Survival Mode guide · reviewed 31 October 2026 · mode and DLC notes
These guides describe vanilla Survival Mode. WINTERMUTE is the story mode, with its own objectives and rules; Survival Edition alone does not include it. Challenges use their own settings. Pilgrim, Voyageur, Stalker, Interloper, Misery and Custom settings change loot, wildlife, afflictions and recovery. Locations are route examples, not guaranteed spawns.
Tales from the Far Territory is a paid Survival expansion. Its regions, ptarmigans, Frontier Cooking, cougar, Trader and Meat Curing Box require that content. Improved fishing, scurvy and basic Safehouse Customization arrived as free Survival updates; availability still depends on the platform build and settings. Region names and advanced Tale equipment below may spoil exploration; no story solutions are covered.
Hinterland released IRON ROAD in Early Access on 27 October 2026, initially on Steam. Its train systems and planned additions are outside these guides. Check your installed version against Build Status; these pages do not claim one shared version across platforms. For the first steps, use the beginner guide.
Hunting & Wildlife
Small game, deer, predators, moose, bow hunting, fishing, and harvesting
The Long Dark Hunting & Wildlife Guide
Choose a food source you can reach, hunt and process without exhausting your warmth or supplies. Compare weapon availability, scent and escape options before taking a shot; ptarmigans require Tales from the Far Territory.
This is the featured video because bow aiming is the most reusable hunting skill. It helps with wolves, deer, bears, moose, and long-term survival food.
Start here
Quick hunting rules
Hunting is not just about hitting the animal. It is about safety, weather, scent, tool choice, and how you process the kill afterward.
Start with small game
Rabbits and ptarmigans are safer than deer, wolves, bears, or moose. They teach aim, timing, and food handling without much danger.
Do not rush shots
A clean shot saves ammo, arrows, time, and condition. Stalk slowly, crouch when possible, and wait for the animal to give you a better angle.
Carry meat carefully
Carcasses, meat, guts, and bait can create scent. Scent can pull wolves toward you, especially while you are already tired or cold.
Always have an exit
Before hunting bears, moose, or aggressive wildlife, know where you can retreat: an accessible vehicle or building. A cave, fire, fallen tree or ledge is not guaranteed protection from a charge.
Weapons
Pick the right hunting tool
The bow, rifle, and revolver all have a place, but they do not solve the same problem.
Bow
The bow supports long-term hunting with recoverable arrows, but aiming takes practice and arrows wear out. Standard Interloper excludes rifles and revolvers, making crafted bows and forged arrowheads important.
Rifle
A rifle can make distant shots easier, but it is heavy and ammunition is limited. Rifles and revolvers do not spawn on standard Interloper or Misery.
Revolver
The revolver can kill animals, but it is better treated as a wolf deterrent or emergency defense tool than your main hunting weapon.
Difficulty
Hunting changes by difficulty
Wildlife behavior changes a lot depending on your difficulty settings. The right tactic on Pilgrim may not be safe on Stalker or Interloper.
Pilgrim
Wildlife tends to flee, so hunting becomes more about patience, crouching, and getting close enough for a clean shot.
Voyageur / Stalker
Predators are more relevant, so scent, torches, escape routes, and clean shots matter more.
Interloper
Renewable hunting matters more. Bow skill, forged arrowheads, crafted clothing, and safe carcass processing become key.
Custom
Wildlife fear, aggression, scent, and loot settings can change how hunting feels, so adapt the guide to your rules.
Small game
Rabbits, ptarmigans, stones, and snares
Small game is the safest way to learn hunting and can keep you alive while you prepare for deer, fishing, or larger animals.
Rabbits
Rabbits are one of the safest food sources. Use stones for active hunting or snares for passive food near a base.
Ptarmigans
Ptarmigans require Tales from the Far Territory and behave like small game. They can be hunted with stones and provide meat, feathers, and useful cooking or crafting materials.
Stones and snares
Small-game hunting is mostly about patience and setup. Stones are free, while snares work passively once placed in the right area.
Deer
Deer hunting basics
Deer provide meat, hide and guts without attacking you. Choose a hunting site with a return route and enough warmth for harvesting.
Patience beats panic
Deer hunting is mostly about distance and angle. With the rifle, crouch and line up a clean front shot when possible. With the bow, wait for the deer to stop or lower its head, then stand and shoot before it runs.
Advanced trick: if a wolf is nearby, you can sometimes herd deer toward it and let the wolf do the first part of the hunt.
Rifle approach
Crouch, get in front of the deer if you can, and wait for a clean shot. A careful front shot gives you more room for error.
Bow approach
Approach from behind or from a good angle, wait for the deer to pause, then stand and shoot quickly before it runs.
Use wolves carefully
You can sometimes herd a deer toward a wolf, let the wolf take it down, then deal with the wolf afterward.
Harvest the full value
Deer provide meat, hide and guts without attacking the survivor, but reaching and harvesting a carcass still exposes you to weather and predators.
Archery
Bow hunting and aiming
The bow is powerful because it is renewable, but it demands practice. Learn how distance changes where your arrow lands.
Practice on targets
Use safe targets, rabbits, or ptarmigans to learn how the bow feels before trusting it against wolves, bears, or moose.
Close range
At very close range, arrows may hit higher than expected. This matters most when shooting charging wolves.
Mid range
Mid range is the sweet spot where arrows usually land closest to where you aim.
Far range
Far shots require aiming higher to account for arrow drop. These shots take practice and are easier to miss.
Let the animal enter the shot
Against wolves, do not wildly follow their zigzag. Back up, mirror their movement, keep the terrain flat, and let the wolf walk into your arrow. Against deer, crouch close, pre-aim, then stand and shoot quickly.
Practice with simple arrows, safe targets, rabbits, or ptarmigans before depending on the bow during a predator charge.
Predators and moose
Wolves, bears, and moose
Dangerous wildlife should be hunted only when you have a reason, a weapon, and a way out.
Wolves
Wolves are dangerous because they close distance fast and zigzag. Back up, mirror the wolf’s movement, and let it walk into your shot instead of chasing it wildly.
Bears
Bears can survive the first hit and run. Track blood and footprints, or wait safely for the bear to bleed out before harvesting.
Moose
Moose are different from most animals because they do not bleed out. You need to keep dealing damage until the moose dies.
Moose
Why moose deserve special respect
Moose hides can become useful carrying or protective gear, but a bad hunt can leave you with broken ribs and a ruined travel plan.
Do not hunt casually
A moose hunt is a commitment. Bring enough condition, ammo/arrows, warmth, and a safe place to retreat.
Keep pressure on it
Because moose do not bleed out, a single wound is not enough. You need repeated damage or a clean kill.
Use terrain
Terrain may buy time, but animal pathfinding can still reach apparently safe positions. Do not base a hunt on an untested fallen tree or ledge.
Hunt for the hide
Moose meat is valuable, but the hide is the real prize because it can be used for the moose-hide satchel.
After the kill
Harvesting vs quartering
The hunt is not over when the animal drops. You still need to process the carcass without freezing, attracting wolves, or wasting meat.
Harvesting
Harvesting lets you take meat, hide, and guts directly. It is usually better for rabbits, deer, and wolves because the total processing time is manageable.
Quartering
Quartering breaks a large animal into bags faster, which can help when the weather is bad or predators are nearby.
Harvest safety
Processing animals outside can expose you to cold, wind, blizzards, and wolves. A fire can warm you and help protect the carcass site.
Fishing
Fishing, tip-ups, and safehouse food
Fishing overlaps with hunting because it is another renewable wildlife food source. It is especially useful for base stockpiles, lantern oil, and long saves.
Manual fishing
Manual fishing uses fishing tackle and contributes to your ice fishing skill. Longer fishing sessions are usually better than many tiny attempts.
Tip-ups
Tip-ups can catch fish while you manually fish nearby or wait. They are powerful for safehouse food stockpiles.
Fish as food
Fish can provide large calories, lantern oil, and vitamin C in long saves, but they are heavy and usually poor travel food.
More videos
Supporting hunting and wildlife videos
Use these videos for deeper dives into deer, rabbits, ptarmigans, moose, harvesting, quartering, difficulty-specific hunting, and fishing.
Deer Hunting Guide
Rifle and bow deer hunting basics, clean shots, patience, and using wolves to take down deer.
Everything to Know About Ptarmigans
Small-game bird hunting, feathers, meat, recipes, and where ptarmigans fit into survival food.
How to Hunt on Pilgrim
Difficulty-specific hunting advice, passive wildlife behavior, rifle use, patience, and tracking.
Hunting The Moose
Moose safety, no bleed-out mechanic, terrain use, repeated damage, broken ribs, and hide rewards.
Quartering VS Harvesting
How to process big kills, when to quarter, when to harvest, and how weather or scent changes the decision.
Rabbit Hunting Guide
Stone hunting, snares, scent warning, emergency food, and passive rabbit collection near a base.
Fishing Guide
Older fishing basics: tools, warmth, fire, fishing tackle, calorie return, and lantern fuel.
Ultimate Fishing Guide
Modern fishing mechanics, tip-ups, bait, lures, fish types, vitamin C, scurvy, and optimized fishing setups.
Mistakes
Common hunting mistakes
Most hunting deaths come from impatience, scent, bad weather, or assuming every animal behaves the same way.
Wasting ammo on rabbits
Use stones or snares for rabbits. Save bullets and proper arrows for animals that justify the cost.
Taking long shots too early
Long shots look cool, but missed shots waste arrows, ammo, time, and safety. Learn close and mid-range first.
Ignoring scent
Meat, guts, carcasses, and bait can pull wolves toward you. Drop smelly items if the situation turns bad.
Harvesting too long in bad weather
A full bear or moose can take a long time to process. Quarter or retreat if wind, cold, or wolves become dangerous.
Hunting moose like bears
Bears can bleed out. Moose do not. If you wound a moose, you still need to finish the kill.
No escape route
Before shooting, check an accessible shelter or vehicle and a route back. Fire, caves and ledges do not reliably stop every animal or every charge.
Hunt for a reason, not because you can
Every hunt costs something: warmth, time, weapon condition, ammo, arrows, calories, or risk. Rabbits and ptarmigans are good emergency food. Deer are reliable progression. Bears and moose are major projects. Fishing is excellent base food. The best hunters survive because they know when to take the shot and when to walk away.
Next guides
Keep building your survival loop
Hunting connects directly to crafting, cooking, warmth, maps, and long-term travel planning.
Tools & Crafting
Craft bows, arrows, snares, fishing tackle, improvised tools, and forge supplies for better hunting.
Food, Water & Cooking
Turn meat, fish, broth, hot drinks, and cooked food into a stronger survival plan.
Clothing & Warmth
Use hides, repairs, and warmth planning to survive longer hunts and outdoor harvesting.
Maps & Regions
Learn routes, shelters, wildlife areas, forge access, fishing spots, and safe travel paths.