Any tips for longish-term survival in Stalker mode?

[Catlover]

Might not sound like a lot to the veterans of TLD, but I'm aiming to break my record of, erm, 3 days in stalker, which even I know is rubbish. I'm hoping to get to 50/100 days and I'd appreciate any advice for long term management of resources, which maps are the best, and whatnot. 

Currently using Trappers as a base and I'm on my 10th day so far, just chilling in Milton and getting supplies. It's been surprisingly easy so far, only having had one wolf maul me, though I'd appreciate advice on how to last longer.

Thank you!

[Catlover]

Also, wasn't sure if this belonged here or in the gameplay-tips area, as I saw other questions in this topic. Please let me know and I'll move it elsewhere if it is in the wrong place. 

[Lord of the Long Dark]

The question is how do you NOT survive indefinitely in stalker. 
 the trick is to get good clothing soon as possible because once you do,  Weather is not an issue anymore and that also means cabin fever is not an issue since you can easily live outside even in the open. if you get double expedition parkas you won’t even get cold during most blizzards. Food is everywhere - matches are virtually unlimited. You don’t even need to ever interact with a moose because you can get a satchel in HRV.  Wolves hit like marshmallows and almost never even tear your clothing. 
    You can go months without even ever having to hunt a single animal in fact.  Wearing animal clothes is silly in the easy levels- the regular clothes are way lighter and warmer. 
 Just get good clothes and your can cruise for food at leisure as long as you want without weather being an issue.  I would recommend heading to TWM on the very first day. Guaranteed pistol in the radio hut and rifle in the cave east of the climb to TWM but you really don’t even need weapons to get to the summit and you get more supplies and weapons than you can carry once you get there. 
  The only thing to watch for is frostbite. You only ever get frostbite in the easy levels because since you can stay indefinitely in the weather, your clothes eventually freeze up and you won’t even know it. 
 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Lord of the Long Dark

[manolitode]

Way to go! You beat your previous record and became more skillful on the way, that is all that counts  

I'm not entirely sure what advice to give you. There are no "best" maps in my opinion. Play the maps you enjoy, pick or create a base with plenty of storage, hang around wolves to really, really learn how they move and act. I would personally avoid Trapper's on my first stalker runs because of its hilly surroundings, meaning wolftraps. Mountain town wolves were the ones that used to kill me the most on stalker. 

Don't drink the water.

 

[Andy_K]

I can't remember the last time I played anything below interloper, but if you're struggling on the early parts of stalker then it's really some fundamental judgement of risk  management which you're likely getting wrong. I imagine your number 1 cause of death will be wolf maulings, so try this:

- do not leave your base unless your health is over 80% and you have a hatchet or better to fight off any wolves.

As for long term resource management... loot is plentiful on stalker, just learn where the buildings are and harvest them. Maps with more buildings will be easier to survive in. Mystery Lake is a good central one to learn first.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Andy_K

[Catlover]

@Andy_K@Lord of the Long Dark Thank you, I really appreciate your tips, they'll definitely be helpful. 

@manolitodeThank you, I'm definitely keeping my rifles close when around MT. And I'll be moving base in a couple of weeks, when I've got the hang of stalker. Thinking about PV farmhouse due to the abundance of wildlife and just because it's always been a favourite of mine for some reason

[piddy3825]

I agree with @Andy_K and his advice in that judgement is often the fatal flaw in surviving in Stalker mode.    Leaving your base with less than optimal health is indeed risky and often when coupled with multiple wolf encounters proves to be fatal.  Try traveling and exploring carrying the least amount of gear possible.  Being able to sprint and increase the distance between you and the wolves can sometimes be the difference between success and failure.
Mystery Lake is an excellent place to start a new run, especially considering the volume of resources that you can easily find in the surrounding areas. 
Best advice is to avoid carrying any meat or fish whenever possible so as to give the local wolf patrols the lowest opportunity to "smell" you which in turn improves
your survivability.   There's also the possibility of locating the randomly spawning prepper's cache which can help boost both your morale and of course your inventory.  
Stay to the high ground when possible and this also will help to minimize your exposure to predators.    The dam is an excellent place to loot and gear up initially, considering you can definitely find clothing, food, tools and possibly weapons like the revolver and rifle as well.  

[Lord of the Long Dark]

Not carrying any meat to lower your wolf detection is false. You can carry up to two steaks (of any weight) and have no scent. 
  Of course - you don’t even need meat in stalker for months, as there is so much food available as is. 

[ChaosInEquilibrium]

2 hours ago, Lord of the Long Dark said:

Not carrying any meat to lower your wolf detection is false. You can carry up to two steaks (of any weight) and have no scent. 
  Of course - you don’t even need meat in stalker for months, as there is so much food available as is. 

This isn’t true AFAIK. Carrying one steak won’t trigger the scent bar, but will still cause wolves to track you. This is how it works in interloper, at least. I suspect stalker is the same.

See here for more:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/305620/discussions/0/2666627242544778689/

[Lord of the Long Dark]

Absolutely ridiculous. You clearly never played interloper.  One steak does NOT cause even one scent bar and has no effect on tracking. 
  Ask anyone who actually plays interloper.   If you have a wolf tracking (but not spotting) you and you drop all but two steaks he returns to his usual path. 
  Either way even if you have 3 scent bars it is irrelevant as wolves are so innocuous in anything but interloper anyway. 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Lord of the Long Dark

[ChaosInEquilibrium]

2 hours ago, Lord of the Long Dark said:

Absolutely ridiculous. You clearly never played interloper.  One steak does NOT cause even one scent bar and has no effect on tracking. 
  Ask anyone who actually plays interloper.   If you have a wolf tracking (but not spotting) you and you drop all but two steaks he returns to his usual path. 
  Either way even if you have 3 scent bars it is irrelevant as wolves are so innocuous in anything but interloper anyway. 

Yes, one steak doesn’t trigger a scent bar. IIRC 3 cooked steaks trigger the first scent bar.

But did you read the thread I linked? It contradicts what you said. A single steak does affect the tracking behavior of wolves.

What I said is also not entirely accurate. Let me clarify.

The wolves tracking radius is determined from an explicit formula in the base code of Long Dark.

Tracking radius is determined by the players scent value and wind direction. If the distance between player and wolf is less than tracking radius, wolf always tracks the player.

For simplicity, assuming no wind: Tracking radius is proportional to (Player Base Scent Value + Total Item Scent Value)*(multiplicative difficulty factor)

For example, say, interloper, difficulty factor =2, stalker difficulty factor = 1, etc.

Item Scent Value is a sum of values determined by players inventory (cooked Steak=5,Rabbit Carcass=30, Animal Quarter=50,etc)

If Total Item Scent Value is more than 15, it triggers a scent bar. That’s why 2 cooked steaks don’t trigger a scent bar, but 3 cooked steaks do.

So, wolf tracking radius will increase as you carry additional steaks despite the fact that 2 steaks don’t trigger a scent bar.

This information is drawn from a Reddit thread from a few years ago. Exact numbers might not be accurate, but that’s the gist of it. Here’s the link: 

 

I’ve been playing Interloper exclusively since 2018, and this description of wolf behavior is consistent with my experience. EG, in my current run  I was cooking meat from a bear corpse on Coastal Highway in the near presence of a triad of wolves near the logging camp, and after I collect a steak, wolves begin tracking, when I drop the steak wolves stop tracking. It’s predictable behavior.

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by ChaosInEquilibrium
added Reddit link

[Pencil]

I'm pretty sure it is possible to live forever, even if you don't play your resources very wisely at the beginning. That is, if you can get metal from beachcombing, and I am pretty sure you can. If you can, then you can repeat this cycle: 

Warmth: Some interiors have temperatures above freezing, so this is not a problem. Check

Fatigue: There are beds all over the world. Bedrolls will eventually fade but are not needed. Check

Hunger: Eating rabbits (costs no resources if you eat it raw. Not the best idea thought). OR fishing. Use knife/hatchet to break ice, which can be repaired with metal and milling machine (or a box of tools, but the tools will also need repaired with more metal) which can be beachcombed. Fishing tackles do not lose condition when catching a fish. If you break tackles on a catch, you can make more endlessly. Metal + gut, which can be harvested from rabbits. You'll probably need a fire to cook the fish/rabbit, which I think is endless as long as the mag glass does not lose condition (Does it? I didn't think it did. Maybe it does if you get attacked by something, but I don't think it does naturally. If it does though, then you can't live forever.) Check if you can make a fire. 

Thirst: I don't think cans lose condition, so you can keep making water as long as you can make a fire. Sticks and wood are endless, as well as coal. As mentioned above, I don't think the mag glass loses condition, so you can keep making fires. You could actually repair pots with metal too. Check if you can make a fire. 

Those are all of your needs. So I want to know, does the magnifying glass lose condition? Do cans lose condition? Can you get metal from beachcombing? 

[Serenity]

1 hour ago, Pencil said:

Warmth: Some interiors have temperatures above freezing, so this is not a problem. Check

Beyond the very, very early game all of them really. Except the mountaineer's hut. It's only when you are almost naked that you might just be one or two degrees short. As soon as you find a few items of clothing you'll be fine.

So I want to know, does the magnifying glass lose condition? Do cans lose condition? Can you get metal from beachcombing? 

No. Only when you burn water I think.

And while you can get can metal from beach combing it really shouldn't be necessary. There is sooo much metal in the game. So many things you can saw up.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Serenity

[Sus-wolf]

On 10/6/2021 at 1:14 AM, Catlover said:

Might not sound like a lot to the veterans of TLD, but I'm aiming to break my record of, erm, 3 days in stalker, which even I know is rubbish. I'm hoping to get to 50/100 days and I'd appreciate any advice for long term management of resources, which maps are the best, and whatnot. 

Currently using Trappers as a base and I'm on my 10th day so far, just chilling in Milton and getting supplies. It's been surprisingly easy so far, only having had one wolf maul me, though I'd appreciate advice on how to last longer.

Thank you!

Theres a lot of advice that people have probably given you but here are my basic rules for all TLD survival. 
 

1: travel light (when possible).

2: always carry a gun and 1 or 2 flares

3: revolvers are great for wolves but carry a rifle in bear territory (you can kill a bear with the revolver but you need 12 bullets and luck)

4: never stay anywhere too long. You will deplete resources depending on the area. I stay 20 days at one base. I go back later on.

5: always… always… carry gauze.

6: plan for a full animal hide suit. Every time you kill something, take the hide and guts. If you have to leave your base, remember you have skins stored there and go back for it later.
 

7: always carry an emergency steroid injection. 

8: the fight isn’t over until you’re dead. Keep shooting, keep running, keep looking ahead. 
 

 

throughout different difficulty levels I have killed a bear with a revolver in minutes, I have jumped off cliffs to escape, I have fought off six timber wolves with all my bullets, and I continue on. Never give up. unless it becomes less fun, then you should turn off your device and go do something else. XD

[Lord of the Long Dark]

2 hours ago, Sus-wolf said:

Theres a lot of advice that people have probably given you but here are my basic rules for all TLD survival. 
 

1: travel light (when possible).

2: always carry a gun and 1 or 2 flares

3: revolvers are great for wolves but carry a rifle in bear territory (you can kill a bear with the revolver but you need 12 bullets and luck)

4: never stay anywhere too long. You will deplete resources depending on the area. I stay 20 days at one base. I go back later on.

5: always… always… carry gauze.

6: plan for a full animal hide suit. Every time you kill something, take the hide and guts. If you have to leave your base, remember you have skins stored there and go back for it later.
 

7: always carry an emergency steroid injection. 

8: the fight isn’t over until you’re dead. Keep shooting, keep running, keep looking ahead. 
 

 

throughout different difficulty levels I have killed a bear with a revolver in minutes, I have jumped off cliffs to escape, I have fought off six timber wolves with all my bullets, and I continue on. Never give up. unless it becomes less fun, then you should turn off your device and go do something else. XD

The only thing wrong is #6. In stalker not only is there no need for any animals clothes at all much less a full animal outfit but the man made clothes are warmer and lighter anyway. You don’t need protection in stalker- the wolves are marshmallows. It is ridiculous to use a bear coat. Use double expedition parka. In pilgrim through stalker You can get like a 50 degree warmth bonus and barely even impact your restriction meter at all if you are smart about clothing. 

[manolitode]

Yes emergency stims cannot be overrated. They save my guy MacKenzie's life at some point in every long playthrough. Always carrying a couple is a life insurance.

I have some differing opinions from the poster above, though keep in mind we may argue from different standpoints. These are my thoughts based on effectiveness and survival from a purely functional point of view: If you're playing a difficulty where you're allowed to use guns, don't worry about crafting wildlife clothing. The game will grant you very decent clothing anyway. I also wouldn't harvest everything, on stalker probably just a few guts for fishing lines every now and then when I'm far from predators and at decent health. If you're planning on using a revolver on a charging bear you may just waste your run. If you use a revolver on a bear from a spot where she can't reach you, you will be wasting time and ammunition. 

@Catlover How's your stalker endeavour coming along? :) 

[mfuegemann]

The time I find a stim, it is AC time. The stim carries me up the last two climbs to the gold mine ridge.
Once coffee is availiable, TWM calls. Remember to bring a hacksaw, relying on one at the top can be disappointing. 
With these two goals met, You are set up for a decent run.

[mfuegemann]

I would add two points to the list:

9. Always try to have 2 coal and some sticks with You to light a really warm fire
10. If the weather permits, carry a lit torch and have some spare torches ready to replace the outburning one. 

And maybe 

11. Use Your resources while You can

I have died a lot of times saving one out of a dozen flares or using the rifle instead of the flare gun for a bear hunt.

Edited October 10, 2021 by mfuegemann
typo

[MrWolf]

On 10/7/2021 at 3:14 AM, ChaosInEquilibrium said:

after I collect a steak, wolves begin tracking, when I drop the steak wolves stop tracking. It’s predictable behavior.

Absolutely.  Just yesterday in my Interloper run, I sat near the farmhouse in Mountain Town and watched a wolf near the silo, a pretty good distance away.  I had a single piece of cooked wolf meat, no other smelly things.  Obviously, that one piece of meat did not light up any of the scent bars but when I picked it up, the wolf walked toward me.  I dropped it and the wolf turned back.  Picked it up, it walked toward me.  It's not guaranteed, depending on wind and other factors, but it's certainly possible.  I think the scent radius is larger for bears (no data for that, just my impression).  I've also had times where I've had one or two pieces of cooked meat and been fairly close to a wolf that didn't detect me.  Better safe than sorry, unless you're hunting the wolves or prepared for them.

That's the point for @Catlover: If you're carrying uncured guts, meat, rabbit carcasses, anything with a smell (even if no scent bars are lit up), be aware that a wolf or bear might be heading toward you.  Especially in terrain where you can't see far ahead, be careful in those cases.  If the weather cooperates, carry a lit torch.  That will give you time to react if you come face to face with a wolf, but not with a bear unfortunately.  If you're going uphill while carrying smelly things, stop before reaching the top and listen.  I've had runs end by forgetting I was carrying something smelly and meeting a wolf at the crest of a hill.  You'll hear footsteps if a wolf is nearby and you can hear sounds from the bear before it's close enough to detect you.

[Catlover]

Thank you so much everyone for your help, I really appreciate it @MrWolf @mfuegemann @Sus-wolf  @Serenity @Pencil @ChaosInEquilibrium @piddy3825 @and@manolitode @Lord of the Long Dark again! Although, please try not to argue.

For your question, @manolitode, it's going really well! Nearly ready to head to PV since I've looted most places in Milton and got plenty of rifle practise on those wolfies. I don't want to jinx it, but I think I'll be able to reach my goal, especially with everyone's helpful advice. Thanks for asking

Edited October 10, 2021 by Catlover
Forgot to @ a few people

[Sus-wolf]

15 hours ago, Lord of the Long Dark said:

The only thing wrong is #6. In stalker not only is there no need for any animals clothes at all much less a full animal outfit but the man made clothes are warmer and lighter anyway. You don’t need protection in stalker- the wolves are marshmallows. It is ridiculous to use a bear coat. Use double expedition parka. In pilgrim through stalker You can get like a 50 degree warmth bonus and barely even impact your restriction meter at all if you are smart about clothing. 

You are right about that. I spend extended stays in TWM and ash canyon, so thats where I was taking that from.
I think pretty much everywhere else you can find fabric to repair clothing.

it can still be fun to explore the full survival experience.

[Sus-wolf]

13 hours ago, mfuegemann said:

I would add two points to the list:

9. Always try to have 2 coal and some sticks with You to light a really warm fire
10. If the weather permits, carry a lit torch and have some spare torches ready to replace the outburning one. 

And maybe 

11. Use Your resources while You can

I have died a lot of times saving one out of a dozen flares or using the rifle instead of the flare gun for a bear hunt.

I normally avoid carrying coal due to the weight but thats really interesting since I have frozen to death a lot. But I always carry at least one item to burn. 

[mfuegemann]

49 minutes ago, Sus-wolf said:

I normally avoid carrying coal due to the weight but thats really interesting since I have frozen to death a lot. But I always carry at least one item to burn. 

Try it. Coal gives a vast 20 degree temp bonus that can even be added (see forging) and burns 1 hour. You need a stick to light a fire and then add the coal.

[Lord of the Long Dark]

1 hour ago, Sus-wolf said:

I normally avoid carrying coal due to the weight but thats really interesting since I have frozen to death a lot. But I always carry at least one item to burn. 

In levels where you don’t have the “1 single stick raises temperature above freezing” you MUST use coal as a skilled player. 
  In interloper, there is no if ands or buts about it- you need coal to survive. 
 I also take fir over cedar for same reason. More heat output. 

Edited October 10, 2021 by Lord of the Long Dark

[ChaosInEquilibrium]

5 hours ago, Sus-wolf said:

I normally avoid carrying coal due to the weight but thats really interesting since I have frozen to death a lot. But I always carry at least one item to burn. 

On interloper I emphasize keeping my weight low. Coal has the highest burn time per weight ratio. It’s the best bang for the buck! When I leave the house for a hunting or looting expedition I’ll often take 1 stick and 5 pieces of coal. The stick is used to light the fire and the coal to fuel it.