If you find any errors in this guide, please feel free to let me know, it would be much appreciated!

It is a very good idea to SAVE OFTEN, as when I did this, I lost the gnome a few times. When getting this achievement I'd recommend leaving the gnome in the doorway of an area that you know that you will be able to get back to, as if you hold him during combat you will be unable to reload.

Also this guide CONTAINS SPOILERS, so unless you are willing to have part of the story or level design spoiled, I recommend doing this without help.


Also! Each section of this guide is grouped based on Chapter, the name of each section, is the name of the chapter.

Pick up either the gnome OR pickup the gnome bottlecap opener Both WILL get you the achievement, but you only need one of them.

After exiting the train, throw the gnome (or bottlecap opener) down into the trainyard near the Quarantine Zone entrance: it will be there when you emerge later. Leave it while you unlock the massive door, but if you leave it in the wrong place it will be punted away when the door is opened, so be careful.

Make sure to have the gnome before jumping down into the hole in the subway roof for the zombie fight, as it will be unable to be grabbed if you leave it anywhere else. During the fight, put the gnome down on in the subway on a seat, leave it there until you have finished the fight and upgraded your gun, then go back and grab it.

During the scene with Gary, drop the gnome down into the pit from where Gary is summoning garbage, as you will go down there anyway on your way out.

Put the gnome next to the tunnel that is too dark to enter without the flashlight: it will be there once you have equipped the flashlight later. Leave it on the table at the front of the dark room with zombies in it and grab it once you have taken care of the zombies. Leave it next to the door that is missing its turning wheel and pick it up once you have the wheel.

I recommend against throwing the gnome down into the trainyards at Fairview Junction while on the bridge, as it might end up disappear when the map reloads. Instead, leave it at the lever for the train switch you hack the train, and it will be there when you throw the switch to crash the train.

There aren't a lot of opportunities to set the gnome down to free your hand, but you should leave it at the orange keycard door while you retrieve it from the upper floor. Once you reach the catwalks above a room after the room where you first find grenades, drop the gnome down and pick it up when you go down there later. Leave it there while you clears out Combine soldiers in the subway, and pick it up as you head for the Northern Star Hotel.

DO NOT LEAVE IT OUTSIDE OF THE NORTHERN STAR, AS IT WILL BE GONE IF YOU DO SO.

There are a lot of loading screens during this chapter, so it is very important to know when to carry the gnome, I found myself having to reload a lot when I first did it, so don't make the same mistake that I did. I found that most of the time, the sections that have door or elevator related puzzles where you have to travel the means to unlock it provide great opportunities for you to leave the gnome behind while doing those puzzles– don't forget to pick up the gnome before going through those entrances though.

While doing the Poison Headcrab pit section, head up to the door that is blocked by the energy wall and leave it over there – it WILL be there after turning off the wall.

Drop the gnome to the floor in the scissor lift room and pick it up once you reach the floor. Leave the gnome on the platform before the crane puzzle that is required to enter the distillery, and pick it up once you have finished the puzzle and killed the Combine that are in the courtyard.

The gnome will seem to be a problem during this chapter because of the combination of you having to cover your mouth near Jeff and needing to have a free hand to be able to throw bottles to distract Jeff, but there are multiple chances to drop it in places while you deal with puzzles. Leave it on the floor of the room with the door that is locked while you lock Jeff inside of the freezer. When you first see Jeff from above while talking to Larry, drop the gnome down into the hallway, as you will travel into there later. Don't forget to pick it up before going through the window as it is impossible to get back here. Leave the gnome near the door to the elevator while you deal with the power being switched off, and pick it up and bring it inside for the elevator ride with Jeff.

Once you get to the massive door that leads out of the distillery, pick up the three power cells. Leave the gnome in this area,it will free up your hands for the more forced Jeff encounter while you are searching for the power cells.Pick it up once you have trapped and gotten ridden of Jeff and then bring it into the Antlion tunnels.

There are not very many chances to leave the gnome behind for longer periods of time: 90% of the time, the best strategy in each area is to put the gnome down, clear out all of the enemies, and then pick it up again before moving on.

Like before, there are not many chances to leave behind the gnome. However, there is one loading screen in particular where it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you are holding the gnome: it is the scene that the Vault crashes down, and destroys buildings in its path. I'd recommend quicksaving during this cutscene, because if the gnome does disappear, the last autosave will be deleted and replaced with the one after destroying the Vault.

To actually get this achievement YOU MUST hold the gnome until you enter the Vault, and keep holding it all of the way up through the tractor beam ride.

Now continue through the complex rooms and get to the end of the game, where you will get the achievement while the final cutscene plays.

And there you have it! You just beat Half-Life: Alyx while holding the gnome for the entire game, how do you feel? Are you fulfilled?

Jokes aside, if you enjoyed this guide I would really appreciate guide awards or an upvote, if not thanks for reading anyways!