Glflegolas

I seriously have got to try this for my next YouTube series -- after I do Escape the Darkwalker. It sounds really fun and I'm up for a good challenge.

Have you been to Bitter Marsh?

There's only one major region that doesn't have a workbench, and that's Hushed River Valley. You likely won't need a workbench in the early game though (if you're not playing Interloper), it's mostly used to craft clothing from cured hides and guts, along with snares. If you need snares early on, you can find them in a few regions, namely Hushed River Valley and Ash Canyon.

If you want an easy target to hit with a bow, shoot at bears. They're so big that they're very hard to miss. Just make sure you have a vehicle/structure to hide in so you don't get mauled! Deer can be tricky to hit, for if you aim a fraction too low, you'll shoot between their legs. Wolves are slightly easier in that regard, they're not so tall.

That's because you have filtered the recipes to show only those you can craft on an ammo workbench. Let me annotate your image and show you what I mean.

The fact that you can't jump can be frustrating sometimes, I get it. But it's realistic. When I'm carrying a full backpack in real life, the highest things that I can step over (which, I do confess, would be convenient sometimes) are about 30-35 cm high (and I'm around 185 cm tall). When it comes to actually jumping straight up, getting up onto something that is taller than around 50-60 cm is extremely difficult. If I'd have to get up onto something taller than 50-60 cm while wearing a full backpack, I'd have to run full speed towards the thing I'm trying to get up.... at this point, it becomes more like running up onto something. My capabilities max out at around 1-1.5 meters, depending on how slippery the thing is I want to get up onto. I for one am glad that Hinterland didn't add the ability to jump with a full backpack. It's annoying to see many survival games where the player, fully loaded, can jump right over guardrails and fences up to 1m tall as if they don't exist. Most people can't jump that high easily.

@R0ughHab1tz You can have several (up to 25) playthoughs active at once, if you'd like, and you can start afresh in each region (there are 11 in total). If you need to save, it's very easy to do if you're in any region that has lots of buildings. If not, the simplest is to sleep/pass time for an hour. Remember that The Long Dark is a game that's all about planning and decision-making, and that includes finding safe places to save the game.

Yeah, Bleak Inlet is definitely its own region. The weather's much colder than Coastal Highway, and their main industry was canning sardines, not catching them. Not to mention that it's the only region with timberwolves.

Hello folks, In my "Coastal Highway Stalker Survival" YouTube series, I considered Desolation Point to be a sub-region of Desolation Point, and didn't bother to make a separate season of Stalker Survival for Desolation Point, which was a region I'd never explored on camera before. Now, you may ask, what is my rationale for considering Desolation Point (along with Crumbling Highway) a sub-region of Coastal Highway? First-off, the most obvious; both of them are located along the Coastal Highway and are on the coast, side-by-side. Both of them show a similar history of mining and fishing, and both have plentiful shelter. There's a whole bunch of stalled cars along the road in both regions, and the weather isn't that different between both the regions; both have fairly mild weather. The wolf density is high in both regions, and there's good rabbit trapping opportunities on the offshore islands. One of the few differences geographically between the regions is that the mountains rise a little more steeply from the sea in Desolation Point than they do on Coastal highway, but... other than that, the general appearance of both regions is fairly similar. Thoughts?

Possibly the funnest way to play Survival Mode is to publicly announce some objective, then stream your gameplay on Twitch or record YouTube videos -- this is an extremely fun game to watch people play, too. In general (there are exceptions), my goal in Survival Mode is to explore a region as thoroughly as possible within about 14 in-game days, though occasionally, I do combine multiple regions; an example of that was where I also played in Desolation Point during my Coastal Highway survival experience.

Or, they may have hopped into Escape the Darkwalker -- I'm pretty sure the entire map is revealed in that game mode.

Hmmm. I haven't fought timberwolves since the update, but I do find it odd that they're exclusive to Bleak Inlet, along with Pleasant Valley in Story Mode. Maybe a wolf spawn node should have a rare chance (1 in 20 or so) to spawn a timberwolf pack instead of a normal wolf in all regions of Great Bear? This could be a Stalker-exclusive feature if it's something that's likely to become annoying.

Or, another explanation: the survivor has burned so much coal by 300 days that he increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere sufficiently to bring about a greenhouse effect that ends the long winter.

Came across this dude in a cave near Upper Falls in Pleasant Valley. (The fire was re-lit by me, as I was rather chilly) In the back of the cave, there was a bottle of water, and a broken arrow. The fellow had shoes on him. There was nothing in the plastic container. To me it looks like this fellow was living in this ave for a while, likely stunning rabbits with stones, and maybe trying to shoot the bear nearby with an arrow. It appears his luck ran out when he lost his bow making his arrow useless, and was forced to rely on the few supplies he stockpiled in the plastic container. Soon thereafter, caught outside in the freezing cold, and returned inside, trying to re-start his campfire. Unfortunately for him, he failed to start his fire using his last match, and subsequently froze to death.

As someone who travels around a lot, I have a lot of favourites when it comes to where to live, so I'd have a hard time choosing. Here are my top five picks, though, in no particular order, and a couple of honourable mentions. There's Jackrabbit Island in Coastal Highway, of course, which I've found is great in Interloper and Voyageur due to its relatively safe location and plentiful rabbits, along with a great view looking over the open ocean. The workbench in Fishing Camp isn't too far away either, and Coastal Highway in general is a rather warm region. The only thing I miss here is an indoor stove, and that wolves do tend to come up on the island fairly often in Stalker. Camp Office in Mystery Lake is also great. Two stoves, a workbench, and a very central location, both in terms of the region and in terms of its relative position on Great Bear. There's fishing, rabbit snaring, and deer hunting not far from your doorstep too. The only disadvantage of being here is that I'm generally not a big fan of living in Mystery Lake. It's hard to avoid mentioning Grey Mother's house in Milton, too, especially early on in the game. It's very central and makes searching the entire town of Milton for essential supplies very easy. Not to mention it has a fireplace and cooking stove, along with more storage than you'll likely need. While there's no workbench on site, there's one not far at Paradise Meadows Farm. Wolves are more frequent than you might think, though, so plan accordingly. Angler's Den in Ash Canyon is also pretty good. You have a workbench and stove inside, and there's decent hunting around. Fishing is also not impossible, though it's a little trot over to Bitter Marsh. The location is also very central, so it is possible to go almost anywhere in Ash Canyon from here in an overnight trip. There are also not too many wolves too close by, so it's fairly safe. My final choice is the Ice Cave network of Hushed River Valley. You have rooms there that are always lit, regardless of the time of day or night, it's fairly toasty inside, and there's generally valuable loot to be found, along with hunting just outside. One of the caves does have a wolf inside, but the presence of lit rooms makes this wolf considerably easier to shoot than Scruffy in Desolation Point. You will need a bedroll, as there are no beds in Hushed River Valley. Honourable Mention: Northeastern Caves (Peak Cave, Pensive Vista, Lake Cave) in Hushed River Valley. All of these caves provide a decent warmth bonus, are very safe from hostile wildlife, and, if the moose spawns on Monolith Lake, there is enough food to survive for days and days. If not, there are deer to hunt not far west of Monolith Lake, and a few rabbits east of Monolith Lake. Peak Cave is located at the top of a steep hill (watch for sprains) but a great view of Monolith Lake, while Lake Cave can be noisy due to the nearby waterfall. Pensive Vista has a great view and good access to the lower valley. Honourable Mention: Pleasant Valley Farmstead. Indoor workbench, six burner stove, plenty of place to put stuff, hunting nearby, two toilets, and a fireplace... what more could one want? The only reason this didn't make the top five list is because of the weather in Pleasant Valley. It's extremely variable, and when the fog moves in, it's easy to get lost.

I like a few wolves to add some tension and suspense to the game, but I don't necessarily want wolves everywhere I look.

Yeah, I'm with @Gun Tech. on this one. I usually stay in one region for 1-3 weeks or so, then I leave for another one. Staying in one region for longer than that gets boring IMO. The only region that I won't stay in is Forlorn Muskeg. Of the times that I have lost survivors in difficulties other than Interloper, 4 out of 5 times it was in Forlorn Muskeg when it got dark.

Copied from the wiki: So, yes... keeping wolf carcasses around with 0.1 kg of meat should reduce wolf populations in an area for longer. When I killed and harvested the two wolves in Desolation Point near the lighthouse in Stalker difficulty, they took about 3-4 days to respawn.

I wrote a small essay on this on my userpage on the Long Dark wiki. You can check it out here. One thing that I would seriously consider doing; if you haven't already, learn the layout of the Hushed River Valley. While it isn't the easiest region to survive in, you will find the Moose hide satchel very handy. You should also be able to find a rifle and revolver there if you haven't found one yet. Check next to frozen corpses. If you're trying to figure out which region to live in, I wrote a small guide here. This applies mainly to Voyageur and somewhat to Stalker. Interloper is it's own beast in many ways.

There was one rabbit I caught in a snare that I could literally not pick up at all. I also had this problem when quartering a moose; one of the quarters ended up in a tree and couldn't be picked up.

Alas, there are no wolves where I live in Nova Scotia. They were extirpated a couple hundred years ago. The closest place where I might find them is north of the St. Lawrence in Quebec.

Keep in mind: these difficulty ratings are based on Voyageur and Stalker difficulties mostly, as these are the gamemodes that I play on mostly. In general, playing The Long Dark on Interloper is almost like playing a whole different game. On the subject of wolves and bears: until you get to level 5 cooking (or if you're in Voyageur), wolves and bears are very annoying because once you have a wolfskin/bearskin coat, you don't really have much use for their carcasses... unless you want to cook the meat to level yourself up. Levelling up your cooking, though, is fairly easy to do making tea and coffee, along with heating up every tin you come across. (I know there's the trick of harvesting ravaged deer carcasses, 0.1 kg at a time, but that's got the drawback of making your character really smelly!) If you're playing in Voyageur or have level 5 cooking, I've heard that the Foreman's Retreat makes a pretty good base. If you kill the bear who wanders nearby, there's no predators to worry about in that whole area, you've meat for days, and, if you get bored of bear meat, there's always deer you can hunt.

I've been playing this game for a while now (just over a year and a half), and I think I know a thing or two about the various regions in the game. I'll assign each region a difficulty from 1 to 10, where 1 is very easy, 5 is medium, and 10 is hard. Ash Canyon [6] -- I haven't spent enough time here to be sure of the accuracy of this rating, but, I think survival here is slightly easier than in Timberwolf Mountain or Hushed River Valley. This is largely because this region has lots of natural resources and high-tier loot, similar to the former, but it also has several shelters scattered throughout. The main challenge of living here is to not get lost, as there are many canyons and plateaus of differing elevations, all connected via climbing ropes. Oh, and try not to fall off the rope bridges when you're crossing them... it's a long way down. Bleak Inlet [9] -- I'd consider this region to be one of the most challenging to survive in for any significant amount of time. While there is fishing available as a food source and the ammunition crating workbench is close by, along with a nearby forge in Forlorn Muskeg, the region is full of timberwolves. Regardless of how careful you are, you're going to get into a fight with them sooner or later. The region's also very windy and chilly, lacking good shelters aside from a cabin in the northeast, the Cannery Worker Residences, and Pensive Vista. I don't really recommend living here for an extended period of time. Broken Railroad [7] -- Surviving here for any length of time is surprisingly difficult. Although you do have a forge nearby and a giant lodge, one of the biggest issues you'll face is wolves... all the time. Especially on higher difficulty levels, you'll be spending a lot of your day trying to get out of the way of wolves, and finding enough ammunition for your firearms will become a problem until you've made a bow. The region is also quite small, limiting the amount of stuff you'll find if you start out here, and there really aren't that many deer around to hunt for food. Coastal Highway [2] -- surviving in Coastal Highway is generally pretty easy. The weather is quite mild and there's lots to be found in the various houses scattered throughout the region. Forging is easy, as a trip to the Riken is only a day's walk away, and there's plenty of buildings that are perfectly suited to calling your home, though Jackrabbit Island and the Quonset Garage are two of the most popular. If you need lamp oil, there's lots of fishing huts all over the ice. The only danger here is the somewhat high density of predators. On the ice, they're rather easy to avoid, but they can sneak up on you unexpectedly in the forest. Desolation Point [5] -- Finding shelter here isn't a big issue, and the weather here isn't generally too bad. You have a forge close by in the Riken, and deer to hunt on Little Island. Inside Hibernia, you've got almost limitless storage space and a workbench. If you stay on the ice, you should be able to avoid most of the wolves in the area. Be careful if you want to explore the big cave in Desolation Point, for Scruffy the wolf lives there and can be quite difficult to shoot in the dark. If you do manage to kill Scruffy, though, you'll have two deer carcasses to harvest in safety. Forlorn Muskeg [10] -- I'll tell it to you straight up. Trying to live in this region for an extended period of time sucks. As if weak ice and roaming predators weren't troublesome enough, this region is very chilly and windy, with frequent fog and no interior locations (aside from a cave in the north of the region). It is extremely easy to get lost, and the region doesn't really offer anything that other regions don't have to warrant living here. Unless you want the ultimate survival challenge, just come here for the forge, do your forging, and go back to another region that's easier to live in. Mountain Town [4] -- Although this region is supposedly "easy", it can be harder to survive here than you think, especially for somebody new to the game. Sure, there's tons of shelter in town and lots of buildings to search through, along with a fair amount of hunting and foraging outside of town... but Mountain Town is known for having a lot of wolves, even on lower difficulties, and has a couple tricks up its sleeve, like the Paradise Meadows Farmstead needing a key and the Orca Gas Station needing a prybar to open. If you're a new player being chased by wolves, you could be in for a rude surprise. Mystery Lake [1] -- A classic region and with good reason. As far as ease of survival goes, Mystery Lake is pretty well up there. It has relatively few predatory animals compared to most other regions, ice fishing opportunities on its namesake lake, temperatures are fairly mild, and the layout of the map is not especially complicated, so getting lost is less likely than on many other maps. Even forging and ammunition crafting aren't a problem, for it's not too far to Bleak Inlet or Forlorn Muskeg to do said activities. There's lots to hunt all over the map, along with an entire dam to loot for essential supplies. For new players, I'd recommend Mystery Lake anytime. Hushed River Valley [7] -- I don't know why this region gets such a difficult reputation. It is absolutely brimming with natural resources and hunting opportunities, and the ice caves offer great shelter no matter what the weather (do be careful -- one contains a wolf). If you're caught away from an ice cave, you can always use one of the other caves, which do provide a warmth bonus. Predator density is moderate, and who's going to say no to the ability to carry an extra 5kg using the Moosehide Satchel? How about having up to four wolf carcasses ready to harvest? There's a wolfskin coat right there. There are no beds in this region: you must bring a bedroll. The nearest workbench is in Mountain Town, and the nearest forge in Forlorn Muskeg, so keep that in mind. Pleasant Valley [5] -- This region might be "advanced" according to its official description, but, especially since the Crossroads Elegy update, it's really of more of a moderate difficulty region. While it is a large region with changeable weather, there are quite a few bears and wolves, and it's easy to get disoriented in the featureless fields, you should be fine as long as you don't wander off the roads and you pay attention. There's plenty of food and clothing to start you off in Thomson's Crossing, and the Crash Site is loaded full of food and clothing too. Hunting opportunities are plentiful, and you're highly likely to find some excellent loot in Misty Falls Cave. Don't forget Signal Hill either, which often has an Expedition Parka! The Ravine [2] -- Although marketed as a transition zone, long-term survival here is certainly not impossible, if you do it right. The best strategy is to combine this region with the eastern part of Mystery Lake and use the trailers next to Carter Hydro Dam for sleeping in, while, in the daytime, you hunt deer and rabbits and cure their hides in the caves located in The Ravine. Once cured, you can craft items in the workbenches located in the dam. The area is loaded with birchbark, and there's no predators to think about as you carry your smelly hides around. If you need to craft ammunition, Bleak Inlet is only a short trip away. Timberwolf Mountain [7 (9 in Interloper)] -- This region is notorious for its frequent blizzards, lack of shelter, and high predator density. However, if you know where to go, there are large areas of the map that don't have many predators, and don't forget the cargo containers! If you have a hacksaw (and you're not playing interloper), you'll find all the supplies you'll need to start off within the first few days. With good clothing, you can use the caves with interiors as long-term bases, as they're warm no matter the weather. Just remember: bring a bedroll. The importance of this here can't be overstated, as once you leave the Mountaineer's Hut, that's it for beds.

Minor spoiler: there are arrowheads in the drawer of the workbench at the Angler's Den. That might not be the case in Interloper though.

I've made it to Angler's Hut and spent a night there. It's not a bad place to use as a safe house, IMO. You've got all the basic necessities there; a stove, bed, and workbench, and there doesn't seem to be too many wolves around it. The only thing that I am finding a bit annoying about this region is: the weather. With a 70-something day old Stalker, I'm literally getting a blizzard every 6-8 hours!