How to get Virginia back if she runs away from you in Sons of the Forest

The mutant, Virginia, is one of the most important companions that you will be able to recruit in Sons of the Forest. To have an easier time in the survival-horror game, you will require all the help you can get, and Virgina’s support is indeed one of the best that you can ask for in the title.

However, many players in the community have come across moments when Virginia just disappeared or ran away from them. One of the major reasons that can happen is if you accidentally attack her, as that will scare her and force her to run away from you.

Secondly, many have also been facing a glitch where Virginia disappears suddenly, even when she is not harmed in any way.

Today’s guide will therefore go over some of the things that you can do to bring Virginia back as a companion if she either runs away or glitches out in Sons of the Forest.

---

Sons of the Forest guide: Methods to get Virginia back if she disappears

Cautious and fickle at all times, Virginia may sometimes wander off on her own at times (Image via Endnight)

As mentioned, one of the biggest causes for Virginia running away is the damage she takes if you accidentally hurt her. Hence, there are a few ways through which you will be able to go about getting her back in the game.

---

1) Sleep and pass a day

The first thing you can try out is to reset the in-game environment, and the best way to do that is to sleep in your base and pass the day. Once you complete the cycle of an entire day and night, there is a very high chance that she will return to your side.

---

2) Restarting the game

Another way to reset the in-game environment will be to restart Sons of the Forest. If the sleep method does not work, the next best solution will be to save the game and reload it from the last save file.

If you have a save slot before you accidentally hurt her, then that is more than likely to fix the issue, and Virginia will remain your companion, lest you accidentally hurt her again.

---

3) Finding her via GPS

If Virginia does leave your side in Sons of the Forest, one feature you can use is the GPS. By putting a tracker on her, you will be able to locate her on the map, and then interact with her to make her rejoin as a companion. To be able to put a GPS tracker on her, you will be required to hold the E key and open up the NPC inventory.

Then, you will need to press Q or R, head to the weapons menu, and hover over the GPS tracker, which is likely to be at the very top. You will then need to click on it and put it on Virginia. Once that is done, you will be able to constantly track her location on the portable map.

While it’s a creepy thing to do to your companion in Sons of the Forest, it's one of the best ways to keep track of where they are going if they do leave you. Upon placing a tracker on her, you will also be able to unlock the Sons of the Forest “Every move you make” achievement.

Since the island is vast and dense, having a GPS to track Virginia is immensely helpful (Image via Endnight)

---

4) Grabbing her attention

If Virginia refuses to return to the player, then they can try attracting her instead, even if she is somewhere else on the island. Sons of the Forest is teeming with mutant and cannibal foes, and fighting them with weapons may cause Virginia to come aid the player in combat.

This may work if players build something as well. Sons of the Forest has a huge emphasis on crafting in addition to survival, and players can construct a variety of tools and buildings to help their journey. So if players construct a campfire and a tent, this may cause Virginia to approach curiously.

---

5) Editing the save file data

If all else fails, then the only choice is to edit game files to teleport her to a desired location. Follow these steps:

1. Head to C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsoftheForest\Saves and select the appropriate save folder
2. Open the SaveData.json file
3. Press Ctrl + F to bring up the text finder field and type in ‘TypeID\":9’ (without single quotation marks). This is Kelvin’s Unique ID, the player’s main sidekick in Sons of the Forest
4. Copy his location coordinates indicated in the Position segment with the curly brackets [shown as {}], including the brackets themselves.
5. Find ‘TypeID\":10’, which is Virginia’s Unique ID, and paste Kelvin’s coordinates in her Position ID. Be sure to add 5 to the X and Y values to ensure they do not clip into each other. So if Kelvin was at X coordinate, eg, 1365, then Virginia will be at 1370
6. Save the file and boot the game

Virginia should now be next to Kelvin in Sons of the Forest and will follow the player.