Brand new to game, Send tips w/o spoilers

[HAV0K13]

First off, loving the game. This has been on my wishlist for quite some time and finally decided to pull the trigger.

Where I'm at right now:
-I reached the second hideout around day 10, felt like I spent too much time bumbling around and decided to start over. Currently Game #2 is on day 6 at first hideout with a much better start
-I haven't made any firearms yet in either game

Couple questions I have for the veterans. Pick one to answer, a couple, or just tell me you're not going to hold my hand :)

1. If I upgrade Hideout #1 workbench, does workbench upgrade status come with me to the next hideout? Or will Hideout #2 workbench start at level 1?

2. Are resources renewable, like finding wood in wood piles? I'm starting to feel they aren't. I've never seen anything refresh, and also mobs that have been killed days ago still remain on the floor. So I'm getting the impression the faster you clear an area and move on, the better?

3. It seems every hideout has a wall that looks like the Kool-aid man break thru. Without spoilers, can every hideout be secured with moving furniture, or are some hideouts meant to be more difficult, meaning some exterior walls cannot be barricaded effectively?

4. Suggestions on surviving nights? Do you bunker into 1 room or roam and react to whats going on? For example I've learned it's better to place bear traps at windows when I see they're trying to breach that window rather than planting a trap there early... Though I would imagine early preparation could prove effective later in the game.

5. Are there any disadvantages/penalties to dying at night in your hideout?

6. Does the wrist watch actually tell time, or is it a trinket of some sorts? Do you have to have it "on you" like the lantern to work? If it does tell time, how many of you veterans use it? I see it in the trade menu and have wondered if it's worth the price.

7. Without spoilers, should I be collecting small stones? I see nothing currently craftable with them but I would imagine they have usefulness at some point.

8. Does nighttime difficultly get harder depending on how many days you've survived, or what hideout you're at, or both?

9. Any tips you'd want to share? Like "What I wish someone told me before my first play through" type of tips without spoilers.

10. Do you stay at a hide out until you HAVE to leave, like when resources are getting thin, or are you trying to progress as quickly as possible?

Thanks!

[HAV0K13]

Other question I just realized. My first play through I got the wedding invitation around day 2-3. Currently at day 6 I haven't seen it and am itching to move on. Should I wait for invitation to show up?

How many days are you currently spending at each hideout?

[MazyRun]

1) Yes, upgrades are global.

2) You can progress at any pace.. when you farm every resource & kill everything within an area there is always the daily traders (trader & wolfman) to keep resources topped up (wood, glass, rags, etc.).. Your other main source of resources are the night events (corpses drop loot, events drop rewards).

3) You can fully barricade but mobs target barricades, so furniture is almost like an invitation to them. They will hunt you by sound (if you make noise), they won't be attracted to the light sources you use. Sometimes over-barricading will work against you, i.e, cause you to become trapped within a room or small area with no space to fight or evade intruders that break in.

4) You can bunker down and remain the hunted.. or become the hunter yourself by standing guard and actively kill anything that comes inside or lingers outside.. I prefer this method because it makes you rich with resources (corpse loot helps you level up really fast and upgrade everything quickly). It's about finding the right balance between hunting and hiding. Devise a bunch of defensive strategies that help you control every hideout (use everything at your disposal.. traps, etc.).

5) The only death penalty (in non-permadeath modes) is no reputation points (you wont earn the survival bonus, this gives you less currency to use with traders).

6) You could try to acquire a watch whilst scavenging for free (saves buying one). Watches are very useful for visually seeing how long is left in the day to keep scavenging, you can better judge the exact time to head home (you only need to have the watch in your backpack for it to be active, this frees up the hotbar for items that require actual equipping & un-equipping).

7) Stones have some utility (can be thrown) as well as being an important component for weapon upgrades.

8) Difficulty level is based on oven activation, in other words each hideout/area gets harder as you increase the oven tier you are currently using to cook essence (time is not a factor, it doesn't escalate in that way, you wont be gradually pushed out for being somewhere for too long).

9) Just play a lot, you find out so many cool things through experimentation (restarting helps a lot, if you like to do things better each time), you will still be discovering new things on your 20th playthrough. Your combat skills and survival strats will evolve in interesting ways the more you figure out things through trial & error and experience.. eventually you reach the point where it all clicks and you will want put all your methods to the test in nightmare mode runs.

10) I stay till I clear the area, just to harvest absolutely everything (this gives you more rep and more days to trade). This generally means you never run out of anything throughout the entire playthrough, especially firepower (ammo, throwables, traps, etc.). Rushing through is an option but it can feel a little un-rewarding and less like a survival game.

11) If you miss the invitation on night 2 you can just wait until it comes again later during the playthrough.. but it wont be soon, so rather than wait it out, just continue progressing and maybe you will get that particular night event again randomly. Whenever I miss the scripted night 2 event (usually by accidentally forcing it to not trigger) I just wait till I return to the area 1 hideout again during the mid game (after completing the other 2 areas) and sure enough the knock will come.. then you can go complete that event before moving on (in other words, it's ok to not fulfil the wedding event at all but you can come back and wait for it again if you want).

[HAV0K13]

Originally posted by HAV0K13:

Originally posted by MazyRun:

Thanks a ton, that was way more info than I was expecting anyone to take the time to give.