Rank the reserves from easiest to hardest

[ilumino]

I'm pretty new to the game and I've only played the two base maps so far, but I'm curious how people would rank them in difficulty. By that I mean how easy it is to hunt, kill, and harvest the majority of the animal types on the map. Also, bonus points if the map "feels" harder (more remote, wild, etc).

Based on what I've seen so far, I think Hirschfelden is easier than Layton Lake. In fact, I feel this is the best "starter" map.

My ranking would go something like this from easiest to hardest:

Hirschfelden:
There are lots of farms with people there which makes it "feel" tame, and the starting position on the map is actually as good as anywhere to hunt on it. The most common game can be easily hunted with the starting rifle, and the area is full of nice open draws with the fields with a wide view.

Layton Lake
Need to do a fair bit of travel to find animals. You'll run into lots of black bear and moose which starting guns struggle with. Some high areas have few animals.

Colinas ?
Fernando ?
Medved ?
Yukon ?
Vurhonga ?
Silver Ridge ?

I'm unsure about Colinas and Fernando so I put them in the middle. Medved gets bonus points for me because it has the brown bear just feels remote and desolate. I definitely think Yukon and Vurhonga have some tough animals on them, some of which will attack you. Silver Ridge I put last mostly because the terrain seems the toughest of all the maps. Seems like it would be difficult to move around on quickly.

[Princosse]

I am pretty new myself but i played a bit of multiplayer in each one of the games, and i feel like silver ridge has a lot of animals, And the mountains make it so you will find animals stuck on cliffs and such, providing you with easy kills.

[ilumino]

Originally posted by Princosse:

I am pretty new myself but i played a bit of multiplayer in each one of the games, and i feel like silver ridge has a lot of animals, And the mountains make it so you will find animals stuck on cliffs and such, providing you with easy kills.

I've heard about that, that's why I am waiting to play it. I hope the devs fix it. However, once it is fixed (if it gets fixed) I think it would be tougher to Harvest an animal like that because they can run up and over mountains if you just wound them. Tracking seems like it would be difficult.

[McSqurl Nugget]

do you mean just general hunting or for missions also?

If you go by difficulty for general hunting then from easiest to hardest would be
LL
Hirsch
Vurhonga (these three tie for first as they have the most animals)
PF
CC
Medved
Yukon (medved and yukon tie, and can be interchanged)

if you mean by mission difficulty then that list would be reversed. PF has one of the hardest missions though, for getting a diamond of all of the species on that map.

SRP was left off intentionally, i haven't played it yet.

[Mr_MeGusta]

Silver Ridge terrian can be intimidating at first, but it so open up on the mountains that its easy to just sit their and snipe tons of goats. I haven't been down much in the bear valley, but I imagine if you get the perks to move quieter through the brush it would be easy to sneak up on bears and other things. Turkeys are really weird, sometimes they take off randomly, other times I've walked up to a group of 3 and shot each with a pistol without them moving at all. My experience was all in multiplayer which could have contributed to that. (though I was the host)

[Striker]

Hardest to me is MedVed, then comes Hirschfield (unless you hunt geese).

[Nero]

Easiest is definitely The Savanna ...HUGE open fields and all you need is a good scope and a good gun (the muzzleloader is my fav for savanna) and you can really go for long huge shots
Muzzleloader+ Minié bullet on 250m shoots THROUGH a warthog.

I havent played ALL of the maps since i want to savor every map.
But one of the heavier maps i have encountered yet is probably Hirschfelden... its really dense forests make spotting a chore. Yet when you find a herd of deer it usually gives you more kills than for example Layton lake since the roe deer stick closer together and even stick together when fleeing.

Layton lake can be pretty hard too NGL.
The higher you go into the mountains the higher the winds get. In the valleys of Layton there are no storms and minimal winds. But when you go above Cheelah you will experience heavy storms which can really be deafening and distracting when listening to steps.

[Dirty D Dirt]

I have only played on LL for maybe 50 hours before the dlc's, Hirsh for maybe 5, and now Silver peaks and Savannah. LL was a great beginner map. Silver peaks is my fav as far as overall beauty and hunting. Hirsh was trash and Savanah so far is hard mode. Hardly any game to be found since they spook so easily and can see you since there is little coverage.

[Falcon]

Easiest -> hardest

Cuatro
Te Awaroa
Vurhonga
SRP
PF
Layton
Yukon
Medved
Hirsch

The most beginner friendly map IMO is Te Awaroa. No maneaters. You can pass integrity check on all animals except turkeys with the .243. Least beginner friendly is a tossup. Maybe Parque Fernando. Water buffalo plus animals constantly being spooked by puma while you're trying to line your shot up.

[Neurotic Panda]

This is going to have really no credible info for you. everyone is going to have their own list (opinion) and most will be based on favorites > accessibility..

The variables here are great and dependent on what or how you like to hunt. Some maps are easier for long range, others for short range, you use stands only?, stalk?, etc, etc..

Not much help, but its really the truth IMO.

Have a good day

[Geronimo]

There are so many variables between reserves, and also within each reserve itself, that such comparisons are really insufficient to determine difficulty. Not to mention the various individual definitions of difficulty.

One reply suggested Hirsch was very hard. My immediate assumption on reading that was the player probably didn't see all of the reserve's different areas.

IMO, the actual difficulty found is not so much the place as the beginner state before having earned any perks.

With dlc weapons any player can now avoid the crippling of animals, but they cannot avoid those beginning experiences which develop their skills, which then make the hunt easier, and can be turned on or off to alter difficulty.

All of the reserves themselves have easy and difficult areas, and even this is governed by the hunter's individual footprint in any particular area. Something which is only learned by gametime.

Any reserve's difficulty can be defined more by the hunter's individual playstyle, moreso than any map's topography, Zone positions, or spawning.

As a matter of fact, zones and spawning are actually more a result of player control than they realize.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Neurotic Panda:

This is going to have really no credible info for you. everyone is going to have their own list (opinion) and most will be based on favorites > accessibility..

The variables here are great and dependent on what or how you like to hunt. Some maps are easier for long range, others for short range, you use stands only?, stalk?, etc, etc..

Not much help, but its really the truth IMO.

Have a good day :Bormin:

Lol, could have saved myself alot of keypoking had I read this first.

[Neurotic Panda]

Originally posted by Geronimo:

Originally posted by Neurotic Panda:

This is going to have really no credible info for you. everyone is going to have their own list (opinion) and most will be based on favorites > accessibility..

The variables here are great and dependent on what or how you like to hunt. Some maps are easier for long range, others for short range, you use stands only?, stalk?, etc, etc..

Not much help, but its really the truth IMO.

Have a good day

Lol, could have saved myself alot of keypoking had I read this first.

lol no worries man, same thing but you added more information.

i think as a community we could brainstorms and actually make a legit 'fan official' list like this, with maps ranked depending on what your play style is, etc.. Which might help a new player out or someone looking to decide on a new map DLC..

There are a lot of variables, and would have to be unbiased. But its possible.

Have a great day

[Falcon]

Originally posted by Dirty D Dirt:

I have only played on LL for maybe 50 hours before the dlc's, Hirsh for maybe 5, and now Silver peaks and Savannah. LL was a great beginner map. Silver peaks is my fav as far as overall beauty and hunting. Hirsh was trash and Savanah so far is hard mode. Hardly any game to be found since they spook so easily and can see you since there is little coverage.

Vurhonga's fairly easy, but takes some set up. You do need tripods. After you get your tripods set, it's super easy to shoot because there's nothing for the animals to hide behind, and most of them are clustered around a few watering holes. It's not terribly beginner friendly though due to needing tripods and a high caliber rifle and the number of aggressive animals.

[Karl]

Just type out why you think one is the easiest and why you think another is the hardest and there won't be an issue with player opinion muddying the water because you'll know based on your own playstyle which one gravitates towards what end of difficulty for you (probably)

Which some already did. I can't really add to this topic myself other than this, i've only played Cuatro Colinas so far.

[Neurotic Panda]

Like for me I think CC is one of the hardest maps. a lot of others says its their easiest.

why?

Well I use xbow or shotgun and love stands. This map is rough for stands, and 1/2 the animals you cant call with callers. There is a TON of open land, which with an xbow makes it hard to get to animals you are trying for, or get them to come to you..

Unlike if i had a high magnification scope with a rifle. This would be an easier map. Its open, not a lot of clutter, great for long open shots, with animals that herd or group up. If this was my play style this map would be at the top of the easy list.


You can break down every map this way and come to a conclusion as to what maps are easier or harder for certain play styles, or how you hunt.

Hope this kind of helps