Steadfast Sprains & Pains

[stapeliad]

I have spent way too much time this past weekend exploring the new update.  After several ill-fated starts, I finally got a nice stable 30-something-day Stalker mode run established.
(Exactly on the 30 day mark I got cabin fever...)

The sprain system, while annoying before, is the bane of my Long Dark Existence in a way that it wasn't previously.  I appreciate Hinterland's attention to making it a better experience but it is a resource-sink and... I'm getting sprains even more often than I did before!  Constantly!  My character must have bones made of twigs or something.

I get sprain injury risk from:

• Cooking fish on the pot belly stove
• picking up a stone to throw at a rabbit

Really?

I can't fight off a wolf or walk on ANY hilly terrain without getting a sprain. I don't even bother treating them any more because it takes all my cloth and I can just rest it off anyhow.
Also, I'll just get another sprain in 2 minutes.

If I take painkillers it doesn't do anything unless I also use a bandage and I still get the red screen pain flashes.
THE SPRAIN HEALS BEFORE THE PAIN.  So, with no treatment at all except time, I get a notification that the sprain is all better but the pain from it lasts for another couple of hours!
If I have treated the sprain with a bandage and painkillers, I get another sprain despite the fact that my wrist/ankle is already wrapped! 

Unlike stopping blood, a cloth bandage would not be used up if only used as an ankle or wrist wrap.  And sprains on top of wrapped healed sprains (and more painkillers)?  This really needs re-thinking.

Also, that stupid moose attacked me and I went the entire 120 hours of rest plus a bandage but the affliction would not go away until I also put a second bandage on... after it was presumably healed.

PAINKILLERS: I'm really convinced my TLD character has a painkiller addiction which is why she wants all these pills repeatedly at the slightest nudge.
Let's say you get a sprained ankle and 2 sprained wrists (from walking down one hill).
You have to take painkillers for each separate injury- in this case 6 painkillers in total.
This makes zero sense at all.... one dose of painkiller should really take care of everything.
And then you can immediately re-injure and have to take MORE painkillers!
I'm pretty sure these painkillers aren't advil- you take 6 of those things and you'd be passed out, loopy, whatever people who get hooked on painkillers experience.

In all honestly and seriousness, this rampant use of painkillers in the game needs a serious re-think.

(Or add in a "painkiller addiction" affliction.)

The sprains too.... if they are going to require more effort to treat, they really need to be much harder to get.
Re-injury after treatment should not happen.
(And cooking fish should not put me at risk for sprain injury.)

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by stapeliad

[UpUpAway95]

Getting a "sprain risk" caution is really not a problem.  The ones you got while picking up stuff probably meant that you became overencumbered by adding the weight of that item to your inventory.  Carry less and leave yourself some room to pick up additional items and you'll see fewer cautions about sprain risk.

Since the hotfix, I've been only getting actual sprains on sloped terrain.  I can still get a sprain on sloped terrain when not overencumbered, but those seem to happen less frequently than before the hot fix.  I will get regularly get sprains if I am overencumbered and walking on a slope unless I slow down and crouch... then I often will be able to successful navigate the slope without a sprain.  I don't think that they are actually any more frequent, though, than before the update.  What I have noticed as a "benefit" of this new sprain system is that being overencumbered doesn't seem to slow my character's walk down as much as it used to.  So, even if the risk of getting sprains while overencumbered has been increased (and I don't think it actually has), I"m no longer slowed as much by merely being overencumbered... and I'm fine with that trade off.

Without any treatment at all, the pain will last 4 hours.   Sprained wrists will heal with 2 hours of sleep and sprained ankles will heal with 4 hours of sleep.  So, if you go to bed and sleep for 4 hours, everything will heal without any use of other resources.  I do think that perhaps they should make it such that pain from a sprained wrist will last only 2 hours since the sprain will heal with 2 hours of sleep.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[Doc Feral]

I actually had no trouble with sprains. The "red slope" alert shows up sometimes, the sprain risk appears when tired and encumbered, but I didn't notice any increase in sprains. I only had that issue with no more than three sprains (yes, I think I deserved more) even if I was burdened, walking on a slope and repeatedly getting red flashes on the screen, but I guess it's being fixed.

[Grignard_TN]

      I don't know what is going on. I've had a grand total of one sprain since Steadfast Ranger, even BEFORE the hot fix. It could be because in my playstyle I often sacrifice protection and warmth for having low encumbrance. I like to be able to find things along the way and not have to worry if its too much mass to be taking on. I get sprain risk quite frequently though.

[stapeliad]

I'm always carrying too much (90-something lbs) on my hunting trips, and my clothing weighs a lot (that moose hide cloak), and while I know this is a factor in the sprains, it's.... really excessive.  Much worse than it was before the update.  I'm not playing differently than I previously have for a long run.  But even if I get my gear down to 80-something lbs the sprains are still constant. My character at full rest/condition unencumbered is good until 66 lbs.  Anything over that is a constant sprain pain.  And of course the more tired we get the less carry capacity we have.  The well-fed buff is great, +11 lbs, but once that wears off... sprain!

Idk about other modes than Stalker.  Are the values different in other modes?

Edited May 13, 2019 by stapeliad

[Guest kristaok]

That's odd because I haven't been getting many Sprains since the Hotfix.

[Bronco]

Had two sprains back to back (like within 30 secs of each other) while climbing to Signal Hill in PV. Apart from that, only one other sprain while playing about 70 days worth on survival mode. Mainly playing Timberwolf Mountain which is quite hilly but manageable.

[stapeliad]

Well it appears that since the constant sprains seem to be just me, it confirms the sad fact that my character is addicted to painkillers. 

Maybe once I have all my clothing established properly I can ditch the moose cloak and free up some weight. 
I basically don't have to worry about the cold except in extreme conditions.  I like not having to worry about the cold.
And I like stocking up on stuff at my bases, too, in one long trip.
I like walking up and down all the hills and going wherever I want.
I do not like all the sprains.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by stapeliad

[Guest kristaok]

I heard but don't quote me on it that if you're over 30 in weight your chance for Sprain increases. 

[Cr41g]

You definitely aren't the only one... started a new survival...3 sprains the first day.... so encumbrance was NOT a factor

My Second was a wrist sprain.. slight slope in Muskeg... bandaged and painkillers, took 2 steps...not kidding... another wrist sprain.

Although I appreciate the new mechanic... I think it needs to be dialed back some

 

[UpUpAway95]

The overencumbered line is arbitrary.  I think the sprain risk is the same whether you're 1 kg over your weight carry capacity or 10 kg over.  You can lower the number of sprains you incur by slowing down and crouching when you see the slope indicator come up on the screen.  That is, respect the risk warning and slow down.  I haven't yet gotten a sprain while crouching since the hotfix. 

Before the hotfix I was getting sprains on level ground - even indoors.  I was overencumbered at the time, but I think the key trigger in those two cases was turning around quickly or suddenly... perhaps the game was interpreting the turning input as a slope.  That has not happened though since the hotfix.

The mechanic for sprains is not based on time, so the frequency of them is not controlled by the game, but by you and your behavior.  They may have increased the game's sensitivity to slopes, but I actually don't think they did.  They appear to have made a change to encumbrance that allows the player to walk faster while encumbered.  That is, the PC's walk does not slow to crawl just because he/she is carry too much.  This, I'm sure, is what is causing some players to incur more sprains than they did before.  It is the player now who has to heed the slope warnings and slow down.

Edited May 13, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[stapeliad]

I started my current run yesterday (after the hotfix).

When I get home tonight I'm going to look back through my daily log and count my sprains.
In the 30 -odd days I have survived numerous wolf bites, a bear attack, a moose attack, infection, intestinal parasites, hypothermia, food poisoning, major and minor bruising, cabin fever, basically everything except dysentery. 

The sprains are by far the worst.

[peteloud]

For the past week I have been into extreme goating and had a million sprains, but that it perfectly understandable.  In normal activities I suspect that I get the same number of sprains as before  v1.48. although I suspect that if I was over-encumbered, as I usually was, I'd get more sprains.  Now I try to keep my load below 40Kg. This has had a few side-benefits, mainly that I travel faster.

In general, I usually ignore the sprains and pain, apart from wrist sprains which have a vital effect on my use of the bow.  Ankle sprains & pain, ignore them until you can sleep them off.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by peteloud

[UpUpAway95]

51 minutes ago, stapeliad said:

I started my current run yesterday (after the hotfix).

When I get home tonight I'm going to look back through my daily log and count my sprains.
In the 30 -odd days I have survived numerous wolf bites, a bear attack, a moose attack, infection, intestinal parasites, hypothermia, food poisoning, major and minor bruising, cabin fever, basically everything except dysentery. 

The sprains are by far the worst.

However, you can get sprains during animal attacks, so how many of those sprains you're counter occurred during the numerous attacks you have survived and are not due to the sprain mechanic.  My current character has survived 71 days in pilgrim mode and has 9 wrist sprains and 10 ankle sprains in total.  The majority of those were incurred before the hotfix.  My other current character (CH start) has only survived 3 days, but has no sprains so far.

Edited May 13, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[stapeliad]

More from walking around, definitely 100% sure of that.

Edited May 13, 2019 by stapeliad

[UpUpAway95]

3 minutes ago, stapeliad said:

More from walking around, definitely 100%.

You're contradiciting yourself there... Is it more from walking around (which would be somewhere between 50% and 99%) or all (100%) from walking around?

[stapeliad]

Sorry pls see edit.  I'm 100 % sure most of the sprains were from walking around.  A few were from the wolves. I'll look in the journal later.

[Carbon]

Seems as good a time as any for some levity. Yep....excessive sprains have been around for a while.

 

 

[stapeliad]

I sprained my wrist scrolling down reading that last post!

[stapeliad]

This thread would not be complete without.....

[UpUpAway95]

37 minutes ago, stapeliad said:

Sorry pls see edit.  I'm 100 % sure most of the sprains were from walking around.  A few were from the wolves. I'll look in the journal later.

Unfortunately, the journal doesn't differentiate between sprains that occur while walking and those that occur during attacks... a sprain is a sprain is a sprain.  At the lower difficulty (voyager), I have averaged about 1 sprain somewhere per wolf attack, along with assorted bleeding wounds and clothing damage; but I haven't played anything but pilgrim since the 1.48 update since I've been trying to clear areas completely to get a handle on revolver spawn rates and I didn't want to be dealing with attacks at the same time.  I generally don't last too many days on the higher difficulties yet (still need to git gud at this game 🙂)

Edited May 13, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[Gravos]

I want to start by saying that this is the most fun game I've played in a very long time. I've put in a good 60-70 hours already. I actually made an account on here just to comment on the sprain system. I absolutely hate it.  As it is now it serves no purpose but frustration. I appreciate the idea of trying to improve it, but it's far worse now. I basically assume that any sort of long trek on anything but a flat surface will result in 2-4 sprains. Every time. It's just not fun. 

[stapeliad]

Ok, here are my stats:

38 days. i'm on the morning of day 38, just woke up so let's say 37 days.
12 wolf struggles.
15 wrist sprains.
5 ankle sprains.

Most of these were from walking around.  maybe 4-5 were from wolves.

That gives me 1.6 sprains a day.
Again, this is Stalker mode.

 

DAY 38 update: add one ankle sprain and 1 wrist sprain, so far...

Edited May 13, 2019 by stapeliad

[UpUpAway95]

1 hour ago, stapeliad said:

Ok, here are my stats:

38 days. i'm on the morning of day 38, just woke up so let's say 37 days.
12 wolf struggles.
15 wrist sprains.
5 ankle sprains.

Most of these were from walking around.  maybe 4-5 were from wolves.

That gives me 1.6 sprains a day.
Again, this is Stalker mode.

 

DAY 38 update: add one ankle sprain and 1 wrist sprain, so far...

All I can say is my CH start has now survived 10 days without a single sprain.  In that time, he has almost completely looted CH, trekking up and down numerous hills and often overencumbered (having looted 391 items according to the journal and having transported virtually all of it back to the quonset gararge).  I think it's really just a matter of adapting a playstyle that heeds the cautions you're given.  I don't think they've changed the actual risk rates at all.

However, I'll up my difficulty to stalker on a new start and see if my sprain rate increases (but I do tend to die very quickly on the higher difficulties - I'm not very good yet at fighting off predators).

ETA:  On stalker, your character fatigues much quicker and fatigue is also a risk factor for sprains and does make you overencumbered when you wouldn't normally be if rested.  As predicted, I died quickly, but I didn't get any sprains running up and down some hills before I met my demise to a wolf.

Edited May 14, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[Goodzilla]

@stapeliad  I have got the same problem here.

I like to walk up or down a hill apart the paths and after the last update I got spraining's all day long.

It feels like 10 times more than before. Even I walk on an easy terrain, lets say in PV from the radio tower to the farmhouse. Just on the way down from the Radio tower I get two sprains at least, before I never had this problem at all.