question The Long Haul

[hozz1235]

I'm on @ day 100.  I'm almost done exploring (and looting) all regions.  I began to think about "The Long Haul" (surviving as many days as possible) and what items I should begin conserving (should have started long ago) for that goal.  Some finite items come to mind which may eventually cause my death: 

• Cloth -
  • Mainly needed to repair clothes (although I can fall back on "hide" clothing eventually)
  • Needed for Improvised tools (although I can break down wood by hand and also Harvest by hand at lvl 5 skill)
  • Bandages
• Rifle Ammo - I have started using the Bow but how effective is it against deer?  (Seems getting close enough may be a challenge)
• Light Source (maybe?)

Comments, Recommendations?

[JaySovereign]

Try to keep your scrap metal and leather and only use it when you need to. They are a finite resource. As for a light source, cooking up fish can give a tiny bit of lamp oil. I would also get used to using the bow, because things become a lot easier once you cap the skill at level 5 and can crouch and the resources for it are nearly infinitely renewable, (Other than the scrap metal you need to make the arrowheads).

[Wade]

Scrap metal and cloth are pretty abundant.  Don't forget you can repair your hacksaw with quality tools and scrap metal.   If I were you I would switch to hide clothes right away to preserve cloth though.  The other advice I would give is to use your arrow shots wisely.  There are only so many arrow shafts and they are non-renewable.  I would also be very careful with matches.  Only so many ways to make fire in the world and relying on the mag glass will get you in trouble.  Hunt the deer from behind and always aim for the head.  If you can't find your arrow, drop an item where the carcass is and check the area the next day.  Keep in mind that the wind can blow the arrows across the ground.  As far as a lighting source, I prefer the lantern as fish oil is always readily available.  Some people love torches, but I prefer the even lighting that lanterns put out.  They are heavy, but who is doing a lot of running once you get bogged down with heavy clothes anyway.

[Simone Else]

youll get bored and make a new game before you run out of anything dont worry about the long haul. 

i deleted a game more than 500 days just because i could forsee myself never dying 

  

[hozz1235]

True.  Guess I should have said, "500 days" vs "...as long as possible".  I plan to start anew once I get the achievement.

[RossBondReturns]

Also bear in mind I've read of long term survivors who have found just about every item you listed while beach combing.

Saplings, Scrap Metal, Cloth and on and on.

[Prestermatt]

It might depend on what mode you play.

How much do you really need?  In terms of cloth, I carried at least 300 cloth out of DP and CH in my Voyageur game, and that's without looting every location.  I didn't even break up all of the cushioned chairs.  Granted, I'm only at Day 100, but I figure that's enough to last me for a while, without even getting into harvesting from all of the clothes I've found and have yet to find.

[JAFO]

On 10/26/2017 at 5:14 AM, hozz1235 said:

I have started using the Bow but how effective is it against deer?  (Seems getting close enough may be a challenge)

Getting close enough is not a problem.. crouching works for this. See below for more on this subject.

 

On 10/26/2017 at 11:42 AM, Wade said:

I would also be very careful with matches.  Only so many ways to make fire in the world and relying on the mag glass will get you in trouble.

It's possible to do just fine with just the magnifying glass.. but it does take some planning and resource management.

 

On 10/26/2017 at 11:42 AM, Wade said:

Hunt the deer from behind and always aim for the head.

Until I reach level 5 archery, which lets you shoot whilst crouched, my preferred technique is to get close from behind (crouching),  wait until it puts its head down to graze, then quickly stand and shoot right up its arse. Not only is this a bigger target, but 90% of the time results in an insta-kill.

 

9 hours ago, RossBondReturns said:

Also bear in mind I've read of long term survivors who have found just about every item you listed while beach combing.

Pretty much the only absolutely necessary thing that can't be had from beach-combing is usable headwear. Toques can be found, but they are always in ruined condition. So take REAL good care of your toques, and try to always have spares. For long-term play, they are far too valuable to harvest for cloth.

[KinoUnko]

I read you can only get 5 frostbite afflictions cumulative. so you can't die even without toque. Granted a wolf struggle would end you at 50%.

[JAFO]

1 minute ago, KinoUnko said:

I read you can only get 5 frostbite afflictions cumulative. so you can't die even without toque. Granted a wolf struggle would end you at 50%.

I wasn't aware of that.. interesting. Would you have a link to the discussion, by any chance?

I don't think it would be just wolf struggles you'd have to worry about, either.. being maxed out at 50% would severely limit your movement in general, particularly on higher difficulty levels. You'd be constantly forced to retreat indoors after a short period of outdoor activity.

[KinoUnko]

it was from the long dark wiki. Not sure if it's still true or not, it maybe a bit out of date. Will test in a little bit.

turns out it's really hard to get frost bite intentionally

[Wade]

1 hour ago, JAFO said:

Until I reach level 5 archery, which lets you shoot whilst crouched, my preferred technique is to get close from behind (crouching),  wait until it puts its head down to graze, then quickly stand and shoot right up its arse. Not only is this a bigger target, but 90% of the time results in an insta-kill.

That really hasn't been my experience.  Sneaking up from behind and shooting for the neck as it is raised up or walking directly away has yielded the most instakills for me.

[Wade]

2 hours ago, JAFO said:

It's possible to do just fine with just the magnifying glass.. but it does take some planning and resource management.

So you only plan for sunny days then?  I guess it just depends and where you are and how late in game you are.  Like I said don't rely on it, because next time you have some sort of emergency and actually need fire, better hope its sunny and not windy.  Yes I know, if you plan right you will only have to make a fire on sunny non windy days anyway.  Better save those matches for the emergency you didn't forsee!

[JAFO]

6 minutes ago, Wade said:

That really hasn't been my experience.  Sneaking up from behind and shooting for the neck as it is raised up or walking directly away has yielded the most instakills for me.

I'll have to give it a try.

[JAFO]

3 minutes ago, Wade said:

Yes I know, if you plan right you will only have to make a fire on sunny non windy days anyway.

Even in the late game, sunny days come around often enough that you can easily cook and make enough food & water to comfortably last well beyond the next expected sunny day. And it's always possible around most bases to find somewhere sheltered from the wind. Best of all is to have a base with an indoor stove, so you only need to take a torch from the fire, then light your stove from it.

[Ape88]

I try to get to the point where I'm crafting clothing from animal hides early on. It is easy to accumulate them before you find the rifle and ammo if you harvest the ones that are already dead. I use the wood matches first and try to save the paper ones for later.

[KinoUnko]

so yea... doesn't look like there's limit to frostbites, 6. and 7th on the way. Save them toques! Also... really hard to get frostbite on your feet for some reason.

[hozz1235]

I'm on day 400 now and have a huge surplus of necessities.  Like others have said, I am entering the boredom stage and there is no way I will play this guy past day 500 but I could go much, much longer!  Challenges will be next.