Badges and Feats

[Animalman]

Hey, so i have a question;

generally; the harder it is for the feat to achieve; the better the benefit the badge gives you?
OR
are they somewhat all balanced once unlocked?

for example;

combining both Running and Snowshoes to create 20% faster recharge and 25^% few calorie burn vs +2 temperature buff and snowshoes.

Which is the better option?

I own this game long time still have not achieved alot of the feats

[Chris P. Bacon]

I guess that is kind of a matter of opinion. I'll just give you my top four in order:

1. Blizzard Walker
2. Cold Fusion
3. Efficient Machine
4. Fire Master

I don't sprint enough during my runs to make those feats worth it to me.

[Chris P. Bacon]

Originally posted by micah6vs8:

How much of a pay off is Blizzard Walker Chris?

I guess it really depends on how much those headwinds bother you. I've only used it for 10 in-game days (just got it the other day), but I have definitely noticed a difference. It feels like when I am playing mario kart and hit one of those boost pads on the track, haha

[Animalman]

Cold fusion i guess is up on top tier since its benefit is constantly felt. All the time, everwhere.
Whereas calorie burn only apply when running; and not all movement in general. So calorie burn is less effective in this sense.Same with snowshoes.

perhaps had 20% less calorie burn all around(not just run) would seem very powerful at first. I guess thats why it is the way it currently is.

[gothmog77]

The difficulty of unlocking is not really related to the strength of the feat, and the feats are not at all balanced wrt each other.

Cold Fusion is by far the best feat, and is the 3rd one I unlocked through normal gameplay.

Efficient Machine takes a bit longer to unlock but is another strong one, probably 2nd best feat. Needing less food is always helpful.

The first feat I unlocked was Expert Trapper, which is a lot weaker than it appears. Snares are cheap, and if you want more rabbits just lay more snares. The limiting factor is the time it takes to harvest/process/cook the rabbits, not how fast you catch them, after the first 10 or so rabbits.

Book Smarts looks like it will take a while for me to get, but the benefit looks very underwhelming. There are only a handful of skill books available to find (depending on difficulty) so the most you can benefit is a few points here and there. In the early game, skill books are not worth the time spent reading them, and in the late game your skills will eventually max out through practice anyway. Getting a few bonus points toward rifle/revolver skill can help save a little ammo I guess, but this is only relevant below Interloper.

Fire Master is pretty nice early game, but useless late game, since eventually you will max out your fire skill. If you are in a relatively stable situation, you can pull a torch from a campfire to start another fire with, using a stick and tinder, to quickly level fire skill. I would only take Fire Master if I'm playing a difficulty where I tend to die in the first few days. This feat could take a really long time to unlock, if you never intentionally grind fire skill. If you do though, you can unlock it somewhat quickly.

Free Runner was the 2nd feat I unlocked, because I try to use coffee to jog everywhere I go. Sipping coffee makes it last a LOT longer. In my current Voyager run, (working on Cartographer), I always sip coffee when I travel, and I estimate I'll still have a lot leftover after mapping the entire island. As far as Free Runner goes though, I think it's one of the weaker feats. You really shouldn't be running very often, because it wastes Fatigue and Calories (coffee mitigates this), but also because you miss loot and run into predators if you are reckless.

Looks like Snow Walker will be the 4th feat I unlock. Not much to say about this one. Your stamina bar only matters if you run a lot, which you shouldn't be doing without coffee and a route free of predators. This is similar to Free Runner, pretty weak.

Straight to the Heart will take a while to unlock, unless you play Pilgrim/Voyager and waste a lot of coffee gulping it down. The benefit seems "not terrible" if you are a coffee addict. Might be a mid-tier feat then.

Blizzard Walker could take a while to unlock, because you should really avoid being outdoors during blizzards. Blizzards are very deadly, and you should take them seriously. Don't go out in a blizzard. That being said, if you are stuck outside in a blizzard, 25% movement speed could save your life. I rate this 3rd best feat.

TLDR:

Top Tier:
Cold Fusion
Efficient Machine
Blizzard Walker

Meh:
Free Runner
Snow Walker
Straight to the Heart

No:
Expert Trapper
Book Smarts

Special:
Fire Master (great early, useless late)

[gothmog77]

NGG, do you know what counts towards Blizzard Walker progress? Can I live in a cave for a while to get progress toward it? What about areas like the porch at PV farmstead or Mountaineer's Hut in TWM?

[gothmog77]

Feat rankings definitely depend on difficulty setting. On Pilgrim or Voyager, Blizzard Walker probably takes top spot because of the quality of life benefit. On Interloper and tough custom scenarios like Deadman, Fire Master is close to the top when otherwise it's kinda bad.

[gothmog77]

Originally posted by nextgengranny:

Originally posted by gothmog77:

NGG, do you know what counts towards Blizzard Walker progress? Can I live in a cave for a while to get progress toward it? What about areas like the porch at PV farmstead or Mountaineer's Hut in TWM?

The Mountaineer's Hut doesn't, nor, I would assume, the enclosed porch in PV. IIRC, the outer layer of two layer caves does count, as does any kind of outdoor vehicle (the truck in the PVF barn wouldn't). Fishing huts are probably where I accumulated most of my hours toward it, using one w/ a door when available.

Interesting, thanks. I haven't done much fishing yet, because I'm not close to running out of lamp oil, and fish are annoyingly heavy as food sources go. I have spent a little time in caves but not much, and I usually stay in the back for higher temperature. I guess I should switch to the front of the cave instead.

[pickle]

There's a fast and efficient way to grind Blizzard Walker in story mode due to its manual save system but I wouldn't recommend it to people who want to unlock feats through normal gameplay.

Edit: the Park Office in Milton is also a good place to gain progress for BW but it might be too cold to sleep without a fire on loper.

[Wutproppen]

Didn't know about badges until today when I suddenly got one (I think the book research badge).

[Animalman]

Book Smarts looks like it will take a while for me to get, but the benefit looks very underwhelming. There are only a handful of skill books available to find (depending on difficulty) so the most you can benefit is a few points here and there. In the early game, skill books are not worth the time spent reading them, and in the late game your skills will eventually max out through practice anyway. Getting a few bonus points toward rifle/revolver skill can help save a little ammo I guess, but this is only relevant below Interloper.

I find book smarts useless; i have it unlocked. Definately useless on interloper. Although i do usually manage to balance a book in if spawn gives me one within the first few days -- 10% buff effectively means 1 free book for every 10 read. Which when you think about it really doesnt help. lol

[Animalman]

I'd be interested to know if anybody try or uses Straight to the Heart

[gothmog77]

Originally posted by stinkin badges:

Originally posted by Animalman:

I'd be interested to know if anybody try or uses Straight to the Heart

"The effects of Coffee, Energy Drinks, and Emergency Stims last 25% longer".

Drinking even cold coffee seems to 'lock' the fatigue meter. This might be good for rope climbing?

I believe they reduce the fatigue cost of sprinting and climbing, but not to zero. All three of these items are very helpful for climbing and sprinting. I typically try to drink around 10 calories of coffee before each sprint (this depends on clothing penalties), so with Straight to the Heart I would only need 8 calories per sip. Similarly, for a rope climb I might use 20 calories of coffee, reduced to 16 with the feat. One Emergency Stim is already enough for even the longest rope climb, so the feat doesn't change much there. I haven't used Energy Drinks enough to fully understand their effects.

All of these items are non-renewable though, so I don't think it can ever compete with Cold Fusion, Efficient Machine, or Blizzard Walker.

[gothmog77]

Playing Hopeless Rescue taught me the value of coffee and stims. My first attempt I made it to the summit just before the 7 days were up, then realized I needed to get to the summit AND THEN TO THE LIGHTHOUSE in that time window. Jumped off the cliff and tried the challenge a few more times, with the knowledge that it is actually a pretty serious speedrun challenge. My final successful attempt took 3 days exactly. I now carry coffee everywhere I go.

[Animalman]

Books should be refined so that if you are disturbed during an hour while reading or run out of condition you dont have to repeat the entire hour doing it. So some ppl can squeeze in like 5 mins of reading, or like micro read during the last 5 min boil of the water, and have it still be worthwhile.

like the entire book take 5 hour,
but you cant fail to read an hour and so have to repeat the hour;; like with sewing or repair
instead

each minute spent is ticked off of how many minutes are left to read.

[alexUnder]

Didn't want to open up a new thread. So it's kinda necroposting but I see it as a better solution to threads spamming

So as for it came out this way...
Cold Fusion & Efficient Machine are the best for long terms Interloper. BUT both are actually making Interloper a little bit less interloperous :D

Snow Walker & Free Runner are both linked to Stamina and therefore are best for Inteloper if you want to influence Interloper experience the less. Of course they do influence experience since it's easier to outrun a wolf or survive in a blizzard. But they're not as cheaty as Cold Fusion & Efficient Machine. Personally I use Snow Walker & Free Runner on Interloper runs if any feats at all

Fire master is useless in long term runs. Straight to the heart is nice too but also short term only since you'll run out of cofee way too soon. Everything else is practically useless ;)