What makes Hushed River Valley worth exploring?

[Morrick]

Leaving aside reasons like "To complete specific achievements", which I'm not interested in at the moment, I was wondering if Hushed River Valley was particularly attractive for some reason. Is there some unique item worth searching and acquiring? You see, a place like Timberwolf Mountain may not be hospitable or easy to navigate, but the scattered cargo from the crashed plane is without doubt a good enough reason to make me want to go there. On paper, Hushed River Valley looks like a convoluted, dangerous place to explore, with a proportionally small reward for the effort.

I like to explore, so I'll eventually take a deeper look there, but at the moment I find Hushed River Valley to be the least attractive region, and was curious to hear your thoughts about it. Thank you in advance!

–Rick

[stapeliad]

It's a really beautiful region.  The ice caves are pretty.  There are absolutely no man-made structures at all... including no crafting table that I found.
I'd like to see some kind of natural craft table substitute, like a flat stone somewhere and bone tools... 
After some enjoyable high quality cave-living for quite some time, I was forced to leave the region because I needed to make... fish hooks.  Which should be camp craft but somehow require a crafting table.  No clothing repair was possible anymore, so I had to leave just to make fish hooks.

But aside from that, it's very pretty and peaceful, total wilderness.  Not ok for a starting zone though because there is no way to craft anything.
If I'm wrong about that and somehow missed something please let me know... but as far as I know there isn't any way to craft, I mapped out the whole region. (I think)

[BareSkin]

38 minutes ago, Morrick said:

and was curious to hear your thoughts about it

Simple: I hate it.

To me it's not a map, it's a puzzle, with a very un-natural feeling. Despite the graphics being wonderful as usual with Hinterland, the layout is horrible, it's just a maze.

Later in the game, there'll be more incentve to go there since it's been said it will connect another map instead of being a dead end.

My 2 cents. Make sure to bring a hatchet in there, and don't explore on interloper. And have fun

Edited November 5, 2018 by BareSkin

[Serenity]

It's confusing, but most places aren't that hard to get to once you've figured it out

You can get a moose hide satchel at the signal fire. That's definitely worth it.

Also tons of plants to harvest. You can live for a long time on cat tails alone and it has a huge amount of rose hips

[hozz1235]

Purely exploration and a new challenge.  Yup, free satchel too! 

[s7mar7in]

10 hours ago, Morrick said:

I like to explore, so I'll eventually take a deeper look there, but at the moment I find Hushed River Valley to be the least attractive region, and was curious to hear your thoughts about it.

HRV is unique in that it is a new unexplored territory that allows you to play the game "for the first time again".

• No permanent structures, (so caves and snow shelters gain importance).
• There is a slightly different hierarchy of needs, (warmth as a resource and light as a resource).
• The exploration of the unknown is also enhanced exploration, ( "3-Dimensional region" ).

Extremely rewarding experience on Stalker, and challenging experience on Interloper. Good luck.

Edited November 6, 2018 by s7mar7in

[greatwhitegamer]

9 hours ago, Morrick said:

Is there some unique item worth searching and acquiring?

Hmmmm... Let's see here.... SPOILER ALERT!!

1. Guaranteed moose hide satchel at the signal fire  (on all modes besides Interloper)

2.  Guaranteed Mackinaw at the signal fire (on all modes besides Interloper)

3. Three (possibly more) places to find a bow and arrows (on all modes besides Interloper)

4. Random caches with really good food and clothes

5. Lot's of saplings

[Wormer]

On 11/6/2018 at 4:37 AM, greatwhitegamer said:

Hmmmm... Let's see here.... SPOILER ALERT!!

1. Guaranteed moose hide satchel at the signal fire  (on all modes besides Interloper)

2.  Guaranteed Mackinaw at the signal fire (on all modes besides Interloper)

3. Three (possibly more) places to find a bow and arrows (on all modes besides Interloper)

4. Random caches with really good food and clothes

5. Lot's of saplings

Now tell me a reason to go there on Interloper, besides pure challenge. Developers should at least consider leaving moose hide satchel there Interloper included, or put a rifle? No rifle is part of the Interloper experience, but there is literally no easy way to get it from there on that mode: one have to make hatchet first.

Edited November 7, 2018 by Wormer

[greatwhitegamer]

@Wormer you make a good point, There aren't many reasons to go to HRV in interloper. I just tried to edit my previous post because I left a few things out but it wouldn't let me. I wanted to list that the Mackinaw DOES spawn in interloper, there is a flare gun spawn chance (don't know if this spawns in interloper or not), and a moose carcass (with the hide) hidden some where near Moonilooth lake. 

[Argentex]

I despise Hush. The ice caves got old real quick. You go to Hush to collect resoures and get out ASAP. The weather will wreck your gear. If you like to suffer, then it's the place you want to be. 

[Wormer]

6 hours ago, greatwhitegamer said:

@Wormer you make a good point, There aren't many reasons to go to HRV in interloper. I just tried to edit my previous post because I left a few things out but it wouldn't let me. I wanted to list that the Mackinaw DOES spawn in interloper, there is a flare gun spawn chance (don't know if this spawns in interloper or not), and a moose carcass (with the hide) hidden some where near Moonilooth lake. 

Oh, thanks! that's really useful info. Don't think any kind of gun is on interloper, but moose carcass can still be there! Now I have a reason to check it, haha!

[Mroz4k]

There are most definitedly reasons to explore it. In fact, I make it my priority to get there early on if I can. But, for the sake of spoilers, I will hide my reasons under a spoiler.
 

 

Now, I mostly play the Voyageur level of worlds, so with plenty of items, including weapons. These are my reasons to visit Hushed valley.

At the location of the mysterious fire, there seems to be a naturally spawned Moosehide satchel, at around 70 perc durability. This item in itself is worth the trip. It allows you to carry 5 extra kilos of equipment, and you dont need to kill a moose of your own, tan the hide and craft it yourself. You can simply find it here.

There are plenty of bows and arrows spawning around the place. There is also a rifle and a couple of bullets lying around. Worth a mention.

There are skill books to be found in Hushed Valley. Including the really valuable ones, like Archery and gun books. 

Many of tools like hatchets and knifes can be found around the place.

The secret caches you may find can sometimes have some neat loot - but mostly, they seem to contain the mentioned books. 

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Mroz4k

[Ardawna]

Never been before but after reading through this forum, I am definitely going to explore!

[Dan_]

I think other did a great job elucidating reasons to go there, but in summary:

Pros: Great loot, great views, firewood for days and incredible hunting spots. 

Cons: Confusing layout, bad sightlines for predator spotting and the WIND! 

If you do not make a protected fire, it WILL get blown out and you'll freeze in your sleep. 

[Serenity]

The stick situation there is definitely amazing. Most sticks in the game. I've only done Stalker though. I'll give it a quick go in Interloper for at least the signal fire. Probably with the rope climb so I don't have to deal with the new Fluffy.

Didn't know there was a moose carcass at Monolith Lake. There is also a wolf carcass in one of the caves. I already got my satchel though.

And yeah, flare gun! That makes three of them in the game now

[Pillock]

There are millions and millions of cattails everywhere, so finding food isn't much of a problem. If you're armed there is a lot of hunting potential, and even if you're not there are plenty of rabbits. There's also loads of mushrooms and rosehips, so if you're running short it's a good place to get them. There are ready-made snares and improvised hatchets and knives lying about.

The problem is staying warm. The weather is terrible.

[TheEldritchGod]

In Stalker: GEAR! LOOT! SO. MUCH. LOOT!

In Interloper: Wolf Carcass spawns. Plants. So. Many. Plants. Like, enough cattails to feed you for 100 days. Enough Reishi to get parasites 10 times over. Enough Rose Hips to throw yourself down Timber Wolf Mountain a dozen times. Sapplings everywhere. 

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but on interloper, it's a one stop shop for all your agricultural needs.

[Skylaria]

I personally like HRV because of the challenge it brings. Very little resources (other than the caches) and hard to craft stuff (you have to actually go to Milton to craft) brings a significant challenge to the game. I also love the multi-level design they have implemented on this map. 

If you are focused on exploration and don't like a challenge in resource availability then you may want to avoid it or only do it on the lower difficulties. But overall the region is pretty fun to navigate and provides a fun challenge. 

[Mroz4k]

I have been to Hushed in three different games already. I see no reason why people say it has limited resources. Unless you are talking about clothing, there are enough resources to last there for a long time.
On Voyageur, there are hardly any predators around. In fact, I doubt you will run into more then one bear, and some three to four wolves on that mode. I imagine Stalker is a different experience, still I dont think its a particularly dangerous location animal-wise. So, your biggest issue with be natural elements. Wind, for the most part.

There are, however, plenty of caves around. If you spend some 30 days living in the Hushed, you will learn its layout pretty well, at least well enough so that you should always be able to find your way to the middle "spire", from which you can easily navigate yourself into any part of the map.

Someone also made a Whiteberry-toarta style map of Hushed. Dont remember the author name, but you have my gratitude.

I separate the map into four different sections based on height. Here is my written description of how I orientate myself in Hushed valley region. Also, pay attention that I mention some extra loot locations in my description, so spoilers warning:

Monolith lake area is high up, you can find a secret cache there, with a frontier huntsman skill book. And supposedly moose carcass (which means I am hauling my butt back there and hope its still there. I only saw a living moose in there once, but never saw no carcass. The hide is worth the trip back, just hope it will still be there since I just left it on my "prep-for-long-term-TLD game" I play, where I am rushing around the world, collecting books to make the best, earliest use of em.)

The middle area is where the central spire is. One of the snow shelters spawns on it. From there, you can navigate towards each part of the map. Monolith area is the furthest area from where you will enter Hushed if you enter it through the cave in Mountain Town.

The lower area I call "landslide" area. To get there, you need to climb a rope down, from one of each of the "higher" locations named "Vistas". I believe there is another way to get there somewhere from the "central canyon" but I could never find the correct spot. You can "mountain goat" down from the canyon if you are careful, though. 

Another "higher" area is the Many falls vista. Nothing much interesting can be found here - only that above it is a location where you can find one of the two spawns for the "mysterious fire signal", with the "prize" item of the region. The other spawn is at the "monolith lake" area. The many falls vista area is closest location when you enter through the cave from Mountain town. Upon exiting this cave, you will see two paths, and a fallen long tree over two cliffs. If you go down the front path, you will eventually get to the mentioned Many falls vista. If you turn to the left path, you will walk down towards a rabbit lake called Cloudtop falls, and if you continue on, you may chance upon a bow spawn with a campfire and shelter. Continue on further to get to the "central" area.

The central area is the one that has the "mid" height. You will find the central spire here, then the river surrounded by canyon, and a part of a canyon without a river. There are caves, predators, deer and plenty of plants up for grabs here. This is also the area with most obstructed views due to many little hills or trees, and the narrow canyon passages. But if you move around the cliff sides, you should always keep cliff at your back, and have a pretty decent line of sight as you walk. For the most part. The central spire has a decent view of the surrounding areas, and you can locate a cave in its side that is a decent place for a potential outpost in this area, as it is easy-to-locate and fairly warm inside, and provides absolute wind shelter for your fire. You can find a corpse with a campfire and a rifle in here.

My suggestion is to bring an axe. There are paths with rose hip climbs where you can get to the monolith lake without having to go through the ice caves and risk the wolf, or climbing those brutal rope climbs, which are far worse then the one on top of the TWM or the train canyon on the Train bridge connector.
The only reason to climb those ropes, in my opinion, is if you want to get to a secret cache located in the Landslide area of the map, which has a cooking book inside.

I also dont believe the region to have particularly obstructed views for potential predators. If you are smart about the way you move, you will always have a pretty far line of sight, (take the scenic route when you turn around corners, dont walk directly into a hill that you cant see past, and you will be fine. Walk around the longer cliff walls to always have some distance away from a potential predator that can be hiding behind a corner) with the only exception being the ice caves. Those are worth exploring because of a bow and arrows that spawn inside. Be careful of the wolf - but once you kill it, the ice caves end up being quite safe to use to travel around. (My suggestion of dealing with fluffy: Drop most of your gear by the entrance, and move around with a lit flare, and have a weapon of your choice in the inventory. Once you locate the wolf, either make a campfire or drop the flare while drawing the weapon. Worst case scenario - go into a struggle with a hatchet. But if you are quick enough, you can light a campfire, and shoot her as she panics around you).
The rope inside the caves is very short and its not difficult to climb up and down with a lot of gear this way. They are a bit confusing to navigate at first, but if you continue to zig-zag by once turning left, once right, you should be able to get through them relatively easily, as they dont branch off too much.

Hushed Valley has lots of natural shelters - overhangs, canyons, even the new type of dense bush can serve as a shelter on occasion. Plenty of wood everywhere - especially around hollowed out trunks. Be on the looking for crows - that signifies carcasses. There are a couple of animal carcasses of all kinds - but most of the crows will lead you to human remains. These are often a source of weapons and tools, as well as one of the hardest-to-come by resources in Hushed - clothing, and cloth. 


 

[Serenity]

Stalker doesn't have many wolves there either. But you may encounter them in narrow areas that make them hard to avoid. But when mapping the region I ran into 2 or 3 maybe, plus the cave wolf.

[Morrick]

You're all being splendid folks with your contributions, thanks! And thank you @Mroz4k for your detailed explanations and the time you took to write them!

[Mroz4k]

16 minutes ago, Morrick said:

You're all being splendid folks with your contributions, thanks! And thank you @Mroz4k for your detailed explanations and the time you took to write them!

Thank you for the kind words. I think its more of a curse - I love writing too much and be too much detailed at times, and I think I often overwhelm potentional readers. On another forum I was a long-time member of, they used to joke that I make walls of text bigger then the wall a certain american president wanted to build during his election campaign, if you catch my drift

[Mroz4k]

In this thread, I learned that HRV is hiding a Moose carcass. I immidiatedly set off to find it in my Custom "somewhat" realistic Voyageur level casual game. I had just finished looting it before so I figured if I make it back right away, it will still be there.

I think I looked around the Monolith lake fairly well, yet I cant find this Moose carcass anywhere. I thought I saw a moose carcass on my first ever run through HRV when I spawned there as Pilgrim, but I remember not checking it out closely. Anyways, it would seem that the carcass does not spawn every time. What a shame.

The rest of the deer carcasses are still in this region - so I see no reason that the moose one should be gone. It just probably never was there. Still, even on reddit some people reported finding a moose carcass in HRV, so the chance should be there.

[MarrowStone]

I think the draw of this map is that it is designed to be a challenge for your character to endure but not to be "conquered". Since there's no crafting allowed it kind of puts you down yet another notch. Nature only tolerates you there and you will have to leave at some point.  

Get in, go sightseeing (get lost (in the beauty)), meet Frosty, grab the bag, get out.

Later on while you warm your feet by the stove and sip tea in Trapper's cabin, you appreciate the rifle on the wall, and crafting bench behind you. You think of how much worse the apocalypse could be for you living in the untamed reaches of the Hushed River Valley, where it has always been... "Quiet".

Or should I say, "Hushed"? makes sense now.

I also wished for a crafting table there, but I came to accept it once I thought of it this way.

Edited November 14, 2018 by MarrowStone

[Riotintheair]

In Interloper it has a spawn point for the Makinaw Jacket and more importantly Combat Pants* - definitely the best inner layer pants in Loper (outer layer has more competition).

* Not sure these spawn a 100% of the time, but I've found them everytime I've fully explored the region (ie haven't gotten killed).