What do think is the most "useless" item in TLD?

[twyn1]

13 hours ago, odizzido said:

Stone cache has to be the most useless thing. It does nothing that I can't already do but it takes effort to make. I find the map is the same, using it only hurts you.

I don't really count the stone cache as an item, since you have to build it.  That said, I generally don't bother with them, unless I have time on my hands and tons of meat/fish to store (yeah -- works fine just dumping it in the snow, but doesn't look very nice).

[Matt Lomax]

Least used are water purification tablets. Just never had a need. Also flashlights. I break them down for scrap cos they irritate me ... rather irrationally, I might add. Does feel good vandalising them actually 🤔

Honestly don't know what I'd do without stone caches. I have the max amount wherever there are fishing huts and while away the wee hours yanking up floppy lunkers from the frigid depths.

 

[Bearimpaler101]

I say the most useless thing is stim (jk) but I think it is the marine flare  is sucks it lasts about as long as my pizza on Fridays and I think that if the timberwolves  are going to be hard make only marine flares scare them not normal ones

 

[Leeanda]

5 hours ago, Bearimpaler101 said:

I say the most useless thing is stim (jk) but I think it is the marine flare  is sucks it lasts about as long as my pizza on Fridays and I think that if the timberwolves  are going to be hard make only marine flares scare them not normal ones

 

They can be used to start fires though if needed. But I see your point.

[SpitzerFX]

I'd definitely say my least used item in a lot of Stalker and Interloper playthroughs has been the water purification tablets. Stones and snares would be a close second since rabbits are never really worth the effort of hunting unless very desperate for food.

[Mistral]

6 hours ago, SpitzerFX said:

Stones and snares would be a close second since rabbits are never really worth the effort of hunting unless very desperate for food.

I would agree that snares are very useless for Interloper and below, I'm not sure I ever used them in those modes... however for Deadman the snares are very crucial to keep up with the calorie intake. And they are very easy to recycle too.

Stones, I used to think they are meaningless as well, but they are actually massively important for wolf scaring / decoying. Can even save you from a moose attack if you're very lucky. So nowadays I always carry few of them wherever I go

Edited February 16, 2022 by Mistral

[UpUpAway95]

7 hours ago, SpitzerFX said:

I'd definitely say my least used item in a lot of Stalker and Interloper playthroughs has been the water purification tablets. Stones and snares would be a close second since rabbits are never really worth the effort of hunting unless very desperate for food.

When do you use a flashlight?  Do you carry it with you just to have it handy if an aurora hits when you're travelling across the map?  At least the water purifications tablets don't weight near as much... and I can always use them if an untimely wind shift blows my fire out before my water boils.

Stones are very useful for distracting wolves.  Snares are great when you set enough of them overnight near your base... passive food capture while you sleep.

Edited February 16, 2022 by UpUpAway95

[SpitzerFX]

7 hours ago, UpUpAway95 said:

When do you use a flashlight?  Do you carry it with you just to have it handy if an aurora hits when you're travelling across the map?  At least the water purifications tablets don't weight near as much... and I can always use them if an untimely wind shift blows my fire out before my water boils.

Stones are very useful for distracting wolves.  Snares are great when you set enough of them overnight near your base... passive food capture while you sleep.

A flashlight is very useful on Interloper, as Aurora-affected wolves are a huge danger and you don't have the benefit of a rifle. That also means I don't have an extra 4kg to carry at all times, so fitting the flashlight into my inventory is much easier. Revolvers and the distress pistol can be very hard to attain, flashlights are generally an easier find, and they're more reliable to scare off the more aggressive Aurora wolves than bullets or flares anyway.

[UpUpAway95]

2 hours ago, SpitzerFX said:

A flashlight is very useful on Interloper, as Aurora-affected wolves are a huge danger and you don't have the benefit of a rifle. That also means I don't have an extra 4kg to carry at all times, so fitting the flashlight into my inventory is much easier. Revolvers and the distress pistol can be very hard to attain, flashlights are generally an easier find, and they're more reliable to scare off the more aggressive Aurora wolves than bullets or flares anyway.

Do you actually carry one around with you?  I've yet to see a streamer in loper who does.  I don't... even in loper.  Easier just to avoid travelling during auroras.

[SpitzerFX]

2 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

Do you actually carry one around with you?  I've yet to see a streamer in loper who does.  I don't... even in loper.  Easier just to avoid travelling during auroras.

I don't like traveling during Auroras on Interloper either, but if I have to, I make sure to have a flashlight with me. I've had too many runs ended by trying to scare off wolves with gunshots or flares only to have them keep charging while under the effect. Flashlights have always seemed to stop them.

[UpUpAway95]

48 minutes ago, SpitzerFX said:

I don't like traveling during Auroras on Interloper either, but if I have to, I make sure to have a flashlight with me. I've had too many runs ended by trying to scare off wolves with gunshots or flares only to have them keep charging while under the effect. Flashlights have always seemed to stop them.

See page 2, 4th post down from the top - Not everyone has the same degree of success as you in fending off aurora wolves with a flashlight. 

The rifle/revolver/bow/flare/torch are all more useful to me simply because I'm more likely to be carrying them (or at least one of them) in the effect I'm caught out when an aurora starts.  I can think of very few instances where I've been forced to leave the safety of my base (or a sub-base) where I might store a flashlight in order to deliberately travel during an aurora. 

Also, I don't generally carry a rifle around either.  The bow and revolver are better weapons for traveling.  I do like using the rifle on bears and moose, but I generally just leave the rifle in the most likely place where I might do this within the region where I find them.

[Bearimpaler101]

I think the most useless item is can opener you can use both a knife and hatchet why do you want more weight?

[I_eat_only_wolf_meat]

13 minutes ago, Bearimpaler101 said:

I think the most useless item is can opener you can use both a knife and hatchet why do you want more weight?

AFAIK, you lose calories (food is lost) opening the cans any other way.  That is, until your cooking skill is high enough.  I forget what level cooking it is, but tat that point you can stop carrying the can opener around.

[Bearimpaler101]

Weird cuz I never carry can opener and it doesn't say it loses any food unless I have to smash it witch I've been doing recently cuz I started interloper in desolation point went to Hibernia processing got the secret bedroll  and the secret food in cans and survived on that and I beat my record of 1 day survival on interloper to 3 in the quonset garage but I used my ☝ flare so if wolf sees me outside the garage I have to rock it in the face hopefully

[UpUpAway95]

2 hours ago, Bearimpaler101 said:

Weird cuz I never carry can opener and it doesn't say it loses any food unless I have to smash it witch I've been doing recently cuz I started interloper in desolation point went to Hibernia processing got the secret bedroll  and the secret food in cans and survived on that and I beat my record of 1 day survival on interloper to 3 in the quonset garage but I used my ☝ flare so if wolf sees me outside the garage I have to rock it in the face hopefully

In Loper, the can opener becomes exceedingly useful for a period of time if you happen to find one before making your forge run to make an improvised knife and hatchet, since smashing a can without having either loses calories and the recycled can.  Having a can opener also saves condition loss on your knife or hatchet, which is 2% per opening at Level 1 if you don't have a can opener in your inventory.  There used to be calorie loss when opening with a hatchet, IIRC; but that no longer appears to be the case.  (I just ran a test today opening the same can of peaches three times right after entering a building and reloading the save... once with only a can opener in inventory, once with only a hatchet in inventory, and once with only a knife in inventory.  My hunger meter arrived at the same point on the circle regardless of the tool used.  The character's cooking skill was at Level 1.)

Edited February 18, 2022 by UpUpAway95

[twyn1]

I use snares all the time. If you are in a place where you can catch an average of 3 rabbits at a time, in close proximity to your base, it does seem to add enough calories compared to what is expended in setting/retrieving and harvesting the carcasses (would need to do some calculations here to be sure). They can be especially useful when weather turns bad, but you can still run out and quickly retrieve/reset.

I often craft extra snares and leave them at places where I can set them if I happen to be spending the night there. 

But the main reason I use them is because ... if I ever do manage to stun and then grab the rabbit in time ... I just cannot wring it's neck. (yes, I know it's just pixels ...)

That's why I'm a Pilgrim ☺️

 

 

[Kranium]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:53 PM, Kranium said:

Back on topic:

 

After levelling up fire skill, the correct answer is tinder.

This is still the correct answer.

 

Flashlights: I stash them when I find them, along corridors I travel frequently. Mostly transition caves. Handy.

[UpUpAway95]

13 hours ago, Kranium said:

This is still the correct answer.

 

Flashlights: I stash them when I find them, along corridors I travel frequently. Mostly transition caves. Handy.

The question, however, does not provide for the condition of it being "after reaching a certain level in the game.  Tinder is essential in the early game (unless the player uses the Fire Master feat), so it cannot be the most useless item in the game overall.  Consider also that the can opener becomes completely useless after you've eaten all the canned goods in the game world (and it starts out being less useful than tinder).  Also, the flare pistol, which becomes completely useless after only 12 shots on Interloper.

Since people keep insisting the flashlight is useful (even though the odds of my ever using it are slim to none), I'll propose a different item - the snow shelter (even though I've continually used the one along the 3-rope climb to the gold mine in Ash Canyon).

Edited February 20, 2022 by UpUpAway95

[Mistral]

On 2/16/2022 at 10:09 PM, SpitzerFX said:

A flashlight is very useful on Interloper, as Aurora-affected wolves are a huge danger and you don't have the benefit of a rifle. That also means I don't have an extra 4kg to carry at all times, so fitting the flashlight into my inventory is much easier. Revolvers and the distress pistol can be very hard to attain, flashlights are generally an easier find, and they're more reliable to scare off the more aggressive Aurora wolves than bullets or flares anyway.

Since when does flashlight spawn on Interloper?

[UTC-10]

In keeping with "it's a situational thing" I have found a use for spray paint that, for me has been useful.  Aside from marking cars and trucks when I salvage the car battery or if there was none, I have found the paint has some use for laying out paths in dark places.  In this latter case, it works in daytime not at night but when one might not want to be constantly using a lantern it helps.  

I laid ↑↓→←  in the cave to Keeper's Pass North though the interior was more luminescent and never completely dark except in sections.  It made walking through the cave easier and kept reminding me where to turn or go. A bit of a relief to see the arrow appear out of the gloom.  

In the Prison main building (I call it the Warden's building because the Warden's office and bunk is in it) I found that I could put down visible ↑↓→←  at/on stairs, turns, places to crouch down, and generally to get me through the dark areas without having to resort to my lantern.  I did use the lantern initially to place the arrows but could then navigate in darn near pitch darkness (during the daytime) without having to resort to the lantern.  I have gotten turned around until I got more familiar with the path, so had to use the lantern momentarily a few times, but that has tailed off.  

I have actually found myself running short of spray paint in Blackrock Mountain region.  😲

[Levelgrinder]

18 hours ago, UTC-10 said:

In keeping with "it's a situational thing" I have found a use for spray paint that, for me has been useful.  Aside from marking cars and trucks when I salvage the car battery or if there was none, I have found the paint has some use for laying out paths in dark places.  In this latter case, it works in daytime not at night but when one might not want to be constantly using a lantern it helps.  

I laid ↑↓→←  in the cave to Keeper's Pass North though the interior was more luminescent and never completely dark except in sections.  It made walking through the cave easier and kept reminding me where to turn or go. A bit of a relief to see the arrow appear out of the gloom.  

In the Prison main building (I call it the Warden's building because the Warden's office and bunk is in it) I found that I could put down visible ↑↓→←  at/on stairs, turns, places to crouch down, and generally to get me through the dark areas without having to resort to my lantern.  I did use the lantern initially to place the arrows but could then navigate in darn near pitch darkness (during the daytime) without having to resort to the lantern.  I have gotten turned around until I got more familiar with the path, so had to use the lantern momentarily a few times, but that has tailed off.  

I have actually found myself running short of spray paint in Blackrock Mountain region.  😲

I use the spraypaint for a similar application, in that I mark a route from the fishing cabins on ML so in the event of a blizzard I can find my way back to the office quickly and safely.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Levelgrinder

[Glflegolas]

Here's my list of the top 5 most useless items.

Car battery. Makes the list as it's the only item in Interloper that has no use whatsoever. You can't even use it as a missile to throw at a pesky bear that's charging at you. If there was some item that you could find/craft so that it charges during the aurora, maybe it would make the flashlight more useful by giving you ~3 flashlight charges per car battery charge?

Ballistic vest. It's just too heavy 99% of the time. However, it can be a game-changer if you're playing Interloper, and especially Deadman. I'm currently using the vest in my No Sleeping Challenge, where getting lost condition back is a rather slow process.

Flashlight. It makes exploring during the aurora really easy, but just too heavy and useless the rest of the time. If the batteries held their charge post-aurora, though... maybe I'd consider using it a bit more often? It'd be nice if you could use the car battery to recharge it a few times if it goes dead before the next aurora.

Water purification tablets. You need a fire to melt snow anyways so why not wait a little longer to make potable water? The only use of these tablets is if your fire gets blown out and you've got some unsafe water lying around your inventory. Or you're in a big rush to go somewhere and don't have the patience to boil your water. I might use tablets once ever 40-50 in-game days on average. Otherwise, I don't.

Painkillers. Most useless item in-game IMO. Pain simply isn't debilitating enough to warrant their use. I'll take them if they're conveniently available, but otherwise... I'll just wait it out.

[Kranium]

On 3/7/2022 at 5:21 PM, Levelgrinder said:

I use the spraypaint for a similar application, in that I mark a route from the fishing cabins on ML so in the event of a blizzard I can find my way back to the office quickly and safely.

I do the exact same thing, mostly in CH. Also in caves and a few spots where I may get caught out in a blizzard.

[UTC-10]

I recall that Raphael had mentioned quite a while ago, when spray paint was introduced, that it would be permanent until episode 4 after which it would presumably fade.  I presumed that it would be used, probably something related to Astrid, for marking resources and such though that never happened in episode 4.  

I have noticed that some  ↑↓→←  I place in the cave between Keeper's Pass South and North have become noticeably dimmer/faded compared to when I first sprayed them.  No current announcement but I wonder if that was happening.  Out in the open I tend to use campfires since they may sink into the ice and snow and rock but they tend to persist better.  

[Strelok]

Quote

On 2/18/2022 at 4:54 PM, I_eat_only_wolf_meat said:

AFAIK, you lose calories (food is lost) opening the cans any other way.  That is, until your cooking skill is high enough.  I forget what level cooking it is, but tat that point you can stop carrying the can opener around.

 

No. You only loose calories if you dont use any tool afaik. And the can opener has a further use even if you have cooking lvl 5. -> You save condition for your knife. -> You save whetstone. The only bad thing is additional 0.25 kg weight.