Cheat Death

“

You can cheat death, but you can’t cheat death for free.

”

Cheat Death is the mechanic in survival mode of The Long Dark, which allows the player to escape a lethal situation at the cost of increased difficulty. Cheat Death was added for free in the Part 5 update of Tales from the Far Territory.

Overview

Cheat Death is an optional change to The Long Dark's permadeath system which adds new gameplay to players who aren’t ready to lose their favorite survivor, or those who just want something fresh. This option is available for every difficulty Experience except Misery Mode. Cheat Death may be performed up to 3 times (for 4 total lives), with progressively harsher penalties each time. Each extra life is symbolized by a Campfire that can be seen upon quickly checking your status. If the player chooses to persist upon death, an extra life is used up, and Campfires will become extinguished starting with the left, middle, finally right Campfire as they lose more lives. Once a player dies a 4th time, the player will fade away into The Long Dark.

Choice

Upon reaching 0% Condition while playing Survival Mode, the player will be presented with two options.

• "End Game"
  • The save file is wiped (ending that sandbox world forever). The player can then save that run in the Journal or abandon it.
  • Survivor Skills, inventory, collectibles, Tales progress, Survey Progress, and Achievement progress are lost.
  • Feat progress and sandbox statistics are preserved.
• "Cheat Death"
  • Ability to keep some carried items from the time of death, and later recover missing items.
  • Retain Skills, Tales, Survey, Collectibles, Technical Backpack, and certain Achievement progress.
  • The world remains same: explored/looted areas, stored gear, etc.
  • Increasing Penalties added each time Cheat Death is used (up to 3 times).

If the player closes the game at this point, the save file will be wiped by default. Choosing "Cheat Death" allows the player to continue playing in the same Survival Sandbox, but at a cost...

Cheat Death Consequences

If the player chooses to Cheat Death, they will be presented with a list of consequences for this option.

Achievements

“

Progress for achievements that require completion within a single game will be reset.

”

Timers for Achievements that require cumulative play time will be reset, and must be started from the beginning:

Image	Name	Description
	The First of Many	Survive 1 day in a single Survival Mode game.
	You Made It!	Survive 10 days in a single Survival Mode game.
	Ready for when the SHTF!	Survive 50 days in a single Survival Mode game.
	Centurion	Survive for 100 days in a single Survival Mode game.
	The Will to Live	Survive 500 days in a single Survival Mode game.
	Exploration Game	Visit every interior location in both Mystery Lake and Coastal Highway (single game)
	Waste Not, Want Not	Harvest 10 Complete Deer Carcasses (single game)
	Night Walker	Survive an entire Night outside (single game)
	Beneath a Starry Sky	Survive 3 consecutive Nights outside (single game)
	Silent Hunter	Survive the first 50 days without firing the hunting rifle, revolver or the distress pistol (single game)
	Pacifist	Survive the first 25 days without killing anything (single game)
	Living Off the Land	Survive 25 consecutive full days only consuming calories harvested from wild plants and animals (single game)
	Natural Healer	Heal yourself using all types of natural medicines (single game)
	Happy Harvester	Harvest 25 of each kind of plant (single game)

Affliction

“

Cheating Death will weaken you, temporarily diminishing your condition and stamina recovery.

”

The player's Condition and Stamina recovery will be halved when they awaken (Weakened State).

Backpack

“

Your old pack is still in the world. Find it to recover what's left of your items.

”

Many items in the player's inventory will be missing when they wake up. Some items will be carried over to their new life, but many will be lost until they are recovered by finding the Recovery Backpack.

Penalty

“

You will choose between a painful short-term penalty, or a more forgiving but permanent one.

”

The player will be given the choice of the severity of a penalty for choosing to cheat death (see next section).

Respawn

“

You will have to choose between the risk of a spawn close to where you died, or a safe but distant one.

”

The player cannot choose where to respawn, but how they will respawn (see later section).

Cheat Death Penalty

The player can choose their Cheated Death Penalty, and can mix the two penalty types per death as they please:

• Short Term Penalty:
  • A temporary, but harsh Recovery Time penalty (10-30 days depending on Experience).
  • Max Condition reduced by 50% for the first death, 60% for the second, 75% for the third.
• Permanent Penalty:
  • No Recovery Time penalty, but...
  • Max Condition PERMENANTLY reduced by 25% for the first death, 35% for the second, 50% for the third.

Respawn

When you cheat death, you'll be given the option to respawn either inside the region somewhere, or in a safe but far away location:

• Close, Risky Respawn will always put the player outdoors near danger in the same region you died in, and the hike back to where you died will be relatively moderate.
• Far, Safe Respawn will always send the player to an indoor location they may or may not have already discovered in another region. It will always be a safe shelter, but it is possible to be sent over halfway across the Island sometimes (ex, from Sundered Pass all the way to Coastal Highway). It is possible to be sent to a region the player has not explored yet.

Once a respawn condition is chosen, the player will be asked if they are ok with the choices they have made up to this point, allowing them one last chance to cancel Cheating Death or amend their choices. If the player accepts these terms, the player will wake up looking at their hands, with the survivor commenting in confusion if they really just died. Upon awakening, the following occurs:

• 1 in game day will always pass between their death and "rebirth."
• The player can respawn at varying levels of daylight, such as in the middle of night or during the evening.
• The player will be afflicted with their chosen Cheated Death Penalty, along with Weakened State. Weakened State gives the player very low Condition and Stamina recovery, and will always give the player a Black and White screen. Always take this into consideration when choosing how to respawn, as this can make it difficult to see one's surroundings when you respawn in an already critical state and if the player happens to respawn at night.
• Your Clothing will be intact but will be heavily torn (in the 20% yellow range), resulting in the player easily freezing.
• Some items the player was carrying will still remain in their backpack, but most will be lost where they died in a Recovery Backpack.
• The Recovery Backpack will be somewhere in the region you last died in, and is represented by a Campfire icon on the region map. The backpack will also be located next to a burned out Campfire, and many items you were carrying when you last died being lost upon opening it.
• It is possible to lose all carried item in your pack from your last life, including unique, one-of-a-kind items that can be found only once in the game world. Dying multiple times resets the contents of the last Recovery Backpack.

Game History

• UPDATE 24 June 2024 (Update):
  • Added to game.

References

1. Hinterlands Studio, 2024. May Developer Diary. Includes details on TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY, Part Five