TimberWolves

[Morrick]

44 minutes ago, ToAsT said:

The way Raphael spoke about having a game where combat wasn't a primary mechanic and that the environment was the struggle (in that video he did a little ways back) seems to be at odds with what happened this update.

Thank you for this remark. In all the debate about timberwolves, there was something I was trying to recall but couldn't put my finger on it. 

It's perhaps what bothers me most about this update (which should have been called "Wolfenstein Island", really): it seems to be all about the wolves. They are becoming the single, most crucial factor in the whole survival scenario. While not strictly so, everything else suddenly feels secondary — weather, clothing, calorie/resource management, etc. It's as if they've been introduced for the sole purpose of shortening survival times. While I like a challenge every now and then, this feels unbalanced and arbitrary. It's like putting out an update where all temperatures in-game are cut by a half, and no matter how many warm clothes you have on, you'll always end up freezing if you don't routinely light a fire. Challenges should be engaging, not off-putting and unnecessarily frustrating. 

Edited December 28, 2019 by Morrick

[dbmurph22]

I've often been able to spot a TW wolfpack before it engages me, both in BI and PV for the story mode.  Maybe with knowing they are out there I've moved more slowly than others when I 'm either in an area I suspect they will be (or a new exploration in their territory).  Even in some of the far detection range of the custom settings that some YTers have been playing.  

Have others had more difficulty with farfetched ambushes and if so what has been the context?

[MrWolf]

I'm an Interloper learning to deal with the timberwolves.  Soon after the new region was released, I ventured in with my 200 day Interloper.  I entered from the Ravine and encountered the timberwolves pretty quickly.  I barely made it past the log bridges before getting noticed.  I didn't last long and was pretty frustrated.  I had played episode 3 but had a gun with a lot of bullets.  It was different having only a few arrows and flares.  

I've since been reading a lot about others' interactions with the timberwolves and watched some videos and decided to give it another try.  My 100+ day Interloper has spent almost a week in the new region, still in the upper area from the Ravine entrance.  A little knowledge has gone a long way so far.  The main thing that's helped has been to be cautious and really look ahead to spot them before they spot me.  And try not to get caught out in the open.  I know some folks are good shots with a bow and can deal with the wolves running all around them, but I can't hit them that easily, so I stick to the rock walls in case the timberwolves attack.  Ideally, find a place you can retreat or at least force them to come one at a time.

This time I made it to the overlook tower before being spotted.  I saw the pack of timberwolves near the tower, so I crouch walked a lot of the way along the left side, near the rope climb.  When I got close, I sprinted to the tower and still wasn't detected, surprisingly.  I went inside, later came out of the tower and that's when they spotted me.  I killed three of them from the second landing on the tower stairs.  It's scary but pretty cool that the wolves will come up those stairs.  I shot an arrow in one then had a quick struggle, shot another with an arrow and it ran away, then didn't get the arrow ready in time and had another struggle with a third wolf.  The two struggles were brief, no damage to me other than a little health loss and some damage to my rabbit hat.  After those three, the morale meter went away and the fourth and final timberwolf ran away.

Over the next couple days I harvested 2 of the dead wolves I'd shot arrows into and never found the third that I struggled with.  One of the recent updates has really helped in retrieving arrows - both wolves that I had shot with arrows had an arrow laying in the snow next to the dead wolf.  During those couple days, that fourth wolf lurked around but always ran away.  I pushed it, keeping smelly things on me and following the wolf around.  It would always come toward me and at some point would turn around and run away.  I didn't have any weapons out or aim anything, just getting close scared it away.

The next night, the morale bar came back to life.   I heard a wolf growling near the base of the tower - it was that lone wolf.  I went outside and killed it with an arrow as it made its way up the stairs.  The morale bar reduced to half and I could hear more timberwolves growling.  Turns out it was timberwolves down at the base of the rope climb.  Either this lone wolf formed a pack with other wolves nearby (though they were far below), or maybe when one pack attacks, others do as well?  For the rest of that night, all the next day, and into the following day, the morale bar stayed at half and the timberwolves at the base of the rope growled consistently.  I walked all around that upper area and never encountered or saw any other wolves.  I couldn't see the wolves at the base of the rope climb but I threw some stones down there to see if it would affect the growling and/or morale bar, and nothing changed.

I'm coming around to accepting the timberwolves and at least I like the additional things to think about with them.  But, I think they should break away sooner if they can't get to you.  Luckily I had the warm tower to stay in.  It would be bad to be stuck in a car or up a tree for days.  

I'll be heading down that rope soon and my frustration with timberwolves will probably rear its ugly head again as I try to explore the rest of the region, but I'm learning as I go.  I have a lot of arrows and one marine flare so far, so maybe it won't be so bad.

 

15 hours ago, ToAsT said:

Perhaps if you could craft an item from the body of a killed timberwolf that would weaken the morale of the timberwolves you meet from that point on or limit the distance you could be spotted at (timberwolf hat or hood) it might be more tolerable.

That is a great idea!  I was disappointed to find that "under the hood", the timberwolves are just normal wolves - same hide, same amount of meat, etc.  Killing some of them and crafting something to help deter other packs of timberwolves would be nice.

 

14 hours ago, Morrick said:

it seems to be all about the wolves. They are becoming the single, most crucial factor in the whole survival scenario. While not strictly so, everything else suddenly feels secondary — weather, clothing, calorie/resource management, etc.

Yes!  I think that sums it up very well.  Thinking back to my time in the new region over the past number of days, I've barely given a thought to all of the usual "threats" in the game and been solely focused on the timberwolves.

Edited December 29, 2019 by MrWolf

[MrWolf]

On 12/29/2019 at 8:56 AM, MrWolf said:

Thinking back to my time in the new region over the past number of days, I've barely given a thought to all of the usual "threats" in the game and been solely focused on the timberwolves.

I take that back.  I spent around 35 days in Bleak Inlet and the timberwolves are manageable with enough arrows and some marine flares (which work very well).  It's the cold in the region that makes things the most difficult, probably because I was also taking time to map the region.

[TLD]

Can you kill and harvest timberwolves?

[JAFO]

10 hours ago, TLD said:

Can you kill and harvest timberwolves?

Yes. But there's nothing special about the items you get from them. Same boring old skin as the regular wolves, same amount of meat and guts, even though they're bigger than the regular ones.

[Kayosiv]

I feel like the timberwolves have more meat on them then regular wolves. Most wolves seem to pack around 4 steaks while the timberwolves are often 5-6+.

[JAFO]

4 hours ago, Kayosiv said:

I feel like the timberwolves have more meat on them then regular wolves. Most wolves seem to pack around 4 steaks while the timberwolves are often 5-6+.

Hmm.. then maybe they are a little different. I've yet to kill one myself, so was basing my comment on that of several people who'd reported no more meat than usual. Good to know!

[LkP]

I can confirm that timberwolves are averagely bigger. My biggest baby so far had an impressive 6.9kg of meat.

[JMK]

On interloper, timberwolves are way too hard and ressource consuming to deal with.

The moral meter : Attacked by a pack of 4, killed 2, wounded 1, the last is still growling and attacking wtf ? 1 lone wolf is not a pack anymore.

Even just keeping them at bay and fire should affect their moral.

I certainly do not play the long dark to frag stuff like in a FPS  and I hope this will be adjusted before spreading in the rest of the regions.

Worried and disapointed Long Darker here  😞