Too Many Wolves

[Dougie]

I’m gonna have to hold off for a while on Eps 4.  Leaving the prison with very few resources, I might kill one wolf, but end up constantly never reaching my destination because of them.  The torches and flares are not deterring them, they still attack.  Not much fun.

[Lord of the Long Dark]

What???!!  The torches and flares absolutely keep them at bay. Maybe you are referring to timberwolves.
I got the through the episode killing only the timberwolfes. I didn’t bother with the regular ones. I will only use a bow when playing so it wasn’t worth wearing the arrows out.  Well- except for that one in the cave of course. 

Edited October 15, 2021 by Lord of the Long Dark

[Lohaan]

I'm using a flare here but flares and torches have absolutely the same effect. A couple of hours into Epside 4 started carrying around 10-12 or torches.  

[Leeanda]

6 hours ago, Dougie said:

I’m gonna have to hold off for a while on Eps 4.  Leaving the prison with very few resources, I might kill one wolf, but end up constantly never reaching my destination because of them.  The torches and flares are not deterring them, they still attack.  Not much fun.

Have you thought of going on green  survivor,it's a lot easier! I did and everything just runs away,even the bear!

[Serenity]

The wolf behavior is terrible, they scare easily.

The new noisemakers work very well and there are plenty of cans and gunpowder. The revolver also works. Just don't try to kill all of them. It it's pointless because they immediately respawn.

[Dougie]

I’ve been playing since 2015 in Survivor and know all the tricks to ward off the basic wolf, but in this episode, I have 3 flares, one rifle with two bullets and some flares that don’t affect the charging wolf. Once the bullets are gone, after maybe killing one, a few steps later, more wolves. I’ve tried to skirt around them, and it works for a while but turn the corner and BAM!  I get bloody and my health is week, but now I might have a flare left and I’m still nowhere near my destination and nightfall is coming…I’m doomed. This plays out 5 times and I’ll stick with Survival 

[mfuegemann]

Hi Dougie,

maybe You are still at the beginning of Your run. I had 10-12 flares and lots of rifle bullets very soon. For the first TW pack use the noisemakers - just for fun. Then take a torch and walk to Your next car or trailer. TW are kept at bay even with mere torches.
Do not let You put down by those wolfs. There are lots of paths to avoid the pack trails. Give it some more tries - maybe on lower difficulty settings, as Leeanda suggests. The episode story is really worth it.

[Dougie]

The timber wolves are really not my problem, and I used the flashbangs getting to the powerplant. The black wolves are the problem.  I lack the resources. Found lots of revolver bullets, but no revolver, and only a few rifle bullets.

[Serenity]

17 hours ago, Dougie said:

The timber wolves are really not my problem, and I used the flashbangs getting to the powerplant. The black wolves are the problem.  I lack the resources. Found lots of revolver bullets, but no revolver, and only a few rifle bullets.

There are several revolvers and rifles. Lots of ammunition. Do the side quests. That takes you to the buildings on the map and gives you caches.

[acada]

I have two or three occasions where there was a black wolfe. I lighted a marine torch and threw it to the blackwolf. It landed right between its legs. Then I saw teeth and fury. It was not already attacking. Attack started after the torch was on the ground.

[SpanishMoss]

The best way is this: light a flare/torch and drop it on the ground in front of you. Wait until the wolf walks up to you and start snarling. Hold out a stone/gun/bow . Aim at the wolf , but don't fire/throw. Boom, the wolf will run away in fear. For timberwolves, use a campfire and actually shoot the wolves/ use noise makers 

[Pencil]

If you get too close to a wolf while holding a lit flare or torch, they have a chance of charging. In higher difficulties, they are more likely to charge you if you get too close while they are growling at you. In lower difficulties, they usually run away if you approach them. 

With a torch or flare, keep your distance and the wolves will keep theirs. If they are attacking you while you are holding a torch/flare, you probably got too close. 

I suggest not throwing a torch or flare if not necessary. The only time I throw a flare or torch is when it is about to go out, so I don't want the wolves on my tail anymore. There are times too when you throw the flare or torch at the wrong time and the wolf doesn't even notice that you threw the torch or the flare... at least that has happened to me before. 

So... don't approach a wolf that is stopped and growling at you. They might attack if you do. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Pencil

[hozz1235]

Have you tried playing at the easiest level?  Normal wolves shouldn't attack you at all.

[Leeanda]

44 minutes ago, hozz1235 said:

Have you tried playing at the easiest level?  Normal wolves shouldn't attack you at all.

Nothing will attack,makes it a lot quieter 🙂

[twyn1]

I was started at "capable survivor" (without realizing it), so I am dealing with a lot of aggressive wolves, both kinds. 

When I leave the guard-room area in the front of the prison  3 black wolves immediately spawn, 2 right on the pathway out, and one down on the icy pond to the right. A little bit further down the road, there is a vehicle and 3 (or 4) more are spawned there. Just past that is a timberwolf pack and sometimes a stray black wolf or 2 (near the substation).

They are all very quick to attack and the revolver and rifle do very little damage - even when the sight is right on their face or chest. I am not the best shot, but I don't see how I am missing them almost every time. I've killed more by letting them rip into me and knifing them (at the cost of many bandages, my best wool hat and lots of peroxide!). I do not like killing wolves or other wildlife unless I really must do so for food or self-defense.

The torches or flares work sometimes & the flare pistol and noisemaker do scare them off, but you have to get away quickly. When they do run; they get stuck in walls, snowbanks and rocks or just this weird, choppy running motion on the road. 

Seems very glitchy and unbalanced. And tedious ... I've taken to lighting a flare or torch and walking away backwards while they growl at me.

However -- I think this MAY be because I am now wandering all over the map, figuring things out, finding the caches and the lost people, checking all of the buildings, etc. and bringing things back to my prison base or the lake cabin.

So I wonder if they are just all piled up because it's really not intended for the Wintermute player to go in and out of the same areas multiple times and wander all over for days???

Edited October 18, 2021 by twyn1
spelling/grammar

[Luca Loquax]

Maybe the problem is not too many wolves but not enough tobacco.  Mmmm yummy wolves!

[hozz1235]

18 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Nothing will attack,makes it a lot quieter 🙂

Timbers still do.

[SpanishMoss]

15 hours ago, twyn1 said:

 

They are all very quick to attack and the revolver and rifle do very little damage - even when the sight is right on their face or chest. I am not the best shot, but I don't see how I am missing them almost every time. I've killed more by letting them rip into me and knifing them (at the cost of many bandages, my best wool hat and lots of peroxide!). I do not like killing wolves or other wildlife unless I really must do so for food or self-defense.

The torches or flares work sometimes & the flare pistol and noisemaker do scare them off, but you have to get away quickly. When they do run; they get stuck in walls, snowbanks and rocks or just this weird, choppy running motion on the road. 

Seems very glitchy and unbalanced. And tedious ... I've taken to lighting a flare or torch and walking away backwards while they growl at me.

However -- I think this MAY be because I am now wandering all over the map, figuring things out, finding the caches and the lost people, checking all of the buildings, etc. and bringing things back to my prison base or the lake cabin.

So I wonder if they are just all piled up because it's really not intended for the Wintermute player to go in and out of the same areas multiple times and wander all over for days???

I have not seen glitchy behavior with normal wolves, only the timberwolves are a buggy mess. I played on hardend survivor, so I didn't get the flare gun in the beginning, and couldn't get a gun until getting the one by the power station in the broken down house. Let's just say lot of torches snd crouching were required to get anywhere. I personally thought it was pretty fun to dodge all the wolves, but if people don't like having to crouch everywhere I can be annoying.

[Leeanda]

33 minutes ago, hozz1235 said:

Timbers still do.

You sure? they didn't with me!  Unless I just got lucky!

[shadragon]

I was going to post something very similar to the OP. Wolves are a plague. 

I ended up exploring the wolf cave on the way to the mine. Scared off the wolf inside by the deer carcass after I took a minor hit and built a fire at the door to patch myself up with three wolves outside. Outside of the cave is a ravine with sharp walls you cannot climb. I had two noisemakers, a pistol and rifle with a few shots each. Throw a noisemaker, they would run out of sight, turn around and come right back seconds later. Shoot one and same thing, run away then come back. Ended up without bullets and no more firewood. 

Couple of observations. The sound for the wolves is not directional. You hear growling and you have to turn 360 to see where it is coming from. I have a decent pair of 7.1 Surround headphones and they don't help at all. The volume does not decrease with distance either. You hear a growl that sounds like it's right behind you and see a wolf 100 yards away. That burned me once when I heard a growl, turned and saw a wolf some distance away. Began moving, turned away from the distant wolf only to find another leaping at me. 

Last, if you use a knife to protect yourself mid-attack, it looks like the animation shows you using the butt end of the knife instead of the blade. Wouldn't want the animal right folks getting upset, right? Get attacked and try to patch yourself up only to have another one take a run at you midway through that animation. Once the rifle reload animation starts you can't interrupt the process regardless of what's charging you. 

Bayonet? Spear? Book wrapped around your forearm for the critter to bite, but not do damage? Molotovs? Poisoned meat? You could do lots of stuff. Or how about a slider to cut down on the number in your game. For those who want the thrill, slide it up. 

I've posted other anti-wolf posts before. Even with unlimited ammo, I was still getting mauled frequently. That detracts from the game (and the fun) big time. 

[Leeanda]

13 minutes ago, shadragon said:

I was going to post something very similar to the OP. Wolves are a plague. 

I ended up exploring the wolf cave on the way to the mine. Scared off the wolf inside by the deer carcass after I took a minor hit and built a fire at the door to patch myself up with three wolves outside. Outside of the cave is a ravine with sharp walls you cannot climb. I had two noisemakers, a pistol and rifle with a few shots each. Throw a noisemaker, they would run out of sight, turn around and come right back seconds later. Shoot one and same thing, run away then come back. Ended up without bullets and no more firewood. 

Couple of observations. The sound for the wolves is not directional. You hear growling and you have to turn 360 to see where it is coming from. I have a decent pair of 7.1 Surround headphones and they don't help at all. The volume does not decrease with distance either. You hear a growl that sounds like it's right behind you and see a wolf 100 yards away. That burned me once when I heard a growl, turned and saw a wolf some distance away. Began moving, turned away from the distant wolf only to find another leaping at me. 

Last, if you use a knife to protect yourself mid-attack, it looks like the animation shows you using the butt end of the knife instead of the blade. Wouldn't want the animal right folks getting upset, right? Get attacked and try to patch yourself up only to have another one take a run at you midway through that animation. Once the rifle reload animation starts you can't interrupt the process regardless of what's charging you. 

Bayonet? Spear? Book wrapped around your forearm for the critter to bite, but not do damage? Molotovs? Poisoned meat? You could do lots of stuff. Or how about a slider to cut down on the number in your game. For those who want the thrill, slide it up. 

I've posted other anti-wolf posts before. Even with unlimited ammo, I was still getting mauled frequently. That detracts from the game (and the fun) big time. 

That's exactly why I changed to green survivor, couldn't even bandage myself before being attacked again!   Saves a lot of aggro and stress! And better than never completing it!

Edited October 19, 2021 by Leeanda

[hozz1235]

3 hours ago, Leeanda said:

You sure? they didn't with me!  Unless I just got lucky!

I've tried a couple playthroughs at different difficulties and was definitely attacked (in fact, every pack was all over me!) on the easiest level.  Strange that you weren't...

[Leeanda]

16 minutes ago, hozz1235 said:

I've tried a couple playthroughs at different difficulties and was definitely attacked (in fact, every pack was all over me!) on the easiest level.  Strange that you weren'

First three episodes were all green ,however I was on capable on no.4(I thought it would still be green ) and was killed a lot. So I restarted the entire episode making sure it was green. After that every wolf ran away,timber and regular. Even the bear ran away and I was on a log bridge high above it!  It does seem odd that you got attacked at all. Weird  console glitch/bug?

[shadragon]

If the wolves jumped you and stole food (meat especially) or random resources after knocking you down that would play into the survival element nicely. Or if you threw meat, they grab it and leave. You'd still need the first aid mechanic for falls, burns and the like, but it would take the edge off. 

I play Voyager level and find anything lower gives too many resources and the biggest challenge is carrying stuff. I should try a custom game with just bears I suppose. 

[flyingflea]

I played the hardest difficulty and the only thing that can be crafted at the beginning of this level (with the limited supplies) is a torch.  You should have the opportunity to craft at least 1 torch (and have some matches to light it) before encountering your first wolves to avoid getting mauled.  It should be clear by omission that torches are your craft-able tool early game to deter wolves given the abundance of oil, sticks and matches.

Throwing torches and flares at wolves is not always successful so stop doing it.

The least aggressive tactic is to just run away from them. Go into a vehicle or building. There are quite a few all over the place and wolves follow so slowly it's entirely possible.