Stupid things I have done in TLD recently Blog

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I am dumb at times for someone who has a degree from a well respected university and years of experience. I need to write down my stupid mistakes from time to time so I hopefully do not repeat them. Playing TLD is no different:

• I recently took at trip to the summit on TM without any way to make water, no pot, not can, no canned food. Dumb!
• I recently went on a long trek without a hatchet...hard to live without fire or water...I know there are ways to get both without a hatchet, but it makes life easier in TLD
• I got attacked by 2 wolves when heading from Crystal Lake to snag the items in an airline crate; opened the crate; gathered some wood; only to finally realize that I was almost bled out! Made it to that little cave just in time to heal up and sleep...think I was at about 5% life left...why I did not notice I was bleeding is beyond me...I think when I was attacked the messages were like You got bruised and your clothes are torn, so I did not even THINK (major issue I have) to look at my stats right there in front of me or click on the me icon. I should have gone into the long dark, but barely made it back to the living. Sigh!
• Ever have a couple of beers playing this game...this too can lead to death in game!
• Shot a beer; went into his cave to check to see if he was dead...lucky for me he was...so made several trips and harvested him; stayed inside for a few days cooking him and making his pelt into a nice coat, almost getting cabin fever. Had to sleep outside to avoid it. I think this is the first time I have ever come close to getting it as I spend a lot of time outside.
• I went back to Blackrock...that region and I don't get along...I hate Timberwolves! And that region is rife with them, beer, moose, etc. Left loads of loot there so one day going back to retrieve it all, but must resist temptation to do so.

 

Will add to this as I continue to fumble my way through another survival run.

[acada]

With the wolves and bleeding. I had simillar. Did not notice character is bleeding and went to car and slept. Never woke up.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Latest dumb move was on Rabbit Island. I trekked over to the fishing village and harvested some birch for arrows, cause rabbit island is full of rabbits and I am trying to get my archery to 4 and then 5. So, (see my bear story) I get some birch and take it back to RI and cure it. Great! I spend time running back to the fishing village with my prized birch to make arrows. Make the shafts, and then realize I left the crow feathers on RI in a cabinet. I really hate trekking back and forth because I am too stupid to fully prepare for something! Anyhow, got a bunch of arrows prepared, went back to RI, and ... my bow was at 1%. Sigh...let's find some maple and do this...in a a few days. Cheers all!

[TonyInPleasantValley]

For the second time this run, I was carving a large animal and forgot to look at my hunger meter before starting. Well Fed lost again! Particularly painful when hauling a ton of meat back to the cabin!!

Another dumb thing I keep doing is AFTER I carve a bear or moose...I usually have a routine where I spend a day cooking, making water, and crafting so I have a ton of food and water and am using time wisely by making stuff or fixing stuff or reading stuff. What has happened more than once though, is I lose concentration and eat raw meat instead of cooked cuz I am constantly cooking, dumping, picking up raw to cook and forget which part of the cycle I am in.

I just killed two bears, two wolves, and got a free deer thanks to one of the wolves. Lots of processing to do!

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Today's "duh moment" I was out to get some wood. Did not have a hatchet. Went back to the hut and cannot find it! Searched the scant 3 containers, looked all around the floor, and started to panic a lil. I was just up on the summit trying to get the last few morsels of loot. I FINALLY put a mountaineering rope on the  easy route down in case I want to hunt the beer or rabbits up there. In doing so, I had to drop a lot of items, first in the plane to get down with the rope, and then in Waterfall Cave. I "thought" I picked up all the things I dropped but now wondering, did I leave the hatchet in the cave or tail section? I DO NOT want to trek up that mountain again anytime soon. Thinking, well maybe I hit PV cuz I know I have several squirreled away down there, but after killing/harvesting 2 beers, a moose, 2 deer that wolves were killing but got spooked when I shot the moose, and a couple of wolves that came at me hauling meat and guts, I have a LOT of meat processing to do and fur crafting on the plate. Luckily, I decided to start lifting the piles and found the hatchet under a couple of bottles of water and some cloth. Below is my mess...really wish HL would do something about storage in the game!!

[Leeanda]

Maybe a rock cache would help?

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Thanks a ton!! I never knew I could build a rock cache! Just checked them out on the Fan Forum. That will definitely help!! Learn something new every day...

[Leeanda]

I would've suggested using the drawers in the fishing hut too.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Why didn't I think of that! Lol...simple solutions are the best ones! Thanks again Leeanda! BTW building the rock cache was super simple! One trip around Crystal Lake and I had 58 stones...woot!

Edited February 6, 2023 by TonyInPleasantValley

[Leeanda]

2 minutes ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

Why didn't I think of that! Lol...simple solutions are the best ones! Thanks again Leeanda! BTW building the rock cache was super simple! One trip around Crystal Lake and I had 58 stones...woot!

No worries.😊.    I always think to store things in them and somehow never do😁.   It's certainly one place that you usually need extra storage though.

A few spare stones never hurt either, especially with the bunnies around there.

[Paddyjack]

My latest stupid move is the following:  Goal is to trek to Desolation Point from TWM hut. So prep my gear, and there I go my merry way. Stopped at Molly's farm. Next day, stopped at Jackrabbit Island, sleeping on the bedroll next to the door for convenience. Morning is nice, remnant of an aurora so I decide to leave right away for DP. I go on my merry way, up the transition zone, up the mine..... and then realized I left the bedroll at Jackrabbit Island. Not dramatic because I can sleep on beds at the lighthouse and other places, but still.... so dumb. Thankfully I remembered there is often a bedroll at the church so I went there first, and yes, indeed, there was

[hozz1235]

33 minutes ago, Paddyjack said:

left the bedroll

I think we're all guilty of this one (many times over!).

[Leeanda]

Yep!   Marsh ridge.  By the time I realised it was ruined...   Good job it was pilgrim and I'd been staying at camp office for a while.

Now I double check before I go anywhere.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Wow! I was just logging in here to post that is EXACTLY what I just did. Wasn't a forgot either...you know when you open a container, the first item highlighted is usually the bedroll right? So I was on TWM, prepping to go to Ash Canyon, and I heard that noise when you move something from your inventory to the storage right? I thought, that was weird, I don't see anything missing. Guess what, it was my bedroll. So not realizing it, I make my way out. BEAUTIFUL day on TWM, I make it over to the cave in no time, over to AC, and head up to the top heading to the mine, expecting to stay in that cave before descending. I am dead tired after the trek, no way to make it down the rope and I am at 45 kilos so way overloaded for the descent. Panic sets in when I reach the cave and I discover I have no roll!! So I decide to scoot over to Miner's Folly, but get lost and cannot remember the route because I am in a panic. Doh! I just accepted I am going to die. I am so tired, turned red on energy, and am trudging back to the mine. I suddenly remembered a Youtube video where a dude slid down to the mine, and thought this is my ONLY possible chance. I slide down, so tired I can barely move, make it into the mine, make it to the bed, and pass out...but I am ALIVE! That was the best feeling in the world (of this game anyway). I ended up making it to Miner's Folly, kill the bear for food, got all the goodies, and headed back to the relative safety of Crystal. How I survived my stupidity this time is beyond me!

[TonyInPleasantValley]

So what did I do that was dumb today? I decided to go to the Summit again...which I love to do for some reason even though it scares me to make the trek. Dunno why. I wake up in the hut and it is early, predawn, and foggy on the lake. So I get breakfast, and start looking at my gear, and making prep for the climb. I get rid of stuff I don't need and double check I have everything I do need. No forgetting the bed roll today! Head out as the fog is lifting, bypass Mr. bear, up the rope, into the cave, and take the scenic route. Up the next rope, still feeling good. All the way up to the summit, no bears or wolves, weather near perfect except coming out of the cave from Secluded Shelf...straight up blizzard. Tired anyway so take 4 hours to rest. Pop out and it is gorgeous! To the summit and the tail section. Arrange the loot the way I want into one container for the trip down the next day. Put all the clothes and tools I want to take down with me into a container so it would be easy to grab and go. Head to the cave, light a fire, make water, eat and drink, sleep. Did NOT notice that when I put clothes in the container I had taken off some I was wearing!! Walk out the cave, head to the tail section, notice red on the screen. I am freezing cold!! Hustle to the cave, light a fire, warm up. Whew. What a moron...lolz. Easy trip down, kill the bear...back home with loot. Lucky to be alive!

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Today's "duh" moment: went hunting, looking for moose. None around but there were wolves so why not? Recently got level 5 on the bow so I am gonna bag a wolf with a bow shot!!  I crouch, and move in for the kill. Wolf appears to see me as he starts heading right at me. Perfect! I draw the string and...dumbass me forgot to pack arrows to go bow hunting! I ended up pulling the pistol out and sent him to his grave, but this could have ended much worse for me....sigh.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Oh boy this was a winner! I decide to leave my perch on TWM and head to the dam to get a lot of metal. My goal is to get level 5 on all skills and I need a LOT of ice fishing, so need a lot of metal. I work my way over to the dam and discover that I had NOT left a hacksaw there as I thought I had. No big deal, gotta be one around somewhere so I end of at the Trapper's Cabin, see a bear, and think let's kill that beast! I shoot and he charges, so I head inside. Pop out and hear him but don't see him. He suddenly rears up near me, I shoot again, cocky with my level 5 rifle skills, and he mauls me. Twice! I eventually end him, but he takes some hard won clothes from me and my condition is at level 6, damn near dead! Go to Milton, cuz I know I left a saw there, right. Nope. And I get mauled by wolves about 4 different times. One should not drink and TLD, methinks! Back on my perch, clothes restored, lesson learned...perhaps.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

So still need metal, so after licking my wounds on TWM, I grab one of FOUR hacksaws I have (why?) and head to the Dam. Then I think, wait, there is plenty of metal to be had in PV so head to the Farmhouse and raid the basement stash of shelves and such. Great, got plenty and can make it most of the way back in one day trip. Get to the climb up to TWM and realize I am going to fall if I keep going, so down and into the prepper area...where I see 4 or 5 shelves! I am so bad at this game!! 

Edited February 22, 2023 by TonyInPleasantValley

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I think that keeping this blog has started to make me a better player of this game (famous last words!). I have recently done a much better job of staying alive by doing proper planning. I start with a goal, determine the best way to achieve that goal, plan for as many contingencies as I can, and then proceed. I check and double check my gear before going out, and make sure I know my route and any and all places to run to for sleep or to get away from Mr. Bear. I know that is all pretty much common sense, but seems my making mistakes and taking the time to reflect on them is helping me play smarter. For instance, was just in Blackrock and I was low on food, not out, but not comfortable with my supply. So I quickly snagged a few rabbits,  a part of a wolf, and some fuel for the stove just before 2 days of blizzard weather kicked in. Had I not planned for the worst, hoped for the best, I would likely have starved in BR prison. Still not comfortable with my supply, I ended up leaving before I completed all my goals (make ammo, fix tools) but got enough done that it wasn't a complete waste of a trip from TWM. I got about 48 new rounds and a sharp knife/hatchet/saw out of the trip. Wanted more ammo, but staying longer might have been the end, so glad I got out. No rabbits or wolves were spawning, and it felt like weather was going to keep being bad. Ended up leaving in foggy conditions that I was not comfortable moving around the map in, but got lucky as timber wolves were not spawning either...

[Robbiieeee]

I like knowing I'm not the only one who makes dumb moves. Here's my latest dumb move: 

Got caught in a blizzard when doing an overnight ice fishing expedition in the hut, north side of forsaken airfield by the cabin. Blizzard was facing my entrance so the windchill was affecting me. I was still warm, but I panicked (as Forsaken airfield has notoriously long blizzards) and tried to work out if I had enough fuel to last. On the worst half of my judgement I decided I did not, and my best would be to try and make it back to the cabin. It's a simple diagonal left from the hut to the stairs, follow the stairs to the small cave and you're there. 

Well, silly me forgot that there were 3 wolves circling nearby. I also forgot to drump my fish in the drawers and so I had 3 scent bars. Wolves were in my way and began stalking. Safe to say it did not take long for me to get lost. Freezing, blind, lost and stalked I was eventually attacked and fought off a wolf. My coats scared the other 2 away after my struggle (lucky me). Damaged my bear coat though! (😔). Dropped my fish, ran, hid behind a tree as I had ended up going in the opposite direction. Slept in my bearskin with a fire safe from the wind behind a tree for 1 hour. Woke up to sunrise, blizzard gone, and my ice fishing hut fire still burning. 

I should have been more patient 😂

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I think panic has killed me more in survival than just about everything else, except my own stupidity...lol

[stratvox]

2 hours ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

I think panic has killed me more in survival than just about everything else, except my own stupidity...lol

Oh, one thing I've noticed about TLD. If and when I find myself in a rush in this game, then I know that somewhere along the way I done fscked up.

[xanna]

Harvested the meat from a rabbit, didn't cook it right away, went to harvest the guts, ate the raw rabbit instead 🤢 Went to sleep and lost about 85% condition 😵
A compound of rookie errors:
- harvesting rabbit from inventory instead of dropping it and harvesting from the floor
- not immediately dropping the raw meat
- unconsciously thinking 'click on rabbit' and clicking on the wrong rabbit item
- not taking a reishi/antibiotic before sleeping
- not seeing food poisoning as a serious, life-threatening affliction

This was how I spent the first day of surpassing my PB. Quite the celebration 🤦‍♂️
(I had a handful of herbal teas and got through it. Condition still low now, but I'll be fine.)

[xanna]

1 minute ago, xanna said:

- not taking a reishi/antibiotic before sleeping

My excuse for this is that the description of food poisoning is ambiguous at best, and certainly misleading:
"Something you ate has made you very sick. You will weaken until you treat it, it passes, or you die."
To me, that REALLY reads like you can either treat it or wait for it to pass, as with sprains or pain.

But after almost 1000 hours playing and hanging around the community for a while, I did know to take the medicine first, and really shouldn't have taken the risk, so it's not much of an excuse.

[Leeanda]

We've all done things like that before.  😊