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.
Injuries & Afflictions
Health, condition, treatment priorities, medical supplies, and recovery
The Long Dark Injuries & Afflictions Guide
Stop bleeding, leave immediate hazards and check each entry on the status screen. Treatment can require medicine, rest, water or time; relieving pain or removing a risk does not necessarily cure the underlying affliction.
This is the featured video because it explains condition, max condition, needs, recovery, and death before diving into the more complicated affliction list.
Start here
Quick survival priorities
When multiple problems hit at once, treat the thing that can kill you fastest before worrying about long-term recovery.
Stop blood loss first
Blood loss drains condition fast, stacks per wound, and increases scent. Use a bandage before doing almost anything else.
Treat infection risk
After animal attacks, infection risk can quietly become deadly later. Use antiseptic or old man's beard dressing before sleeping.
Get warm and safe
Cold can drain condition faster than hunger, thirst, or fatigue. Stabilize warmth before committing to repairs, cooking, or long recovery.
Do not sleep blindly
Food poisoning, infection, freezing, and severe lacerations can punish long sleeps. Check your status screen before resting.
Health basics
Condition, max condition, and need drain
Understanding the health bar matters more than memorizing every status effect. Some damage is temporary, while some reduces how much health you can recover.
Current Condition
Your current condition is your active health bar. Falls, animal attacks, starvation, dehydration, exhaustion, freezing, and afflictions can reduce it.
Maximum Condition
Some afflictions reduce the size of your health bar. These are more serious because normal rest cannot fully restore your condition until the cause is healed.
Need Drain
Warmth, thirst, fatigue, and hunger all matter, but cold is usually the most urgent because freezing can drain condition extremely quickly.
Emergency order
Treatment priority
This is the simple order to follow after an animal attack, fall, burn, toxic area mistake, or bad travel decision.
Treat the run-ending problem first
Blood loss, infection risk, freezing, suffocation risk, and severe laceration timing can punish you quickly. Pain, minor bruises, headaches, and some debuffs are often less urgent. Check the status screen before sleeping, passing time, or committing to long tasks.
Rule of thumb: if it drains condition, blocks escape, caps max condition, or can kill you while sleeping, handle it before anything else.
1. Stop the bleed
Bandage blood loss immediately. Multiple blood loss instances stack, so check the status screen and treat each one.
2. Remove infection risk
Once bleeding is handled, use antiseptic or old man's beard dressing on infection risk before sleeping.
3. Stabilize warmth
Get indoors, build a fire, drink something hot, or change travel plans if freezing is still draining condition.
4. Plan recovery
Broken ribs, parasites, scurvy, and severe lacerations require time management, supplies, and safe rest.
Medical kit
The supplies you should carry
A few simple supplies cover most emergencies. The exact amount depends on difficulty and route, but these categories matter on every run.
Bandages
Bandages are the most important medical item because they stop blood loss and are used for sprains, burns, and broken ribs.
Antiseptic
Antiseptic or old man's beard dressing handles infection risk after animal struggles or wounds.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics, reishi tea or burdock tea treat the illnesses listed on the status screen. They do not replace antiseptic for infection risk, and a dose alone does not complete every illness’s recovery.
Pain Relief
Painkillers or rose hip tea treat pain and form part of burn or broken-rib treatment. A sprain itself needs a bandage or sleep; relieving its separate Pain effect does not restore the injured limb.
Injuries
Common injuries and what they mean
These are the injuries you are most likely to see from wildlife, falls, steep terrain, fire, cold, and dangerous travel.
Blood Loss
Blood loss is one of the most urgent injuries. It drains condition quickly, can stack, and makes you smellier to predators.
Broken Ribs
Broken ribs come from a moose struggle. Treat each instance with two bandages and four painkiller pills, or two rose hip teas, then complete the recovery shown on the status screen. Rope climbs are blocked during recovery; do not plan a route around a stimulant exception.
Burns
Burns can come from fire, noisemakers, or aurora electricity. The source can kill fast, so leave the hazard before thinking about treatment.
Sprains
Sprains come from steep terrain, falls, wildlife, fatigue, and encumbrance. An ankle sprain blocks sprinting, while wrist sprains can block weapon use.
Frostbite
Established frostbite permanently reduces maximum condition in Survival Mode and has no cure. Warm up and cover affected body parts while it is still a risk; thaw and dry frozen clothing.
Severe Lacerations
Severe lacerations are one of the scariest injuries because they reduce max condition and can cause repeated blood loss later.
Run enders
Most dangerous afflictions
Some afflictions are annoying. These are the ones that deserve special planning because they can permanently weaken you, trap you, or kill you outright.
Parasites
Predator meat risks parasites on Stalker, Interloper, Misery and enabled Custom settings. Treatment needs one counted antibiotic dose or reishi/burdock tea per game day: 10 treatments on Stalker, 20 on Interloper/Misery. Extra same-day doses do not speed recovery; check Custom requirements in the status screen.
Cabin Fever
When enabled, Cabin Fever blocks indoor sleeping and passing time. Prevent it by balancing indoor time with outdoor activity; an active case needs the outdoor recovery shown on the status screen. Cars and outdoor shelters still need enough warmth for safe rest.
Scurvy
Scurvy is a long-term vitamin C problem. Clearing the warning once is not enough; you need to rebuild vitamin C over time.
Suffocation
Mine gas can trigger a suffocation countdown, including in Blackrock without Tales. Tales adds the Zone of Contamination and respirator equipment. Leave before the timer expires; a respirator needs usable canisters and does not remove every toxic hazard.
Infection
Infection can be easy to forget after an animal struggle because bleeding and condition are more obvious. Treat infection risk before resting.
Food Poisoning / Dysentery
For food poisoning, take one antibiotic dose (two pills) or one reishi/burdock tea, then complete 10 hours of rest. Dysentery also requires 2 litres of potable water. Keep warm and hydrated while recovering; check each status entry before sleeping.
Recovery tools
Helpful buffs worth using
Not every affliction is bad. Some are useful buffs that help you recover condition, travel farther, avoid sprains, survive cold, or escape emergencies.
Improved Rest
Herbal tea's Improved Rest boosts condition recovery during sleep; it does not restore fatigue faster or replace treatment. Check the mode's recovery restrictions before relying on it.
Restore Condition
Birch bark tea can restore condition over time where the mode permits it. It does not reverse frostbite or replace treatment, and recovery-restricting challenges or Misery afflictions can limit it.
Warming Up
Hot drinks and hot food can slow cold buildup, making travel safer during bad weather or cold region crossings.
Well Fed
Well Fed rewards you for avoiding starvation. It increases max condition and carry capacity as long as you keep calories above zero.
Sure Footing
Crampons help with sprains, rope climbing, and weak ice. They are especially useful for mountain travel and risky routes.
Energy Boost
Energy drinks and emergency stims can save your life, but the crash afterward can leave you exhausted and vulnerable.
More videos
Supporting injury and affliction videos
Use these videos for deeper explanations of individual afflictions, dangerous status effects, recovery buffs, and older injury mechanics.
Every Single Injury and Debuff
A detailed reference for blood loss, broken ribs, burns, lacerations, sprains, severe lacerations, suffocation risk, torn clothing, pain, headache, burdened, and gorged.
Most Dangerous Afflictions
A focused breakdown of run-ending afflictions like parasites, broken ribs, cabin fever, frostbite, scurvy, severe lacerations, suffocation, infection, dysentery, and food poisoning.
Afflictions Guide Part 1: Benefits
Explains helpful afflictions and buffs like Armored, Energy Boost, Improved Rest, Restore Condition, Sure Footing, Warming Up, and Well Fed.
Afflictions Guide Part 2: Injuries
A classic injury reference covering blood loss, broken ribs, bruising, burns, frostbite, lacerations, pain, sprains, and suffocation.
Mistakes
Common health mistakes
Most medical problems become deadly because the player sleeps too long, ignores a warning, treats the wrong thing, or recovers in a bad place.
Sleeping with hidden danger
Do not sleep just because bleeding is gone. Check infection risk, freezing, food poisoning, and severe laceration timing first.
Ignoring frostbite risk
Frostbite is not just another temporary warning. Once it becomes frostbite, the max condition loss is permanent.
Using medicine too casually
Pain is often tolerable, while blood loss and infection risk are urgent. Save supplies for what can actually kill you.
Recovering in a bad location
Broken ribs, parasites, and scurvy are much easier to survive if you recover near food, water, firewood, and safe shelter.
Entering toxic air tired
Suffocation risk uses a short real-time timer. Do not enter toxic mine areas encumbered, exhausted, or unsure of the route.
Forgetting long-term nutrition
Scurvy is not solved by barely clearing the warning. Rebuild vitamin C with a longer plan, especially in late-game saves.
A safe recovery is part of survival
The Long Dark does not only punish bad fights. It punishes bad recovery. A survivor who stops bleeding but sleeps through infection, freezes in a bad bedroll spot, ignores frostbite risk, or tries to travel with broken ribs can still lose the run. Treat the emergency, check the status screen, then recover somewhere with warmth, water, food, fuel, and a way to wait safely.
Next guides
Prevent the next emergency
Health ties into warmth, food, hunting, travel, and crafting. These guides help prevent the injuries and afflictions before they happen.
Clothing & Warmth
Prevent frostbite, hypothermia, wet clothing problems, and cold-related condition loss.
Food, Water & Cooking
Avoid food poisoning, dysentery, scurvy issues, starvation, dehydration, and poor recovery.
Hunting & Wildlife
Avoid blood loss, infection risk, broken ribs, cougar danger, wolf struggles, and bear maulings.
Tools & Crafting
Prepare bandages, teas, clothing repairs, crafted gear, and survival tools before emergencies happen.