How to Play
See the gameplay trailer for a quick introduction to the main camping mechanics.
See Bushcrafting for how to craft items in the wilderness.
Many traders around Vvardenfell sell camping gear. If you are using an alternate start mod such as CREL, and you want to start the game with a basic set of camping gear, select the Start New Games with Survival Gear option in the MCM.
At the very least, you will want an axe for harvesting wood, a bedroll to sleep in, something to boil water in (i.e a kettle or cooking pot), and something to cook with (a cooking pot or grill). If you are planning on heading into very cold or wet areas, you may need a tent. And if you find yourself over-encumbered with all this camping equipment, you can purchase a backpack.
Alternatively, you can start crafting camping gear using the Bushcrafting skill.
You can harvest firewood using any axe, although the wood axe is more effective than war axes, and will not get damaged from chopping wood as quickly. You can also find branches on the ground near trees which you can collect for firewood without the need for an axe.
To harvest firewood, simply equip an axe, run up to a tree and swing at it. You must be in the wilderness (i.e, outside where it is legal to rest), and you must use the chop swing type (by standing still while attacking). The stronger the weapon damage, and the further you draw back your swing, the less swings it will take to harvest wood. Full swings will harvest wood faster than small ones. The higher your survival skill, the more firewood you will harvest each time.
See Wood Harvesting for more details.
You can store water in any bottle, flask, jug or pitcher. Dirty water can be collected from waterfalls and any open body of water by looking at them and activating while you have an empty vessel in your inventory. Clean water can be collected from wells, purchased from Publicans for a small fee, or by looking directly up while outside in the rain and activating.
Meat and vegetables are great sources of nutrition, although meat needs to be cooked before being eaten, or you risk getting food poisoning. You can also purchase hot meals from Publicans for a small fee.
While in the wilderness, place down a piece of firewood and activate it, and it will turn into a campfire. Activate it again to enter the campfire menu. Add more firewood, light the fire, and if you have a cooking pot or grill, use an additional 3 firewood to add supports so you can attach them.
To set up your tent, do the same: drop the tent on the ground and activate. Place your bedroll inside in preparation for sleeping.
If you have dirty water that needs boiling, add supports to your campfire using 3 firewood, then attach either a kettle or cooking pot. Fill it with water and wait for it to boil, then fill your containers up with the now clean water.
You can also turn dirty water into clean water by passing it through a bushcrafted water filter.
If you bought a grill, attach it to the campfire via the campfire menu. Alternatively, you can add a wooden grill if you have 3 firewood in your inventory, although wooden grills are much more prone to burning food. To grill food, place it directly onto the grill while the campfire is lit. It will cook over time, and turn brown when fully cooked. Leave it too long and it will burn, decreasing its nutrition value.
If you have a cooking pot instead, attach it to the campfire (add supports with 3 additional wood if you haven't already), then look at the pot and activate again. Fill the pot with water, then add ingredients. The ingredients you add determine what buffs you will get when you eat the stew. The stew will only begin to cook once the water starts boiling. Once it is fully cooked it can be eaten or stored in a pot for later.
You can either keep the fire going to keep you warm through the night, or extinguish it to save some fuel to cook breakfast the next morning. Enter your tent if you have one, and activate the bedroll.
