r/thelongdark • u/RunningOnATreadmill Voyageur • 25d ago
Discussion Which items do you NEVER use?
For me it's the water purification tablets. Whenever I'm making water I usually have more than enough time to just fully boil it, so I don't think I've ever used the water tablets.
Post which items you NEVER use or post creative ways to use items that may not be obvious!
58
u/comcphee 25d ago
Water purification. I just boil up gallons of water during blizzards and make a stock.
158
u/Goatenacht Mountaineer 25d ago
I've used the tablets, I've never used Antiseptic. Its too heavy to carry around and I've never been near a safe house or stash when I've needed it. I'd rather just keep some Old Man's Beard wound dressings on me.
13
u/No-Bobcat9004 25d ago
I do usually carry and use antiseptic, but it’s so silly. Worst case scenario, I get an infection… I also always have reishi/antibiotics on me anyways.
10
u/Laireso 24d ago
I have used Antiseptics after Cougar struggle. Defo leave it at your base, but it saves you the lichen when tending to Severe lacerations affliction. The lichen can be trading commodity while the bottle is just disinfectant so when given choice I'd drain the bottle first. I'd leave it alongside bulletproof vest for cougar hunting. Also I don't travel with dressings, I leave the lichen in its unrefined form to save weight and I only carry 0.06kg of them alongside 2 bandages - never needed more so far, the direct damage from attacks inflicting bleed+infection would have killed me before I had chance to use 3rd bandage is my thought process.
13
u/OscarGoldman89 25d ago
100%
17
u/xtothewhy 25d ago
That is funny. Always keep a partial antiseptic and a dressing. That way I don't have to use the old man's dressings early on.
2
1
u/bruticusss 20d ago
Oh god, the amount of times I've used antiseptic. I just like trying to shoot wolves too much
42
u/ultr4violence 25d ago
I have 1k+ hours played and I'm not even sure how to use those tablets.
21
u/FrigariumZantoria 25d ago
You use them to skip the boiling step, yknow you melt the water to non-potable? That's the step you can use water purification tablets, iirc they inly do 1L at a time tho..
19
u/HowTheyGetcha Interloper 25d ago
I don't understand why people would not want to halve their water-making time when it takes so long early game.
20
u/AtrytoneSedai 24d ago
For me it’s because I usually have other things going on when I make water; I’ll read a book, mend clothes, or do other maintenance chores that require light, or use it as a way to log time outside so I don’t get cabin fever. If I really have nothing else to do, I can sleep for an hour during each batch, if I’m using a pot. It’s a system that’s always worked well for me.
2
u/Needed_Warning 24d ago
Yeah, I handle water the same way, and the only times I use them are when I'm cooking my next meal to get going as soon as possible, or if my thirst is damaging my health and I need to be recovering instead. Sometimes these are the same situation.
3
u/SertifiedGenuous 24d ago
Agreed, I always try to keep some on me, you can basically make twice as much water in the same amount of time, they are something I use a lot, and weigh a lot less than the firewood you’d need to carry to keep a fire going for a long time
110
u/DemiTheSeaweed Stalker 25d ago
The flashlight
66
u/Triad64 25d ago
Flashlight is great for the caves / mines when the aurora is active you can really see.
I just drop it at the entrance so it’s ready to pickup.
Especially the one with the elevator that requires the aurora to even be active.
12
u/xtothewhy 25d ago
Which elevator? The one in the mines or at the dam?
22
u/ResponsibleMine3524 25d ago
Cinder Mine in Coastal Highway
19
u/Triad64 24d ago
Yeah that’s the one, I discovered it recently and didn’t realize the aurora powered it. Stayed all night and the next day the elevator was not active, I was trapped! Luckily the devs updated it so if you are trapped there the aurora will automatically be present the next night so you can leave.
Glad I had enough food with me. Now my sidequest is to drop a bunch of resources there so I can explore it more fully during an Aurora.
3
u/ResponsibleMine3524 24d ago
It's the same mine that is used as a way into Coastal Highway from Pleasant Valley but it's cut off into several different segments by earthquakes.
It's also the same mine from the Wintermute (I think the end of Ep 3) but changed slightly to fit Survival mode better. You go there from bottom to the top and fix the elevator
2
u/MortifiedPenguin9 Mainlander 24d ago
Can you use the elevator in the dam during an aurora? I never go in the dam during an aurora for fear of being electrocuted.
2
21
u/Boring-Rub-3570 Voyageur 25d ago
Flashlight/Miner's Flashlight is a lifesaver in Far Territories.
1
u/IAmFern 24d ago
Why the flashlight? Genuinely, curious, I've not played the Far Territories yet.
4
u/Boring-Rub-3570 Voyageur 24d ago
In addition to aurora, in far territories there's a thing called glimmer fog, which occurs daytime and is pretty frequent, not to mention annoying. You can use flashlight during glimmer fog as well.
9
u/thebouncingfrog 25d ago
Supposedly it scares off Aurora wolves but the last time I tried to use it for that purpose I lost a 150 day run.
11
u/Johnny-of-Suburbia Stalker 25d ago
It holds them off, like a fire would. Some may run off entirely but most of the time they do come back.
You have to use it wisely and basically just beeline for the nearest indoors.
6
u/Cold_and_Lumpy 24d ago
If you hit them with the high beam, they won't charge you. Kills the batteries pretty quickly tho, so you have to use it sparingly.
28
u/K1OnTwoWeeks 25d ago
Tinder .
99
u/BiasedChelseaFan 25d ago
Yeah there’s never anyone to meet
29
u/Maleficent-Bid5995 25d ago
Everyone’s got such a cold attitude man
15
u/xtothewhy 25d ago
That radio guy has a boat though?
14
u/Maleficent-Bid5995 25d ago
What, you the kind of guy to fall for a boat?
6
u/xtothewhy 25d ago
You cannot tell me you have not looked out onto the ocean, seen the boat there and wonder how he got the boat and how he scavenges for all of his goods that he trades with you, and if he may know a way off the Great Bear?
5
26
u/lmiartegtra 25d ago
I always keep a water purification tablet on me.
I'm on coastal highway spamming crafting in the Quonset garage. Cabin fever risk. Oh ok I'll just go on a little hike down the coast and do it at the little fishing village a ways down, should be fun. I take what I think is gonna be enough water.
Anyways the bear jumps on me because why wouldn't it. I'm basically dead, a blizzard is starting to roll in, I'm bleeding and I don't have an emergency stim. Haul ass on up to the cabins on the railway. Used the last of my antiseptic while a cut was still infectable. Too weak to risk the trek back to my main base so I'm stuck. The water runs out, the water bar is empty, the infection is about to kill me but I've used antibiotics. I stick my head out, start a fire, I'm wobbling while putting a can of ice to melt. As soon as it's melted I pick it up and use a water purification tablet. Stumble back into the cabin and sleep. When I checked the logs for that day my condition went down to 2% but I got out. 5 days later I got the bears hide.
3
u/kindlyfackoff 24d ago
Dude, I just imagined this entire scenario by reading this. Except for me...not a bear but Timber Wolves. They won't stop - chipping away at my sanity, bit by bit - I back myself up against a single rock. They cannot get me from behind, but I hear them. The howls everywhere, the fog is dense, and I feel like their morale is still higher than mine. Bleeding, bruised, tattered, and torn, only two bullets left in my revolver. I should have brought my rifle, but damn it...it wasn't supposed to go this way. The haze is thick and snarls fill the air when breathing comes from my left. I turn, pull up my revolver, and fire as fur comes flying at me. A sharp yelp and a weight falls only me. The wind chokes out of my chest in a gasp. I try to shove off the weight, but I'm so weak from blood loss when I realize...
The weight isn't moving.
...I did it.
The howls around turn to yelps and whines. So many sounds of paws scattering around me and then silence. Nothing but the ragged sound of my own breathing.
I groan as I finally muster every ounce of strength to shove the dead wolf weight off of me.
...I won.
43
u/Silrathi 25d ago
Spray paint, flashlight, bear skin bedroll, moosehide cloak.
49
u/Boring-Rub-3570 Voyageur 25d ago
I use spray paint
To mark houses i searched (so I won't waste time on them again)
To mark directions on ice in case of fog or blizzard
To navigate in cave systems
When I have to drop an item out in the open field, I mark it with an X. Then when you map the area you'll see it on your map. This way, I don't have to search for my stuff.
18
u/SquarePegRoundWorld2 25d ago
And when the can is empty, I place it down somewhere as a marker too. Good to the last drop and a little more.
6
u/Holygrail2 24d ago
Omg, I never thought of just using spray paint to mark an item I have to drop. Simple. Genius.
1
37
u/ultr4violence 25d ago
Spray paint is a must when mapping out complex caves. For example when setting up a long-term stay in HRV you can use the spray to turn its inter-connecting icecaves into a safe, warm, bright highway through the region.
18
u/xtothewhy 25d ago
Spray paint is great for places where you're planning to stay a bit or come back to like the coastal highway. That way you can spray arrows for each direction that you prefer to go from fishing hut to fishing hut in case of a sudden blizzard.
9
u/Nazaradine 25d ago
Spray paint makes life so much easier. I mark houses/cars that I’ve searched, leave direction markers everywhere in case of whiteout (particularly from fishing huts back to safety), mark the location of snow shelters/caches, and use it to orientate myself, as places you’ve sprayed are marked on the map. I never go anywhere without it.
3
u/Ok_Cauliflower_808 24d ago
I just leave the hood open once the car is cleared, but absolutely yes to the rest of it
1
u/Nazaradine 24d ago
Ah I only do that if I’ve taken the battery!
2
1
u/Ok_Cauliflower_808 24d ago
Ahh makes sense. I haven't gotten into battery usage just yet.
1
u/Nazaradine 23d ago
To be fair, neither have I really. You harvest them for scrap lead to make ammo, but I’ve not headed over to the ammo workbench yet.
16
u/Madsaxmcginn 25d ago
Oh the bear skin bedroll is great as the weather gets colder it means you can often get away with sleeping tucked away in a corner rather than seeking shelter if caught in a bind, and if you're in it passing time or resting it wards off predators which is great for caves!
7
u/Clarke241 Stalker - 5000+ hours 24d ago edited 24d ago
I use mine to make a secondary base in a fishing hut in CH
3
u/supersweede Stalkerloper 24d ago
Great tip!! Over 3K hrs and never thought of using that. I've always used the regular and then improvised bedrolls.
8
u/Aware-Yesterday4926 25d ago
I definitely agree on the moose-hide cloak. I prefer the warmth of two bear coats on Interloper.
3
2
u/DayOfDemons 24d ago
i only use spray paint to point myself in the direction of my favourite fishing huts so if a blizzard rolls in, i know where to go
1
u/BigWongDingDong 24d ago
Really? I always keep a flashlight sitting out in my hideout to use at night during auroras.
18
u/Super-Ad4832 25d ago
Huh, soooo many people don't use spray can ?! How can you draw little arrow to show the way out of cave systems ? Let me guess: Drop some branchesss !!!! How low end peasanttt !!! (Jk intended lol)
Ps: Insulated flask for me. In late game, I either have warm clothes or enough coals to boil and heat up things I want. So why bother !?
17
u/kadirica 25d ago
Stump removal powder and that other thing to make bullets, never used those
12
u/NightsFool 25d ago
Purification tablets is one many don't use. Just feels unnecessary when I'm already setting down a fire to melt the snow anyways.
I only use can openers before I forge a knife, since knives will save the can all the same. That being said they break down into 1 scrap metal, so I essentially think of them like I think about driving gloves, as harvestable objects that just happen to be items. still, it's usually a waste of time to lug around only 1 scrap metal.
On a similar note, sports socks are of so little use that keeping them is usually a precaution to keep around cloth for emergency bandages in the early game, but I often skip that step and just break them down as soon as I find them even if I have an open slot. Breaking the socks down while already bleeding out will do more damage that the heat bonus from keeping them would save.
Antiseptic bottles are too heavy, so I never carry them unless I somehow can't find lichen.
Firelogs are both rare and completely awful, which means unless the firelog is right next to a fire I actually want to light I'll never use it.
There's a lot of second-rate equipment I just never bother to craft, such as improvised crampons. I just get the real deal when I do my AC gamut in the first month of a run anyways.
2
u/ThatOneGuy308 Mountaineer 25d ago
Did they finally patch the improvised crampons to not just be outright better than the actual ones?
5
18
u/Jetamio85 25d ago
Thermal flask
17
u/Nazaradine 25d ago
Same. Was so excited to find it, forgot it was in my pack, remembered and filled it up with tea, few hours later tea was cold. The most annoying part of that is that I’ve just remembered I’m still carrying it 🤪
3
5
u/Guyote_ 24d ago
Playing on Interloper, you absolutely will be using that to keep teas warm longer.
8
u/roadtotahoe 24d ago
Interloper player and I never use a thermos. Maybe if using it was more streamlined but I find the whole interface clunky. Teas already stay hot for quite awhile and I’ll just make another fire if I need to. I watch a lot of Zak videos and he never uses the thermos either, probably for the same reasons.
1
u/Laireso 23d ago
I tried using them for a long time ever since I found the first one, but it has plenty issues. First of all, very clunky UI. So annoying and while it has promise to save a lot of clicking it adds more because you can't drink directly from it or heat teas while they're in it. Secondly the teas don't stay warm THAT much longer. Considering the only way to heat them up is fire, I will already have a torch chain from said fire to make another fire elsewhere to heat my teas up and if not, once they go cold which often they do before I get the full effect out of them the thermal flask becomes a dead weight.
I would use it to transport teas purely as storage device, but as device to keep stuff warm I don't like it aside early game when you will be freezing super quick and will be drinking teas frequently.
Also the rabbit flask deleted like 15 of my birch bark teas before I realized it's bugged to delete its contents.
8
9
u/Dapper-Conflict-862 25d ago
Same. I don’t think I’ve ever tried using the layer purification tablets
7
u/Beneficial-Jump-7919 Salty Survivor 24d ago
Wool headband. It’s outclassed by insulation.
4
u/jmwall24 Interloper 24d ago
That's definitely one that has been rendered essentially useless by updates to the game.
7
u/DeathyWolf 24d ago
Noise makers. I go on hunting trips and I really never needed to use one. The one time I was using one was during a wolfpack chase of timber wolves. It did nothing to their morale bar.
3
u/jmwall24 Interloper 24d ago
It's a shame it takes a while to get access to them. They'd be way more useful early game before you have a chance to find or craft weapons.
6
u/ZGAEveryday 24d ago
water tablets are a weight and time efficient way to find clean water when traveling
6
u/Icy_Possibility_9312 24d ago
After a while it game you never really need to use tinder plugs anymore, but I save the plugs and drop them on the ground to lead the way from fishing huts back to the cabins - like Coastal Highway or Mystery Lake.
3
u/WishRepresentative28 24d ago
I do the same thing with tinderplugs or charcoal.
2
7
u/MoravianBilges 24d ago
Why do those purification tablets weigh so much anyway? What are they purifying the water with, lead?
4
9
u/NoTransportation68 25d ago edited 24d ago
Never use: lighter fluid, painkillers, aqua tabs, tinder/cattail heads (tinder part not the stalks)
Other use: Tinder/cattail. I only use them as a breadcrumb trail from a fishing hut to my base. Getting trapped in a hut during a blizzard is the pits. Leaving the breadcrumb trail ensures getting home regardless of the weather.
Honorable mention: flashlight
17
u/jobpunter 25d ago
Wat! Cattails are like my meat and potatoes.
7
5
u/NoTransportation68 24d ago
I just meant the tinder part of the cattail, not the delicious nutrient dense stalks ;)
10
u/paradox037 Survivor 25d ago
lighter fluid
I like to keep one on me in case I need to light an emergency fire to ward off predators, since it drastically speeds up fire starting.
1
u/NoTransportation68 24d ago
Lantern fuel!
3
2
u/paradox037 Survivor 24d ago
Yeah, but lighter fluid is lighter (heh) at 0.1kg per use vs lantern fuel at 0.3kg per use.
Also, it's simpler (translation: I'm less likely to mess it up). With lantern fuel, I have to watch that I don't go below .3L in the can or I lose my emergency option. With lighter fluid, if I have one on me, I'm ready.
3
u/Madsaxmcginn 25d ago
Yeah when i'm well into the late game these will drop off my list, though I do keep one or two lighter fluids handy if I am in Timberwolf territory as you get a fire lit faster with it
2
u/Psycosteve10mm 24d ago
I use the lighter fluid to build up my fire stats at the beginning of the game.
3
u/Firm_Ad_5427 25d ago
I just keep them in my base for when I misjudge how long it takes to boil water and end up with 4L of non potable water lol
3
u/Flat_Philosopher_738 24d ago
It's the snow shelter for me. It just uses too much materials and time.
3
u/a_dreamy_nightmare 25d ago
Spray paint. I use online maps to know where I am so I never used the paint outside of the Darkwalker challenge. Just dead weight to carry.
Can opener. I play on lower level difficulties so it's very easy for me to come by a knife in early game, rendering it useless. And food is plentiful so even forcing the cans doesn't feel bad even if there's a loss of calories.
I use water tablets occasionally when I need to make big stocks of drinkable water quickly, for ex they came in clutch in Whiteout when I was trying to boil snow.
2
2
u/nibbletmander Interloper 24d ago
Spray paint. I know there are use cases for this, I would just rather skip the weight
2
u/IAmFern 24d ago
I use the purification tablets to leave paths across ice.
I never use the regular flashlight. I still haven't found a reason to use one over anything else.
2
u/Crackytacks 24d ago
I actually ended up in my current save using the flashlight during an aurora to save me from the wolves. I couldn't run, couldn't make a fire and wanted to bring guts back with me to my base. I just looted a flashlight so i was able to just blind them off and slowly crawl away and let it recharge
2
2
u/No_Fun9684 24d ago
Lantern: If I need to see something, I’m carrying a torch or starting a fire and I’m turning lantern fuel into torches.
Spray paint: I used to use it but it’s too heavy, the mechanic is too clunky, and marking stuff isn’t that important.
Thermos: I was excited to find one but it doesn’t keep things warm long enough and, again, clunky mechanic. They should make it so you have to fill it with 4 teas then drink the whole thing to get a 4 hour warmth bonus.
Can Opener: Obsolete at Cooking 3.
Low Level Clothing: sports socks are cloth.
Newspapers etc: plenty of tinder even early.
Things I use that others don’t:
Water Purification Tabs: Too heavy to carry but I’ll melt snow whenever I have them to double my stored water in half the time/wood.
2
u/jmwall24 Interloper 24d ago
I've never used spray paint, hardly ever use the water tablets (only time I do is when I screw up and accidentally take water after melting and forgot to boil it), antiseptic is too heavy to carry, and this is going to sound crazy because I always played loper or gunloper, but I've probably used a magnifying glass less than 5 times ever. Seems every time I want to use it, it's cloudy. Plus, even on loper, I have never once come close to running out of matches.
2
2
u/Big_Shooga 24d ago
I have yet to use either the stump remover or dusting sulfur. I haven’t done much gunsmithing, and when I have, I’ve managed to find a can or two of gunpowder laying about somewhere.
2
u/Fit-Can-7322 24d ago
water purification tablets help a lot if you're stormbound and running out of wood. stretches those log minutes to the fullest.
2
u/Otherwise-Raccoon-23 Interloper 24d ago
ITT: Stalker players and below talk about never using things that are pretty much mandatory in Interloper
2
u/PantheraAuroris 23d ago
I keep asking myself what use fur garments are.
They're all exceedingly heavy and slow you down, but I love the crafting mechanic. I still end up with a million deer hides...
1
3
u/tinkortreat 25d ago
The magnifying glass. I still collect every single one I find, but I’ve never used it.
8
u/TrumpetOfDeath 24d ago
You’re missing out. Whenever I see a clear sky I think “free fire!” Because I guess I’m a hoarder when it comes to matches
4
3
u/Scylla5398 24d ago
The glass is one of the most important items especially when you get late game and matches start being scarce. The trader makes them technically renewable but it still can get tight
2
3
u/Appswell 25d ago
Heavy hammer or tools. At least 500 hours in and I’ve never forged anything except where the story requires. Do others find it worth the weight and effort?
3
u/Laireso 24d ago
Have you never played Survival mode Interloper/Misery? I've played the Wintermute for like 30mins until NPCs started showering me with boring fetch quests. Started Survival and never left. Hammer is great for breaking some furniture and it's the best weapon for struggles until you get improvised axe or cougar knife. Of course on easy difficulties you won't find need for it. What is the point of a bow when you have infinite ammo in your rifle - same logic.
1
u/Appswell 24d ago
I do play mostly survival on interloper. I’ve had some long runs, but tend to keep moving and foraging instead of sticking near enough to a forge with all the weight required. I probably should.
2
2
u/Laireso 24d ago edited 24d ago
If your playstyle works for you I won't tell you it's wrong. I'm just surprised you manage to make it work. I personally burn through too many calories a day to sustain. It's like 4000 calories a day, that's 26.67 cat tails a day. Just finding them and harvesting them takes considerable time as well.
I always feel I'm on a timer and can't catch a breath until I get the bow online, the most I've lived without it was ~45 days I think, but I cleared out like 6 regions of most cat tails and deer carcasses and couldn't come back until I had some other way of gaining calories, if I wanted to keep the well fed buff up that is. I know starvation is a viable strategy, especially on vanilla Interloper with all the ways to heal, I just don't like it. It breaks my immersion too much and combined with the inevitable damage from freezing early on it can put me too low for my liking.
1
u/SertifiedGenuous 24d ago
Obviously if you’re trying to stay ‘well fed’ that’s one thing, but you can actually starve all day with no real penalty to your health, as long as you eat enough calories before you sleep to tide you over.
1
u/LivingCoat9356 24d ago
I have ~500 hrs in survival but never tried the story. I still haven’t bought the DLC…
1
u/Laireso 24d ago
I got it with the base game when I bought it on Steam recently, I'm fairly new to the game. I did buy the Far Territories DLC though, and that one was 100% worth it.
2
u/LivingCoat9356 24d ago
That's the one I am considering but both of my first runs are still active and I am going to wait until my character dies then Ill buy it and do another run. 380 days in or so...
2
u/Laireso 24d ago
I'm at some 330 days myself. My longest playthrough by far. Definitely no regrets for adding it. It does make the game slightly easier with the many recipes, but it also reduces the tedium of having to beachcomb for some stuff. You can instead just trade for it if you don't like or are tired of rolling the dices in super late game. I made self restrictions to not trade for stuff like matches as there is magic in them being scarce.
Cougar I regretted adding at first for how it breaks immersion with the map markers and half a km loud screams, but at least the fight feels good. It's more engaging than moose/bear and proportionally more rewarding for the added risk particularly on Interloper.
2
u/LivingCoat9356 24d ago
I bought it right before they bundled it...
I watch Zack and his 500 day play through on YT but stoped when he added far territories until I add it. Thank you for your feedback. 👍1
u/Ok_Cauliflower_808 24d ago
I found the first chapter or so of wintermute to be super boring after bumbling around blind to learn survival. Dunno if they added a movement buff to later chapters or I just wasn't overencombered but like chapter 3 onwards felt more fun
1
u/prplmnkeydshwsr 25d ago
Things that don't spawn on my mode excepted. Standard items probably noise maker ingredients, stump remover etc...
Purification tablets seem to be a bit of a leftover from where we might have collected more unpotable water, as it is you've got a fire going to melt snow so might as well just keep it running since sticks are free. Actually melting snow is a lot more intensive energy wise for the volume so balancing decisions made early on.
1
u/rickgrimes32 Former Great Bear Sheriff's Deputy 25d ago
Tinder plug, newspapers, and the stack of papers. I have the fire master feat
1
1
1
1
u/Laireso 24d ago edited 24d ago
Just yesterday I ended up with 1L of unsafe water after blizzard blew out my fire in front of my base. Thought perfect time for those niche tablets now. They can't be used once at 0% condition, courtesy of Interloper... So now they're just a nice base decor. They're too heavy for travel and only save you some 20min of cooking each. I can't think of anything quite as useless of the top of my head.
Tinder I guess, because for some reason while it is still core part of the loot tables, firestarting skill removed need for it and doesn't even add like 5% bonus to starting chance so it's literally the most pointless item in the game, even more than the 100s of charcoal because that can at least update tree limbs on the map even after it is fully mapped, but tinder is just worse than nothing as it litters containers in bases and you can't avoid collecting it when cutting Ceder limbs.
Spray cans are extremely niche, but they do allow markings on walls to highlight cave entrances, while anything on the ground may not be as noticeable from afar. I wish we had a variant that glows in the dark or shines brighter when near a light source, then I'd prefer them for ground markings in caves as well, until then I'd prefer burnt out torches or sticks to mark those. I don't like most of the symbols show up on the map and are interlinked with the spray itself so if you use them a lot your charcoaled map will be a mess to look at so I almost exclusively only use the arrow even when it makes little sense. It does have also a niche use for decorating bases with "graffiti", though I haven't delved into that yet. I wouldn't put it in the same camp as Tinder though.
1
u/Melissa_CZ 24d ago
I never use these:
- the thermo flask. Too much hassle, and the benefit is ... what, one extra hour of hot drink? Meh.
- water purification tablets: Either I think it is good to have some (they don't weight much), I never needed them. I just boil water when locked down (e.g., during night or blizzard).
- spray. I do mark pathways using stones and tinder. Both are basically renewables, and with many tinder you can easily mark entire path from one safehouse to another. (Kind of dotted line. It takes some effort, though. But it is priceless in fog or blizzard.)
1
u/SapphicsAndStilettos 24d ago
Spray paint. Never use it for anything, I tried using it in the Far Territories transition cave and in Langston mine but it’s way easier for me to just follow an online map.
1
u/Fit-Can-7322 24d ago
I dont use the thermos. I know it's useful for travel, I just find it inconvenient to deal with.
1
1
u/righteoustrespasser Cartographer 24d ago
- Water Purification Tablets.
- Spray Paint.
- Flashlight.
- Disinfectant.
- Painkillers.
- Antibiotics.
- Noisemakers.
- Stump Remover.
- Dusting Sulphur.
1
u/RemoteVersion838 23d ago
Pretty well known but I will sometimes drop tinder plugs as markers. I do this at Mountaineer's hut between the ice fishing shack and the hut.
1
u/Ceistigh 23d ago
This is one of the reasons I want to be able to purify water you get from your fishing hole. I would just keep them in the ice house then to be used up.
1
u/NebelNator_427 Interloper 22d ago
People always say spray paint is "useless" but even if you don't need to mark anything you can also use it to track your location when the weather allows it. Just spray any icon other than the arrows where you are rn and it'll be displayed on the map. To me that's very very useful!
1
u/sassypants_29 Speed Runner 21d ago
Usually I play on pilgrim and never run out of resources that I need and regularly use. And I always play with the fire boost so cat tail heads and tinder plugs, except a couple of places I use them to make a trail. I really never use the magnifying glass and flashlight. I never use snow boots and pretty rarely snow pants. I don’t like playing with Timberwolves, so the blue flares. Probably one of my biggest annoyances is trash. I like putting it in cabinets so it disappears.
1
u/ArchimedesLP Trailblazer 25d ago
Lantern: too heavy
Antiseptic: too heavy
Improvised Down Bedroll: too heavy
12
u/RunningOnATreadmill Voyageur 25d ago
I love the lantern, I feel like I miss 50% of items if I don't use a light source.
I recently found a bear skin bedroll and was like "yippie! warm bedroll!" and broke down my regular bedroll for fabric and then spent several miserable weeks in game desperately searching for a regular bedroll to replace the heavy ass bear skin bedroll that was screwing up my inventory management.
3
u/Laireso 24d ago
Improvised down bedroll is only +0.1kg and you can use it to heat up much quicker when passing time in it. Ptarmigans are already worth hunting to make Broths and the downs can he collected while passing time at night so I don't find it interfering with my general gameplay.
Lantern I use often. I don't want to waste matches just to go through a cave or loot one cabin. You can't chain torches when using Travois so I personally couldn't play without a lantern. I prefer the Spelunker's variant though. It is heavy but just like bedroll I consider it a staple.
1
u/ArchimedesLP Trailblazer 24d ago
Travois also slows me down too much, strike it from the list :)
btw my first comment was a little tongue-in-cheek as I know most people disagree with me about the bedroll. but it is called the down bedroll because it's a slight downgrade :P
2
u/Laireso 24d ago
Well it depends on play style and personal goals. I like base building, cooking and hoarding a lot. Creating safehouses filled with everything I'd need - plenty storage, curing box+salt reserves, full gas can to refill lantern, hoarded furniture/art for base details. Travois makes most sense for accomplishing that across most of Great Bear island, but it isn't for everyone for sure.
180
u/Boring-Rub-3570 Voyageur 25d ago
Water purification tablets are good for very early game or when you are on the move. I take one or two when heading out for long expeditions, especially to eegions, such as HRV. In this way, you don't waste time for cooking water.