I think the wolves need some tweaking.

[FictitiousCurse]

Let me start off by saying that I love The Long Dark. I bought in on the Xbox One about 4 days ago and I have probably put close to 20 hours into it. With that said, there are a couple things that I feel need to be more balanced.

I pretty much exclusively play on the Stalker difficulty, so I can't really speak for the others, however, I think the wolves need some attention.

My first problem with them is that they are kind of unpredictable. I died while making runs between the hydro dam and camp office because a wolf saw me and instead of keeping his distance for a bit, contemplating an attack, like they usually do, he ran straight at me and attacked. I survived, however it happened again on the same trip back. The sound of my rifle didn't worry the second wolf at all, either. This was very surprising, considering every time I had fired it in the past they ran away with their tail in between their legs like they were scared pups. Wolves are usually pretty scared of humans, even if it may sometimes be erroneously so.

My second problem with them is that they feel more like werewolves than wolves on the Stalker difficulty. I've obviously never fought a wolf before, however I could imagine if you have a well maintained hunting knife at the ready when it attacks you could escape with simple tears in your clothes and some minor cuts or punctures. I would think the wolf would heel over, or at least halt its attack after being swiftly stabbed once or twice in the neck, head, or even in between the ribs. I'm pretty sure wild, lone wolves don't usually commit to attacking humans they see as a threat.

I'm not even close to an expert on wolves, so you can let me know if I'm wrong. Even if I am wrong about their behaviors in real life, it's something I kind of disliked from my experience, and would like to see changed up a bit. I would rather the harder difficulties approach realism than unfairly pit the world against you by jacking the wolves up on roid rage.

I hope this didn't seem too cynical, because like I said before, I am obsessed with this game. I love what you've done so far, and I hope you continue to improve it! Thanks a lot.

[lilpipsqueak]

I read one of the previous updates changed the wolf AI to automatically attack if you are running. When I started walking more, I noticed wolves would be less prone to attack until they were sure I was easy prey. This in turn gave me time to respond to them with flares, torches, decoy meat, etc. I became a lot more accepting of the wolves and their behaviors once I realized this.

You mentioned a couple things I'd also like to see:

1. Gun shots should scare off wolves, even if you don't hit them. It cost me a bullet. The flare, which isn't as loud, scares them sufficiently, so a gun shot should also, even if the wolf is in mid-charge.

2. I'd like to see a better way to prepare for an impending wolf attack. Maybe some bonus to explicitly arming the hunting knife instead of passively? In the case I'm thinking of, I approached on a wolf from behind while it was feeding and only had a hunting knife.

One last thing you didn't mention but I've noticed related to wolves that bugs me a little. I've noticed that even if I'm walking, a wolf will automatically attack me if I have the rifle equipped. This doesn't make sense to me. If the wolf is smart enough to recognize the rifle, it should be smart enough to recognize it as a threat much like wearing a wolf coat makes the player a bigger threat. But that's my take. Since I'm not actually a wolf, I can't say with certainty what they would really be thinking.

Other than that, I don't see any real changes that are needed.

[Ikaris]

Raw meat also is known to draw predators in.

[FictitiousCurse]

Wolves have never attacked me instantly while running. All I do is run outside, until I see a wolf. If they see me first, though, they still wait in contemplation. They've only attacked me immediately about two or three times, and that's why I think it's just an annoying bug. They weren't eating, either. I know they will immediately attack if you interrupt their eating. I have also noticed that they seem more aggressive when I pull out my rifle, which really doesn't make sense to me. I really agree with what you said about the preparation for a wolf attack, though. Like I said, the wolves feel very overpowered, and I don't quite understand why I must stab them 3 or 4 times at max strength to get them off of me.

[Incariuz]

Were you starving? freezing? dehydrated? exhausted? or at least close to being in any of those states? If so, that might explain it. I believe the wolves are scripted to pick up on weakness, so when you're stats aren't all maintained well, they're more likely to rush you. Not much else I can think to bring up that hasn't been mentioned, personally I think the wolves are too easy to deal with, but that's just me.

[Rehamk]

Personally I like the Wolves as they are. I find they run up to me and stare me down most of the time and sometimes they will just attack. Fighting them off is very easy and only takes about 30-40% condition from me and I have survived 2 consecutive wolf attacks. Their aggro range only seems larger if I am carrying fresh meat or if I am up wind of them.

I don't tend to fight them very often though even if they run up to me! I keep a small portion of cooked meat (0.2kg) on me at all times and drop that as a decoy, while it walks up to the decoy I work my round to the back of the wolf and shot it with my bow. I can then retrieve my decoy meat & harvest a fresh wolf

[lilpipsqueak]

I've been averaging 20%-30% condition lost when they attack. I've been told the formula on wolf AI is more than a couple variables. I've seen wolves run off in fear when I'm at 80% condition and starving (I secretly think that a starving hunter looking for a wolf to kill for meat freaks them out... or maybe it was the wolf coat I'm wearing... but I like my starvation theory better), and I've seen wolves attack when I'm 100% with a wolf coat and all conditions are flat-lined and healthy.

I've been using decoys a lot. Only had twice when the decoy didn't work (once it was too small and the wolf wanted more before I got far enough away so had to drop a second decoy... makes sense really). The other time, not sure what happened. Also noticed there's a slight delay between when the wolf will switch from me to the decoy and decide a free meal is better than a potentially deadly fight, but that seems believable too as it gives the wolf a moment to "think" about if it wants free nibble or risk for a bigger meal that'll last longer.

Hmm... I think I'm reminiscing, not suggesting ideas or ranting.