Just saw my first pack of 5 wolves!!!

[cowboymrh]

Coastal Highway a little spookier these days!

[Recoil911]

On 26/4/2016 at 4:28 PM, cowboymrh said:

Coastal Highway a little spookier these days!

Woah! have you got a picture? I'm so curious! How do they behave exactly? 

I can't say it for sure since i can't play the game for a while,but i like it!

[Vhalkyrie]

I found 4 wolves in the orchard.  The 4 dots in the center are wolves.  They just wandered around that area.  I didn't get too close.  I didn't notice anything special about their behavior.

[Ohbal]

Yup, Coastal Highway... this happens in Voyager as well! 

They don't seem to have a group mechanic. They are just behaving as they would normally, but in big numbers. I'll see if I can throw a deer there and see if they hunt it all together

[polarnomad]

Wolves went from being a manageable nuisance to being downright dangerous. It is getting exasperating, especially since flares now feel totally useless.  I lost two good saves on stalker yesterday.  Even if you survive one wolf attack, chances are, it will either turn right around and attack again, or one of the others nearby will finish the job.  Not liking wolves at all in TLD after the latest update.

[TWM]

1 hour ago, polarnomad said:

Wolves went from being a manageable nuisance to being downright dangerous. It is getting exasperating, especially since flares now feel totally useless.  I lost two good saves on stalker yesterday.  Even if you survive one wolf attack, chances are, it will either turn right around and attack again, or one of the others nearby will finish the job.  Not liking wolves at all in TLD after the latest update.

Funny you should say that, given the fact I have the exact opposite experience. Since wolves now have a habit of moving around a bit, I've found them much easier to evade altogether.

For instance, Quonset used to be crawling with wolves. Per the v.321 update not so much. Same with the Waterfront Cottages at the far side of the map. Formerly one couldn't put five steps outside one's door without getting jumped left or right. It put me on edge every time.

Because of this I used to die on Stalker on day two or three. But per the new update, it's become pretty enjoyable.

Lately I made the trek to Desolation Point. It took two attempts. At the first attempt the road was swarming with wolves. I killed one, but I saw no way around them, so I moved back to Coastal Highway with some much needed skins and guts (there's a deer carcass nearby, so I made the most of that foray). Second attempt, I decided to scoot over the ice: again, swarming with wolves. But now the road was clear.

So basically, instead of engaging with the wolves, what you need to do is look for the right opportunity: if they are in spot X, move via Y. If they are in spot Y, move via X.

I've traveled all over the Coastal Highway map in Stalker for six days or so, without any wolf encounter. They are easily avoidable. Desolation point, not so much of course, but I cleared out the three wolves at the lighthouse area, so I can move freely now for a couple of days.

As said, I find Stalker to be much more manageable, at least in the areas I've visited so far.

[KD7BCH]

I think wolves are more unpredictable but the "exploits" of flares and torches to control them no longer work the way they did or with any reliability. This is a good thing. You have to elevate your game. 

[polarnomad]

40 minutes ago, KD7BCH said:

I think wolves are more unpredictable but the "exploits" of flares and torches to control them no longer work the way they did or with any reliability. This is a good thing. You have to elevate your game. 

Didn't know throwing a flare at wolves was an exploit, but nonetheless, I will indeed have to elevate my game as you say.

 

2 hours ago, TWM said:

Funny you should say that, given the fact I have the exact opposite experience. Since wolves now have a habit of moving around a bit, I've found them much easier to evade altogether.

For instance, Quonset used to be crawling with wolves. Per the v.321 update not so much. Same with the Waterfront Cottages at the far side of the map. Formerly one couldn't put five steps outside one's door without getting jumped left or right. It put me on edge every time.

Because of this I used to die on Stalker on day two or three. But per the new update, it's become pretty enjoyable.

Lately I made the trek to Desolation Point. It took two attempts. At the first attempt the road was swarming with wolves. I killed one, but I saw no way around them, so I moved back to Coastal Highway with some much needed skins and guts (there's a deer carcass nearby, so I made the most of that foray). Second attempt, I decided to scoot over the ice: again, swarming with wolves. But now the road was clear.

So basically, instead of engaging with the wolves, what you need to do is look for the right opportunity: if they are in spot X, move via Y. If they are in spot Y, move via X.

I've traveled all over the Coastal Highway map in Stalker for six days or so, without any wolf encounter. They are easily avoidable. Desolation point, not so much of course, but I cleared out the three wolves at the lighthouse area, so I can move freely now for a couple of days.

As said, I find Stalker to be much more manageable, at least in the areas I've visited so far.

Mystery Lake is a lot easier now.  Had no trouble in CH with wolves. But PV has become much harder, imo.

In neither of the instances where I died did I engage the wolves.  I tried to get around them, but with so many now skulking around it has become a game of: just how many more are there when you spot 2, 3, or 4?  Most of the time I just run now, once I'm spotted.  Coming to the point where I don't really feel like finding a flare is something special.  But yeah, I'll quit whining.

[TWM]

Quote

I think wolves are more unpredictable but the "exploits" of flares and torches to control them no longer work the way they did or with any reliability. This is a good thing. You have to elevate your game. 

Coming from the guy who complained over and over again how he needed a spear to keep the wolves at bay, I find this rich.

Seriously, how would your idea of a spear mechanic not serve the same 'exploitative' function as flares (and torches) did, heck, even be more exploitative, since with a spear you could potentially not just ward off a wolf, but also wound it, so that it wanders off to die somewhere, ready to be found and harvested?

Aren't you being a bit inconsistent by calling flares and torches 'exploits' and claiming it's a good thing they're not that reliable anymore so that people have to "elevate" their game?

[KD7BCH]

I wasn't trying to be insulting. I made the case for months that looking @ steam reviews by players with 20+ hours into the game that the 5% of players who don't like the game or moved on primarily commonly saw wolves as a reason for that. I also advocated for the "spear" being an hour 1 weapon to be created to defend against them. I was told over and over by players that "I needed to change my thinking" and just use the tools at hand when it came to dealing with wolves. LOL. So now I say the same thing. However though wolves are easier because they run off a lot more often, they are unpredictable as well which to some might mean that they are more dangerous. The truth is they were always dangerous if you didn't have an OP torch collection and or flares. 

If an animal is hungry it is going to attack you flare or torch or no flare or torch. An animal which is a predator and lives its life taking the risk of injury or death every day then a flare or torch isn't going to stop them. So now that the AI has been improved/randomized they are as dangerous or more so but yes you can also use the same techniques as before like avoidance, gun, bow, you just need to be choosy about which wolves you mess with or dont. 

I am making a video series of my stalker adventure which chronicles every day of my survival in the new update. I am hoping for something as ambitious as 100 days. I am up to 16 so far. In this update I find wolves to be much less of a challenge than before. 

A flare never should have been effective against all wolves.  Nor torches. Tireless Menace is a vast improvement not just because of wolf AI but all of the changes. I hope we can discuss further.

[TWM]

Again, my point is about consistency.

On the one hand you were motivated by 5% of players who didn't like the game because of the wolves to propose a highly effective means of defending against them (and discuss/defend this proposal at length).

On the other hand you now claim that flares and torches never should have been effective to ward off wolves to begin with.

Gameplay-wise, that doesn't compute for me. Now, there might be some other, underlying reason which squares these two seemingly contradictory avenues of thought: perhaps you would like a survival game like this to mimick a real life survival scenario as close as possible. So then what is or is not an 'exploit' is measured in terms of how this would stack up in real life.

I guess I'm not exactly clear how you come to your evaluations as to why a certain mechanic (or lack thereof) makes for 'good' or 'bad' gameplay in a survival game such as this.

[Scyzara]

Just as a general (preventative) reminder: Please keep this discussion friendly and non-argumentative.

[starfighter441]

Just out of idle interest, how do you argue a point without being argumentative?

[ElvisHunter]

32 minutes ago, starfighter441 said:

Just out of idle interest, how do you argue a point without being argumentative?

argumentum ad hominem is the form of argument I believe Scyzara is declaring off-limits. 

[Scyzara]

11 minutes ago, ElvisHunter said:

argumentum ad hominem is the form of argument I believe Scyzara is declaring off-limits

@ElvisHunter is right, I was referring to arguments not related to the topic itself. As long as you argue with somebody about a topic in a friendly and objective way, you may present as many arguments (or challenge the other person's arguments) as you like of course. Just avoid being personal and don't use (mock) arguments for the sole purpose to provoke each other. I guess my choice of words was a bit unfortunate, sorry if this caused any misunderstandings.

[starfighter441]

20 minutes ago, Scyzara said:

@ElvisHunter is right, I was referring to arguments not related to the topic itself. As long as you argue with somebody about a topic in a friendly and objective way, you may present as many arguments (or challenge the other person's arguments) as you like of course. Just avoid being personal and don't use (mock) arguments for the sole purpose to provoke each other. I guess my choice of words was a bit unfortunate, sorry if this caused any misunderstandings.

I was just stirring the pot a bit, a character fault of mine...