Light Sources

Flashlights, lanterns and candles keep a survivor working after dark. House lights go dark once the power fails. In the dark, a character cannot read a book or finish some crafts. A good light also brings risk, because more light makes a survivor easier for the dead to spot.

All Tools and Equipment Categories

Best Light Sources

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Lightest	Penlight		0.2 weight	/additem Base.PenLight
Heaviest	Hurricane Lantern (Lit)		2 weight	/additem Base.Lantern_HurricaneLit

Uses

Darkness stops a lot of work. A character in a dark room gets the message "Too dark to read" when opening a book. The crafting window shows "too dark to craft" for recipes that need light. Inspecting items in the dark fails too. A light in hand, a lamp, or a lit room fixes all of these.

House lamps and ceiling lights run on mains power. Their switches turn them on and off. After the shutoff, a Generator brings them back. A bulb can be fitted or taken out with the Add Light Bulb and Remove Light Bulb options. A spare Light Bulb weighs 0.3.

Light works both ways. The game's own guide says that more light makes it easier for the undead to see the survivor. It also says that flashlights do not scare away the monsters. A torch beam is a tool for seeing, never a shield. Turn it off when sneaking past a group.

The light key binding turns an equipped light on and off. A flashlight or lantern is held in the primary or secondary hand.

Flashlights

Every flashlight runs on a Battery. A flashlight burns its battery only while it is switched on. When the battery runs flat, the light goes out. The Remove Battery and Insert Battery recipes swap cells between flashlights, radios and other battery items.

The Flashlight is the common model, at a weight of 0.5. It throws a narrow cone of light ahead of the character. The Flashlight - Heavy Duty weighs 1.0 and is the strongest handheld light. It reaches farthest and shines brightest, but it drains its battery a little faster.

The Flashlight - Angle Headed weighs 0.5. It has a webbing attachment, so it can hang from webbing slots on gear. The army version drains its battery a touch slower.

The Penlight weighs 0.2. Its beam is short and narrow. It sips power slower than any other flashlight, so one battery lasts a very long time.

Lanterns

A lantern lights a circle around the character instead of a cone. That makes it better for working in a room or a camp.

The Propane Lantern weighs 2.0. It shines as bright as the Flashlight - Heavy Duty in every direction. It burns from a Propane Lantern Bottle. The Remove Propane Bottle and Insert Propane Bottle into Lantern recipes swap the bottle when it runs dry. Spare bottles turn up in metal shops, welding workshops, plumbing supplies and generator rooms.

The Hurricane Lantern weighs 2.0. It burns Gasoline. The Light Hurricane Lantern recipe needs anything that can start a fire, such as a lighter or matches. The Refill Hurricane Lantern recipe pours in a little Gasoline from any container. Extinguish Hurricane Lantern puts it out again to save fuel. A Hurricane Lantern (Lit) shines a little weaker than a propane lantern.

The Improvised Electric Lantern weighs 2.0 and runs on a battery. It gives a smaller circle than the store lanterns.

Candles

The Candle is the simplest light. It weighs 0.2. The Light Candle recipe turns it into a Lit Candle with a lighter or matches. A Lit Candle casts a small ring of light. It slowly burns down and is used up at the end. Extinguish Candle puts it out and keeps the rest for later.

A Lit Candle also counts as a fire starter. It can light a campfire or another candle. A Box of Candles weighs 1.0 and unpacks into loose candles. The Pack Items in Box recipe packs loose candles back into a box for tidy storage.

Crafting

Make Improvised Flashlight needs Electrical 1. It uses Scrap Electronics, a Light Bulb, Electrical Wire, Screws and a tin can or a small metal sheet. A Screwdriver, pliers and a small saw or metal snips are the tools, and they are kept. The result is the Flashlight - Improvised. It weighs 1.0 and gives a shorter beam than the store models.

Make Improvised Lantern uses the same parts plus a length of Wire. It makes the Improvised Electric Lantern. Both recipes must be learned first. The Electrician and Engineer occupations know them from the start. Researching a store flashlight or penlight can also teach them.

The Hurricane Lantern can also be forged. Forge Lantern needs Blacksmithing 5 and an Advanced Forge. It takes charcoal, small metal sheets, Wire and a Lantern Glass, with a smithing hammer and tongs. Steel sheets make the plain lantern. Copper, gold or silver sheets make the Hurricane Lantern - Copper, the Hurricane Lantern - Gold or the Hurricane Lantern - Silver. Make Lantern Glass is a Glassmaking recipe at level 7.

Locations

Flashlights fill security storage rooms, camping store shelves, tool stores and mechanic shops. Safehouse stashes are packed with them. The Flashlight - Heavy Duty shares the same camping and mechanic shelves. The army Flashlight - Angle Headed sits in army storage, army hangars and army surplus stores.

The Propane Lantern is a camping store item, and safehouse stashes hold them often. The Hurricane Lantern belongs to the old west. Wild west houses, barns and antique stores keep them. Candles sit on tobacco store counters, in housewares aisles and in safehouse stashes. Gas station emergency shelves carry a Box of Candles. Penlights turn up in doctor, nurse and morgue supplies, and in university science storage.

Notes

• Researching a Propane Lantern or a Hurricane Lantern can teach Forge Lantern and Make Lantern Glass.
• The Flashlight, the Penlight and the Flashlight - Heavy Duty can be researched to learn the improvised flashlight and lantern recipes.
• Spare batteries come packed in a Box of Batteries.

All Light Sources