Surviving in the massive open world of The Long Dark is not an easy task. The game throws a lot at you, from dangerous wild animals to bone-chilling temperatures, dangerous weather, and the ever-present need to keep your stat levels topped up so you don't die from exposure, hunger, or dehydration.
With the constant threat of your save file being deleted should you die, it can often feel like a long uphill battle in The Long Dark, which is also part of its appeal. Still for new players that are struggling to make progress or veterans looking for ways to mess around with the game, loading in a cheat or two is always acceptable.
Whilst the game itself doesn’t have dedicated cheats, there are mods that allow access to the developer console and trainers that provide a selection of cheats to play around with. So with that in mind here are a few of the best cheats that you can get your hands on for The Long Dark.
Updated December 5, 2021, by Matthew Mckeown: Things have not been quiet in the cold frozen north as The Long Dark has once again come out of hibernation to drop another piece of story-driven content to its episodic levels. The new episode is their fourth piece of DLC and it’s called “Fury, Then Silence”. It’s another narrative-driven addition that takes place in a frozen and abandoned prison that’s being run by the prisoners, their leader of which is quite the unhinged madman. So you need to survive and escape the lunacy and tyranny that follows.
With another episode, an unnamed “Part Five” still sitting in the pipeline for a launch in the future, now is as good a time as any to pick up The Long Dark. Though things can be pretty brutal for new players, so if you want to take some of the strain off so you can sit back and enjoy the story, or just explore the world, then here are a few of the best cheats for the Long Dark to make the brutal winter wastes a bit more hospitable.
Cheat Trainers
When It comes to using cheats for this game, unfortunately, you can’t just look up The Long Dark cheat codes on a forum or hit buttons in a specific sequence. Instead, you need to jump through a few extra hoops outside of the game in order to get them up and running. Also, it's worth noting that these modification options are only available on PC for the time being, so unfortunately you can't enjoy these The Long Dark cheats Xbox One Bros and Sony Ponys.
Currently, there are three options at your disposal for cheats. You can download a cheat trainer, install a mod that lets you access the developer console, or use something like WeMod, which is free (since most of them cost a premium) and uses an app to store your cheats in one handy spot where they can be turned on and off at will.
How To Install A Cheat Trainer
The majority of recently released Trainers will do all the legwork for you, but if you’re using an older Trainer you may need to tweak some files before you can play around with some The Long Dark cheats.
To begin, just download the Trainer file, insert it into its own folder and place that folder within the Long Darks directory. Then open it and it should display a large table filled with several boxes, do not close this. Launch the game whilst this window is open and then just tick or tweak setting values within the table to alter the game, it’s that simple.
14 Free Crafting
Crafting is your main way of surviving in The Long Dark. Whether that’s creating items and fuel or basic clothes from animals you've hunted in the wilds. Almost everything in the game can be used to make something else that can help you survive just that little bit longer.
All the items in the game are randomly generated, but there is the occasional seed that you’ll encounter where the items you get are either not the best or key objects are scattered extremely far apart. So if you’re short on crafting parts for some crucial gear or supplies, then this The Long Dark cheat lets you build what you want, whenever you want for no cost at all.
13 Spawn Items
Items in The Long Dark can be a fickle thing since their placement on each level is completely random each time you start a new run. So you could get either incredibly lucky and have the best items in the game spawn close by or have crucial crafting recipes appear throughout the map in hard-to-reach spots.
Being able to spawn in stuff when you need it can be incredibly helpful as well as time-saving. In a game where every little resource can matter, being able to just give yourself the items you need in a pinch can sometimes mean the difference between making progress or starting from scratch all over again.
12 Infinite Durability
Depending on the game having a durability bar can be a blessing or a curse and in The Long Dark, it tends to be the latter. Items break at the worst time and in the frozen wilds of Canada, every crucial piece of gear can go a long way if you're careful.
With the Infinite Durability cheat you, unsurprisingly, have infinite durability. Items, weapons, and gear that would normally degrade over time with use will instead remain in perfect condition. It’s not majorly game-changing, but it can take a lot of the stress off having to micro-manage every little facet of your experience in the game.
11 Unlimited Sprint
Walking anywhere in The Long Dark can take a while, and rightly so. Your character is trudging through huge snowdrifts in clothes that are probably soaked through and heavy so of course, you’re going to be slow. There is the option to sprint, but doing so burns through your stamina fast, energy that could be better used for other things.
Unlimited Sprint is a great fix for this as it removes any stamina cost for sprinting or climbing, exponentially speeding the game up. Whilst that may seem like a bad thing, there are a few areas in The Long Dark, especially in the connecting zones, where it can be a little barren and boring, so being able to skip through these areas a little quicker is always appreciated.
10 Set Time
The day to night cycle in The Long Dark is relatively lenient and it doesn’t rush you too hard, but still, you don’t really want to be wandering around the frozen wilds at night when the sun goes down.
The temperature will plummet, visibility drops and it’s really easy to get picked off by wolves or a bear that’s just lurking in the darkness. With the set time cheat you can keep it a bright sunny morning for as long as you like, so you're kept nice and warm by the rising sun. Or if you’re feeling particularly brave, you could set it to a permanent world of wintery darkness.
9 Set Weather
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
The weather in The Long Dark can be cold, hostile, and unforgiving. Freezing blizzards and polar gales can whip up out of nowhere and drop your temperature dangerously low and decay your warm clothing, or rolling fog banks can swarm in and obscure your view, making it much easier to get lost.
With in-game weather patterns lasting anywhere between two and 12 hours, it can feel at times like it's a constant battle against the elements. To turn the tide of this freezing deluge you can use the Set Weather cheat to banish the creeping fog banks and blizzards to make every day a sunny bright afternoon. Or for that extra challenge in The Long Dark, you could set it to a perpetual whiteout to really test your survival skills.
8 Reset Stats
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
As important as crafting is to survive in this harsh climate, the main thing you should concern yourself with is managing your stats and ensuring you don’t starve or freeze to death.
Managing your hunger, fatigue, thirst, and temperature levels can be a bit of a micromanagement nightmare for newer players. Which only gets worse if you’re having a particularly tough run that’s short of essential supplies. With this cheat though, you can reset any stats at any time you like. Whilst this kind of undermines the whole purpose of the game, using it sparingly to prevent death and a complete reset is still recommended since The Long Dark can be pretty brutal, especially if you're new.
7 Reveal Map
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
The maps in The Long Dark are absolutely massive. You can spend hours just meandering around the starting area, let alone the various unique zones connected to it. Plus when the bad weather hits and visibility drops, it can be incredibly easy to get turned around in a new area.
Reveal Map removes the fog of war and lets you see every area in a particular zone. It can make expeditions to find resources or progress to the next zone so much easier as you can assess whether somewhere is worth checking out before spending the resources that you already can barely spare to get there.
6 Invincible
Turning on invincibility in any game is a bit difficult to defend as it is incredibly game-breaking, but in The Long Dark, you can be forgiven for flipping it on now and then. This game is not the easiest and it can be downright brutal at times depending on the type of world settings you go in with.
The Invincibility cheat is pretty self-explanatory in that regard, it renders you impervious to any and all harm. This also includes damage taken from low hunger, thirst, or temperature stats. In a game where death means starting from scratch all over again, temporarily throwing on god mode now and then is understandable.
5 Fly Mode
Perhaps one of the most situational of cheats, Fly Mode allows you to zip around the world map at lightning speed. The Long Dark isn’t a game that really needs this kind of mode as there isn’t a ton of verticality, aside from the occasional cliff face to climb.
Still, it’s a useful cheat to stick on to check out areas of the map not normally seen by players, scaling large heights in seconds if you’re short on climbing rope or getting around obstacles quicker if it’s a repeat playthrough and you just want to get to the next area quickly. It’s also extremely helpful for just skipping over sections where you need to sneak past deadly wildlife in The Long Dark like the bears or wolves.
4 Unlimited Carry Weight
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
Since The Long Dark is a survival game first and foremost, it makes sense that things are kept nice and challenging by using a carry weight limit. The base stat is 30 Kg, which is a decent starting amount, but it can be increased by wearing a moose-hide satchel, Technical Backpack, or having the well-fed status effect active to gain a temporary carry limit stat bump.
The highest you can make this limit go is 45 Kg, but for Packrats looking to load themselves down with tons of heavy equipment, this cheat is for you. It sets the Carry Weight limit to unlimited allowing you to fill your pockets with as much survival gear, food, and weaponry as you like.
3 No Thirst
The Thirst stat is one of the four essential needs of your character, alongside warmth, fatigue, and hunger. If it isn’t kept topped up, you will eventually die of thirst, which normally takes around two days, half as much time as starving to death. Your thirst meter drains relatively quickly and not having the right equipment to make freshwater or other liquids to drink when it gets too low can cause your game to snowball into a disaster fast.
Certain foods, especially those high in salts like crackers and jerky can also speed up dehydration, so there’s a lot to constantly worry about when you’re exploring the winter wastes. To take some of the stress off, use the No Thirst cheat. Though turning off a crucial mechanic may seem like it’s going against the whole idea of the game, it does let you enjoy the setting and story more as it's one less thing to worry about.
2 No Pain
Pain is a relatively new mechanic that was added to The Long Dark as part of the Steadfast Ranger update and just like in the real world, it can be pretty debilitating. When the Pain effect is active your vision will become blurred and sounds will become distorted and faint, so it’s not hard to miss when it activates.
This state is activated when you get a sprained ankle, wrist, falling from too high a height, or from entering a struggle with an animal. It can be treated with two Painkillers, First Aid or Rose Hip Tea, so it’s not a massive issue, but it can become quite an annoyance if you can’t get rid of it for a while. So use this cheat to turn it off so you can focus on finding other resources or completing one of the episodic stories.
1 No Freezing
Temperature plays a big part in The Long Dark, the core concept and at times, antagonist, of the game is the cold, it’s a snow-filled wasteland and you’re going to need to wrap up warm if you want to survive. You manage this by balancing a warmth level that decreases or increases on a number of factors and if it hits Freezing, you freeze to death, pretty straightforward.
For example, wearing thick coats and multiple layers will keep your character nice and toasty a lot longer than say running around in just a damp shirt and scarf. The same goes for using heat pads, building fires, or waiting indoors for a few minutes for your character to warm up. It can be a little overwhelming for new players to get to grips with the game with how punishing the Freezing mechanics can be, so if you want a slightly softer experience then just use this cheat to turn it off.