Luring Wolves

[Marmo]

Hello there,

To lure a wolf do i have to drop raw or cooked meat? Can it be any animal meat? Do i need to 'decoy drop' it or any old way?

Thank you

[Doc Feral]

You're better off with cooked meat, because a small piece of cooked meat doesn't give you smell penalty but works as a dropped decoy.

Dropping from the inventory or placing from the radial work just fine, but it may be unpractical. On the other hand it prevents the quick drop key from dumping your next meal while keeping a small piece of half rotten rabbit.

[Marmo]

thank you

 

[Senauer]

Having any cooked meat in you will still make you in fact smelly, even if the first scent bar is not filled. So wolves will still stalk you and follow you until you drop all of it.

The difference is that raw meat and guts will fill your scent bar quicker, and wolf detection range will be also higher than with cooked meat, meaning that you’ll be able to lure wolves from further away... and you’ll also be a more effective wolf magnet. 

[Mroz4k]

Actually, it is my understanding that you are better off with a raw piece of a meat, and the lower the condition, the better. If you want to carry around a "decoy" to avoid wolves, use a small piece of cooked meat because of its low smelliness, and drop it, then move out of the way, let the wolf keep it. But if you want to purposely hunt the wolves, the smellier item is better, and here is why:

The smellier the decoy is, the more likely is the wolf in taking an interest to it. This also depends on your own smelliness as a player. If you have a bunch of raw moose meat on you and you drop a pitiful small piece of cooked meat as a decoy, it is highly likely the wolf will ignore it and go straight to you. At least, that is my experience.

It doesn't matter if you drop the decoy yourself out of the inventory, or if you use the "decoy" hotkey - the result is the same. However, the wolf already has to be interested in you or it will pay no interest to the decoy. You cant drop the meat and then attract its attention - the wolf would ignore the bait and go for you instead. Also, only one, "first" successful decoy is keeping the attention of one animal. You cant drop more decoys to have it eat all of them. Still, it is better to drop EVERY decoy you have in your inventory because that lowers your own smelliness, and if the first bait didn't work, the second one or third one might. Same goes for a pack of more than 1 wolf, of course.

Best use of decoy is to move some distance away, line up a shot from a bow with the path the wolf is going to take towards the decoy and shoot it before it reaches it - to recover the decoy and get rid of the wolf. One of the best way to regulate wolf activity in the area.

[hozz1235]

I've gotten the habit of, as soon as I hear the warning bark, I hit the decoy key and move off to the side to line up my shot.

[Mroz4k]

4 hours ago, hozz1235 said:

I've gotten the habit of, as soon as I hear the warning bark, I hit the decoy key and move off to the side to line up my shot.

I do the same, but I don't really like moving sideways - I prefer to just turn around, walk away a bit, and then turn back so I see the wolf, coming up on the bait head-on. It is much easier to land a headshot and insta-kill the wolf with a bow that way, from my experience. It is, however, a bit riskier, too - the wolf may stop tracking the decoy and consider the player hostile because of the bow, pointed at it. Sometimes I will move sideways if the terrain forbids me from going backward. 

[Jolan]

and if you're trying for the right and left sides of your new wolf coat, once you take a wolf down (works with a deer or rabbit too) grab some guts, decoy drop one right there, and walk slowly away from the area.  As soon as you see them moving in a straight line, line up your shot.  The extra gut is in case they beeline you from behind.  Decoy drop that, move to the side and shoot them.  If you're in a good location you can line them up like billard balls.  If wood is ample and the wind is calm, you can build a shelter fire.  

[Doc Feral]

Once I killed no less than five wolves at once in FM, standing on the tree in the swamp right in front of the forge. I fully harvested a deer carcass and hearing the wolves I retreated there carrying all meat and guts. I was gruesomely stinky so all available wolves in a huge range ran to me with malevolent intentions. Luckily for me that time I was carrying a rifle with plenty of bullets.

From what I've seen cooked meat has less p4p smelliness than raw meat, and guts have more. 1kg of cooked meat will give you a stinkpuff anyway, but any amount of raw meat or fresh guts will give you at least one. If you're loaded as a pack mule with bear quarters expect everything with sharp teeth in a square mile to pay you a visit.

[ltnshinysides]

All Good info on luring wolves in and some interesting kill tactics. Does anyone mind if I steer the conversation in the direction of evading wolves or scaring them off? For instance, I have had the hardest time fending off wolves with hand flares! Has anyone had success with this and what are some of the contributing factors? I know some people have talked about this already but considering this is such an easy topic to read without a hundred post to read though I figured I would pose this question. I have been having a hell of a time with wolves like I'm sure so many have. 

[NardoLoopa]

1 hour ago, ltnshinysides said:

I have had the hardest time fending off wolves with hand flares!

I have had a couple failures, and watched some successes on the 'tube.  I believe my error, and the key to making this have a chance at working, is that you need to wait until the wolf stops and growls at you before throwing the flare at him.

[ThePancakeLady]

2 hours ago, NardoLoopa said:

I have had a couple failures, and watched some successes on the 'tube.  I believe my error, and the key to making this have a chance at working, is that you need to wait until the wolf stops and growls at you before throwing the flare at him.

Indeed. That exact moment, which can be hard to identify until you have had your face eaten off during practice a few times, seems to be key. And nailing the wolf in the nose of face at that exact moment seems to help, though I have seen others just drop the flare between the wolf's front feet, and they have yipped and run off. But the exact timing seems to be critical. 

 

An arrow to the chest or nose tends to be more effective,.   IMHO

[Doc Feral]

Slightly off topic, but an alternative (even if limited) method is playing the prostitute during an aurora. When in a formerly civilized area you can stand right under a street lamp. You'll surely stick out and wolves will notice you, but they will stop and stand still snarling at you just out of the light circle. Easy targets.

[ltnshinysides]

On 12/15/2018 at 2:52 AM, Doc Feral said:

Slightly off topic, but an alternative (even if limited) method is playing the prostitute during an aurora.

Bahahaha I will definitely keep that in mind. Fantastic!