Serenity

Oh wow, there are actually two (at least) connections between TWM and AC

They are aware that something is wrong: 

• A small number of players are losing or gaining Badges following the update. We are aware of what is causing this and are working on a fix that we believe will address this issue.

I've lost the Darkwalker badge. Though maybe they reset that because it's a proper challenge now instead of an event

I actually found the gold mine on my first try. It was a pretty straight route if you knew it. I just followed canyons and features like paths and climbs. Overall it's very complicated though. I have no idea where anything is in relation to other stuff. And if you explore one route and see where it takes you, you end up somewhere else entirely. So it's difficult to try alternatives.

Contrary to HRV there are actually some nice huts to live in. And there are crafting benches.

Visually it's great. Some nice new world features like the hanging bridges or rock ledges (even behind a waterfall). There are some mountain goating opportunities. Even one path that seems to be intended as such - not overly steep but clearly a one way trip

I've seen some visual bugs with objects floating high in the sky. I submitted one bug report about this, but I think I've seen another one in another location

More seriously, changing keybindings still doesn't seem to persist

It's a great region visually and you can find lots of great stuff, but it's also very complicated. And huge. Lots of interconnected areas. You explore one region and follow some features and you end up somewhere else entirely with no idea how to get back and explore another route.

I've found the gold mine by dumb luck, but there are a lot of things I have no idea how to reach. On one ledge I see a plateau in the side that seemed to contain a small settlement. Above one lake there is a house that I couldn't reach from below, but has a rope climb above. 

Plenty of caves around, but in some areas it's hard to find shelter even on Pilgrim when you don't know where you're going

And people thought the Raven's Falls tressle was bad 😆Those new bridges actually swing left and right

7 hours ago, t1gerfang said:

what I did to get up out of the ravine

The problem is getting down. When going up there is a rope already in place

Somehow they got it into their heads that people can only make the game easier, but don't realize that you can also make the game harder. Or that pretty much all the options are based on the standard game modes and there isn't much to make it easier than Pilgrim.

The proper way to implement these kind of achievement limitations it to set a minimum value for some options, so if you change them to something too easy achievements/feats are disabled.

Read the dev diary

And anyone who already played the event will get to play the improved version in December, where we add a new phase that lets you actually banish the Darkwalker.

I think it already became faster the more regions you visited

And they will include a way to get of it

11 hours ago, piddy3825 said:

do ice caves always transition from one section to another or can they just have a single ingress/egress and a circular design?

There are two ice caves with three exits each. They are linear, but it's possible to get turned around when looking around. There are some dead-end side passages

11 hours ago, piddy3825 said:

Also since you can't fabricate anything, is it a waste of time to harvest birch and maple saplings? 

In a normal game you don't stay there forever, so birch is certainly worth it.

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In general saying that a region is pointless because you don't need anything from there is a bit silly. By that logic most regions are pointless on lower difficulties as everything exists in abundance. You visit new regions because they are there. Same reason people climb mountains. You get a change of scenery and a new challenge. Loot is nice, but it's not what the game is about

You can check the wiki for the notes

12 hours ago, XeneWarf said:

Sadly I only noticed it today, and now won't ever get to play it or unlock endless night option.

They'll make it permanent:

This was by far the best Halloween event. 4DON was mindnumblingly boring. Darkwalker actually has some tension and creepiness. Difficulty varies though. You can cross several regions at the beginning without being near the Darkwalker, only to be cornered in a cave or some other narrow passage (like the hydro dam courtyard). But when it works it's great. I had some tense moments where I had to jump down ledges to evade it.

Bandages

With the best clothing you can get to one arrow down in the late afternoon. That allows you to be warm for a long time

:)

Now that I think more about it, you could have also walked up and then entered the middle ice cave entrance and used the cave to get up near the signal fire. That has the advantage of avoiding the waterfall shower. The middle entrance is also a nice base location in that area.

But the rope was probably easier to find than the cave

1 hour ago, Mroz4k said:

the ravine in the Broken railroad map,

Right. Forgot about that one

Making a fire in the cave really helps

Probably ravaged

I've only seen that in HRV at Monolith Lake. And in story mode there is  Fluffy's carcass in the dam

It's really not worth it carrying it all to another region. I've done it once and it takes soooo many trips. Think about what you really need and want. At most I'd stash things in the mountaineer's hut where you can easily get to it

There is not much need for the food for example. You can always hunt, which is more fun too

That looks like the second signal fire (there are two and one randomly spawns)

There are three ways up the plateau above the river:

• Through the ice cave behind the water fall. The far entrance (each cave has three) takes you close to the signal fire. You'll get wet walking through the waterfall
• Simple walk up at Offset Falls
• Take the rope climb between Reclusive Falls and the open cave

On the plateau there is a corner with another rope climb that takes you to an area above. Then I think past a thorn bush and down a vine climb you end up near the same ice cave entrance as in the first point

Technically there is a fourth way, but that would take you through the other ice cave

Generally there is no great need to rush to the signal fires. HRV is divided into five distinct sub regions that are connected various ways. You can take your time exploring each one

22 hours ago, Glflegolas said:

Or maybe Mystery Lake is a better option? I haven't been there yet in this playthrough and there's generally good fishing at Camp Office.

There is no reason whatsoever to go fishing this early in the game. Fishing in general isn't that great on Interloper as the fish chance is pretty low. You need a lot of fuel that can usually be better spent. You'll be fine for found lamp oil for now and there is plenty of other food around.

One thing you could have done already is work on deer carcasses. Not for food, but for the hides. You want the deer boots and pants. So that's five hides. And Mystery Lake is the easiest for that. There are more carcasses than you need around the hydro dam (including two in the Ravine and in Winding River each). Also get some bunnies for the mittens and the hat. Then there is the distress pistol at the bottom of the Ravine, which is well worth spending a day on.

The hydro dam is also great for crafting. You can sleep in the trailers and craft in the dam. There is the Ravine nearby for wolf free hunting, plus a cave for cabin fever. There are deer nearby and possibly a moose. The Camp Office works too, with the cave at Lake Overlook easily reachable.

There are certainly other options. I've also done my crafting in CH, but ML is the easiest. Plus, you really want to loot the major locations early on. Same with other easily accessible regions like PV.

2 hours ago, Ape88 said:

How much harder do you want it to be

This was about a special event. Those are mostly Voyager level with loot literally everywhere. Winter's Embrace had colder temperatures, but that was immediately negated by the excessive amount of clothing the game threw at you. Allowing us to play them on Interloper would really be enough