Any suggestions for how to stay alive in Bleak Inlet?

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I just spent an inordinate amount of time moving stuff from TWM to BI (well Ravine...still need to move from my rock cache to BI). I moved coal, shells, gunpowder, cloth, scrap metal, lead, etc. I made a rut with all that hauling. Hanging out in the Cannery Worker Residence currently trying to get some supplies in place and figure out my next move. First morning, I walk out and a bear roars at me. Great! I shot him and now have meat, so that was a win for me, loss for him, but another will come and another and another. Not sure I want to deal with bear attacks every couple of days. Timberwolves are all over this area too. Also brought a stash of marine flares for them, but may need more. Should I move to the cannery and make that main camp, or stay here and slug things to the cannery over time? Thoughts?

[Leeanda]

How about the washed out trailers?  

[ManicManiac]

If you feel you have enough cartridges, then I'd say you'd be in a good spot to head out to the cannery and camp out in the break room.  However, while you are there, just be cautious. 

Below is advice in taking on the cannery... (obscured for those who might want to figure out their own strategy - this is just what I find works best for me)

 

The timber wolves will come in waves... triggered by reaching certain points while trying to navigate the "jungle gym" style maze towards that workshop.
As you progress, little by little more packs will come to harass you.  If you take it one bit at a time (stopping progress when you spot another pack), then it's more manageable.  After cutting down each pack as it arrives (one at a time).  You can keep from getting overwhelmed.  If you are very careful, you can even keep from being spotted... which makes it even easier to thin the pack down to one (when the remaining t-wolf will not have the courage to harass us on their own).

Edited March 6, 2023 by ManicManiac

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Thanks for the advice. I guess I first need to move all the raw ingredients I brought closer to the cannery so I can make more ammo and rework worn equipment. Not sure I have enough pistol ammo on me to get where I need to be, so might need another trip back to TWM to get more ammo. I don't remember this being as hard as it seems, but think I was only here in story mode which might be vastly different than survival? I think in story mode I made main camp in the washed out trailers so I could stay away from most of the animals, but have a convenient run to the cannery...hmm...decisions, decisions...

[Leeanda]

Flares and torches work just as well ,if you can make a mad dash to the rope climb then you could save ammo.   I find our furry friend inside more of a problem..

[hozz1235]

What is your overall objective?

[Glacia]

Im currently living on Bleak Inlet as my long term base for 1000 days challenge.

I decided to move to this region for the challenge and try something different to fight boredom on my run. I was not expecting anything special. but i was so wrong!

First of all, the only suitable safe house in the region it's the small cabin near the fallen lighthouse, and it's very good.

Learn to survive on this region can be tricky and complex, but very rewarding , this is how i survived more than 200 days here:}

- 50-75% Of your food will always come from fishing. The fishing cabin near the cannery worker residences it's your main source of food, all sticks, wood and fire resources should be used on long fishing sessions. Also, the region features several clear mornings (Maglens can be used to start fires on the fishing cabin).

- Hunt the bear from the safety of the residences, bait him near the house, shoot his head and quickly enter the house. Leave after 10 seconds, repeat until he dies. The bear it's a very good source of food and resources, and it's the only danger on the residences.

Timberwolves never roam to the cannery residences, if the bear is down, the place is 100% safe from predators.

- There are 6 pieces of respawning coal (Yes, outdoors) near the burned residence. Respawn is about 10-15 days.

- Gather as much sticks as you can from the surroundings, you can't venture too far without entering timberwolves territory, make safe and quick trips!

- Beachcomb! , 3 spots near your base, near the fishing cabins and the fallen lighthouse. This is the best and quick spot for beachcombing in the entire game, and you can get a lot of good items.

- There are rabbits and one deer spawning at the lighthouse, hunt them if they are up. You can setup Snares on the stairs that lead to the lighthouse, they usually works and catch some rabbits.

- Keep the cannery clean, you can only use the workbench and miling machine here. You are not gonna travel a lot to the cannery, but keep the place safe in case you need.

- You can use the 6-stove at the fallen lighthouse to boil massive water supplies or sometimes even to cook faster the bear/fishing meat.

And about the timberwolves (Tested on interloper settings):

* The respawn time of the timberwolves it's incredible high and if you clear a spot (Most of the time, the cannery), it becomes completely safe for several days.  The best way to disperse a pack it's using the few seconds where the wolf howls, land an arrow straight to his head.

* Don't kill lone wolfs, they always free from you. If you kill them, you just make the respawn of the whole pack faster.

* Try to exploit terrain, climb to small corners of places where the wolfs can't reach you. You can dispatch the pack killing them with arrows this way, however is not always easy due to the erratic movement of the wolves.

* To clean larger groups of timberwolves, the best idea is carry with you enough kerosene (0.5 lts at least) and some wood or sticks. Setup a quick campfire (If it's possible, windshielded) and try to fight them using the campfire as a limited protection.

* Never underestimate them, always carry some bandages with you!

Once you clear a spot from timberwolves, the spot becomes safe for sticks runs or overall exploration!

 

And of course since it's a hard region, you should bring several resources before starting to long-term:

- A LOT of fishing tackles.

- Prybar for the fishing hole.

- Enough cloth pieces for repairs or bandages.

- Common high tier clothing, weapons, resources, etc.

[ManicManiac]

2 hours ago, Glacia said:

* The respawn time of the timberwolves it's incredible high and if you clear a spot (Most of the time, the cannery), it becomes completely safe for several days.

* Don't kill lone wolfs, they always free from you. If you kill them, you just make the respawn of the whole pack faster.

Solid advice.  ^

(again obscured in case folks want to discover their own strategies...) 

 

I'd previously found that if we leave just one member of a pack behind... respawns are much much slower, and areas can stay much safer for much longer.

I would also note that packs do migrate from place to place.  So if you only thin out one pack... then it will appear that the pack has respawned in just two or three days (when in actuality packs have essentially migrated and switched territories - I had tracked this pattern until all extant packs were all reduced to just one member and even two weeks later no new packs had yet repopulated). 

*(To be clear... I'm referring very specifically to the Timber Wolves in these posts - regular black wolves still behave as they always have)

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by ManicManiac

[Glacia]

1 hour ago, ManicManiac said:

I'd previously found that if we leave just one member of a pack behind... respawns are much much slower, and areas can stay much safer for much longer.

I would also note that packs do migrate from place to place.  So if you only thin out one pack... then it will appear that the pack has respawned in just two or three days (when in actuality packs have essentially migrated and switched territories - I had tracked this pattern until all extant packs were all reduced to just one member and even two weeks later no new packs had yet repopulated). 

Yes!

Clean a full timberwolf pack let another pack migrate to the spot and quickly repopulate the place. If a lone wolf survives, the spot becomes safe for an inmense amount of time (Even 10 days or more), the wolf will always flee and other packs do not migrate.

This is true for the cannery but i can't confirm if it works for all spots on BI and Blackrock. I have cleaned an spot and later the lone wolf come back with up to 3 more wolfs in revenge. This may be related to places where two or more wolf packs spots colides, but im not sure.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Thanks to all for the responses. I went back to Blackrock cuz it seems easier to get around the TW, but I plan to go back to BI soon. This game is soooo complex, which makes it so much fun to play. Hozz my objective is to survive. Lol. I mean, I want to be able to make a lot of bullets, make a lot of knives and axes, and generally just live off the land. To do this, the game forces you to enter Timberwolf territory.  I am okay with that but need to understand the dynamics. BI seems harder to traverse than BR, so I went to BR to get my guns on and now I am going to BI to see if I can live up to the challenge, and await the DLC that is coming in a few weeks.  Cheers all!!

[Glacia]

26 minutes ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

BI seems harder to traverse than BR,

This reddit guide maybe can help you, it's a guide of how to traverse the entire region from the lighthouse to the forlorn muskeg cave. Most of the times you can traverse the region without facing or pulling a single timberwolf following this path.

Also, it's never advisable to re-enter the region from the ravine, because this is the most dangerous zone of the region. If you are gonna return to BI, use the forlorn muskeg cave for extra safety!

 

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Glacia: Thanks again for all the good information! Couple of notes/questions:

* I take the Ravine way in because I really hate FM! Don't know why, but it is my least favorite area in the game. Also my main base is TWM, so I have a well worn path through PV to the Carter Dam to Ravine where I have a rock cache full of goods. That said, next time I will go via the cave to see how I like that path.

* Bears: anyone know the respawn rate? On TWM, it seems like it can be as quick as 3 in game days for the one that roams the lake....

*Campfire: I never knew you could use oil to start one! I rarely have it on me even though I have 7 or 8 lanterns at my base, lol. I use the shelf and it is full of lanterns and oil. Guess I will start carrying some when I am in TW country!  This is a  great tip and will save my marine flare stock greatly!!

[hozz1235]

1 hour ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

Bears: anyone know the respawn rate? On TWM, it seems like it can be as quick as 3 in game days for the one that roams the lake....

I think it depends on your game settings, and even then, likely has some randomness to it.  Only time I've actively tracked it, was 2 weeks for me.

[Leeanda]

You can also use gunpowder on fires if you're willing to spare some.  Sorry if you knew that already.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Finished my BR run, left earlier than I wanted cuz the weather got bad and I was running low on food. Safe and sound in TWM: did not see a single TW on the way back, though I walked through at least 3-4 spawn areas. Whew!

Leeanda: yah knew about the gunpowder but it such a precious resource I prolly won't use it for anything but bullets...

Really wondering about the way food works in this game. I mean, I ate a whole wolf in one day! Seems like they could dial food back a little? I mean, I am not a huge eater, but a quarter pound of meat usually fills me up. So why does it take 4.8 kilos to fill me up when I am (decidedly) more active in the game? I can see a half kilo being sufficient. Shrug!

[peteloud]

7 hours ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

Seems like they could dial food back a little?

I have read several books about the opening up of Canada a hundred or two years ago, in those books it is mentioned that local people who worked with the expeditions expected to be fed 7lbs of meat per day and were unhappy when it was reduced to 5lbs. On Franklin expeditions they even resorted to eating each other.

Edited March 8, 2023 by peteloud

[elpresidente]

Bleak inlet is  a very nice region, the only downside being the long arduous journey to the Cannery workshop. I had my main base at the washed out trailers because the hill above it has up to 7 big branches after every blizzard, so I didn't have to go too far for wood. A moose can spawn very close to the washed out trailers which is very convenient and will stock you up on food for weeks. Between a moose and regular harvesting of the bear that walks near the worker's residences, I didn't even have to do fishing. The problem of the washed out trailers is that they don't have a bed, so you will need a bedroll.

[Leeanda]

There's a pretty sheltered spot round the back of the trailer too for fires.