I really really thought I'd prepared myself this time...
So, 's only Night 2, I'm sitting in my nicely barricaded shed which is littered with traps, shitty weapon in hand, generator fired up, torch and bandage at the ready... and this thing swoops in, turns off my lamp and proceeds to curbstamp me. Torch doesn't seem to do anything. What to do now?

I (apparently) made the mistake of brewing up my first mushroom potion too quickly, thinking if I was in a well lit room, the shadow wasn't going to hurt me any. What I've read on the subject amounts to "don't skill up until you're ready", but what exactly that readiness entails, I'm not sure... I mean, you can't kill them, can you?
I'm thinking of starting over (yet again) since I don't feel this is something I wish to happen every night now, but I'd still be interested in knowing how to avoid above scenario ;)

(Incidentally, I read in the wiki you're allowed to pick two positive skills, when I'm fairly certain I only got to pick one...)

Thank you! That's very helpful...
Well, I've not been in dire need of gasoline so far, so I thought it was a good idea to keep the generator running. I have been puzzled about how it works, mind you. I was wondering whether it provided a sort of metaphysical protection (like the gas) and would thwart off attackers, my suspicion was it functions more like a guiding light to tell foes "I'm right here! Now come and eat me.". If the only effect it has is the latter (plus being able to see better) it seems indeed more wise to just not bother with it.

And yeah, if a flare is the only way to thwart the Shadow, and he's bound to come around all the time now the perk does indeed not seem worth the cost.... I guess I can store the mushrooms somewhere without them rotting away, in case I still want to use them later? This game really is quite unforgiving...

I received some handy tips for Darkwood here recently, so I guess I might as well return the favor. Here goes:

The shadows are, as far as I know, a randomized event. They do NOT appear every night. In fact, I'm on about day 20 now, and only saw the shadow event a few times. In order to survive the event you need to stay close to a light source, preferably a lit lamp. ( Haven't tried the flares for this, myself. ) Now, sometimes during the shadow event your lamps will start to flicker and then turn off -- when that happens, quickly find the next lit lamp in your safe house and wait next to it. This may happen a few times during the event, so you have to keep moving.

Personally, I tend to keep the lamps turned off, but wait right next to one during the night, so I can quickly turn it on when it's needed.

I've been wondering about the practical use of the perks, too. Most of the positive ones don't seem good enough to make up for the negative side effects. But I've been leveling up anyway... Maybe it's just video gaming routine.

As for the mushrooms, generally you can't store them, at least not for long. They'll rot after a while, and then you'll no longer be able to extract XP from them. ( But they can still be used for other crafting purposes. ) If you want to save them for later, simply don't harvest them, and try to remember their location. May not be a bad idea, actually, as later ovens are more effective and will yield more XP per mushroom.

As CharlesGrey says the shadows are random, not sure if the lights really attracts enemies or not.
In part due to the fact that you will get a random group of enemies turn up lights on or off.
So neither changes what going to happen, hunker down keep a few flares or the generator going if need be.
Boarded windows will keep the savaged busy, they will/do waste their time breaking into empty rooms to no avail.
Found that out experimenting in the second safe house, trying to figure out if the comp uses line of sight or can instantly home in on you. So board up all the windows, the longer they are kept busy the better.


CharlesGrey has pretty much covered the mushrooms, they are going to rot.
So make antidotes, use them or sell them, every mushroom i collected ended up as antidote or turned into a weapon.
I found myself trading for gas/petrol and the red eggs, the red eggs have two effects at once.
Found them to be most useful, they stack in fives and can be cooked if you want to, and they keep.
The lantern once made burns slowly enough and uses a small amount of petrol, and again is a good trade item.
But it biggest pull is it frees up your hands.
Batteries/white pills/flashlights all good trade fodder i found, no real use for any of them.


Yup, the game is pretty unforgiving, completed it, and will try my luck at the next difficulty level.
I don't hold much chance of doing it mind you, normal is bad enough, but worth the giggles trying.