Anyone else finding it more difficult to avoid bears now?

[Ape88]

So maybe I should tell you why I am contemplating quitting my current playthrough... I can't remember where exactly I started but I want to say that I'd started out in the broken railroad and recently got to the point where I just wanted to get some hide curing done after a very long migration to Timberwolf Mountain. Inbetween wolf and deer kills, I had made it to the top of the summit to loot stuff and had to leave 99% behind in order to get the shortest route from the Mountaineers Hut set up properly. I got that done and had to return to the hut. After a false start due to minor injuries, 2nd day after I returned from the summit I was ready to go back up and start delivering supplies back to the hut. I'm watching, listening for the bear, it sounds quite far off so I think I'm clear to follow the frozen creek up to the first climb. But then I spot something not quite right. There's a dark mass that seems to be moving, and oh jeez it's the bear... It still sounds quite far off though even though its not more than 30 feet in front of me. I run trying to find a spot where it won't detect me but it's too late and the bear mauls me. Clothing I consider essential ruined and I didnt yet have a replacement. 

Is anyone else experiencing this kind of thing, because before the game was fully released I would hear the agravated crows and the bear sounds from much further off. It is one of the few things I find that have changed recently that I don't like at all. I swear I can hear the corpse crows from further away than the bear crows.

[KinoUnko]

I had two bear encounters in TWM. Once I rounded the bend under Andre's Peak and stumbled on the bear, no bear or crow sounds at all, turned and ran but there's no real escape. 2nd time I hit a bear from the half way up the path to Echo Peak West with an arrow, it's down the hill toward the cargo containers, long arching shot that was more luck than skill. I figured the distance it has to cover plus the bend in the path would give me enough time to go higher toward the peak then drop down the cliff face to escape. Nope... I took maybe 10 steps before I hear the bear behind me and got mauled, it's like the bear teleported to the path before starting the chase. 

I'm very cautious with bears now.

[Ape88]

To add to what I previously posted, I decided to toy with the audio settings, increasing sounds and voice while decreasing music. This didn't improve the situation and I'm pretty sure it made it worse because in the pilgrim playthrough I started to test things out, I encountered a bear near the northern part of forlorn muskeg and another just west of the trapper's cabin (neither of which I am accustomed to seeing in those areas.) The warning sounds were more difficult to hear, and in the case of the trapper's cabin bear, almost impossible to hear over the wind that kicked up.

I wish there was a way to adjust just the animal sounds...

[Ahatch]

Best just to know their patterns just like the wolves. Had an instance once where I decided to have a sleep on the bedroll on my long TWM run there was a bear off in the distance I was hunting it. I set the bedroll up on a high cliff face and went sleep for one hour. The bear woke me up mauling me ruining my clothes and leaving me at 15 % condition.

[omoon66]

Yes, if you hear a bear at all, he’s much closer than he sounds. So if you hear one at all, be very cautious, because you’re most likely in it’s detection radius. And as far as bear crows, they removed those, and I have no idea why. And corpse crows are very loud, which I guess is helpful if you’re looking for your dead animal you shot earlier.

[MarrowStone]

I hope they make the corpse crows on searched bodies dissappear, im tired of hearing them caw over the same dead body for months.

[JAFO]

13 hours ago, Ape88 said:

Is anyone else experiencing this kind of thing, because before the game was fully released I would hear the agravated crows and the bear sounds from much further off.

Both the noises the bear makes and the "bear crow" sounds had their volumes reduced to the point where they're almost impossible to hear unless there's no wind noise at all. The maximum distance at which you can hear them was also reduced. So as @omoon66 says, if you can hear them at all, it means the bear is practically on top of you.

8 hours ago, omoon66 said:

And as far as bear crows, they removed those

Not quite.. they're still in the game.. just really brutally nerfed, as I mentioned above. You won't hear them over the wind sounds, unless the weather is calm.

[omoon66]

26 minutes ago, JAFO said:

 

Not quite.. they're still in the game.. just really brutally nerfed, as I mentioned above. You won't hear them over the wind sounds, unless the weather is calm.

Oh, well ya can’t blame me, I’ve never heard em since that update 

[Ape88]

17 hours ago, MarrowStone said:

I hope they make the corpse crows on searched bodies dissappear, im tired of hearing them caw over the same dead body for months.

I use those crows to navigate the terrains I've not yet memorized or in difficult visibility situations in areas I do know. 

[JAFO]

12 hours ago, Ape88 said:

I use those crows to navigate the terrains I've not yet memorized or in difficult visibility situations in areas I do know. 

That's a very useful tip!