Best way to navigate the map early on

[Kungfumidget]

Hey, I was wondering how do people usually navigate themselves around the map for example you make a base in the forest and then you go off to hunt how do people usually get back to their base, im talking early on I dont know if it gets easier later.

[Ecktos]

I just tend to make a mental note of my postion in relation to closest obelisk or failing that I spend a little time familiarizing myself with prominent landmarks like rocks, rivers and such before venturing further away. Crafting a compass as soon as possible (lvl 10) is also a great help and you can also mark the map to help with navigation.

[Kungfumidget]

Originally posted by Ecktos:

I just tend to make a mental note of my postion in relation to closest obelisk or failing that I spend a little time familiarizing myself with prominent landmarks like rocks, rivers and such before venturing further away.

Cool I will try that, new to this type of survival game, my friends usually navigate themselves a lot better than i do xD

[Mansen]

If the server has maps allowed (M key) it's easy to navigate. Aside from that I have a print out map handy that I can put notes on.

Always make a mental note of where the three obelisks are - They are your Island wide GPS comparison points. It's not uncommon for me to settle fairly close to either of them so that I just need to head towards the one with that specific colour (RGB) until it seems familiar.

[Ydyp]

Well early on it isn't easy as you have no gps or compass to help you orrientate yourself. But what you have are the obilisks that are almost visible from all over the island. And you also have the sun/moon cycle to decide what direction is north.

For the rest pick a spot for your early base that you could find back easely with some landmarks or relative position to the obilisks and or never go run wild without losing your direction you run in out of eye.

Once the compass orientation is a bit easier, and at lvl 45 you could unlock a gps and if you build that you can't get lost anymore anyway or you have real trouble reading coordinates ;)

[EnragedN3wb]

Originally posted by Ecktos:

I just tend to make a mental note of my postion in relation to closest obelisk or failing that I spend a little time familiarizing myself with prominent landmarks like rocks, rivers and such before venturing further away. Crafting a compass as soon as possible (lvl 10) is also a great help and you can also mark the map to help with navigation.

This.

I still to this day find my way to certain caves by, "Left @ this tree. Right @ the big rock next to the little rock & then follow the river till it splits" etc... This also helps you familiarize yourself with the area & learn the map a lot better.

[Puri]

Yes, the three arks have different colors. Just remember your relative position between the two closest. Or place a campfire on a landmark (like the shore of a river), and then you know you have to turn left and run straight for some time.

It will get much easier later, at the start everything looks the same, but when you've played lon enough you are suprised that you can even tell from many screenshots where they were made.