Sorta experienced player attempts interloper

[FunkyFuggerson]

Ive decided to take a crack at the whole survival story thing so after my last custom interloper was mauled by a bear I started anew. The only custom thing about this is that I start in Mystery lake so i don't get insta killed and ruin everything. Sadly, I cant provide screenshots as I play on XBOX.

Day 1 of probably not many.

Wake up at the crack of dawn freezing to death at the top of the clearcut. Shamble down the cliff somehow not breaking my ankle (Im playing as Mackenzie) and break into a sprint towards the logging camp as a group of wolves decided to right now was the best time to catch some lunch. Logging camp is completely barren accept for a pair of combat boots in ok condition. Pick up some crow feathers off a human popsicle and set my eyes on the abandoned gondola. The wolf that likes lurking in there has decided to take a nice vacation so it looks like i'm relatively safe. Climb up on the rock face so I can avoid the train wreck and not get mauled. Finally manage to get into the camp office before I contract frostbite. The place is completely picked clean besides some tin cans, paper, and a skill book. But whats that glinting in the corner? I crouch down besides some wooden crates and my god.... Its a magnifying lens! I get on my hands and knees and pray to the TLD gods about how thankful I am. Break down furniture for that tasty reclaimed wood, but wait... it was overcast when I got inside! Oh no, my thirst is about to turn red! Oh what am I to do?? I step outside and its crystal clear! Hallelujah! I cry as I boil water. But then the long dark gods laugh in my face and blow wind onto my fire. Least I got some water and rose hip tea, Decide to skim the lake for cattails as i'm starving and need food so I can go to sleep. I shovel cattails into my mouth planning the day ahead. Hoping to get to the trappers cabin, then perhaps skip back and check out the mystery lake overlook then the dam. 

If you want to here my struggles continue please tell me, also, i'm not so worried about wolves, weather, or whether not I have matches, its the fact I have no rifle and i've barely used the survival bow. Please give me some tips so I can use it without missing all the time. Also, has that arrows glitching out of the world bug been patched? 

Here is a detailed drawing of my opinion on the survival bow, enjoy.

[Senauer]

With regards to using the bow, things should be a bit easier now that the aiming dot is back. These are the tips I have used regularly, both with and without aiming reticle, with relatively good success.

When hunting a deer, try to sneak and approach it from the back, ca. 10 meters away. Position yourself to face its buttcheeks and keep following until it stops and raises its head. Unless you have Archery level 5 you will not be able to shoot while crouched, so align the aiming dot with its neck, stand up, correct aim if necessary and fire. If hit, the bow level increase icon will pop up. A shot in the neck should be an instakill. Otherwise it will run around bleeding until it drops.

For wolfs you can use a small piece of cooked meat or fish as bait. I would not go with raw meat or guts because they immediately rise your scent bar. So, approach the wolf from a distance (20-30 meters) and it will detect you. Wait until it barks at you, then drop the bait between you and the wolf. If it changes its walking pace, then the bait has been successful. Back up 5-10 meters from the bait, align the aiming dot with the vertical that goes from the wolf to the bait and wait for the wolf to barely cross the dot. Then quickly fire. Again, a hit will show up blood splatter and the level up indicator. If you hit the head its instakill, otherwise, it will bleed until dead.

Finally, for hunting bears you need a bit more of patience. Look for an elevanted vantage point along its patrolling route, perhaps a ledge or a high rock with difficult access. Plan in advance, as it should be accessible for you by goat-climbing but not for Yogi. Then sneak into the vantage point and wait until the bear comes near. I usually sneak while doing this, then align the dot with him, correct the aiming parabola, stand up, correct again if necessary and shoot. It can be tricky to score a hit but is definitely doable. The same strategy could be applied to moose. Once again, check the level up icon and the blood from the wound. Your prey will either drop dead or run around like mad. As long as you hit it, eventually it will fall.

[Drifter Man]

11 hours ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

If you want to here my struggles continue please tell me, also, i'm not so worried about wolves, weather, or whether not I have matches, its the fact I have no rifle and i've barely used the survival bow. Please give me some tips so I can use it without missing all the time. Also, has that arrows glitching out of the world bug been patched? 

The glitch was patched as far as I know and can tell. Go ahead and write, not just for your readers but also for yourself. Writing your story is a great way to sort your thoughts.

Others can tell you more about bow hunting but you can also sustain yourself quite easily with fishing, and in the early game there's enough cattails to keep you going for many weeks. So you don't have to depend 100% on the bow and you can learn to handle it gradually, at your own pace.

[FunkyFuggerson]

Thanks for the help!

[FunkyFuggerson]

Day 2, The Mist

Step outside and find that a light fog has descended upon the lake, making everything look extremely eerie. Trudge onwards down the train tracks hoping to find some good loot at the trappers homestead. Open up some metal boxes at the rail tunnel to find a brand spankin' new cotton scarf. Whip it on so I don't contract frostbite, walk the rest of the ways towards the cabin. Almost have a run in with the bear because of my clumsiness, but I manage to make it in one piece. Loot the place and find some pretty good gear, most notable of which is some canned goods, a mackinaw jacket, and a hammer. Repairing my mackinaw I head outside, heavy fog completely destroys my visibility. Tear scrub bushes apart for firewood as my temperature wasn't plummeting. Fog clears slightly so I head back towards the rail tunnel, and just like a creature out of the mist, two wolves come into site and start stalking. Attempt to flee but its no use, here them sprinting towards me so I slip into the forlorn muskeg. The fog here Isn't so thick so I head down to the small pond off to the side to pick cattails and mushrooms. After the weather clears up I head back into Mystery lake hoping that the wolves have left. After a bit of paranoid sneaking around I find they have decided to leave. Run back towards the camp office and then climb up to the mystery lake overlook hoping for some good gear. Find nothing but some books and firewood, take advantage of the whether and boil some water and tea. Head off to bed, survived 2 days, all I hope is to get around 30-40.

[FunkyFuggerson]

Day 8, Forging ahead

Not much has transpired since day 2, looted the dam, several minor locations, read books, repaired clothing, gathered what remains of cattail stalks. Even traveling across the forlorn muskeg in interloper all that happened was 1 run in with a wolf. Made arrowheads, knife, hatchet, got a deerskin before a wolf got a little to close. Not much has happened, planning on crafting bow, guess ill update this once something noteworthy happens. Until then, this is probably going to be a dead thread for a bit. Who knows? Maybe something amazing WILL happen. 

[MrWolf]

Nice posts, keep at it!  That's the thing about The Long Dark - you never know when something amazing will happen.  For me, it's usually a wolf surprise that ends it all, but sometimes surviving that or a bear attack and coming back from the brink of death can be an amazing experience, especially with the harshness of Interloper.

[FunkyFuggerson]

Day 9-10, The sapling pilgrimage.

Now that I have my essentials Ive decided to go looking for maple saplings. What once was a moderately challenging feat on other difficulties has become a sort of demented frenzy of scrambling around wolfs hoping to see a sapling in the distance. To my utter dismay every spawn location I checked in ML (that I knew of) was utterly devoid of saplings. I decided my next best guess was to head up to MT because I knew a couple of spawn locations. Go through the musty old cave near the trappers and into MT. I collected about 15 pieces of coal so it looks as if i'm doing another forging run soon, hooray! Decide to try and climb the rope, bad idea, almost fall off and fade into the long dark as I force my muscles to climb just a couple more feet. Collapse into the Milton park office and sleep about 2 hours so I can limp over to grey mothers abode. Walk in and loot the place, find 2 cans of tomato soup, 1 box of wood matches, thx TLD gods! A new set of jeans, fleece mittens, some cooking pots, 1 accelerant, and 1 sewing kit. Repair jeans with what remains of the sunlight and go to bed. The next day I step outside, eager to find some maple sapling's, I forgot the golden interloper rule though, "Never step outside before crouching first" Walk into the yard and a wolf barks at me. Cant make out were it is because the light fog that surrounds me has obscured my vision. Try and gauge were it is before I here it begin dashing towards me, have a heart attack while it almost grabs me on my way back into the house. Get away with a sprained wrist and a condition hit. Break down things in the house for an hour before heading back outside to check on the wolf. Spot him pacing near some houses, crouch down and skiddle (Thats not a word but I want it to be, it means "Move as fast as possible while also being as quiet as possible." well it is a company name but whatever) I drop down into the creek near the paradise meadows farm. I hope there are no wolfs on the lake as i'm very preoccupied picking every single cattail stalk. Check near a small alcove for maple saplings aaaaaaand.... nope. Unsure of were else they could be I head towards the end of the creek, and whats that? My god! I sprint towards it and find a beautiful maple sapling resting peacefully on the riverbank, enjoying life, soon to be a fully grown tree taking on the world. I take out my hatchet and start swinging wildly, sorry sapling but its either you or me! Spot a deer corpse being ravaged by crows near the maple sapling. Rip out its entrails and skin it completely, theres barely any meat so its not worth taking. Get back to the Milton house and boil tea for the rest of the night.

Oh yeah, if any of you have the game on XBOX I uploaded a screenshot of the holy maple sapling itself. Its on the club "Long dark survivors crew."

[FunkyFuggerson]

Day 30

Crafted a bow and 8 arrows a couple days ago, hunted a deer, 3 wolf, 4 rabbits, next up 2 bears! Or maybe a moose? I dunno, Made myself a stylish pair of deerskin pants. And gathered enough firewood to last me about 30 days if I started a fire for about 2 hours everyday. Then I used almost all of it boiling large amounts of water and meat. Yesterday a wolf got me, started mauling me like crazy, got away with only 8% condition. HOLY MOLY almost died! Drank tea and slept for a day recovering precious condition. So, if someone actually reads this, do you think I should travel to a different region or stay in mystery lake?

[MrWolf]

Nice recovery.  I'd say when you feel you're ready to travel, visit a place or region you haven't been to yet.

16 minutes ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

Crafted a bow and 8 arrows a couple days ago, hunted a deer, 3 wolf, 4 rabbits, next up 2 bears!

You have the makings of a 12 Days of The Long Dark song there:

8 arrows
4 rabbits
3 wolves
2 bears
and a deer.  

Or a beer, thinking of the Bob & Doug McKenzie version.

 

[cullam]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

Or a beer, thinking of the Bob & Doug McKenzie version.

This is a Canadian game, after all! 

[Cr41g]

as long as the beers are in stubbies...its all good

[Senauer]

On 7/13/2018 at 3:42 PM, FunkyFuggerson said:

So, if someone actually reads this, do you think I should travel to a different region or stay in mystery lake?

In my opinion Mistery Lake is a region that makes most of us feel really comfortable. I've read in many topics that people usually likes it as being at home, which makes sense as in general it tends to be the first region that one starts to know (and love) during the initial runs while getting into the game. It has plenty of shelter, loot, wildlife and recognizable landmarks, plus it can be easily navigated, so survival life there can turn into a pleasant routine after a few days.

This would be alright if it weren't for the fact that most survival failures come from overconfidence and complacency. It is easy to become acquainted with a region and bring your guard down, loose tension and focus, and end up paying the price. This perhaps has not so much impact on Pilgrim and Voyager, but in Stalker and Interloper most of the times it means game over.

TL;DR, sometimes it is worth taking a break from the routine at good old Trapper's and stepping out of one's comfort zone. So plan your journey, pack your goodies and venture into the road!

[Stone]

@FunkyFuggerson post us a screen shot of your gear would you? As for where to go. A trip to the rabbit grove cottage in CH is a pretty safe journey and a nice base for a few days exploring. No fireplace but theres good sheltered spots beside the cottage. However, a TWM ascent will make you feel alive! You can do it. Push yourself and you'll be suprised how much ground you can cover if you take only what you need and focus on the task.

[FunkyFuggerson]

2 hours ago, Stone said:

@FunkyFuggerson post us a screen shot of your gear would you? As for where to go. A trip to the rabbit grove cottage in CH is a pretty safe journey and a nice base for a few days exploring. No fireplace but theres good sheltered spots beside the cottage. However, a TWM ascent will make you feel alive! You can do it. Push yourself and you'll be suprised how much ground you can cover if you take only what you need and focus on the task.

Sorry but I cant publish any screenshots as i'm on XBOX.

[FunkyFuggerson]

Day 48, HRV or PV?

So I enjoyed the horrible stress of attempting a second FM forging run as my tools were in bad shape and I needed arrowheads. Harsh wind made it difficult getting to the old Spence. Damn wolves almost got me, But I managed to kill them. Made 24 arrowheads, and a hatchet and knife. Scramble back towards the office. Had made deerskin pants, and rabbit mitts a couple days earlier and now I need to make a wolf coat. Made it and do more hunting, get things for second wolf coat and deerskin boots. Im planning on making a second wolf coat then moving onto hushed river valley because I want to spice things up. Why the second wolf coat? Because I don't really have the resources right now for 2 bear kills or a moose kill. Also, I cant step outside without freezing my butt off, and the second wolf coat will be very valuable. So, should I stay in milton and try and get some stuff done, or just instantly move to HRV. Im aiming for 5-20 days survived there. On the other hand I could base at PV for a while, then climb TWM. I think I would enjoy HRV more as it is quite a challenge as i'm completely unfamiliar with the region, but PV and TWM seems like more of a challenge. I dunno, wish you could do polls on this thing, hey, they should add that!

[Stone]

I'm in awe of people who deal with wolves so easily. If you're in Milton you may as well pop into HRV. Take a hatchet. Watch out for wolves in caves. But be careful as exploring every corner takes time and the place has many hazards. As for the Xbox screenshots - whip your smart phone out! Good luck.

[romerabr]

4 hours ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

Sorry but I cant publish any screenshots as i'm on XBOX.

You can share your screenshots in Twitter, and use it here... 

[FunkyFuggerson]

4 hours ago, Stone said:

I'm in awe of people who deal with wolves so easily. If you're in Milton you may as well pop into HRV. Take a hatchet. Watch out for wolves in caves. But be careful as exploring every corner takes time and the place has many hazards. As for the Xbox screenshots - whip your smart phone out! Good luck.

what do you exactly mean? Do I just upload them straight from my phone? I can do that. Also, I don't really deal with wolfs easily, I just don't right down running on thin ice while barely avoiding wolfs from mauling me. 

[FunkyFuggerson]

Day 54, Strenuous march

Go in-between hibernating outside and inside waiting for my things to cure. Finally after what seems like forever I craft up my deerskin boots and my second wolf skin coat. Step outside, now i'm slightly freezing to death, better then completely. Man this global temperature going down over time sucks, it sucks BAD. I cant do anything without getting hypothermia risk. But now I mostly get 2 bars going down on my temp need, 3 in the night and early morning, or just when the weather sucks. Decide ill base at Milton, and take trips to HRV. I plan on moving to broken railroad after this so I can learn how to deal with heavy wolfs. (Milton is engulfed by wolfs, but there more spread out, BR is compact wolf overload) Also, a moose spawns next to the lodge and that lodge has large stove, Whoo Hoo! unless the moose doesn't spawn  Make it to Milton, and find that I had left a 100% condition sewing kit, a bunch of books and tinder, and a ton of tea, in the cabinet in grey mothers house. Cook a lot of water and step outside to get some sticks and theeeeeen..... Oh no! I have flash backs to this exact moment, the wolf almost getting me last time I was here... I here is go RARF. Almost want to retreat but I remember that I have a bow and arrow. Drop my bait, wait for it, waaaaait for it. The wolf pounces behind me! Grab out my hatchet and hack at it while spamming A. Wolf runs off, I run into the house, my bunny mitts in tatters and my condition lack luster. I would have died if it wasn't for my 2 wolf coats, knew it was worth it! Shamble into bed and awake to my favorite thing in the whole world, cabin fever risk at 45%, Im currently living as a caveman in the radio tower cave eating cattails and murdering bunnies. I'll try and see if I can post and image of my stuff, until then Adios!

EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I received the silent hunter achievement, Hooray!

[FunkyFuggerson]

Hope this helps

[Stone]

@FunkyFuggerson nice work! Shame about the wolf. This is why, once its looted, I think it best to stay out of Milton. Nice pic. What happened to your socks?! At least you've got some room for improvement. There should be some nice clothing in HRV. Consider the plane crash site too. Theres tons of bunnies and usually deer on route. Just beware of the bear and wolves... as ever! Good luck!

[Hotzn]

Carrying a burning torch or storm lantern while moving about will give you a couple of degrees temp bonus (you can check this in the "felt temperature" section), as will drinking hot tea/coffee/soup. Those effects stack, so when you have warmed up by a fire and get moving, consider making & drinking a hot cup of something, then grab a couple of torches and keep one burning as you move. That way you can churn out more time for outside activities when needed.

[FunkyFuggerson]

8 hours ago, Stone said:

@FunkyFuggerson nice work! Shame about the wolf. This is why, once its looted, I think it best to stay out of Milton. Nice pic. What happened to your socks?! At least you've got some room for improvement. There should be some nice clothing in HRV. Consider the plane crash site too. Theres tons of bunnies and usually deer on route. Just beware of the bear and wolves... as ever! Good luck!

My socks degraded to 16% and I didnt want to waste cloth and sewing kit condition just for a .2 warmth bonus

[FunkyFuggerson]

6 hours ago, Hotzn said:

Carrying a burning torch or storm lantern while moving about will give you a couple of degrees temp bonus (you can check this in the "felt temperature" section), as will drinking hot tea/coffee/soup. Those effects stack, so when you have warmed up by a fire and get moving, consider making & drinking a hot cup of something, then grab a couple of torches and keep one burning as you move. That way you can churn out more time for outside activities when needed.

I'd do that but MT is very windy, act least for me that is, ill try though