When are you ready for interloper?

[Thurman Merman]

3 minutes ago, togg said:

But I do agree that loot in Stalker, especially of tools, should be less enormous so that those that don't like to play interloper have a reason tu use the furnace before day 200.

Just don't use the gun.  On my latest 200+ Stalker run, I think i have fired the rifle around 20 times.  And 6-8 of those were me shooting into a tree to see if it would up my skill level (of course, it doesn't).

[KD7BCH]

Well there are other problems with Stalker too. Itemization overload is one of them. That and though the game is enjoyable. Day 100 is much the same as day 50 day 200 much the same as day 50. Meaning you can play for weeks without much change in your status because you can get quite comfortable in Stalker. Interloper at least makes "comfortability" a much more remote possibility. 

I was unaware that you there was a bedroll to be found but if that is the case that is good news. I would prefer it to be something you have to craft and indeed I was disappointed that you can't straight craft one with cloth at least when I had tried early on upon reaching the FARMSTEAD. Anyway I find the balance of Interloper makes the game much more playable for me because if I'm going to die it is within 1-2-3 sittings and if I am going to endure the struggle remains with me much longer than in Stalker. Past day 10 in Stalker my risk of dying in the next 10 days is like 10% past day 20 risk of dying is like 5% it just doesn't get bigger until I start to run out of stuff virtual months or years later time which I don't find engaging enough to endure. In Interloper if I make it past day 10 my risk of dying is still very high past day 20 it starts to decline but it is still higher than in Stalker because of how scarce everything is and this is much more beneficial because the density of resources is very low in a survival situation. 

[ChillPlayer]

I didn't realize how much my gameplay depended on the Rifle until they took it away from me. With a Rifle you are golden for a long time and not just because of food, you are pretty much wolf safe. Doesn't matter if you use it or not but knowing that you can takes away alot of stress. Leaving Gaz Station in Interloper is a completely different story when you cannot just shoot a wolf (or in the air as I often did in Stalker) if you hear it barking. Or entering ML from Ravine and traveling to Camp Office in the night, not knowing if a beast is lurking somehwere you can't shoot. With a Rifle I just go on, without I use every cliff to try and spot a possible wolf. For me, this is the defining change in Interloper, everything else like less matches, colder temperature and such would be just Stalker v2.

 

[togg]

17 hours ago, ChillPlayer said:

I didn't realize how much my gameplay depended on the Rifle until they took it away from me. With a Rifle you are golden for a long time and not just because of food, you are pretty much wolf safe. Doesn't matter if you use it or not but knowing that you can takes away alot of stress. Leaving Gaz Station in Interloper is a completely different story when you cannot just shoot a wolf (or in the air as I often did in Stalker) if you hear it barking. Or entering ML from Ravine and traveling to Camp Office in the night, not knowing if a beast is lurking somehwere you can't shoot. With a Rifle I just go on, without I use every cliff to try and spot a possible wolf. For me, this is the defining change in Interloper, everything else like less matches, colder temperature and such would be just Stalker v2.

 

So true, you also have a simple way of getting easy meat.

[vancopower]

On 25.9.2016 at 7:24 PM, exeexe said:

What are you gonna recommend for a person who plays stalker. How many days should he/she be able to survive in stalker before he/she is ready for interloper?

You can never be ready for interloper, Interloper is more based on luck sometimes you find items quickly sometimes you don't sometimes the blizzard hits you from day one and sometimes the wolf does the same . If you want to play interloper be ready to have nerves of steel cause you will die a lot  and each way will be special and unique.

My advise is if you are lucky and manage to survive more than 2 days. Go for the secure loot: Farms, Houses Caves anything that spawns lots of items in other lvls, do not waste time on collecting things like mushrooms, rose hips  and sticks just the ones that cross your path. Waste not milisecond until you find light source and food. 

This LVL ain't a joke it is designed to test your survival instinct. Some players will say it will become easy once you master it but I don't think so.

 

P.S. if you spawn in DP just restart the game don't even bother. It is possible to survive but it is too hard.

[MueckE]

I just started a new Interloper run to test some things. While running across Pleasant Valley it came to my mind that i didn't actually searched PV for a bunker. I only did it in ML, but still guess that there is no bunker at all. Anyway, Riflemans wish for the rifle also came to my mind
 and than i thought (while i was freezing to death ) that finding a bunker in Interloper would kind of feel like finding one in the old days (where there was only ML).

So here is my idea: I really don't think that it would hurt the challenge of Interloper if there would be a bunker again, including the one with the rifle. BUT, in Interloper only one bunker both maps combined) would spawn, and the loot you can possibly find in it ofc has to be adjusted to Interloper (amount and quality). So the toolbunker could have a hacksaw or a hammer and maybe 12 matches or whatever. And if you are lucky, than you also could find the rifle bunker. There you only would be able to find 1 rifle without bullets. The only way to find rifle rounds is beachcombing.

When you think about the harsh conditions in Interloper, that there is only 1 bunker across two maps (18 possible spawnpoints), that the loot has been adjusted to Interloper and that riflerounds only can be found by luck at the coastline (risk of hypothermia on top), than i wouldn't mind the addition. It wouldn't make Interloper easier. What do you guys think?

EDIT: I personally have no interest in that. I really don't care. This suggestion is just a try to have a compromise between the wish of adding the rifle on the one hand, keeping Interloper like it is on the other hand.

[Scyzara]

4 minutes ago, MueckE said:

I just started a new Interloper run to test some things. While running across Pleasant Valley it came to my mind that i didn't actually searched PV for a bunker. I only did it in ML, but still guess that there is no bunker at all. Anyway, Riflemans wish for the rifle also came to my mind
 and than i thought (while i was freezing to death ) that finding a bunker in Interloper would kind of feel like finding one in the old days (where there was only ML).

So here is my idea: I really don't think that it would hurt the challenge of Interloper if there would be a bunker again, including the one with the rifle. BUT, in Interloper only one bunker both maps combined) would spawn, and the loot you can possibly find in it ofc has to be adjusted to Interloper (amount and quality). So the toolbunker could have a hacksaw or a hammer and maybe 12 matches or whatever. And if you are lucky, than you also could find the rifle bunker. There you only would be able to find 1 rifle without bullets. The only way to find rifle rounds is beachcombing.

When you think about the harsh conditions in Interloper, that there is only 1 bunker across two maps (18 possible spawnpoints), that the loot has been adjusted to Interloper and that riflerounds only can be found by luck at the coastline (risk of hypothermia on top), than i wouldn't mind the addition. It wouldn't make Interloper easier. What do you guys think?

I for one would love the addition of such a (poor loot) bunker. Always liked the joy of searching (and especially finding) the bunkers a lot. 

[ChillPlayer]

27 minutes ago, MueckE said:

This suggestion is just a try to have a compromise between the wish of adding the rifle on the one hand, keeping Interloper like it is on the other hand.

as far as I can tell only one forum member desperately wishes for a Rifle in Interloper and he is not even playing Interloper. In all honesty I don't see why there's a compromise needed.

About bunkers in general, I don't think they would add much to Interloper. Just substitute finding a Bunker for finding a Mag Glass or Bedroll When I finally found the Mag yesterday in the last spot that came to my mind across two maps it was like xmas and easter together, no not-gamebreaking-bunker (rifle..) could ever bring so much joy like knowing that your fire making problem is kinda solved

p.s. the forum really needs a Magnifying Glass Icon

[Hotzn]

On 25.9.2016 at 7:24 PM, exeexe said:

What are you gonna recommend for a person who plays stalker. How many days should he/she be able to survive in stalker before he/she is ready for interloper?

Verily, one who asks this question is not ready. The one who is ready feels a calm determination deep within. A defiance of death. A defiance even of weapons, of tools, of the warm embrace of the sun. He/She knows. About the wolves whispering his/her name in awe, in wolfish words that in the tongues of men would talk of "He who dances with flares" or "She who dances with a quality toolbox"...

[Wastelander]

Just now, Hotzn said:

Verily, one who asks this question is not ready. The one who is ready feels a calm determination deep within. A defiance of death. A defiance even of weapons, of tools, of the warm embrace of the sun. He/She knows. About the wolves whispering his/her name in awe, in wolfish words that in the tongues of men would talk of "He who dances with flares" or "She who dances with a quality toolbox"...

 so basically we're becoming Canadian Samurai?

[brian71mm]

On Sunday, September 25, 2016 at 2:04 PM, KD7BCH said:

You should consider Interloper to be about 10X as hard as Stalker. If you have survived 100 days in Stalker you should expect to survive 10 days in Interloper about 50% of your game attempts. 

The difficulty in Interloper is ramped at all stages because you start in some of the worst locations, you will not have access to tools such as the gun, the hatchet, the knife, and other tools like matches, flares, torches, are harder to come by. In many situations you will simply run out of time before you make it to the next plateau of viability. 

One of your best indicators of success is how far you can make it on day one. You will have the best condition that you will probably have for at least a week and so my starting strategy is to cover as much ground as possible. In doing so you can harvest cattails for food, you can pickup sticks in order to build a fire, and you can hop between natural or man-made remnant shelters. Travel light, don't exceed the about 60lbs limit. Don't waste fire starting implements and always prioritize how you start a fire, what you carry, and what you are doing for your goal. Early on you cannot afford a stockpile technique for firewood because you have to keep moving, in order to find areas with calories. After a day or two you hopefully have found a hacksaw and can harvest meat quickly, if not you will have to build a fire to thaw a carcass and get the guts in order to make an implement to catch rabbits or fish. 

Your goal should be to farm some rabbits in order to produce the mits and also to generate a minimum calorie intake daily to keep you alive. You will be living barebones for about a week and hopefully you will have several "stage points" along a route through he maps where you can harvest over the course of your journey. After a week or so you will be making your way to DP to make arrow heads as you will need to craft a bow for long term survival and you would also do well to find yourself the magnifying glass within a month if there is one because that is how you'll start fires after your matches are gone.

After the 100-200 days mark you will not have matches left or very few and you might consider trying to keep a fire going constantly at a residence you have to return to twice daily in this way you'd be able to cook and to make water and endure almost indefinitely. Plan to take advantage of the new beach combing mechanic as you will find goodies on the shores which will aid you in survival. 

Avoid the wolves, avoid risk, and be careful out there. It can all come to an end so fast. 

The truth about Interloper is this mode is designed to kill you, while the others are designed to challenge you and make it so you can master them, Interloper is the pinnacle of nature where rather than looking at you without a care, it looks at you with abhorrence and wants you to die. Enjoy but don't expect to endure, and don't expect to master it. 

Beach combing effect? Do explain please someone. 

[KD7BCH]

There are beaches as in areas where the weak ice approaches open water that came with the latest update. An interesting improvement. On these "beaches" things wash up on the icy shore. Fish, wood bullets, matches, etc. 

[Docterrok]

I simply spend weeks beachcombing on desolation point, I still have horrible clothes, I just live in the lighthouse and make water, gather fish, sticks, and occasionally venture out for matches.

[Mortan1234]

honestly i played interloper before i played stalker. it taught me what materials were valuable and how to manage my inventory. for me interloper was never about surviving but learning what items truly keep you alive.

[Vulp]

Never