West Wood Hunger and Thirst

West Wood is not only about outrunning a monster — hunger and thirst bars quietly end runs while players focus on house numbers and contracts. Gameplay footage shows groups discovering cans, liquids, and shelf goods mid-loot, then realizing they should have stocked earlier. This guide makes resource bars a first-class survival skill.

Reading the bars

Check hunger and thirst during every loot pause, not only when icons flash red. Assign one teammate to call “water check” before dusk in Co-op Tips. Passive drain during long contract routes kills players who never got attacked.

Loot priority list

When entering a house, grab food and water before cosmetic items or distant shelf junk. “Take only what you need” is common squad etiquette — overencumbering slows escapes. Drop excess with Backspace when sprint matters — see PC Controls.

Daylight stocking strategy

Plan a loop: residential houses for small goods, general store for bulk when keyed — General Store Guide. Finish stocking before accepting far contracts that delay eating.

Night rules

Do not loot new houses for snacks during active hunts unless desperate. Pre-night meals prevent mid-hide starvation. If thirst hits during hide phase, decide as a team whether one player can risk a kitchen run.

Medical overlap

Bandages and healing items complement hunger systems when fights or break-ins injure players. Keep medical in the same inventory pass as food.

Badges and long sessions

Badge grinds spanning many nights amplify bar pressure — short, efficient routes beat marathon loot tourism. Use Survival Checklist before grind nights.

Remake balance

Drain rates may change in the remake — revisit this page after Patch Notes.

Inventory budgeting

Carry two food and two water minimum per player entering night phase — adjust for longer storm runs per Weather.

Stocking extra water before storm nights is cheaper than mid-night pantry runs — weather reduces visibility and makes snack trips lethal.

Bar check

Call water status before every contract turn-in.

Stat bars explained

Hunger and thirst run passively during exploration. Gameplay footage shows thirst at zero can block stamina regeneration — you may not die instantly but cannot escape chases reliably. Food and water from house shelves are mandatory picks, not optional bonus loot.

Loot priority when starving

If bars hit critical mid-run, abort far contracts and loot nearest unexplored kitchen shelves. Call “need food” early — teammates often carry extras if you speak up before night. See Items Tier List for consumable priority.

Stocking for night

Each player should enter dusk with at least one food and one water buffer. Squads that ignore thirst wipe during chases even when the creature never touches them. Assign loot lead to monitor team bars during daylight loops.

Dealer and store consumables

Later progression may let you buy sustenance — Soul Coins and Dealer — but early runs depend on free house loot. Do not skip shelves because “we will buy later.”

Bandage and health tie-in

Low hunger indirectly kills via failed chases — keep bars above half before accepting far contracts at dusk.

Shared food pools

Designate one player as team pantry — they call when squad average thirst drops below half. Centralizing consumables prevents one player hoarding water while another hits zero stamina mid-chase.