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Cooking in SurrounDead is a simple and generally useless process that will not make much sense unless you reduce the game’s loot multiplier to a minimum. However, the developer is actively improving this mechanic, since in survival games, it is basic. For example, in version 1.3.6, the ability to fish was added (check out the fishing guide here). In this guide, you will not only learn how to cook food in SurrounDead, but also get it.
Cooking Equipment
The simplest way to cook food in SurrounDead is to visit one of the merchant camps or one of the safe zones. There, you will find a ready-to-use cooking station that you can use at any time for free.
The locations of merchants and safe zones are marked on the map. However, I should remind you that you must first find and equip a GPS; otherwise, the map will not work.
You can also create a campfire and place it somewhere in the open world. To do this, you will need 4 wood and 4 stone. To create a campfire, press “TAB“, go to the “Crafting” tab, select “Campfire,” and click “Craft selected item.”
Remember that to gather wood and stone in SurrounDead, you will need a pickaxe and an ax. These tools can be found in crates in the open world or (sometimes) purchased from merchants. They are equipped in the melee weapon slot and allow you to chop trees for wood and break rocks for stone. Check out the basic resource gathering guide in SurrounDead.
After creating a campfire, right-click on it in your inventory and select “Place” to place it on the ground. You can then use the campfire to cook food. Remember that you can always take the campfire back into your inventory by aiming at it and holding the “X” key for 1 second. Interestingly, the campfire in SurrounDead does not require wood or any other fuel. You simply need to place it in the world, and you can use it at any time.
For those who appreciate immersion, there is an option to sit on the ground (actually sit, not crouch). To do this, you may need to set up a hotkey (Esc → Settings → Controls → «Sit Down» input). In my case, it was missing by default for some reason.
How to cook food
At the moment, in version 1.3.7, there are not many dishes you can prepare: grilled meat, grilled fish (3 sizes), and Salad Bowl (ingredients can be found in chests in the open world). Simply approach the Campfire to interact with it, select the desired dish, and click “Prepare Selected Item.” The food will be prepared instantly.
How to Gather Food for Cooking
In the current version of the game (1.3.7), there are only three ways to obtain food for cooking:
- Find it in chests in the open world (ingredients for Salad Bowl).
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Hunt animals. To do this, you will need some kind of firearm. In the world of SurrounDead, you will encounter deer, wolves, bears, and rabbits (at least, these are the animals I have seen). Rabbits and deer are peaceful, while bears and wolves will try to attack you if you get too close. As far as I could find out, meat can be obtained only from deer, rabbits, and bears. No meat drops from wolves.
A good place to hunt deer is right next to The Valley Safe Zone, located between the rivers. I constantly see 2-3 deer there, which can be shot. In general, the area around this safe zone is an ideal place for a base, as there are merchants, bodies of water for fishing, and deer for hunting. Moreover, all of this is located in the center of the map. Read my separate guide on base building in SurrounDead to learn more about all of this. -
Fishing. To fish, you need to craft or find a fishing rod. It does not require bait. You can simply equip it in the appropriate slot, cast it into the water, and catch fish.
At the moment, these are all the ways to obtain food for cooking. Remember that canned food can be found quite often in the world, so there isn’t much sense in the cooking mechanics yet. It remains to be seen whether the developer will make the survival system in SurrounDead deeper, more complex, and more interesting in the future.