Feats

A player achieving the Free Running feat

Feats are passive bonuses unlocked in The Long Dark.

Overview

Each of the 9 feats offers a unique passive bonus to the character of a Survival Mode world when it is being created, but only a finite number of Feats can be activated based on its difficulty, only at its creation, and only if the Feats are unlocked.

• To unlock a Feat, the Feat must be unlocked by completing its requirement (such as "Spend 100 days outside" for the Feat "Cold Fusion"); after which the Feat can be Activated when creating a new Survival Mode world, granting that Feat's bonus for the entire playthrough.
• Feats are similar to Survival Skills, but Feat progression is persistent (across all Survival Mode games and Challenges), where as Survival Skills are tied to a specific playthrough.
• Feats must be 'Activated' upon creating a new world sandbox, and cannot be added retroactively to a Survival Mode world, or changed mid-playthrough.

• Progress in "Custom" Survival Mode worlds does not grant Feat progress, but already unlocked Feats can be used in Custom worlds.

Players are able to select a number of unlocked feats to Activate a playthrough, based on the difficulty selected. These numbers are listed below:

Difficulty	Active Feats
Pilgrim	5
Voyageur	4
Stalker	3
Interloper	2
Custom	5

List of Feats

Each obtainable Feat is listed below, along with their requirements for unlocking and unique effects.

	Feat	Requirement	Effect
	Book Smarts	250 hours of research	10% benefit from each completely researched book
	Cold Fusion	Spend a total of 100 days outside	Permanent +2C bonus to Feels Like temperature
	Efficient Machine	Survive 500 days	Consume 10% fewer Calories
	Fire Master	Start 1000 fires	Survivors start with a Level 3 Fire-Starting skill
	Free Runner	Sprint 50 kilometers (31.07 miles)	Sprinting burns 25% fewer Calories
	Snow Walker	Travel 1000 kilometers (621.37 miles)	Stamina bar recharges 20% faster
	Blizzard Walker	Spend 20 days outdoors during blizzards	Speed reduction for walking into wind reduced by 25%
	Expert Trapper	Snare 100 Rabbits	Snares are now 100% more effective.
	Straight To The Heart	Use or consume 250 Cup of Coffee, GO! Energy Drinks or Emergency Stims	The effects of Cup of Coffee, GO! Energy Drink, and Emergency Stims last 25% longer
File:Darkwalker.png	Darkwalker	Collect 6 escape the Darkwalker Diary Pages in a single game.	You are less Fatigued at night, but more Fatigued during the day.

Trivia

• Book Smarts completion requires 10-62.5 books to be fully read to complete, since books contain 4-25 hours of research each. This is typically more books than an entire world contains on voyageur mode, but can be completed in a single lucky playthrough on pilgrim. With Book Smarts active, a completed research book which normally grants 10 skill points, will grant 11 instead. Research books cannot be read at higher skill levels (Skill 3 or 4 depending on book type), regardless of Book Smarts feat being active or not ("Your knowledge is too advanced for this book").
• Cold Fusion is equivalent to beginning the game while already wearing a weightless, full-condition toque and never deteriorates (minus the Windchill bonus and frostbite protection).
• Efficient Machine affects all sources of calorie consumption: from the passive burn being awake or asleep, to climbing ropes, sprinting, and harvesting firewood or scrap metal. This makes it stronger than merely "+10% calories", since it synergizes with the +25% calories from level 5 cooking skill, while also indirectly reducing the damage caused by starvation, healing condition (more time with all four needs being fulfilled), and making the well fed benefit easier to achieve and maintain.
• Fire Master is equivalent to beginning the game having started 50 fires, increasing base fire start chance from 40% to 65%, making fuel last 10% longer, and making tinder unnecessary.
• Free Runner reduces Sprinting, which is the second most calorie-intensive action in the game (only to rope climbing), to 75% of its initial value. However it does not affect Sprinting's fatigue drain, and Sprinting while already starving carries no benefits from the feat.
• Snow Walker allows more sprinting by shorter breaks between back-to-back Sprints, but has no effect on short Sprints and marginal use in rope climbing
• Blizzard Walker while walking into the wind still slows movement speed by 75% of the wind's value.
• Expert Trapper doubles the likelihood of capturing rabbits in snares if placed in their rabbit grove (e.g. increasing the chance of a catch from 20% to 40%). It has no effect with Snares placed outside of rabbit groves, or on the rate snares become ruined.
• Straight To The Heart only affects the duration of the benefits from cup of coffee, GO! Energy Drink, and emergency stims. E.g. it increases the "fatigue reduced" Benefit of Cup of Coffee from 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, but has no effect on the 5% fatigue restored by drinking the coffee initially, its hydration, or calories. All consumables affected by Straight To The Heart are finite and non-renewable.
• The Darkwalker feat can be earned by playing the 2020 Halloween-inspired "Escape the Darkwalker" game mode, during the event (between 6PM October 29th and 6pm November 12th). Each of the 10 major regions contains one green campfire with one diary page on the ground beside it; 6 of these must be collected in a single game to unlock it.