Curing

Curing is a mechanic in The Long Dark, which converts raw resources into crafting items.

Overview

Some raw resources from plants and animals cannot be used for crafting in their initial state, and must first be cured: these include Birch Sapling and Maple Sapling, all types of Animal Pelts/Hides, and Fresh Gut from animals.

These items may be cured by dropping them on the floor or otherwise placing them inside an 'indoors' location (most caves and artificial structures, including many without a Loading Transition, such as the Stone Church and Mountaineer's Hut). As these raw items continue to lay on the floor indoors, they will display a "X% Cured" progress by looking at the item, showing their current status until they become fully cured. This increases until the item is 100% cured, where the item will automatically become fully cured will change to a darker texture, and is ready for crafting use.

• Curing takes place over in-game time, even if the player is not present (such as outside of a building, or in another region).
• Fresh Hides and Guts Decay their condition over time, becoming destroyed upon reaching 0% Condition ("Ruined"). This is especially a problem when playing on Interloper, as fresh items can be lost if not cured fast enough. Curing items fully prevents them from further decaying condition. The item's remaining condition has no effect on item(s) created by it.
• Fresh items which are partially cured may be picked up, resuming their decay but retaining their "X% Cured", which is can progress as soon as they are dropped/placed indoor again.

• Curing items placed inside a container indoors will also cure, but at a slower rate. Many small caves can also be used for curing, but items should be placed as far as possible from the entrance; if they are curing, the "Cure%" will appear on the item.

Curing Time

Trivia

• In-Game time is required to cure items, and is a fixed rate, not dependent on temperature.
• "Curing" is a real-world process which includes salting, drying, and smoking. It is the process of preserving items or materials, often through desiccation (drying out) or treatment with a chemical/compound (such as salt).
• In The Long Dark, raw and cooked meat and fish cannot be cured or otherwise preserved, except by placing them outdoors which slows their decay rate by natural refrigeration.
• In early builds of The Long Dark (alpha/beta), Deer Hides provided "Fresh Leather" when harvested; this item could be converted into "Cured Leather" by curing it, and then used for repairing clothing. Cured Leather is still present in The Long Dark, but is only obtainable by Harvesting leather footwear, gloves, the Moose-Hide Satchel, and Beachcombing.
• The "Fresh Leather" item is still present in The Long Dark, and may be still be cured into Cured Leather over 5 days, but is extremely rare and cannot be created in any way outside of world generation at game start. Fresh Leather also decays over time, like animal hides and guts, making it even more difficult to find the already rare item before it decays to 0% condition inside a container and is deleted.

v • d • e TLD Survival Mode
Experience	Pilgrim  Voyageur  Stalker  Interloper  Misery  Custom
Gameplay	Overlay Map Needs Radial Menu Skills Survival Overlay Survival Menu Mechanics Beachcombing Condition Cheat Death Crafting Curing Decay Encumbrance Feels Like Foraging Forging Harvesting Research Book Rock Cache Rope Climbing Scent Snow Shelter Struggle Survivor Monologue Trader Warm Cave Weak Ice Collectables  Notes  Buffer Memories  Cairns  Polaroids  Mementos  Transmitters  Recipe Cards  Surveyed Locations Other Badges Feats Load Screen Achievements Safehouse
Advanced Gameplay	Daisy Chaining Environmental Hazard Hibernation Mountain Goating
Tales	Signal Void Buried Echoes Last Horizon Sutherland's Tale