Tips for new survivors

[cekivi]

Glad to hear it @CitrinePeridot 

[Thrasador]

40 minutes ago, cekivi said:

@Thrasador ... welp, that's definitely one argument for moderation when drinking  

At least it only happened once....and it was 20 years ago....lol!

Even drunk, you probably would never forget the time you drank pee....

Edited September 5, 2017 by Thrasador

[Fuarian]

If you need to climb down an edgy cliff-face. Crouch to reduce fall damage. Somehow this works.

[RossBondReturns]

15 hours ago, Fuarian said:

If you need to climb down an edgy cliff-face. Crouch to reduce fall damage. Somehow this works.

Also helps to put the cliff face to your left and open air to the right...and use the left and right keys to edge out and in from the cliff face thus dropping a bit at a time.

Beware of fall damage because you can fall even if it looks like there's more to left key into.

[Snake Doctor]

I never knew this place existed. That's actually quite humorous, since I've been playing TLD for years! 

I browsed through the previous comments and I hope I can add to them. I've had numerous 100-plus days of survival, with my longest being 549 (post-hibernation exploit) on Stalker, and 155 on Interloper, all of which disappeared on launch (something that was unavoidable but got me back into regular playtime). 

My initial advice for people playing the game for the first time would be: don't over-estimate your gaming ability. By which I mean, a lot of people (myself included) get a new game and immediately start it on the hardest difficulty. Doing that in TLD will end in your swift and untimely demise. Stalker and Interloper modes are brutal and unforgivable. The first thing you should do, and for many runs until you get used to the game, is study your surroundings. The majority of people who achieve 100-plus days of surviving are the same ones who know the world intimately. 

Always carry 15 sticks and 5 cloth when travelling. You would not believe the amount of runs that have ended because the person got caught in a blizzard and had no means to create shelter. Also, try to intuit when bad weather is abound; it varies from region to region, which makes it difficult, but for instance if a gentle snow suddenly becomes offset by strong winds, and the temperature drops precipitously, that's generally an indication a blizzard is afoot. Heavy fog generally follows light fog. There is also some anecdotal evidence that bird behaviour, or lack thereof, is indicative of weather, but I personally have never been able to verify it. 

This has been said already, but you should only eat before you sleep. Pay no attention to the rumbles of hunger throughout the day. Chances are, you're going to be doing activities that use up calories, so eating during the day is therefore a waste of calories. The loss to condition from starvation is manageable and minimal. If you're on Stalker, this is a perfect time to eat meat. By the time you're ready to eat again, the parasite threat has subsided. 

If you're on Interloper, prioritise crafting over everything else save hydration. Before you can get your hides and guts curing, you have to get a weapon, but unlike Stalker there are no rifles and bows are either removed or rare (haven't been able to tell; I usually don't find one and have to craft). The crafting of a bow and arrows is where most runs end on Interloper, because in order to do all of that you have to collect maple and birch saplings, scrap metal, crow feathers, coal, and then take everything to one of only two forges in the game (and all of that exposes you to Mr Wolf and Mr Bear, but without a weapon to hunt for hides and guts, if starvation doesn't get you, hypothermia/frostbite will). 

Only start fires when absolutely necessary, and never let a fire go to waste. Melt snow, boil water, cook tea, etcetera. Fires, especially on Interloper, are precious. A friend of mine used to stockpile dozens of pieces of firewood inside one of the houses in Coastal Town, start a fire, and keep that fire running as long as humanly possible. He would put 12 hours' worth of fuel on, go out across the lake to do some fishing, and come back and put enough fuel on to get him through the night and keep the fire burning. Crazy? No, especially on Interloper when matches are like hen's teeth and firewood is moderate to plentiful. 

Never try to take on a wolf or a bear head on. Always backtrack towards somewhere you can either get inside, or climb up (the low blinds and hunter's blinds, for instance), and pick them off from there. You get a better, and more lethal, shot with a bow when you shoot from an elevated position. The same would appear to be true for the rifle, but that is immaterial on Interloper. On Stalker, wolves come at you like missile swarms. It's not pretty and it's frustrating. Try to get a hold of the distress pistol, or make sure you have flares/torch, and whatever you do, don't take on a pack. 

Only sleep for more than two hours if you're indoors. Outside, sleep in two-hour increments, because the weather can change at any time. Make sure you're hydrated and have at least 600 - 700 calories in surplus before you sleep. One of my first runs ended after a wolf attack that took me down to 30% condition. I didn't have any food and tried to sleep for 9 hours. It didn't go well. 

Get into ice fishing from the start. Seriously. No, really seriously. A lot of people malign ice fishing as a waste of time, but for Stalker/Interloper runs, it has saved my life more times than I can remember. Here's a few hints for ice fishing: find a hut with a door, never fish for less than four hours, and bring firewood with you for the pot-belly stoves. Here's the secret to ice fishing: set up on Jackrabbit/Misanthrope's Island in CH, find closest hut with door, and throw everything back that isn't a coho salmon. Here's the real secret to ice fishing: you'll find an abundance of supplies to make fishing tackles, it's easier and less dangerous than hunting deer, and the best part is that it's an all-you-can-eat buffet where those pesky parasites have been left off the invite list. Ice fishing saves lives, people. 

I may have repeated a few things that have already been said, but I hope this helps. 

[cekivi]

Welcome to the forums @Snake Doctor 

[Snake Doctor]

3 hours ago, cekivi said:

Welcome to the forums @Snake Doctor 

Thank you. 

[KinoUnko]

don't try to outrun a bear no matter the head start. not even on stims. I could swear they teleport.

[cekivi]

Welcome to the forums @KinoUnko 

Once caveat, you can hide from a bear inside a car when it is charging to get away from it. Just be prepared to wait a while before leaving again!  

Edited September 23, 2017 by cekivi

[JaySovereign]

I tried to outrun a bear and a wolf the other day and got mauled because the door circle was loading. It's probably a good thing to remember that a single click on the door won't save your bacon anymore.

Edited October 14, 2017 by JaySovereign

[JAFO]

2 hours ago, JaySovereign said:

I tried to outrun a bear and a wolf the other day and got mauled because the door circle was loading.

There was a point where I suspected that's part of why Hinterland introduced it.

 

2 hours ago, JaySovereign said:

It's probably a good thing to remember that a single click on the door won't save your bacon anymore.

It never did.. have you fogotten those times you'd get inside by the skin of your teeth, only to find the wolf had taken a chunk out of you, even though there was no struggle?

[KinoUnko]

Don't drop onto the rock here in the Ravine east end of the trestle. can't climb back up to the tracks, certain death, long or short.

[private duksworth]

tips for new players 

for charcoal search all fireplaces u come across as sometimes they have charcoal in them and you don't need to make a fire for it 

crows flying across the sky can mean wildlife is near by 

if you are hungry don't eat straight away generally 600 calories and 6 hours of sleep can bring up the health 

eat salty foods first before hydrating or you use more water so eat first then drink only works if you are dehydrated

before sleeping check stats to see temp food water as i have had many a play through where i have died because of not checking 

collect as many cat tails as you can its free food and its light to so collect as much as you can 

thats all i can think of

[private duksworth]

for a better guide look at lord master gamings guide on the long dark 

search the long dark guide and its near the top

[JAFO]

7 hours ago, private duksworth said:

crows flying across the sky can mean wildlife is near by 

Actually, all that means is that there's a change in the weather on the way.

[Salty Crackers]

You don't need to conserve matches (except on Interloper). Even on Stalker, there are enough matches to last you hundreds of days. Take all the matches you find and bring them to your base.

When you are done with your fire, pull out as many torches as you can and harvest them for sticks, so you don't waste firewood. I'm currently doing a run where I'm exclusively using coal and sticks for fires. If you put in an extra coal, you get 6 torches, providing enough sticks to let you add coal to the next fire without scavenging for more wood.

[cekivi]

Welcome to the forums @private duksworth 

[private duksworth]

thanks just want to help people out on the game

[JaySovereign]

Do NOT camp out the night when the aurora is present. Just don't leave your cave at all. It's not worth it. My corpse got mauled by three wolves in a row due to my own stupidity. I should've waited. I guess the lesson here is to be patient and not so rash. It could end up costing your character their life.

[KinoUnko]

Apparently shoes and socks aren't as important as you imagine... I been romping about without shoes for about a week. trekked from east end of Coastal Highway to Pleasant Valley without shoes or socks (also head covering and gloves). walked on snow, road, ice, rock. In that time I got 1 frostbite to the head, 2 frostbite to hands, 0 to feet. 

Edited October 28, 2017 by KinoUnko

[JAFO]

4 hours ago, KinoUnko said:

Apparently shoes and socks aren't as important as you imagine... I been romping about without shoes for about a week. trekked from east end of Coastal Highway to Pleasant Valley without shoes or socks (also head covering and gloves). walked on snow, road, ice, rock. In that time I got 1 frostbite to the head, 2 frostbite to hands, 0 to feet. 

That might be down to luck, random numbers and if head & hands are prioritised for attention by the game.

What happens if you try it while wearing a toque and gloves, with no footwear?

[KinoUnko]

About half of that time is with only feet uncovered, I got frostbite risk once in the foot in crumbling highway. I was testing if there's max limit to frost bites, there doesn't appear to be, so one can die from it. I got impatient with risking only feet after I got to PV, and uncovered head and hands. the new frostbites in head and hands happened over 2 to 3 days, very quickly.

It's probable head and hands are prioritized over feet. Kind of odd decision given feet is in direct contact with all the cold stuff, certainly no warmer than the air. I'll have to test some more. 

Edited October 28, 2017 by KinoUnko

[JAFO]

15 hours ago, KinoUnko said:

It's probable head and hands are prioritized over feet. Kind of odd decision given feet is in direct contact with all the cold stuff, certainly no warmer than the air.

Or, you may have discovered a bug. But yeah, more testing required first.

[KinoUnko]

7 days so far in PV, normal activity, collecting woods and shooting deers. no shoes/socks, no frostbite, no problems. normal clothing otherwise.

Edited October 30, 2017 by KinoUnko

[JAFO]

Hmmm... we know that wearing no pants results in "assbite".. so I'm thinking this is a bug, then.