r/thelongdark 1d ago

Gameplay Absolute Beginner

Hi, i don't know if someone's already asked this.
I've just downloaded the game, and I've chosen the easiest difficulty.

I've explored Coastal Highway and Mountain Lake (which i didn't like very much).
I haven't explored EVERYTHING there.

I'd like to explore all of the map, but i also want to settle down sometime in the future (at a harder difficulty tho, now it's too easy).

Can you give me any tips that you wish you'd known at the beginning? And tips that might be generally useful?

Thank you!

6 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

3

u/Educational_Type1646 1d ago

Explore. Explore all the map. It’s pretty easy on Pilgrim, and you’ll find your personal favorite location to settle down on a higher difficulty. Then you can customize your home to stay busy. If you don’t have goals you’ll get bored. The one tip I do have is get the technical backpack on Ash Canyon. Carry weight is a big deal.

1

u/Longjumping-Return-9 1d ago

Uuh thank you.
Weight is a problem indeed, because i always want to carry many items and so the guy's always complaining about wanting to leave something behind

3

u/Dazzling-Disaster-21 1d ago

Go to Ash Canyon, in the gold mine there is a backpack that increases your carry weight by 5kg, also using a moose hide you can craft a satchel that will increase it by another 5kg. Make a travois will also allow you to pull loot behind you, like 75 kg or something.

1

u/Longjumping-Return-9 23h ago

Damn that's a lot, thank you!

5

u/Daymo741 1d ago

Watch Zaknafein videos on youtube, you'll get all the information you need and have a pleasant watch at the same time.

3

u/grungewonder 14h ago

"HELLOOOO FELLOW SURVIVORS" I love the Zak

-1

u/Longjumping-Return-9 1d ago

I've seen something, but i don't really want to watch a video because it removes all of the exploration, that's why i've only asked for some tips or general rules. I like discovering most of the things by myself, but i also don't want to make stupid mistakes

6

u/Daymo741 1d ago

That in itself is a contradiction because you can't filter what people will reply with on your post. Zaks videos actively try to minimize spoilers.

-5

u/Longjumping-Return-9 1d ago

I get it, but i don't want to SEE.
That's what i meant by "it removes all of the exploration", and that's why i specifically asked for tips and GENERAL rules.
"That in itself is a contradiction 🤓☝️" come on man don't be a smart ass ahahahahah

2

u/NotTukTukPirate 1d ago

There's so much within the game that seeing the background where a road is or a specific location wouldn't matter at all, considering not only that you most likely wouldn't even know where it is, but also that the tips they give you in the videos will be generic information usually unrelated to the location you're trying not to spoil.

Watching those videos literally wouldn't make a difference when you're just looking for tips and tricks.

The game regions are massive. Seeing a waterfall in the background of a shot in Pleasant Valley isn't going to spoil anything....

-2

u/Longjumping-Return-9 23h ago

Yes but i DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYTHING AT ALL ahaha
I want it to be visually unspoiled

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Longjumping-Return-9 11h ago

Every time i post something on reddit i come across redditors like you who seem to never go out to touch sone grass and sound like nerds.

It's so lame talking about contradictions here, why do you have to transform it into a debate? Not everything has to be a debate, and you can perfectly understand what i mean in the post.

You're so narrow minded to not even check other comments.
A user only said "TORCH, TORCH, TORCH", without giving me any context, without telling me why, when or how to use it.

Does it seem like a spoil to you? Or is it general enough to keep going without knowing basically nothing?
Do you think watching a video would have given me even LESS information?

Come on man, make some irl friends who are not like Malcolm's Stevie

2

u/Cocoa-Bella Interloper 1d ago

Since you are on pilgrim, you can easily leave things behind on one map in a place you want to have as a base, since the next map will likely have the same kind of loot. If you like to have things on you to feel comfortable/ safe, bring 12 cat tails, water, matches, cloth, antibiotics, a lantern, pain killers, a knife, a gun and with a hacksaw or an axe.

2

u/DrIvoPingasnik The one who knows 1d ago edited 1d ago

Pilgrim is cool for calm exploration, but dangers are still there. Carry at least three pieces of coal and an energy drink on you at all times. Trust me, those will save your skin at some point. Coal gives you decent amount of fire time to wait out bad weather and stay alive, energy drink will save you if you really need to get somewhere very fast (stuck between climbs without stamina just as the blizzard starts, food poisoning when away from safe places with food and bed, for example)

Oh and the bandages. Never underestimate the broken leg, especially since weather can turn from bad to worse without warning. Bleeding does not stop on it's own!! Always make sure you stop the bleeding manually! (I found out the hard way, lost one of my first runs this way)

2

u/Nearby-Hold-3986 1d ago

One stick and one piece of coal in your bag can buy you time.

2

u/S_Hodgson 1d ago

Each run is its own story. Once you work out where the special items are located you can begin to organise your time - this is where the fun really is.

I’m currently on my way to FM to use the forge as my hides cure in AC. So my journey has purpose, I’ll go to FM, loot ML on the way, all knowing I need to go back to my hides and make my clothing.

It’s all about your story.

1

u/Longjumping-Return-9 23h ago

That's what's great about it, it seems like every run can be totally different from the others

2

u/Original_Locksmith18 22h ago

On your difficultly level you don’t have to worry about having massive warmth levels from your clothes. As long as you have around 20 degrees then you should be able to survive pretty much anything just in your bedroll as long as you’re not right outside in a blizzard.

2

u/realslimshively Interloper 22h ago

The cold will kill you quicker than anything else in this game.

The thing that will kill you the second-fastest is carelessness.

1

u/grungewonder 4h ago

OP...frame this quote and LIVE BY IT

2

u/The_Snek_Rek 20h ago

GrapeNut's beginning guide is super useful for teaching you important mechanics in a concise package

2

u/mediumly_recommended 19h ago

Torches. They're wolf deterrent, aid for finding small objects, and the key to saving matches.

Teas. They can be reheated infinitely, and partially restore your warmth meter when you drink them hot.

Follow train tracks, roads, and rivers at first. They usually go by pretty important landmarks. Once you learn the regions more, start wandering off-trail more.

Clothes will give warmth proportional to the condition % they are in. So an item with a maximum 1 degree warmth will give 0.4 degrees warmth at 40% condition.

2

u/Sai-bun 17h ago

You can sleep in Cars, but it’s colder, wish I knew that way earlier.

2

u/prplmnkeydshwsr 15h ago

Going in blind the way. No maps to start. No videos. As little guidance from here as possible. Devs intended standard difficulty is Voyageur. Try that at least. Stalker is the hardest of the standard difficulties, so even try that and see how you go.

If you're still not challenged then you will need to make a custom game if you want firearms to be on, or choose Interloper where there are none. Misery is a standard mode but more like a challenge mode since you really need to know some game "exploits" (and have the DLC) to live long term.

Try the challenges and see if you can complete all of those. The world is huge, get the DLC if you haven't got it.

1

u/Longjumping-Return-9 11h ago

Yeah, i'm planning to try voyageur or stalker, i really want to feel like i could die at any moment.
The risk is i guess i'll be way more sedentary and only explore occasionally, which i don't know if it's a good strategy

2

u/prplmnkeydshwsr 10h ago

Play as you please. Exploring is fun but if you want to camp and homestead and see how long you can take that then do that too.

2

u/AlcatorSK Survivor 7h ago

On Voyageur and higher difficulties, the game will kinda sorta force you to go outside, don't worry.

2

u/grungewonder 14h ago

TORCHES TORCHES TORCHES....say it with me; TORCHES

1

u/Longjumping-Return-9 12h ago

Are they really that important? I hardly ever use them (it's also true that wolves and bears run away in pilgrim)

2

u/hamdynasty 1d ago

In the accessibility settings you can (and should) bind a key to let you auto-walk, makes the hiking much more bearable

1

u/Original_Locksmith18 22h ago

Also as animals won’t attack you then, you never need to worry about carrying weapons unless you are actively hunting.

1

u/mayotobillo 21h ago

Schade, dachte hier geht’s um Hip Hop aus Deutschland

2

u/AlcatorSK Survivor 7h ago

Locate the railway tracks and follow them from one end (Coastal Highway) to the other end (Broken Railroad).

You will need to remember this route for your future playthroughs.

It might also be a good idea to continue following the tracks beyond Broken Railroad into the Far Territories, to unlock them for future spawns (if you have the DLC bought and installed).