Suture Needle
| Suture Needle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | First Aid |
| Treats | Deep Wounds |
| Health Panel | Stitch |
| Weight | 0.1 |
| Metal Value | 5 |
| Crafting Skill | None |
| Crafting | See How to Craft |
| Location | Containers |
| Spawn ID | /additem Base.SutureNeedle
|
The Suture Needle is a small curved needle for closing deep wounds. It is the proper tool for the Stitch option on the health panel.
A deep wound keeps hurting a character until it is treated. A bandage alone covers it only for a short time before it turns dirty. Stitching is the lasting fix. Every survivor who fights at close range should carry a few needles. Each stitch also trains the First Aid skill.
Its main strength is a less painful stitch than the improvised option. Its main cost is that each needle is used up after one stitch. Needles are found in hospitals, clinics and morgues. They also come packed twelve to a Box of Suture Needles. The Doctor is the best occupation for first aid. It starts with the most First Aid skill. The Nurse and the Park Ranger also start with some First Aid skill.
How to Use Suture Needle
The needle sits under the Stitch option on the health panel. The option shows on a right click on a body part with a deep wound. It belongs to the middle of wound care. Glass or a bullet comes out first, then the wound is disinfected, then it is stitched.
After the stitch, a bandage goes on top. A bandaged stitch heals faster than a bare one. Once the wound has closed fully, the stitches can be removed.
Both the stitching and the later removal give First Aid experience. That makes deep wounds a slow but steady way to train the skill.
A Needle with Thread can stitch a wound when no Suture Needle is at hand. That route causes the patient more pain, so the Suture Needle is the better choice.
Forceps work alongside the needle. Their tooltip says they raise the success rate of deep wound treatment when used with a Suture Needle. Carrying both gives the best result for a serious injury.
The Pack Items in Box recipe packs loose needles back into a box, twelve at a time. Unpack Box opens a Box of Suture Needles into twelve loose needles.
Upkeep
Each Suture Needle is consumed by a single stitch. A badly hurt survivor with several deep wounds can go through a handful in one sitting. Keeping a full box in a safehouse is a sensible reserve. A spare needle can also be scrapped or melted for a little metal.
How to Craft Suture Needle
Each recipe that makes the Suture Needle is listed with its materials and the tools it keeps.
Unpack Box
The Unpack Box recipe makes the Suture Needle. It needs no skill level.
| Name | Image | Amount | Kept | Spawn ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box of Suture Needles | 
|
1x | No | /additem Base.SutureNeedleBox
|
Used in Crafting
These recipes take the Suture Needle as an ingredient or a part.
| Recipe | Output | Image | Station | Skill | Spawn ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack Items in Box | Box of Suture Needles |
|
- | None | /additem Base.SutureNeedleBox
|
Locations
Suture Needles are a common find in medical buildings. Counters and metal shelves in medical storage rooms hold them about one time in three. Dentist side tables, coroner offices and morgues are almost as good. Nurse rooms and the bodies of nurses carry them less often. A First Aid Kit found inside a bag or case sometimes holds one. Survivor safehouse medicine cabinets and old medical rooms turn them up now and then.
The places where it spawns, with the rough chance per container. Each tab shows one kind of place.
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Dentist | Side table | 32% |
| Medical | Counter | 32% |
| Medical storage | Counter | 32% |
| Medical storage | Metal shelves | 32% |
| Coroner office | Counter | 31% |
| Coroner office | Medicine cabinet | 31% |
| Coroner office | Other | 31% |
| Morgue | Counter | 31% |
| Morgue | Other | 31% |
| Nurse | Cardboard box | 15.8% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Medical cache | Medical box | 29.6% |
| Survivor safehouse | Medicine cabinet | 12% |
| Survivor safehouse | Counter | 9.6% |
| Survivor safehouse (mid game) | Medicine cabinet | 8.3% |
| Survivor safehouse (mid game) | Counter | 3.3% |
| Survivor safehouse (late game) | Medicine cabinet | 1.7% |
| Survivor safehouse (late game) | Counter | 1.3% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse | Body | 16.3% |
| Inside a bag or case | First aid kit | 12.2% |
| Inside a bag or case | First aid kit camping | 1.7% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse | Small box | 15.8% |
| Pharmacy storage | Other | 12.8% |
Notes
- The in-game tooltip says the needle is used in the treatment of deep wounds.
- Each needle is used up after one stitch, so carry several.
- A Needle with Thread can stand in, but the stitch hurts more.
- Bandage the stitched wound to speed up healing.
- Removing healed stitches gives First Aid experience a second time.
- Forceps used with the needle improve the chance of a successful stitch.
All Medical Categories
All First Aid