What changes
- It's on from the start: every new game begins in Survival Mode. You can switch it off or on at any time in Settings, Gameplay.
- Travel from the map is blocked while it's on, unless you carry a Travel Pack (each trip uses one) or ride a dragon. If the map still says fast travel is disabled in Survival, close it and open it again with the map key. Carriages and boats still take you, but you can arrive hungry, cold and tired.
- You can carry 100 less.
- You level up only when you sleep in a bed. Perk points come when you sleep, and you can spend them later.
- Being hit can give you diseases.
- Your health doesn't come back on its own, only slowly while you're Warm.
- Carrying too much makes you tire 4 times as fast.
- Shrines want a gold offering before they bless you.
Hunger, fatigue and cold
Hunger
Lowers your max stamina, and once you're Hungry you're worse with melee weapons. Eat to fix it: cooked meals do more than raw food, and raw meat can give you food poisoning.
- Well Fed Magicka regenerates 5% faster (20% with the Endurance perk Conviviality)
- Fed
- Peckish Max stamina down by up to 15%
- Hungry Max stamina down by 15 to 41%; 10% less effective with melee weapons
- Famished Max stamina down by 41 to 72%; 25% less effective with melee weapons
- Starving Max stamina down by 72 to 100%; 50% less effective with melee weapons
Fatigue
Lowers your max magicka. Sleep in a bed to fix it: indoors rests you better than outdoors.
- Refreshed
- Slightly Tired Max magicka down by up to 19%
- Tired Max magicka down by 19 to 48%; skills improve 10% slower
- Weary Max magicka down by 48 to 76%; skills improve 25% slower
- Debilitated Max magicka down by 76 to 100%; skills improve 50% slower
Cold
Lowers your max health, and once you're Very Cold you move slower. Warm up by a fire or somewhere warmer. Warm clothes, hot soup and a torch in your hand slow how fast you get cold.
- Warm Your health slowly comes back (otherwise it doesn't in Survival)
- Comfortable
- Chilly Max health down by up to 13%
- Very Cold Max health down by 13 to 40%; you move 10% slower
- Freezing Max health down by 40 to 73%; you move 25% slower
- Numb Max health down by 73 to 100%; you move 50% slower
The loss to your max stamina, magicka and health grows bit by bit as the need does, not in steps: it starts just after you reach Peckish / Slightly Tired / Chilly, and reaches 100% at the very top. Eating, sleeping or warming up gives it back.
As a vampire you don't feel hunger; you still feel cold and fatigue.
Once you become a lich (Undeath), you feel none of the three.
Warmth and the seasons
Warmth slows how fast you get cold: 200 warmth or more slows it by 80%, and less slows it in proportion. Your clothes and armour give it, and a torch in your hand adds 50.
How cold a place is depends on its kind of region and the month: GTS has Seasons of Skyrim, so Survival Mode Improved takes its season numbers. Each is how many times its usual cold a region gets that month (above 1, colder).
| Month | Warm | Cool | The Reach | Freezing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Star | ×5 | ×2 | ×2.5 | ×1.8 |
| Sun's Dawn | ×4.3 | ×1.8 | ×2 | ×1.5 |
| First Seed | ×2 | ×1.2 | ×1.4 | ×1.1 |
| Rain's Hand | ×1.5 | ×1.1 | ×1.2 | ×1 |
| Second Seed | ×1.2 | ×1 | ×1 | ×0.9 |
| Mid Year | ×1 | ×0.6 | ×0.6 | ×0.8 |
| Sun's Height | ×0.6 | ×0.4 | ×0.4 | ×0.7 |
| Last Seed | ×1 | ×0.8 | ×0.8 | ×0.9 |
| Hearthfire | ×1.2 | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 |
| Frostfall | ×1.5 | ×1.2 | ×1.2 | ×1.1 |
| Sun's Dusk | ×2 | ×1.3 | ×1.3 | ×1.2 |
| Evening Star | ×4.3 | ×1.8 | ×2 | ×1.5 |
Your race
- Nords have 15 warmth of their own.
- Khajiit have 10 warmth of their own.
- Orcs have 10 warmth of their own.
- Orcs get hungry 10% slower.
- Orcs get tired 15% slower, and Dark Elves, High Elves and Wood Elves 10% slower (not as vampires or werewolves). Werewolves tire half as fast, whatever their race.
- Argonians and Khajiit can eat raw meat without food poisoning.
The survival skills
Six skills of their own, in their own menu, each with perks. How each one goes up is in its description.
Camping
Skilled campers can build a fire even in the worst weather and make more effective use of their surroundings. Light campfires and sleep in tents (once per day) to earn perks.
- Firecraft Light campfires 7 seconds faster in all weather conditions when using Strike Stone.
- Trailblazer Additional 10 Stamina when using a walking stick.
- Resourceful 25% chance of gathering one extra branch or piece of deadwood for each one harvested. Lit campfires last 25% longer.
- Keen Senses Detect items and creatures 50% farther, determine if creatures are hostile, and move while sneaking without cancelling the effect when using Instincts.
- High Spirits Skill bonus from large campfires lasts 50% longer.
Beast Handling
The art of riding, taming and commanding beasts. Ride your horse, tame wild beasts, feed and spend time with them to improve this skill.
- Animal Bond Reduces incoming damage by 10% while mounted. Grants various bonuses after feeding your pet, based on its type.
- Beast Whisperer You can attempt to tame non-hostile wild beasts or animals. Wood Elves have a 10% higher success chance.
- Belly Rubs Taming animals has a 15% higher chance of success.
- Pack Leader You can tame an additional wild animal.
- Experienced Rider Your mounted speed is increased by 20%.
- Steady Race Your horses are well trained, increasing their stamina by 30 points.
- Acrobatic Riding Your horse can jump higher and takes 30% less damage from falling.
- Mounted Combat You learn to fight on top of your steed, allowing you to inflict 10% more damage while riding.
Culinary Arts
The art of cooking exquisite and nutritious meals. Prepare your own dishes and read books on cooking to improve your technique and expand your recipe repertoire.
- Low Heat After cooking a meal you feel invigorated, providing extra stamina regeneration for a few minutes.
- Exotic Taste Eating an ingredient provides extra magicka regeneration for a few minutes.
- Healthy Diet Thanks to your varied diet, eating a meal gives you additional health points for a few minutes.
- Culinary Inspiration After cooking a meal, your inspiration kicks in and you feel more inclined to learn. You also get more cooking experience in the kitchen.
- Frugal Gourmet You sometimes create additional meals without using extra ingredients.
Endurance
Skyrim is a harsh land, where only the fittest adventurers survive. Stay nourished, sleep to recover, and keep yourself warm to increase this skill.
- Unyielding Long journeys and heavy burdens have strengthened you, increasing your carry weight by 20.
- Hydrated Proper hydration helps your body make better use of food, increasing food bonuses by 5% when drinking from a waterskin.
- Hardened Body Long days and sleepless nights harden your body, improving your resistance to Fatigue by 10%.
- Winterborn Exposure to harsh climates has toughened you, improving your resistance to cold environments by 10 points.
- Iron Stomach You've learned to endure on less, improving your resistance to Hunger by 10%.
- Reservoir Staying hydrated keeps your muscles responsive. While Quenched, your Stamina Regeneration is increased by 15%.
- Repose A renewed body learns quicker. While Rested, your skills level up 10% faster.
- Thermal Resilience Shielded from the cold, your body thrives. While Comfortable, your Health is increased by 25, and while Warm, it is increased by 50
- Conviviality A full belly sharpens your focus. While Well Fed, your Magicka Regeneration is increased to 20%.
Hunting
The art of stalking, slaying and harvesting your prey. Read books about hunting, take down animals and harvest their pelts and organs to increase this skill.
- Art of the Hunt By remaining still and focusing on your surroundings, you can use your instincts to track down nearby animals and resources.
- Handcrafting There's a wide array of objects you can create by using natural resources, rudimentary tools and your hands.
- Cycle of Life You can now bury fallen friends or foes. Alternatively, you can harvest the corpses of humanoid races, with a penalty of 40 Speech points. Wood elves are unaffected by this penalty.
- Trapper You learn to craft, pick up and deploy bear traps and tripwires. You can pick them up by pressing 'SHIFT + E' and place them by dropping them from your inventory.
- Wind Impulse While outdoors, you know how to best place your shots so your arrows are impulsed by the wind and inflict 5% more damage.
- Bestiary of the North You inflict 5% more damage against small animals.
Wayfaring
The art of scouting, wayfaring and surviving outdoors. Read books about Skyrim and her people, discover new locations and spend time outdoors to increase this skill.
- Wayfarer While being outside and out of combat, your Stamina regenerates 10% fastser.
- Expert Packer You've learnt to make the most of your bags, increasing your carry weight by 10.
- A Day's March You're used to walking for long periods of time. When outdoors and out of combat, your stamina is increased by 20 points.
- Longfin Maneuvers You gain 15% damage reduction while swimming, with a 10% bonus for Argonians.
- Goat Stance You take 15% less fall damage, with a 10% bonus for Khajiit.
- One with the Wind You are 20% harder to detect when sneaking outside and standing still.
- Spatial Awareness You can keep track of the position of your enemies during battle and infer where nearby undiscovered locations might be. (Press X to bring up your compass)
- Sixth Sense While sneaking, you can tell when enemies are aware of your presence by carefully listening to your surroundings.
- Mindful Breathing You can now meditate and rest on the spot, granting you 25% higher magicka or stamina regeneration.
- Lumberjack Allows you to search for firewood in your surroundings.
Changing it
Survival Control Panel's menu (in the Mod Configuration Menu) can turn each of these on or off for good, whatever Survival Mode does: the needs on the screen, the inventory's survival view, sleeping to level up, arrow weight and lockpick weight. It can also change how much warmth each kind of gear gives. GTS's own setup leaves them all as Survival Mode has them.
From base GTS 118's own files: Survival Mode Improved's settings as GTS ships them, the game's own help messages and stage effects, Survival Control Panel's script, and the survival skills' files and perks. Your own add-ons can change any of this; they aren't counted here.