Hello everyone, Bop here. This video kicks off the Misery miniseries, where I’ll explain how Misery mode works and how it differs from Interloper or NOOA. Misery is the new hardest difficulty in The Long Dark, officially replacing Interloper after many years. It’s arguably even more difficult than custom games with all settings maxed out.

Misery Spawn and Starting Conditions

You always spawn at 11:00 a.m. in light snow at Draft Dodger’s Cabin in Pleasant Valley—a fixed spawn. However, the cabin is burned down. Weather is randomized, but from the start, the temperature is extremely cold, almost comparable to late-game Interloper. Within just three in-game days, it becomes as cold as late-game Interloper and stays that way. The temperature never drops further, which is one of the few mercies.

General Changes from Interloper

• No feats are available.
• No “cheat death” option.
• Beachcombing is nerfed to half the loot compared to Interloper or NOOA.
• Misery introduces six new permanent afflictions applied across five misery stages.

Misery Stages and Afflictions

Stage 1 (Day 2)

Diminished Form

• Carry capacity reduced by 5 kg
• Max stamina reduced by 30%
• Higher chance of wolf struggles ending early

Stages 2-4 (Days 6, 16, and 31)

You receive four randomized afflictions:

1. Rheumatic Joints

• 40% slower sprint speed
• Increased chance of sprains (estimated increase from 15% to 40%)
• Sprains cause direct health damage
• Reduced effectiveness of sprinting for escape

2. Haunted Mind

• 50% less condition recovered from sleeping
• Sleep duration limited to 7 hours

3. Sour Stomach

• Max calories capped at 1,500 instead of 2,500
• Doubled chance of food poisoning and parasites
• Cooking Level 5 bonuses are disabled (you can still get sick from cooked predator meat)

4. Frigid Bones

• -5°C to your “feels like” temperature
• Warm up rate halved
• Requires significantly more fuel to warm up

Stage 5 (Day 46)

Broken Body

• All condition regeneration disabled
• No healing from passive regen, sleep, birch bark, stems, or well-fed bonus
• Only healing source: select Frontier Cooking recipes
  • Prepper’s Pie and Dock Worker’s Stew provide instant +25% condition (but do not work with Broken Body)
  • Recipes with a 10% max condition increase still work and are currently the only method of healing

Additional Note

With Broken Body active:

• You take double damage from almost all sources
• Sprains now deal 4% condition loss
• Freezing causes major condition drops
• Wolf struggles can be fatal
• Rope climbing accidents often result in death
• Bear maulings and moose stomps may still function the same, possibly due to a bug

Summary of Difficulty Scaling

• Mobility: Severely impaired
• Temperature: More punishing than Interloper
• Healing: Extremely limited
• Weight management: A critical skill
• Food storage: Not viable long-term (no meat hoarding)
• Combat: Avoid all struggles, especially past Day 46

Despite the daunting list of afflictions, preparation, knowledge, and strategic gameplay make survival possible. In the next guide, we’ll walk through how to get a perfect start on Misery mode.