Torch
Location
Dry Meadow Hideout - Corpse Village Well - Searchable sack
Item Type	Unknown item type
Item Types	Light Source Tool Melee Weapon
Value	50
Max. Stack
Crafting	#1 #2 Recipe #1 x1 x1 x1 x1 Recipe #2 x1 x1     x0.3 x1
Repair Cost	{{{repair}}}
Healing	{{{heal}}}
Notes	{{{use}}}
Notes	Emits light. Burns Worms and Black Substance. Ignites Gasoline.
Duration	5min 36s (336 s)
Release	Initial release

"The torch went out."

— The Protagonist's comment upon full use

The Torch is the most basic light source in Darkwood. It is the very first and only available item that the player can craft while playing as the Doctor during the prologue.

A half-used torch can be found in the corpse inside the small shack housing the generator just outside the Dry Meadow Hideout. One more torch in mint condition can be found in an unlabeled sack when entering the Village Well.

Crafting a torch requires one board, one rag, one matchstick, and alcohol or gasoline, either of which acts as a flammable substance to produce light by fire. If alcohol is used, an empty bottle will be acquired from it. Torches can be crafted without a workbench.

Function

The torch projects a dim circle of light around the player and loses durability while in use. Like the flashlight and the military flashlight, the torch has to be selected in the hotbar to be used, though its flame cannot be put out and remains active while the torch is being equipped. Once its durability expires, it vanishes from the hotbar.

Torches cannot be repaired or combined to extend its durability, and they cease to function during a shadows night event.

Strategies

• The torch can be swung like a melee weapon, dealing 10 damage with each fully charged strike, enough to kill a dog in exactly 2 hits.
  • If the strike lands on nothing, no extra durability will be lost.
  • If the strike lands on a trail or a pool of gasoline, the torch will ignite it without losing any extra durability.
  • If the strike lands on worms, a little bit of durability will diminish, and the worms within the swinging arc will be cleared away.
  • If the strike lands on a barricade, around 15% of durability will diminish.
  • If the strike lands on an enemy, it will not set them aflame, and 25% of durability will diminish, so even a new torch breaks in mere 4 hits to an enemy. As a consequence, the torch makes for the weakest melee weapon in the game and is better off used for other purposes.

• The torch can be used to burn away the Black Substance via shining at it.
• Torches can also be utilized for building up Reputation with the trader NPCs as they are very cheap, easy to make and can be sold for a modest profit. Assuming all the required materials are bought, selling the torch crafted using alcohol along with the given bottle results in a profit of 4 Reputation while selling the torch crafted using gasoline results in a profit of just 3 Reputation.

Trivia

• In earlier builds, the torch was one of the few items that used to have several crafting recipes. In later versions, the torch and the molotov cocktail are the only two items in Darkwood that present two crafting recipes to choose from.
• Despite being quite basic and insufficient in all of its potential, the torch is the most versatile item/weapon in the game with many uses, such as providing light, igniting certain combustibles or causing direct physical damage to most creatures.