Challenge during a natural run as Lev; simply focus on bow kills and top up your ammo by crafting arrows. Once you've made 20 of them, you'll finish the Challenge. You can make this a little easier by buying the Craft More Arrows skill from the Archery tree for 40 Supplements.

Reward: Skin — White Shirt

Complete an encounter with all bow kills.

We recommend trying this Challenge on an Assault encounter so you know exactly how many enemies you need to kill and the general area they'll spawn in. With that information, kill every enemy using your Bow and the Challenge will be complete. You'll almost certainly need to craft some new ones as you kill enemies and break arrows, so scour the environment for resources as you're taking down enemies.

Reward: Skin — Abby's Jacket

Jesse

To unlock Jesse, you need to complete 3 encounters while playing as Dina. To unlock Dina, you'll first need to complete 2 encounters with Ellie.

Purchase 10 items from the Trading Post in one run.

Jesse has a Trait that automatically grants him 30% more Coins from your Encounter Rewards than any other character, so you should be pretty rich after every encounter. Simply buy the cheapest things at the Trading Post every time you're back at the Hideout, and once 10 items have been purchased in a single run, you'll have completed the Challenge. As an aside, they don't need to be 10 unique items. You can buy the cheap Parts and Supplements over and over again and they'll stick count.

Reward: Skin — Festival

Kill 3 enemies with pipe bombs in one encounter.

Jesse is able to craft Pipe Bombs at the very beginning of a run, so simply stock up on them and go into any encounter with the intention of using them to kill the enemies present. Once 3 are dead, the Challenge is complete.

Reward: Skin — Patrol

Yara

You can unlock Yara by completing 3 encounters as Lev. This means you must first play 2 encounters as Abby in order to unlock Lev first.

Complete a Seraphite encounter as Yara.

When you select an encounter off the notice board in your Hideout, you can see what Enemy Faction you'll be facing in the top-right corner. Simply select an encounter that features the Seraphites and then complete it.

Reward: Skin — Safehouse

Defeat 3 Seraphite brutes.

The Seraphite brutes are the really huge enemies you'll sometimes find during Seraphite encounters equipped with melee weapons. You'll need to kill 3 of them for this Challenge, but the neat thing is you don't actually need to be playing as Yara to complete it. Simply play as whichever character you like and this should come naturally once you reach it.

Reward: Skin — Aquarium

Tommy

To unlock Tommy, you need to finish 3 encounters as Jesse. This means you first need to complete 2 encounters as Ellie to unlock Dina, who then unlocks Jesse after 3 encounter completions.

Kill 5 enemies in one encounter while zoomed in with a scope.

At the start of every run, Tommy will be equipped with a rifle that allows you to zoom in through a scope. While holding L2 to aim, you can look through the scope by pressing X. Simply kill 5 enemies while zoomed in to complete the Challenge.

Reward: Ally — Tommy

Complete a run with only your initial gun or guns.

At the start of every run, Tommy comes equipped with a pistol and his exclusive rifle. You need to complete a run from start to finish using just these two weapons. Don't buy any others from the Trading Post or acquire them through Dead Drops. Do this and you'll complete the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Patrol

Complete an encounter where every kill is a headshot.

This Challenge will be easiest at the start of a run in an Assault encounter. You'll need to kill 3 waves of 3 enemies, and you'll be in stealth at the start of each. Using either the pistol or the rifle, take your time with each shot and line up those headshots. It'll be easiest to do this on Very Light so it takes longer for enemies to spot you and break stealth.

Reward: Skin — Sweatshirt

Complete an encounter without missing a single shot.

Much like the previous Challenge, an Assault encounter on the Very Light difficulty will be the easiest to complete this Challenge on. If you can't guarantee a headshot, simply take the option of a body shot and make sure to search the bodies for extra ammo at the end of each wave.

Reward: Skin — Winter

Mel

Mel is unlocked by completing 3 encounters as Yara. As such, you'll need to start by playing as Abby for 2 encounters, then move on to Lev for 3 encounters, which unlocks Yara.

Craft 8 health kits in a run.

Mel has a skill tree dedicated to Healing, and the first upgrade called Double Health Kits will help you out here. Unlock it for 50 Supplements and you'll craft 2 Health Kits instead of 1. Once you've got it, focus on crafting Health Kits as often as possible and you'll complete the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Aquarium

Heal 80 health with one health kit.

You'll actually need to be playing as Ellie to complete this Challenge. Under her Perseverance skill tree, there are Improved Health Kits that upgrade them by 50%. Now, you need enough of a health pool to actually restore the 80 health. Switch to the Close Quarters skill tree and unlock the Increased Health skill at the bottom. Now, simply get yourself very low on health in an encounter as Ellie and heal yourself to complete the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Seattle

Joel

You'll need to complete 4 encounters as Tommy to unlock Joel. The sequence will look like this: play 2 encounters as Ellie to unlock Dina, then play as Dina for 3 encounters to get Jesse, then play as him for another 3 encounters to unlock Tommy. You can then play the 4 encounters as Tommy to get Joel.

Complete an infected encounter as Joel.

During a run, simply select any encounter where the Enemy Faction is listed as Infected. You can check what you'll be facing in the information box displayed on the notice board.

Reward: Ally — Joel

Kill 6 enemies using the same gun without reloading in an encounter.

Joel's custom Revolver can hold up to 12 shots at once, so be sure to use this gun to complete the Challenge. As long as you get a few headshots in there and don't miss any easy hits, you shouldn't have any issues finishing this.

Reward: Skin — Casual

Kill 3 enemies with shivs in one encounter.

As Joel, you can craft a Shiv using 1 Binding (tape) and 1 Blade (scissors). Now, kill 3 enemies using Shivs in one encounter; they're usable during stealth or when an enemy has grabbed you.

Reward: Skin — Salt Lake City

Hit 5 enemies with a bottle or brick in one run.

In every encounter, you'll find bricks and bottles that can be thrown at enemies. You can only hold one at any time, so memorise where they are in the level and throw one at an enemy and then run back to grab another. To have the hit register, you need to get close to an enemy so the R2 prompt appears next to them. Throw 5 bottles or bricks at enemies in this way and you'll complete the Challenge.

Reward: Skin — Winter

Complete a bloater boss encounter as Joel.

By the time you've unlocked Joel, you've probably already beaten the bloater boss. However, you can select a Custom Run and set the final encounter to be the bloater, and the Challenge can still be finished this way.

Reward: Skin — Boston

Manny

You can unlock Manny by finishing 4 encounters as Mel. Here's what you need to do: play as Abby for 2 encounters, then switch to Lev for 3 encounters. This allows you to play as Yara, who unlocks Mel after 3 encounters.

Fully upgrade any gun.

Manny has a Trait that automatically rewards you with 50% extra Parts for upgrading your guns. It costs 190 Parts to fully upgrade his Hunting Pistol, so simply select all the encounters that reward the most Parts and focus your efforts on upgrading it all the way.

Reward: Skin — Winter

Kill 5 enemies with incendiary shotgun shells in one run.

In Manny's skill tree called Munitions, the third skill down allows you to Craft Incendiary Shells. Use your Supplements to unlock this skill, and then buy the Double Barrel Shotgun from the Trading Post to get the required items for this Challenge.

If you'd rather spend your Supplements elsewhere during a run, you'll need a bit of luck with the Trading Post as both the Double Barrel Shotgun and Incendiary Shells Shotgun Ammo can be purchased from it. The Double Barrel Shotgun costs 12 Coins and the Incendiary Shells Shotgun Ammo costs 3 Coins. The problem is you can only hold 4 shells at a time, so you'll need to get 4 kills in one encounter, and then hope the Incendiary Shells Shotgun Ammo appear in the Trading Post again before the run is over. If you have enough spare Coins, re-roll the Trading Post's stock to try and get either item as soon as possible.

Alternatively, once you have both the weapon and the required ammo, you could select an Infected encounter and try and get the enemies to bunch up together so you can get multiple kills off one shell. This would be best done on Very Light difficulty so the enemies have the least amount of health.

Reward: Skin — Firefly

Did you find our guide covering how to complete all Challenges for No Return in The Last of Us 2 useful? Let us know in the comments below and check out our The Last of Us 2 guide for more help and information.