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Alan Wake 2 features a set of collectibles called Words of Power that are marked by glyphs and scattered throughout the game. These glyphs can be collected to unlock perks for Alan, which can improve his gameplay experience.
Each of the Words of Power has a unique effect on the player, but they all offer similar upgrades for Alan. Here’s a list of all the locations where you can find the Words of Power in the game.
Words of Power Explained
Alan Wake 2 has 27 Words of Power that are only available to Alan while playing through his ‘Initiation’ chapters. You don’t have to search for Words of Power while playing as Saga. Instead, she collects Cult Stashes, Lunch Boxes, and Nursery Rhyme dolls for help.
Each Word of Power is represented by a yellow spiral graffiti that contains a group of words. To collect a Words of Power point, you need to shine your flashlight near the center of each yellow spiral.
The Words of Power points comes in seven different types, which are different branches of skill trees. Each skill tree has multiple perks that you can spend your points on. There are three levels of each perk, except Words of Stuff, which are one-time unlocks. Here are the seven different types of Words of Power points:
- Fix: Health upgrades (five points to find)
- Gun: Weapon upgrades (four points to find)
- War: Weapon upgrades (four points to find)
- Stuff: Exploration and item management upgrades (two points to find)
- Aid: Item upgrades (three points to find)
- Action: Combat and stealth upgrades (four points to find)
- Lamp: Flashlight upgrades (five points to find)
Dark Place Words of Powers Locations
If you’re exploring the Dark Place version of New York, you might want to check out the Main Plaza. There are six Words of Power scattered throughout this area that can help you out, as well as some other items worth finding. To help you out, we’ve provided a map and some hints on where to find them.
The first Words of Power is located at the end of an alley. Look for a glowing arrow that leads to a narrow section, and then look up above the doorway to find the glyph.
The second Words of Power can be found near some trash cans outside the Talk Show Studio.
To find the third Words of Power, head to Draft Street in the eastern portion of the plaza and shine your flashlight on the railway above you.
The fourth Words of Power is located near Caldera Street Station. Use your Angel Lamp on the post to the right of the station entrance to reveal some steps that lead to High-Line Station. Once you reach the Break Room save point, follow the arrow to the left and look for the glyph below.
The fifth Words of Power can be found by climbing a ladder in an alley and looking between two air-conditioning units.
The sixth and final Words of Power is located near the fifth one, next to a police car. Use your Angel Lamp to reveal the glyph on the interior wall of the building next to the car, but be ready to fight some enemies first.
Rooftops/Alley Words of Power Locations
In Alan Wake 2, there are some special abilities called Words of Power that the player can acquire. To get to the next chapter, you need to go through the alleys and rooftops to the west of the Oceanview Hotel. In this area, there are four Words of Power that you can find and acquire.
The first Word of Power is located on a wall of a building, on the street to the left of the Oceanview Hotel.
The second Word of Power is painted on a metal board, and you can find it by following some glowing arrows in the southern part of the rooftop area.
The third Word of Power is a bit tricky to find. It’s on a water tank, and to get it, you need to go through a doorway in the northern part of the rooftop area with two triangles pointing down. You can see the glyph on the water tank from the doorway, but if you go through the door and look at the tank from below, the game might not register it.
The fourth Word of Power is hidden in a crawlspace located below a metal walkway/stairs on the left-hand side. To get there, you need to ignore the door in front of you after getting the third Word of Power and descend the stairs. You’ll hear Tim Breaker humming along, and that’s your cue to check under the walkway for the crawlspace.
Subway Words of Power Locations
Accessing Words of Power located on the Subway level is not easy as the tunnels are complex and labyrinthine. To find all the Words of Power in Alan Wake 2, it is recommended to obtain all the perks during the Initiation 2 – Casey chapter, as some tunnels may become inaccessible later on.
There are a total of 9 Words of Power to be found in the Subway level, and each of them is of a different type – Aid, Lamp, War, Action, Fix, or Gun. They are located in various places, such as
- behind a train car in the Main Tunnel,
- in a room by the northwestern Light Source,
- North of the Derailed Train scene,
- below the ladder at the Abandoned Station,
- in the ticket gate room of the Abandoned Station,
- on the Shrine St. Station wall,
- in a Shrine St. Station train car,
- in a small room in Shrine St. Station,
- and outside the middle Break Room.
To access the Aid type Word of Power located just south of the Break Room in the Main Tunnel area, you need to get your first Echo and change the Caldera Station scene to “Missing FBI Agent” on the Plot Board. Similarly, to access the Lamp Word of Power located in a room by the northwestern Light Source, you need to change the Collapsed Tunnel scene to “Missing FBI Agent” and go through the door on the Light Source’s right-hand side.
Some of the Words of Power are hidden in places that require some exploring, such as climbing up the ladder out of the Break Room and into the Derailed Train scene, turning around and going under the construction work, then looking up at the ceiling to find the War Word of Power. Or crawling through the derailed train to come to a small room with a ladder leading down and then shooting the white panel on the western wall to reveal the Action Word of Power.
Oceanview Hotel Words of Power Locations
If you’re playing Alan Wake 2, you’ll find a few Words of Power in the Oceanview Hotel. However, the layout can be confusing since some rooms connect to other floors, and you have to switch scenes to progress further. To help you out, here’s a map showing the locations of the Words of Power.
The first Words of Power is of the War type. To find it, acquire the key to Room 104, which has a save point and acts as a passage to Room 225. Once you’re outside the hall, go to Room 224 and look for the arrow pointing to a wooden board. Smash it with a melee attack, and you’ll see the glyph on the bathroom wall. It may be hard to spot due to its color, but it’s there.
The second Words of Power is of the Stuff type. You’ll find it in the Oceanview Hotel Ballroom. Look above the bar counter to see the drawing. Keep in mind that Stuff-type Words of Power are rare, and you can unlock perks that offer a means of upgrading your inventory.
The third Words of Power is also of the War type. You’ll see it when you look through the glass above the doors leading to the emergency exit on the second floor. However, it’s unclear if you can get it earlier in the hotel level. We only saw it after completing the main objective and using the Devil and Climax scene options.
Poet’s Cinema Hotel Words of Power Locations
In Alan Wake 2, the Poet’s Cinema Hotel is one of the last major areas where you can find Words of Power. During the chapter, after adding the Pre-Show Ritual plot point to the final scene thread, you will be transported into a new scene. Head over to the blocked tunnel with the crashed truck and investigate it. Then, look at the ceiling to locate the Words of Power.
There are four more Words of Power glyphs in the Poet’s Cinema that you can obtain during this particular chapter. The first Words of Power, which is an Action type, can be found in the corridor behind the toilets. To get it, go into the toilet area to the left as you enter Poet’s Cinema and follow the narrow corridor at the back to the end. Look up to find the Words of Power.
Another Words of Power, which is a Fix type, can be found on the wall beside the stairs in the lobby on the second floor.
For the Lamp type Word of Power, head to the rooftop while investigating the Echo of the man that fell in the “Out in the Night” scene. You will come across a locked Tim Breaker room on the rooftops. While looking at this locked door, turn around and look up at the water tower to spot this Words of Power printed on it.
Lastly, the Stuff type Word of Power can be found in the rooftop Spotlights area. From the ladder that takes you to the cinema’s rooftops, take a right into the Spotlights area and go all the way to the back. Look to the wall on the southwestern side to find this rare Words of Power.
