Pikmin 4 Guide to being the best scout in the Rescue Corps

The trilogy of Shigeru Miyamoto's last great idea was concluded ten years ago with what was an icing on the cake for the series. We were therefore very pleasantly surprised to see that Pikmin 4 is even better than its predecessors.

More beautiful, more complete, more varied, more fun? Your adventures exploring small natural plots and even human interiors on Earth with your personalised astronaut are one of the most enjoyable and relaxing experiences of the summer, but that doesn't mean they're a cakewalk.

If you want to be the best scout in the Rescue Squad to find Olimar and complete the game 100% (be warned that there is a lot of additional content after the first ending and credits) you will not only need to deploy the best strategies using the mantra of Dandori, but you'll also need to understand all the new features that Pikmin 4 brings to the series: new controls, using Oatchi, shortcuts and much more.

Miyamoto-san himself defined the term as follows Dandori:

"We call it 'Dandori' in Japanese: strategically planning, deploying and commanding pikmin."

And this is how they explain it in the game:

"Dandori is the process of planning things in advance and working efficiently to execute the plans."

GUIDE: The best Dandori tips and tricks for Pikmin 4

Have you already put on your helmet and cleaned your whistle of drool? Let's get going then!

Don't get hung up on new onions: there are more ways to get new Pikmins.

"Where is the onion of the icy Pikmins?" "How do I get the blue onion?" "Where are the white and purple Pikmins?"

It is very, very likely that you will ask yourself these three questions in the middle of the game, but don't worry because the game offers several answers.

For example, the first blue onion you come across looks like it's an egg in Sun-Speckled Terrace, but as you can't take Oatchi with you thanks to certain obstacles in the way, you may not have the 20 blue Pikmins to transport it to the main onion to merge.

Actually, in a later area (in Serene Shores, in that area pretty much covered in water) there is a second blue onion that is more within reach (there are also two yellow onions, for example, if you miss the first), but if you want to take it in Sun-Speckled Terrace you can get more blue Pikmins without having their onion in the caves. There are always extra options in the tunnels for Pikmin if you're lacking their onion. This is the trick for those types of Pikmins that you don't have onions for yet (usually blue and icy ones). You'll likely only get these in the caves until you see the first ending., such as white (poison), winged (flying), purple (strength of 10) or stony (rock).

There are two or three spots in particular areas where you can really, really use a lot of icy Pikmins to freeze large pools of water, either to carry things with Oatchi and non-blue Pikmins over the icy surface, or to easily kill a bunch of water enemies. In any case, apply the advice above and get a good population of icy Pikmins in the caves, because it won't be until the area Hero's Hideaway (in the freezer, of course) that you will be able to get your hands on the Icy Onion and thus be able to generate a lot of icy Pikmins by absorbing flower petals and fallen enemies.

In general: take the opportunity to recruit all the wild Pikmins from the caves, use everysprouting flower to turn the more common Pikmins into the rarer types and don't get hung up on getting "the next onion" on the first try.

Once you have watched the credits, you will find the missing onions in the extra areas. Namely:

The black onion for the stone Pikmins can be found at <strong>Giant's Hearth, the first level after rescuing Olimar and in search of Luis after the first ending and credits.

Every time you see a flarlic, get it!

Those kind of pale onions are called flarlics. Unlike the coloured onions, they do not allow you to germinate new Pikmin types, but increase the total capacity of your onion by 10, not for storage, which is infinite, but for supply. In other words, they are extremely important because they increase the maximum number of Pikmins you can take out of the onion and carry with you, up to a maximum of 100.

And what happens when you reach 100? Well, like the onions, there are more flarlics than you need to give you freedom in the order of progression through the game. Once you've increased to 100 Pikmins, the next few flarlics you absorb will cause the onion to produce nectar to bloom your Pikmins (or to heal Oatchi) and also red nectar to create spicy spray.

Oatchi can carry Pikmins on his own

If you've only been playing with Oatchi for a short time and you learn the "Alternate Pikmin/Oatchi" command, you might think that the Pikmins will always stay with your character and that Oatchi can only act alone. Nothing could be further from the truth: Oatchi has its own whistle (well, bark it seems) and can carry Pikmin on its back to throw them, as well as, with an upgrade, pluck them off the ground. To facilitate the sharing of Pikmins between Oatchi and your character in the tasks they have to perform in parallel, we recommend that you take advantage of the following point...

Remember the advanced controls for Scatter and Form Line

If you hold down Y and move the left stick upwards, you will be able to Scatter the Pikmins to separate them by colour. As the maximum you can carry is three different types, the equipped colour will stay with you and the other two will form neat groups to the left and right. This is great for doing a task on foot with a specific type to avoid danger (e.g. if you want to go into the water without swimming with Oatchi) and so that the dog can take a few specific Pikmins with him.

On the other hand, Form line is also very useful: once you get the Russ' R&D objects training trumpet, hold down ZL and move the right stick to move a whole platoon of Pikmins. Did you think this command was removed from the game?! Of course, this is essential for absorbing nectar or dodging some enemies and hazards.

Improve Oatchi's Charge sharply and expand his health bar

In order to survive in some caves you will have to buy from Russ gadgets specific items such as the head torch (to see better in the dark) or the various elemental resistances to fire, cold, electricity or poison, both for Oatchi and your character. But unless you need these gadgets just for your next objective, don't buy them for yourself at first and focus on improving Oatchi instead.

You can give raw materials to Russ himself to extend the bipedal canine's health bar, and we suggest you do this as soon as possible because he will be more exposed to enemy bites and pecks than your character, and you don't want him to pass out. Also, as you earn XP points for Oatchi by rescuing more castaways, talk to Captain Shepherd and select "Training" to invest them in different skills. We recommend that you start Training by upgrading Oatchi's Strength (so you don't need so many Pikmins carrying items) and, most importantly, Charge, which is a great move that allows you to take out smaller enemies and then slap the big ones and have all the Pikmins jump off his back to attack. What a treat!

From there, you will need to improve the Bite when you start to leave Ochin alone protecting zones or Lumiknolls and depending on your order of exploration of the different destinations you may be interested in speeding up Swimming or the rate at which he pulls up planted Pikmin.

First clear the map and unlock the points to move base

There is little point in getting very far in Zone Exploration if you don't leave all possible paths back to base clear of enemies. This is important because it may seem to you that the Pikmins will go back the way you came, but they may, depending on their type, decide to take a shortcut or a different path, and along the way they will probably be attacked by enemies that you have not eliminated. It is best to accompany them the first few times to the Beagle or the Onion when they are carrying the first treasures and prey, so that you can call them back if danger arises.

Needless to say, they will be much more exposed when they go alone back and forth to the base to take raw materials and turn them into clay to bring back and build.

It's also very convenient, if you have enough of the right kind of Pikmins, to clear the areas where you can move the base. This is a great new feature of this game and the change is practically instantaneous, both in main areas and in caves, and allows you many more strategic options. In addition, all the Pikmins that were in the base travel with it immediately, while those that were on their way will change their destination instantly. But as we said: be careful if you haven't cleared the map of bugs first.

Talk to all the characters in the camp and pick up side quests to get raw materials.

When you have just saved a castaway, they appear at your base camp. Captain Shepherd tells you that your mission doesn't end when you rescue them: they need to be welcomed and listened to, and this is precisely what you should not overlook. The first time you talk to an NPC, even if they have an admiration icon, they will just introduce themselves and thank you for your work. You will need to talk to them again to get them to give you their quests, and they will probably reward you with valuable raw materials as you complete their quests.

Customise your Quick Actions

Quick Actions are shortcuts to use skills or items without having to search for them in the corresponding menu. They are extremely useful and intuitive in some stressful situations, so we recommend that you go to the pause menu ("-") and then to "Quick Actions".

We, for example, have the Loose call antenna assigned to pressing the left stick (once we unlock and acquire this R&D item from Russ, of course), because it is one of the actions you will perform the most in your game: calling to your position all the Pikmins that have been left on the onion without a task, just lying there loafing around.

There are other useful ones like the Super Spicy Spray to give you a boost against tougher bosses or slower tasks, and there's also the Base Call Antenna, which in the last moments of the day can send scattered Pikmins to the onion or can come in handy when you move the base in the level.

Of course, it goes without saying that planners will want to keep the Drone scout handy, a great new feature to get a bird's eye view before calculating a route through a new scenario. Just watch out for hidden enemies, either because they're buried or because they blend in with the environment.

Types of Pikmins in each zone and number of rescues, treasures and onions

We started this guide by recommending you not to get obsessed with getting the next onion, right? Well, if you want to know what kind of Pikmins you can find on each map and in their caves, as well as what you need to collect to do 100% of the zones and eventually the game, take a look at this list. Remember, by the way, that the flarlics you collect are counted as onions.

Sun-Speckled Terrace

• Indigenous Pikmins: Red, yellow, icy


• Rescues: 7


• Treasures: 34


• Onions: 4

Blossoming Arcadia

• Indigenous Pikmins: Red, yellow, blue, icy, stony


• Rescues: 9


• Treasures: 60


• Onions: 3

Serene Shores

• Indigenous Pikmins: Red, blue, icy, winged, purple, white


• Rescues: 10


• Treasures: 86 (Check under the ground or use a treasure gauge to find many of these)


• Onions: 3

Hero's Hideaway

• Indigenous Pikmins: Icy, Stony, Purple, White


• Rescues: 6


• Treasures: 86


• Onions: 3

Giant's Hearth

• Indigenous Pikmins: Red, stony, winged, purple, white


• Rescues: 8


• Treasures: 55


• Onions: 3

Primordial Thicket

• Indigenous Pikmins: Red, yellow, blue, icy, winged, purple, purple, white


• Rescues: 8


• Treasures: 589


• Onions: 3