Can You Save Matt Without the Flare Gun in Until Dawn?

As a passionate Until Dawn player and gaming commentator, one of the most common questions I see is whether it‘s possible to save Matt without the flare gun that wards off attacking wendigos.

The short answer is yes: you can keep Matt alive without the flare gun.

However, it requires making several very specific choices at key moments earlier in the game. Without that foresight, Matt will meet a brutal demise in the mines.

Let‘s take a deeper look at what leads to Matt‘s potential deaths, how to rescue him even without the flare gun, and the vital decision points that determine his fate.

What Happens If Matt Doesn‘t Get the Flare Gun?

The flare gun that Matt can receive from Emily is essentially his only protection against the vicious wendigos in the mines after his fall. So if Matt heads into the mines without it, either because:

• Emily kept it for herself
• He wasted it on pranks
• Or lost it at some other point

He will have no way to fend off the wendigo that attacks him after he is separated from the group.

According to player statistics, Matt‘s death rate is a staggering 82% on first playthroughs. Much of this shocking mortality rate is directly tied to players inadvertently allowing Matt to enter the mines defenseless against the supernatural threats lurking within.

For example, if Matt tries to rescue Emily twice at the collapsed radio tower instead of jumping to safety after the first attempt, he will be tossed down into the mines without the flare gun as his lifeline against the ravenous monsters below.

This leaves Matt utterly helpless against the wendigo lying wait as soon as he crashes to the cavern floor:

Therefore, sending Matt into the dangerous abandoned mines unarmed essentially seals his fate. But as we‘ll see next, with careful decision making at key points, he can escape the mines unscathed without relying on the flare gun as his protective talisman.

How to Save Matt Without the Flare Gun

Given Matt‘s extremely lethal bad ending without his monster-repelling flare gun, I‘m often asked by fellow gamers whether it‘s possible to save him if they‘ve reached the mines without it.

The good news is yes, Matt can still survive!

However, saving Matt at this stage requires making a very specific choice much earlier in the game.

When the radio tower Emily is standing on begins to collapse with Matt below it, he has a split-second choice of either attempting to rescue her or immediately jumping to safety as the tower crumbles.

• If Matt tries to save Emily after she slips, despite the risk, he will be able to grab briefly grab her before the tower gives way completely.

  • But after a second prompt to attempt saving Emily again appears, do not try again or Matt will fall!
    • Trying twice to rescue Emily dooms Matt to the lower mines landing and the inevitable wendigo attack.

• However, if Matt instantly chooses to leap clear of the collapsing tower when first prompted, he will successfully get to safety.

  • This does leave Emily stranded on the ruined tower, but she will survive as well thanks to the wider narrative.

So in summary, here is how to save Matt if you‘ve reached the mines without his protective flare gun:

• When the prompt appears at the collapsing tower, immediately choose to jump clear to save Matt rather than attempting a heroic rescue of Emily.

This one selfless act is enough to spare him from the deadly threat lurking on the lower mines level, despite lacking his usual wendigo-warding weaponry.

And if you‘re playing with the knowledge that Matt enters the mines without the flare gun, jumping clear of the tower at the first chance is by far the best path to safely guide Matt out of Until Dawn alive.

What Exactly Causes Matt‘s Death in the Mines?

Given there are a few intricacies around whether Matt survives his mining misadventure, let‘s break down exactly how he can meet his maker below ground if you miss the key chances to save him:

Getting the Flare Gun From Emily

One seemingly minor decision when playing as Emily can have massive ramifications for Matt‘s chances for survival later on.

When escaping from the attacking deer in Chapter 6, Emily discovers the flare gun fortuitously dropped by the Stranger in the Struggle.

She then has the choice to either keep the abandoned flare gun for herself or give it to Matt after she meets up with him at the cabin.

• If Emily holds onto the flare gun instead of handing it off to Matt, he will not have this critical protection when he needs it most after plummeting into the darkened depths of the mine.

So the first vital juncture affecting Matt‘s survival is whether Emily decides to gift him the flare gun or leave him defenseless by keeping it in her own possession.

Wasting the Flare Gun on Pranks

Additionally, there is another timeline where Matt can obtain the flare gun from Emily initially but then waste the precious rounds during joking hijinks instead of saving it for a truly desperate situation.

If characters choose to fire the flare gun carelessly, such as when pranking Ashley about a fake body discovery, Matt will subsequently find himself fruitlessly pulling the trigger against the attacking wendigo later when he truly needs its monster-frightening capabilities.

So while getting the flare gun from Emily early on provides Matt his best chance at surviving the mines, foolishly toying with the weapon instead of preserving its limited usage is another path to getting Matt killed in the caves.

Attempting to Rescue Emily Twice at the Radio Tower

As referenced when discussing how to save Matt without the flare gun above, attempting to rescue Emily twice as she hangs stranded on the remains of the collapsed radio tower will seal Matt‘s fate.

Even if Matt initially succeeded in briefly grabbing Emily after her first slip from the radio tower, do not try again or he will fall as well.

Following the second rescue attempt prompt ensures Matt is tossed down into the lower levels of the mines. Once here, the vicious wendigo lying in wait in the dark wastes no time in fatally mauling poor Matt.

So while it may seem counterintuitive not to take the chance of rescuing Emily a second time in good conscience, staying safely out of the mines by refusing this second prompt is the only way to spare Matt.

Keeping Matt Alive By Making the Right Decisions

As we‘ve covered, while saving Matt without his flare gun safety net is possible, it requires carefully sidestepping several key decisions that can otherwise unintentionally lead to his shocking death.

To quickly recap, if you want the best odds of keeping Matt alive until dawn, make sure to:

• Get the Flare Gun from Emily When Possible:
  • Don‘t let Emily hoard this for herself if given the chance early on to provide it to Matt instead.
• Don‘t Waste Flare Rounds on Jokes:
  • While funny at the time, firing test shots from the flare gun makes it useless when Matt truly needs it.
• Jump Clear of the First Radio Tower Collapse:
  • Attempting a second rescue of Emily ensures Matt‘s fall into the wendigo‘s lair.

While far from the simplest character to keep alive, paying close attention to these critical choice points provides Matt his best odds of surviving the nightmare and making it out in one piece when daybreak finally comes.

So in summary: yes, you absolutely can save Matt without the flare gun in Until Dawn! It just takes keen awareness of the branching decisions that ultimately determine whether the friendly jock lives or dies in the darkness.