How can I properly Horde Firewood for all my perverted, fiery needs?

[Guest]

So, now that I've finally gotten around to making an account for the forums, I can finally start asking the wise TLD sages for advice and also participate in discussion on multiple topics where I shall invariably make a fool of myself.

While I have clocked 600 hours into this game, I still run into a problem, firewood. I'll stack up a game slowing pile of sticks but guess what happens? I use it all up in a matter of days just cooking food, making warmth fires, water, etc. 

So basically, to get all of the flowery words, and long, irreverent spiels of unrelated topics I bring up out the way so I can get to my question: whats the most efficient way of garnering mass amounts of wood when factoring in cold, wildlife, the whole plethora of crap one must deal with to even get basic necessities in this game. At least on the tougher difficulties. 

Edited June 29, 2019 by Guest

[Tbone555]

14 hours ago, Flagg said:

So, now that I've finally gotten around to making an account for the forums, I can finally start asking the wise TLD sages for advice and also participate in discussion on multiple topics where I shall invariably make a fool of myself.

While I have clocked 600 hours into this game, I still run into a problem, firewood. I'll stack up a game slowing pile of sticks but guess what happens? I use it all up in a matter of days just cooking food, making warmth fires, water, etc. 

So basically, to get all of the flowery words, and long, irreverent spiels of unrelated topics I bring up out the way so I can get to my question: whats the most efficient way of garnering mass amounts of wood when factoring in cold, wildlife, the whole plethora of crap one must deal with to even get basic necessities in this game. At least on the tougher difficulties. 

Animal skin clothing. Craft some clothes ASAP before the weather turns cold. I mean colder. You know what I mean. Find something to keep the chill off your bones and you can spend the whole day cutting wood! Good luck friend

Edited June 29, 2019 by Tbone555

[UpUpAway95]

Depends on the difficulty settings you want to use.  Animal skin clothing is great for warmth value so you don't have to light fires to stay warm in most conditions.  If you're playing on a lower difficulty setting though, there is a better option... Make your way quickly to Timberwolf Mountain where you'll find the Expedition Parka and Snow Pants and other highest quality clothing that will keep you even warmer than animal skins with less weight.  That way, you'll be able to carry more wood back to your stash with each foraging trip you make.   Then head quickly to Hushed River Valley to pick up the Moose Hide Satchel so you can carry even more.

What would be best, though, is to create a custom game setting ... leaving the animal behaviors at whatever difficulty you like, but set the "Stick, Branch, and Stone Respawn Frequency" to "Very High."   Make your base/stash in a forested location where a lot of loose sticks drop and just keep collecting them all up as they respawn each day.  Logs don't respawn, so you'll still be limited to the same numbers of those as before regardless, but you'll be able to amass piles and piles of more sticks than your pyro heart could ever dream about.

Edited June 29, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[Doc Feral]

Taking a leisurely stroll through a mine or tunnel is a nice way to pick up some coal. It's the best fuel and it respawns, not as fast as sticks but it's more than worth a weekly trip.

[ajb1978]

Don't bother with cutting up firewood, just gather sticks off the ground, and coal from caves or mines.  Coal respawns pretty predictably, once every 10 game days (edit: respawn rate for coal is dependent on experience mode, so while it may not be 10 days for you, it is still predictable).  If you get your clothing situation sorted out to where you can spend time outdoors, you can also break down branches with your hands.  You don't NEED to light a fire constantly, although with judicious use of sticks and coal, it's possible to keep a fire burning indefinitely.

Also where you light your fire also plays a role in how much fuel you will need.  Cooking a bear over a pot belly stove is going to take a long time--upwards of 30 hours.  That's something like 200 sticks right there.  On the other hand, find a 6-burner wood stove, you're looking at more like 5-ish hours to cook the whole thing.  So around 33 sticks to accomplish the same task.

Edited June 29, 2019 by ajb1978

[Tbone555]

Oh and yes, one more early game tact I tend to use if I'm on a more populated map, ie coastal highway, etc, is RECLAIMED WOOD. break down lots of shelves and crates and chairs and etc. Reclaimed wood is a little heavier but it does have a decent burn rate. Couple it with all the loose sticks you find and you can build a very decent fire.

[Guest]

Thank your for bestowing upon me all of this advice!

[Ahatch]

Pretty much collecting firewood is all I do most of the time in my current interloper run . I usually stuff my drawers and cupboard full in my fishing hut and garbage bins and napsacks in the nearby cabin. I keep them full all the time on days I'm not fishing or hunting. I harvest cedar and fir in the evenings when it's the warmest out. I always keep my well fed up so I can carry them around. 

[galadhlinn]

I have four primary bases:  PV Homestead, TWM Mountaineer's cabin, ML Camp Office, CH Quonset hut

I have the two forging bases: DP Riken and BR Maintenance yard

At primary bases I have a stack of sticks at a fire outside and a stack by the stove on the inside.  At the inside stove I keep 6-8 coal for emergencies. I never chop/cut firewood.  I have broken down chairs/crates only a couple of times in the Carter Hydro Dam out of necessity.

At the forging bases I have the same setup, but I keep one forging session worth of coal (16-20 coal) there at all times.  I always bring a forging session worth of coal with me, so when I leave, there is one session left there. (coal tip) Even if I am not headed to a forging run, if I go through a cave (the pass through caves), I gather every coal and drop them as I exit the cave.  At every cave exit/entrance (both ends) I now have at least 30 coal ready to go.

Each day, I gather the sticks I need for that day (typically 12-15).  I have two stick gathering methods.  1. If I'm going out on hunting or resource gathering, I keep 10-12 sticks on me in case I get caught in a storm or attacked by a wolf and need healing tea.  When I am done and returning to base/camp, I pick up every stick until I'm maxed out weight wise.  If I am loaded with meat, I skip the wood altogether and rely on my stash at base  2.  If I'm specifically out just for firewood, I drop everything at base except two steaks, two drinks of water and knife (and two cans), and I max out on wood sticks and return to base.  My wood stick stashes at bases typically have about 30 sticks inside and 30 outside.  I just don't see the need for more of this.  I have no loading/lag issues with this much wood at base.  This is more than sufficient to get me through a three day blizzard.  The coal is a backup to that.  Near each my primary bases I have a cave where I stash 30 sticks and 4-5 coal.  When a blizzard reaches day three, I run with only clothing, two steaks, two drinks and a knife to the cave, start a two hour fire and go to sleep (rinse and repeat fire/sleep as needed).  This method has always kept cabin fever at bay for me.  Only once have I been stuck in a cave due to blizzard beyond two days and stressed my setup/system.  So far I have not experienced more than a five day blizzard, so three days blizzard at base, run to cave, then two more days blizzard in cave.  Most often I run to the cave, spend the day there and have a nice walk back to base in the afternoon with the blizzard now passed and a nice sunset.  ; )

[UpUpAway95]

I see peeps are giving you more serious advice about how to just collect wood in the game itself; whereas I thought you were really asking about hoarding a huge amount for some special project (like lighting up the lighthouse).  I'm always collecting sticks.  If I become encumbered, I drop a load of sticks at a convenient crossroads somewhere along my route and keep going collecting more sticks as I go.  The route-side bundles are convenient because I know they'll be there in a bunch whenever I'm back that way, so in a pinch, I can get a bunch of sticks in a hurry just by raiding a roadside bundle I've left previously.  It's also quicker, if I'm, say, cooking up a bear to just run out and collect a bunch of nearby bundles and bring them back to where I"m cooking than having to run out and pick up individual sticks from all over the forest floor between putting slabs of meat on the grill.