Any tips for surviving the night?

[110 ways to break a door down]

Most of the time the cold kills me when i sleep outdoors. I try to conserve my wood and sleep in 1 hour sessions but I just find myself dying and dying because i don't have enough fuel for my fire.

[BookishRogue]

There are a few things you can be aware of, but mostly it involves being prepared ahead of time.

-Get better clothes and make sure they aren't wet. CH is great for clothes if you can brave the wolves. You can also layer things now, which is a huge help. The condition of your clothes also matter, so keep them repaired.

-Pay attention to your firewood types. Fir burns hotter than cedar and longer, but it's heavier.

-Placement of your bedroll matters. Make sure you aren't affected by the windchill.

-Eating warm food right before bed can stave off the cold for a little while.

-Pay CLOSE attention to the "feels like" temperature before you sleep. If it's at all below 0 C, you'll start freezing. Bedrolls give you a bonus, but regular ones are only +4 C (I think?). Not any help in blizzards.

-If you sleep in "outdoor" caves (no loading screen), sleep in the back. There is a temperature spike you can use to your advantage.


But what are you looking for? Are you trying to get the achievement or are you making plans for if you're caught outside?

[Cicer Vopiscus]

Originally posted by z1583970:

But what are you looking for? Are you trying to get the achievement or are you making plans for if you're caught outside?

[PowerOn]

Sleep under stars certainly will kill you.

So sleep inside cars, open cave (try bear cave)

The most open place I sleep is under pier in Fishing Camp CH.

-This is possible in good weather

-Sleep in >3 hour turns.

-Early morning the temperature will drop bellow 0º, so in this last part you need lit a fire.

-Fir give you ~2 hours of duration (cedar ~1 hour), but not so much warn, so add sticks, each add 1º in warm-up, 10 is fine - depends on your cloth. Then sleep more 2 hours.

Same is valid for open cave, in their rear part, or fishing hut (I pass ~10 days in Pensive Pound fishing hut in PV and meet several blizzards).

You don't need lit fire to last 10 hours, just sleep in turn and lit fire early morning or if blizzard hit - in 3 hours turn the temperature drop will not kill you. Provide a good stock of sticks (this mean >100).

[Ghenjei]

There are also a few locations that count as sleeping outside even though they offer a lot of shelter. Fishing huts can be relatively safe. Sheds with walls on all 4 sides are also relatively safe. They won't improve the temperature much but they will keep you dry and protect from windchill.

[listless]

If you're on the roam and don't have enough fuel to get above 0 degrees, don't stop moving. Keep going until you find some kind of shelter. Keep picking up sticks as you walk.
If you do need a fire, and you're wearing crummy clothing, you'd probably need enough fuel for a three-four hour long fire in order to get your body temp back up.

I wouldn't recommend sleeping an entire night outside without having prepared in advance. You should have a spot that's completely sheltered from predators and the wind, and either very good clothing or enough fuel to last 8 hours. In that case I wouldn't bother sleeping an hour at a time. You'll get more out of your fuel if you sleep for at least as long as the fire.

[110 ways to break a door down]

Originally posted by TheOnlySpy:

Originally posted by z1583970:

But what are you looking for? Are you trying to get the achievement or are you making plans for if you're caught outside?

Making plans when caught outside

[lkandrb]

You can't rely on a fire that isn't in a barrel, pot belly stove or deep in a cave to stay lit. Snow shelters won't keep you dry, but will keep you warm. A FULL condition bedroll is good for up to 5 degrees of warmth, but if not maintained it is just like clothing and loses its rating.

If you will stay in range for more than one night, or will pass by regularly build a snow shelter. Maintained regularly it protects from cabin fever, is warm, and can be maintained with just sticks. You can shoot out of them too :)

[BookishRogue]

Originally posted by rainyday:

If you're on the roam and don't have enough fuel to get above 0 degrees, don't stop moving. Keep going until you find some kind of shelter.

I wouldn't recommend sleeping an entire night outside without having prepared in advance.

This. It's often more dangerous to stop and rest than keep moving.

[TARN]

Originally posted by PowerOn:

Sleep under stars certainly will kill you.

If it kills you, then how do people get the "Beneath a Starry Sky" Achievement? All you need is plenty of firewood, a good place to start the fire, and a bit of luck.

[len186]

Planing is good but planing ahead and sticking to it is better.

[PowerOn]

Originally posted by Watchmen:

Originally posted by TheOnlySpy:

Making plans when caught outside

In this case the "best plan" is carry 5 cloths and 15 sticks to make a snow shelter, but if you are wet when enter in snow shelter risk to freezing.

Placing a snow shelter against a big tree or rock allow make a fire in front protect by wind most time. But is need find the place for fire before make the snow shelter - this require a flat surface, so is not job to do in emergency.

[BookishRogue]

Originally posted by len186:

Planing is good but planing ahead and sticking to it is better.

In my TLD experience, the intuition of knowing when your plan isn't working so you can abandon it has been a much better survival skill.

[SteelFire]

Originally posted by The Lone Carrot:

Originally posted by PowerOn:

Sleep under stars certainly will kill you.

If it kills you, then how do people get the "Beneath a Starry Sky" Achievement? All you need is plenty of firewood, a good place to start the fire, and a bit of luck.

There's no luck to it. You sleep in places that are considered outside but that are protected from the elements and wildlife: caves, sheds, fishing huts, snow shelters, or as a last resort, cars. Even with a car you can use a fire, as a fire outside will warm up the inside of the car, but then the fire isn't protected from the wind.

The absolute last thing you want to do, either trying to get the achievement or in a sudden bad weather turn, is sleep out in the open and depend on a fire to keep you alive. That's why learning the terrain, landmarks, and safe paths is so important. That can make the difference between getting lost in a storm or fog and making it to shelter.

[Shenji]

Originally posted by Watchmen:

Originally posted by TheOnlySpy:

Making plans when caught outside

Then the best plan is never get caught by bad weathers when outside.
There're a lot of signs before weather turning bad: Suddenly fog/mist, dark cloud over head, wind gets stronger, appearing of snowflakes(even it looks mild at the first)... and the crow's caw.
Retreat to the nearest shelter whenever you felt slightest danger. Don't rely on cars until no other choice, because you can't light a fire inside it.
If the worst happened, just find a wind shelter(cave or fish hut, if can't find then you can try your luck, but never count on it), light a fire then sleep. Surviving in wind shelter is not very hard unless you picked the bear cave.
Bring coals and a book or several sticks in your pack, forget the firewoods.

Remember, a blizzard will always change directions, with very low temperature, lasts longer than 12 hours, and will ruin your clothes/sleep-bag in no time. So if you get caught by a real blizzard, then you should just light a fire and sleep for as long as you can, it's less painful(to fade into the long dark).

[iheartmyocd]

Coal. It's an hour plus per lump, burns hot as hell, and ten will see you through any night anywhere out of the wind. Every map in the game has access to it, just stockpile, sleep smartly (12 hour fire, 10 hours sleep) and enjoy the stars. Takes a while to build it up, but it's got to be the most valuabe natural resource in the game, especilly for beating cabin fever.