Night Survival

Day in Besmirch is generous. Night is not. By dusk (roughly hour 20 in-game) you should be inside, or you should be ready to fight. This guide is for the second case.

Lantern oil math

Lantern oil burns at a fixed rate per in-game hour after dusk. With 1 unit, you can travel home from town safely. With 2 units, you can clear the entrance of Cave 1 in the dark. With 3, you have a margin for surprises.

Always carry more oil than you think you need. The shop sometimes runs out; the doctor only stocks it if he likes you. Use the Day/Night Planner to estimate burn for a planned night excursion.

Weapon tiers and what they do at night

Spirits don’t care about most weapons. Demons resist a few. Beasts respect reach. The progression that works for most players:

1. Rusty pitchfork (T1) — Reach matters more than damage; keeps beasts at arm’s length. Useless against spirits.
2. Iron sickle (T2) — Cleave handles multi-enemy spawns in Cave 2 and the sewer. Still useless against spirits.
3. Lantern spike (T3) — Doubles as a light source. Each swing burns oil but staggers spirits — the first weapon that actually scares them.
4. Blessed cleaver (T4) — Father Aldred consecrates it after a long quest line. Cuts demons cleanly and banishes lesser spirits in one hit.
5. Baron’s relic blade (T5) — Endgame. Pierces armor, but carries a curse penalty wxq will document in detail once Phase 0 audit calibrates the cost.

See the full list at Items → Weapons.

Demon spawn patterns by zone

Spawn behavior in Early Access 0.7 (subject to dev tweaks):

• Cave 1: predictable spawns near the entrance; lesser beasts only.
• Cave 2-3: scaling difficulty; lesser demons appear past the second chamber. Bring oil for the trip out, not just in.
• Cave 4: greater demons + spirit on first descent. Do not enter without blessed bread.
• Sewer dungeon: bandits + spirits + lesser demons. Bandits group; spirits drift; demons ambush. The most chaotic zone in 0.7.
• Mansion: spirits in every wing, the Baron himself in the crypt. Save your run before entering.

”If you must travel after dusk” checklist

Before leaving the farm at night:

• Lantern: oil level at least double the expected hours away
• Weapon: at least tier-2 for towns, tier-3 for caves
• Bandages: 2 minimum
• Blessed bread: 1 if entering Cave 3+, sewer, or mansion
• Courage tonic: 1 if entering the mansion or fighting a boss

Skip any item and you may still survive. Skip more than one and you probably won’t.

See also

• Combat — what each weapon does to each enemy type
• Items → Consumables — oil, bandages, blessed bread, courage tonic
• Locations → Cave 1 and following for danger levels and loot