The Long Dark: Tips for Survival

Here's somebody else's guide to the game on Steam.

Mystery Lake Map

• Navigation
• You can use the sun as a compass. When it's before noon, the sun rises in the east. After noon, it will be in the west. If you want to go north in the morning, keep the sun to your right.
• High ground is useful as it allows you to see further (and avoid wolves)
• You go faster downhill than uphill.
• Running drains fatigue faster than walking, but not by too much. Don't be afraid to run if you're bored, or if the cold is a factor.
• Your condition is your actual "health". If any of your "need" bars (hunger/thirst/fatigue/cold) get too bad, your condition will start degrading. The worse the bars, the faster your condition will drop. Additionally, injuries (falls, wolf attacks) can instantly remove a chunk of your condition.
• Being fatigued reduces your carrying capacity.
• Carrying more weight also increases your rate of fatigue loss.
• Being hungry also increases your rate of fatigue loss.
• Consecutive hours of rest refresh you faster than interrupted hours.
• Different beds rest you better than others.
• Place snares wherever you see rabbits. You have a chance of catching a rabbit every 12 hours.
• The direction of the wind matters. If you are trying to rest or build a fire when it's windy, hunker down behind a ledge or tree on the side sheltered from the wind. Crouching can also help.
• Trying to sleep at night outdoors is in general a bad idea. You can die of cold exposure or wolf attack very easily. If you are going to do it, build a campfire and bed down in at least a partially enclosed space, like a shed.
• Note that the wind direction frequently changes, which can leave a fire you built downwind blown out a couple hours later.
• If you need to defrost an animal carcass to get at the meat (often the case when you have no tools), build a fire next to it.
• Dealing with wolves

1. Avoid them. If they haven't noticed you yet, you can take a wide path around them to avoid detection.
2. If they do detect you and you're planning on traveling a long way, just keep going and check back occasionally to see if they're still following you. If you're going a long distance they will eventually give up.
3. Drop a decoy (typically beef jerky, but can be salty crackers as well) to distract them. By default, pushing the "4" number key will automatically drop one where you are standing. Make sure they take the bait after you keep going.
4. Light a flare. They will shy away from flares and not approach you while you have one lit, or pass a lit flare. You can light a flare to bypass a wolf that's holding a chokepoint, then drop it behind you after you keep going to prevent the wolf from chasing.
5. Fight it. The best way is to build power before striking, instead of just flailing. Build up at least 3 (preferably 5+) left-clicks before doing the right-click. However, you will suffer bleeding from this that will need bandaging and probably antiseptics.
1. Also note that your combat ability varies based on weapons available. The knife, hatchet and prybar can all be used (in that order of preference) automatically in a fight with a wolf. It will damage the tool's condition however.
2. Fighting it can very well only be a temporary fix. Sometimes they will come back and stalk you again.
6. Shoot it with the rifle. One shot, one kill. Since there are an unlimited number of wolves and a very small number of bullets, this should be your last resort.

• Injuries
• You can burn yourself walking into a fire.
• You can sprain your ankle when falling, even short distances.
• Opening a safe
• If you mess up at any time, start from zero to reset.
• Starting at zero, turn the dial right until you hear the dial click and the first tumbler shows as unlocked. If you pass it that's fine, just remember the number.
• Turn the dial left until you find the next number.
• Turn the dial right until you find the last number, and the safe should unlock.
• Rifle
• In the Mystery Lake map, there must be a rifle somewhere on the map. It's possible that there's more than one, but typically it's exactly one.
• Locations:
• Forestry Lookout
• Trapper's Homestead
• Carter's Hydro Dam
• Endurance
• Under normal difficulty, it will take about 7 hours to fill your thirst bar and you will drink .18 gallons of water.
• Wood Foraging
• Foraging for Softwood is the most weight-efficient for fuel.
• Foraging for Hardwood is the most calorie efficient for fuel (e.g. you get more hours of fuel per attempt).
• Tinder/Wood Types
• Tinder
• Newsprint (.22 pounds) --> 2 Tinder Plugs (.44 pounds)
• Newsprint Roll (1.32 pounds) --> 4 Tinder Plugs (.88 pounds)
• Tinder Plug (.22 pounds)
• Reclaimed Wood (.55 pounds, 30 minutes)
• Soft Wood
• Cedar (1.1 pounds, 1 hour)
• Hard Wood
• Fir (2.2 pounds, 1.5 hours)
• Firelog (4.4 pounds, 2 hours)
• Can only be found (not foraged) as it is chemically created
• Mystery Lake Locations
• Forestry Lookout
• Possible rifle spawn
• Possible hatchet spawn
• Possible Prybar spawn
• Lake Cabins (by Mystery Lake)
• Always has the Mariner's Peacoat

Unrelated, but this is a good Let's Play for The Long Dark.
Also, here's an interview with the developers on their mentality around designing the game's mechanics.