Too Many Wolves

[ChillPlayer]

Do the sidequests to get the revolver, wolves become a joke once you have it (just fire a shot into the air when you're in a wolf infested area and run through). Until then, crouch your way around them or simply run away and hide in the next building/car or on a ledge/tree. I had no issues on hardest difficulty with wolves in EP4 and only once ended in a fight despite firing several shots from the revolver, felt kinda scripted.

[turtle777]

3 hours ago, flyingflea said:

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

Don't know about torches, but flares work 100% for me, as long as they are thrown close to the wolf.

-t

[SassyElcor]

I think the OP here has a point, and those who respond that they don't may have simply not encountered the same issue. I played through most of Ep. 4 just fine, fought off some wolves but got the tools I need to mainly take care of them, and they acted appropriately. However, at some point an invisible glitch switch got flipped because I walked outside one day and suddenly the regular wolves were spawning in 2 and 3 at close quarters, sometimes just dropping right out of the air in front of me and then attacking.

They also do NOT respond to loud noises or flares or even getting hit by bullets correctly once this bug kicks in, they just keep menacing and charging until I have to fight them off with my knife. Since it was all normal until this happened, and I changed NO settings to make this happen, I firmly believe there is a bug with the regular wolf spawns and behavior, and dismissing people's concerns when they voice them isn't very helpful with that.

I briefly considered the idea that it's some kind of storyline that boosted the wolves, but that doesn't explain why they're suddenly just randomly spawning out of nowhere in front of me sometimes, or why they don't even pay attention to gunshots or anything else at all until after they've latched onto me.

After a few attempts at working through this new and definitely not improved map filled with glitchy wolves I'm just going to wait to finish my game until there is more word on this particular topic, thanks.

[SpanishMoss]

Torches are your best friend, one on the ground will always stop a normal wolf dead in its tracks. Combine this with a stone, and wolves will never attack you. Drop the torch, wait till the wolf is standing it's ground, then aim at the wolf and it will run away. With this trick you can get away without using guns. (You still need noisemakers for timberwolves though)

[SpanishMoss]

1 hour ago, SassyElcor said:

I think the OP here has a point, and those who respond that they don't may have simply not encountered the same issue. I played through most of Ep. 4 just fine, fought off some wolves but got the tools I need to mainly take care of them, and they acted appropriately. However, at some point an invisible glitch switch got flipped because I walked outside one day and suddenly the regular wolves were spawning in 2 and 3 at close quarters, sometimes just dropping right out of the air in front of me and then attacking.

They also do NOT respond to loud noises or flares or even getting hit by bullets correctly once this bug kicks in, they just keep menacing and charging until I have to fight them off with my knife. Since it was all normal until this happened, and I changed NO settings to make this happen, I firmly believe there is a bug with the regular wolf spawns and behavior, and dismissing people's concerns when they voice them isn't very helpful with that.

I briefly considered the idea that it's some kind of storyline that boosted the wolves, but that doesn't explain why they're suddenly just randomly spawning out of nowhere in front of me sometimes, or why they don't even pay attention to gunshots or anything else at all until after they've latched onto me.

After a few attempts at working through this new and definitely not improved map filled with glitchy wolves I'm just going to wait to finish my game until there is more word on this particular topic, thanks.

If a wolf is charging, a gunshot will not scare it, even if you hit it, it may decide to still keep charging. Same thing with fire, a charging wolf will not stop if you throw a torch at it, it may choose to not stop. While I can't say anything about the spawning of wolves, the wolf aggression you see might just be a misinterpretation of the games mechanics. I played through the episode on hardened, and I never had a struggle with a wolf. I was always able to stop it from attacking.

[Leeanda]

When I was on capable survivor I used flares, torches and tried the revolver ,none of them worked! And they weren't charging or even standing growling most of the time! 

[SassyElcor]

I watched a complete behavioral change in the wolves in my game to INCLUDE glitched spawns. Everyone insisting they just don't act that way, please consider then that it is a bug that some of us are experiencing and not simply that we don't know what we are talking about? Thank you.

[Pencil]

On 10/19/2021 at 1:02 PM, shadragon said:

 

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.

 ...Once the rifle reload animation starts you can't interrupt the process regardless of what's charging you. 

 

Is this an audio setting? Maybe it's a different game I'm thinking of, but there might be a setting where you can change from both sides playing the same audio to both sides playing different audio (to be able to determine if a sound is coming from the left or right). 

For the gun, load 1 bullet, open inventory and close immediately to stop loading process. You can also pick up an item on the ground while loading to stop the process. Works for both rifle and revolver. 

On 10/19/2021 at 11:08 AM, Leeanda said:

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

 

On 10/19/2021 at 2:44 PM, 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't...

I was playing hardened survivor and some timber wolf packs were running away, even if I had never seen them before. You probably got lucky like I did a few times. 

 

3 hours ago, SassyElcor said:

They also do NOT respond to loud noises or flares or even getting hit by bullets correctly once this bug kicks in, they just keep menacing and charging until I have to fight them off with my knife.

 

Also, for flares and torches not working, you might be throwing them at the wrong time. If you are not throwing them and they still attack, it is probably bug then (unless you get too close to them). I almost never throw torches or flares unless they are about to run out and I want the wolf gone. 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Pencil

[Leeanda]

2 minutes ago, Pencil said:

Is this an audio setting? Maybe it's a different game I'm thinking of, but there might be a setting where you can change from both sides playing the same audio to both sides playing different audio (to be able to determine if a sound is coming from the left or right). 

For the gun, load 1 bullet, open inventory and close immediately to stop loading process. You can also pick up an item on the ground while loading to stop the process. Works for both rifle and revolver. 

 

I was playing hardened survivor and some timber wolf packs were running away, even if I had never seen them before. You probably got lucky like I did a few times. 

Also, for flares and torches not working, you might be throwing them at the wrong time. If you are not throwing them and they still attack, it is probably bug then (unless you get too close to them). I almost never throw torches or flares unless they are about to run out and I want the wolf gone. 

It wasn't really the timbers I had problems with, it was the ordinary ones. I know I've only been playing for a few years but I've never had that much of a problem with them before. And I've used several of the tutorial videos here and on ytube! And done exactly what they did! The advice worked for ep3, and the whiteout challenge just not on ep..4!

[Dogelsagod]

I have seen a pack of 12 timberwolves.and when seeing a wolf violence is always the option.

[Berniyh]

I, too, think that there are too many wolves around Blackrock in Episode 4.

Don't get me wrong, I can manage the wolves just fine. By now, I even have enough gear (around 50 revolver rounds, plus 20 rifle rounds and a lot of flares, flare shells and noisemakers) that I don't have to fear facing them, so it's not about that.

For me, The Long Dark is more about the wandering around, collecting resources, and – in case of the story mode – solving puzzles, finding survivors etc. Episode 3 already was a bit different with the new (in Wintermute) timberwolves, but there it was imo well balanced. You had to face the packs from time to time, especially when rescuing the crash survivors, but there also was a lot of "off" time, where you could relax, TLD-style. And after some time, you learn how the wolve packs move around the map, so you can avoid them better.

Blackrock however is different. There are wolves everywhere and there are a lot of them. Like, crazy lot. So many, that too me it feels totally clinical, meaning they couldn't find a better way to make this challenging than just filling the map with more and more wolves. And personally, it really turns me off the game, I'm really frustrated and annoyed by the wolves. Not, because I can't cope with them, but because this really isn't the game I signed up for.

Interestingly, when I have a problem with them it's usually a regular one and not one of the timberwolves. The latter, you can quite easily keep in check using the noise makers, but for some reason, at least sometimes, the regular ones seem to ignore them. I had multiple situations where I was attacked by a pack of timberwolves and made them flee using noisemakers, but the regular one that was close by ignored all of that and attacked me. Now, maybe you pros can easily distinguish the different types, but personally, at a short glance, I cannot tell if this is a regular wolf or a timberwolf. And if you can't tell, you're going to be in trouble, because the timberwolves won't stop growling and running into you (or rather close by) even when there scared.

I was close to stopping my playthrough, but I think I'll pull through, got more than half anyway, I think. But you can be sure that I'll never set foot into that stupid region in any of my (survival) playthroughs ever again. I've clearly had enough of it … In any case, I'll be very glad when Episode 4 is over and I'm pretty sure that, in contrast to the previous episodes, I'll never look back. Hope they don't mess up the final episode as well.

[hozz1235]

Hey @Berniyh.  Sorry to hear your frustration.  I know you're half way through like you said, but I'm wondering what difficulty you're playing at?

Also, for survival, just create a custom game and you can turn them off completely if you want!  Hope this helps keep you playing.

[Berniyh]

I'm playing as capable survivor, so default/medium setting.

[Kranium]

I hate torches because it's almost always windy in my interloper run.

 

That said, I simply walk away from wolves. IDK what the big deal is, if you keep your eyes & ears open. Timberwolves are annoying & still feel out of place in the game, though.

[ChillPlayer]

On 10/16/2022 at 5:14 AM, Kranium said:

 Timberwolves are annoying & still feel out of place in the game, though.

But they are an excellent food delivery system if you can climb up a ledge fast enough

 

[earthmom]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:21 AM, Berniyh said:

I, too, think that there are too many wolves around Blackrock in Episode 4.

Don't get me wrong, I can manage the wolves just fine. By now, I even have enough gear (around 50 revolver rounds, plus 20 rifle rounds and a lot of flares, flare shells and noisemakers) that I don't have to fear facing them, so it's not about that.

For me, The Long Dark is more about the wandering around, collecting resources, and – in case of the story mode – solving puzzles, finding survivors etc. Episode 3 already was a bit different with the new (in Wintermute) timberwolves, but there it was imo well balanced. You had to face the packs from time to time, especially when rescuing the crash survivors, but there also was a lot of "off" time, where you could relax, TLD-style. And after some time, you learn how the wolve packs move around the map, so you can avoid them better.

Blackrock however is different. There are wolves everywhere and there are a lot of them. Like, crazy lot. So many, that too me it feels totally clinical, meaning they couldn't find a better way to make this challenging than just filling the map with more and more wolves. And personally, it really turns me off the game, I'm really frustrated and annoyed by the wolves. Not, because I can't cope with them, but because this really isn't the game I signed up for.

Interestingly, when I have a problem with them it's usually a regular one and not one of the timberwolves. The latter, you can quite easily keep in check using the noise makers, but for some reason, at least sometimes, the regular ones seem to ignore them. I had multiple situations where I was attacked by a pack of timberwolves and made them flee using noisemakers, but the regular one that was close by ignored all of that and attacked me. Now, maybe you pros can easily distinguish the different types, but personally, at a short glance, I cannot tell if this is a regular wolf or a timberwolf. And if you can't tell, you're going to be in trouble, because the timberwolves won't stop growling and running into you (or rather close by) even when there scared.

I was close to stopping my playthrough, but I think I'll pull through, got more than half anyway, I think. But you can be sure that I'll never set foot into that stupid region in any of my (survival) playthroughs ever again. I've clearly had enough of it … In any case, I'll be very glad when Episode 4 is over and I'm pretty sure that, in contrast to the previous episodes, I'll never look back. Hope they don't mess up the final episode as well.

I agree with all of this.  I have over 550 hours in the game and just last week came back after a couple of years away.  I'm playing through Wintermute.  Episode 3 was challenging but really interesting and I was very much immersed.   Episode 4 simply doesn't make sense and the wolves are just ridiculous.  I keep thinking that the devs decided to turn this into a zombie game and they put in wolves instead of zombies.   It feels like that.  At every turn there they are.  It's NOT TLD.   It's The Walking Dead.  They are not regular wolves, and they are not even Timberwolves lots of the time, they are like .... zombie wolves!  Ones that are not afraid of flares or torches, that rip your clothing and cause bleeding wounds just running past even as you shoot them. They never are injured by direct hits from a gun with real bullets.  And they rarely are injured by fire.  What kind of creature is this?  Must be an undead one!   

It's really tiring and boring to deal with them so often.   I have left the game early several times now.  Instead of being immersed and intrigued like I was in Episode 3, I'm just angry at the coding now.    It makes no sense and it's definitely no fun.

[Laxgoalie]

Your description of zombie wolves is literally how a timber wolf behaves. They are not deterred by torches or red flares and make hit and run attacks causing injury and clothing damage. No wolf in this game is damaged in any way by fire. Almost every time someone says that animals aren't injured by firearms in this game means they missed. Sorry, but if you shot at a wolf/TW and there wasn't a blood trail, that's what happened. As long as it isn't an aurora, a campfire will hold timberwolves at bay and pulling/tossing torches at them breaks their morale and they run away. No ammo required and no need to rush to do anything. You are safe near the fire. Regular wolves are even easier. Drop flare/torch, aim any weapon, wolf runs away. Yes it it really really annoying and repetitive. And yes again, there seem to be a disproportionate number of wolves and TWs everywhere in BRM seemingly assigned to every choke point in the region. The feel of BRM is basically what Stalker is in survival on every map except Ravine ;).

For OP, regular wolves bark once and then start stalking/charging you. TWs howl first, assemble as a pack and then and then attack you as a group. If you are unsure and have attracted the attention of any wolves, light a campfire. You will be safe and can sort out how to deal with which ever you have encountered. TWs should show a morale meter, are more grey in color, and attack as a pack. Regular wolves are smaller, more consistently black in color, and only one will stalk you at a time even if part of a larger pack. TWs are honestly less dangerous than regular because they are not going to surprise attack you out of the blue. You have a good 10-15 second lead time from the howl to find a good spot to make a campfire and sort out your strategy.

In my current 400 day interloper run I've made trips to BRM and BI and used only one marine flare for a TW encounter this run for a windy day in BI. Otherwise torches and campfires are all I ever use should I not be able to avoid wolves and TWs. I'm not saying it isn't tedious, but it's very doable.

[Leeanda]

1 hour ago, Laxgoalie said:

Your description of zombie wolves is literally how a timber wolf behaves. They are not deterred by torches or red flares and make hit and run attacks causing injury and clothing damage. No wolf in this game is damaged in any way by fire. Almost every time someone says that animals aren't injured by firearms in this game means they missed. Sorry, but if you shot at a wolf/TW and there wasn't a blood trail, that's what happened. As long as it isn't an aurora, a campfire will hold timberwolves at bay and pulling/tossing torches at them breaks their morale and they run away. No ammo required and no need to rush to do anything. You are safe near the fire. Regular wolves are even easier. Drop flare/torch, aim any weapon, wolf runs away. Yes it it really really annoying and repetitive. And yes again, there seem to be a disproportionate number of wolves and TWs everywhere in BRM seemingly assigned to every choke point in the region. The feel of BRM is basically what Stalker is in survival on every map except Ravine ;).

For OP, regular wolves bark once and then start stalking/charging you. TWs howl first, assemble as a pack and then and then attack you as a group. If you are unsure and have attracted the attention of any wolves, light a campfire. You will be safe and can sort out how to deal with which ever you have encountered. TWs should show a morale meter, are more grey in color, and attack as a pack. Regular wolves are smaller, more consistently black in color, and only one will stalk you at a time even if part of a larger pack. TWs are honestly less dangerous than regular because they are not going to surprise attack you out of the blue. You have a good 10-15 second lead time from the howl to find a good spot to make a campfire and sort out your strategy.

In my current 400 day interloper run I've made trips to BRM and BI and used only one marine flare for a TW encounter this run for a windy day in BI. Otherwise torches and campfires are all I ever use should I not be able to avoid wolves and TWs. I'm not saying it isn't tedious, but it's very doable.

I hate to disagree but the twolves in episode 4 were not the same as in survival...  ..  they even climbed up the fallen tree I was on  which I've never seen on survival..   and I know I did not miss with the revolver..   yes it might've been a bug but I was definitely not the only one who had this problem..

I managed them perfectly well in episode 3.

[Laxgoalie]

18 hours ago, Leeanda said:

I hate to disagree but the twolves in episode 4 were not the same as in survival...  ..  they even climbed up the fallen tree I was on  which I've never seen on survival..   and I know I did not miss with the revolver..   yes it might've been a bug but I was definitely not the only one who had this problem..

I managed them perfectly well in episode 3.

Episode 3 served as a TW tutorial and you had to only deal with 2 packs. Episode 4/BRM is all TWs, all the time. I'd like to think I hit everything every time, but I don't. I'm sure I hit a TW with an arrow and then after an encounter what do I find but and arrow in the snow.

I've had almost every predator type manage to path up a fallen tree in survival at one point or another; TWs included. That's why I started lighting fires at the bottom of the tree for hunting moose in TWM. Did you have TWs ignoring campfires in Episode 4? I sure didn't and I lit a lot of them. I seriously doubt there were any special powers programmed for TWs just for episode 4. Maybe this perception is due to the predator difficulty level in WM not aligning well with people's experience in survival?

The wolves and TWs are very easily dealt with using the same basic techniques to deal with them in survival. The frequency is on par with playing something around Stalkerish on a TW containing map. Dealing with them is certainly tedious and repetitive, but it's pretty much like being in BRM in survival.  I felt that the wolf issue is hardly the most unbelievable and immersion breaking part of the episode. The suspension of disbelief required for most of the plot is pretty substantial.

[Leeanda]

4 hours ago, Laxgoalie said:

Episode 3 served as a TW tutorial and you had to only deal with 2 packs. Episode 4/BRM is all TWs, all the time. I'd like to think I hit everything every time, but I don't. I'm sure I hit a TW with an arrow and then after an encounter what do I find but and arrow in the snow.

I've had almost every predator type manage to path up a fallen tree in survival at one point or another; TWs included. That's why I started lighting fires at the bottom of the tree for hunting moose in TWM. Did you have TWs ignoring campfires in Episode 4? I sure didn't and I lit a lot of them. I seriously doubt there were any special powers programmed for TWs just for episode 4. Maybe this perception is due to the predator difficulty level in WM not aligning well with people's experience in survival?

The wolves and TWs are very easily dealt with using the same basic techniques to deal with them in survival. The frequency is on par with playing something around Stalkerish on a TW containing map. Dealing with them is certainly tedious and repetitive, but it's pretty much like being in BRM in survival.  I felt that the wolf issue is hardly the most unbelievable and immersion breaking part of the episode. The suspension of disbelief required for most of the plot is pretty substantial.

Episode 3 ,for me anyway, was about 80% blizzard so fires were a no no..I resorted to the revolver to kill them or I'd still be there carrying bodies back lol..

If there were only two packs then they respawned way faster than a few days..

I'm well aware I miss but the instance I was referring to in black rock I'm 100% sure I hit most of them..  I was too close and surrounded by that many that even if I'd missed one I would've hit another..   plus,when the only thing you can see is a wolfs face then it has to hit ,unless it's too close and it doesn't register...  My bow skills might be lousy but the guns I'm not that bad at..

  It's the only episode I couldn't do on capable survivor..and I gave up and went onto green after about twenty deaths..

I was at the dip next to the prison when I got surrounded by both types of wolves .I'd only just left the prison too.. and between the road and the tree was only about 15 meters.. I died repeatedly there because even at the top of the tree I didn't have time to even use a bandage..  I tried flares,both kinds,torches rifle and revolver,but not a fire in that instance. 

 

[Laxgoalie]

1 hour ago, Leeanda said:

I'm well aware I miss but the instance I was referring to in black rock I'm 100% sure I hit most of them..

As the poet said: "60% of the time it works every time". Regardless, just injuring a TW doesn't reduce morale much if at all until the wolf dies. Pistols have the least critical chance of any weapon, so you're not likely to kill one outright. Bow has roughly twice the crit chance as a pistol and I sure have a lot of TWs running away with arrows in them. Maybe I still need work on my archery skills, but then again I'm old and use a trackball. I accept your scorn and ridicule. I'll also re-advance the possibility that some of this discord is based on Capable Survivor's wolf/TW aggression being something that is not directly transferable from the survival levels of difficulty and the large population of TWs in BRM.

I struggled with TWs during my Stalker years for a long time in survival as I tried and failed pretending that I'm playing an fps and I could just shoot my way out. It was a less than effective strategy and rather a good way to get clothes wrecked and take condition damage. Starting a fire and just hanging out throwing torches is 100% safe (all the time, barring an aurora) and is quite effective at breaking TW morale. Coincidentally it's a time efficient way to warm up and make water and tea. Very tedious but effective. I try not to risk engaging TW packs when I can't make a fire playing survival or WM. If it's windy I carry marine flares and don't stop moving. Even TW will not attack if you pop a torch or marine flare and just keep walking; assuming you are unencumbered. 

IIRC, there wasn't anything forcing you to do anything right away in Episode 3 or 4. Nothing wrong with waiting for better weather when it's a safer time. Just because one becomes overwhelmed with a predator when trying a single strategy that works in a different circumstance does not mean one is fighting supernatural animals. If all you can see is a wolf's face then you have either not made a fire or are just holding the torch/flare/marine flare and standing still. After 3000 hours in the game, I have yet to see anything wolf/TW related in Episode 4 that hasn't happened in survival many times before. This is based on Stalker and Interloper experience since from before episode 4 released. Your mileage may vary of course.

[Leeanda]

2 hours ago, Laxgoalie said:

As the poet said: "60% of the time it works every time". Regardless, just injuring a TW doesn't reduce morale much if at all until the wolf dies. Pistols have the least critical chance of any weapon, so you're not likely to kill one outright. Bow has roughly twice the crit chance as a pistol and I sure have a lot of TWs running away with arrows in them. Maybe I still need work on my archery skills, but then again I'm old and use a trackball. I accept your scorn and ridicule. I'll also re-advance the possibility that some of this discord is based on Capable Survivor's wolf/TW aggression being something that is not directly transferable from the survival levels of difficulty and the large population of TWs in BRM.

I struggled with TWs during my Stalker years for a long time in survival as I tried and failed pretending that I'm playing an fps and I could just shoot my way out. It was a less than effective strategy and rather a good way to get clothes wrecked and take condition damage. Starting a fire and just hanging out throwing torches is 100% safe (all the time, barring an aurora) and is quite effective at breaking TW morale. Coincidentally it's a time efficient way to warm up and make water and tea. Very tedious but effective. I try not to risk engaging TW packs when I can't make a fire playing survival or WM. If it's windy I carry marine flares and don't stop moving. Even TW will not attack if you pop a torch or marine flare and just keep walking; assuming you are unencumbered. 

IIRC, there wasn't anything forcing you to do anything right away in Episode 3 or 4. Nothing wrong with waiting for better weather when it's a safer time. Just because one becomes overwhelmed with a predator when trying a single strategy that works in a different circumstance does not mean one is fighting supernatural animals. If all you can see is a wolf's face then you have either not made a fire or are just holding the torch/flare/marine flare and standing still. After 3000 hours in the game, I have yet to see anything wolf/TW related in Episode 4 that hasn't happened in survival many times before. This is based on Stalker and Interloper experience since from before episode 4 released. Your mileage may vary of course.

I wasn't necessarily trying to kill them,just get them off my back long enough to stop the bleeding..which I failed at.. if I shoot in survival it does work a lot better than story...     I know the revolver isn't great that's why I don't really use it any more in survival but I tried the rifle as well in the story .

I've had over 6000 hours in survival ,and though I play mainly pilgrim I've played both loper and stalker and dealt with twolves plenty.. back when episode 4 came out I remember that there were a lot of other very experienced players also having the same issue..

Not sure why I'd want to scorn you either..  

Edited Saturday at 11:10 AM by Leeanda

[ManicManiac]

@Laxgoalie

Let's please not be so condescending towards other members of the community.  This has gone on long enough, let's let it alone now.
I think that perhaps you may feel as though you are trying to be helpful... but at this point it's not helpful.  I feel that you're coming off rather condescending and over-explaining general mechanics to a rather experienced player.  ...and as I said comes off rather condescending.

I don't find any "scorn or ridicule" being aimed at you... so I'm not entirely sure what you were getting at.  And to be clear, I'm not interested in carrying on about that there either.  If you like you an PM me and we can talk about it.

So I will repeat... let's let it alone now.

Edited Saturday at 11:07 AM by ManicManiac