How do you play with your tools?

[Willy Pete]

So I recently made my first ever trek up Timberwolf Mountain and am almost done hoarding every last scrap of stuff I found up there, but I've a question for all of you. See, one of the containers I found had a bunch of lanterns in it, they were all more broken than the one I used so I wound up breaking them all down. My question is, would you have done the same? Do you have a set batch of tools that you hold while scrapping the rest, or do you hold on to everything you find until it can no longer be repaired? Another example is if I have a bunch of different knives/axes, I'll oftentimes use up the most damaged ones, saving my whetstones for my least damaged set of tools.

[RandomP1ayer]

16 hours ago, Willy Pete said:

I found had a bunch of lanterns in it, they were all more broken than the one I used so I wound up breaking them all down. My question is, would you have done the same?

Interesting question you've posed.  Considering the varied strategies that players use to play the game probably greatly affects their decision to harvest or repair items they find in game.  I for one, like to collect and salvage every item I can find and repair everything to 100% if I can.  I've hauled some much crap off the summit that it would take up to 6 trips to get it all down to the mountaineers hut.  18 lanterns or more is no easy task, unless you got some Sherpa blood in ya!

[Jimmy]

It's usually smart to drop a lantern at the entrance to any dark area to avoid hauling it around. That would mean one for the cave from Winding River to Pleasant Valley, one for the cave from Mountain Town to Mystery Lake, one for Abandoned Mine No. 3, one for Abandoned Mine No. 5, one for Cinder Hills Coal Mine, one for Carter Hydro Dam, two for the cave systems in Timberwolf Mountain, and two for the ice cave systems in Hushed River Valley.

After that, drop your spares in some annoyingly dark areas such as the Riken.

Given the total amount of scrap metal that can be obtained in Carter Hydro Dam, there's no reason you'd need to scrap a lantern except to avoid worrying about weight.

Given Interloper difficulty, I personally avoid scrapping anything where possible. I drop spare hammers at the nearest forge or fishing hut, and spend bad weather days crafting clothing until it has 30 minutes time left to avoid it decaying so there's handy replacements in case of surprise bear hugs.

[odizzido]

Due to my settings and playstyle I rarely find more than a couple lanterns or other useful things like that but I will drop them in places that I use them. Whatever saves some weight is something I like to do.  I never craft axes for the same reason

[ThePancakeLady]

Depends on the experience mode I am playing (in other words, how abundant is loot?), and where I am at in the game. Early on, I tend to hoard them, leaving them at different bases in a region, or multiple regions. After that, and after I have looted a great deal of the regions I intend to visit-

Honestly, it is totally situational. Some runs I am flush with hatchets, and have only one knife. Others I find a mess of flares, but only 1 or 2 good lanterns. How many blue or red toolboxes do I have, to make repairs?  Ect.. So, it really all depends on how much RNJesus loves or hates me on any individual run. I have no "set" way of dealing with any or all tools, since each game has the potential to be completely different than the last one.

[ManicManiac]

I very much agree with @ThePancakeLady, for me it's all based on necessity.  Depending on the scarcity of a particular resource will always influence how those resources are used.  I tend to spend more time on sticks than I do chopping branches to save may hatchet.  I harvest carcasses by hand as much as possible.  I save fir wood I find for repairing the heavy hammer.

Generally speaking, if I don't have to wear down a tool I won't.   

Edited August 26, 2019 by ManicManiac

[Guest Marcurios]

On 8/25/2019 at 1:31 PM, Willy Pete said:

or do you hold on to everything you find until it can no longer be repaired?

i do with hatchets and knifes and all weapons, then you don't have to spill your weapon repair kits on a single weapon, or break your whetstones to a single knife. I keep one of each in a container till the end, then i use up the others i find, and only when i used them up i start repairing the best one i kept. pretty much like you do..

Like ManicManiac says, if you don't need to use the tool, then don't, only in time of need maybe, otherwise use your hands.
And if you get dangerously low on calories, only pick up sticks to have fires, you should always hoard sticks anyways.

But i just went on to Interloper, and some stuff just doesn't work there..

Edited August 26, 2019 by Marcurios

[ajb1978]

Alright buckle up because we're going for a ride.  I'm such a huge resource miser in this game, I have opinions on just about everything!

Lanterns: I carry the highest quality one around with me as I'm looting, but if I have other lanterns sitting around, I will use them until the fuel is gone.  Then just leave them alone--I can break them down for scrap later if I need to.

Simple/Quality Tools: I leave these at work benches, and if I have more than one at a base I will use them to the point of breaking.  I only repair my tools if it's my last set.

Hacksaw: I use them until they hit 20%.  If it's my only hacksaw, I will repair it, otherwise similar to the lanterns I will leave them behind and only break them down if I need the metal.  Never saw open a container with a hacksaw under 20%, or there is a chance you can ruin the container and lose the contents forever.

Hammer: I use these extensively to break down pallets and some furniture, to save wear on my hatchets.  These can be repaired with regular fir firewood, which is renewable.  It does take longer than a hatchet, but if you're aiming to destroy everything in the world, you can avoid burning through your hatchets this way.  If I have multiple, I will use one to the point of breakage, otherwise I keep it in good shape.

Hatchet: Generally doesn't get used, except for crafting hide clothing, to spare wear on my knives.  As with everything else, if I have multiples, I use them to the point of breakage, only sharpening if it's my last one.

Knife: Ditto.  Use to breakage if I have multiples, only sharpen if it's the last one.

Prybar: After all containers are looted, I leave these in fishing huts to chip away the ice.  After all containers are opened, these no longer serve any purpose, so may as well be used to chop ice.  Like the hacksaw, do not use a prybar below 20% to open a container, or it may ruin the container itself.

Fishing Tackle: I use this to craft/repair until it reaches 20%, then I use it for fishing.  This way if the line snaps, I've gotten the best possible use out of it that I can.  Only use sewing kits if you have no fishing tackle above 20%.

Lamp Oil: Use up all the oil in the little bottles first.  It weighs 1kg per liter of oil in this form.

Jerry Can: NEVER drain them completely, or they will despawn.  Refill these with fish oil, and a full 4 liter Jerry Can only weighs 3.3kg, making this a more efficient way to transport fuel.

Skill Books: Avoid practicing a skill until you are confident you have found and read every book in the world, to get the maximum benefit out of them.  Never finish reading Advanced Guns Guns Guns until you are confident you have read all of the Frontier Shooting Guides in the game, or until you reach level 3.  Once you hit Level 3, you can no longer read any Frontier Shooting Guides that you find.

Crafted Clothing: Craft a full emergency set of clothing, but stop a half hour before completion on each item.  If you end up in a catastrophic bear attack that ruins some clothing items outright, you can invest that final half hour to get a new clothing item at 100% condition.

Rifle: Use to breakage if I have multiple in an area, otherwise keep it cleaned, never letting it go below 95%.

Revolver: Always keep it at or above 95%.  This is one weapon you cannot afford to have misfire, since the only time you use it is when you are being attacked.

Arrows: Always fire to breakage.  Getting one extra crow feather is not worth harvesting them early.

Maglens: Always try to start a fire with a maglens instead of matches.  I mean it's a free fire, why not?  On sunny days if I'm going through a cave, I will also grab a small handful of sticks.  Light a maglens fire outside the cave, toss in a few sticks, harvest a few torches, then use those to navigate the cave to save on lamp oil.  If one torch burns low, drop it, pull out another, and light it with the dropped torch.

.....I think that about covers it...

[irgum]

Hoard everything of course!)

 

[yollarbenibekler]

I do not break down objects until I need it so I hoard nearly everything.

[Serenity]

I think you used to be able to drain lanterns for fuel. Maybe I remember it wrong. Now the only way to get the fuel is to break them down (I really hope they add proper fuel management some time). So that's a valid way to play if you want the fuel, but don't have use for the lanterns.

But yeah, putting some lanterns at transition caves is a good idea if you travel a lot. Cinder Hills Coal mine especially to get coal now and then

Last game I left a heavy hammer in the Riken thinking I might force there again. I had two other hammers, but kind of regretted it. Never went back there

[UpUpAway95]

Depends on where I find them and what I might happen to need most for resources in that area.  It also depends on what settings I'm playing with since those affect the availability of certain itmes  I do generally only repair what I'm unlikely to find a duplicate of and then only if I'm planning to carry it around.  If I'm not wanting to carry it around and I don't immediately need the resources it provides upon breaking it down (most just give scrap metal which is pretty common anyways), I generally just store it in one of my smaller "local cache" sites on that map.  I select my local cache sites as places that I can easily find again and reach without worrying too much about nearby predators.  I'll make a note as to what is in each cache and then come back if I need the item.   A lantern is something I am inclined to carry around if I find one.  I will repair that lantern to 100% so it is unlikely to get totally ruined by an attack.   I've found that the condition of it only deteriorates if you allow it to completely run out of fuel while using it... so, I may a point of turning off the lantern before it runs out of fuel.  That way, unless it is damaged during an attack, my lantern stays at 100%... So, I have probably broken down more lanterns than any other tool... because I prefer to keep my one good lantern full of fuel when I can and sometimes, breaking down a lantern has been the only way I could get more fuel (e.g. in DP where we can't fish).

Edited August 27, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[ajb1978]

5 hours ago, Serenity said:

I think you used to be able to drain lanterns for fuel. Maybe I remember it wrong.

That was never an official game mechanic. I think there was a mod that allowed you to do that at one point, but it was never part of the game.  But yeah I agree, it SHOULD be.

I own an actual kerosene lantern, and I can tell you two things.  1: It is a piece of cake to unscrew the cap and pour out the kerosene into a jerry can.  And 2: There is no freakin' way you're filling a lantern straight from a jerry can and NOT making a huge mess.

[UpUpAway95]

19 minutes ago, ajb1978 said:

That was never an official game mechanic. I think there was a mod that allowed you to do that at one point, but it was never part of the game.  But yeah I agree, it SHOULD be.

I own an actual kerosene lantern, and I can tell you two things.  1: It is a piece of cake to unscrew the cap and pour out the kerosene into a jerry can.  And 2: There is no freakin' way you're filling a lantern straight from a jerry can and NOT making a huge mess.

Oh, there is a way... you just need the appropriate funnel (which can be made from a lot of different everyday items in a pinch).  I've just always assumed it's just not illustrated in the game... just like we don't have cooking or eating utensils or plates.

Edited August 27, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[ajb1978]

2 hours ago, UpUpAway95 said:

Oh, there is a way... you just need the appropriate funnel (which can be made from a lot of different everyday items in a pinch).  I've just always assumed it's just not illustrated in the game... just like we don't have cooking or eating utensils or plates.

Well yeah but "straight from a jerry can" which is all we see in the game, you'll splash a lot on the floor trying to fill a lamp.  I use a pyrex measuring cup when I fill this thing up, but I'd imagine if we were stuck in the TLD universe you could just improvise a funnel with paper.  Or use a recycled can, pinch the rim a bit to create a pour spout.

[peteloud]

 

Irgum,

" Hoard everything of course!"

I presume that you play at Pilgrim level, or easier.

 

I prefer to treat TLD as a game about survival in harsh conditions rather than a warehouse-stocking game.

[Willy Pete]

A lot of excellent insight, I even learned a thing or two! Thanks all around!

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

On 8/27/2019 at 9:10 AM, yollarbenibekler said:

I do not break down objects until I need it so I hoard nearly everything.

That's some hoarding and carrying heavy loads...

 

Question: How did you manage to place items that doesn't have the "Place in radial" option?

 

[ThePancakeLady]

25 minutes ago, LowSpeedHighDrag said:

 

Question: How did you manage to place items that doesn't have the "Place in radial" option?

 

You can drop items from the inventory, and use the right-click "move" function (or the equivalent on a controller) to move and place items. Some folks are very good at moving the character/camera, to be able to place things and line them up precisely. Some of us are a bit more sloppy, lol.

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

2 minutes ago, ThePancakeLady said:

You can drop items from the inventory, and use the right-click "move" function (or the equivalent on a controller) to move and place items. Some folks are very good at moving the character/camera, to be able to place things and line them up precisely. Some of us are a bit more sloppy, lol.

I wouldn't have thought of that. Thank you!

 

[ajb1978]

1 hour ago, ThePancakeLady said:

Some folks are very good at moving the character/camera, to be able to place things and line them up precisely. Some of us are a bit more sloppy, lol.

Analog stick on a game pad is the best way to make veeerrrryyy careful adjustments to how an item is positioned.  I prefer keyboard/mouse for normal game play, but if I'm painstakingly lining up items on a shelf, I switch to an xbox controller.

[yollarbenibekler]

1 hour ago, LowSpeedHighDrag said:

That's some hoarding and carrying heavy loads...

 

Question: How did you manage to place items that doesn't have the "Place in radial" option?

 

I made at least 30 trips to PV to carry all the loot I have found. I finished the whole season of the Office while walking for days.

 

[ThePancakeLady]

3 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

Analog stick on a game pad is the best way to make veeerrrryyy careful adjustments to how an item is positioned.  I prefer keyboard/mouse for normal game play, but if I'm painstakingly lining up items on a shelf, I switch to an xbox controller.

Lol! I never thought to try that. My soon-to-be-more-neatly-arranged shelves, counters and tabletops thank you, as do I.

[hozz1235]

I....sorry, I just can't get over the Title of this!  🤣 If I respond the way my mind is working, I may be banned! 🤐

[Willy Pete]

@hozz1235Dirty minds think alike ;D