I'm on day 50 doesn't seem like alot BUT I've done nothing but travel and sleep in snow shelters so I'm already decent at the game not just living in a house video is still very useful
I have over 2k hours on Voyager alone and I thoroughly enjoyed this video. The only thing you got wrong is the soda. Soda never causes food poisoning. Everything else was spot on. That's actually really rare for people who typically play on more difficult levels. I find that most hardcore players don't remember what it was like to start off or play on easier modes or they are so used to the tough mechanics that they give advice that doesn't really apply on the lower levels. Excellent Job!
Thank you for your kind comments! Yes, I am aware that soda doesn't cause food poisoning, but ignored that for demonstration purposes. I added a disclaimer in the description, but have pinned a comment for easier clarification :) Thank you again!
Minor clarification: Soda cans will never cause food poisoning, but I ignore this in the video for tutorial purposes :) Most drinks will not cause food poisoning, even at low condition. There are also many more tips I did not include, in order to make the video as easy as possible. Sometimes I gloss over things in order to keep it simple for new players. Hope this is okay.
To add to the chorus -- Even after 400+ hours of TLD, I'll still watch a "beginner" vid from you, Zak ... your voice and style and humor are top-notch and add a ton to the community. Thank you for your magic and please keep on. Jubel! ☻
Every way I’ve died in tld for educational purposes - wolf attack - sleeping in cold areas - hypothermia - bear attack - hypothermia again Make ABSOLUTELY you are in a warm enough place before sleeping
My first attempt at TLD was a voyageur run. I got through about 2 months and still hadn’t died, but wanted to explore more than I was able to with the wolves always attacking me. So, I abandoned that save and have been doing a pilgrim playthrough just to build map knowledge before I try another serious run. Pilgrim definitely is a lot more relaxing.
I played TLD about a year and a half ago but somehow stopped along the way. I just started playing again just a few days ago after seeing your "10 tips you didn't know" video and now I've watched this. You're seriously so helpful! I really appreciate when an experienced player covers ALL the bases for new players. I didn't even know coal could be used to map out an area. I plan to finish the current episodes as I had stopped at the start of episode 3 and then try my hand at survival. Seriously, thanks for all the tips and help. So glad to see TLD community still active and as welcoming as I first started playing.
I’ve had this game for years and I almost exclusively play on Pilgrim because I’m the most jumpy person and if I were to be attacked by anything I’d probably have a heart attack. I’ve recently been playing some Voyager because I want to get over my jumpiness so this video is really helpful in some ways.
Look at playing on the custom mode, where you can try the harder levels but keep the wildlife friendly! I play on Stalker but turn off the Timberwolves, because I don't enjoy them :)
I'm so happy for you Hinterland made a recommendation on FB for your video .. you really earned this .. The difference to other content creators is not just showing what's your way to play the game and let people watch... You're a real Tourguide and share in a very effective way your knowledge. I never hat started a interloper run without your "how to..." videos. And every time I died again and be to furious to try again I watch over of your walkthroughs and the fever for a next try rise again ... I'm grateful for your work and hope you enjoy making videos an much as we love to watch them! Thanks...
I started playing this game a good while ago and boy was I scared 🤣. I was looking over my shoulder over and over again, afraid of wolves, even if I was on Pilgrim! I haven't touched the game since my first playthrough because I've been so scared of messing up and dying within 2 seconds, but this was beyond a lifesaver! My friend, I haven't seem your channel up until now, but I do believe you've earned a new subscriber! Well done, sir!!!!
I just purchased this game last night & the Tales DLC. I haven’t started yet because I wanted to watch a few beginners videos first. I’m excited that I came across yours!!!
It would be great if you could do a quick video about the clothing layering system, and damage priorities during animal attacks for the newer players. It's one of those fairly important mechanics that is never explained in game.
I stopped playing the long dark cause I kept dying to animals and weather but this makes the game more interesting and makes me want to get back into it
40:59 - Crows flying straight can often signal changing weather either in progress or coming soon. I often see crows flying overhead either as a change in weather is occurring or a few minutes before a change starts to happen. The circling crows, will be absent if it's snowing or too windy, unless the snow/wind is breaking up and calm weather is incoming, like is starting to happen here.
You are right about the circling crows, but the straight crows do not signal changing weather I'm afraid. They are pure ambience. This is easy to test - just see how often weather changes with and without crows and you will see that crows bear no impact. It is a myth going around but no data supports it :) Might make a video about that one day.
I have a nearly 700 day custom (interloper/stalker hybrid with health recovery set to slower even then interloper) run where I'm going for Faithful Cartographer and over 1800 hours on this game and I never knew you could click on any of the items in the journal for things like surveyed locations to find out exactly which named locations I still need to survey. I've got about 29 of them but until now as left guessing which I'd surveyed already and which I'd missed. That alone will save a ton of pointless wandering around surveying stuff I'd already surveyed. I'd put this video right up there with Lonelywolf's how to survive in the long dark series as must watches for new TLD pleyers. Also want to point out, another match saving trick not mentioned during the fires and torches segment is if you have a lit fire, lit torch or lit flare on the ground, you can use that to light a torch in your hand, saving the match you'd otherwise need to use to light the torch. In this way, you can actually chain light several torches and/or fires all on a single match (or none if you were able to get a mag lens fire going at the start). The only things that can break such a chain are letting it burn out, running out of fuel/torches for your next lighting, or having the wind blow your fire out. EDIT: You actually see this fire chaining technique in his video at about 37:00 to about 37:30 - but no commentary mentioned it or the match saving it allows.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, the trick you are referring to is correct but I didnt want this video to be exhaustive - it would become too much information for a new player to remember, so I gloss over several things. The trick you are referring is explained in Tip #1 in my 10 Tips video, though :)
I started playing on pilgrim, just to learn the game. Its really fun. Its a nice way to unlock feats. Pilgrim gave me the skills to move up to voyager.
If you haven't, I'd love an intermediate and expert tutorial in this same style. The long format, information-dense style of video was perfect for this kind of thing.
As a player of another Canadian Wilderness Survival game called Subsistence, I missed this game for some reason and this video was incredibly useful in helping me undertand the game. I'm just blown away by the gameplay mechanics here! - POI and Looting - Crafting - Repair & Inventory management - Harvesting - Hunting - Skills that get better as you use them (which is not common for a survival game) - Skill books! Like Fallout! - Surveying - adds an interesting dimension to exploration! You can check off locations as you explore the world. Do we have plant beds to crop veggies or berries from seeds in this game? I also like that the character has some voice lines. This adds personality to the character and adds to the immersion! Thank you for making this guide for noobs like me!
I have about 500 hours in-game and thoroughly enjoyed this video. I didn't learn anything new, but, it took me back to my first time playing the game knowing NONE of this and I think that's when the game is the most fun, when everything is a discovery made through constant trial and error :)
Really nice video. I've put 262 hours into TLD, mainly sandbox mode. I still enjoy watching tutorials though, just in case there's any little things I may find useful. Personally I think that Voyageur is the best difficulty to start on, even for beginners. Having an infinite supply of resources and a lack of danger on Pilgrim completely removes the enjoyment the game has to offer. When I first played it (in sandbox mode, Voyageur setting), I found that after dying in the first couple of minutes of hypothermia the first few games, there was such a sense of achievement in simply getting to a shelter and surviving those first few days. It was never that frustrating, just a perfectly balanced learning mode for newbies where you feel a greater sense of reward and understanding of how the survival mechanics work.
Amazing video! I'm so glad I found this game, I'm absolutely in love with the setting and atmosphere, and it's just pure survival. I got it after playing some STALKER SoC and really enjoying the aspect of surviving in a harsh world and having to gather materials and stuff, and this game is easily the best survival game I've ever heard of. Sometimes I genuinely feel cold playing it because the sound design just makes it so immersive, the crunching of snow, the harsh cold wind blowing small crystals of snow and ice everywhere. It's fantastic. I also really appreciate your tutorial style, very easy to follow and incredibly helpful.
Started learning the game on Interloper and it was the most fun I've ever had in a survival game and what got me utterly hooked on The Long Dark. Awesome twitch community too.
From a new player (litterally 2 days of playing the game) this is extremely helpful. I've played a ton of survival games so i'm very aware that knowledge is power, and you provide a ton of it. Thank you !
I started played the long dark maybe a year and a half ago and I couldn’t survive worth anything lol this guide was honestly very helpful and helped me gain a lot more survivability. I know my my meager 19 hours isn’t much compared the other people here with several hundred but the hours i got in were much more enjoyable because of you
I've been playing TLD for a long time now, since it was in it's first versions. I always thought i was an advanced player but just by watching this video i learnt a lot of things, not mechanical things, but just the right playstyle... Thank you! This video helped me a lot!
thank you, for the first time in a survival game i was a bit lost and this guide helped understanding more of the game, tried to hoard loot since is not a survival where you can simply build a base and store your loot anywhere you like, we kinda need to be on the move in here, once again thanks
Great detailed video. I tried this game a few times and always gave up in less than an hour. This has been a HUGE help. I'll give it another go now. TYVM!
Thank you for making this tutorial. I wanted to play this game for years and just got it on sale but was completely lost. This video has helped me so much!
I will start playing this game tonight for the first time, and after watching some tutorials I run up into yours and I’m so glad. You did an outstanding job. You got a new sub 😊
For newer players looking to try stalker for the first time, consider doing custom stalker with wolves turned down from "very high" to "high". You still get all the stalker difficulty buffs like lower resources and harsher weather but without the unnecessarily high amount of wolf spam. Even interloper only has "high" wolf spawns.
I just clocked over 1000 hours on the long dark. And I have enjoyed your many videos Zak. I still enjoy watching beginner videos because I always seem to pick up something new. Like moving backwards with the Rifle while a wolf charges. Seems so intuitive, yet I never thought about it...too much time with the pistol I guess... One tip that I would like to add, which I have not seen, is when you take down your animal, is to immediately harvest as much of the meat as your are comfortable doing so given the weather. In my experience the meat degrades after each attempt (the meat also degrades faster unharvested) and since the animal has not yet frozen you can harvest more meat faster (at least until level 5). Then you just drop the meat by the corpse and pick it up later at your convenience. The carcass may disappear but your harvested Meat will remain. And it lasts longer in the snow. Anyway, thanks again! you have made a subscriber of me.
Thank you for your kind words and insightful tip. This is a detail I had no included, but I actually did test this one and I think I have the footage somewhere. Basically I spent 50 days in Milton Basin and meticulously logged respawn time and carcass changes. It turned out that if you 100% harvest a carcass, it despawns the next day. If you leave something or don't touch it, it stays for 3-4 days then despawns. Strangely, though, I did not see any changes in meat quantity - it always stayed the same until it despawned. This doesn't make sense, because it should degreade, and I have been in situations where there might be 0.3 kg left to harvest and then suddenly it says "nothing to harvest", so there must be some sort of algorithmic timer involved. Even if my testing shows this, I think a generally good tip is to do what you said. You will see me do this on interloper, if its not too cold: I just harvest some meat right away and cook it later. Nice tip, so thank you
I just want to put it out there I enjoyed this video so far. But also thanks for highlighting your video with time stamps for each tips and tricks. Very informative and nicely done.
I have nearly 100h into this game with a looong hiatus before coming back to it a few weeks ago. So I still kinda feel like a beginner while also playing mostly for relaxation and "fun", not the thrill or anything. That's why I play on Voyager too haha. I'm not even through the whole video yet but your way of explaining and talking is really nice to listen to and what you say is really helpful. Thanks !!
Thanks for the starting location tips. I clicked "random" and ended up in the Hushed River Valley, only managed about 1 very painful day & night. Switched to Mystery Lake and found a nice shack, now at day 3 or 4 with renewable food/water and plenty of reserves (just need more firewood).
Woo! You're so helpful with your videos, I've been playing for a couple years (not a LOT, lol, so my hours are still pretty low) but there's a lot of stuff that I never knew you could do! I'm more for the Wintermute storyline - I find sandboxes with no end goal to be hard to keep up with because I get bored, so I prefer survival games a la Subnautica where you're surviving, but you have an end goal. But sometimes I like to play the survival sandbox - and it has more places to go to, haha - and these kinds of videos are so helpful! :) Plus, you have such a soothing and calm voice, it's very pleasant :D
Im definitely using this video to start my replaying of The Long Dark. Ive played it on almost everything but I've never really delved deep into it, but im definitely planning to change that! Thanks for the videos dood :)
If your an old mass effect trilogy fan like me you will like the voices for both the male and female survivor, they are voiced by the same people who did the male and female commander Shepard.
I didn't know anything about this game (and discovered it by accident) because survival games don't attract me, but I gave this game a chance because of Commander Shepard's voices. I was like this must be good game, right? And it really is, and what more in the fourth episode we get Adam Jensen's voice(from Deus Ex). Now I'm on stalker with 150 days..... and I think I don't really need to watch this but still watching because maybe there is still something I don't know:) or maybe the aurora effect.
I mean, low condition sodas don't give food poisoning even if you try I think. Correct me if I'm wrong I'm amazed by your patience to explain everything very clearly to all the new players out there. Really appreciate the content and your voice. Don't get me started on that.
I played probably around 100 hours or so when TLD was in early access in like 2015 or sometime around there, havent played since, crazy how much has changed since then, Ive just downloaded TLD again and im excited to get back into it, appreciate the help!
Befor i watch the Video.. I started this game again about 1 week ago. since then i found your channel and watched a few older videos. Great work and really good explaning about some tips and tricks. really enjoying your videos so now its time for an abo. Nice work and please keep it up. Sry if my english is not the best ^^ iam from germany. so greetings from here. =) Now i have to watch before i want to play so hard by myself that i pause the video in the middle. :D
Hi Zak, I’m curious if you could do a zone tutorial series? Like explaining the different tips and tricks with the different zones. Example:”you can get to X by taking this route, this is a safer place to hunt, avoid this area in general, be wary of wolves in this area, etc. Thanks so much for your videos.
Thank you for your kind words. And yes - this is in the works. The plan is to make a walkthrough for each zone, explaining all there is to do/find there and so on. I plan to go to each zone on a new interloper run, but can do a different difficulty if people prefer. This will be done next year.
Helpful video. I never knew what the crampons do. I went down to Milton Basin after having forgotten to pickup my bedroll and almost died from hypothermia whilst low on energy and struggling to clamber up the rope back to the farm. All of that (including spending an entire Saturday ferrying a shitload of stuff through the caves between MT and ML) was fruitless as I got jumped by a wolf and died 55 days in. Think I'll play on Pilgrim from now on....
I have enjoyed your videos, Anyone new or veteran can always learn something new or oh, I did not know that from your videos. Keep positive and strong.
I personally think that Mountain town is the easiest region to spawn in, if you're on pilgrim or voyager I'm pretty sure there's a guaranteed rifle spawn in the house on the hill, and usually some other really choice loot
Yeah mountain town is a really nice starting point for a lot of new people! However i think that some people avoid it in the beginning because of the many wolves. But with the grace period this is such a nice region. Thanks for the tips!
I spawned there on my very first time recently. Thought process was: Town=shelter and supplies. And yes, i found a crapton of food and drinks. Even a revolver just outside of town. Backtracking back to the town, i followed a road and found a Farmhouse with a frozen corpse outside. Thats where i am now, cooking and crafting to prepare for my next excursion.
Save tip if you have invested dozens of hours and want to keep backup just in case(without coping save files) - use Steam cloud saves: - install TLD on two PCs - play on first - when you want to backup - start and sync from second - if(when) you die on first, start in second OFFLINE, sleep/enter to get new time stamp save; then quit steam , and start again online , it will ask to sync -> select upload to Cloud, then quit - then start on your main pc, and select download saves from Cloud ;) - then you should have updated save file from backup PC on your main pc
One more thing to remember if you do hit an animal with a bow or rifle shot and it runs off, it will leave a blood trail that you can follow to where it finally dies of blood loss. Also you'll be able to see animal tracks in the snow of any animals that have recently passed by that area.
I juat start playing LD on story mode, wintermute, now im juat 60 days on stalker. It took me a week of preparation to go and make arrow head in FM region. Now, with bow and arrows im gona try craft some good clothing. This game is so addictive.
On PC I have got a total of: 272.7 hrs and on my switch I have probably 12 hrs right now and I always keep a Pilgrim sandbox save on both because sometimes after a long day it's nice to have a relaxing winter wilderness simulator.
This is awesome. I have never played the long dark but it looks really fun. The people I tend to watch play interloper do I was never sure how to just start playing.
I have over 200 hours on voyager. I'm trying surviving Stalker difficutly in the last few days. First four games I died to wolves and today I died to blizzard in Pleasant valley in the fifth. I was exploring uncharted (for me) territory and drawing map. Suddenly blizzard came when day is near end. There were cars nearby which were not warm enough. I had fully loaded storm lantern and not-bad clothing, water, food, fire materials and also stim. After I realize I can't stay in car I began running back to town but visibility was very bad even with storm lantern so I lost. I found destroyed house and light fire. I added almost all of my wood to increase heat above 0 but wind changed direction and killed the fire. I walked almost all night tired and freezing but couldn't find any shelter. Storm lanter fuel drained and my healt was low I used the stim as a last chance but still couldn't find any shelter. It was frustrating end for me because I had a lot of good tools early on and I felt pretty safe before exploring with a lot of materials and necessary tools. It'd be very helpful if you make weather tutorial in the future. Edit: I looked the Peasant Valley map posted in Steam, my base was in Rural Houses. My exploration was towards north-east, I passed derelict cabins and reached Point of Disagreement possibly because there were three cars and two bodies where the blizzard hit me. Then I travelled blind and remember passing nearby lonely homestead (destroyed houses).
When it comes to the medical items, I'm surprised they haven't introduced a splint for sprains and broken legs. When you think about it, wrapping a sprained ankle with a soft bandage doesn't really make any sense
I haven’t played this game for awhile and only stopped due to having a major jump scare leading to in-game death. I remember camping in a corridor of a massive dam I believe it was at the time (early access) and woke up to a wolf attacking and killing me. Absolutely scared the hell out of me as I never realised they could patrol in there and I was too comfortable hauling out inside. I’ve always wondered if the bunker is still in the game as I remember it being good to stay in if people somehow stumbled upon it. Just wanted to say this guide has been helpful and I’ve reinstalled it to play again when I get the chance, il check out your other videos and thank you for the help 👍
Yay! A new Chillin' in The Long Dark with Zak video! :-) If you're inclined to do more 'how to / tips' videos for Interloper, I'd really appreciate one about coping with the cold, in the days before & after Day 50. I'm in the 60s now on my longest Interloper session to date - and I can't even collect wood without burning a fire nearby.
Thx man. Great video. I just started playing and I think I’m hooked already. DayZ is my main game so when I heard hardcore survival I had to check it out.
I'm pretty new just dragged my way thru 50 days voyager.. completed the main game.. might be a long wait for episode 5 .. been watching ur challenge runs I'm gonna do them after I've got they 100 days survival for the achievements
I've clocked in 200 hours and am on day 240 on my Stalker run, but I'm still watching this beginner guide because your videos are always so helpful!!
Or fun XD
I have over 1000 hours and still watching this. There could be that one tip i never thought of. Who knows.
@@hidenwatch8219 will check it out :)
Day 240!! You are the one they said would come
I'm on day 50 doesn't seem like alot BUT I've done nothing but travel and sleep in snow shelters so I'm already decent at the game not just living in a house video is still very useful
I have over 2k hours on Voyager alone and I thoroughly enjoyed this video. The only thing you got wrong is the soda. Soda never causes food poisoning. Everything else was spot on.
That's actually really rare for people who typically play on more difficult levels. I find that most hardcore players don't remember what it was like to start off or play on easier modes or they are so used to the tough mechanics that they give advice that doesn't really apply on the lower levels. Excellent Job!
Thank you for your kind comments! Yes, I am aware that soda doesn't cause food poisoning, but ignored that for demonstration purposes. I added a disclaimer in the description, but have pinned a comment for easier clarification :) Thank you again!
Minor clarification: Soda cans will never cause food poisoning, but I ignore this in the video for tutorial purposes :) Most drinks will not cause food poisoning, even at low condition.
There are also many more tips I did not include, in order to make the video as easy as possible. Sometimes I gloss over things in order to keep it simple for new players. Hope this is okay.
damn i should be drinking those
@@Glorpo you shouldn't if you want to save up on decorations and other stuff
Dang, I've never known that so I've got soda cans dropped at like 28% all over the place
This man not only covered the basics in an hour of real-time gameplay, but he's better off than me after 5 hours of playing the same difficulty.
To add to the chorus -- Even after 400+ hours of TLD, I'll still watch a "beginner" vid from you, Zak ... your voice and style and humor are top-notch and add a ton to the community. Thank you for your magic and please keep on. Jubel! ☻
Every way I’ve died in tld for educational purposes
- wolf attack
- sleeping in cold areas
- hypothermia
- bear attack
- hypothermia again
Make ABSOLUTELY you are in a warm enough place before sleeping
Always carry a lit torch (wind permitting). You get a warmth bonus and wolves are less likely to attack.
My first attempt at TLD was a voyageur run. I got through about 2 months and still hadn’t died, but wanted to explore more than I was able to with the wolves always attacking me. So, I abandoned that save and have been doing a pilgrim playthrough just to build map knowledge before I try another serious run. Pilgrim definitely is a lot more relaxing.
I played TLD about a year and a half ago but somehow stopped along the way. I just started playing again just a few days ago after seeing your "10 tips you didn't know" video and now I've watched this. You're seriously so helpful! I really appreciate when an experienced player covers ALL the bases for new players. I didn't even know coal could be used to map out an area. I plan to finish the current episodes as I had stopped at the start of episode 3 and then try my hand at survival. Seriously, thanks for all the tips and help. So glad to see TLD community still active and as welcoming as I first started playing.
I’ve had this game for years and I almost exclusively play on Pilgrim because I’m the most jumpy person and if I were to be attacked by anything I’d probably have a heart attack. I’ve recently been playing some Voyager because I want to get over my jumpiness so this video is really helpful in some ways.
Look at playing on the custom mode, where you can try the harder levels but keep the wildlife friendly! I play on Stalker but turn off the Timberwolves, because I don't enjoy them :)
@@patrickc1795ahhh that’s smart. I just started playing last night on pilgrim, didn’t think of that though!
@@patrickc1795thankkkkk youuu!
Ooooh I hate those wolves i Jump scare way to often I avoid scary games these wolves are testing that 😂😂
If you are on Xbox, left d-pad will automatically bring out the fire. Not really important but it’s nice to use.
Not new to this game, but I always have to watch tutorials by you. I find the way you explain things to be very calming, thanks
I'm so happy for you Hinterland made a recommendation on FB for your video .. you really earned this .. The difference to other content creators is not just showing what's your way to play the game and let people watch... You're a real Tourguide and share in a very effective way your knowledge. I never hat started a interloper run without your "how to..." videos. And every time I died again and be to furious to try again I watch over of your walkthroughs and the fever for a next try rise again ... I'm grateful for your work and hope you enjoy making videos an much as we love to watch them! Thanks...
I started playing this game a good while ago and boy was I scared 🤣. I was looking over my shoulder over and over again, afraid of wolves, even if I was on Pilgrim! I haven't touched the game since my first playthrough because I've been so scared of messing up and dying within 2 seconds, but this was beyond a lifesaver! My friend, I haven't seem your channel up until now, but I do believe you've earned a new subscriber! Well done, sir!!!!
I just purchased this game last night & the Tales DLC. I haven’t started yet because I wanted to watch a few beginners videos first. I’m excited that I came across yours!!!
It would be great if you could do a quick video about the clothing layering system, and damage priorities during animal attacks for the newer players. It's one of those fairly important mechanics that is never explained in game.
I stopped playing the long dark cause I kept dying to animals and weather but this makes the game more interesting and makes me want to get back into it
40:59 - Crows flying straight can often signal changing weather either in progress or coming soon. I often see crows flying overhead either as a change in weather is occurring or a few minutes before a change starts to happen. The circling crows, will be absent if it's snowing or too windy, unless the snow/wind is breaking up and calm weather is incoming, like is starting to happen here.
You are right about the circling crows, but the straight crows do not signal changing weather I'm afraid. They are pure ambience. This is easy to test - just see how often weather changes with and without crows and you will see that crows bear no impact. It is a myth going around but no data supports it :)
Might make a video about that one day.
I have a nearly 700 day custom (interloper/stalker hybrid with health recovery set to slower even then interloper) run where I'm going for Faithful Cartographer and over 1800 hours on this game and I never knew you could click on any of the items in the journal for things like surveyed locations to find out exactly which named locations I still need to survey. I've got about 29 of them but until now as left guessing which I'd surveyed already and which I'd missed. That alone will save a ton of pointless wandering around surveying stuff I'd already surveyed.
I'd put this video right up there with Lonelywolf's how to survive in the long dark series as must watches for new TLD pleyers.
Also want to point out, another match saving trick not mentioned during the fires and torches segment is if you have a lit fire, lit torch or lit flare on the ground, you can use that to light a torch in your hand, saving the match you'd otherwise need to use to light the torch. In this way, you can actually chain light several torches and/or fires all on a single match (or none if you were able to get a mag lens fire going at the start). The only things that can break such a chain are letting it burn out, running out of fuel/torches for your next lighting, or having the wind blow your fire out.
EDIT: You actually see this fire chaining technique in his video at about 37:00 to about 37:30 - but no commentary mentioned it or the match saving it allows.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, the trick you are referring to is correct but I didnt want this video to be exhaustive - it would become too much information for a new player to remember, so I gloss over several things. The trick you are referring is explained in Tip #1 in my 10 Tips video, though :)
I started playing on pilgrim, just to learn the game. Its really fun. Its a nice way to unlock feats. Pilgrim gave me the skills to move up to voyager.
I did Wintermute first so I started on Voyager, so thank you for the tip about unlocking feats
If you haven't, I'd love an intermediate and expert tutorial in this same style. The long format, information-dense style of video was perfect for this kind of thing.
I have several already for interloper and one for voyager :) but they are walkthroughs and dont have infotext
Love seeing new uploads for these "guide" style videos. Super helpful!!
As a player of another Canadian Wilderness Survival game called Subsistence, I missed this game for some reason and this video was incredibly useful in helping me undertand the game.
I'm just blown away by the gameplay mechanics here!
- POI and Looting
- Crafting
- Repair & Inventory management
- Harvesting
- Hunting
- Skills that get better as you use them (which is not common for a survival game)
- Skill books! Like Fallout!
- Surveying - adds an interesting dimension to exploration! You can check off locations as you explore the world.
Do we have plant beds to crop veggies or berries from seeds in this game?
I also like that the character has some voice lines. This adds personality to the character and adds to the immersion!
Thank you for making this guide for noobs like me!
Very helpful and useful guide narrated by someone with a voice that is pleasant to listen to, great video.
I have about 500 hours in-game and thoroughly enjoyed this video. I didn't learn anything new, but, it took me back to my first time playing the game knowing NONE of this and I think that's when the game is the most fun, when everything is a discovery made through constant trial and error :)
Really nice video. I've put 262 hours into TLD, mainly sandbox mode. I still enjoy watching tutorials though, just in case there's any little things I may find useful. Personally I think that Voyageur is the best difficulty to start on, even for beginners. Having an infinite supply of resources and a lack of danger on Pilgrim completely removes the enjoyment the game has to offer.
When I first played it (in sandbox mode, Voyageur setting), I found that after dying in the first couple of minutes of hypothermia the first few games, there was such a sense of achievement in simply getting to a shelter and surviving those first few days. It was never that frustrating, just a perfectly balanced learning mode for newbies where you feel a greater sense of reward and understanding of how the survival mechanics work.
Amazing video! I'm so glad I found this game, I'm absolutely in love with the setting and atmosphere, and it's just pure survival. I got it after playing some STALKER SoC and really enjoying the aspect of surviving in a harsh world and having to gather materials and stuff, and this game is easily the best survival game I've ever heard of. Sometimes I genuinely feel cold playing it because the sound design just makes it so immersive, the crunching of snow, the harsh cold wind blowing small crystals of snow and ice everywhere. It's fantastic.
I also really appreciate your tutorial style, very easy to follow and incredibly helpful.
Started learning the game on Interloper and it was the most fun I've ever had in a survival game and what got me utterly hooked on The Long Dark. Awesome twitch community too.
From a new player (litterally 2 days of playing the game) this is extremely helpful. I've played a ton of survival games so i'm very aware that knowledge is power, and you provide a ton of it. Thank you !
mfw i been playing for like 2 years but i still watch because zaknafein = good video
I started played the long dark maybe a year and a half ago and I couldn’t survive worth anything lol this guide was honestly very helpful and helped me gain a lot more survivability. I know my my meager 19 hours isn’t much compared the other people here with several hundred but the hours i got in were much more enjoyable because of you
I've been playing TLD for a long time now, since it was in it's first versions. I always thought i was an advanced player but just by watching this video i learnt a lot of things, not mechanical things, but just the right playstyle... Thank you! This video helped me a lot!
Im a new player who just downloaded the game and this really clarified a lot of stuff, thank you!
thank you, for the first time in a survival game i was a bit lost and this guide helped understanding more of the game, tried to hoard loot since is not a survival where you can simply build a base and store your loot anywhere you like, we kinda need to be on the move in here, once again thanks
Great detailed video. I tried this game a few times and always gave up in less than an hour. This has been a HUGE help. I'll give it another go now. TYVM!
the torch to start fires is cool trick. ty. i came to learn about snow shoes if they are anygood. lol i learning so much more though.
Thank you for making this tutorial. I wanted to play this game for years and just got it on sale but was completely lost. This video has helped me so much!
I will start playing this game tonight for the first time, and after watching some tutorials I run up into yours and I’m so glad.
You did an outstanding job.
You got a new sub 😊
Hope you enjoy the game!
For newer players looking to try stalker for the first time, consider doing custom stalker with wolves turned down from "very high" to "high". You still get all the stalker difficulty buffs like lower resources and harsher weather but without the unnecessarily high amount of wolf spam. Even interloper only has "high" wolf spawns.
Zak spawns, sees trees and some rocks and is like, yeah i know where i am
I just clocked over 1000 hours on the long dark. And I have enjoyed your many videos Zak. I still enjoy watching beginner videos because I always seem to pick up something new. Like moving backwards with the Rifle while a wolf charges. Seems so intuitive, yet I never thought about it...too much time with the pistol I guess...
One tip that I would like to add, which I have not seen, is when you take down your animal, is to immediately harvest as much of the meat as your are comfortable doing so given the weather. In my experience the meat degrades after each attempt (the meat also degrades faster unharvested) and since the animal has not yet frozen you can harvest more meat faster (at least until level 5). Then you just drop the meat by the corpse and pick it up later at your convenience. The carcass may disappear but your harvested Meat will remain. And it lasts longer in the snow.
Anyway, thanks again! you have made a subscriber of me.
Thank you for your kind words and insightful tip. This is a detail I had no included, but I actually did test this one and I think I have the footage somewhere.
Basically I spent 50 days in Milton Basin and meticulously logged respawn time and carcass changes. It turned out that if you 100% harvest a carcass, it despawns the next day. If you leave something or don't touch it, it stays for 3-4 days then despawns. Strangely, though, I did not see any changes in meat quantity - it always stayed the same until it despawned. This doesn't make sense, because it should degreade, and I have been in situations where there might be 0.3 kg left to harvest and then suddenly it says "nothing to harvest", so there must be some sort of algorithmic timer involved.
Even if my testing shows this, I think a generally good tip is to do what you said. You will see me do this on interloper, if its not too cold: I just harvest some meat right away and cook it later. Nice tip, so thank you
I just want to put it out there I enjoyed this video so far. But also thanks for highlighting your video with time stamps for each tips and tricks. Very informative and nicely done.
I have nearly 100h into this game with a looong hiatus before coming back to it a few weeks ago. So I still kinda feel like a beginner while also playing mostly for relaxation and "fun", not the thrill or anything. That's why I play on Voyager too haha. I'm not even through the whole video yet but your way of explaining and talking is really nice to listen to and what you say is really helpful. Thanks !!
Thanks for the starting location tips. I clicked "random" and ended up in the Hushed River Valley, only managed about 1 very painful day & night. Switched to Mystery Lake and found a nice shack, now at day 3 or 4 with renewable food/water and plenty of reserves (just need more firewood).
Woo! You're so helpful with your videos, I've been playing for a couple years (not a LOT, lol, so my hours are still pretty low) but there's a lot of stuff that I never knew you could do! I'm more for the Wintermute storyline - I find sandboxes with no end goal to be hard to keep up with because I get bored, so I prefer survival games a la Subnautica where you're surviving, but you have an end goal. But sometimes I like to play the survival sandbox - and it has more places to go to, haha - and these kinds of videos are so helpful! :)
Plus, you have such a soothing and calm voice, it's very pleasant :D
Hey mate, glad to see a video from you again :)
Im definitely using this video to start my replaying of The Long Dark. Ive played it on almost everything but I've never really delved deep into it, but im definitely planning to change that! Thanks for the videos dood :)
Thanks for this. I have 200 hours in the game and didn't know you could make a map like this.
If your an old mass effect trilogy fan like me you will like the voices for both the male and female survivor, they are voiced by the same people who did the male and female commander Shepard.
My head canon is that The Long Dark is where Shepard ends up after ME3. 😉
I didn't know anything about this game (and discovered it by accident) because survival games don't attract me, but I gave this game a chance because of Commander Shepard's voices. I was like this must be good game, right? And it really is, and what more in the fourth episode we get Adam Jensen's voice(from Deus Ex). Now I'm on stalker with 150 days.....
and I think I don't really need to watch this but still watching because maybe there is still something I don't know:) or maybe the aurora effect.
Best tutorial i have ever seen, was worth it
I will always see a monkey tail on the wind symbol now
I mean, low condition sodas don't give food poisoning even if you try I think. Correct me if I'm wrong
I'm amazed by your patience to explain everything very clearly to all the new players out there. Really appreciate the content and your voice. Don't get me started on that.
I played probably around 100 hours or so when TLD was in early access in like 2015 or sometime around there, havent played since, crazy how much has changed since then, Ive just downloaded TLD again and im excited to get back into it, appreciate the help!
As someone who mostly played Stalker and is currently suffering in Interloper I was amazed by the amount of loot you found :D
I just found this game. I'm playing through the story. This could be my favorite game off all time.
I love that i'm almost 500 hours in to tld and i still enjoy watching this video and actually learn something again after forgetting it.
Befor i watch the Video.. I started this game again about 1 week ago. since then i found your channel and watched a few older videos. Great work and really good explaning about some tips and tricks. really enjoying your videos so now its time for an abo. Nice work and please keep it up.
Sry if my english is not the best ^^ iam from germany. so greetings from here. =) Now i have to watch before i want to play so hard by myself that i pause the video in the middle. :D
I am not a beginner but i enjoy watching ur videos anyways. (the interloper guide helped me so much)
Hi Zak, I’m curious if you could do a zone tutorial series? Like explaining the different tips and tricks with the different zones. Example:”you can get to X by taking this route, this is a safer place to hunt, avoid this area in general, be wary of wolves in this area, etc.
Thanks so much for your videos.
Thank you for your kind words. And yes - this is in the works. The plan is to make a walkthrough for each zone, explaining all there is to do/find there and so on. I plan to go to each zone on a new interloper run, but can do a different difficulty if people prefer. This will be done next year.
Very helpful - look forward to enjoying this game now
Very helpful and a nice low key presentational style
Helpful video. I never knew what the crampons do.
I went down to Milton Basin after having forgotten to pickup my bedroll and almost died from hypothermia whilst low on energy and struggling to clamber up the rope back to the farm.
All of that (including spending an entire Saturday ferrying a shitload of stuff through the caves between MT and ML) was fruitless as I got jumped by a wolf and died 55 days in. Think I'll play on Pilgrim from now on....
Thank you for such a comprehensive and clear guide! Just started this game, and this has saved me a lot of time.
I have enjoyed your videos, Anyone new or veteran can always learn something new or oh, I did not know that from your videos. Keep positive and strong.
Soooo helpful! I literally had no idea what I was doing before
Immediately noticing the name and knowing it's origins, very nice. Zak was my favorite :]
I personally think that Mountain town is the easiest region to spawn in, if you're on pilgrim or voyager I'm pretty sure there's a guaranteed rifle spawn in the house on the hill, and usually some other really choice loot
Yeah mountain town is a really nice starting point for a lot of new people! However i think that some people avoid it in the beginning because of the many wolves. But with the grace period this is such a nice region. Thanks for the tips!
I spawned there on my very first time recently. Thought process was:
Town=shelter and supplies. And yes, i found a crapton of food and drinks. Even a revolver just outside of town. Backtracking back to the town, i followed a road and found a Farmhouse with a frozen corpse outside. Thats where i am now, cooking and crafting to prepare for my next excursion.
Save tip if you have invested dozens of hours and want to keep backup just in case(without coping save files) - use Steam cloud saves:
- install TLD on two PCs
- play on first
- when you want to backup - start and sync from second
- if(when) you die on first, start in second OFFLINE, sleep/enter to get new time stamp save; then quit steam , and start again online , it will ask to sync -> select upload to Cloud, then quit
- then start on your main pc, and select download saves from Cloud ;)
- then you should have updated save file from backup PC on your main pc
Thorough and useful, I always learn something good from your videos.
One more thing to remember if you do hit an animal with a bow or rifle shot and it runs off, it will leave a blood trail that you can follow to where it finally dies of blood loss. Also you'll be able to see animal tracks in the snow of any animals that have recently passed by that area.
Just got this off game pass and I’ve been loving it
I juat start playing LD on story mode, wintermute, now im juat 60 days on stalker. It took me a week of preparation to go and make arrow head in FM region. Now, with bow and arrows im gona try craft some good clothing. This game is so addictive.
very nice vid, everything was perfectly well described.
On PC I have got a total of: 272.7 hrs and on my switch I have probably 12 hrs right now and I always keep a Pilgrim sandbox save on both because sometimes after a long day it's nice to have a relaxing winter wilderness simulator.
This is awesome. I have never played the long dark but it looks really fun. The people I tend to watch play interloper do I was never sure how to just start playing.
I just caught the Dog Stars quote in the loading menu! That's a fantastic book!
I learned several things and enjoyed watching.
All that loot! Wonderful video
thank you for doing this!!
Best guide ever! Thank you for making this.
I have over 200 hours on voyager. I'm trying surviving Stalker difficutly in the last few days. First four games I died to wolves and today I died to blizzard in Pleasant valley in the fifth. I was exploring uncharted (for me) territory and drawing map. Suddenly blizzard came when day is near end. There were cars nearby which were not warm enough. I had fully loaded storm lantern and not-bad clothing, water, food, fire materials and also stim. After I realize I can't stay in car I began running back to town but visibility was very bad even with storm lantern so I lost. I found destroyed house and light fire. I added almost all of my wood to increase heat above 0 but wind changed direction and killed the fire. I walked almost all night tired and freezing but couldn't find any shelter. Storm lanter fuel drained and my healt was low I used the stim as a last chance but still couldn't find any shelter. It was frustrating end for me because I had a lot of good tools early on and I felt pretty safe before exploring with a lot of materials and necessary tools. It'd be very helpful if you make weather tutorial in the future.
Edit: I looked the Peasant Valley map posted in Steam, my base was in Rural Houses. My exploration was towards north-east, I passed derelict cabins and reached Point of Disagreement possibly because there were three cars and two bodies where the blizzard hit me. Then I travelled blind and remember passing nearby lonely homestead (destroyed houses).
Blizzards in pleasant valley are brutal!
this guy just got more good stuff in ten minutes than me in five hours
When it comes to the medical items, I'm surprised they haven't introduced a splint for sprains and broken legs. When you think about it, wrapping a sprained ankle with a soft bandage doesn't really make any sense
That’s the real life fix though, splint would be for a break.
@@heatheremmons6160 is it? I figured you would need something more to keep the sprain immobilized. A bandage seems too bendy, but I'm probably wrong.
@@jonservo try to wrap a bandage as tight as possible around your ankle you'll see
I haven’t played this game for awhile and only stopped due to having a major jump scare leading to in-game death. I remember camping in a corridor of a massive dam I believe it was at the time (early access) and woke up to a wolf attacking and killing me. Absolutely scared the hell out of me as I never realised they could patrol in there and I was too comfortable hauling out inside. I’ve always wondered if the bunker is still in the game as I remember it being good to stay in if people somehow stumbled upon it.
Just wanted to say this guide has been helpful and I’ve reinstalled it to play again when I get the chance, il check out your other videos and thank you for the help 👍
You met Fluffy. They patched that wolf out.
Yay! A new Chillin' in The Long Dark with Zak video! :-)
If you're inclined to do more 'how to / tips' videos for Interloper, I'd really appreciate one about coping with the cold, in the days before & after Day 50. I'm in the 60s now on my longest Interloper session to date - and I can't even collect wood without burning a fire nearby.
Thank you for the suggestion. I will think about what I can do :)
Thank you for making this guide!
Thank you for this!
Best starting guide thanks sir!
Good intro - introduced a problem, sold a solution
Thx man. Great video. I just started playing and I think I’m hooked already. DayZ is my main game so when I heard hardcore survival I had to check it out.
Excellent video! Thanks!
i love yours videos sorry for my english typping becouse i am from slovakia.
Thank you for upload.
Cheers from Poland 🍻
One tip that I have is to in the start play pilgrim and just explore, learn the map without being scared.
thanks for this guide! very helpful and entertaining too!
i m totaly begginer thats MAPPING!! VERY VERY VERY VERYY VERYYYYYYYYYY 10000000000000% usefull !!!!! thanks!!!!
great Channel, deserves way more subs, keep it up my friend
22:00 In that single house you found more loot than i did in half of a map on pilgrim spawns. Fuck my luck i guess.
I'm pretty new just dragged my way thru 50 days voyager.. completed the main game.. might be a long wait for episode 5 .. been watching ur challenge runs I'm gonna do them after I've got they 100 days survival for the achievements
You did a great job here!! Thank you so much!!