---
title: Casualties Unknown Survivors: Trading, Haggling and Bites
description: How trading, reputation and haggling work, and what to buy from Survivors in life pods.
url: https://casualtieswiki.wiki/characters/survivors-and-traders/
---

Characters

# Casualties Unknown survivors and traders

_[Image: A life pod in a blue cave with a trader, a Milky and the player, with a trade icon bar on screen]_

_A life pod. Survivors inside will trade unless you give them a reason not to. Official Steam screenshot, © Orsoniks / Oro Interactive._

**Short answer:** Casualties Unknown survivors are other creatures resting in life pods. You can buy from them, sell to them, build reputation and, with most of them, haggle. Treat them well: a trader is often the only reliable source of the one medical item you need. confirmed

Life pods also hold loot and sometimes a battery in the ceiling light, so they are worth checking even when nobody is home.

## How do you trade with Casualties Unknown survivors?

Walk up to the survivor and open the trade menu. Items have a trade value, shown at the bottom of an item’s description, such as “Trade value: 15” on the combat pen in an [official screenshot](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4576490/). confirmed You pay by handing over items worth at least the price of what you take.

Things that hold value but weigh little are the best trade goods. Players carry spare scarves, which can be crafted cheaply in the desert and sell for a decent amount, and they can also be ripped up for bandages if you get hurt. confirmed

## How does reputation work?

Each trader has a reputation with you, and a recording of a co-op run shows prices shifting as it goes up. confirmed

| Raises reputation | Lowers reputation |
| --- | --- |
| Selling and buying | Breaking the pod’s ceiling light confirmed |
| Giving gifts | Taking items from their pod confirmed |
| A friendly bite from a [Dune](https://casualtieswiki.wiki/characters/dune/) confirmed | Threats and attacks reported |

Traders also started reacting to some of your words in version 7.0, so what your character says during the exchange can matter a little. confirmed

## How does haggling work?

The haggle button tries to improve the deal. It relies on Intelligence, and a failed attempt can sour things. A popular tip is that haggling is also a good way to **raise Intelligence**. If you are at a trader you do not plan to buy from anyway, spam it. Guides name this as one of the better ways to train the stat, alongside crafting and reading blueprints. confirmed

This does not apply to Dunes, whose menu offers a bite instead. confirmed The [haggling thread](https://steamcommunity.com/app/4576490/discussions/0/587312703064873093/) on the Steam forum has 199 replies if you want to see how the dialogue plays out for different people. reported

## Why does breaking the pod light matter?

Life pods have a light in the ceiling. Break it and you can use a tool to take the battery inside, then use that battery to power an E-PDA. Reading an E-PDA gives a large amount of Intelligence experience, 35 INT as of version 7.0, so this is a strong early move. confirmed Blueprints give 25. confirmed

The catch: a survivor in that pod will not like it. The [guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLuLBHlRjIQ&t=415s) that popularised this trick shows the reputation hit on screen, and notes that some bulbs do not give a working battery. confirmed

## Is it safe to attack survivors?

Usually not. Survivors have much more health than small enemies, and a pod’s stock is worth more than whatever you would loot from a fight. Attacks and threats also turn them hostile. reported If you do start something, expect them to keep attacking while you stay close.

Picking up items that are already theirs counts as theft, and a recording shows how quickly that goes wrong. confirmed Take your time in the trade menu instead.

## What should you buy from Casualties Unknown traders?

Priorities change by depth, but players consistently rate these highly. reported

| Item type | Why |
| --- | --- |
| A larger bag or backpack | Early inventory is very small |
| Medical items you cannot craft | Antibiotics, blood, chest drains |
| A reliable digging tool | Saves energy on every layer |
| Light sources and batteries | Getting caught in the dark is deadly |
| A weapon before layer 5 | Layer 5 is where fights become the main threat |

See the [item guides](https://casualtieswiki.wiki/items/) for what each one does.

## How do you avoid trade menu mistakes?

A few interface details cost people items. Opening a container in the trader menu closes the trader menu, a behaviour added in 6.0. confirmed Items you have favourited with F are protected from crafting recipes, which is worth doing with anything valuable before you start swapping goods. confirmed

If a survivor has what you need and you cannot afford it, look around. Lots of pods have loot chests, and drop pods nearby often have the scrap and circuits that traders value.

## Do traders appear in every layer?

Pods appear throughout the layers players have reached. In the wasteland and desert they matter even more because food and water are harder to find. You can also sleep near a survivor in some cases, and a recording shows “take a nap with the trader to build trust” as a dialogue option. confirmed Save and quit points are at layer ends, not at pods, so do not assume a trader means safety.

## Sources
Last checked 9 November 2026. Marks: confirmed = official notes, in-game text or a recording of the game; reported = two or more players; unverified = one source.

- [Recording: survivors, bites and reputation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWists44i4U&t=1529s) · 25:29

- [Tricks I Wish I Knew Sooner by BluePawClaw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLuLBHlRjIQ&t=415s) · pod lights, E-PDAs

- [30 Things Everyone Should Know by BluePawClaw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVF7rFHGwpY&t=639s) · haggling for INT

- [7.0 Demo Update notes, Steam](https://steamstore-a.akamaihd.net/news/externalpost/steam_community_announcements/1834602721186794)

- [v6.0 Patch Notes, Steam](https://steamstore-a.akamaihd.net/news/externalpost/steam_community_announcements/1830163047266090)

- [Steam forum: haggling](https://steamcommunity.com/app/4576490/discussions/0/587312703064873093/) · 199 replies

- [Casualties: Unknown on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4576490/) · screenshot of trade value

## More in Characters

- [Expie What an Expie is, what it can do and how to unlock the other playable characters.](https://casualtieswiki.wiki/characters/expie/)

- [Milky What Milkies are, how to unlock one and how they behave as traders.](https://casualtieswiki.wiki/characters/milky/)

- [Dune What a Dune is, how the friendly bite works and what we know about playing one.](https://casualtieswiki.wiki/characters/dune/)