HRV love or loathe?

[Leeanda]

I love this game but the only issue I have is HRV! On my current run I have been everywhere in detail yet I can't bring myself to go past the entrance to HRV? Is it just me or does anyone else feel like this?it's crowded and quite frankly a maze.

[stratvox]

Speaking for myself, I'm a big fan. However, I remember the very first time I took a survivor in there; they were very advanced in skills (fives and fours) and had awesome clothes and he was GTFO in under 36 hours, nearly dead. Spent nearly a week at the trailer in MT recovering and repairing his gear before going back in. However, once you get a handle on the place it's stunningly beautiful with some of the best vistas in the game... and just an unreal amount of natural resources. You can pull hides out of that region like crazy and if your bow skill is at all decent you'll never lack for noms. If you spend enough time there you'll be doing the run back to the trailer in MT every few weeks to schlep hides etc and replenish bows and arrows at the worktable there.

[Mistral]

The best region.

[Leeanda]

I have been in there but it was years ago! I was determine to get the faithful cartographer achievement which I did but it was a nightmare! Continuous bad weather, hardly any wildlife and I got lost repeatedly forever going round in circles! Took me a lot of game time and half my sanity!it does have beautiful vistas and I can't remember about the crating resources! I ran out of spray paint and had to keep making fires for the charcoal!! 

[piddy3825]

I dont necessarily like randomly spawning in HRV but I certainly dont mind travelling there after I've been decently outfitted.
however, once you start exploring the area and can set up some decent camps in the caves, exploring becomes a little easier when you have an area you can immediately fall back to.  Those ice cave tunnel connections are the hardest thing for me to figure out, you end going in one place and coming out in a completely different area on the map...

Otherwise you do find a decent amount of loot to keep it interesting.  Just remember to bring some cooking pots, I never have found a single cooking pot in that region, lol.

[Leeanda]

I briefly remember going into one of the ice caves and getting lost almost immediately so I got the heck out of there asap!still haven't been back in one!

I always carry two pots and an MRE as a back up! Many times I've been desperate for food and just not counted it as food! Odd !!!

[Glflegolas]

I agree with @piddy3825. I once spawned in there, and... even in Voyageur with prior map knowledge surviving the 1st week there is not exactly easy. For novice players, I'd recommend spending some time in Mountain Town first, you'll find all the gear you need to survive in the Hushed River Valley there. For well equipped players, there's great hunting and looting opportunities, and the views are second to none, even nicer than those in Ash Canyon (but that might be personal preference). It's certainly not as cold and windy there as in Ash Canyon, that's for sure...

FYI: There are a few ooking pots in the region, mostly around abandoned campsites. That maybe not the case in Interloper.

 

[piddy3825]

6 hours ago, stratvox said:

 If you spend enough time there you'll be doing the run back to the trailer in MT...

yeah, there's that.  another reason for me to avoid returning to the region after I have harvested as much of the birch and maple saplings that I can.  having to use a work bench to craft arrows and the bow not to mention animal pelt/hide clothing are pretty much my main reasons for limiting my time in HRV.  I do like the fact that I can repair my clothing fortunately, but the fact that I do have to leave the region to re-stock my depleted arrows and ruined bows leaves me with less desire to return, you know?

1 hour ago, Glflegolas said:

FYI: There are a few cooking pots in the region, mostly around abandoned campsites. That maybe not the case in Interloper.

Good to know.  I've never found one myself, so the next time I decide to venture into HRV, I will do my best to see if I can find one.  Any particular area on the map I should seek out?

[Stinky socks]

I went there purely for exploration purposes and left that place with surprisingly large amount of loot! It was a lot, compared to ash canyon, for example, which yielded peanuts in comparison.

Biggest thing I did not like about that place, and I have already stated this many times, is absence of a decent house and crafting bench; also fishing would be a great bonus. Even if it were in some super remote area, I'd stick around much longer! I know developers tried to strike for an area completely absent from man made-ness, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Area is beautiful though, and very confusing at times. I always kept map open on my smartphone.

Dont get me wrong, I didnt hate it, just didnt enjoy it as much as I would, living in a house.

[UpUpAway95]

I love HRV.  One really just needs to go in with decent clothing (in decent shape) and weapons and tools that are also in decent shape.... then relax and enjoy the exploration and the views.  The only really unique piece of gear HRV has to offer is the moosehide satchel (and I usually already have one of those before I go there)... so my love of it doesn't come from looting... more like a break from looting; particularly since there is so much to be done of that in Mountain Town.

However, Ash Canyon is now, by far, my favorite zone.  Crampons and the technical backpak and a bear that doesn't wander off to die in some obscure place, along with both a moose (or two) and fishing.

[Stinky socks]

Yeah that bear is very lovely. I was going to the miners folly through narrow passage and was trailing a bear who was really taking his time. I was freezing and hungry and tired, so I said fk it, grabbed my rifle and started shooting. Dropped him after a few rounds as he was charging, harvested half a pound of meat and went to rest. What a rush and excitement that was. 

Stinky, the danger dog in sticky situations!!⚡⚡meow!!

[Guest jeffpeng]

On 6/3/2021 at 9:29 PM, Leeanda said:

I briefly remember going into one of the ice caves and getting lost almost immediately so I got the heck out of there asap!still haven't been back in one!

I always carry two pots and an MRE as a back up! Many times I've been desperate for food and just not counted it as food! Odd !!!

You know how you solve (almost) every maze? Always turn right. Or always turn left. Whatever floats your boat, just stick with it. If you apply this strategy to the ice caves you will cycle through the exits eventually.

Personally I won't tire of remarking how amazing HRV is and how the region in my opinion is of on the most stellar examples of level design - not just in TLD, but in all of gaming. Who ever made that map deserves whatever industry price there is for map making.

My first encounter with HRV was making a brand new Stalker game, starting it there, and then search for the exit. No maps, no hints, no interweebs. Took me over 30 days in-game. Pretty much the last thing I found on that map was the exit to Milton. This ordeal included two instances of frost bite, being romped be a bear, stranding in the valley and curing hypothermia in a snowy ditch near what I now know is Stairsteps Lake. Second best time playing this game, ever. (Best was circling the TWM summit for three weeks not finding a way up there and living off the land like a true survivor).

Obviously I was and am a great fan of Ash Canyon for much of the same reasons: layered level design that heavily awards spacial awareness. Which, ironically, is probably the reason most people hate HRV with a passion, as well as I'd guess AC and to a lesser extend TWM. All of these maps lack a clear cut "red line" of orientation, while HRV and AC actively challenge your ability to keep track of terrain and your position. I could imagine that that's a skill that is increasingly underdeveloped in city dwellers that live by GPS navigation for even the most mundane tasks of way finding.

 

[Leeanda]

Decided to visit hrv this morning! Instant blizzard as soon as I stepped in there! Managed to fill half the map in 3ingame days! Found 2 dead dear! Saw only one live one ! Nothing else! Did find a lot of old mans beard and a few rosehips! Couldn't find either ice cave! Constant high winds and several blizzards later I'd had enough! Had less blizzards in PV!and I'm on the easy pilgrim!

 

Kudos to the devs for making a beautiful but deadly place! It really is a challenge! 

[Pyroxene]

On the channel "sorken streamar" on YouTube I visit HRV

[Leeanda]

I do watch a few you tube vids but not many go to hrv! Wonder why???

[Pyroxene]

They are afraid of dying there

[Leeanda]

Not surprised so many rocks for the predators to hide behind!

I think some of my problem is that it feels a bit claustrophobic!

[mfuegemann]

I visited HRV for real first during Darkwalker. Trying to end the journey there as my last fire 😉

Then I was there twice to get the moose hide bag at the mysterious signal fire.
I am not comfortable around it but found my way out all the times, so far. The wolfs can make life hard, at least they did for me. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

On 6/6/2021 at 2:29 PM, Leeanda said:

I do watch a few you tube vids but not many go to hrv! Wonder why???

Before I deleted my stuff there I had a rather good Interloper start in HRV on youtube. It isn't even the worst place to start a successful life as an interloping citizen of Great Bear.

You've got a few things going for you there. For once: there is a bedroll somewhere in the caves - guaranteed. Then: easily accessible matches in a small cave on the middle part of the Hushed River. Also: you can access the southern signal fire without a hacksaw, which yields a guaranteed Mackinaw plus a potential hammer. The northern signal fire is much harder to get to without a hacksaw, and very costly to get away from. Best of all: guaranteed Combat Pants and Ear Wraps in the ice cave behind the waterfall. And cat tails. Cat tails everywhere. With a bit of knowledge of the land you can check these boxes in about 3 days and be out of there scot-free with a more than decent start.

[Leeanda]

 do watch a few you tube vids but not many go to hrv! Wonder why???

 

Any recommendations for a good ice cave map?

[Stinky socks]

Fandom. I downloaded them to smartphone and used to navigate. Google fandom hush river valley. 

Edit: here's a screengrab. Be prepared for great enlightenment. Many are against, for as the pandora box is opened, one can no longer close it. Knowledge is power, but can you channel it in the right direction? 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Stinky socks

[Leeanda]

Thank you kind sir!! will hasten to the said place forthwith!  Well when I finish this !!!!!

[Leeanda]

Got to find the entrances first! Blizzards permitting!

[Glflegolas]

On 6/4/2021 at 8:02 PM, jeffpeng said:

Personally I won't tire of remarking how amazing HRV is and how the region in my opinion is of on the most stellar examples of level design - not just in TLD, but in all of gaming. Who ever made that map deserves whatever industry price there is for map making.

......

Obviously I was and am a great fan of Ash Canyon for much of the same reasons: layered level design that heavily awards spacial awareness. Which, ironically, is probably the reason most people hate HRV with a passion, as well as I'd guess AC and to a lesser extend TWM. All of these maps lack a clear cut "red line" of orientation, while HRV and AC actively challenge your ability to keep track of terrain and your position. I could imagine that that's a skill that is increasingly underdeveloped in city dwellers that live by GPS navigation for even the most mundane tasks of way finding.
 

Now that I think about it, that's precisely why I enjoy HRV so much too. AC has nice level design too, but it's so darn cold there all the time that it's hard to enjoy the landscape without freezing to death. TM has it to some extent, but the path for getting to the summit is relatively linear. Compare that to a map such as PV or ML, where everything is essentially on one level, and getting from A to B is usually a matter of following fairly obvious roads, railroads, or paths. As for maps like MT or DP, getting lost there is pretty difficult.

Even if you're a city dweller that does not rely on GPS navigation for going everywhere, you might find it easy to get lost in the country, where you can't rely on addresses and city blocks to get where you're trying to go. Conversely, I, someone who lives in the country, don't do well at urban navigation. If you're constantly getting lost on Great Bear, you might want to try planning your next road trip with a map instead of turn-by-turn directions from a GPS.

[Leeanda]

I also am a country girl! Always surrounded by fields of every kind! But I just find that hrv is so cluttered! It's high sides feel oppressive and everything in between is full of rocks,trees ,fallen or otherwise and mounds/ dips etc! This is no insult to the devs on the contrary! It shows cleverness bordering on deviousness! The entire team Should have won awards already and if they have not then there is something wrong with the world!

 

Might I add that I do not feel the same way about Ash canyon! I think it's probably my favourite!