What's your favorite forge ?

[ChillPlayer]

DP (on interloper) simply because it has the least risk of running into a wolf and has warm beds nearby. FM is quite the opposite, it's tricky (but doable) to not run into a wolf pack and you need a constant fire to not freeze while sleeping, thus wasting valuable fire resources. On anything but interloper I don't have a preference, FM works as well as DP. I never went to BR though with the specific goal to forge something.

Edited January 31, 2022 by ChillPlayer

[Leeanda]

11 hours ago, UpUpAway95 said:

To get to Desolation Point, you still have to run a bit of a wolf gauntlet through Crumbling Highway, along with getting by some wolves by the lighthouse and avoiding the bear, who regularly patrols right close to the Riken.  There's also a lot of really foggy days where you can find yourself exiting the Riken right into that bear's arms.

One thing I give to Forlorn Muskeg is that the workbench and the forge are both outdoors - making cabin fever of no concern there.  DP really doesn't have a great cave to sleep outdoors.  The stone church is about the best, but it's a little too open for me.

ETA:  Link to a video that shows just how easy it can be to kill off all the wolves circling the maintenance shed:

 

Thanks for that. I'll check it out.

[UpUpAway95]

3 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Well I did wonder about that but I hardly see any wolves to be certain.  For example in coastal on this run I have seen only 3 wolves, one that covers the gas station/pier area ,one on the island and one near the PV mine exit. 

Im sure there should be more spawn  areas  than that,Or am I wrong?

There are more of the spawn points active at one time on stalker, especially.  So, you will, for example, more frequently encounter a wolf or two after the Rickety Footbridge on the higher difficulties than on Pilgrim... but that doesn't mean you'll never see him there on Pilgrim.  He's usually not an issue for anyone since he will not cross the Rickety Footbridge and he can't navigate his way down the cliff.  I've never seen a wolf near that cave on top, so it's a great place to sleep off cabin fever.

Also, the higher difficulties have a chance of having more wolves spawn in the pack... so, more frequently, there will be 4 wolves running around the maintenance shed and out to towards pond rather than 2-3 on Pilgrim.  Also, they can spawn at a closer distance to you on Stalker and they will track you from farther away. Overall though, the spawn points are set for each map.  Since Broken Railroad is a small zone with fewer spawn points than the larger zones to start with, they almost all are active even on Pilgrim.  The hills and dips in the terrain can make it difficult to spot wolves that spawn in the woods past the Maintenance Yard.  That's why the person in the video took steps to draw the wolves out of that area and made sure to kill them from a point in the yard where he could see them coming for him.  Getting up on the pipe or the log makes seeing them easier... as does getting up on the rocks on either side of the path that leads down to the maintenance yard.  The running in place glitch is irrelevant to my point... and no, that part doesn't really work anymore.

[Leeanda]

13 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

There are more of the spawn points active at one time on stalker, especially.  So, you will, for example, more frequently encounter a wolf or two after the Rickety Footbridge on the higher difficulties than on Pilgrim... but that doesn't mean you'll never see him there on Pilgrim.  He's usually not an issue for anyone since he will not cross the Rickety Footbridge and he can't navigate his way down the cliff.  I've never seen a wolf near that cave on top, so it's a great place to sleep off cabin fever.

Also, the higher difficulties have a chance of having more wolves spawn in the pack... so, more frequently, there will be 4 wolves running around the maintenance shed and out to towards pond rather than 2-3 on Pilgrim.  Also, they can spawn at a closer distance to you on Stalker and they will track you from farther away. Overall though, the spawn points are set for each map.  Since Broken Railroad is a small zone with fewer spawn points than the larger zones to start with, they almost all are active even on Pilgrim.  The hills and dips in the terrain can make it difficult to spot wolves that spawn in the woods past the Maintenance Yard.  That's why the person in the video took steps to draw the wolves out of that area and made sure to kill them from a point in the yard where he could see them coming for him.  Getting up on the pipe or the log makes seeing them easier... as does getting up on the rocks on either side of the path that leads down to the maintenance yard.  The running in place glitch is irrelevant to my point... and no, that part doesn't really work anymore.

There are  obviously more wolves than on pilgrim then. I'm lucky to find 4 on the entire map!  I didn't even know that you could get up on that "pipe" btw🙂  

The only thing I can do is try either voyager or a custom run to see how I go with it. Then I might change  forges from Broken Railroad but only if there's a better all round option. Taking into consideration the food, safety and sleeping situations. I already use the bear roll but it's a lot easier to get on pilgrim !🙂 

But I might wait to do that until some of the bugs have been fixed. Especially after watching the bear hunt at the hide,!

[UpUpAway95]

6 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

There are  obviously more wolves than on pilgrim then. I'm lucky to find 4 on the entire map!  I didn't even know that you could get up on that "pipe" btw🙂  

The only thing I can do is try either voyager or a custom run to see how I go with it. Then I might change  forges from Broken Railroad but only if there's a better all round option. Taking into consideration the food, safety and sleeping situations. I already use the bear roll but it's a lot easier to get on pilgrim !🙂 

But I might wait to do that until some of the bugs have been fixed. Especially after watching the bear hunt at the hide,!

The hide works at little, but the bear can decide to path up steps on occasion.  I like to shoot the bears once from range and then get out of their patrol zone and let them bleed out on their own.  As long as they're leaving a blood trail after you shoot them once, they will eventually die (unless you trigger a reset bug by going through a loading zone).  As I said before, if left on his own to calm down (i.e. go back to a walk and resume his patrol) as he bleeds out, he will usually die either out on the pond or on the path he takes to his den or in his den... and you don't have any problem finding him since his patrol range is quite small.  By comparison, the bear that patrols around the PV farmhouse actually has a very large patrol area and can die, for example, near the falls on the way to Pensive Pond just as easily as he can die in the woods closer to PV Barn or in the yard next to the Farmhouse.  I still use the same strategy, allowing him to calm down and resume his patrol as he bleeds and never repeatedly shooting the bear (which is, to me, basically a waste of ammo).  However, in PV, I often need the aid of the crows to find his corpse.  In Broken Railroad, I always find him quickly without worrying about the crow sounds.

[Leeanda]

3 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

The hide works at little, but the bear can decide to path up steps on occasion.  I like to shoot the bears once from range and then get out of their patrol zone and let them bleed out on their own.  As long as they're leaving a blood trail after you shoot them once, they will eventually die (unless you trigger a reset bug by going through a loading zone).  As I said before, if left on his own to calm down (i.e. go back to a walk and resume his patrol) as he bleeds out, he will usually die either out on the pond or on the path he takes to his den or in his den... and you don't have any problem finding him since his patrol range is quite small.  By comparison, the bear that patrols around the PV farmhouse actually has a very large patrol area and can die, for example, near the falls on the way to Pensive Pond just as easily as he can die in the woods closer to PV Barn or in the yard next to the Farmhouse.  I still use the same strategy, allowing him to calm down and resume his patrol as he bleeds and never repeatedly shooting the bear (which is, to me, basically a waste of ammo).  However, in PV, I often need the aid of the crows to find his corpse.  In Broken Railroad, I always find him quickly without worrying about the crow sounds.

Im having issues with the bears disappearing ,I have since the update. It has been reported but when it gets fixed is anyone's guess.

[UpUpAway95]

Just now, Leeanda said:

Im having issues with the bears disappearing ,I have since the update. It has been reported but when it gets fixed is anyone's guess.

I've only had one bear disappear in Broken Railroad and that was before Perilous Constraint.  I did eventually find him - he had fallen beneath the ice on the pond such that I could not see it.  I only found him because, on walking across the pond, I happened to get a flash of the text as my cursor happened to scroll over that exact spot.  Right now, lots of things are despawning or not spawning as they should.  On three of my loot runs, the corpse that spawns in with the knife and usually a backpack didn't spawn (even though I was getting to all 3 of his possible locations in the zone on Day 1).  What I would find is just the knife lying by itself in the snow.  To explain, I've done maybe 50 runs in Broken Railroad since this is the zone I use to test various aspects of the Custom sliders, so I have several of the loot patterns well memorized.  The guy with the knife (on all difficulties below interloper) will spawn in 1 of three locations:  sitting against the rock near the place you deploy the rope to get to down into the ravine; in the hunting blind, or in the cave behind the hunting blind.  This is a guaranteed knife in the zone on those difficulties.  Similarly, the hatchet will always spawn loose next to the campfire, which will always spawn in the zone but in three possible locations.  Of course, you can get more knives or hatchets to spawn randomly in containers in the zone, but 1 of each is always guaranteed.  On interloper, that corpse usually doesn't spawn.  The campfire often does spawn, but there will usually only be a food item or a clothing item beside it (provided you get there before the decay rate takes it out of the picture).

[Leeanda]

4 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

I've only had one bear disappear in Broken Railroad and that was before Perilous Constraint.  I did eventually find him - he had fallen beneath the ice on the pond such that I could not see it.  I only found him because, on walking across the pond, I happened to get a flash of the text as my cursor happened to scroll over that exact spot.  Right now, lots of things are despawning or not spawning as they should.  On three of my loot runs, the corpse that spawns in with the knife and usually a backpack didn't spawn (even though I was getting to all 3 of his possible locations in the zone on Day 1).  What I would find is just the knife lying by itself in the snow.  To explain, I've done maybe 50 runs in Broken Railroad since this is the zone I use to test various aspects of the Custom sliders, so I have several of the loot patterns well memorized.  The guy with the knife (on all difficulties below interloper) will spawn in 1 of three locations:  sitting against the rock near the place you deploy the rope to get to down into the ravine; in the hunting blind, or in the cave behind the hunting blind.  This is a guaranteed knife in the zone on those difficulties.  Similarly, the hatchet will always spawn loose next to the campfire, which will always spawn in the zone but in three possible locations.  Of course, you can get more knives or hatchets to spawn randomly in containers in the zone, but 1 of each is always guaranteed.  On interloper, that corpse usually doesn't spawn.  The campfire often does spawn, but there will usually only be a food item or a clothing item beside it (provided you get there before the decay rate takes it out of the picture).

Thanks for the info. 

But I meant they're disappearing while alive and the tracks too! I've shot several and tried to track them only for them to vanish completely. 

[UpUpAway95]

5 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

Thanks for the info. 

But I meant they're disappearing while alive and the tracks too! I've shot several and tried to track them only for them to vanish completely. 

Interesting.. The tracks and blood trails often just vanish, particularly if you're following a ways behind them.  Sometimes they just deviate 10 feet or so to the side of the path you're following.... usually this happens if the bear was on track to run right into a tree (but the tracks don't reflect him actually going around the tree).  My questions about this were answered in part in Bleak Inlet, when I saw a bear actually climb up the tree and then climb down on the far side of it.  I posted a video of it here on this site sometime last year.

The bear itself disappearing while alive is something I've not noted... reset bug on steroids, perhaps?  In Broken Railroad, he usually spawns in his cave and starts walking towards the lake.  You can often spot his tracks right at the entrance to his cave leading off towards the lake and those tracks usually disappear fairly quickly... since they just let you know there is a bear in the area.

[Leeanda]

38 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

Interesting.. The tracks and blood trails often just vanish, particularly if you're following a ways behind them.  Sometimes they just deviate 10 feet or so to the side of the path you're following.... usually this happens if the bear was on track to run right into a tree (but the tracks don't reflect him actually going around the tree).  My questions about this were answered in part in Bleak Inlet, when I saw a bear actually climb up the tree and then climb down on the far side of it.  I posted a video of it here on this site sometime last year.

The bear itself disappearing while alive is something I've not noted... reset bug on steroids, perhaps?  In Broken Railroad, he usually spawns in his cave and starts walking towards the lake.  You can often spot his tracks right at the entrance to his cave leading off towards the lake and those tracks usually disappear fairly quickly... since they just let you know there is a bear in the area.

This is a definite bug. The bear had nowhere to hide or bump into apart from a small pile of snow outside PV farmhouse (front side)  and I was about 5foot away from it too!

[UpUpAway95]

1 hour ago, Leeanda said:

This is a definite bug. The bear had nowhere to hide or bump into apart from a small pile of snow outside PV farmhouse (front side)  and I was about 5foot away from it too!

Was a blizzard starting up?  This sometimes causes animals to suddenly despawn (but I've not noted one actually despawning when only 5 feet away).  Agree, it's a bug for sure.  One to add to the long list related to Perilous Constraint.

[Leeanda]

9 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

Was a blizzard starting up?  This sometimes causes animals to suddenly despawn (but I've not noted one actually despawning when only 5 feet away).  Agree, it's a bug for sure.  One to add to the long list related to Perilous Constraint.

No blizzards or really bad weather when any of them vanished. Three out the four were at PV farm too. The other was at coastal highway. Total waste of ammo and large amounts of time searching for nothing can be very frustrating. Definitely weird bug!. 

I have to say some of the bugs actually make it more fun and challenging especially in the late game but not when you need the food etc...  

HTL did say it might be related to another bug, I'm guessing the despawning carcasses.

Edited January 31, 2022 by Leeanda

[piddy3825]

9 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Well I did wonder about that but I hardly see any wolves to be certain.  For example in coastal on this run I have seen only 3 wolves, one that covers the gas station/pier area ,one on the island and one near the PV mine exit. 

Im sure there should be more spawn  areas  than that,Or am I wrong?

I think your observations are  accurate, there probably should be a couple more spawn areas.  Like down by the bridge near the fishing camp for example and definitely by the log float area.  I always see them around Jackrabbit island too.  Wolf patrol packs also seem to increase the number of wolves in the pack as the difficulity level increases.  When I'm playing stalker mode on CH I tend to see 4-5 wolves in their respective areas patrolling so yes the threat level does go up but their attack behavior becomes fairly predictable making it easier to avoid them when your traveling.  They dont appear each day so part of the challenge is learning the timetable of their appearances and using the terrain accordingly.  

You might want to check out some discussion threads by @ManicManiac, who has written some really good posts on how to avoid wolves and survive.  The biggest single bit of advice that has paid dividends over and over and over is to avoid carrying any kind of meat or fish when you are out exploring.  The scent meter is your first indicator of vulnerability.  The stronger the scent meter signal, the further away the wolf can detect you.  

[turtle777]

I forgot to mention: There is a cave close to Spence's, so one can easily craft at Spence's, but then go and sleep in the Cave, potentially not needing to see a fire going all night.

 

-t

[Leeanda]

34 minutes ago, piddy3825 said:

I think your observations are  accurate, there probably should be a couple more spawn areas.  Like down by the bridge near the fishing camp for example and definitely by the log float area.  I always see them around Jackrabbit island too.  Wolf patrol packs also seem to increase the number of wolves in the pack as the difficulity level increases.  When I'm playing stalker mode on CH I tend to see 4-5 wolves in their respective areas patrolling so yes the threat level does go up but their attack behavior becomes fairly predictable making it easier to avoid them when your traveling.  They dont appear each day so part of the challenge is learning the timetable of their appearances and using the terrain accordingly.  

You might want to check out some discussion threads by @ManicManiac, who has written some really good posts on how to avoid wolves and survive.  The biggest single bit of advice that has paid dividends over and over and over is to avoid carrying any kind of meat or fish when you are out exploring.  The scent meter is your first indicator of vulnerability.  The stronger the scent meter signal, the further away the wolf can detect you.  

Thanks for the info. I thought my runs were very quiet,  at least on the wolf front anyway. Weird run this one, i have more bears than wolves! I'll check out the threads and probably a few ytube vids too. I obviously need all the help I can get. Lol ☺   I might attempt voyager when I finally get my fire badge. Only a couple hundred more fires to go.. 

Plus it might be an idea to wait til some of the bugs have been fixed.

 

[UpUpAway95]

10 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Well I did wonder about that but I hardly see any wolves to be certain.  For example in coastal on this run I have seen only 3 wolves, one that covers the gas station/pier area ,one on the island and one near the PV mine exit. 

Im sure there should be more spawn  areas  than that,Or am I wrong?

Out of curiosity, I've started a run in Broken Railroad on Pilgrim today.  I spawned at the end of the pond beyond the bridge and, as I walked towards the bridge, there were two wolves patroling on the pond.  I encountered another one near the rope mount to get into the ravine and a fourth at the fence entrance to the maintenance yard.  There was also one patrolling and killing off all the rabbits around the hunting lodge (which is where I am currently riding out the first blizzard of the save).  The moose was also up by the hunting lodge and I could see the bear patrolling on the pond below.

It's been awhile since I booted up a standard Pilgrim setting, but it seemed pretty normal to my recollections.  I expect to encounter another two as I work my way towards Forlorn Muskeg.  Before I leave the zone, I'll also make a loop over the Rickety Footbridge to collect the birch saplings there, but I don't really expect to find that wolf up there on Pilgrim.  IIRC, that area on Pilgrim has usually just had rabbits. 

[Leeanda]

2 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

Out of curiosity, I've started a run in Broken Railroad on Pilgrim today.  I spawned at the end of the pond beyond the bridge and, as I walked towards the bridge, there were two wolves patroling on the pond.  I encountered another one near the rope mount to get into the ravine and a fourth at the fence entrance to the maintenance yard.  There was also one patrolling and killing off all the rabbits around the hunting lodge (which is where I am currently riding out the first blizzard of the save).  The moose was also up by the hunting lodge and I could see the bear patrolling on the pond below.

It's been awhile since I booted up a standard Pilgrim setting, but it seemed pretty normal to my recollections.  I expect to encounter another two as I work my way towards Forlorn Muskeg.  Before I leave the zone, I'll also make a loop over the Rickety Footbridge to collect the birch saplings there, but I don't really expect to find that wolf up there on Pilgrim.  IIRC, that area on Pilgrim has usually just had rabbits. 

That's odd. I've never had one near the rickety bridge, the last two runs I've had none between FM exit and the road above the maintenance yard. There's one round the back of the yard, one on each of the lakes/ponds and that's it for wolves. The bear is always there but the moose I've only seen once before it vanished in a blizzard and never came back.

[UpUpAway95]

13 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

That's odd. I've never had one near the rickety bridge, the last two runs I've had none between FM exit and the road above the maintenance yard. There's one round the back of the yard, one on each of the lakes/ponds and that's it for wolves. The bear is always there but the moose I've only seen once before it vanished in a blizzard and never came back.

As I mentioned, I'm not expecting that wolf to be there on Pilgrim.  He's usually there on Stalker and on Interloper though.  I expect the moose will have despawned now that the blizzard has hit and won't be there anymore when I exit the hunting lodge.  I'm kicking myself for that because the rifle and 6 rounds did spawn in the hunting lodge and I could have had an early shot at him if I hadn't taken time to loot the entire lodge before trying to go back outside.  However, since that spawn point for the moose is active, he should reappear in a few days if I spend some time down below in the maintenance shed or if I head out to Forlorn Muskeg for a bit.

The heavy hammer didn't spawn in Broken Railroad this time, so I'll have to head to FM to forge and, if I find two near that forge (which is common when Baseline Resources are set to "very high" as in Pilgrim), bring one back to Broken Railroad... however, I really don't plan to play this save for that long anyways.

Edited January 31, 2022 by UpUpAway95

[Leeanda]

7 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

As I mentioned, I'm not expecting that wolf to be there on Pilgrim.  He's usually there on Stalker and on Interloper though.  I expect the moose will have despawned now that the blizzard has hit and won't be there anymore when I exit the hunting lodge.  I'm kicking myself for that because the rifle and 6 rounds did spawn in the hunting lodge and I could have had an early shot at him if I hadn't taken time to loot the entire lodge before trying to go back outside.  However, since that spawn point for the moose is active, he should reappear in a few days if I spend some time down below in the maintenance shed.

Well I hope you get him back. It's a lot of food and it'll be a quick way to get the satchel!  I haven't seen him there for about 5 runs despite the markings always being there. That's why I always go for the bear. It's a great spot behind the lodge for a sniper shot!🙂

[twyn1]

Not a fan of Forlorn Muskeg at all, and will avoid staying there for any length of time. Maybe because it was the place where I first experienced blizzard induced perma-death. Plus, all of that thin ice makes me cringe!

Since I mostly play on Pilgrim & the wolves aren't a concern, I prefer to use the forge on The Riken in DP and I will almost always do a run there to gather loot and spend a few nights in the Lighthouse.

I actually like Broken Railroad too, and have had good luck bagging the moose there, but getting the hammer can be iffy.  Not a fan of sleeping near the dead guys in the Maintenance garage tho.

[UTC-10]

I play in Pilgrim. 

The forge I use will tend to circumstantial.  Availability of wood, coal, and scrap metal would be of major importance, assuming I have the heavy hammer.  I have used the Riken/Desolation Point forge and the Old Spence Family Forge in Forlorn Muskeg but never used the Broken Railroad forge.  I make the effort to keep a couple sets of forging materials at the Riken forge and at the Old Spence forge. 

If the broken railroad bridge got fixed and an area across the river gorge came into play, I might make the effort to bring a couple of sets of forging materials to Broken Railroad, but as a currently dead-end region it would not be worth it not with Old Spence forge one region away. 

 

[peteloud]

I am surprised that there is so much discussion on this issue. For me, I mostly play straight Stalker games, Riken is so much better than FM or BR.  Of course it will be different at othger levels.

It is hassle getting to Spence's Forge in FM because of the wolves.  Once there there are limited coal, scrap, food and lots of wolves.

BR is a hassle as half the times I have wanted to use that forge there was no heavy hammerthere and very limited coal.

Riken, in DP has lots of coal nearby, lots of scrap metal in the ship and nearby factory and I have always found a heavy hammer there.  At first the the food is limted, with only a deer or two, or rabbit, on the nearby island, but is not long before the bear wanders over and can be shot from the safety of Riken.

[Jimmy]

As a regular Interloper, I typically use Spence's forge over the Riken.

Overall, my reason is food. There's just so many cattails along the route, plus two cans of dog food as a freebie which can be opened with no loss once you've forged your knife. Even without counting the deer carcasses, that's tons of calories if you're maintaining well fed in the early stage of the game.

Food is scarce in Desolation Point for the hungry bowless Interloper. There's three to five rabbits near Stone Church if you can avoid attracting the wolf nearby, and it's possible to grab three to five more near Katie's Secluded Corner if you're desperate. That's somewhere in the range of 3,000-4,000 kcal, enough for two days if you subtract the cost of harvesting just the meat. Beyond that, it's dancing with wolves to try and take down a deer on the ice sheet. For me, it's just so much simpler to grab cattails across the Muskeg instead.

The downsides to Spence's forge have already been listed by others here. No close renewable coal besides the Bleak Inlet transition cave. No large volume of scrap metal or cloth nearby. It takes planning to properly use Spence's forge. Still, I've consistently used this forge on most of my successful runs.

My reason against using Desolation Point is due to its isolation. It's a stub on the end of the map with only one connecting region. You need to have a light source to navigate the transition region too. I've typically just hit each loot area in a single trip and never returned.

[turtle777]

5 hours ago, peteloud said:

It is hassle getting to Spence's Forge in FM because of the wolves.  Once there there are limited coal, scrap, food and lots of wolves.

It's possible to go from ML to Spences w/o crossing wolves.

• Wolves close to the tunnel are rare. If they appear, back off into the tunnel, and try again.
• Wolves patrolling the tracks between Poacher's and BR can be circumvented by alternate route over the ice.
• Wolves patrolling close to Spences can be circumvented as well.

I almost never get into a wolf encounter when going to Spences.

The only unpredictable area is between Spences and the caves.

-t

[UpUpAway95]

11 hours ago, turtle777 said:

It's possible to go from ML to Spences w/o crossing wolves.

• Wolves close to the tunnel are rare. If they appear, back off into the tunnel, and try again.
• Wolves patrolling the tracks between Poacher's and BR can be circumvented by alternate route over the ice.
• Wolves patrolling close to Spences can be circumvented as well.

I almost never get into a wolf encounter when going to Spences.

The only unpredictable area is between Spences and the caves.

-t

It is also possible to get into and out of Broken Railroad without tangling with any of the wolves... I've seen videos of many players accomplishing this repeatedly on interloper and during their dead man runs.  Going in during a blizzard will almost assuredly mean you see no wolves en route to the maintenance shed.  I prefer to take them all out on my way into the zone.

For some reason, players like to complain about the wolves in Broken Railroad; but they are no more difficult to deal with than wolves anywhere else on the map and certainly not more difficult than the wolves in the similar narrow stretch that Crumbling Highway is (and it's necessary to get through that section to get to Desolation Point)... and they aren't T-wolves either.

My only point over several posts here has been that the wolves in Broken Railroad are no more "unpredictable" or "scary" than the wolves anywhere else.  They can be dealt with on any level of difficulty by a variety of different strategies.  The terrain around the maintenance yard can make them more difficult to see... but there are also strategies that can enable the player to overcome that issue as well.

Of course, people can choose anyone of the 3 as their favorite... that's just personal taste.  I like staying in the hunting lodge better than the lighthouse or at Spence's.  So that is probably my main reason for preferring Broken Railroad over the others.

Edited February 2, 2022 by UpUpAway95