Does anyone actually play Misery? If so, how?

[Talavaj]

I've just had to retire my run where I have got a mag lens, bedroll and smithed tools by day 5 simply because I could not outheal the cold.
By day 10, I'm all out of my stims already, I consistently get frigid bones as the second affliction, meaning I can't even warm up in most indoors with mid tier gear and it takes 3 hours of sleep or 3 pieces of coal just to warm up.
You start losing health from full warmth in about 20 seconds real time because the weather ranges from -40 to -60 even on coastal highway.

The teas are worthless, the torches are worthless, there is no way to mitigate the cold.
I barely survive sprinting from one indoor location to another because doing so melts like 20% of my health each time, forget actually climbing twm or trying to get the technical backpack.

I would like to play a mode harder than Interloper, but artificial difficulty is not doing it for me.
I will be going back to NOGOA.

Edited September 2 by Talavaj
Typo

[Leeanda]

I've been watching @Zaknafein play ,and it seems like he's treating it mostly like his loper runs..  might be worth watching if you're interested..

It looks a tough challenge, no doubt .and there seems to be varying degrees of luck involved too.. 

[Pencil]

I was having a similar issue on my first Misery run. What I found is that it takes a lot of resources to get anything done in Misery. If you want to summit, you're going to need to spend lots of coal and/or teas. In this mode, you can't really save resources in the beginning. You just need to make sure you harvest and loot everything you can so that you don't run out of teas or matches.

Frigid bones does sound like a terrible first affliction, though (but better than rheumatic joints in my opinion). It would technically be possible to get rabbit skin gear before day 6 which would help a lot against frigid bones but it would delay a lot of your exploration. 

To answer your question, yes, I play Misery, but I've been holding off for a bit since I want to wait until the new cougar is back for the full challenge. I've been playing on 2.29 (cougar build) but kind of miss the hotfixes that have been released since then. 

Edited September 2 by Pencil

[Talavaj]

Interloper doesn't give me trouble, but the weather on misery is on a totally another level.
That being said, I'm camping in the ravine right now with my rabbit and deer skins curing, while I dope on birch bark, so I may still make it.

[xanna]

Yes and I'm loving it. I can survive about a week or two and get forging done, but so far I've been got by a wolf before getting to make the bow.

My current run has had great loot, incredible loot - Mackinaw, Aviator's hat, combat pants, got my hammer, hacksaw, bedroll, magnifying lens, even a lantern. I'm just about to go forge. My main issue is hunger - I can't survive on just scavanging, and I'll start to starve before I've got my bow ready. I need to get a wolf to kill a deer for me.

Another common issue I have is finding tools. I'm pretty familiar with Pleasant Valley and adjacent maps, but I'm not like those expert players who know where every loot spawn is. When it comes to tools I just take what I find, and if I get the hammer I'm set with my plan. Some runs I can't find it over several maps and I can't proceed with getting myself a bow.

 

[Talavaj]

Good luck to you!
I'm on day 17 with a bunch of tip-ups, bow and rabbitskin gear, but I'm not loving it lol.
I sit on a lot of food and coal, but no health- I can heal in some days but I'm thinking of retiring the run anyway.

Now I actually think trying to get the bow and tools right away was the wrong idea, it always costs me too much time and too many resources- especially health, which really slows you down.
I think that, instead, in the early game I will harvest a ton of rabbits and deer for guts and hopefully any wolves that wash up on coastal highway.
I will simply sit on tip-ups until everything is cured, and THEN when I'm ready to go forge I will also grab all my pelts and try to craft everything I can right there at the forge, so that I can come back with decent gear.

Fishing and rabbits are enough for food, and you can get most pelts without the bow, so I think I will try it out again with a more conservative approach.
 

[xanna]

17 hours ago, Talavaj said:

Good luck to you!
I'm on day 17 with a bunch of tip-ups, bow and rabbitskin gear, but I'm not loving it lol.
I sit on a lot of food and coal, but no health- I can heal in some days but I'm thinking of retiring the run anyway.

Now I actually think trying to get the bow and tools right away was the wrong idea, it always costs me too much time and too many resources- especially health, which really slows you down.
I think that, instead, in the early game I will harvest a ton of rabbits and deer for guts and hopefully any wolves that wash up on coastal highway.
I will simply sit on tip-ups until everything is cured, and THEN when I'm ready to go forge I will also grab all my pelts and try to craft everything I can right there at the forge, so that I can come back with decent gear.

Fishing and rabbits are enough for food, and you can get most pelts without the bow, so I think I will try it out again with a more conservative approach.
 

I was having similar thoughts since my current strategy hasn't been a winner so far. I think you're dead right. I have avoided fishing because I expect it to be so inefficient at the beginning of the game. I had forgotten about tip-ups, though... hm 🤔

Good luck to you, too!

[Talavaj]

Yeah, I haven't noticed any nerfs to fishing on misery. I was sitting on about 12 fish after a night of fishing with two tip-ups.

Fishing is likely a necessity on misery, especially in the late game where sprains and cold will chip away at your health after broken body, so any amount of travel will be dangerous.

I think you need a full set of clothes before broken body sets in, Zak made the prediction that clothes aren't "that important" on misery, but I think that's an entirely wrong assessment- it's by far the most deadly aspect of the mode.
Teas are worthless once you are on ∇∇∇ cold, whether it's -15 or -30 perceived temp makes little to no difference, the cold melts your warmth (and health) within seconds regardless.
I burned through 5 teas just getting from the dam to the fallen tree bridge in the ravine, and shortly after the temperatures hit a combined mind boggling -86c. (the lowest I've ever seen on the ravine)

Sour stomach is not that big of an issue IMO. It will eventually be random sprains and the cold that kills you.
I think there are several places entirely inaccessible without a sprain risk, and you can even get sprains on the small lumps of snow next to roads, for example.

[Looper]

14 minutes ago, Talavaj said:

I think you need a full set of clothes before broken body sets in, Zak made the prediction that clothes aren't "that important" on misery, but I think that's an entirely wrong assessment- it's by far the most deadly aspect of the mode.

Zak has revised that statement i think.

I think early game misery is not that different from interloper. Go from PV to TWM to ASHC collect backpack. If hacksaw found go summit. If not return to PV then ML. Travel in afternoons and evenings - use teas. As long as you have full  recovery you can tank lots of cold damage.    

To me its the lategame that gets very immobile and boring. You have to have the good clothes and guard your temperature constantly. You cannot run or move very fast. And if you get at sprain - bam - health loss. 

It promotes very local and passive playstyle.  

[Talavaj]

Indeed, I think the best long term strategy is simply sitting in a fishing hut/snow shelter, somewhere that's relatively close to coal/wood source, which will quickly get boring.
As far as sprains are concerned, I think there is a small loophole using the travois- I think you can't get a sprain while dragging it, at least I have never ever got one.
Travois can actually go over sprain risk areas, it seems to only stop if the slope is long/steep enough, so at least while you are carrying it you can have the peace of mind that you can't get hurt (I think).

On this screen I'm on a slope that's bad enough for a sprain, but low enough for the travois:

[Looper]

16 minutes ago, Talavaj said:

Travois can actually go over sprain risk areas, it seems to only stop if the slope is long/steep enough, so at least while you are carrying it you can have the peace of mind that you can't get hurt (I think).

nice way to use travois - however one can't torch train 😁

[Talavaj]

Alright, I changed my whole approach to the early game.
Instead of going to ac and for the tools early, I stayed put in thomsons crossing, trying to get all the deer, rabbits and ptarmigans I could.
Apart from one trip to ML for the bedroll, mag lens and firestriker, I did not travel to any other area.

I'd recommend rushing 2x insulation, rabbitskins and hopefully some toque and combat pants in the early game.
Now that I only have the torso slots left on day 16, I can get actually get around with just the teas.
If you go forge to DP I recommend getting the fishcake recipe to stave off cabin fever, because you will be getting a lot of it (you still get a bajillion fish from tip-ups, I got like 17 in a single night with just two tip-ups).

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with twm and the tech backpack in the early game, or perhaps even at all.
You won't have any carry weight problems in the early game, and I think the late game misery will be so stationary that you will be just fine with the travois.

[Talavaj]

Just about made it to broken body on full health and with two stims to spare.
I failed to procure a fourth bear for the second bear coat, so I have been sticking with a wolf coat from earlier.
Went to get the technical backpack on day 34 but never managed to find any wool socks or the aviator cap (cry).

So far the warmest I've seen the weather get on pleasant valley was -6c, with a second bear coat and wool socks you can perhaps get down to -3c.
I've actually stayed in thomson's crossing the entire time, crafting in the mine and sleeping in the bear cave below to stave off cabin fever.
Turns out, even with frigid bones, the ptarmigan bedroll and full loadout are enough to stay warm in a PV cave without a fire even during a blizzard.

I was considering leaving PV because of the sprain risk, but I found just a tiny sliver of a slope up towards the cinder hills mine where you can wiggle your way through with a travois.
If my observation is correct and you can't get a sprain while dragging a travois, it means that there is a safe way between PV and coastal highway (on CH you can take a detour off the trailer towards the cabins below the abandoned lookout, no sprains there except for one wiggle with a travois at the very top).
However, there is no safe way through the winding river to mystery lake, there are slopes that the travois can't get through.

Now that the early game is over, I think I will mainly stay in pleasant valley afterwards, the lack of renewable teas in the coastal regions make me uneasy.
I thought about making broths instead, but it turns out that they are absolutely horrible at providing warmth.
That being said, it reminded me that they provide a lot of calories, and that they degrade at a rate of 0.167% /day while outside and only give you food poisoning at a condition below 20%.
Meaning, they are the best way of storing renewable calories in the long run, for as long as you have salt- a single broth will last 389 days outside before degrading.

Wishing happy life of misery to y'all!

[Talavaj]

My science is wrong y'all, you can totally get a sprain while carrying a travois, I found out the hard way while off-roading on coastal highway.
You can't hide from the sprain devil.

[xanna]

Good science updating when new data comes in 👍

[Talavaj]

Lol, well it's unfortunate.
With that being said, I think I will finally be retiring the run at 47 days and 21 hours.
It was fun while it lasted!

[Sir Major M.oos.E Sr.]

On 9/3/2024 at 9:01 PM, Talavaj said:

Indeed, I think the best long term strategy is simply sitting in a fishing hut/snow shelter, somewhere that's relatively close to coal/wood source, which will quickly get boring.
 

 

That is pretty much the way to go. Fuel is most important. In one of her adventures Astrid thought she could survive the FT like a Loper and got stuck on that island in FA with broken body because she ran out of fuel . Also her clothing isn´t the best.

Spoiler

With 30 C warmth bonus she does easily travel in the afternoon. Even further with teas but she really doesn´t need them.

In her latest adventure she tried some things. Base of operations was Quincy´s old Quonset.

Spoiler

Ranger Stew healed her broken body like 10 %

Prepper´s Pie did nothing

Stalker´s Pie gave her parasite riks

Food poisoning wasn´t a thing. As long as she treated it immediately there was no condtion loss

Around day 60 or so she felt a little lonely and tried to get herself some intestinal parasites.

Spoiler

It really was a much tougher task than she expected. Numerous Stalker Pies gave her the risk but never the affliction. After she had eaten a whole wolf in tiny bits she eventually got them.

They stayed for 20 days but as her health was already very low they did nothing other than making her tired faster.

Spoiler

With enough pills and teas food poisoning and parasites aren´t a problem at all.

One thing that really annoyed her, especialy in CH, is this massiv clusterfuck of wolves.

Spoiler

More wolves than on stalker.

They block eachothers pathing which results in all kinds of weird behavior. They cant decide which one should agro which one should run, growl, howl or just doesn´t do anything.

She got attacked a few times and they hit very soft. One time an aurora wolf just walked away from the struggle instead of killing her 😮 Another auroa wolf took her down from 105 % to at least 5 %. She´s still alive in that adventure but she really shouldn´t be no matter how much protection her clothing was giving her.

In DP the bear attacked her and took her down like 30 %. which with broken body doesn´t matter anyway. He even destroyed only one insulation and nothing else.

The enemies are kind of weak. Less but stronger would be more exciting.

On day 121 the worms were gone and she eventually killed herself with

Spoiler

a sprained ankle. Unfortunately she officially just faded into the long dark.

Having a "you died from a sprain" would be most appreciated

☠️

Edited September 18 by Sir Major M.oos.E Sr.

[xanna]

On 9/2/2024 at 5:04 PM, xanna said:

Yes and I'm loving it. I can survive about a week or two and get forging done, but so far I've been got by a wolf before getting to make the bow.

My current run has had great loot, incredible loot - Mackinaw, Aviator's hat, combat pants, got my hammer, hacksaw, bedroll, magnifying lens, even a lantern. I'm just about to go forge. My main issue is hunger - I can't survive on just scavanging, and I'll start to starve before I've got my bow ready. I need to get a wolf to kill a deer for me.

Still on this run, now on Day 26. Feels very different! I got Cabin Fever just as I was about to craft bow and arrows, but it was easy enough to deal with. Very low on food, didn't have a handy wolf-deer situation. Somehow managed to keep Well Fed, but down to my last cattail many times. First shot with my new bow was a crit on a doe - got me enough food to get a better plan. Lucky me, the moose was at Trapper's. I've never killed that moose before! Got it, and harvested all its steaks, and cooked about half of them. Sooooo much easier with my knife!

Feeling set up now - got my tools and a bunch of food, enough warmth to be warm indoors. Used one stim, but have another in my pack. Out of the scrambling desperation stage, for now. Off to Milton next I guess?

Edited September 25 by xanna
stims