Blizzards: safest time to travel?

[Greep]

So I've been thinking, if you wanted to go on a long hike to a new area, is going in a blizzard the safest time? Since animals despawn during this time, it sounds like you could transport as much meat as you like, and the condition loss of blizzard is just everyday condition loss to freezing with no fear of a wolf.

[Rumors]

Blizzards wreck your clothing and quickly soak/freeze them though. I mean, I suppose you could use it as safe travel time, but unless you're on a lower difficulty or have lots of stop and warm-up spots, I imagine you'll be getting there with hypothermia and possible frostbite. Not something I'd try unless it was a short distance, like rounding up fish from a ice hut to drag to Jackrabbit or something.

[Pagan]

On my early interloper starts, sometimes I'll make the run from quonset to desolation point in a blizzard. Especially if I don't have a flare gun and all my clothes are in good condition. You will need to stop at the basement in crumbling highway so you can recover a bit and not get hypothermia, but after you hit the coal mine you're good. And if you can make it to the riken and start forging it will dry your clothes out. But you'll be pretty low on condition by the time you hit DP, so bring plenty of coffee and food so you can gain a little condition while you forge.

[jswilliams]

Next stop, disaster! All aboard!

[listless]

I'm not sure whether it's something Hinterland changed, or I was just naive, but it used to feel safe traveling in a blizzard, and now it doesn't.

I haven't run into more than one wolf during a blizzard, so maybe it despawns most of them, but that one wolf is so much more dangerous during a blizzard - can't be heard, can't be seen, and you don't know it's onto you 'til suddenly you're fighting for your life.

I liked the idea of animals despawning during a storm. Blizzards were a wonderful combination of risk and reward, and it was deadly yet exciting to travel in them. Now they're pretty much all risk, and I just avoid them - another pass time event.

[badgermom]

If you're using a stim, have a sewing kit, will dry off after arriving and it's not too far, then I don't see why not. I wouldn't try to get from DP to CH, but ML to BR? Sure. I used to think everything despawned in fog, but animals just didn't pop in until I ran into them 100< days in-ish. Still lower chances than normal, so I take the opportunity.

[Greep]

I'm guessing animals don't despawn they just don't spawn. I.e. If you enter a building and exit they won't be anywhere. Because I'm running around with a ton of meat in the middle of milton and not seeing anything really.

[Kill'emAll]

Originally posted by Greep:

I'm guessing animals don't despawn they just don't spawn. I.e. If you enter a building and exit they won't be anywhere. Because I'm running around with a ton of meat in the middle of milton and not seeing anything really.

From my experience that is what I think is happening. If you are in a cave or area that does not save the game when entering then sleep or pass time for an hour.

[jayjum]

Originally posted by micah6vs8:

> Since animals despawn during this time

They do not always despawn.

I once thought it was safe to travel in blizzards. Looting Milton was especially nice. Then one day it was not so nice meeting Mr. Wolf.

I can confirm this, also happened to me in Milton. I thought I would take advantage of a blizzard to finally get into the gas station, it was early on and I had no weapons yet. So I started sprinting from grey mothers house only to find the 3 wolves still out front of the station, I was able to back up all the way to Milton house.

[I'll be the one]

Originally posted by Greep:

So I've been thinking, if you wanted to go on a long hike to a new area, is going in a blizzard the safest time? Since animals despawn during this time, it sounds like you could transport as much meat as you like, and the condition loss of blizzard is just everyday condition loss to freezing with no fear of a wolf.

Depends, I have taken advantage of the blizzard where I spawned at the Quonset, Took off all my clothes and looted all the houses. The only other times I traveled on purpose were the last day of 4DON, Alot of gear was at the dam and it was boring staying at Trapper's. The other was the Hopeless Rescue challenge where I went from TWM to DP. That time I finished with 50% health and damage on the clothes. Did not matter because it was the last day and was experienced enough that I knew the route.

[Lenny Rat]

I've only experimented with this recently...used blizzards to move about the Quonset area, through CrH, and then to dash from the caves to Hibernia Processing. No wolves encountered.

[markwars]

Hinterland said if something is aware of you before blizzard it will persist when blizzard starts. Otherwise the animals are gone.

[Kvakosavrus]

Yep, I prefer to pass BR "death tube" (the segment between Lanslide and Yard) during blizzard.

It's very dangerous place!!! Nowhere to turn to avoid wolves, no LOS. I always travel there with flare gun in my hand and preferably in blizzard.

[gnusjunkie]

It's a tactic, to be used depending on the circumstances like others. I've been particularly pleased to see a blizzard as I emerge from the tunnel into Crumbling Highway, for example. And yes, getting into and out of the BR Maintenance Shed is also somewhere this might be useful.

A theory that seems right to me (consistent with what others have reported on other threads) is that animals don't despawn in a blizzard but they don't spawn in a blizzard - so that if you are in the area and a blizzard starts up, they are still there. But if you go inside, wake up, do anything where you then re-enter the area and a blizzard is in full swing, they won't spawn ... yet. If you have contrary experience, that could mean the theory is wrong.

The other thing is that you need to have some fixture or other way to navigate like a road, a cliff, river or overhead powerline - going from tree to tree over ice or plain ground it is incredibly easy to get lost, even in areas that you are convinced you know extremely well.

So I'd say it's definitely not a good idea for moving into a 'new area', but might have a use in some region transitions or particularly difficult spots when all other options are closed off to you.

[listless]

Originally posted by markwars:

Hinterland said if something is aware of you before blizzard it will persist when blizzard starts. Otherwise the animals are gone.

I was about to question this, but the more I think about it: despite the fact that both times I got jumped by a blizzard wolf in a different spawning zone, I can't be certain it did not follow me from the zone I started out from.

[markwars]

Originally posted by rainyday:

Originally posted by markwars:

Hinterland said if something is aware of you before blizzard it will persist when blizzard starts. Otherwise the animals are gone.

I was about to question this, but the more I think about it: despite the fact that both times I got jumped by a blizzard wolf in a different spawning zone, I can't be certain it did not follow me from the zone I started out from.

I believe it. Best to travel in the blizzard only after a quick duck inside.