How Fire Works
If there's one thing you'll be doing a lot of (besides walking), it's making fire.
To make a fire, press the [4] key or go through the quick menu. The image of a campfire will appear in front of you. When it's green it can be placed by left-clicking the mouse. The image is red when you can't place it at that location. Campfires can only be placed:
- Outside
- Very near you
- On relatively flat ground
- On non-wood surfaces
Fire can also be placed in a "fire container" where it is shielded from the elements. These are a wood stove, fireplace, burn barrel, or furnace.
Three things are required (and one optional) to start a fire.
- Ignition source
- Tinder
- Fuel
- Accelerant (optional)
Ignition Source
There are several types of ignition sources. Most of the time you will be using matches but there are various other items like a firestriker or magnifying lense. Canceling in the middle of starting a fire (by pressing [Esc]) will still use up the ignition source.
Tinder
If you don't have any tinder (newspapers, birch bark, cat tail heads, etc) then you can make some by breaking down a stick in your inventory. Just select the stick, select "Actions" then "Harvest". Like the ignition source, canceling in the middle of starting a fire will still use up the tinder.
Fuel
Fuel items are typically just wood lying around in various forms. Coal is also available, but can only be added to the fire once it's been burning for 30 minutes. For more on fuel, see this chart.
Accelerant
An optional ingredient that drastically speeds up the process and provides a 100% chance of success.
Chance of Success
If you're having trouble starting a fire, it's probably because the percentage chance of success is low. This depends on the quality of all the elements involved plus your fire skill. Try to increase your chance of success by selecting better ingredients if you have them.
Fire and Wind
A fire can be extinguished by wind. When this happens, you'll see the minutes left for the fire immediately drop into the single- or low double-digits. You cannot keep it alive any longer by adding more firewood once the wind gets to it. You'll just have to find another location to start a new one. Wind can put out fires even while you're sleeping. And keep in mind that wind direction changes a lot.
Fires made in a wood stove, burn barrel, fireplace, or furnace will not be affected by the wind.