This War of Mine is one of the toughest survival games out there so it doesn't take too long before players start realizing that their in-game mistakes have turned into disasters. Even the small, seemingly harmless actions in This War of Mine can snowball into game-changing problems that will warrant a restart. It's part of the game's charm, as a survival game.
Learning to avoid these mistakes can often lead to some comfortable runs where the survivors can almost rise to the top of the food chain in Pogoren. This War of Mine, after all, can be a nerve-wracking experience so determining the factors that lead to failure and arresting them early on can ensure success or at the very least, the civilian survivors actually surviving the war.
8 Treating The Survivors Like Sims
Those coming from Sims or other casual simulation games might have a hard time with the survivors since everything they do hear has dire consequences. Even leaving them around to "automate" or fend for themselves can turn into a death sentence. They need commands and players will also need to micromanage their actions.
This is so in order to conserve resources. Survivors won't just eat a bit of the food supply when they're hungry or lie down when they're a bit tired. Players will have to check up on them regularly. There are instances where they'll act on their own but this is usually due to compulsion or addiction or some psychological condition; it's usually negative when that happens.
7 Ignoring Needy Neighbors
In wartime, it's easy to revert to the Stone Age mentality where everyone's out for themselves and tribe outsiders are treated with discrimination or animosity. The player's altruism is thus tested when neighbor groups start knocking at the shelter's door asking for help or spare supplies. The good news is that the player's survivors have retained their humanity, they have a conscience and strong morality.
The bad news is that this very same moral compass makes them susceptible to depression, especially if they committed the "wrong" action. So if players refuse to help any neighbor or needy outsider, there's a big chance the survivor group will incur a depression penalty. Consequently, helping them offers a huge boost to morale.
6 Ignoring Upgrades In Favor Of Thriftiness
Resource conservation is a literal life-saver in This War of Mine since there's a winter season where everything becomes too scarce. Players are thus compelled to stock up for a rainy (or rather, snowy) day. This does need to be done in moderation, however, as depriving survivors of good facilities and quality of life improvements can easily lead to their unexpected demise.
For one, upgrading a stove makes it use less fuel and water. Upgrading heaters and other stuff also does something similar or yields better productivity. Foregoing these investments in favor of hoarding materials and components typically yields less reward in the long run.
5 Not Buying Wood & Components From The Traders
Speaking of materials and components, players will be pleased to know that there are plenty of them out in the open. In some cases, they can even be more abundant than food or medicine. Even so, it's best to avoid scavenging materials and components. Because items like wood take up too much bag space, the same goes for other building and crafting stuff.
Instead, players should prioritize food, medicine, or weapons for that bag space. Traders that visit the shelter sell these building and crafting materials anyway; the amount they carry also lets players forego a supply run for materials at night and focus on other necessities instead.
4 Consuming Canned Food Immediately
Speaking of other necessities, food is certainly a priority since survivors' productivity wavers when they're hungry. It can sometimes be tempting to feed the very hungry or even starving ones with canned food but this is a costly mistake. Canned food in This War of Mine is one of the most precious resources or barter currencies in the game.
Players can even stockpile them in order to use them in purchasing weapons from the traders. That's how valuable these things are in the game. At the very least, players should keep canned food around for winter when vegetables and raw food start becoming too scarce.
3 Indiscriminate Stealing & Looting
Apart from helping neighbors, another test of the player's morality is scavenging. It's wartime so there are no rules in this ruined urbanity but again, the survivors have a strong moral compass and also a semi-intact sense of community. Most of them are still innocent people and will become saddened by their desperate actions, including indiscriminate theft.
It just so happens that some locations in This War of Mine are home to good people or also similar innocent survivors (i.e. the Garage). If players steal from these kinds of locations, then whoever did the theft might incur a depression penalty. There are certain characters unaffected by these actions but there are only a few of them and they can turn up randomly in a playthrough. At the very least, players should be picky with their locations. Those run by bad guys or thugs can be burglarized inconsequentially.
2 Panicking During Supply Runs
Supply or scavenging runs are some of the tensest moments in This War of Mine and the blatant ticking timer doesn't help calm the nerves down. Players need not worry though since anything they stockpile or voluntarily drop in a specific location won't disappear on their next visit. This means they can leave heavier stuff in a dumpster or storage in that location and then come back for them.
This helps a lot when looting areas with tight time constraints. Players can always drop the supply run and then come back later, assuming they have safely stockpiled the items they left behind (it's best to pick a spot near the exit). This gives players more control over supply runs.
1 Avoiding Combat
Combat isn't exactly impressive in This War of Mine but that was on purpose. Players control only civilians, after all, so they're clunky and blunderous fighters at best. This doesn't mean players should shy away from assaulting guarded places. Locations like those tend to have the best loot. While most survivors will also incur a heavy depression penalty when killing others, this depends on who they kill.
Soldiers, thugs, and bandits, for example, are typically free to be killed inconsequentially. Moreover, the game is set up in a way where it's easy to sneak up on AI combatants. Most of the time, direct confrontation isn't even needed as stealth kills are more precise and efficient.
This War of Mine was released on November 14, 2014, and is available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.