Things NOT to do

[Glflegolas]

Some good tips folks! I've actually learned a thing or two from reading them, especially for playing Interloper (which, IMO, is almost like playing a whole other game). I'm going to have to compile these somewhere.

Here's a couple more of my own:

Don't read this thread if you want a challenging survival experience. There's so much good advice here that you'll be gaining epic achievements in no time flat if you read the responses to this thread. (OK, just kidding!)

Don't use the rifle for defense. It's heavy, ammo is scarce, you can't shoot without aiming (which will always cause wolves to charge) and it sways a lot, especially if you're tired. If you're adept at using it, the bow is excellent for defending yourself. If you're not that great a shot with the bow, the revolver works well for protection against wolves and timberwolves.

Don't walk into Scruffy's cave unprepared. That cave in the northern part of Desolation Point seems inviting, but a careless adventurer will likely fade into the long dark soon after entry, for Scruffy the wolf does not appreciate intruders. Killing Scruffy can be challenging due to the cave being dark; one strategy is to enter with a torch and some fuel, light a fire inside the cave, and throw a lot of torches around to light the cave. When Scruffy's visible, use the bow or revolver to take a shot. He won't respawn once slain (spoiler alert!), so you'll be safe from that point onwards.

Don't hunt wolves for food without level 5 cooking [Stalker, Interloper]. It's simply not worth the risk of getting intestinal parasites, and wolves don't have that much meat on them anyways. Deer, fish, and rabbits are plentiful and don't carry the risk of intestinal parasites.

Don't fix the moosehide cloak. Moose hides are a pain to obtain and take a long time to cure. A simpler solution is to harvest the cloak and re-craft it. This does take a long time and requires gut, but guts are easy to obtain from rabbits or deer.

Don't explore a new region for the first time on Interloper with a new survivor. Interloper is hard enough if you know the maps like the back of your hand, but is much more difficult if you're in a region you're not familiar with. This is especially true if your survivor doesn't yet have top-quality clothing. Either explore the map thoroughly on Voyageur or Stalker (which are better for exploration anyways, IMO), or make sure your survivor is well equipped before exploring a new region on Interloper.

[Glflegolas]

9 hours ago, The Orange Birb said:

Don't use matches to directly start a fire.

Don't go for the Well-fed bonus in the beginning of the game.

I wouldn't say that those are big don'ts in Voyageur or Stalker, but they are probably the number one and number two rules of survival in Interloper.

[Stinky socks]

Re: 10-30% fishing tackle to be used for fishing after cloths repairs/crafting. Both 10 and 30% lines broke shortly after starting to fish. I am level3 fisherman. Not sure if it is my luck that day or those tackles dont have much life in them.

I'm probably going to keep using them until they completely wear vs going fishing with them when almost depleted.

But still, using fishing tackle for crafting if not in a hurry is great. I did a moose satchel just using fishing line. It actually showed shorter time with hook vs sewing kit. Not sure why🤔

[RegentRelic]

Die. Sandbox is that easy. I don't see what the problem. I mean the game literally only has one failure state, so don't die and you'll alway not fail. How do does one do that? Easy don't play the game. If you want to have fun playing the game though, then that's a different story.

[Stinky socks]

Tip #768 from stinky.

*don't rush #1, and don't search in the darkness #2* I've missed so much stuff in my early days due to not seeing that hidden box of ammo or special gadget.

Because Hinterland being SNEAKY!!

[Stinky socks]

I'd like to add something. If you have like 5 partially filled lantern fuel cans on the shelf, pick them up before starting cooking. That way, you won't have like additional 20 partially filled lantern fuel cans.

Here's what happens, when you have those partially filled lantern cans, they all get topped off when you cook fish, so instead of having 0.06gal 0.03gal 0.08gal cans, you get them all like 0.13gal 0.13gal 0.13gal. Just like jerry can, they get filled up.

[mfuegemann]

If You have both, fuel cans and jerry can, use the smaller fuel cans first to refill Your lantern as the content/weight ratio is worse. It should be the other way round, with the jerry can be made of metal, though.

[Stinky socks]

Thank you on coal burn to weight ratio. For some reason I kept thinking it is the heaviest fuel. I shall make a trip to a local coal mine now just for that!

Edit: because tired collecting sticks and don't want to use up hatchet to break down fir and cedar.(and pallets on fishing village)

Edited February 25, 2021 by Stinky socks

[mfuegemann]

Keep in mind that You still need a stick to start a coal fire, as coal cannot be lit directly.

So don't carry coal as the only fuel. Finding a stick in a blizzard can be demanding.

Edited February 25, 2021 by mfuegemann

[Bean]

13 minutes ago, mfuegemann said:

So don't carry coal as the only fuel. Finding a stick in a blizzard can be demanding.

True, but that coal can help you survive a blizzard if you’re lost and can’t find anything but a windbreak.    A coal fire will keep you warm and dry while you’re lost in a blizzard that could otherwise kill you. 

[Stinky socks]

DO NOT use auto-walk in ravine.

[mfuegemann]

9 hours ago, Stinky socks said:

DO NOT use auto-walk in ravine.

Hi, I do not want to imagine, how You came to post this advice...

[Stinky socks]

Well, I was walking and I forgot that I was autowalking and started holding walk button. When I was getting closer to the trestle bridge damaged part, I let go walking, but she kept auto walling. I almost walked off like it was suicide!

Had to figure out what happened when I let go walk key and she kept walking.😁then I remembered, oh the autowalking..

[mfuegemann]

Maybe that is something for the wishlist. To add the forward movement key to the autowalk-breaking keys like "Space bar" or "Z"

[metlman72]

While cooking it is beneficial to use the wait time to craft, fix clothes, catch up on some reading. Just be mindful of the time to do these things vs. the time left to cook. It is easy to burn your meat or boil away your water in the process.

[TheKnightIsDark]

Dont kill wildlife if you dont intend to harvest it as there seems to be a weird trend where a blizzard occurs if you hunt animals for sport

[TheKnightIsDark]

Dont keep wearing precious clothes if you know a struggle is inevitable. Depending on the difficulty these could be snow pants, crampons, and especially ear wraps. There are a couple of times where I was in a situation where I felt a struggle was inevitable and I wouldnt be able to avoid it. So instead of running away or shooting in vain, I quickly accessed my clothing screen and stripped off valuable clothing. I was confident I'd survive the struggle, so wanted to save my gear

[TheKnightIsDark]

Dont cook meats without a pot if you have one. It is much faster to cook everything in a pot not just fluids. I realized this very late into the game

[TheKnightIsDark]

Dont take antibiotics immediately after food poisoning. You can sneak in eating more ruined foods and your FP recovery time will still remain the same.

[Syraith]

DONT forget to check the ground after being attacked. Bulkier weapons like your bow or rifle are likely dropped after an encounter with a moose or bear. There will be some blood and your enemy is steps away, but some quick clicking can save your precious items!

DONT just pass time. Be smart! As previously mentioned, use time to repair/clean, etc. but keep in mind while outdoors, the weather can change fast! It may be an hour before your meat is cooked, and that extra reading is handy, but the wind can change and blow out your fire while you’re not looking. Especially in certain regions. Do shorter tasks if you can.

[Stinky socks]

Don't give Astrid painkillers! She's being so careless around rough terrain, always keeps getting sprains. She can heal on her own!😡keep hauling that backpack!

[Glflegolas]

I've compiled some of these tips from this thread in a blog post on the wiki, so that they're in a more reader friendly format.

https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:Glflegolas/Things_not_to_do

[UpUpAway95]

On 2/14/2021 at 4:46 PM, Glflegolas said:

Sounds like something that's possible, but probably not recommended. Given the amount of walking that's also required (especially if you go via Deer Clearing), it's a pretty heavy use of coffee.

I think the bedroll in the summit cave is a guaranteed spawn on any difficulty other than Interloper.

I love the summit push on Day 1 if I spawn high on the mountain.  It's an all or nothing roll that can leave the player well set up for the rest of the run or end the run by day 2... and then just start again.  With a little luck (i.e. finding some cloth), you can build a snow shelter on the way up to sleep once and you can mountain goat down without using any ropes if you don't find a bedroll on the summit.  It's very doable on any setting where baseline resources are not low and still possible to do on loper.  Heading down to the mountaineer's hut and out of PV is the easier route... but where's the fun in always playing it safe?

[piddy3825]

57 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

I love the summit push on Day 1 if I spawn high on the mountain.  It's an all or nothing roll that can leave the player well set up for the rest of the run or end the run by day 2... and then just start again.  With a little luck (i.e. finding some cloth), you can build a snow shelter on the way up to sleep once and you can mountain goat down without using any ropes if you don't find a bedroll on the summit.  It's very doable on any setting where baseline resources are not low and still possible to do on loper.  Heading down to the mountaineer's hut and out of PV is the easier route... but where's the fun in always playing it safe?

Yeah, a push for the summit is always an adrenaline packed adventure, especially when spawning right into TMW day 1 and all.  Just curious on how high up you gotta be to say "I'm going for it!" 
I just started a new Stalker run in TMW and spawned just before the log bridge on the way to Deer Clearing during the late night/early morning and debated doing just that.  As the weather was looking uncooperative, I choose to battle my way back to the Mountaineer's Hut instead.  I did finally make it up there, but not for some time after.  If I recall, there was a sleeping bag in summit cave next to the sitting corpse.  If memory serves, this bag spawns here all the time.  cant say if that's true on Interloper as I typically dont play that difficulty.

[UpUpAway95]

44 minutes ago, piddy3825 said:

Yeah, a push for the summit is always an adrenaline packed adventure, especially when spawning right into TMW day 1 and all.  Just curious on how high up you gotta be to say "I'm going for it!" 
I just started a new Stalker run in TMW and spawned just before the log bridge on the way to Deer Clearing during the late night/early morning and debated doing just that.  As the weather was looking uncooperative, I choose to battle my way back to the Mountaineer's Hut instead.  I did finally make it up there, but not for some time after.  If I recall, there was a sleeping bag in summit cave next to the sitting corpse.  If memory serves, this bag spawns here all the time.  cant say if that's true on Interloper as I typically dont play that difficulty.

From that spawn, I always head to 3-way cave anyways.  Whether I go up or down from there depends on what I find there.  If I find clothing/cloth, I know then that I can make a snow shelter to sleep for energy to get up the last rope.  The hacksaw is the gamble... no hacksaw at the plane and the run is generally over.