The Game is not realistic as far as shooting the animals or did I experience a bug?

[Lord El Supremo]

I bought this game on Steam and then got a refund when I found out that this game is far superior on a big screen TV. You need at least a 36 inch screen to pay this game. And I couldn't figure out my PC gamepad settings. Then I bought it for Xbox One. And then I put in about 20 hours before quitting for good. I've hunted before and know guns, loads, and the capabilities of weapons because I've used them. I'm also an excellent shot in other video games and honed my skills with hundreds of hours and counting on Sniper Elite 4.
People who praise the game for "realism" are not really being realistic themselves. This game is not realistic as far as the shooting and the guns are concerned. Not even close. As a matter of fact the guns are disgusting for their ineffectiveness. Maybe when you unlock the 300 magnum you would finally have an effective weapon. The 3 rifles I used in the game were useless at long range. I thought there should be rewards for long shots. Reward like collecting the animal.
Many people who assign negative reviews to this game do so because they say it doesn't have enough animals, it's too boring, etc. I really gave the game a chance and I was able to find animals no problem. If you can't find animals near the watering holes there is something wrong with you. If you watch your wind and move quietly you'll find game.
My problem was that I shot many animals but didn't get to harvest many of them. It's so ironic that early in the game I got the "expert marksman" achievement for shooting a moose I didn't even get to find. And had only harvested up to that time two rabbits, a coyote, and two does. With about 9 out of 10 direct shots on animals they'd run away. I'd walk up to the area and find a blood trail that would each and every time read "very light bleeding." And tracking the wounded animal was always a futile effort. They never stop moving, they never come out of the brush, and you never find them. Other players complained about this specifically. Following a blood trail for over an hour and having the track suddenly disappear or the animal just disappear off the map. If it doesn't drop, don't bother. You can find another animal faster than you'll find the one you wounded.
I found a bear standing (which is rare) and shot it in the head with the 243 from about 120 meters. Didn't faze it. Ran toward me. Shot it again. It still didn't drop. Thinking the 243 a pea shooter, I switched to the 270 and loaded it with soft points. Same result with that when shooting bears. I shot a doe above the front shoulder from about 20 meters. It ran away with "very light bleeding." I shot numerous moose dead center at ranges from 50 to 200 meters . All ran away with "very light bleeding." Shooting moose and deer in the neck didn't seem to bring them down either. So I bought DLC to get the 30.06. and bought soft point loads for it. Once again, shooting animals and they won't drop. I waited in complete cover for a cow moose to walk up on me and shot it right between the eyes from about 30 meters. It ran away with "very light bleeding." That's when I decided to quit.
So the developers thought they did a "realistic game?" No they didn't. Try again. Too bad, because they almost made a masterpiece.

[Hanuman]

You played for 20 hours, therefor your opinion is very far from being based on any type of actual ingame experience. It looks like you actually spent more time writing the above blog than giving CotW a real chance

Never heard of the 36" screen thing...mine is 27" and it looks and plays great.

That having been said, if you look a bit deeper into the player community, in this game, 200 hours played is a beginner. Most serious players have close to or over a 1000 hours.

I doubt I can change your mind, since you made up your mind so quickly, but maybe give it a bit more of a chance and you might love it.

vis-a-vis the roe deer, sounds like you hit the scapula. This is a very common problem with new players. Shot placement is everything.

[McSqurl Nugget]

Originally posted by Lord El Supremo:

blah blah wah wah wah bring me my blanky and binky

Originally posted by Dream Master:

You played for 20 hours, therefor your opinion is very far from being based on any type of actual ingame experience. It looks like you actually spent more time writing the above blog than giving CotW a real chance

Never heard of the 36" screen thing...mine is 27" and it looks and plays great.

That having been said, if you look a bit deeper into the player community, in this game, 200 hours played is a beginner. Most serious players have close to or over a 1000 hours.

I doubt I can change your mind, since you made up your mind so quickly, but maybe give it a bit more of a chance and you might love it.

vis-a-vis the roe deer, sounds like you hit the scapula. This is a very common problem with new players. Shot placement is everything.

+1 to this. well said

[DrFeelWorse]

To the OP: You need to learn how to shoot vitals. The vitals are not "dead-center." Of course if you tag a buck in the neck, it will only be a result of light bleeding.

I always aim for the heart for a real challenge, lungs as a back-up. Those are the only areas that matter when hunting.

This is an example of where you need to shoot:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2211210532

I hope this helps in some way.

[Hanuman]

Originally posted by DrFeelWorse:

To the OP: You need to learn how to shoot vitals. The vitals are not "dead-center." Of course if you tag a buck in the neck, it will only be a result of light bleeding.

I always aim for the heart for a real challenge, lungs as a back-up. Those are the only areas that matter when hunting.

This is an example of where you need to shoot:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2211210532

I hope this helps in some way. :cozybethesda:

That's a nice heart shot. I have been struggling with getting heart shots when using tripod/tree stand/hunting stands...once I am shooting downward at a 45 degree angle, I just can't get nice heart shots. Especially since I love tree stands and they can be mounted at variable heights. This changes the downward angle so much that I have to account for distance, in that if the animal is too close and I am up to high, a heart shot is out (at my current bow skill level).

I

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

In the ammo info screen there are animal size classes this ammo is used for.
You are trying to shoot large animals with small guns, .300 and .338 are moose and bear guns.
Also soft point bullets are rubbish, use polymer tip.
30-06 and 7mm will do for bears and moose but they usually wont drop them fast, especially moose can run quite a distance after.
There is proper gun for each animal species here, you just dont have enough experience what to use and where to shoot.
And try not to shoot them in the head, with majority of animals it will just ruin your trophy value.

[Lord El Supremo]

So it is possible to kill something with a head shot. I couldn't get it done even at close range. You know it would have been nice if the game developers had given some warning about head shots and basically told us that with out a perfect heart shot you're wasting your time. And why the ♥♥♥♥ do they put animals in the game that I can't kill with the available weapons? That doesn't make much sense. I couldn't get the 300 magnum to use. Oh, look at the Moose. But the gun you need to shoot it will be locked for the first 500 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hours of game play. As far as realism I've hunted with a 270 and there's not a single big game animal out there that it will not drop with a head shot. Many youngsters get as their first deer rifle a 270. It's a fine weapon although I prefer a 300 slide action. But in this game the fine 270 , a gun used by many deer hunters, is just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pea shooter with the power of a BB gun.

[Sparky]

Originally posted by Dream Master:

You played for 20 hours, therefor your opinion is very far from being based on any type of actual ingame experience. It looks like you actually spent more time writing the above blog than giving CotW a real chance

Never heard of the 36" screen thing...mine is 27" and it looks and plays great.

That having been said, if you look a bit deeper into the player community, in this game, 200 hours played is a beginner. Most serious players have close to or over a 1000 hours.

I doubt I can change your mind, since you made up your mind so quickly, but maybe give it a bit more of a chance and you might love it.

vis-a-vis the roe deer, sounds like you hit the scapula. This is a very common problem with new players. Shot placement is everything.

Quickly? 20 hours is a pretty good chunk of time to drop into a game. And 200+ hours for a beginner? That's more than most people will put into most games. Seems a little like gate-keeping to me.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Originally posted by Lord El Supremo:

So it is possible to kill something with a head shot. I couldn't get it done even at close range. You know it would have been nice if the game developers had given some warning about head shots and basically told us that with out a perfect heart shot you're wasting your time. And why the ♥♥♥♥ do they put animals in the game that I can't kill with the available weapons? That doesn't make much sense. I couldn't get the 300 magnum to use. Oh, look at the Moose. But the gun you need to shoot it will be locked for the first 500 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hours of game play. As far as realism I've hunted with a 270 and there's not a single big game animal out there that it will not drop with a head shot. Many youngsters get as their first deer rifle a 270. It's a fine weapon although I prefer a 300 slide action. But in this game the fine 270 , a gun used by many deer hunters, is just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pea shooter with the power of a BB gun.

You can get .338 lot faster then .300 and it`s not tied to DLC like .300 is to Yukon DLC.
If you want to kill something with head shot you absolutely can but you need to hit the brain and some animals have pretty thick skulls.
Brain shots were completely viable options of killing in this game before but with the last animal class and weapon overhaul they changed it to head shots damaging the trophy organ for most species so you need to go for heart, lungs, liver.
You still can drop them instantly with brain shot but it needs good accuracy and also ruins trophy value on most species.
Check the various guides for this game for weapon and animal classes and what you can use with what. Game has quite a bit of learning curve and 20 hours is really nothing in the scope of what most people put into this game in hundreds and thousands of hours.

[McSqurl Nugget]

Originally posted by Lord El Supremo:

So it is possible to kill something with a head shot. I couldn't get it done even at close range. You know it would have been nice if the game developers had given some warning about head shots and basically told us that with out a perfect heart shot you're wasting your time. And why the ♥♥♥♥ do they put animals in the game that I can't kill with the available weapons? That doesn't make much sense. I couldn't get the 300 magnum to use. Oh, look at the Moose. But the gun you need to shoot it will be locked for the first 500 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hours of game play. As far as realism I've hunted with a 270 and there's not a single big game animal out there that it will not drop with a head shot. Many youngsters get as their first deer rifle a 270. It's a fine weapon although I prefer a 300 slide action. But in this game the fine 270 , a gun used by many deer hunters, is just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pea shooter with the power of a BB gun.

Possible yes, but like IRL it's not the desired shot to take. this isn't CoD. Like Rumpel said it ruins the trophy as the trophy for most animals is the antlers/horns, which requires measuring the distance between the left and right. if you blow the head apart you can't measure that making the trophy worthless. The other major trophy in the game is the skull. Only rabbits, duck, and geese don't have the skull or antlers/horns as trophies.

Learning curve, just like in real life, you have to learn how to hunt in the game and take the lower animals first. as you harvest and progress you unlock items and weapons to hunter better game. Most games do this, you start at low level and progress. you don't game much?

.270 is a nice gun to use in the game, when you figure out how to load, aim, shoot and hit the correct area on the animal. and if you're such the experienced hunter as you suggest you should know the best shot is a broadside lung shot...

[Hidden Gunman]

First off, it's a game...each game has different mechanics. Drawing on your reputed success in Sniper Elite 4 does not equate to success in COTW, because they have different mechanics, different goals and different perspectives.

Second, you obviously tried to play 'sniper' in a hunting game. A small amount of searched research on this forum would have shown you that the approach you tried was not going to work in COTW...'headshots' are largely frowned upon in hunting, because they are largely ineffective, and can leave animals with cruel wounds...seeing a deer with its' jaw shot away trying to scrape bark off a tree to eat can be pretty convincing about headshooters. There is a reason 'hunters' who try headshots are called 'butchers'...take that as you will.

Thirdly, the game scales firearms against animal types. In the early game, the firearm to use on bear and moose is the .45-70. It's short range but more than competent on the job.

Finally, as with any game or sim, it's a matter of 'learning to play'. That isn't intended as an insult, but an observation on the problems you've outlined...you aren't the only player to experience them, and there are plenty of posters here who worked past them after listening to advice, which is always provided by this community.

[Sleepy Neko]

Didn't read the entire thing but if this is a complaint about the games guns being too weak compared to real life, then yes that is right.

However this is a game if the guns functioned like real life guns then it'll be way too easy as most centerfire calibre is enough to penetrate through all the organs as long as it doesn't hit bone. Also soft point ammo has enough expansion to drop game on the spot but hitting any organs vital or not.

But this is a game so it needs to balance realism with difficulty.

[Leadmagnet]

Real world performance doesn't really fly in this game. I learned it the hard way with the 30-30 and its in-game capabilities versus real world capabilities. Since then, I've simply dealt with it by never using something I didn't like the performance of. I also made it a point not to push the max upper animal level of a weapon as it may or may not be really effective.

Weapons locked behind a score is something you just gotta deal with; like it or not. Maybe the idea is that you work your way up to bigger calibers and animals by learning proper shot placement. Maybe it is done to keep people from getting the biggest gun out there and shooting everything that moves. Maybe it was done to appease the grinders...you know..the ones who just got to have a treadmill otherwise they get bored and quit. (If you don't believe me about the grinders...check out all of the stuff about getting rid of the level cap on the forum.)

Unless you actually hit the brain, shooting an animal in the head isn't going to work. All you are going to get is a deflected bullet with a flesh wound and a nice time tracking. In the event you do recover it, you get a nice point deduction if it is considered the trophy part of the animal. Please go back to whatever fps / zombie shooter you came from because head shooting something more than likely isn't going to work here.

In short, it is a GAME. Please check all your real world knowledge at the log in because it probably isn't going to work in this virtual world created by EW.

[TheMarcosianOne]

I will agree from what I've read from real hunters that the calibers of guns used in real life do more damage than the same ones do in the game. The .357 is a good example of a gun in the game that's underpowered compared to a real life .357 caliber gun.

That being said, the in-game guns are fictional guns and not real-life simulated replicas. This isn't a military training simulation, it's a hunting game with made up game weapons.

If you are going to talk about realism, taking a risky shot when I've waited hours to find an animal isnt what I would do and im not even a hunter.

[Hanuman]

I am certainly not "gate-keeping" , I hope anyone who has an interest in the outdoors or hunting in particular, will find this game enjoyable and be excited to play it. I don't believe that it takes a Ph.D. to master this game or anything, but I do feel it takes quite a while to get used to all the different weaponry, hunting styles, different reserves, animal need zones, animal movement patterns etc. At 20 hours you might have a couple need zones you can visit and hunt but it takes a bit of play time to get to the point where you don't need to use mapped animal need zones because you develop an inherent sense of where specific types of animals will drink, eat and rest on a specific map. I also feel this game is *very* time consuming, if you want to purchase riffles that are 75k or even 90k credits, you will have to kill roughly 80-120 animals (ignoring mission credits), which for someone who can't play a whole lot might seem overwhelming.

We can all talk about realism and which weapon is under powered or over powered till the cows come home... The truth is, in this genre, this game is the best option available to the consumer (at this time). If it were super accurate to real life hunting, nobody would purchase it because it would be extremely slow and boring. What it does do though, is create a simulated environment that makes us *feel* like we're hunting.

I do find it super exciting that people from all over the world play this game and have enough passion for it that we share our differing opinions on these boards.

Enough talk, I have boars waiting for me in Hirsch!

[DeepFried]

OP, you want to talk about realism in the game... Here's some realism for you,
NO HUNTER IRL SHOOTS AN ANIMAL IN THE HEAD, especially if it's a trophy hunt!
Head shots are for COD and those kinds of FPS games.You're not dumb, you have some sense to you so you should be able to comprehend this. It's about knowing how to hunt, knowing where to hunt and actually knowing WT...f you're talking about when discussing shot placement with any weapon in this game or IRL. I wouldn't even take a head shot on a cow elk IRL, that's just f'n stupid.