Lone Survivor - Desperate Times

This guide is primarily about the following: enemies and the best as well as many means for surviving them both good and bad, food and drink and their properties and combinations, pills dreams and sleep and their properties, and finally the last is the most complex and difficult which is sanity and sanity maintenence.

I will attempt to update this guide when I can, and people can comment and I will list their discoveries and contributions.

Enemies and Surviving Them!

Enemies! Whether the Thinman, Fatman, Helpless Fatman, Father or Mother, they will all F U UP!

Note: Tumor Babies are not an actual enemy but creatures that live inside of you know who. There is a secret enemy for the secret White Ending that must be obvious what be, but finding is difficult...

Strageties for each:

Thinman: These skinny guys are the first enemy you encounter and will be the most commonplace. At first the only thing they can do is grab and punch, their two main attacks. As the days increase, they gain the Ceiling Takedown attack and the Bloodspray attack.

Surviving their attacks is simple, stay out of melee. Do not enter close range if you don't want to get hit. 5-3 hits with all their attacks can kill you. The Bloodspray attack is different, as it is a ranged projectile... either take cover in a hiding place or run out of range (close and medium range). If the Thinman is not on the other end of the screen, it is likely the Bloodspray attack can hit you.

Thinman can be stunned by shooting them in the feet/legs by aiming down and shooting at close range, and it also makes them able to be ran past. If you are only needing to get past a Thinman once and only once, and you do not have a means to sneak past, I recommend the single bullet that takes to do this and running past them.
Thinman can be shot in the chest, but this does not do much damage to them. In fact, it is extremely ineffective, and can take 7-10 shots to kill them. I recommend avoiding shooting them in the chest at all costs. Shooting them in the head will kill them fast, 3 shots, but it can only be done at close and medium range by shooting up. It also kills them before they can grab, punch, or worse, Ceiling Takedown you. If you start once in close range, should you be compromised with escaping, they will delay their attacks long enough between each shot if fired fast enough for you to be unscathed.

Thinman cannot be snuck past by walking up to their back because they can twist their head to look behind their back... ew! However, Thinman have bad eyesight, and will never see you in darkness in the distance and never see you in a Hiding Place. Use Rotting Meat before hiding places to easily sneak past Thinman. It is possible to sneak past 2 Thinman at once by rapidly placing two Rotting Meat next or on top of eachother and using the hiding place to move by. Victory!

Fatman: These guys are the second enemy you will ever enter combat with. These fat guys cannot see behind them, nor will they be able to notice you no matter how close you are behind them. However... there is a major issue with that they see in front of themselves well, and they can either chase endlessly or give up quickly with little way of telling how far they will stalk you... They have a belly bite attack, which does massive damage if you are close to them and they are going after you.

Fatman cannot be shot in the head... due to their head having mutated away from their... head area and underneath their back insides?! Gross! Fatman can be shot in the belly. This is an effective means of shooting them. 3 shots to the chest will Down a Fatman. Shooting them in the feet/legs is ineffective, and will take 5-10 shots to down them. My advice is to avoid shooting them all together! Using a Flare will instantly Down a Fatman! Instant win! Fatman will not chase after a Rotting Meat placed in Far Range from them! Remember this! Use Hiding Places for the sole purpose of sneaking past them (because they are too fat by any other means!).

Helpless Fatman: These horrific monsters mutate out of a Fatman that is Down. The head pops out of the back and moves back over where the neck should naturally come out of a human, and then the helpless tentacle arms explode at the end into wicked bone scissors! To make things worse they rapidly push forward with their legs if they sense movement or if they see anything in the massive area in front of them because they can spot you well! They can even spot you in a Hiding Spot!

Helpess Fatman can only be shot at random spots by aiming down while in close or medium range with the Handgun. They take a very random amount of shots to die because they take very random damage. It will always take at the best 3 shots to kill them. But at worst I've had to shoot them 10 times hitting each times till they die!
However, there is a solution... a Flare if used on a Helpless Fatman, will scare them until they eventually die of shock. It's... pathetic. Really. If you Down a Fatman with a Flare, it will be rare that you can kill the Helpless Fatman from it's remains with the same Flare, but it does work! Rarely!
I... do not suggest hiding if you can see them. They will chase you to your hiding spot. It's either risk running past them, or use an Item to survive!
I... do not know what happens if you use a Rotting Meat on them...

Father: You will see him before the Fatman, but you will only have a chance to actually deal with him after encountering many Fatman. Father is unkillable with your gun, and flare, and rotting meat, and you must run or die. If he hits you 2 times, you DIE! RUN!!!

Mother: The last of the enemies you will ever encounter unless you try new game plus options! Mother is like Father. Huge massive monster that if hits you you will eventually die! Mother will kill you with her Deathscythes. Try shooting her at medium and close range to stop them from hitting you if she readies a swing! Drop a Flare, but her Tumor Babies will scream it out quite often, as well as when there are no Flares! You cannot kill Mother. Mother will kill you or give up. Survive! Run! Flare! Shoot! Whatever! 3 hits and you are DEAD! Survive long enough and Mother will run away. Victory!

Her: I do not know... but heard that the final enemy is your mutated girlfriend. She is supposedly unkillable... so she must be dealt with... like Father or Mother? Survival unknown... reward immense... so... good Survival!

Food Here! Nom nom nom! Drink Here! Gulp gulp gulp!

Yup, this is all about Food and Drink.
Basically if you can eat it or drink it, it is Food or Drink!
Food is commonly something that only effects your Hunger.
However, specific foods will effect your Sanity, Health, even your Stamina!
The following is about foods that are used on their own:

Basic Foods Uncooked and/or Found:

Rotting Meat: Apparently it will kill you, better feed it to monsters and mutants...
Crackers: Dry tastless food that barely fills Hunger, does nothing to help Sanity Health and Stamina.
Cheese: Bland not fully cheese content cheese that barely fills Hunger, does nothing to help Sanity Health and Stamina.
Irradiated Orange: It is no longer an Orange with the mutations from radiation... Fills Hunger, Drops Sanity, unknown Health and Stamina.
Ham: A rare and delicious food, in surprisingly good condition. Will need to be cooked.
Prawn Crackers: Delicious tasty snack food. Fills Hunger, Barely fills Sanity & Health.
Squid Stick (Takoyaki?): Delicious snack food gone disgusting! Fills Hunger A Lot, Drops Sanity, does nothing with Health and Stamina.
Beef Jerky: Delicious salty snack food! Fills Hunger, Barely fills Sanity & Health, none for Stamina.
Pickle Tin: Delicious tasty salt snack! Fills Hunger, Barely aids Sanity, does seemingly nothing with Health and/or Stamina.
Rice Pudding Tin: Somewhat sweet, somewhat creamy, somewhat good. Fills Hunger, Barely aids Sanity, does seemingly nothing with Health and/or Stamina.
Beans Tin: They are beans, good for your heart, the more you eat, the better your protein and fiber levels. Fills Hunger. Does seemingly nothing with Sanity. No Health or Stamina effect.
Fruit Salad Tin: They are fruits. They are delicious. They are sweets. They are good. Fills Hunger, Barely aids Sanity, does seemingly nothing with Health and/or Stamina.
Ground Meat (SPAM?): Luncheon meat slowly beginning to expire. Barely fills Hunger. Unknown Sanity effect. No Health or Stamina effect.
Tin of Raw Cat Food: If you eat it you will regret it if you are a Human. Feed it to a cat.
Instant Ramen: Very spicy Ramen that can't be eaten as is. Requires Water.


Bottle of Water: A Empty Milk Bottle filled with Rainwater. Barely Fills Health, Sanity, Stamina. Nothing Hunger.
Soda: This is awesome in a can! Fills Hunger, Fills Sanity, Fills Health, Fills Stamina.
Coffee Powder: This is Stamina in a bag! Needs stuff though...
Ground Expresso: This is Stamina in refined form! Needs stuff though...
Milk: Oh god it is beginning to curdle! Fills Hunger, Drops Sanity, Damages Health Small, Nothing with Stamina.

Apparently, there are countless food combos!
Cheese & Crackers: Not that bad for being bad. Fills Hunger, Barely fills Sanity, no Stamina and Health effects.
Fruity Rice Pudding: This is a great cold desert! : Fills Hunger and Sanity. No stamina and small Health.
Hot Rice Pudding: This is awesome in a bowl! : Fills Hunger and Sanity. No stamina and small Health.
Hot and Fruity Rice Pudding: This is the ultimate snack food! Fills Hunger and Sanity greatly. Small stamina and health restoration.
Hot Beans: Fills Hunger and Barely fills Sanity. Unknown if Health and or Stamina effect.
Cold Soda: Fills all Largely. New game plus needed!
Cold Mexican Cola: Maximixes All. New Game plus Needed!
Steamed Ham: Fills all Largely. New game plus needed!
Ham and Beans: Requires Steamed Ham and Warm Beans : Maximizes All. New game plus needed!
Coffee: Fills Stamina. Nothing Else.
Double Expresso: Fills Stamina. Small Health and Sanity. No Hunger.
Cooked Ramen: Small Fill All.

How to make Fruity Puddings Properly:
To make any Fruity Pudding you need either the Irradiated Orange or Tin of Fruit Salad, plus the Tin of Rice Pudding. From there it depends on the combo. If you combine them with the Tin of Rice Pudding, you cannot get Hot and Fruity Rice Pudding cause it can no longer be cooked. As such, save your Tin of Rice Pudding or cook it until you find the Irradiated Orange or Fruit Salad.

How to construct the Burger:
(Any) Grilled Patty & Burger Buns = Burger
Burger & Lettuce or Sliced Cheese = Dressed Burger
Dressed Burger & Sliced Cheese & Lettuce = Well Dressed Burger
Well Dressed Burger & Tin of Pickles = Ultimate Burger

Information Lacking: Statistics:
Grilled Patty
Burger
Dressed Burger
Well Dressed Burger
Ultimate Burger

Please help me solve the mystery of the Nom Noms and Gulp Slurps! Donate Info!

Pills Here! Grabbing Pills! Hey Louis it's Pills! Grabbing everything I can!

Pills here! grabbing Pills. Pills here! Grabbing Pills!!! Pills here!!! Grabbing Pills!!!!! This used to be a nice neighborhood, this used to be a nice neighborhood, this used to be a nice neighborhood, if I find a BurgerTank I'm gonna be a one man cheese burger apocolypse!

Everyone in Left4Dead and Left4Dead2 and TeamFortress and TeamFortress2 and Halflife and Halflife2 hears the same thing, pills here, medicine! Well, this Medic wants you to know there is a reason he uses the Medical Anus Appliance Apparatus TM! There is a type of thing used a lot like medicine. People in real life call these things chemicals, drugs, and poison. Well I am here to tell you the truth, these things are actually a mysterious type of otherworldly medicine known as the... NotMedicine. NotMedicine comes in many forms in many games, I mean universes. In TeamFortress we call one form of NotMedicine Concainum. It is well known as the Bonkalyst, the Catalyst of Bonk. But did you know that too much Bonk is bad for you? Well... Vinchenzo the Jackal is a smart medic of ex-♥♥♥♥ military survival brigade of DunkOffFest and let me tell you, NotMedicine is a double edged Half-Zatoichi. In other words it is a four bladed sword that impale you in the mouth with one end, the butt with the other, while you wield the blade with your hands and impale your enemy with the final remaining blade if you are left alive at the end. In other words. NotMedicine is not medicine.

Pills in this game give beneficial effects while doing harmful effects, and can actually be VERY HARMFUL!!!
Pills in this game that are Red Maximizes Stamina and gives a Small Health&Hunger Boost at the cost of small Sanity. Eat a Red Pill to not die, but to risk a bad bad ending.
Pills in this game that are Blue give a Stamina Flop... which drops Stamina to a minimum and forces you to go to a bed fast. You then have a Blue Dream. Answer a question right or poorly to get some Ammo if you have no Ammo in your inventory. Answer wrong to get a WRONG!, and adding a secret mark to your worse ending chance.
Pills in this game that are Green give a Stamina Flop... which also happens with the Blue. You will have a Green Dream. This teleports you to a myserious beach where you can converse or interact with the mysterious Box Head Man. Interact for some neat stuff. Answer a question right or poorly to get some Batteries if you have no Batteries in your inventory. Answer wrong and get a WRONG!, which also happens in the Blue under same circumstance with same situation.

Pills can be gifted and traded and more in this game with various individuals you encounter. So... in general, try to save your pills for those that need them more than you or can at least tell you more about them.

Sanity? Insanity! Sanitarium? Insanium!

Okay. So... where do I begin... here is the background of why "You" is "You" without spoilers.
Amnesia, Plague Based Apocolypse, Survival Alone... that is why you are You!
As You you must remain sane. You must survive the monsters, mutants, apocolypse, your memories, and eventually, you must discover your hallucinations.
How do you stay sane? What is sane? What is sanity?

Vinchenzo the Jackal here. As medical extra-ordinare I can advise you on sanity. It is the opposite of insanity. Sanity is maintaining a balanced level headed mind without going to extremes and coping with life in healthy ways. Insanity is acting rash, random, extreme and destructive while ignoring your coping skills. Take me. I love animals. I cope with my harsh brutal life by taking time to talk to, feed, pet, care for, play with, my animals. I am an anthropomorphic jackal man after all. But everyone copes differently. Some people cope with NotMedicine and full into an eternal hallucinagenic stupor. Others cope by finding a friend, even if the friend is an object, or cope by finding a hobby, like games or music. I like friends hobbies games and music too.

Back to Lone Survivor. Yes, Coping, means either finding objects tied to coping, or items tied to coping, even animals, or if there is a person, by interacting, talking, and/either/or using them.
Simply put, Sanity will determine your ending. And can only increase at a steady pace with your coping skill(s). And Pills will be your most dangerous coping skill with a one way ticket to bad endings!

The starting coping skills include your hero and pet, Sleepy Cat the Action Doll! There is also Chuck, the Noble Houseplant Knight! As you progress you will encounter odd people who might be hallucinations or memories trying to help you, a survivor, yay!, a pet stray cat that is immune to the plague cause its a cat!, double yays!, and a handheld gaming console and a portable music device!

Wee! There are coping skills everywhere when you learn how to escape the apartments, aren't you happy you didn't think about overdosing on pills yet? But wait, is sanity something you are still struggling with? Well fear not, Sanity can be restored!

Sanity restores with SafetyLight, the Pocket Flashlight Guardian! You also have the power, to cook real food! Create real meals and stop eating garbage you pick up off the ground! Yays real foods! Just remember, you'll find the first few things to start cooking meals to restore sanity around the Apartment Ruins, but eventually you'll need to explore the city ruins... remember, cooked food is Sanity Food!

Finally, do not panic. Panicking happens when you are doomed. You are doomed when you are completely out of batteries and SafetyLight goes to sleep. Also, you are doomed when you have no ammo for Mister Gun and no meats and flares to keep Zombies and Mutants and Monsters away. Carry these things and keep Mister Gun and SafetyLight fed at all times.

Lastly, do not try to kill everything. Look too long into the abyss and the abyss looks into you. Nextly to endly, try to find peaceful ways to solve every problems. Fighting and dieing is not as good as running and living. Finally to finally, interact in ways that aren't what Vinchenzo the Jackal mentioned are insane. He is smart and knows what he talks about.

[Montraria]

sanity drop

[Leon]

not that anyone would care in modern times, but i found this guide wanting. What happens when stamina is too low? ive never tried, do you fall asleep? die? or is it just a sanity drain? would be interesting going for a low sanity ending like blue/red all in one day if so.
And the second half of the guide just seems like whoever started it handed it off to their kid to finish and is just non-sense really.

[PixelConglamorate]

This guide downright deserves more attention. It's great.

[Vapor iso]

Really good , nice work here!