“There’s no bar telling you how you’re doing. Just the strip of cloth on the arm, and while I wear it, that wound doesn’t bleed.”
The bandage doesn’t heal health. It closes the wound on one body zone, per arm, in an action that takes several seconds. Whoever bandages themselves knows the rest of the body is still open, so you have to decide which wound to close now and which to leave for later.
How it is used
- You take out the bandage and hold the action. While it lasts, your hands are occupied and your pace is slow.
- You can cancel. If something interrupts you, you lose the time but not the bandage, which is only used up when you finish.
- When done, the wound in that zone is closed.
Bandage yourself somewhere nothing can hear you and with your back covered. Three seconds are a lot when a Skinstealer is near, and more with both hands on one arm.
How to recognize it
The bandage in place shows on the arm: a strip of light cloth that your companions can also make out when they look at you. There is no on-screen indicator, no bar or icon, only the strip. Stowing your weapon or switching items doesn’t remove it.
What it is for
The bandage is the counterpart of the medicines that restore health, like the antibiotics in Consumables, which do add health points. The bandage treats local damage, closes what is open and nothing more. It is the one you miss most after a while, when several wounds pile up and supplies run short.
To learn which zones can be wounded and with what consequences, read Wounds and Body Zones. To carry bandages without their weighing on you, see The Survivor’s Inventory and Backpacks and Weight.
What is said
- Someone swears that each body zone will end up with its own wound and its own bandage.
- Some speak of dirty bandages, found on the floor, that close worse than new ones. Nobody has been able to verify it with certainty.
See also
Consumables, Hand-Crank Flashlight, Beds and Shelters.