Game changes are a bit odd

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Been playing since the launch, more or less, taking time off now and again. Just started back up about a month ago with the new update that I was happy to pay for. That said, the game seems a bit out of whack for me. My first run at things, I decided to take it easy and do whatever the second easiest level is called (the owl). Anyhow, I spent 30 hours on the game and was doing well. Clothes were impressive so I could move around a lot, even in a storm, and survived a couple of bear attacks and was able to repair everything. Only issue is, I CANNOT find a rifle! I have started 3 other games after doing dumb things that I know not to do, and have been in a lot of the major areas frantically searching for a rifle SOMEWHERE. Have found 3 or more pistols, multiple flare guns, but not the first rifle. Food has been plentiful but wolves and beer seem to be spawning more often and in multiples. Seems like they put in more food and clothing items, which allows you to move around more and explore, just to be killed by animals because of low powered pistols, low ammo, and no long rifles (and likely because I am taking chances to try and find one)! Have not found one yet! I started each game on random spawns, as I want to find my way over to the new airfield, but want to be challenged in doing so. Current game spawned me in Broken Railroad...checked the hunter's lodge and maintenance sheds thoroughly...no rifle, pistol, or flare! Made my way through Forlorn Muskeg into Mystery Lake...checked all the cabins, camp office, and fishing huts. Found 2 pistols, no rifle. Earlier run, I went through all of Pleasant Valley, Timberwolf, and part of Blackrock...no rifles! Anyone else experiencing a severe lack of rifles in the game or is it just me? Still love the game, but I think the balance is a bit off from where it was...cheers!

[ManicManiac]

RNG... I suppose, sometimes luck just sucks.  
I mean I've been having some hard luck on my current run (but not too rough).
Granted I've only been all over Mystery Lake (more or less)... for weapons, I've found a revolver (a tidy pile of ammunition) and a hunting bow (also a single usable arrow).

Possible that weapon spawns have been "rebalanced" (as well as reshuffled)... but I can't say for certain, since I don't have access to "look under the hood" (so to speak).

But I suppose to your point... no, I've not found a rifle yet.

Edited January 5, 2023 by ManicManiac

[peteloud]

I started a straight Voyager game in Broken Railroad then went to the new regions as soon as possible.  I found a revolver, rifle and bow surprisingly soon.  I can't remember exactly how soon or where but it was probably the quickest that I have ever found them.  I had problem with ammo and arrows.  I had some but with low levels of skill much was wasted.  

[Leeanda]

The tools and weapons have been reduced since the update. The rifle is now a lot rarer but there are more variants of it.it seems you're having pure bad luck finding one so far.   

[hozz1235]

From my observations, at your difficulty, there are 3 zones with guaranteed variant rifle spawns.  Their spawn locations vary within the zone, but you should be able to find one (or all 3!).

[UTC-10]

I recall from commentary from Hinterland that the mix and occurrence of weapons was changed to make revolvers more likely and rifles less likely.  More or less.  There was also some mention of changing the instances of rifle guaranteed spawns in a region.  This would likely be tuned given some experience with how it worked in the game.  

I know that starting from Desolation Point and to Coastal Highway in Pilgrim the first rifle I found was the Barb's rifle variant in Coastal Highway.  So far the ordinary hunting rifle has not turned up.  Got lots of revolver and rifle ammunition.  

 

[ManicManiac]

I like the idea of rifles being harder to find.  I think it adds to that rush of relief when we finally find one...   As well as that feeling of struggle and dread as we're searching & searching and come up short.  

But then, I love this game for the struggle. 🤭

Edited January 5, 2023 by ManicManiac

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I am certain this is correct @UTC-10 as I have played this game a long time and never had trouble finding rifles. FINALLY found one today, Vaughn's Rifle variant, which was a big relief. Feel like I can now finally get going on a decently long survival campaign. I slogged through several large areas that are usually rife with rifles and found one tucked away in an unusual place. So, I think they not only reduced the probability of finding one by reducing the number on the map, but they also may have tucked them in places you really have to explore under ever stone, so to speak, to find. Noticing a lot of changes as others have mentioned. Even things like the internal layout of buildings are different than they were. Finding food and clothing, at least at this level I am playing, are relatively easy compared to before. Have noticed that eating sub-standard food does make you sick more often, especially meat. That is what killed me one time because I didn't believe it would happen again and again and kept eating bear meat that was 53% and getting sick, got worn down, then came the wave after wave of Timberwolves and a blizzard, and Bob's your uncle, slow death that I could not avoid. I knew better but kept going looking for a rifle! Timberwolves ate my supply of pistol and flare ammo, so having that third weapon is a big deal, at least in the somewhat chaotic way I play. I also like to kill bear and moose in this game, so a rifle is a must have along with clothes with cold and armor protection characteristics. Oh, one other thing I saw that was funny...I saw a wolf, so immediately started a fire cuz it seems a lot easier to scare them than before. The wolf came near me, froze, growling. So, I needed water and boiled two cans up while I had the fire. Picked up a torch and tossed it at the wolf, it didn't move. Walked up to it and it was frozen in time. So funny! Cheers all!

[Vhalkyrie]

I came back to the game to check out the Forsaken Airfield.  In my new run, I was quite surprised that I couldn't find a hunting rifle in any of the usual spots.  I just found Vaughn's Rifle.  Do normal rifles still spawn?  I looked all over Mystery Lake and Milton, but did not find a normal variant anywhere.  I just started a new game, so I haven't gone to any other maps other than those two.  I've found 5 revolvers, though.

I'd like a normal variant to skill up on because I understand that Vaughn's has a faster degrade rate, so I'd like to save it for later when I have level 5 rifle skill.  I'm thinking of using a normal variant until it breaks, and save the rifle cleaning kits for the variants.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Vhalkyrie

[Alone]

On 1/5/2023 at 1:57 AM, TonyInPleasantValley said:

Been playing since the launch, more or less, taking time off now and again. Just started back up about a month ago with the new update that I was happy to pay for. That said, the game seems a bit out of whack for me. My first run at things, I decided to take it easy and do whatever the second easiest level is called (the owl). Anyhow, I spent 30 hours on the game and was doing well. Clothes were impressive so I could move around a lot, even in a storm, and survived a couple of bear attacks and was able to repair everything. Only issue is, I CANNOT find a rifle! I have started 3 other games after doing dumb things that I know not to do, and have been in a lot of the major areas frantically searching for a rifle SOMEWHERE. Have found 3 or more pistols, multiple flare guns, but not the first rifle. Food has been plentiful but wolves and beer seem to be spawning more often and in multiples. Seems like they put in more food and clothing items, which allows you to move around more and explore, just to be killed by animals because of low powered pistols, low ammo, and no long rifles (and likely because I am taking chances to try and find one)! Have not found one yet! I started each game on random spawns, as I want to find my way over to the new airfield, but want to be challenged in doing so. Current game spawned me in Broken Railroad...checked the hunter's lodge and maintenance sheds thoroughly...no rifle, pistol, or flare! Made my way through Forlorn Muskeg into Mystery Lake...checked all the cabins, camp office, and fishing huts. Found 2 pistols, no rifle. Earlier run, I went through all of Pleasant Valley, Timberwolf, and part of Blackrock...no rifles! Anyone else experiencing a severe lack of rifles in the game or is it just me? Still love the game, but I think the balance is a bit off from where it was...cheers!

Same problem here. No rifles anywhere  At first I thought: a bug but then I see your comment.

[Nicholai]

So far, I have surveyed ML, CH, DP, TM, PV and Blackrock and the only rifle I found was in CH (not counting unique rifles). The number of their cartridges seem to be decreased as well. Still, I found plenty of revolvers and their rounds. 

Also, I am not sure whether each region contains good number of a specific kind of research books or just the number of some books were increased, and some were decreased. All these six regions, I found plenty of rifle & revolver and gunsmithing books but only one mending, surviving the outdoors and fishing book. 

 

[Pillock]

I've found 2 rifles in the 3 regions I've explored so far (DP, CH, PV). I've found about 8 pistols! I'm playing on Medium "Base Loot" (to enable hatchets and knives), with all the other loot spawn options set to produce minimum quantities. I've got about 70 revolver shells in storage and maybe 20-30ish rifle shells.

Personally, I think that's a bit too much for my liking, but I can't turn down the loot spawns any further without disabling hatchets and knives, which I don't want to do.

I have noticed that guns are spawning in some different places from before, as far as I can remember.

[peteloud]

When people write about the problems of finding or not finding equipment it is important to mention the level at which they are playing.  At one level a resource might be abundant, at another level it might be very rare.  This particularly applies to key resources such as rifles, pistols, axes etc.

[ManicManiac]

@peteloud
Fair enough... my reference point is my current Stalker run.
 

(though I'm not writing about problems finding equipment... on the contrary, I like it )

Edited January 6, 2023 by ManicManiac

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I went and read/re-read all the Hinterland press releases and guess I missed some, because the answer to my original question(s) were all there, lol. So, I spent some time visiting all the Mystery Lake buildings, or at least most of them, got my clothes up to snuff and headed over to Pleasant Valley. First stop was Signal Hill to get supplies and rest, however I still had some stamina and day light, so I pushed down to the Barn and Farmhouse. Cleaned out the meager offerings of the Barn and being really tired headed for the good ol' Farmhouse. As I am walking there, I see a bear in the distance off to the left in the orchard. So got to the front porch and watched and waited. Soon the bear peaked a snow drift. Being tired, I could hold the rifle for no more than a 4 or 5 count and was not going to be accurate but took a shot anyway and hit the bear! Immediately dived inside, did a scan for initial loot, and upstairs for bed. Next morning, I opened the front door, weary that the bear was around as has happened to me before. No sound other than a distant wolf. Phew. So, I pop to the top of the nearest snow drift and there is a dead bear near the car!! I don't think I have 1 shot a bear more than one other time in a hundred encounters! Not sure if it was just pure luck (as opposed to my bad luck finding a rifle) or if Vaugh's is a better rifle. Only time will tell but will report back my findings IF the game doesn't kill me first, 😄.  Anyhow, need to go back and listen to the episode that say which region connects to the new airfield and try to find my way over there. Excited to see the new area, explore it, and learn it like the back of my hand as I have most of the other regions. Oh, also I picked up some Ski Boots in the ML region. Left them there as at 4 kilos the juice isn't worth the squeeze, but they are nice looking boots.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Just finished the looooooooooooong trek from Pleasant Valley to the new airfield and man was that a hike! The airfield is massive! 

[Alone]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:47 AM, Alone said:

Same problem here. No rifles anywhere  At first I thought: a bug but then I see your comment.

Update: so far I went to: Desolation Point / Crumbling Highway / Coastal Highway / Ravine / Mystery Lake / Winding River / Pleasent Valley / Mountain Town. Right now, I´m in Timberwolf Mountain and still no rifles what so ever. That´s a new record for me. I have over 700 hours on my previous survival run, so I know the maps pretty well. By now, I´m sure that it´s a bug

Oh, and I´ve found 6 revolvers so far. 

 

[Blizzard Walker]

1 hour ago, Alone said:

Update: so far I went to: Desolation Point / Crumbling Highway / Coastal Highway / Ravine / Mystery Lake / Winding River / Pleasent Valley / Mountain Town. Right now, I´m in Timberwolf Mountain and still no rifles what so ever. That´s a new record for me. I have over 700 hours on my previous survival run, so I know the maps pretty well. By now, I´m sure that it´s a bug

Oh, and I´ve found 6 revolvers so far. 

 

Alone, I think it is just bad luck you have not found a rifle so far.  In CH, PV, Winding River and ML I have found 2 (standard and Barb's) and sometime like 4 revolvers.  So far I have found enough arrows to equip myself with 12 without having visited a forge.

Revolver ammunition is seemingly abundant with rifle ammunition less so. My estimate is a ratio of 3 to 1 in favor of revolver ammunition.

On my pre-update run I commonly left the rifle at a base and carried only the revolver and bow.  The revolver and bow at skill level 5 are formidable weapons as crouching makes animals into easy targets.  A revolver need not hit a wolf to scare them away...buying you time to skedaddle.  The rifle would be preferable if you stumble into a bear but a flare gun would work just as well. I prefer the bow for bear hunting, always shooting from safety and never engaging a bear in a fair fight.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Rifle scarcity is not a bug, see this https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/305620/view/3634998820323849895 which states: 

• Weapons have had a significant rebalance – rifles are much rarer so they are no longer guaranteed in every region. Revolvers are now more common, and Distress Pistols are also found in a few more places than before.

I thought it was a bug at first, but others said they had changed it and surely they have. I find lots of pistols/flare guns/bows now, but so far have only found one rifle and have been almost over the complete map. They are also hiding them well so you really have to look for them.

[Admin]

On 1/13/2023 at 10:06 AM, TonyInPleasantValley said:

Rifle scarcity is not a bug, see this https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/305620/view/3634998820323849895 which states: 

• Weapons have had a significant rebalance – rifles are much rarer so they are no longer guaranteed in every region. Revolvers are now more common, and Distress Pistols are also found in a few more places than before.

I thought it was a bug at first, but others said they had changed it and surely they have. I find lots of pistols/flare guns/bows now, but so far have only found one rifle and have been almost over the complete map. They are also hiding them well so you really have to look for them.

This is correct. Some of it is luck as well. There is more helpful information in the Update Notes about the overall Loot Refresh as well: 

 

[TonyInPleasantValley]

So an update, I have explored almost 70% of the world and found exactly three rifles! A standard rifle, Vaughn's. and Barb's. I left the standard because I just couldn't take on the weight where it was, but have both Vaughn's and Barb's with me now. I only take one of them out of the cabin, and that is Barb's because it is more durable and I like the front site a lot better. I have killed 2 bears with a single shot from that rifle as well, admittedly they were both close up shots around the Quonset hut, but I will take them! I have gotten very adept at using the pistol, which I never used before the update. Now I carry a flare and pistol everywhere, where I never did before. I almost always use a pistol against wolves, and have killed 75 of them in this manner.  I like the newer rifles and am hoping there will be more customized weapons in future updates. Something with a scope would be FANTASTIC!

[hozz1235]

15 hours ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

So an update, I have explored almost 70% of the world and found exactly three rifles! A standard rifle, Vaughn's. and Barb's. I left the standard because I just couldn't take on the weight where it was, but have both Vaughn's and Barb's with me now. I only take one of them out of the cabin, and that is Barb's because it is more durable and I like the front site a lot better. I have killed 2 bears with a single shot from that rifle as well, admittedly they were both close up shots around the Quonset hut, but I will take them! I have gotten very adept at using the pistol, which I never used before the update. Now I carry a flare and pistol everywhere, where I never did before. I almost always use a pistol against wolves, and have killed 75 of them in this manner.  I like the newer rifles and am hoping there will be more customized weapons in future updates. Something with a scope would be FANTASTIC!

There is one more rifle variant you can find (my preferred one).

 

https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Curator's_Rifle