Tips/tricks

[Silent Night]

I've played and beaten the game a few times and have developed a few of my own tricks to surviving this game
1. Don't spend too much time in the dry meadow, as an experienced player I'm typically in silent forest on my first night, but for a new player, getting to the second hideout by day 7 at the latest should be your goal
2. Don't waste empty bottles on broken glass traps, its tempting to litter your hideout with broken glass, I would know, but empty bottles and alcohol are a finite resource in this game, you can't buy them from the trader, bottles are better used for lanterns first and Molotov second
3. Shovel vs Axe, you are looking at moderate damage plus range vs high damage with short range and higher stamina cost
4. Recommended upgrades for your shovel/axe: sturdy blade, light materials, better materials, sharpened in that exact order, for the plank with nails, more nails would be the only upgrade i use but durability is just as good
5. Don't craft a one shot pistol, its not worth it, the homemade shotgun on the other hand is absolutely worth it until you gain access to better firearms
6. Surviving the night phase can be done easily with 2 different strategies, stealth and aggression
6a: Stealth is passive but safer, pick your saferoom barricade what you need and hide all night, more often than not you will be found but you can go entire nights undisturbed
6b. Aggression requires a half decent weapon and maybe a lantern, barricades become alarms, scatter your light sources for a good view of your hideout, use dropped items to mark any bear traps you might place, kill everything
7. Keep at least 2 flares in your hideout at any given time, a lantern, while being the most useful light source in my opinion, will do nothing to protect you should shadows decide to attack
8. Different firearms have different uses
8a. One shot pistol is a ranged axe with one use
8b. Pistol has low damage but decent clip size, pair it with other weapons as a great combo weapon or empty the clip into whatever is chasing you
8c. Every shotgun will kill any enemy in the game in one shot at point blank range
8d. Hunting rifle is good in any scenario when paired with a pistol, just make sure you land your shots
8e. Assault rifle is strong vs everything but due to rarity of ammo you will see limited use in late game
9. Any enemy lit on fire by a molotov is almost guaranteed to die
10. You can save space in containers by dropping items on the ground, I always drop gas cans on the ground next to my generator
11. All enemies have night vision, you do not
12. If someone is knocking on your front door at night, answer it if possible, neglecting to do so usually results in your door being broken
13. Recommended skills from essence: eagle eye, navigator, poison vulnerability, acid blood, third eye, weakness, scream, appetite, shaky hands, vitality, chameleon. This is my personal preference feel free to mix and match
14. Dont be afraid to eat odd meat yourself, eating it comes with an extended reduced stamina cost buff and minor reduced damage buff
15. Even if the axe becomes your primary weapon, keep a durability upgraded shovel with you for chapter 2, you'll thank me later


Thats all I got today, I may add more as time passes

[Chazzed]

As a (somewhat) new player, I appreciate this! Thank you.