The Long Dark Update 1.98 Patch Notes

Update 1.98 has arrived for The Long Dark, and here’s the full list of changes and fixes added with this patch. The Long Dark has been receiving updates that go over many aspects of the game. The game’s UI, art, environment, and even animations have been tweaked and fixed. This patch is nowhere near the size of the previous one, but players will find some welcomed additions and fixes. Here’s everything new with The Long Dark update 1.98.

The Long Dark Update 1.98 Patch Notes

This update includes:

• New to Survival: Blackrock Region is now available in Survival Mode. It connects to Pleasant Valley via a Transition zone, and to Timberwolf Mountain via a cave system.
• New to Survival: The Noisemaker from Episode Four is now available for crafting and use in Survival Mode. Please note that the Blueprint unlocks after you find your first Noisemaker, which is currently only discoverable in Blackrock Region.
• New to The Long Dark: The new Ballistic Vest is the first piece of protective gear in the game, offering strong defense against physical harms from wildlife attacks.
• Various quality-of-life improvements, including making Crampons repairable, a new piece of soundtrack music, and many bug fixes.

There are also a couple of known issues affected players should be aware of:

• Please note that on Switch, the Main menu art will not be updated with the release, though the game should still update. Players can verify the correct version via the top left-hand side of the main menu screen v1.98 (86821).
• When attempting to repair the Crampons, you need either the Simple Tools or High-Quality Tools item. If you do not have these items, you will receive an error message stating the Sewing Kit is required.

ART, ENVIRO, and UI

• [Enviro] Fixed numerous areas the player could escape/leave the regular game environment.
• [UI] Fixed an issue in Survival Mode that caused six incorrect Possible Old Bear Locations to appear in the list of Mystery Lake Surveyed Locations.
• [UI] Fixed an issue when using a Controller that caused the Start Fire menu to skip when starting a fire in a Fire Barrel.
• [UI] Fixed an issue that prevented items from appearing in Inspection Mode when the HUD was disabled in Options.
• [UI] Fixed a performance issue that caused the WINTERMUTE menu to become unresponsive when the Player had many saved files.

GAMEPLAY

• [General] Updated Feats, so they now always save up completion.

CHALLENGE MODES

• [Darkwalker] Fixed an issue that could prevent the game from saving correctly.

WINTERMUTE

** Please note that this section contains spoilers for WINTERMUTE. **

• [Ep4] Fixed a bug that could cause the game to save in an unloadable state.
• [Ep3] Fixed a bug that caused the UI to disappear after exiting various sequences, such as a phone call or a dialogue sequence.
• [Dialogue] Fixed an issue that caused the text to appear distorted during a dialogue sequence.

Besides the many fixes implemented, this update added a new zone and some items to the survival and regular mode. The Ballistic vest is the first protective item in the game, now players can protect themselves from any damage. Some performance improvements were also made, so players should get a better experience overall.

The Long Dark is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch. For more information regarding this update, go to the official The Long Dark Steam page.