How to Interloper?

[Fuarian]

I've been doing Interloper for a while now and just never seem to get it right. I've gotten to day 30 but wasn't prepared enough. I didn't have all the hide clothing and it all went downhill from there and I died (on purpose). 

Most of the time I can't get a good start. I either spawn in Forlorn Muskeg and die of wolves, cold or something ridiculous because I can't get to the Farm quick enough. Or TWM and a blizzard gets me when I'm at the bunker. Occasionally I get Desolation Point and manage to get matches and a prybar or even the hacksaw but then I never have a light source to leave the mines. The Aurora sucks for that too. 

But there's a reaccuring theme here. There's always something wrong. What's the best start to do? The best spawnpoint + loot table? 

[Prestermatt]

I haven't played Interloper yet, but from what I gather 30 days is fairly respectable.  Also, from what I gather, "there's always something wrong" is the whole point of the mode.

[happybjorn]

None of the starts are easy, that seems to be intentional (and getting out of the starting zone should be a priority).  As far as easiest starts are concerned I'd say PV near the waterfall (SE of Three Strikes Farmstead). 

There is no ideal loot table, but there is getting lucky with RNG for loot.  Finding the hacksaw and hammer is a matter of knowing where to look, they may not be in the first place you check, but they seem to be guaranteed to be at several of the places they can spawn.

Luck is the main factor for finding some of the best clothing items.  A game where you find combat pants, 2 thin wool sweaters, a second pair of long underwear, 2 earwraps, 2 wool toques and 2 pairs of wool socks will go better than one where you are missing any of those items.

[JAFO]

11 hours ago, Fuarian said:

But there's a reaccuring theme here. There's always something wrong.

Every day in Interloper that you don't die is a victory. Interloper is like that. It doesn't forgive the smallest mistake or misjudgement. Those who've gotten good at it (I'm not one of them) have died many more times than you in the process.

 

12 hours ago, Fuarian said:

I died (on purpose).

In this game, but especially in Interloper, never give up until you're dead. Keep fighting to live. Plenty of people have gone right to the 1% brink, and clawed their way back up.

[JAFO]

4 hours ago, happybjorn said:

There is no ideal loot table, but there is getting lucky with RNG for loot.  Finding the hacksaw and hammer is a matter of knowing where to look, they may not be in the first place you check, but they seem to be guaranteed to be at several of the places they can spawn.

This will help.

[Stormwolf1O1]

On 8/18/2017 at 11:06 AM, Fuarian said:

I've been doing Interloper for a while now and just never seem to get it right. I've gotten to day 30 but wasn't prepared enough. I didn't have all the hide clothing and it all went downhill from there and I died (on purpose). 

Most of the time I can't get a good start. I either spawn in Forlorn Muskeg and die of wolves, cold or something ridiculous because I can't get to the Farm quick enough. Or TWM and a blizzard gets me when I'm at the bunker. Occasionally I get Desolation Point and manage to get matches and a prybar or even the hacksaw but then I never have a light source to leave the mines. The Aurora sucks for that too. 

But there's a reaccuring theme here. There's always something wrong. What's the best start to do? The best spawnpoint + loot table? 

If I spawn in FM, I don't stay there. I collect cat tails on my way to either the Broken Railroad Hunter's Lodge or the ML Camp Office. But that's just personal preference. It's possible to survive in any region if you know what you're doing.

There are four possible spawn regions for Interloper. You are more likely to spawn in Pleasant Valley or Forlorn Muskeg, but it's also possible to spawn on Timberwolf Mountain or Desolation Point. There is not really a 'best' spawnpoint. There are many possible starting points, so technically the 'best' spawns in any of the Interloper regions would be those close by to shelter and/or a workbench.

On Interloper, there is not really any 'best' loot, either. Hatchets and knives do not spawn anywhere, you must create improvised ones at a forge. Rifles do not spawn at all, you must use a bow you've created. The best clothing would be those you've made of animal furs.

Of the loot that does rarely spawn on interloper, the best, or most useful, would be the hacksaw or the heavy hammer, both of which are very rare spawns. Matches and any processed food items are also rare, but very useful. Food and clothing is extremely sparse in this game mode, there's a reason Interloper is the very hardest difficulty level.  

(Many people think it's game over if you can't find matches. Firestriker, magnifying lens, lit flares or lit torches may actually be used in place of a match. There's a good tip for you.) 

[LucidFugue]

You will lose condition to freezing, and likely starvation in Interloper. Sometimes exhaustion,too.  Managing condition is about balancing how much you can afford to lose, assuming you get a full 10 hours rest. That sleep gives you around 35-40% condition recovery assuming no herbal tea. You can technically starve yourself during the day, but at 1% per hour that means you can't do much before you're not actually recovering. If you don't do much, you won't tire. It's paradoxically better to run outside or climb a mountain on an empty stomach because you can't lose calories you don't have, and your ability to sleep & recover is tied to energy, not food. 

Going outside risks freezing, so time of day and activities planned are key. 

At a minimum, you want to build a buffer of food storage that will allow you to recover condition if you happen to get below about 30%. That's at least 2000 calories, probably closer to 3000. You also don't want to be in a position where you're *forced* to do something like gathering food or firewood, so you probably want around 5000 calories to be super comfortable. 

That's basically a solid fishing expedition, or a freshly killed deer. You can learn to chase deer into wolves, and scare the wolf away from the carcass. Easiest tends to be surviving close to a fishing hut. 

But you'll need a solid supply of firewood to maintain that, because cabin fever prevents you staying indoors and as it gets colder you can't stay out as long.

Tools open up new options and clothes extend your range for travelling without freezing. Matches tend to be the determinant of your longest possible survival time. But as far as I can tell, you need to trade condition to achieve anything significant, so you always have to have a plan for getting it back.  

[Stormwolf1O1]

29 minutes ago, LucidFugue said:

Managing condition is about balancing how much you can afford to lose, assuming you get a full 10 hours rest. That sleep gives you around 35-40% condition recovery assuming no herbal tea.

@MueckE argues that it's actually a good thing to let yourself be perpetually exhausted, and not to sleep other than to regain condition. After reading their justification for it... (their full Interloper guide being found here:) 

 

...I have to agree, at least to some extent. Let me share one part of it that made me think.

"One of the main things that seperates Interloper from the other modes is the use of the nighttime. You will not make it if you try to sleep through the night and only do things at daylight! Get used to maximize the use of valueable time you have. There is really no reason to sleep other than warming up(1h) quickly or to heal up. As soon it is warm, go outside and do something, regardless of the daytime or the weather. Even in a blizzard at 1am you can go outside and collect a few sticks."

They made a good point. Sleeping is for warming up and healing. Sleeping for any other reason is technically time that could've been used to do something more productive towards furthering your survival. Even something so simple as collecting sticks for your fire. I do highly recommend reading or at least skimming through the guide above, as it provides a perspective I rarely see with such guides.

 

[LucidFugue]

15 minutes ago, Stormwolf1O1 said:

@MueckE argues that it's actually a good thing to let yourself be perpetually exhausted, and not to sleep other than to regain condition. After reading their justification for it... (their full Interloper guide being found here:) 

 

...They made a good point. Sleeping is for warming up and healing. Sleeping for any other reason is technically time that could've been used to do something more productive towards furthering your survival. Even something so simple as collecting sticks for your fire. I do highly recommend reading or at least skimming through the guide above, as it provides a perspective I rarely see with such guides.

 

Absolutely agree with the points on sleep and making the most of your time. You want 10 hour sleep cycles. As in, you aren't planning your "day" around anything as much as when you can secure another 30%+ condition recovery. If you can time it so you wake up ready for action just past midday, perfect. But there is almost always plenty to do with your time. There's a hard limit to how quickly you'll freeze and in that time you can get yourself a rabbit and bring it indoors to process. Or collect sticks/reishi/rose hips/cat tails. 

I try to avoid 1 hour warm up naps as well as passing time. Bedroll is a game changer because you can sleep in caves and shelters without beds. It dramatically increases your travel opportunities to the point you really can sprint everywhere to minimise freeze damage and go point to point. 

[Stormwolf1O1]

10 minutes ago, LucidFugue said:

Absolutely agree with the points on sleep and making the most of your time. You want 10 hour sleep cycles. As in, you aren't planning your "day" around anything as much as when you can secure another 30%+ condition recovery. If you can time it so you wake up ready for action just past midday, perfect. But there is almost always plenty to do with your time. There's a hard limit to how quickly you'll freeze and in that time you can get yourself a rabbit and bring it indoors to process. Or collect sticks/reishi/rose hips/cat tails. 

I try to avoid 1 hour warm up naps as well as passing time. Bedroll is a game changer because you can sleep in caves and shelters without beds. It dramatically increases your travel opportunities to the point you really can sprint everywhere to minimise freeze damage and go point to point. 

I absolutely love bedrolls for that reason. Since I learned a bedroll has the possible on Interloper to spawn in the Camp Office in ML, I always aim to try to make it there if I'm able. Plus, ML cat tails. 

[JAFO]

4 hours ago, Stormwolf1O1 said:

Since I learned a bedroll has the possible on Interloper to spawn in the Camp Office in ML, I always aim to try to make it there if I'm able.

There are actually 8 different locations a bedroll can appear in on Interloper. There are always at least 2 bedrolls on any given playthrough. Mind you, there is always only 1 firestriker. See the link in my post above for the Rare Loot Table, for details.

[Renegade30]

Also would like to add. I always have cattails with me as an emergency food. 10 cattails = 1500 calories and they are the most calorie\weight efficient food in the game making them the best food found in the game for any difficulty. There's absolutely no reason why you cannot carry 10 of them with you at all times since they never degrade and they are so light.

[Stormwolf1O1]

13 hours ago, JAFO said:

There are actually 8 different locations a bedroll can appear in on Interloper. There are always at least 2 bedrolls on any given playthrough. Mind you, there is always only 1 firestriker. See the link in my post above for the Rare Loot Table, for details.

Playing on Interloper now, did not find a bedroll at the Camp Office, but did find the firestriker someplace else. Don't remember where, maybe the Lookout or something. Have also been to the tower, all the ML ice fishing huts, the cabins along the edge of the lake, the Dam, and Trapper's. Moving onward to CH now to see what else there is.

[MueckE]

Although most of the "guide" is still accurate, please keep in mind that the guide was made right after it's release and a few things have changed. Interloper is much easier now, especially with the rabbit-stone-mechanic, more spawns for hammer ... and therefore Interloper allows way more playstyles also for "newcomer".

You will defenetly find matches in DP, TWM, and PV at the most popular locations. All you have to do is getting there quickly. I can also guarantee that you can reach every one of these locations from any spawnpoint so quickly, that you only  lose a maximum of 10% condition if you have the worst spawnpoint at night in a blizzard. Keep on trying and try not to spoil yourself too much.

Bedroll:

 

Not that it is guaranteed to spawn there objectivly, but in every single Interloper-run i found a bedroll either in camp-office, at the hunting blind next to the river (Alan's Cave) or at the church in DP.

 

[Fuarian]

On 8/20/2017 at 3:10 PM, Stormwolf1O1 said:

If I spawn in FM, I don't stay there. I collect cat tails on my way to either the Broken Railroad Hunter's Lodge or the ML Camp Office. But that's just personal preference. It's possible to survive in any region if you know what you're doing.

There are four possible spawn regions for Interloper. You are more likely to spawn in Pleasant Valley or Forlorn Muskeg, but it's also possible to spawn on Timberwolf Mountain or Desolation Point. There is not really a 'best' spawnpoint. There are many possible starting points, so technically the 'best' spawns in any of the Interloper regions would be those close by to shelter and/or a workbench.

On Interloper, there is not really any 'best' loot, either. Hatchets and knives do not spawn anywhere, you must create improvised ones at a forge. Rifles do not spawn at all, you must use a bow you've created. The best clothing would be those you've made of animal furs.

Of the loot that does rarely spawn on interloper, the best, or most useful, would be the hacksaw or the heavy hammer, both of which are very rare spawns. Matches and any processed food items are also rare, but very useful. Food and clothing is extremely sparse in this game mode, there's a reason Interloper is the very hardest difficulty level.  

(Many people think it's game over if you can't find matches. Firestriker, magnifying lens, lit flares or lit torches may actually be used in place of a match. There's a good tip for you.) 

I know the basics of Interloper. It's just starting in TWM ----> PV or FM -----> Anywhere else that gets me. Because of how damn cold it is. And usually I get to day 30 without the proper clothing or a bow and the bad weather comes along and makes it damn near impossible. It's like a race agaisnt time.

[Stormwolf1O1]

1 hour ago, Fuarian said:

I know the basics of Interloper. It's just starting in TWM ----> PV or FM -----> Anywhere else that gets me. Because of how damn cold it is. And usually I get to day 30 without the proper clothing or a bow and the bad weather comes along and makes it damn near impossible. It's like a race agaisnt time.

Sounds like the Whiteout challenge! Lol. But usually in those regions, blizzards don't wait that long until they start hitting. I've had them within the first 24 hours of starting, easily -30F at night and a real bear to try and stay warm enough. 

[Fuarian]

44 minutes ago, Stormwolf1O1 said:

Sounds like the Whiteout challenge! Lol. But usually in those regions, blizzards don't wait that long until they start hitting. I've had them within the first 24 hours of starting, easily -30F at night and a real bear to try and stay warm enough. 

Well it's not blizzards that get me. It's the constant cold temperatures along with low visibility in snowfall and the wind. Makes it too cold to do anything and fires won't start because of wind lol.

[Stormwolf1O1]

1 hour ago, Fuarian said:

It's the constant cold temperatures along with low visibility in snowfall and the wind.

Blizzards! 

[Fuarian]

1 hour ago, Stormwolf1O1 said:

Blizzards! 

Well no, they aren't actually blizzards.

[Stormwolf1O1]

58 minutes ago, Fuarian said:

Well no, they aren't actually blizzards.

Was just messing with ya.

[Maquard]

I had also my problems in interloper. 

My first 3 things i search for:

matches

hacksaw

hammer

 

with these ill geht everything else i need. 

 

My lovelyst start is in FM, where i only move on to pick up matches, tools of they are on My direct way an so mutch food and Wood i can get. 

Than i move to ML where i complete My gear, build up resorches to Head back zu FM to forge tools and arrowheads. 

After that you can do everything and survival is mutch easyer!

 

My favorit food in the early game is deer that ill Hunt by scaring them to wolfs. 

For me the most effectiv art to get calories.

 

and with this way i'm abel to get early a good ammount of ready to eat food and water so in only need to get a fire started all 3-4 days or what ill usually do. is Start ohne when the sun is laughting. ;-)

Saves a lot of matches and give you time... and time is survival! So i allways i carry a burning torch with ne if possible! You never know if there could be a possibility for an easy food :-)

[selfless]

@Fuarian All the situations you mentioned are entirely survivable.  What makes Interloper great is that they now contain possible tragic outcomes as well.  Choose the wrong path and recovery might elude you.

Your biggest failing seems to be managing the cold.  Not surprising if you are using habits from other levels of play.  Interloper makes cold great again by removing the forcefield of protective clothing.  Learning how and when to freeze is a must.  You will lose 20% condition per hour while freezing regardless of how cold it is.  -50C only causes as much damage as -1C.  And eventually you will get hypothermia or frostbite.  So the outdoors must be engaged as an enemy.  Take it on intentionally.  And remember time is an infinite resource in survival mode.  Passing hours just warming up is not wasteful.  It just not interesting...

[ChillPlayer]

The reason why most people fail in Interloper is because they didn't play Stalker enough. This mode is ment for long-time players who know all the corners and item spawn points of the world, who complain that Stalker is way too easy and find it about as challenging as Pilgrim.

For such a player it really doesn't matter where and when he/she spawns, they know by instinct where to go and where to find the items they need and in which order. The difficulty of Interloper does not allow to discover much new stuff, you have to know already pretty much everything about the game and the maps to stand a chance, especially past day 50.

And why rush into Interloper? If you master it (the hard way) there's nothing else left, it can't get any more difficult without becoming ridiculous. When you've spent a few hundred hours in Stalker, survived several times for 200+ days at least and started doing stupid things out of boredom, like attacking wolves with a knife (with 50 bullets in your pocket) just to get some excitement or wandering around the world naked because nothing challenges you anymore, then you are ready for Interloper.

[Ruruwawa]

On 8/20/2017 at 8:46 PM, JAFO said:

Mind you, there is always only 1 firestriker. 

Did this change recently?  My current interloper sandbox, started after Faithful Cartographer dropped, has 2 firestrikers.

One from TWM summit, another from somewhere in ML

[Ruruwawa]

2 hours ago, selfless said:

@Fuarian All the situations you mentioned are entirely survivable.  What makes Interloper great is that they now contain possible tragic outcomes as well.  Choose the wrong path and recovery might elude you.

Your biggest failing seems to be managing the cold.  Not surprising if you are using habits from other levels of play.  Interloper makes cold great again by removing the forcefield of protective clothing.  Learning how and when to freeze is a must.  You will lose 20% condition per hour while freezing regardless of how cold it is.  -50C only causes as much damage as -1C.  And eventually you will get hypothermia or frostbite.  So the outdoors must be engaged as an enemy.  Take it on intentionally.  And remember time is an infinite resource in survival mode.  Passing hours just warming up is not wasteful.  It just not interesting...

Thanks for this.  I was surprised that people were recommending against passing time to warm up.  I view it as simply another tool to manage my condition, not a mistake.   Sometimes it's the right call for the situation.