The Long Dark - Food Tier List

[@SurvivorMike]

After further review, the only change I would make to this list is moving both Airline foods up to A tier. For some reason I though they both had around 300 calories, but it's actually nearly double that! Both are solid A tier.

[@ShakeJands-li4mg]

💯

[@benjaminmiller788]

I wish you would explain why birch bark tea is S tier and the other teas are not

[@SurvivorMike]

@@benjaminmiller788 Birch bark tea restores condition, which can literally save your life and give you a massive condition boost when sleeping. The other teas are not as helpful in boosting condition but can keep you warm and help with some injuries/afflictions.

[@SlippedGear]

Personally, I would have put bear meat at A tier, because of parasites, and wolf meat at B tier for parasites and lower calories. Of course, this all changes with cooking level 5, when your character can eat everything no matter the condition (as long as it's cooked), and suffer no consequences.

[@SurvivorMike]

This is true. The only reason Bear meat is S tier in my mind is because it's a great amount of calories, and usually comes in a huge quantity once you down a bear. A case can definitely be made though for a lower rank!

[@bacardimonk]

Sardines is the only food in TLD that can give you food poisoning at 100% condition

[@ShakeJands-li4mg]

I didnt know that thanks

[@SurvivorMike]

Absolutely hate them lol.

[@Lujawful]

I mean, their brand name is "Last Resort".

[@JohnDoe-no1tu]

So basically me eating 4 sardines at 20% condition makes me now believe I won the coin toss 4 times in a row lol.

[@LordKai1102]

@@Lujawful That's a reference to the "Last Resort Cannery" in Bleak Inlet. :P

[@Mephitinae]

The energy drink can be useful for climbing. You can temporarily top your stamina when you want to get out of a ravine fast. I would rate dog food below other canned foods because it can't be heated.

[@seanmurphy6139]

Scentless Food that doesn't attract predators are top tier when exploring or travelling between bases

[@wnchstrman]

Cattails and energy bars are my travel foods of choice. Light weight portable calories that cost no water penalty. Water is extremely heavy, so losing none to food means you can stretch your resources further with less water weight being carried around. This makes a big difference when min/maxing carry weight and inventory.

[@brandynstahler5266]

i'd like to add that the fact that you can heat up pork n' beans and the peaches to get a warming up buff is pretty significant in my book

[@Leg3nd-27]

The peach and rose hip pies are really strong. I went 3 days on interloper without sleeping, just eating pies to keep myself awake. The headache it gives you just makes your vision slightly blurry from what I could tell. I'm pretty sure they are better than coffee at keeping you awake.

[@feathersol]

Very sad all the cooking items aren't here, though I suppose I understand why. I just feel a lot of the stew would change this list as, imo, they are S tier. ~2000 calories and a max condition buff is just crazy.

[@mishka1569]

Glad they aren't for my sake! Still gotta try out the new update & explore all the foods

[@LordKai1102]

Bear meat: gives Worms of Death, weights 1kg for 900 calories, so very inefficient I would say, gives 3% Food Poisoning as it reaches the 75% threshold, takes 5% hydration away. S Tier Condenced Milk, weights 0.25 kg for 750 calories, so kinda efficient, gives 0% Food Poisoning until 20% condition, also gives 25% Hydration, no need to kill a bear for. B Tier **confused Unga bunga** :P any Soda, weights 0.25 kg for 250 calories, kinda meh, gives no Food Posioning, gives 30% Hydration A Tier **very confused unga bunga** Some choices made no sense to me even when availability is considered.

[@edsiefker1301]

Condensed Milk is A tier. High caloric density AND very high hydration for a food. Decay rate and food poisoning keep it out of S tier.

[@AuroranEagle]

Whoa. Might wanna rethink those acorns. They are the 5th best kcal/weight ratio, and don’t reduce water. They do require water to prepare/cook, but you can also use them to make a weak coffee. Very good for multi day travels if made in advance.

[@ichorfps1674]

I feel like condensed milk should be higher it is rarer but it's better than the peaches on calories and weight with basically the same hydration

[@pinchpeak5203]

This guy says he has over 1000 hours in the game, yet most of his tier lists are completely out of touch

[@madeofmandrake1748]

As a Canadian I cringe every time you bring up pounds. Even if you feel more comfortable in pounds the game itself is created with kilos in mind, and the math adds up way easier. This game could have been a fantastic teaching tool to help you learn both measurements. Each maxed mammal meat is 1 kilo. MRE's are half a kilo. soda is 0.25. Bear coat is 5 kilos. Everything's easy.

[@Andreja456]

I’m American but I embrace the ability to use the metric system because it is superior in every way!

[@Seriously_Unserious]

I see the stews aren't in the tier list so I'll mention they're definitely worth playing around with. The stews are a great substitute for herbal tea, basically giving you a similar benefit (improved rest) though they also do tire you out when you eat them so they're great for if you need calories before sleeping and need to recover from low cnd.

[@noah5664]

The energy drink is absolutely busted for climbing Timberwolf Mtn.

[@alantacitus]

It's fairly a ok list, missing on a few items and recipes. Maybe it would have been worth doing a small pilgrim run to gather everything and make it complete. Still, great work and looking forward to more content. Thank you and peace my friend!

[@tamarackgaming]

Sardines, yeah. They are the main reason I put off going to Bleak Inlet until Cooking 5, when I can.

[@RachDarastrix2]

Someone should make a mod that gives you the option of using sardines as fish bait instead of food giving you a 90% chance of catch bonus.

[@moctarjohnson8887]

In the realm of screens, he roams, Survivormike, his passion shown. Through wild terrains, he takes his flight, A beacon of adventure's light. With nature's wonders, he's entwined, A virtuoso of skills refined. From forests deep to mountains high, He captures beauty, scaling the sky. With courage and heart, he'll impart, Survival tips, a guiding chart. In every challenge he'll endure, Inspiring us to be secure. Survivormike, a trailblazer, A KZbinr, a true world-chaser. Through his lens, we all explore, The great long dark, forevermore.

[@saigesplayce3915]

Oh my gosh, as a poet and TLD player, this was a dream come true, Thank you

[@heisenberg4920]

Nice

[@austincod21]

Why do people sleep on the energy drinks their so OP You can climb a 2 stage rope exhusted with 1

[@sleepyproduction7166]

Early game, if you have a bow and an arrow or revolver and 1 bullet. Go to the bridge in Milton shoot the bear and get in a car and wait for it to die. Also if you go into inventory and unload the revolver, then exit and reload it and don’t move your analog sticks at all wait for the animation to be over. Then you can look around you 360 degrees a little bug I found that’s actually helpful. PS5 for sure idk about PC or Xbox

[@burntdice2810]

This was cool! I wish there were more tier lists for this game

[@CrispyTopHat222]

I'd say the only one I really disagree with is the peaches. It does give hydration and food but only 450 calories and it weighs a whopping 1.1 lbs. So for me that drops it down to B tier.

[@ShakeJands-li4mg]

Yes, however it can also warm you up when heated which is nice sometimes

[@wnchstrman]

I hate peaches. Too heavy. Eat it or drop it usually unless I am deliberately carrying it back to base.

[@julien2231]

Peaches are useful for new recipes. Thats s tier right here

[@CrispyTopHat222]

@@julien2231 True! The new peach pie might keep it in A tier then because the pie gives the affliction "headache".

[@julien2231]

@@CrispyTopHat222 true but i dont care its only one hour and gives fuzzy view, not a big deal imo.

[@timothymeinhardt2536]

For tin of sardines the chance is 3% from 20-75% condition. 0% if above that or you have level 5 cooking. I never leave behind any food. Calories are life. The best strategy is to pick these up eat the ones >75% then store the rest until you reach level 5 cooking. Store these inside! They won't decay before you get your cooking level up. After that, they make a good lightweight travel food on par with cat tail stocks calorie to weight ratio while also providing hydration. Also you'll always have something around if you run out of food and are desperate and willing to take the risk. In addition they prevent scurvy so good for areas you can't fish

[@julien2231]

We should be able to add crackers to soup, or add carrots and potatoes to beans, stew etc.

[@dementoz1820]

The best food item is the flight porridge. 1200 kalories, super light, but you also need 1 can of peaches (can be in 0% condition), some rose hip and a tiny amount of maple syrup.

[@russellfrancis813]

I'm not a fan of the sodas. I was thinking b tier. Yeah, they give you more calories than tea, but they are really heavy to carry in multiples. Two teas weigh less than a soda and are about equal for calories, plus they give you possible buffs, not to mention their medicinal effects. At most I'll carry one soda at a time, and I usually use them first to shed weight.

[@johnjoeson3115]

I would definitely have acorn coffee lower than the teas. It requires harvesting, processing, cooking, heavy hammer+ 2nd processing, then a second cooking... Even for leveling cooking skill there are much better options... It's only remotely useful in remote region starts where coffee may not otherwise be available but hammer is (or ultra late game when coffee is exhausted)... I would also have the teas higher than sodas. While sodas require no effort/reources; they are often the things you drop/consume first because of it's poor calorie:WT ratio. It's hydration is slightly better than water but hydration is low value because water is easy to access. Herbal Tea and Coffee can be suitable for long distance journeys in dry form or carried wet+hot for warmth buff. Soda lacks both options.

[@shadowcat5008]

tomato soup will become s tier the moment they let us make Grilled Cheese

[@Beef_taco]

worst part about the sardines, you cant sue last resort cannary for the food poisoning, its like a extra fuck you from the fish

[@azimuthclark462]

Cooking level 5 for eating sardines, unless you're gonna die. I always save those. Especially at the canning factory.

[@Lunaraia]

Chocolate is a substance that bacteria can't live in, and thus, it technically doesn't have an expiry date. This means that to get food poisoning from it, your character needs to be allergic to chocolate, or the bar has an additive that creates an expiry date in it that can easily give food poisoning, like peanut butter or nuts. The reason I think nuts is the cause, is that nuts that go bad can very easily cause food poisoning if they start going bad and the product with them has been left alone for a while.

[@Genocideforbeginners]

Milk in chocolate? I think it does expire

[@Lunaraia]

@@Genocideforbeginners that can do it too, but nuts tend to go bad before the milk does since the milk is mixed with the chocolate.

[@Snackfoodofthegods]

With the new scurvy system, I think this tier might shift around a bit. Also pinnacle peaches are one of the worst foods in terms of weight to calories.

[@Snackfoodofthegods]

I also think Condensed milk is S tier due to it also only weighing 0.55 lbs and being worth 750 calories, while also restoring a decent amount of thirst.

[@TocsTheWanderer]

Yep, but with their high amount of vitamin c, they're actually pretty good now. If you're at risk of scurvy, I'd even eat them at low condition and risk food poisoning.

[@Snackfoodofthegods]

That's fair, I only really use them for frontier comforts food.

[@Zero_Mortals]

Putting all the teas on B tear feels criminal

[@lucasnunesmoraes]

after i buy the DLC tales from far territory, i never have parasites anymore, but i am in day 150 more less, parasites don't work anymore after to many days or it is a bug?

[@illbetheone779]

Willyou do a tier list concerning what skills or tasks to do and prioritize them?

[@ckricat]

this would be interesting with all the frontier comforts items

[@Stranzua]

It's weird because sardines only gave me food poisoning once in the 600+ hours I played this game.

[@ethicaltechnical]

I guess this was made prior to vitamin c being implemented cause i think it would affect some of these rankings. Rose hip tea has singlehandedly saved me from scurvy so many times.

[@UberHypnotoad]

There’s no late game for food? What are you talking about? Of course food has an early-late game dynamic because candy, chips, canned food all degrade over time so you may as well eat them earlier. Later on, only renewables remain.

[@skimpy105]

This game is one of a kind 💙 i just moved up to playing stalker and man fuck the wolves 😂

[@drsnorlax_felineknights]

I commented this before i watched the video, so here's my personal tier S food : Interloper (salty crackers and cattail), Below Interloper (energy bar and condensed milk). Salty crackers because it is light (0,1 kg), sate a lot of hunger (600), doesn't smell and have a tiny bit chance of food poisoning (or maybe none at all). Cattail because it is light (0,1 kg), lots to find, doesn't smell and no chance of food poisoning. Energy bar because we all know the reason why. Condensed milk because it is pretty light for a canned food (0,25 kg), sate a lot of hunger and dehydration (750). As long as it gives lots of calories and/or pretty light to carry (light to weight ratio), it's a win for me.

[@rjwhite4424]

Now that scurvy is a thing fish just moved up to S

[@S_Black]

Also raw fish has more vitamin C. So there may be a benefit to sushi.

[@JoeKingAudits]

Acorns are S tire imo. The calorie per weight ratio is better than cattails so very good emergency food to carry all the time late game. Takes a while to prep and water to cook. Acorn coffee is a bit rubbish though.

[@danculp3136]

Now that scurvy is a thing fish should be s tier since fish yield tons of vitamin c

[@anth8271]

im surprised you have such bad luck with sardines or maybe i have really good luck, ive never gotten food poisoning from them even from like below 30% tins

[@SurvivorMike]

One day sardines will catch you by surprise lol

[@Paul-kd3ui]

Where are the miralurk steaks and crispy squirrel bits?

[@MinorityMan]

I love rusty food😋

[@vincentgeiszler3749]

Tin of Sardines my beloathed

[@julien2231]

Wtf c tier for energy drink. Can really save your life against wolves, or climb multiple ropes. Would put it at a

[@JohnDoe-no1tu]

I've been collecting all the recipes but so far my favorite stew is the ranger stew. Still waiting on a recipe that uses moose meat hinterland. Also how about some yeast or baking soda to bake some bread?

[@illbetheone779]

Very interested if the recipes will change how we play.

[@arrbos]

Or even just sourdough bread. Heh, the gameplay involved in maintaining a starter would be kinda funny.

[@feathersol]

Amen, love ranger stew

[@lenas4342]

Cool idea, but I wouldnt want to try raising anything yeast or sourdough related in those temperatures

[@JohnDoe-no1tu]

There is a note in the game that details how to bake bread and it's been in the game for so long, and yet the cooking overhaul hits and no sugar, yeast, or baking soda?? Makes one wonder if they even remember what they put on those notes lol.

[@ShakeJands-li4mg]

Good video!

[@Raccoon12008]

I really dislike the fact that things like dog food and sardines will give you food poisoning even at really high condition

[@guntherbgunnerson8989]

To be honest doesn't the dog food say it's a mixture of chicken and pork or something? Stuff like that ain't made to last whether it's in a frozen can or not lol

[@dlibby4979]

the little birds

[@disketa25]

Acorns are S tier for me. If you have a stack of them and a free day, you can *instantly* upgrade your cooking to L5 in early game. Just cook them one by one.

[@spicylizards4714]

That's cool and all...but where the heck do I find the dang things?

[@onedirectioninfection5756]

@@spicylizards4714 buried in the snow under oak trees when playing on TFTFT. there 2 or 3 per tree

[@justinbrockhouse8165]

Hey mike I got a question. And was wondering if you could do a mission run video. Help me find Canned Corn for recipes

[@Slickusso]

It only spawns in the tales from the far territory bunkers and maybe in forsaken airfield

[@alantacitus]

@@Slickusso Also in caches related to the tales..

[@alantacitus]

You need DLC for that, corn will be found in caches and bunkers related to the far tales DLC

[@justinbrockhouse8165]

@@alantacitus I do have the DLC I just can’t find it 🥺 and the recipe looks so good

[@alantacitus]

@@justinbrockhouse8165 If you play on PC it should be easy to find the expansion on steam. If you play console you need to buy the add on. The long dark, Tales from the far territory. Either way getting the DLC early will be cheaper then once all the new content is done.

[@arrbos]

What of the new cooking recipes?

[@Taylor-bw4zg]

Hey just a tip, if ur gonna make tier list videos its probably a good idea to not base it off the hardest difficulty seeing as most people playing the game arent gonna play on that difficult and u left out a bunch of items because they simply dont spawn and that makes it a very inaccurate tier list lol

[@SurvivorMike]

Tier lists are pretty subjective, so I'm not sure why the list would be inaccurate. I am an Interloper type of player, thus the list reflects that. Not gonna put items on the list that I've never used. I always encourage others to make their own lists, because once again, tier lists are very subjective.

[@Taylor-bw4zg]

@@SurvivorMike Subjective sure but idk how u can say its a "the long dark food tier list" if u dont even have half the food in the game. Its not "wrong" and i never said it was tbh, I just said it's inaccurate and misleading lol I just searched "the long dark tier list" only to find urs and not even see half of the items in the game. At the very least u should change it to specify interloper difficulty lmao

[@monikawasherelol]

​@@Taylor-bw4zgYou gotta remember that some of this stuff doesn't spawn on interloper

[@Taylor-bw4zg]

@@monikawasherelol that was the point of my comment lmao. How are u gonna make a tier list on something when u havent used half the items in the game lmao

[@monikawasherelol]

@@Taylor-bw4zg Fair enough

[@Raar5467]

Hi i hope them put Ice bear but cant be kill in one shot 🐒

[@kurri144]

no offense, but the canned peaches in the thumbnail are lookin real rough...

[@morganheiney1737]

I've always had a soft spot for venison.

[@illbetheone779]

Surprised you did not mention potatoes. Did you say this list was meant for a player who has Level 5 cooking? Have to disagree with you about acorns. You have to cook them, then smash them with a hammer. Too much work for me putting them at a C grade.

[@SurvivorMike]

That would honestly be the reason I drop them to C tier. A lot of work for not a ton of reward.

[@lenas4342]

Thats also the real life reason why I never do anything with them xD

[@Genocideforbeginners]

​@@lenas4342you would rather eat cattail stalks 😂😂😂😂

[@sergTheFirst]

ElloOoOOo