Important Notes
Important Notes: This War of Mine
This section covers critical warnings, pitfalls, irreversible choices, missable content, difficulty spikes, grinding traps, anti-cheat and modding notes, save management advice, and things players commonly regret not knowing earlier. Read this before starting your first playthrough to avoid common frustrations and preserve your experience.
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⚠️ Critical Warnings & Pitfalls
| Warning | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Permadeath is permanent | If a character dies from wounds, illness, or depression, they are gone forever. No resurrection. You lose their unique skills and inventory. Restart or continue with survivors. |
| No manual saves (PC default) | The game uses an autosave system that overwrites your progress every night and after key events. You cannot manually save during the day. This means you cannot reload to fix a bad decision. |
| Daytime is for shelter only | During daylight hours you can interact with your shelter (craft, trade, bed rest) but you cannot leave. Night is the only time to scavenge. Plan your day actions carefully. |
| Moral choices have lasting consequences | Killing innocents (e.g., the elderly couple in the Supermarket event) or stealing from the wounded can cause characters to become depressed or guilty, lowering their effectiveness and potentially leading to suicide. |
| No save-scumming for better loot | Each location's loot is determined when you enter for the first time. Reloading the same night will give identical items. You cannot reroll a better outcome. |
| Time passes while you idle | The game clock runs continuously. If you pause and leave the game, days will pass, and characters may starve or die. Use the save & exit option to pause indefinitely. |
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