Camp Office is located more centrally, however there is a slight chance of encountering a wolf when entering/exiting.

Camp Office and Trapper's Homestead are popular choices in Mystery Lake.

The base you used on your first night was likely adequate for surviving one night, but some locations in the game are better than others for long-term survival. If you keep your food over zero for 72 consecutive hours, your carry weight will increase by 5 kg.įind a suitable longer-term base.

Hunger can be restored by eating foodstuffs.

Hydration can be restored by drinking various beverages.

To rest, you'll have to sleep, which will also restore lost Condition over time.

Rest will be depleted by being awake, but walking and especially sprinting depletes it faster.

Freezing will deplete 20% of your condition each hour, so staying warm is the most pressing need. To stay warm, head indoors, get out of the wind, find better clothing, or build a campfire.

Temperature will fall if your 'feels like' temperature is below 0C.

If your Condition ever reaches zero, your character will die and your saved game will be lost.

This bar will start to deplete if your character's needs meters run out. Below this is a 'Condition' bar, which represents your health. From left to right, these represent temperature, rest, drink, and food. On the bottom left corner of the screen, you will find four dials. If you have played Episode 3 of Wintermute and know the region, it should be survivable.

Pleasant Valley is very large and can be difficult to navigate, but there's lots to find in the farmhouse, the plane crash, and Thomson's crossing.

Coastal Highway has milder weather than either Mountain Town or Mystery Lake and plentiful looting opportunities, but parts of the map, especially near the Quonset Garage, tend to have a high population of dangerous animals.

Mystery Lake has a moderate number of structures and low predator density, along with lots of hunting opportunities, and is a good choice for new players.

It also doesn't have any fishing, eliminating one potential food source.

Mountain Town has plenty of buildings to loot, but more predators than some of the other regions.

For new players, it's likely best to start in one of the four regions below. When you start a new game of The Long Dark in any difficulty other than Interloper, you will be given a choice of regions you can start in, which will greatly affect the initial difficulty of the survival experience.

Map of the long dark