TheKnightIsDark

Dont spam the sprint key prematurely. Stamina regenerates a couple of seconds after you stop running. So it's best to let the stamina bar replenish as much as possible before running again. This will make you cover more distance in the same amount of time. Listen to when the character stops panting. or if you stand still and hit the sprint key, you can check the status without disrupting the regeneration

Dont carry around:

a lantern if you've developed the habit of never using it, or arent going caving

lots of fuel from one region to another. Unless you're taking coal to a forge. But at most 1-3 coals and a few sticks and you'll always be able to find more fuel anywhere

antiseptic bottles. They are <0.5 KG and best kept in bases. Infection risk takes under a day to develop. More than enough time return and use the bottle. Have wound dressings on you instead. Personally, I carry around 6 beard lichen because of their very low weight. Even lower than wound dressing. If you ever get attacked, you'll get a maximum of two infection risks for which 6 lichens, crafted into 2 dressings, will do the job

I would stalk wolves if it wasnt so easy to lure them to you with meat scent to a lit fire/torch that you can use as protection/backup in case you miss your shot

Dont needlessly carry a hatchet around if you have a knife. Take it only when you're exploring for saplings. You will almost never be in a dire situation where you need to chop outdoor wood for fuel.

Dont try to mountain goat down the ravine or there is a 95% chance you will instantly fade into the long dark due to a glitch and lose your precious world.

Dont tell me you're too... blind to see. Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry. Never gonna say goodbye. Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

4 hours ago, Serenity said:

I just don't see the need for grinding any of the skills. Especially at higher levels where it takes longer. Crouching while shooting is nice, but hardly needed. Archery level 3 is enough to reliably kill wolves and eventually I shoot so many wolves that I'll get higher.

I've been grinding archery only for the achievement where you need all skills level 5

I have also noticed that if I am standing still very close to the deer, it notices my presence way sooner than if I was and crouched and still 

11 hours ago, stirfoo said:

Also, there is a target set up in Pleasant Valley near the big barn in the middle of the map. If you clear the wolves and bear out there, you can practice all day. Depending on the level, you may find an arrow or two already stuck in the target.

And there is no damage to the arrows? It could be cool if the game gave you one full level for practicing on the board with 50-100 shots

By itself, no interloper is not toxic for mental health.

But for you it seems to have become exactly that. In the past when I've felt a fraction of how upset you are, and been self-aware of it, I've taken a break from the game or moved on from it permanently. Because personally when I get obsessed with a game, or anything else really, to this degree as reflected in your OP and subsequent elaborate comments... it means I'm no longer happy playing the game. And that I'm still hanging on for whatever reason even though the experience has soured. And for me, playing games is supposed to be enjoyable, relaxing, challenging, thrilling, distracting etc. But certainly not stressful or torture.

I was in love with TLD for the first 250 hours of my playtime. But after that the infatuation slowly started to fade and I could sense myself getting irked by various gameplay elements that didn't make sense, or were missing, or immersion-breaking etc. And this happened the more thoroughly I started to learn the game. And that lead to me having a vision different than Hinterland for the game. I agree and admit both interloper and stalker are far from perfect. TLD overall is not perfect either and could use a lot of fixes, improvements, additions etc. You make some good points but... the quantity of points that you've made, and your sheer frustration is just... strange. But also interesting.

Maybe you love this game too much and need to loosen your grip on it a little bit. For your own good. If this is just a vent to get it out of your system and you'll be back to enjoying the game and will have brushed off and forgotten all these... expectations... then sure carry on. But if not, and this is how you've been consistently feeling about the game for a long while, then I'm afraid I see you being unhappy playing TLD for the foreseeable future as well. And at that point you need to question your motive in playing any game.

I think if the same sounds of a wolf eating a rabbit/deer were repeated to when a player died, then the game's rating wouldn't be affected

But I agree. Wolves in TLD don't attack the player because they're hungry, but out of territorial instinct or feeling threatened etc. Note how if a player loses a wolf struggle, the wolf walks away. It wouldnt walk away if it attacked out of a meal. So my final answer would be that this wouldn't fit with the theme

To be fair I must have shot a bow only 15-30 times so maybe I need more experience shooting

But I end up hitting a rabbit 4/5 times with a rock. Where as with a bow it's more like 2/5 times

Is this normal or is it just me?

I used to. Then I realized I was being a hoarder. So now I only pick them up when I know I plan to make a rock cache in that region

I felt like this post was satire.

A save file from 2018? Have you been reloading because of missed bow shots for 2 years now?