Darkwood Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Darkwood Wiki
Beginnersguide

The following is a collection of must-knows on your journey.

Forcing auto-save[]

The game autosaves after every night or special event. However, you can force it to save after interacting with a Character, an object that have Conversation Screen, most notably the Oven even if you don't cook any essence. Just interact with the object that have Conversation Screen and exit the screen right away, and the game will auto-save.

Managing storage space[]

Controls2

Inventory management becomes that much more proficient from mastering the game's controls and various shortcut keys.

The character's inventory space is very limited. Managing it is a very crucial part of the game. Only carry what you need on your scavenging tours during the day (weapon(s), light source(s), some healing items, a Watch, some Lockpicks). Store items you don't need at hand in the Workbench which has plenty of inventory space or in any furniture located at the hideout. If needed, just throw the items on the floor, they will not disappear.

Refueling the generator and table saw[]

With Gasoline in hand, stand next to the Generator or Table Saw and hold down the right mouse button, point at the machine as needed until a refill icon appears, then press down the left mouse button to gradually fuel the machine. The action will stop consuming Gasoline once the machine is full so there is no worry of overflowing.

Charge-attack and quick swing with a melee weapon[]

Controls1

Darkwood's control scheme may take some getting used to at first but makes a lot of sense once internalized.

  • Hold the right mouse button to charge up an attack for major damage, then press the left mouse button to attack.
  • Middle mouse button executes a weaker, much faster swing, albeit at a great stamina cost. In most cases, the quick attack is an inferior option in combat, but it certainly has some very niche uses. Take the quick attack as an advanced skill.

Dodging attacks[]

  • The most simple and effective way to dodge is to quickly run from the attacks.
  • Alternatively, to dodge, pressing the CTRL key makes the character backstep by about a Staff's length. It best serves as a dodge maneuver against incoming swinging attacks, and charging attacks can hardly be dodged this way. Doing so, however, cancels any primary weapon attack you might have charged up and it consumes quite a bit more extra stamina than a normal attack. This dodge only allows backward direction (no sidestep), which can be very tricky to use. In many, if not all cases, it is entirely possible and easier to dodge via running. Take this dodge as an unneeded advanced skill.

Activating skills[]

These are special powers which become available only after leveling up by feeding the Oven enough hallucinogens. It's best to always feed the oven with mushrooms before they rot away and become rather useless. Pressing the Q key opens up a radial menu where you can activate your active skills. Note that leveling up is completely optional and do not have any effect on the story, and sometimes the downside of leveling up may be too much.

Preparing for the first few nights[]

After you wake up in the Dry Meadow Hideout there are several things you should do in order to prepare for the first night, when intruders might pay you a visit at your hideout.

Scavenging and gearing up[]

Your first task is to scavenge for materials and arm yourself against hostile creatures and possible invaders.

  1. Loot the entire hideout including the appended generator room (excluding the locked stash, it is basically a cheat for a head start).
  2. Scavenge the outside world in the immediate vicinity of the hideout. There should be plenty of wood logs nearby containing Wood Logs as well as Nails, which are very useful (especially early on). They can be used for barricading. Also look for any Gasoline to power the Table Saw and Generator.
  3. Turn any Wood Log you find into Boards with the Table Saw outside the window of the workshop in the hideout.
  4. Craft a Board With Nails as your first melee weapon at the Workbench inside the hideout.
  5. Upgrade the Workbench so that it allows you to enhance the Board With Nails for extra damage.

Setting up the hideout[]

Workbenchroom

Easily defendable, the workbench room is the ideal place to wait out the night. Block each entrance with furniture and ready your weapon.

One may consider fortifying the hideout for more manageable defence, though it may not be necessary even for beginners.

  • Repair the Well outside the hideout. It will serve you well as a resource to replenish your health once per day.
  • Choose a room to defend, and if needed, set it up for the night and to defend from intruders, you will need plenty of Boards and Nails.
  • Movable furniture acts as effective blockades of entrances, so make use of it if possible. Furniture from other locations may be dragged over to the current hideout for extra blockades, though it can be tedious and is entirely up to you.
  • Drag both of the lamps to the chosen room.
  • Ready your weapon, watch out for any movement and wait out the night.
  • For more details in defending this hideout, see here, but it can be more fun if you figure it out yourself.

Final words[]

You are now equipped with enough knowledge to safely last for the first few nights. Now it's time to explore the depths of the dark woods on your own.

Learning to combat in this game is pivotal to the experience of this game. If you try to avoid all combat, you will not get to learn how the combat mechanics work, making it incredibly challenging at night, especially in later biomes when the danger scales exponentially. You will not regularly use firearms until the later part of the game so you should get used to the melee to have a desirable combat experience.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, proactively killing enemies at night instead of waiting them to break your defence, can be far more manageable and thus more enjoyable.

Advertisement