Decay

Most items will gradually decay in The Long Dark. Tools degrade when used, while food and clothing decays over time.

How fast items decay over time depends on the item and on the selected difficulty. Using Stalker difficulty as a base, items decay at 80% on Voyageur and 25% as fast on Pilgrim. Interloper items decay at 200%.

The decay values in the tables below are based on Stalker difficulty and are extracted from the game files.

Food and drink

Food decays at different rates, depending on whether it is stored outside or inside. Currently, the game also considers sheltered locations without a loading screen, such as the Mountaineer's Hut, the Forestry Lookout or caves, to be outside. Additionally, it doesn't matter whether the items are stored in a container or not.

When eating food with low condition, the food poisoning effect may be applied. Eating meat from carnivores also adds a risk for intestinal parasites on Stalker and Interloper difficulties.

Name	Decay inside (%/day)	Decay outside (%/day)	Best stored
Airline Food - Chicken	0.056	0.028	Outside
Airline Food - Vegetarian	0.056	0.028	Outside
Beef jerky	0.100	0.010	Outside
Birch bark tea	0.000	0.000	Any
Black bear meat (cooked)	8.333	0.833	Outside
Black bear meat (raw)	25.000	2.500	Outside
Candy bar/Chocolate Bar	0.250	0.025	Outside
Cattail stalk	0.000	0.000	Any
Coho salmon (cooked)	12.500	1.250	Outside
Coho salmon (raw)	33.333	3.333	Outside
Condensed milk	1.000	0.250	Outside
Cup of coffee	0.000	0.000	Any
Cup of herbal tea	0.000	0.000	Any
Dog food	0.667	0.167	Outside
Energy bar	0.833	0.417	Outside
GO! Energy drink	0.167	0.833	Inside
Granola bar	0.333	0.033	Outside
Ketchup chips	0.250	0.025	Outside
Lake whitefish (cooked)	12.500	1.250	Outside
Lake whitefish (raw)	33.333	3.333	Outside
Maple syrup	1.000	0.500	Outside
Military-Grade MRE	0.056	0.028	Outside
Moose meat (cooked)	8.333	0.833	Outside
Moose meat (raw)	20.000	2.000	Outside
Orange soda	0.167	0.833	Inside
Peanut butter	1.000	0.500	Outside
Pinnacle peaches	0.333	1.667	Inside
Pork and beans	0.133	0.667	Inside
Rabbit (cooked)	12.500	1.250	Outside
Rabbit (raw)	33.333	3.333	Outside
Rainbow trout (cooked)	12.500	1.250	Outside
Rainbow trout (raw)	33.333	3.333	Outside
Reishi tea	0.000	0.000	Any
Rosehip tea	0.000	0.000	Any
Salty crackers	0.000	0.000	Any
Smallmouth bass (cooked)	12.500	1.250	Outside
Smallmouth bass (raw)	33.333	3.333	Outside
Stacy's grape soda	0.167	0.833	Inside
Summit soda	0.167	0.833	Inside
Tin of sardines	0.067	0.333	Inside
Tomato soup	0.200	0.050	Outside
Venison (cooked)	10.000	1.000	Outside
Venison (raw)	20.000	2.000	Outside
Wolf meat (cooked)	10.000	1.000	Outside
Wolf meat (raw)	33.333	3.333	Outside
Water (potable)	0.000	0.000	Any

Quartering

Name	Decay inside (%/day)	Decay outside (%/day)	Best stored
Bear quarter	10.000	10.000	Any
Deer quarter	10.000	10.000	Any
Moose quarter	10.000	10.000	Any
Rabbit carcass	10.000	10.000	Any
Wolf quarter	10.000	10.000	Any

Clothing

Clothing items have three different decay speeds: when stored (in- or outside), when worn inside and when worn outside. Clothes gradually offer less protection from the cold the more they decay, making it important to keep one's clothes in good condition.

Clothes can also rapidly decay from blizzards, wolf attacks, and falling.

Story

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Mountaineering boots	0.040	0.100	0.400
Mackenzie's Boots	0.067	0.067	0.333
Mackenzie's Parka	0.040	0.100	0.200
Mackenzie's Toque	0.000	0.250	0.500
Mackenzie's Pants	0.100	0.250	0.500
Mackenzie's Shirt	0.250	0.250	0.500
Mackenzie's Sweater	0.250	0.250	0.500

Hats and scarfs

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Balaclava	0.100	0.250	1.000
Baseball cap	0.333	0.833	3.333
Cotton scarf	0.133	0.333	1.333
Cotton toque	0.500	1.000	2.000
Fleece cowl	0.125	0.313	1.250
Improvised head wrap	1.000	2.000	4.000
Long wool scarf	0.067	0.167	0.667
Rabbitskin hat	0.067	0.167	0.667
Wool scarf	0.100	0.250	1.000
Wool toque	0.133	0.333	1.333

Gloves

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Driving gloves	0.500	1.000	2.000
Fleece mittens	0.333	1.000	1.333
Gauntlets	0.125	0.375	0.500
Improvised hand wraps	0.500	1.000	2.000
Rabbitskin mitts	0.050	0.125	0.500
Ski gloves	0.167	0.333	0.667
Wool mittens	0.250	0.750	1.000
Work gloves	0.167	0.333	0.667

Shirts and sweaters

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Cowichan sweater	0.033	0.083	0.333
Dress shirt	0.333	1.000	1.333
Fisherman's sweater	0.040	0.100	0.400
Hoodie	0.100	0.250	1.000
Plaid shirt	0.250	0.750	1.000
Sweatshirt	0.250	0.750	1.000
Thick wool sweater	0.050	0.125	0.500
Thin wool sweater	0.067	0.167	0.667
T-Shirt	0.500	1.500	2.000
Wool shirt	0.167	0.500	0.667

Coats, vests and jackets

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Bearskin coat	0.133	0.033	0.133
Down vest	0.250	0.750	1.000
Expedition parka	0.063	0.188	0.250
Light shell	0.167	0.333	0.667
Mackinaw jacket	0.083	0.250	0.333
Mariner's pea coat	0.071	0.071	0.286
Military coat	0.071	0.214	0.286
Moose-hide cloak	0.033	0.027	0.133
Old fashioned parka	0.083	0.250	0.333
Simple parka	0.100	0.300	0.400
Ski jacket	0.067	0.167	0.667
Sport vest	0.333	0.667	1.333
Urban parka	0.200	0.600	0.800
Windbreaker	0.333	1.000	1.333
Wolfskin coat	0.020	0.050	0.200

Underwear

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Thermal underwear	0.200	0.500	2.000
Wool longjohns	0.100	0.250	1.000

Pants

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Cargo pants	0.067	0.167	0.667
Combat pants	0.067	0.167	0.667
Deerskin pants	0.029	0.071	0.286
Jeans	0.100	0.500	1.000
Snow pants	0.080	0.200	0.800
Work pants	0.050	0.250	0.500

Socks

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Climbing socks	0.100	0.250	1.000
Sports socks	0.625	1.875	2.500
Wool socks	0.133	0.333	1.333

Shoes and boots

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Combat boots	0.067	0.067	0.667
Deerskin boots	0.033	0.033	0.333
Insulated boots	0.125	0.250	0.500
Leather shoes	0.167	0.167	0.667
Mukluks	0.040	0.100	0.400
Running shoes	0.250	0.250	1.000
Ski boots	0.050	0.100	0.200
Trail boots	0.067	0.067	0.667
Work boots	0.050	0.125	0.500

Accessories

Name	Decay when stored (%/day)	Worn inside (%/day)	Worn outside (%/day)
Moose-hide satchel	0.020	0.020	0.030
Wool ear wrap	0.133	0.333	1.333

Medical supplies

Only painkillers, antibiotics and water purification tablets decay over time. Fortunately, there are craftable alternatives (Reishi tea, Rose hip tea) that do not decay.

Storing these supplies inside does not alter the rate of decay.

Name	Decay over time (%/day)
Antibiotics	0.100
Painkillers	0.100
Water purification tablets	0.200

Tools

Most tools degrade only when they're used. Once their condition goes below a lower threshold, they have a chance to break when they're used.

Note that these decay values are not affected by the difficulty multiplier.

Name	Decay per action (%)	Breaking threshold (%)
Can opener	2.000	20
Distress pistol	4.000	10
Firestriker	2.000	10
Fishing tackle	10.000	20
Hacksaw	5.000	25
Hatchet	2.000	15
Heavy hammer	0.667	10
Hunting knife	2.000	15
Hunting rifle	1.333	10
Improvised hatchet	3.000	30
Improvised knife	3.000	30
Prybar	1.600	20
Quality tools	2.000	10
Revolver	1.000	10
Rifle cleaning kit	5.000	20
Sewing kit	5.000	20
Simple tools	3.333	20
Survival bow	2.000	15
Whetstone	5.000	20

Special tools

Name	Crafting (%/hour)	Harvesting animals (%/hour)	Clearing ice fishing hole (%)
Fishing tackle	10.000
Hacksaw		1.000
Hatchet	1.000	1.000	5.000
Heavy hammer	0.667		1.333
Hunting knife	1.000	1.000	5.000
Improvised hatchet	1.500	1.500	10.000
Improvised knife	1.500	1.500	8.000
Prybar			1.600
Quality tools	1.000
Sewing kit	5.000
Simple tools	1.667

Arrows

Arrows only degrade when they're used. The amount of decay depends on the angle with which the arrow impacts and on the hardness of the object it hits.

Arrows can break on impact when their condition sinks below 20%. If an animal is hit and the arrow breaks, it will not be embedded in the animal and instead just drop to the floor.

Bedrolls

Bedrolls both decay over time and when used.

Name	Decay over time (%/day)	Decay when used (%/hour of sleep)
Bedroll	0.200	0.100
Bear skin bedroll	0.274	0.068

Materials

Hides and guts stop decaying once they've cured completely. All other materials not mentioned here don't decay.

Name	Decay over time (%/day)
Black bear hide	3.333
Deer hide	3.333
Flare shell	0.067
Gut	5.000
Herbal tea	0.067
Moose hide	2.857
Rabbit pelt	6.667
Tin of coffee	0.100
Wolf pelt	5.000

Food decay