The Long Dark Wiki
The Long Dark Wiki
The Long Dark Wiki
1,738
pages
in: DLC Content, Pages with update history

Trader

View source
DLC-Exclusive content.
This content requires the Tales from the Far Territory addon to be installed before it can be seen or used in regular gameplay.
Icon Trader

Icon for the Trader used in the marketing of TftFT

“ A source of rare goods and useful information, for a price.
Official Hinterland Description
 ”

The Trader is an NPC that "appears" in Survival Mode. He may be contacted via Radio to propose bartering for items, and functions as a source of renewable items if the player has the resources to trade with him. The Trader was released in the Part 6 Broken Silence update for the Tales from the Far Territory expansion.

Overview

A man known as Sutherland, the Trader communicates with the survivor over Radios during an active Aurora. He will offer the survivor rare or unique items for a price, and requires his requested trade items to be placed inside the Trade Drop Box on Misanthrope's Island in Coastal Highway. The Trader becomes accessible after a fixed number of days have passed (determined by chosen Experience).

Despite being the only living NPC in Survival Mode, The Trader is never physically seen when he arrives and will always keep his distance from the player. He will remain at sea in a sailboat and refuses to step foot on Great Bear Island for mysterious reasons.

He is the center of his own unique Tale: Sutherland's Tale.

Enable Option

“ A mysterious voice on the radio. Set up trade exchanges, gain his trust, and receive access to new, unique items.


Disable if you do not want the Trader to be present in your game.

”

The player has the option to enable/disable the Trader before starting their survival game. The option to disable the Trader appears on all Experiences. If disabled, the Trader's radios do not appear on the Island.

Arrival Time and Radio

Arrival Time

Sutherland eventually reveals that his radio has not been working since the start of a new survival game, and that he has been spending all this time repairing it. Below is a time table showing how long the player must survive before he repairs his radio and can be contacted.

Trader Arrival Date
Experience Days Survived
Pilgrim 15
Voyageur 20
Stalker 30
Interloper/Misery 40

Radio Locations

The Trader can only be contacted by special yellow Radios with a microphone and portable antenna, which can be found at fixed locations on Great Bear Island (and cannot be moved with Safehouse Customization).

  • The Radio must be powered during an active Aurora (or Glimmer Fog in the Far Territory). These radios will not appear if The Trader is disabled.
  • If the message "Trader Unavailable" appears when using the Radio, this means that the minimum arrival date has not passed yet or the Trader is delivering your items after completing a trade. A good way to tell if Sutherland is around is to listen for him shouting when the Radio is powered.
Trader Radio Locations
Region Location
Blackrock Blackrock Prison (Guard Barracks)
Bleak Inlet Last Resort Cannery (White Trailer)
Broken Railroad Maintenance Yard (Outdoor Office)
Coastal Highway Quonset Garage
Forsaken Airfield Terminal
Mountain Town Milton Post Office
Mystery Lake Camp Office
Pleasant Valley Community Hall
Transfer Pass Vacant Depot
Zone of Contamination Idle Camp (Mess Hall)

Trading

Trader Mechanics

  • Sutherland is contacted by Radio to trade or converse (after he arrives).
    • Radios are found at fixed locations around Great Bear Island and are powered during Aurora or Glimmer Fog weather.
    • 6-10 different types of items are offered per trade.
    • Most items can be traded in multiples (between 1-10), but this increases requested items by that multiple.
    • Unique items can only be traded once (equipment/recipes/blueprints).
  • Once a trade is confirmed, the Trade Drop Box must be filled with the requested items (at Misanthrope's Homestead in Coastal Highway).
    • Trade requirements/progress is tracked on the character sheet (Journal > Active Trades) and at the Trade Drop Box.
    • The Trade Drop Box becomes locked with a padlock when not in use, or when complete and waiting for pickup.
    • The Trade Drop Box may be marked early for pickup (even with trades incomplete):
      • Completed trades will have their contents replaced with the requested item(s).
      • Incomplete trades will have all items in the Trade Drop Box lost (no items refunded).
    • Trades can be canceled via radio.
    • An Aurora always occurs immediately (if at night) or the next night when the last requested item is dropped in the Trade Drop Box and the box is marked as "Complete Trade." This also occurs when marked for incomplete pickup.
  • Once the Trade Drop Box is marked as ready for pickup, Sutherland must be contacted via Radio to confirm pickup.
    • Immediately after confirming the trade, Sutherland will pick up all items in the Trade Drop Box and reward completed trades.
    • After the player signals Sutherland to complete a trade, he has a cooldown where he will not respond to the player over the radio for 1 hour as he drops off your items. Your items must be claimed from the Trade Drop Box before you can start another trade.

Trading Tips

  • Items received from Sutherland are always at 100% Condition.
  • Time does not pass as long as the player is on the radio with Sutherland, so do not worry about the power going out while talking to him.
  • The Trader's inventory on Interloper/Misery behaves largely the same, but some items from his stock are missing (mainly firearms and clothing/etc).
    • On Misery the trader also offers less items per trade.
  • Trades have no time limit, but Sutherland will not rotate stock until the current trade is completed or canceled.
    • Successful trades increase Sutherland's Trust with the survivor, canceling trades too often reduces it.
  • Items traded often have the following requirements:
  • Items Decay inside the Trade Drop Box, but VERY slowly once placed inside.
    • Meat/fish will still be accepted once placed inside the Drop Box, even if they decay below 50% condition. Even items that have reached 0% condition will be accepted and will NOT despawn.
  • After marking the trade box, it is handy to use the following aurora to set up another trade, in order to have a way of triggering the aurora in the future other than waiting for one to happen naturally.
  • Technically, an unlimited number of trades can be performed in one night provided the items are available to trade and the Aurora does not end. Due to time constraints, this can only feasibly be done if the trade is placed from the radio in Quonset Garage, and having the Celestial Navigator feat helps. However, Sutherland will only offer the same selection of items each time you contact him on the same night, minus any items already traded (i.e. he will not rotate the stock on offer until the next aurora night).
  • Reloading your save file will reset the list of items that Sutherland offers for trade, as long as no trades have already been completed that night (see above).
  • Gaining a certain level of Trust gives a slight permanent discount on trading requirements.

Trust

The Trader requires building up Trust in order to unlock most of his stock. The player starts with 0 Trust and each successful trade adds a certain amount of Trust, depending on the experience mode (this stat is hidden, so consider keeping track of completed trades in the General Notes section of the Journal).

  • Highest possible Trust is capped at 500 and lowest possible Trust is -100.
  • Reaching a set amount of Trust (350) with Sutherland gives a discount to most items when trading.
  • Trust can be lost by cancelling trades or by contacting Sutherland repeatedly. If Trust is lost, fully completing trades will slowly build up good will to restore lost Trust.
  • Reaching 500 Trust will unlock the Achievement Goods and Services.

Trust Gained and Lost

Every successful, completed trade increases Trust by a set amount, based on the players experience mode (see table below). The quantity of items traded does not matter, so long as the trade is completed. This means it doesn't matter if you trade 10 different items at a time or just 1, you will receive the same amount of Trust regardless. Completing a Special Request will also increase Trust by a set amount.

Trust can also be lost by repeatedly cancelling an active trade, or by repeatedly contacting Sutherland more than three times in one night (unless it is to start a new trade or signal a completed trade).

Experience Mode Complete Trade Partial Trade Cancelled Trade Penalty Completed Special Request Repeated Contact Penalty
Pilgrim 30 20 -10, after 5 cancelled trades 25 -10
Voyageur 25 15 -15, after 3 cancelled trades 25 -10
Stalker 25 15 -15, after 3 cancelled trades 25 -15
Interloper/Misery 20 10 -20, after 2 cancelled trades 25 -10

It is advisable to finish all available conversation options with the Trader as this will also raise Trust by a small amount (2 Trust per conversation).

Trust Thresholds

Only a certain amount of items is available for purchase at start. Additional items are unlocked and made available for trade at certain Trust thresholds (see table below). Note: Once an additional item has been unlocked, it will stay unlocked even if you later lose Trust and go below that threshold.

Trust Level Unlocks
50 Trust 1 additional food item
100 Trust 1 additional clothing item (legs)
150 Trust 1 additional food item
200 Trust 1 additional clothing item (torso)
250 Trust 1 additional rare item
300 Trust 1 additional tool item
350 Trust Discount on prices
400 Trust 1 additional medicine item
500 Trust 1 additional weapon

Special Requests

After 100 Trust is reached, Sutherland will ask for a special request which starts the special requests section of his Tale and unlocks new conversation options that are shown in blue color. Completing a special request raises his Trust in the player and unlocks special items for trade.

  • Completing Sutherland's first special request unlocks:
  • Completing Sutherland's second special request unlocks:
  • Completing Sutherland's third special request unlocks:
  • Completing Sutherland's fourth special request unlocks:
  • Completing Sutherland's fifth and final special request

Trader's Inventory

Below is a list of items that the Trader can offer to the player. His stock is always randomized, but certain items will be available for trade every time.

At 1 Trust you will be offered following items:

At 50 Trust you will be offered additionally:

  • 1 extra food item (guaranteed)

At 100 Trust you will additionally be offered:

At 150 Trust you will additionally be offered:

  • 1 extra food item (guaranteed)

At 200 Trust you will be offered:

At 300 Trust the following items will be available to you:

At 400 Trust the following items will be available:

At 500 Trust you will be offered:

Normal Trades

Name Trust Item Type Max Multiples Cost Cost with discount (After 350 Trust)
Canned Corn 1 Food And Drink 10
Carrot 1 Food And Drink 10
Cooking Oil 1 Food And Drink 10
Herbal Tea (5) 1 Food And Drink 10
Maple Syrup 1 Food And Drink 10
Military-Grade MRE 1 Food And Drink 10
Old Mill Flour 1 Food And Drink 10
Pinnacle Peaches 1 Food And Drink 10
Potato 1 Food And Drink 10
Running River Oats 1 Food And Drink 10
Salt (Bag) 1 Food And Drink 3
Tin of Coffee (5) 1 Food And Drink 10
Antibiotics (6) 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Antiseptic 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Emergency Stim 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Painkillers (6) 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Water Purification Tablets (4) 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Revolver 500 Tools 1 N/A
Hunting Rifle 500 Tools 1 N/A
Revolver Ammunition (10) 1 Tools 10
Rifle Ammunition (5) 1 Tools 10
Wood Matches (12) 1 Tools 10
Storm Lantern 1 Tools 1
Firestriker 300 Tools 1
Flashlight 1 Tools 1
Flare 1 Tools 10
Marine Flare 1 Tools 10
Hacksaw 300 Tools 1
  • 3.00 kg Any Raw Animal or Raw Fish Meat
Magnifying Lens 300 Tools 1
Hatchet 300 Tools 1
  • 3.00 kg Any Raw Animal or Raw Fish Meat
Heavy Hammer 300 Tools 1
Quality Tools 300 Tools 1
  • 3.00 kg Any Raw Animal Or Raw Fish Meat
Sewing Kit 300 Tools 1
  • 3.00 kg Any Raw Animal Or Raw Fish Meat
Whetstone 300 Tools 1
Firearm Cleaning Kit 300 Tools 1
Flare Shell 1 Tools 10
FastFilm-500 (6) 300 Tools 10
FastFilm-500BW (6) 300 Tools 10
FastFilm-500SPA (6) 300 Tools 10
Wool Ear Wrap 1 Clothing 1
Wool Toque 1 Clothing 1
Hardhat 1 Clothing 1
Aviator Cap N/A Clothing 1
  • 10.00 kg Any Raw Fish Meat
  • 8 Any Harvestable Plants
  • 4 Any Cured Hides
  • No discount
Thin Wool Sweater 200 Clothing 1
Wool Shirt 200 Clothing 1
Thick Wool Sweater 200 Clothing 1
Light Shell 200 Clothing 1
Mackinaw Jacket 200 Clothing 1
Cargo Pants 100 Clothing 1
Jeans 100 Clothing 1
  • 8 Any Harvestable Plants
Work Pants 100 Clothing 1
Thermal Underwear 100 Clothing 1
  • 8 Any Harvestable Plants
Wool Longjohns 100 Clothing 1
Ski Gloves 1 Clothing 1
Wool Mittens 1 Clothing 3
Work Gloves 1 Clothing 1
Climbing Socks 100 Clothing 3
Chemical Boots 1 Clothing 1
Mukluks 1 Clothing 1
Trail Boots 1 Clothing 1
Work Boots 1 Clothing 1
The Frozen Angler 1 Research Book 1
Wilderness Kitchen 1 Research Book 1
Survive the Outdoors! 1 Research Book 1
Practical Gunsmithing 1 Research Book 1
Small Arms Handbook 1 Research Book 1
Advanced Guns Guns Guns! 1 Research Book 1
A Sewing Primer 1 Research Book 1
Stay On Target 1 Research Book 1

Special Trade Items

These special items are only found by trading with Sutherland, and are quite costly. The first 5 are requests needed to progress Sutherland's Tale, and unlock rarer items. Blueprint/Recipe Cards can only be purchased once.

Name Trust Item Type Max Multiples Cost Cost with discount (After 350 Trust)
Special Request (#1) N/A Search for Signs of Wyatt 1 Travel to the Stockpile Prepper Cache and deliver Document Stash 1.

Reward: Mackinaw Jacket

  • No discount
Special Request (#2) N/A Search for Signs of Wyatt 1 Travel to the Hunting Prepper Cache and deliver Document Stash 2.

Reward: 3x Arrowhead

  • No discount
Special Request (#3) N/A Search for Signs of Wyatt 1 Travel to the Conspiracy Prepper Cache and deliver Document Stash 3.

Reward: Improvised Knife

  • No discount
Special Request (#4) N/A Search for Signs of Wyatt 1 Travel to the Prepper's Abandoned Cache and deliver A Skeleton And Note.

Reward: Hockey Jersey

  • No discount
Special Request (#5) N/A Destroy the Abandoned Prepper Cache

Note: This will make this location (and contents) permanently inaccessible

1 Travel to the Prepper's Abandoned Cache and return  Wyatt's Skeleton. Destroy the cache, then deliver  Broken Hatch Wheel.

Reward: Heavy Hammer

  • No discount
Cereal 1 Food And Drink 10
Canned Pineapple 1 Food And Drink 10
Dried Apples 1 Food And Drink 10
Pickles 1 Food And Drink 10
Caffeine Pills (5) 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Heat Pack 300 First Aid 5
Vitamin-C Pills (5) 400 First Aid 10 N/A
Bunker Rifle N/A Tools 1
Manufactured Arrow N/A Tools 10
Survival Knife N/A Tools 1
  • No discount
Sticker Insulated Flask 300 Tools 1
Patterned Wool Mittens (Blue) 1 Clothing 3
Patterned Wool Mittens (Brown) 1 Clothing 3
Patterned Wool Mittens (Burgundy) 1 Clothing 3
T-Shirt (CM) 200 Clothing 1
T-Shirt (GBI) 200 Clothing 1
T-Shirt (Snappy) 200 Clothing 1
Patterned Wool Socks (Dots) 100 Clothing 3
Patterned Wool Socks (Moose) 100 Clothing 3
Patterned Wool Socks (Plaid) 100 Clothing 3
Bushcraft Bow Blueprint Card N/A Blueprint 1
Wolfskin Hat Blueprint Card N/A Blueprint 1
Wolfskin Pants Blueprint Card 1 Blueprint 1
Last Resort Soup 1 Recipe Card 1
Pemmican Bar 1 Recipe Card 1
Porter's Soup 1 Recipe Card 1
Vagabond Soup 1 Recipe Card 1

Sutherland's Past

  • Speaking to the Trader reveals more about him, with more Conversations being unlocked as you raise his Trust:
    • The Trader's real name is Sutherland, and he is a sailor by trade.
    • He seems to be afflicted with whatever disease is affecting the residents of Perseverance Mills, as well as Patient 7, The Foreman, Dr. Rüdiger, and The Security Chief, which causes them to forget things and become fixated on open water.
      • One major example of a memory recall problem is that he hasn't heard from his brother Wyatt since the First Flare, despite the fact that he should know that his brother died long ago. His brother's death is also one of the major reasons why Sutherland has a deep seeded resentment to strangers and is so slow to trust others.
      • It is likely that his disease was caused by Rüdiger's Machine.
    • Sutherland mentions that the radios the survivor uses to communicate from him are from an old emergency messaging system meant to keep Islanders in contact with one another. The "A page from an old newsletter." note also explains why these radios are found across the Island.
    • He is a Great Bear Island native born in Coastal Highway, being the titular "Misanthrope" that lived at Misanthrope's Homestead. Sutherland, along with his "Pa" and brother Wyatt, lived there for most of their lives. Sutherland eventually states that he has abandoned his home and is more comfortable on his boat, saying that the survivor can do as they please with his house during the Quiet Apocalypse.
      • It is revealed that his brother Wyatt is the one who created all of the Prepper Cache bunkers across the island, including Joplin's Bunkers. Though not confirmed, he most like created Hank's Hatch, the Aurora Hatch, and the hatch in Blackrock Rumours - Suspicious Person as well.
      • His reasoning was the belief that a nuclear exchange was coming that would destroy the world, confirming that the caches were fallout shelters.
      • Wyatt is also the original owner of Sutherland's sailboat.
      • 3 other people were a part of Wyatt's crew, but ultimately turned on him due to paranoia.
    • Sutherland has been at sea for a long time, and refuses to set foot on Great Bear Island except to briefly complete trades. His sailboat can be seen off-shore on the morning after completing a trade in Coastal Highway.
      • He mentions that his sailboat cannot escape Great Bear Island to the Mainland as his vessel would never survive the journey. Blizzards also keep his ship close to shore and the winds he catches only allow him to sail around the coast.
      • The Trader also mentions that he acquires his wares from shipwrecks, floating containers, and things drifting around the sea.
    • The Trader has a crippled leg that locks up on him in winter. He received it while at sea after heavy cables came loose on a ship and almost took his leg clean off. This information is conflicted moments later, with Sutherland mentioning that it might have instead have had something to do with his brother Wyatt.
      • Sutherland's leg is the one of the reasons why Wyatt's crew turned on him and lead to his death.

Trivia

  • Through trading with the Trader, many previously non-renewable items become renewable; most notably Research Books and Cooking ingredients.
  • The Trader is the only other living human in The Long Dark's Survival Mode, with all other humans being Frozen Corpses or skeletal remains.
    • He hints that he has a theory as to where everyone went, but ultimately teases the survivor with this info without revealing his theory.
  • How Sutherland survives on a small sailboat for so long is a mystery. How he prepares raw meat to become edible or what he does with so many Car Batteries is ultimately left to the player's imagination. It is presumed that he mainly survives off of what he scavenges from the sea, considering how much food he constantly offers up in trades and the fact that he allows for trades to last indefinitely, even when asking for raw food/water.
    • Another question that has been raised is how his radio is powered during Glimmer Fog, as this fog only appears and effects electronics in the Far Territory. As it is currently impossible for the fog to reach the sea and power his radio, this may be an oversight from the developers.
  • The trader is voiced by Angus Macleod.

Gallery

Achievements

Game History

* UPDATE 2 December 2024 (Update):
  • Added to game.
  • UPDATE 16 December 2024 (Update):
  • Tuned multiple Trade exchange requirements with an emphasis on reducing the cost of trades involving Batteries. (Blueprints no longer cost 3 Car Batteries)
v • d • e
TLD Survival Mode
Experience
Gameplay
Overlay
Mechanics
Collectables
Other
Advanced Gameplay
Tales
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms