The Long Dark Tales from the Far Territory Guide

Tales from the Far Territory is a paid expansion for Survival mode, released in parts starting December 5,

2022. It adds four regions in a new area called the Far Territory, a connecting transition called the Far Range Branch Line, a set of objective-based questlines called Tales, new items and tools, and the optional Cheat Death mechanic. It does not change the base map, and it does not add a new story mode: it extends the sandbox you already play, with harder country and longer goals.

Visit in this order: Transfer Pass, Forsaken Airfield, Zone of Contamination, Sundered Pass. Transfer Pass is the small hub that connects the others and the right first base. Forsaken Airfield is the vast, cold airfield with a hangar and control tower. Zone of Contamination is the poisoned mining region with an open-pit mine, chemical spills, and the buried machine at the heart of the Buried Echoes Tale. Sundered Pass is the steep, avalanche-prone high region for the most prepared survivors. The advanced regions guide covers each region dangers in full; this guide order is the safe path through them.

Tales are objective questlines with their own stories and rewards, found by exploring the Far Territory and following in-game clues, radios, and notes. Two examples players will meet early are the radio-tower questline known as Signal Void and the buried-machine questline known as Buried Echoes, which leads into the Zone of Contamination. Tales differ from ordinary looting because they have goals, steps, and unique rewards, and because they pull you into the hardest parts of the map on purpose. Read the quest text carefully, follow it step by step, and do not start a Tale leg without a fire kit, food, and a shelter plan.

Tales adds gear that solves Far Territory problems. The travois is a haulage sled that lets you move large loads, such as meat and firewood, across long distances that would otherwise need many trips. New cooking and food options, including acorn coffee made from Far Territory acorns, give you more ways to restore energy and warmth. Other additions include new clothing and tool options found in the new regions. The rule is the same as for base gear: find it, learn it in a safe region, and only then rely on it in the hardest country.

Cheat Death is an optional Tales mechanic that lets a Survival character revive after a fatal blow, up to 3 times per save, at the cost of a harder world: the game raises difficulty after each revival, so a revived run is never as gentle as the original. It is not available on Misery difficulty, where permadeath is the only option. For beginners, Cheat Death is a reasonable way to learn the Far Territory without losing a long run to one mistake, but it is not a substitute for the survival routine: a revived survivor who repeats the mistake dies again, harder.

Yes, if you have finished learning the base map and want more Survival mode. Tales is complete, its regions are fully explorable, and its Tales questlines give long goals that the base sandbox does not. Iron Road, launching in Early Access on October 27, 2026, is a different kind of purchase: a new island and a train system that will grow over 18 to 24 months, starting partial. A player who wants finished content now should buy Tales; a player who wants to grow with a new expansion should follow Iron Road and buy it when its Early Access content matches their patience.

A starter plan looks like this. One: finish a base-region run of at least a few weeks so cold, food, and wolves are routine. Two: buy Tales and enter through the Far Range Branch Line into Transfer Pass. Three: base in Transfer Pass, loot it fully, and learn its shelters. Four: take Forsaken Airfield in daylight with a full kit. Five: start Signal Void and Buried Echoes only when steps one to four feel easy. That order turns the Far Territory from a death trap into a second home.

No. Tales is Survival mode content. Wintermute is a separate, complete story, and its episodes do not require or use Tales regions.

Cheat Death is a Tales mechanic, and it applies to Survival saves when the DLC is owned. It is an option at save creation, not a mid-run toggle to rely on after a mistake.

A Far Territory food item made from acorns gathered in the new regions. It restores energy and warmth, and it is one of the small systems that makes the Far Territory feel like its own place.