Wolf Tactics 101

[Duck1098]

Just thought I would post this to help newer players out a bit.

1. Your tactics with wolves will vary depending on your skill level. If you are just starting a game with low skills then avoid wolves at all costs. As your game progresses you can afford to take a few more risks and once you max out certain skills (Archery for ex:) you can go head on into the frey. I have stated in the past that Cooking 5 and Archery 5 change the game radically as you become virtually invincible if you are confident with the bow. The only creature at that point that merits respect is the bear....and they are easily killed when shot from above with the bow.

2. Watch what you are carrying. I have been stalked by wolves while holding only a partial piece of meat. You should walk with your head on a swivel anyways but if you are carrying fresh anything...be that much more careful.

3. Watch how you crest hills and unknown areas. It is often good to stop well befor ethe top of a hill and have a listen. This has saved my character more times than I can count. As I am getting close to the top I will stop, crouch, and listen. Often you can hear their little paws in the snow if they are close.

4. Crouching can save you. If you haven't been spotted you can crouch walk around a wolf in your path as long as you don't get too close. You will be surprised how close you can get.

5. With Archery 5 you can crouch walk into the path of the wolf and tee up a one shot kill all day long. This is why I get to Archery 5 as fast as possible. Works with the rifle as well but the sway on the rifle in the early game if you are fatigued can be a problem.

6. If you do agro a wolf and there is good distance between you and it then try this.
Imagine your intended direction is 12 o'clock.
If wolf appears between 3 and 9 keep going but walk backwards facing the wolf until you can get to cover or on a fallen tree where you can shoot it from safety.
If wolf appears between 9 and 12 then walk sideways around the wolf until you have it in a trailing position. Same for 12 and 3 but in the other direction.

I have walked away from wolves alot just because most of the time you really don't need to fight them and often they just give up.
I should mention if you are overburdened and walking slowly...you will likely be attacked as all of this assumes your walking speed is greater than the wolves.

7. Always have your gear/clothing in good repair prior to wandering into a fight with a wolf....and ALWAYS repair it after. There is nothing more frustrating than losing your last ear cover thingy cuz somehow you missed a shot and got mauled.

8. Wolves are dumb. They can easily be lured and shot to clear a path. This is why most players have 200 wolf pelts after 300 days. And with Cooking 5 you have endless food. A tactic I use is to kill a deer and then harvest it. Hold on to the meat and let the wolves come. In a few minutes you have a dear and six wolf carcasses.

9. Choose your base wisely. I know alot of players like CH Quonset as a main base. It is good and it isn't. For me the big negative is you can easily be jumped by a wolf in that town and you never saw it coming. Pick a location that has the wolves away from the base a bit.
ML Camp Office
PV Farmhouse
TWM Mountaneers Cabin
CH Fishing Cabins
FM Farmstead
BR Hunters Lodge
Ravine Cave to the right side....not actually down in the ravine
In each of these locations I have only ever been jumped once if at all by a wolf. Very rarely indeed.

Hope this helps !

[skydancer]

Can u scare now wolf with torch or flare or it's still pointless?

[thruxmore2000]

Originally posted by skydancer:

Can u scare now wolf with torch or flare or it's still pointless?

If ur on easy, yes, if ur on loper or stalker, waste of resources.

If you do want to scare him off and you feel the use of resources is warranted, start a fire. Even if it doesn't catch, it will scare him off whilst you are in the process of starting it. Using a torch to start it will lessen the match usage. If the fire does start, you have all the time in the world to plot a strategy to move away as he backs off in various directions.

[iheartmyocd]

As a basic guidline, pretty solid tactics for beginners TA.

You should add a little caveat about the situational tactics as well tho. Advanced wolf tactics vary wildly based on your difficulty level, your health at the moment, your needs, long term and short term goals, the map yr on, how much ammo you have at the time, the weather... ML, for example, I tend to get stinky and go hunt the lake pack as soon as I can, just because there are only three of them (four on stalker) and once they are all dead or bleeding, I can have a few days of completely safe fishing to stockpile calories on the office porch.

[oobayly]

Stones are you friend - if you see a wolf that hasn't picked you up and it's walking towards you (or towards where you want to be) throw a stone and it'll run over to investigate. Just make sure it doesn't land between you and the wolf...

I've never tried throwing a stone at a wolf to scare it off though.

[Duck1098]

Originally posted by iheartmyocd:

As a basic guidline, pretty solid tactics for beginners TA.

You should add a little caveat about the situational tactics as well tho. Advanced wolf tactics vary wildly based on your difficulty level, your health at the moment, your needs, long term and short term goals, the map yr on, how much ammo you have at the time, the weather... ML, for example, I tend to get stinky and go hunt the lake pack as soon as I can, just because there are only three of them (four on stalker) and once they are all dead or bleeding, I can have a few days of completely safe fishing to stockpile calories on the office porch.

100%
This was just to help newer players who might have read the million posts on how hard the wolves are to deal with and I thought I would offer some hope that it really isn't that bad.
8-)