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The Long Dark Wiki


Suffocation Risk is a very short but highly lethal Affliction that occurs when the player character is exposed to toxic airborne gases. It is a rare but incredibly dangerous Affliction to encounter in Survival Mode, being present only within the Last Prospect mine and the Langston Mine.

It is also present in Wintermute, specifically Episode 4: Fury, then Silence, where it can be encountered in three separate locations. Several areas of the Last Prospect mine, one smoke filled section of Blackrock Prison, and the destroyed Steam Tunnels near the end of the episode.

Overview[]

You are running out of air to breathe. Find a pocket of clear air or equip a Respirator before you die.

Unlike most other Afflictions, Suffocation Risk does not build up over time, instead being replaced with a timer in the bottom left corner of the screen that counts down in real seconds as long as the player character remains within a toxic cloud's area of effect. The player's vision will also begin to blur as the player character begins coughing and tearing up from breathing in the gas, along with a noticeable loss of hearing.

A Respirator with sufficient Canisters may also be equipped to prevent Suffocation, but once the Condition of air Canisters degrades, the player will begin to suffocate again if they run out of replacements.

The maximum amount of time in the timer changes depending on difficulty level selected in Survival Mode or Wintermute. This timer ranges from 30-60 seconds.

Affliction[]

Once the timer reaches 0, the player will die instantly, regardless of how much Condition they have left (similar to falling from an extreme height). Reaching an area with clean air will reset the countdown and slowly restore the player character's vision and hearing. Forcing clean air into the gas clouds using nearby machinery, such as in the Last Prospect mines in Episode 4 with a Valve Socket Handle (Wintermute Only), will also reset the countdown.

Notes[]

  • Suffocation was introduced in Episode 4 of the Wintermute story mode campaign. It was later added to Survival Mode in the Perilous Constraint update. Further more, it was reintroduced in the Langston Mine in the Buried Echoes update in the Zone of Contamination.
  • It is impossible to burn toxic mineshaft gas up with any fire source, such as campfires, noisemakers, torches, matches, or gunfire, as the gas is not flammable.

Update history[]

  • HOTFIX 14 April 2023 (Update):
    • Fixed an issue that caused graphical corruption when entering areas that contain a risk of Suffocation (such as the Steam Tunnels in Episode Four), or when enabling the Heritage Filter in the Display Options.
  • UPDATE 6 April 2023 (Update):
    • [EP 4] Fixed an issue that would cause Players to become stuck in the Suffocating state if they saved and reloaded while suffocating.
  • UPDATE 6 October 2021 (Update):
    • Added to game.
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