The Long Dark: The Basics of Survival Walkthrough

The Long Dark: Episode 1 – Sidequest: The Basics of Survival (Part 1) Walkthrough & Guide.

The Long Dark: The Basics of Survival Walkthrough

This sidequest is more for people who are brand new to The Long Dark. Each time you find a skill book, a new objective related to the book’s topic will appear. Unfortunately, most of them don’t have an external reward for completing these goals. You’ll usually only get the benefits that come with doing the action (ie. repaired clothing or medicinal teas).

If you complete all the skill book quests in Episodes 1 and 2 (three per episode), you’ll earn the Survival School achievement.

Mending Clothes

This will probably your first objective in the “Basics of Survival” sidequest. You unlock it by picking up A Sewing Primer, which can be found on a table, upstairs in Grey Mother’s house.

You’ll also see there’s a sewing kit for you. To complete this goal, you need to repair three clothing items. All you need is a sewing kit/fishing tackle, cloth, and sometimes cured leather. The leather is used for clothing items that are made of it, like boots. You’ll also need some form of light when indoors.

To repair an item, just go to the clothing in question and choose the “action” button. You’ll have the option to repair the item from there. The menu will tell you what items are needed for the repair and how much time it will take.

Medicinal Plants

This objective unlocked by picking up the story-exclusive Medicinal Plants of Great Bear book. It can be found in the Milton Post Office, on your right when you first enter the building.

To complete this objective, you just need to make the three craftable medicines in the game: reishi tea, rose hip tea, and old man’s beard wound dressing. Each one must be crafted three times to complete the quest. Old man’s beard lichen can be directly crafting into a dressing. The teas must be prepared from their base state in the crafting menu. The prepared versions then have to be cooked for 10 minutes to turn them into tea.

Rabbit Snares

You’ll unlock this objective by picking up Field Dressing Your Kill from the outbuilding next to Barker’s Farmhouse.

As you can see, you also get a free snare, which you’ll need. Completing this goal is pretty simple; just set the snare down where you’ve seen rabbits and wait to catch one (go to the Campcraft option on the radial menu to place the snare). Some good places are the frozen pond near the radio tower or just in front of the burnt schoolhouse.

After placing the snare, you’ll need to pass some time. Loot some more houses in Milton or find more deposit box keys. Whatever you do, check the snare between 12 and 24 hours after placing it. Chances are you’ll see a dead rabbit lying there. If not, keep checking until you catch one or the snare breaks. The quest completes once a rabbit is killed by the snare. Unlike the other objectives in this sidequest, completing this one unlocks the rabbitskin hat and gloves blueprints. Both items are the warmest hat/glove options in-game, but they’re heavier than any man-made clothing item available. You’ll also need more rabbitskins to repair them.