Tips for staying underweight

[EjectedCasings]

I play a lot of stalker, and I always find myself overburdened. Any tips to get my weight don, or even "loadouts" that are good for specific occasions?

[odium]

this is a really thorough guide to shedding weight

 

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1953538782

 

[wizard03]

Iv learned the hard way that you really got to keep an eye on weight.....ask yourself what could you leave behind and it wouldn't be a problem. Can't tell you how many times I look into my inventory and I go ape over the fact Im lugging around fir or cedar pieces, or a gallon of water. 18 lbs??? What is wrong with me? I can literally find 3 sticks anywhere and have water cooked up in a matter of no time.

[Martin Prchal]

Get rid of the rifle, if you haven't already. Doing that was the single greatest improvement to my TLD life in my entire time playing it, by far. Having those 4 kilos to spare is soooo nice.

[Jimmy]

My tips by inventory category:

Fire Supplies - Each time before you rest, drop everything except a single firestriker or pack of matches and magnifying lens. If you're not yet at Fire Starting 3, drop all but four tinder or cattail stalks. Aim to carry two pieces of coal for emergencies such as an untimely blizzard. This keeps the tab at 1kg weight each morning. Collect at least 10 sticks each day as you go out, adding an extra 1.5kg or so. This habit will ensure you have small caches of matches and fuel saved across the maps, as well as keeping your daily weight down.

First Aid - I tend to avoid carrying anything daily, though if you're not confident in your ability to avoid wolf attacks, consider carrying up to four bandages. Anything else in this tab should be dropped at a nearby base, since only bleeding is a critical condition to treat in the field. Drop any teas you've made before resting, there's plenty more resources for making more later.

Clothing - Wear the best, drop the rest.

Food - Drop everything except a single day's emergency rations before resting. Aim to carry ten cattail stalks or two boxes of salty crackers as an emergency food supply, but try to utilize local resources such as rabbits where possible instead of your non-renewable resources. Don't carry ten tins of pinnacle peaches across the map unless you're actively spending the day moving your resources to a new base. Water should never be more than 2L at any time, which is enough to fully fill your hydration three times over. Drop extra water wherever you happen to boil it after drinking. Never carry cooked meat, and only carry raw meat as far as you need to the nearest safe location to cook it. When harvesting carcasses, take one piece at a time and drop it rather than harvesting an entire carcass in one action.

Tools - Two recycled cans, one (improvised) knife, one hacksaw, one survival bow, three simple arrows, three arrow shafts, and at least one torch, preferably three to five. Use your knife for harvesting meat to maximize time saved. Keep your hacksaw at hand to cut saplings and harvest tree limbs for long lasting fires. With three simple arrows, you should have twelve or more shots before you need to repair them, enough to keep you fed an extremely long time. Try not to lose your arrows if at all possible. Get in the habit of boiling water whenever you have time, such as harvesting a carcass. Carry fire using your torches to save matches, increase your body temperature, and ward off wolf attacks. Drop all the rest at your nearest base unless you're planning a specific activity such as forging.

Crafting - Empty this section before sleeping.

[ajb1978]

Since no one has touched on the obvious, I'll be the one to say it: Well Fed buff and Moosehide Satchel combined = +10kg carry capacity.

[manolitode]

12 hours ago, odium said:

this is a really thorough guide to shedding weight

 

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1953538782

 

Thanks, that's a great read!

[Hotzn]

17 hours ago, EjectedCasings said:

I play a lot of stalker, and I always find myself overburdened. Any tips to get my weight don, or even "loadouts" that are good for specific occasions?

The guide which has been quoted by @odium above is excellent, it contains most of what one could say. Strangely, however, it does not cover the topic of clothing adequately. So...

For clothing, you should first remember that any protection against wind, moisture and attacks will only apply if the clothing item is worn in the outermost slot for the corresponding body region. So if you wear, let's say, a 'simple parka' in the 'outer outer' slot for your chest, then ONLY the parka's bonuses will fully apply. If you wear, for example, a wolfskin jacket BELOW the parka, the only additional benefit you get from the wolfskin jacket will be the temperature bonus, while its other bonuses will be ignored (and any disadvantages still apply, for example reduced mobility). Keeping this in mind, you will find that items which may be good for the outermost layer do not make the cut for inner layers - because if you set their weight in relation to the mere temperature bonus, then that ratio is likely too bad. Example: The expedition parka is - in my view - the best clothing item for the 'outer outer' layer, especially if you want to travel lightly (you may also consider the ski jacket, which is even lighter). Then wear a down vest below that to save on weight and remain mobile. It does not give you much temp bonus, but the temp bonus/weight ratio is good, and its absolute weight is low.

[ManicManiac]

I find that the easiest way to travel is to figure out a "bare essentials" kit.

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 4:23 AM, ManicManiac said:

What I've pared down as my bare essentials kit is generally:

Whatever clothing I'm wearing
1 standard bedroll
2L of water (which for me is a comfortable night's sleep and plenty of water for the next day)
1 night's "stopover" food (bare minimum to get a good night's sleep - used only as last resort)
1 bandage
3 unprocessed lichen (as they are "lightest" when not crafted into wound dressing)
1 knife
1 pack of cardboard matches
1 torch (to make best use of said cardboard matches)

This keeps my weight very low - with plenty of room to pick things up as needed or desired... however sometimes I do add a couple of convenient extras:

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 4:23 AM, ManicManiac said:

***Optional, but ideal***
1 piece of emergency coal
1 fire striker (as emergency backup in case I absent mindedly use my last match, and to enable ignition source selection for lighting aforementioned torch)
1 magnifying glass (to take advantage of clear skies for "free" fire)
1 lantern (fully fueled when possible)
1 set of fishing tackle (for emergency repairs or fishing)
1 pry bar
1 recycled can
1 Defensive weapon (revolver preferred - fully loaded with six rounds when possible)

[odizzido]

Something I do is to not start picking up wood until I am heading to where I am going to camp(unless I have plenty of space or it's my primary objective of course). Also if you are getting heavy but want to continue on just drop everything you don't need somewhere easy to see. Top of a hill or on a road or whatever. You can grab it on the way back.

 

I don't always do what I wrote though, as I try to adapt what I do to best fit my current conditions. Sometimes I will carry a ton of stuff a long distance

[Jimmy]

7 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

I find that the easiest way to travel is to figure out a "bare essentials" kit.

This keeps my weight very low - with plenty of room to pick things up as needed or desired... however sometimes I do add a couple of convenient extras:

Interesting list! Why do you not consider a hacksaw to be an every day carry item? Do you skip grabbing saplings and harvesting tree limbs?

I'm curious why you don't carry two cans in your optional list. For the extra weight of a single stick, I consider two cans an efficient means of creating water as I travel when I'm harvesting a carcass. I also find the prybar surprising, since I usually drop this unless I know I'm going to hit a location where I'll need it, such as Orca Gas Station or Carter Hydro Dam. I also like two coal as a buffer, since +40°C is enough to handle even the coldest of Interloper blizzards so long as you find a sheltered location such as a cave.

My personal "bare essentials" list:

• 1 box of matches OR firestriker (0.10kg)
• 1 magnifying glass (0.10kg)
• 2 coal (0.60kg)
• 2 recycled cans (0.30kg)
• 1 (improvised) knife (0.50kg-0.75kg)
• 1 hacksaw (1.00kg)
• 1 survival bow (0.50kg)
• 3 simple arrows (0.45kg)
• 3 arrow shafts (0.15kg)
• 1 torch (0.30kg)
• 10 cattail stalks (0.50kg)
• 2L water (2.00kg)

Total: 6.50kg or 6.75kg with improvised knife, plus clothing, first aid and miscellaneous supplies such as tinder.

[EjectedCasings]

Thank you everyone! As I logged into my voyager game in PV, I realized that my biggest problem was water. I always end up carrying like 8+ liters of water because I forget to drop it off and figure the extra kilos were worth it. Never actually realized how little you need. I also kept a bunch of stuff like matches that had their weight add up fast. Now I find myself being way less encumbered and it's a lot nicer. One of my main problems is that i'm a pack rat. Anything slightly useful, I take, and I'd rather make one long trip than several shorter trips (much less efficient, I know. It's just one of those things i'm trying to stop doing.)

My 'loadout' using all of your advice

Clothing: (not really optimized for weight becuase of the weather in PV)

x1 Expedition Parka

x1 Military Coat

x1 Wool mittens

x2 Expedition socks

x1 Work boots

x1 Snow pants

x1 Combat pants

x2 Wool Toques

x1 Themal underwear

x1 Long johns

x1 Fishermans sweater

x1 Thick wool sweater

As for my other stuff, I like to carry:

2.5 Liters water (gives me a little wiggle room)

Pretty much any food that I have that will get me through at most 2 days

x1 flare

x1 hatchet (if i'm woodcutting)

x1 hunting knife

 x1 revolver +18 rounds ammo

x2 bandages +1 OMB dressing, Painkillers

x1 firestriker + fuel to start a small fire

x2 cans

x1 Lantern or 2 torches

x1 prybar

x1 bedroll depending on where I'm going

Will post my total weight once I get a chance to check it.

Thank you all

Edited February 13, 2020 by EjectedCasings
whoops, forgot some stuff

[ManicManiac]

@Jimmy

Well, for the hacksaw - I find that I only need it when I run out of loose metal laying around.  So for me, rather than carrying the extra weight I will keep hacksaws stashed in a convenient stop-over cache.  This way, when I need the hacksaw... I can just check my journal and pick up one I have stashed at the nearest location.

When I do carry a can, I find that I only really need one.  Firstly because if I'm out trekking (rather than just making a short trip in a region to gather resources), then I should already have about two days worth of water on me (the 2L I mentioned).  If I have to stop over for the night, I already know I have the water I need.  When I pick the cave or shelter that I want to bed down at, I might use a can to start preparing water just to replace what I use.  While I'm out gathering some more sticks, a little bit goes on the boil.  The idea is, when I'm on the move I only need to keep enough to subsist.

I find that with two cans, I'm that much heavier and I just don't really need to make that much water if I'm going to be roaming.  Being that the can is on the optional list, means that generally I don't carry one at all... the reason is, generally as I'm working through a zone I will leave cans at locations I'm likely to use to hole-up.  Often times those 2L of water are more then enough to get to another location where I've already stashed some supplies or I'm likely to find them (assuming I'm heading to a place that I've not prospected yet).

As for the pry bar, it made the optional category because it's multi-purpose.  However, it's main value for me is in conjunction with the Fishing Tackle.  If I'm heading into an area that I know has an opportunity for ice fishing, I'll make sure to bring it... if for no other reason than to clear the ice (heavy hammer is best but it's heavy - also if it's later in game I will usually have all my heavy hammers positioned at forges and my most frequented fishing spots already anyway).  In addition, if it's early in the run and I'm still searching out resources, I find it's handy to have in case I run into a locked wall locker or car trunk.  Again though, this is in the optional list so most often I don't carry it, but depending on the situation... I might.

For me, my one piece of emergency coal isn't so much about the warmth (though obviously that's important too)... it's more about the efficient burn time.  As most of us here know it's got the best burn time per kilogram of any fuel in the game (and with fire starting bonuses - it's truly wonderful).  Generally speaking, if I've spent the day heading to a remote area and I know I'll have to stop over... I'll just go and gather up the sticks near by (and probably some along the way) in case I need a few hours of warmth to get through the night.  To offset this, I might opt to take one piece of emergency coal, this way I'm covered if I can't find enough sticks to get a fire hot enough in the event of an unexpected blizzard.

I really do enjoy talking strategy, thanks

oh, you know what... now that I'm thinking about it: now that pine bough "beds" can be found in many more caves these days... I might just be moving my bed roll over to the optional list.

Edited February 13, 2020 by ManicManiac

[turtle777]

On 2/12/2020 at 4:37 AM, Hotzn said:

The guide which has been quoted by @odium above is excellent, it contains most of what one could say. Strangely, however, it does not cover the topic of clothing adequately. So...

For clothing, you should first remember that any protection against wind, moisture and attacks will only apply if the clothing item is worn in the outermost slot for the corresponding body region.

Darn it. I just crafted my second moose hide cloak, I was hoping for extra protection.

-t