Hunting Pressure and Bows

[DarkM4773r]

I haven't gotten far in the game due to trying to down a buck as my first and toying around while restarting repeatedly(My OCD went into hyper-drive, whoops.). But anyway, onto the question. Do bows cause hunting pressure at all? I don't want to drop my first point into rifles if I can gain more XP through archery, then expanding into rifles, pistols, and/or boomsticks.

[Your Internet Dad™]

All weapons cause hunting pressure. My advice is honestly stick with rifles only; don't bother with bows, handguns or shotguns. Rifles will kill every single prey animal in the game, at any range, from foxes to bison and elk. You can play around with them once you flesh out your rifle collection and build your rifle skill, but don't bother wasting your money early in the game on the other weapons.

[DarkM4773r]

Originally posted by The Littlest Hummingbird:

All weapons cause hunting pressure. My advice is honestly stick with rifles only; don't bother with bows, handguns or shotguns. Rifles will kill every single prey animal in the game, at any range, from foxes to bison and elk. You can play around with them once you flesh out your rifle collection and build your rifle skill, but don't bother wasting your money early in the game on the other weapons.

Well crap, there goes the diversity. >_< But I may still get a revolver in case a bear charges me.

Thank you for your help. =)

Edit: I figured since the bow is silent, it wouldn't cause hunting pressure, but I suppose hunting pressure isn't based off of sound alone(?) and solely on the stench of death.

[Your Internet Dad™]

I believe hunting pressure is applied the moment a projectile strikes a live animal, as I've noticed it appears at the point where I've shot an animal, and not where it's been harvested. This makes it even more important to make your shots count so you can harvest animals, so you don't get hunting pressure applied without the reward of harvesting the animal. If you're going to apply hunting pressure to an area you might as well get credits and experience out of it.

Bows will spook animals to the same extent that a rifle shot will, whether they hit or not. And hitting one animal with an arrow will spook the rest of the herd the same as a rifle shot.

[DarkM4773r]

True, true. I didn't consider that. Thank you again. =)

[Fischkopf]

Originally posted by The Littlest Hummingbird:

Bows will spook animals to the same extent that a rifle shot will, whether they hit or not. And hitting one animal with an arrow will spook the rest of the herd the same as a rifle shot.

Yes, and thats the reason why the bow is crap in this game.. I expected same behavior of the prey as you shot from far distances, which is much more reasonable. When the prey doesn´t hear the shot they move just a few steps, when you have shot a few they´re moving their position with no hurry a little further out of the pressure zone. I like that.

But currently when shot with a bow, prey is jumping away as somebody has lighted up their tails..

[Snipawolfe]

Bows are amazing in my opinion. Once you have the perks for them to keep them on target and flatten their trajectory/give them more penetration, they one shot all kinds of animals. Rifles are definitely "easy mode" and will net you faster kills/more experience (if you're min-maxing for that kind of thing) but I enjoy hunting more with bows and shotguns so I use those, even though shotguns with buckshot nix my integrity and rarely drop anything larger than a roe deer on the spot. Slugs change that though. :D

Also, most of the skills apply to all the weapons even though they're in "trees," so look around for the skills you think would benefit all of your weapons the most and use those. The only tree that's very specific is the bow tree.

I currently carry the .357 for foxes, 30-30 lever (will upgrade to 45-70 when I get the cash; the lever action rifles have an insane refire time and if 2-3 animals walk up on top of me I can usually shoot all of them if I have 100+ meters of open space to work with), Caversham 12ga, and the 70lb bow. It's a bit overkill but I like my variety. A shame I can't buy a larger backpack though, ha.

To speak on hunting pressure though: it develops in the area where you first shot an animal, and it develops the second they drop dead. So if you shoot an animal and want to wait until it dies to track it (so you don't spook it and make it run further), wait until the purple area pops up. In my experience, hunting pressure at "level 1" has no effect. At 2 stacks in the same area, it seems to make animals more skittish. At 3, I have a lot of difficulty calling animals back to where I am.

[DarkM4773r]

Thank you for all the helpful input. It's nice that the red zone doesn't get completely abandoned by the wildlife for a set amount of time, which would erk me a little. I guess I'll just have to horde eveything in the game because variety is the spice of life, right?

[Groovy Monster]

Originally posted by Snipawolfe:

A shame I can't buy a larger backpack though, ha.

Just wait, I'm sure there will be a Backpacks DLC eventually. :D

[DarkM4773r]

I'll probably get some flack for saying this, but hunting packs could be pretty cool. Different sized packs would increase or decrease carrying capacity, but could also affect travel speed and noise created due to weight.

[Snipawolfe]

Originally posted by Groovy Monster:

Originally posted by Snipawolfe:

A shame I can't buy a larger backpack though, ha.

Just wait, I'm sure there will be a Backpacks DLC eventually. :D

Hell, if there is, it'd prob be worth my $4. Especially if when we buy the trophy shot DLC we get to have different backpack skins equipped while we're hunting.

Originally posted by DarkM4773r:

I'll probably get some flack for saying this, but hunting packs could be pretty cool. Different sized packs would increase or decrease carrying capacity, but could also affect travel speed and noise created due to weight.

I'd be SO down for this. As much as I love variety, I'd probably take a smaller pack and drop one of my guns. I'd enjoy moving faster and being more stealthy a lot.

[DarkM4773r]

Originally posted by Snipawolfe:

Originally posted by Groovy Monster:

Just wait, I'm sure there will be a Backpacks DLC eventually. :D

Hell, if there is, it'd prob be worth my $4. Especially if when we buy the trophy shot DLC we get to have different backpack skins equipped while we're hunting.

Originally posted by DarkM4773r:

I'll probably get some flack for saying this, but hunting packs could be pretty cool. Different sized packs would increase or decrease carrying capacity, but could also affect travel speed and noise created due to weight.

I'd be SO down for this. As much as I love variety, I'd probably take a smaller pack and drop one of my guns. I'd enjoy moving faster and being more stealthy a lot.

That would be cool to be able to take a trophy pic to show off both the trophy and a nice hunting pack.

Yes, I'd also enjoy using a small pack for hunting, stalking style. Large, medium, and small packs would come in useful on co-op expeditions.

[DarkM4773r]

Ooh, ooh, and imagine being able to actually attach antlers or a skull trophy onto a hunting pack. Someone on the discussions was talking about buying cabins for trophy collections and as the typical shelter, which doesn't sound half bad.

[Snipawolfe]

That would be pretty legit. I don't know what all is in the future for this game, but all the bellyaching about paid DLC is ridiculous. I'm personally glad they're releasing it since I know it means they have more plans and they'll put more work into it. If it gets ridiculous, we just don't buy the DLC and they'll get the message.

[DarkM4773r]

Originally posted by Snipawolfe:

That would be pretty legit. I don't know what all is in the future for this game, but all the bellyaching about paid DLC is ridiculous. I'm personally glad they're releasing it since I know it means they have more plans and they'll put more work into it. If it gets ridiculous, we just don't buy the DLC and they'll get the message.

I don't understand the bellyaching either, especially when it's not crucial core content. No game can be developed without revenue. I buy DLC because I border-line love a game and want more of it.

[Stipe]

I'll tell you. See, this new generation thinks everything is free. I read all of the 24 pages of dlc store comment section. This nimrods, that are usually buying games like COD for 60$ with an 8 hour campaign feel, that 30$ is already too much for this game. They thought they will get a super nice graphics with total simulation of hunting and every imaginable gear for just 30$. 3/4 of comments are about dlc even existing. If they could read they would know, that dlc's were promised from the start. Not what kind of dlc just that they will be dlc's. A lot of them ♥♥♥♥♥ about crashing and low fps and ugly graphics while playing on potatos.Next, they don't seem to grasp that you don't have to buy the dlc. It's quite simple. The game was released with basic content. That's why it was 30$. The second half will come with dlc's. Until we get all for total of 60$. That is how I will do it. You don't have to. Play the base game for 30$. When you are done, check the total cost and divide with the ammount of playing hours. Do the same for the rest of your other games and tell me where the value lies. I'll soon be at 25 cents per hour. Great value even if I stop playing today. Plan on 100 hours more. Next paid dlc I would like to see is animated avatars of this whiny community in game. With a bullseye on it.