Surviving Wolf Attacks

[Vulcan700]

I'm a beginner at this game with limited sand-box experience and just started to play 'Wintermute'.  First off, there are a lot of commendable things to say about this game.  I understand fires, water, clothing, tools/repairs  (for the most part), first aid, finding/preparing food (learned to consult my journal), finding shelter, etc.

I don't seem to master encounters with wildlife, which allows me to start over (and over) from my checkpoint. It would be nice to be able to save the game just before you take on predators, so you don't have as much prior game play repetition. Perhaps this is the penalty you pay for dying.

Maybe I'm old and can't click my left gaming mouse button twenty times a second (based on the progress bar), or I'm interfacing correctly with the boxes that appear during combat (not sure), but there seems to be a high probability I'll bleed to death in a single wolf attack.  I guess a man with a metal shard has a low likelihood of surviving. Now and then, I unwittingly do/click something correctly (unknown), the wolf retreats, and I can bandage/antiseptic wounds, but my health bar is obviously dramatically reduced . I've tried to hide, crouch or sneak by, but the longer I delay the more rapidly I freeze.  Torch throwing is hit and miss, if your torch doesn't land in a specific strike zone (if it isn't too windy to light it). It did work once, which allowed me to get to the road, but then I get trapped in a car by a 'guard wolf' to slowly wither away.  Perhaps I need hours of practice to hone my torch throwing accuracy and mouse clicking dexterity.

Maybe I'm just not experienced enough of a player to survive wolves, although 'two steps forward, one wolf back' rinse/repeat-until-you-make-it is not a particularly satisfying gaming experience.  Hardened TLD veterans might chuckle and say, yes, I did that 'x dozen' times before I learned... I'm hoping this post will help other new players that may be experiencing the same challenge. If anyone on the forum has any fighting hints, that would be very much appreciated!

[RossBondReturns]

One click every half second should do to get the bar filling it's easy to click faster in panic.

Most of the time I don't get the bar half filled before I stab or hatchet the wolf in defense anyway.

If you start a fight with over half a health bar you should be able to survive it.

[stapeliad]

I'm very veteran in sandbox and I'm having a lot of trouble with the wolves in story mode.

[Laugefar]

2 minutes ago, stapeliad said:

I'm very veteran in sandbox and I'm having a lot of trouble with the wolves in story mode.

Believe me, you are not alone. I furiously clicked my mouse (as I have done for 200+ hours in sandbox), and nothing happened. This went on from the metal shard through most of Milton, and I was really annoyed at not being able to fight of a damned wolf. However, as I got tired of the button mashing and I slowed my pace, the bar suddenly filled. I tried it out, and - as RossBondReturns says:

37 minutes ago, RossBondReturns said:

One click every half second should do to get the bar filling it's easy to click faster in panic.

Enjoy killing those bastards!

[Name62]

1 hour ago, stapeliad said:

I'm very veteran in sandbox and I'm having a lot of trouble with the wolves in story mode.

This 

[JAFO]

Further to which, of the various weapons available for wolf-struggles, the hatchet is by far the best.

[FatherFrost]

Simple advice from sandbox veteran - just avoid them. I've just completed ep 1 & 2 and I had zero fights with wolves. Couple simple rules:

1.  If your area of sight is limited - keep your stamina at maximum. In this case you can just run away from wolf (lets say - in 9 out of 10 cases)

2. Dont carry raw meat and guts (deer parts and dead rabbits) - they are wolf magnets. You can take couple cooked meat pieces with you and use them as bait. If confrontation is inevitable - just drop the meat (3 button) and run

3. Quite obvious but - LISTEN to environment. Usually you can hear wolf around corner.

Regarding story mode. You can get a flare gun in Milton. I used it about 10 times (sometimes I'm so lazy and don't listen my own advices - especially number 1 ) and still had about 10 flare ammo at the end of ep 2.  Weather in story mode is so warm so I wear only one layer of clothes all time - so you have more stamina. There is no need to load yourself like a mule. My typical load about 20 kg. Actually in story mode you dont need anything with you - just some food and water and basic tools. You don't need lamp, bedroll and hatchet - minus 3 kg. I took a rifle with me only if my quest requires it.

[Bladebss]

I carry a torch with me, the seco d i hear a wolf i light it. Then get out of the wind if there is any and light a fire with sticks and the wolf will run off squealing. Cost one match (or you can use the lit torch ypur holding)a stick and some cat tail or what ever. And no one gets hurt.

[stapeliad]

Those wolves are so relentless... even after yesterday's update. IF (big IF) they scare from fire or flare gun, they just come RiGHT BACK 5 SECONDS LATER.  Over and over and over.  I got stuck on the muskeg by a 2 hour campfire in the middle of the night and two dogs just kept coming over, running a little bit away, and just coming right back.

Or if I fight one off another one comes charging out before i can even put a bandage on.  Torches and flares are useless, the flashlight is useless, campfires just make them come back......it is too much and hugely frustrating. If I didn't have the sandbox experience and sheer bullheadedness of I WILL SOMEHOW FINISH THIS I would have tossed this game away a while ago.

The Really Scary Bear Attack in FM... the ONLY way I could get past it was to sleep through the night and the game skipped it.  Otherwise he kept coming back as soon as I stood up...three times in a row and I was dead.... this just happened over and over until I got lucky and was able to skip it by sleeping.

[Patchouli]

On 8/4/2017 at 11:54 AM, Vulcan700 said:

I guess a man with a metal shard has a low likelihood of surviving. Now and then, I unwittingly do/click something correctly (unknown), the wolf retreats...

I'm sure you already know this, but don't forget to look for that corpse for the meat.  If the wolf yelps and leaves a trail of blood, he or she is slinking off somewhere to die.  You can follow the trail to the corpse or wait until the next day and look for circling crows.

[Volatile]

HOW TO AVOID WOLVES (SHORT GUIDE)

I struggled for a while too, until the best solution became obvious to me, and now I pretty much ignore wolves 80-90% of time:

• Scout the area on good days. Height is a great advantage early on, so stick to high ground, observe and learn their pattern. 
• Avoid wolf infested areas if you can. If you can't, CROUCH and give the wolves as wide a berth as you can. This is VERY effective. Always. 
• If you're spotted (you'll hear a growl), stay put, look around, locate where the wolf is coming from. DON'T RUN or else it'll charge. 
• WALK AWAY. Seriously. Simply keep on walking (away from the wolf). Check your six now and then. It will lose interest at some point.
• Breaking line-of-sight is important. If you're carrying raw meat and/or guts, you might have to drop some of that meat as a distraction. 
• If you're carrying too much stuff, are surrounded or can't evade / walk away for some reason: IMMEDIATELY start a campfire. 
• Campfires ALWAYS work as of now. Torches and flares on the other hand... they kinda suck. The mechanics need some fine tuning. 

[JAFO]

5 hours ago, stapeliad said:

Those wolves are so relentless... even after yesterday's update. IF (big IF) they scare from fire or flare gun, they just come RiGHT BACK 5 SECONDS LATER.  Over and over and over.  I got stuck on the muskeg by a 2 hour campfire in the middle of the night and two dogs just kept coming over, running a little bit away, and just coming right back.

Or if I fight one off another one comes charging out before i can even put a bandage on.  Torches and flares are useless, the flashlight is useless, campfires just make them come back...

I suspect there are/may be two reasons contributing to this..  firstly, are you carrying any meat (cooked or raw), fresh guts or hide? If so, those items are expanding the detection radius that wolves are picking up on you from. If they can smell you when they stop running, they're drawn back to your location.

The other likely culprit, though, is that I've noticed many wolves in Wintermute are locked into a small patrol area. If you happen to be located on their little patch of turf, you'll keep encountering them over and over again. Best thing to do is learn their range by observation, then stay out of it whenever possible.

Edit: Oh, and there's no evidence to date that wolves are attracted to campfires..

[Dougie]

Strangely, I've killed 3 in story mode with my bare hands and have suffered just sprained wrist on two and blood loss on one.   I managed to steal their dead deer too.

[Volatile]

7 minutes ago, Dougie said:

Strangely, I've killed 3 in story mode with my bare hands and have suffered just sprained wrist on two and blood loss on one.   I managed to steal their dead deer too.

Some of the wolf encounters in STORYMODE are scripted. Or least, it seems that way. You're meant to survive the early bouts no matter what, so the hurting is toned down a bit. Regardless, it is always a much better strategy to not confront the wolves in the first place. I've listed a short guide on how to safely navigate the world without worrying too much about wolves. I think it's in this thread, too. 

[JAFO]

2 minutes ago, Volatile said:

Some of the wolf encounters in STORYMODE are scripted. Or least, it seems that way. You're meant to survive the early bouts no matter what, so the hurting is toned down a bit.

I second that opinion.. I've seen that wolf chase that rabbit across that spot on the road every single time, in my playthrough and in several youtube videos as well.. scripted as hell.

[SnowWalker]

I left camp office in story mode last night with one fresh deer hide and two fresh guts in my pack. There were three wolves doubling back and forth on the tracks right there. I had already looted all the cabins that I could get into on the lake though there was a wolf patrolling the far side by the lone cabin. I didn't try to go over to lone cabin since I feel like it will be locked anyway so why go deliberately into harms way. I will though when I can get inside. I crouched most of the way across the lake anyway even though the wolf was pretty far away from where I was on the lake. I didn't stand up till I got fairly close to camp office and could see no other wolves nearby and got all the cat tails on that camp office side of the lake.
Anyway, after spending the night in CO and leaving the next morning with the three patrolling wolves on the tracks, I knew i could get back to Trappers okay if I crouched past to the left and down the tracks, but I really wanted to check out the lookout first. I snuck up there without alerting the three patrolling wolves, spent the night with a howling storm and left the next morning to go to Trapper's from around the Unnamed Pond way. Two wolves were patrolling back in there too. I snuck past them, got to Trappers unscathed even with the hides and guts. Took me awhile though, and it was a bit tense. The fresh hides and guts didn't trigger any of the wolves and also didn't create any stink fumes.

[SnowWalker]

6 hours ago, stapeliad said:

The Really Scary Bear Attack in FM... the ONLY way I could get past it was to sleep through the night and the game skipped it.  Otherwise he kept coming back as soon as I stood up...three times in a row and I was dead.... this just happened over and over until I got lucky and was able to skip it by sleeping.

I'm heading there now but not without my flare gun. Did you have a flare gun and use in FM?

[stapeliad]

12 minutes ago, SnowWalker said:

I'm heading there now but not without my flare gun. Did you have a flare gun and use in FM?

I had it but no time to use it.... the bear got me while I was cooking at a campfire by where the bloodstained note corpse is.

[SnowWalker]

2 minutes ago, stapeliad said:

I had it but no time to use it.... the bear got me while I was cooking at a campfire by where the bloodstained note corpse is.

I don't know about that yet. I'm thinking of going through to FM the old way down the tracks, does that make any difference in the danger there do you know?

[SnowWalker]

I also found out too that you don't lose any trust if you eat Trapper's cans of beans

[Thrasador]

44 minutes ago, SnowWalker said:

The fresh hides and guts didn't trigger any of the wolves and also didn't create any stink fumes.

I believe two fresh guts and hides do give you at least a bar. It doesn't stay on the top middle of the HUD anymore. It will only show for a moment when you pick them up, or for a moment after hitting TAB or Select on a game pad.

It was a new change randomly decided with Wintermute.

Of course they never published a change log with Wintermute, so there is no way you would have known this without being very observant....

[JAFO]

Just now, Thrasador said:

I believe two fresh guts and hides do give you at least a bar. It doesn't stay on the top middle of the HUD anymore. It will only show for a moment when you pick them up, or for a moment after hitting TAB or Select on a game pad.

It was a new change randomly decided with Wintermute.

Of course they never published a change log with Wintermute, so there is no way you would have known this without being very observant....

Thanks.. I was wondering why sometimes I saw it, and other times, I didn't...

[SnowWalker]

5 minutes ago, Thrasador said:

I believe two fresh guts and hides do give you at least a bar. It doesn't stay on the top middle of the HUD anymore. It will only show for a moment when you pick them up, or for a moment after hitting TAB or Select on a game pad.

Ahhh, yep I did see if for a sec when I picked them up. I guess I was lucky then. Btw, they never would cure but Jeremiah takes fresh hides also so it worked out anyway.

[Thrasador]

No problemo guy and gal....that's what I'm here for,  to absorb and share as much knowledge as I can about the game....

I really do wish Hinterland would just throw together that change log for Wintermute for us....Mel claimed they were "working on it" over a week ago now when she locked the two threads where I formally requested it...

I don't know how long it takes to type up some sentences on a page about the changes that came with the Wintermute update. They have been giving us patch notes with the patches at least.

It would appear someone must have just dropped the ball with the changes added with Wintermute and they simply don't want to go back and address it....or it is too hard for them to address it, because no one wrote any of the changes down and now they can't really remember what was changed...

[JAFO]

2 minutes ago, Thrasador said:

It would appear someone must have just dropped the ball with the changes added with Wintermute and they simply don't want to go back and address it....or it is too hard for them to address it, because no one wrote any of the changes down and now they can't really remember what was changed...

I suspect they're just too busy frantically slaughtering bugs left and right, to get to it.. bugs that would have been picked up before release, with any half-decent playtesting worthy of the term.