Blood trails disappear

[Nasenhupe]

I got the game back when it came out but did not like it when it released. Now after a while I installed it again and started over. And I really like it but I dont understand that so often when I shoot a deer and try to follow the blood trail, the trail simply disappears. I use the second rifle I am supposed to buy in the story mode and I use lvl 5 ammo. Am I hitting them badly and they simply stop bleeding after a couple of meters or is it bugged? But I also hit one deer and there was a huge blood patch which I followed for about 100 meters. Huge blood trails and then... nothing... The shot was lethal and even if it wasnt, the bleeding should not have stopped. I dont know what I am doing wrong.

[VictoriaHuntress]

If the blood trail analysis of the origin says that the animal survived, then the shot was not fatal - in this case the blood trail beyond the origin will be very short or non-existent.

Otherwise, the blood trail will continue until you reach the spot where the animal finally expired, or should do so in the absence of some programming defect.

I can recall one case where the same thing happened to me - a clearly fatal lung shot, but the trail just stopped after several blood spatter streaks. I tried everything to find it - exited the reserve, set my difficulty level to Hiker, with full Hunter Sense (I play in Hunter Mode with only footprints identification and the ballistics solution display in the sights, or in Ranger mode), went back in, and fast travelled to the nearest campsite to resume the search. The trail remains when you do that exactly as I left it, but with all that handy illumination, but that didn't solve the problem.

Blood trails do disappear after you claim the animal, but not always immediately - sometimes they persistent for a while. It sounds like there are cases where they disappear too soon, like what we've both seen.

Most of the time, though, persistent tracking will find the deceased animal.

If it happens again, you can turn on full Hunter Sense if you have disabled the tracking and interaction highlighting features, and go from there, or make the switch to Hiker Mode + Full HS.

[Lanani]

Adding to what Victoria said above, as soon as you shoot the animal, place a marker where it was so you can easily find that original blood splatter. If you cannot find it, the rest of the analysis will still give away whether the trail will end or not:

- Lots of blood: animal will die quickly, if not directly on the spot, unless it's bird that got shot and survived.
- Medium amount of blood: animal will die, but it will take a while. Expect the trail to be several hundred yards/meters long.
- Small amount of blood: animal will survive, the trail will stop after a few meters.

Also note that the direction of the splatter indicates where the next one will be. The thick/round end is where the animal came from, the thin/frayed end is where it went.

In most cases where people see medium/lots of blood and can't find the animal, it's because the trail is still there, but complicated. E.g. trails do not show up in water (so if your animal crossed a river, you'll need to check the other shore for where the trail continues). Animals sometimes also do sharp turns or run in circles, especially if they bedded down while wounded and then spooked again when you got closer. In such cases, I can recommend two things:
1. Place a marker at the last clearly identifiable marker. Back up 20 m or so. Do a circle around that marker to check for where the trail goes into the bushes.
2. Switch to Hiker difficulty--it indicates every splatter with a glowing cone in hunter sense.

And if that still doesn't work, quit to main menu and go back into game. If the animal corpse bugged out, this should spawn it back in.

If none of this works, please report it via the link in the following thread:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1288320/discussions/0/3819656548999739931/

[Nasenhupe]

Thanks for your replies :) That helped a lot. I usually place markers on the blood trails so it makes it easier when I dont find the next blood patch.

Most of the animals just left small amounts of blood so it sounds legit that the trails disappeared. I think I simply placed bad shots.

The other two deer were really strange: They both left big blood patches and I was searching the area for 20 minutes to find more of the blood but found nothing. One deer indeed crossed a river but I also searched everything in a big radius but also: Nothing. I set the options so that all blood trails are glowing but that did not help either. I will try to place better shots and report back here :)

Thanks guys!

[Nasenhupe]

Okay I think i figured it out now. Downed a deer with two shots and then it fell after a couple of meters. Then I had the Hollywood Mission and of course I was impatient and hit him from 250 meters and very badly. I searched for him but had no success. Then I returned to where I found him first and he was there again. Second shot was better and I was able to track him down and he was dead. I find it very difficult to down an animal with one shot - harder than in COTW. But I like the game so far.

[Skelos]

Originally posted by Nasenhupe:

Okay I think i figured it out now. Downed a deer with two shots and then it fell after a couple of meters. Then I had the Hollywood Mission and of course I was impatient and hit him from 250 meters and very badly. I searched for him but had no success. Then I returned to where I found him first and he was there again. Second shot was better and I was able to track him down and he was dead. I find it very difficult to down an animal with one shot - harder than in COTW. But I like the game so far.

I always aim just behind the front leg if I have a side shot and if I have a front shot aim low on the chest just slightly left or right of center
Once you learn where the various animals organs are placed it becomes super easy to get double lung shots and heart shots even at 250m

[6Taylor4]

I'd remind you to check all three screens when you claim an animal. There's a lot of instructive info on them, especially the track and damage of your shot(s), energy level. Then you can apply the data to your shot and possibly improve your techniques.
Are you zeroing in the scope for the proper distance? Are you using the hunter sense? In the scope, are you seeing the colored highlight for the best shot? Are you prone, kneeling or standing? Sway increases as you rise. All can increase your likelihood of a good harvest.

[VictoriaHuntress]

Originally posted by 6Taylor4:

I'd remind you to check all three screens when you claim an animal. There's a lot of instructive info on them, especially the track and damage of your shot(s), energy level. Then you can apply the data to your shot and possibly improve your techniques.
Are you zeroing in the scope for the proper distance? Are you using the hunter sense? In the scope, are you seeing the colored highlight for the best shot? Are you prone, kneeling or standing? Sway increases as you rise. All can increase your likelihood of a good harvest.

Agreed!
If you remember to 'call your shot', that is, where your point of aim was when you squeezed the trigger, you can compare that with the actual point of impact on the animal and the relative stance of the animal - it may have moved slightly, or if it was walking, you were off in the attempt to lead the target.
Also, there is the effect of the rifle's dispersion cone (the Hunter Sense Probable Point of Impact circles) - that represents the random error that the ballistics engine would add to the bullet's trajectory as it leaves the muzzle (this is separate from aim sway) - the inner circle is the high probability impact zone, and the concentric ring of the outer circle is the low (but not zero) probability impact zone.