Survivors are the only friendly entities in the caves, and they are not automatically friendly. Your first few seconds in a life-pod determine whether you get a discount, a dismissal or a fight. This guide covers the reputation math and the trades worth making.
Who you are trading with
Survivors are Experiments, Milkys or Dunes who have set up in a life-pod. They have a random inventory of 2-8 items drawn from the game’s loot categories. Milkys also stock ammunition and a gun; Dunes carry fewer items but replace the Haggle action with a Friendly Bite.
You can trade by right-clicking a friendly survivor. If you are bleeding when you meet them, they will offer you a dressing for free and add an extra dressing to their stock. That is one of the few genuinely kind mechanics in the game.
First-contact reputation
The game rolls a base reputation between 75 and 135, then modifies it in this order:
| Modifier | Effect |
|---|---|
| Intelligence | +4 per level above 10; -4 per level below. |
| Impaired speech | -20 (item in mouth, dislocated jaw or disfigurement). |
| Disfigurement | -5. |
| Dirtiness above 50% | -0.5 per point above 50 (100% dirtiness = -25). |
| Gun in main hand | -20. |
| Mindwiped | ×0.7. |
| Brain damage | -0.5 per missing brain health point. |
| Mood | +0.5 per mood point, excluding temporary effects. |
| Hearing loss above 50% | -20. |
Above 125 reputation, the survivor greets you. Between 75 and 125, they are neutral. Below 75, they dismiss you. Below 30, they can become hostile.
Trade preferences and value
Each item has a colored bar indicating how the survivor feels about it:
- Wants to trade (green): 30% cheaper, and buying it gives +7 reputation.
- Indifferent (yellow): normal price, +4 reputation.
- Prefers to keep (orange): 50% more expensive.
Value is the game’s currency. Hover an item and hold Shift to see its trade value. Condition, battery charge, fluid volume and loaded ammunition all scale value. A gun with a loaded magazine is worth the same as an empty one, so remove the ammo and sell it separately.
Each survivor tracks the total value you have given them. Once it reaches 60, they will not buy anything else. Plan your sales: dump low-value junk first, then the expensive items you actually want to convert.
Price by reputation
| Reputation | Price multiplier |
|---|---|
| 0 | 2.00× |
| 50 | 1.47× |
| 100 | 1.00× |
| 150 | 0.72× |
| 200 | 0.50× |
Haggle, hug, threaten, rest
- Haggle: rolls -25 to +25 reputation, divided by the number of haggles so far. Expected value is zero. The first seven successful haggles give +2.5 INT experience. Do not haggle at low reputation unless you are ready for a fight.
- Hug: +5 on success, -8 on failure. Only the first successful hug gives reputation, but failed hugs always hurt. Dunes do not accept hugs.
- Threaten: -70% reputation. You may get a free item, but you lose the trader and likely gain an enemy.
- Rest: sleeping near a survivor can improve reputation if you wake with more than 45% energy. It is also a safe place to recover.
- Move: asking a survivor to move costs 1 reputation on success, 3 on failure.
Breaking a light near a survivor costs 40 reputation. Do not loot the life-pod lighting while they are watching.
What to buy and sell
Buy things that solve a problem you cannot craft: antibiotics, a Combat Pen, a Rose Light, a decent blade, or a battery for a light. Sell duplicate weapons, excess ammunition, low-condition tools and anything you are carrying only because it looked expensive.
A few high-value trades stand out:
- Sell Ceftriaxone. It is painful to use and usually worth more as trade value than as medicine.
- Buy dressings if you are bleeding. The free dressing offer is real; take it.
- Buy a light. A Lantern or Rose Light can change an entire layer.
- Do not buy food at orange prices. Food is abundant in the early layers; save value for medical gear.
When a trader turns hostile
Humanoid survivors become enemies below 30 reputation. They attack with a slash, have a long reach and are considered dead below 200 health. They drop 66% of their inventory, but killing one costs 10 mood, adds 30 trauma and 30 sickness, and gives 60 Resilience experience.
If a trader turns hostile, leave. The loot is rarely worth the mood and trauma, and the fight takes place in a confined life-pod. If you must fight, use the doorway as a choke point and keep a tourniquet ready.