Layton ...some questions

[Stenleh44]

Just starting out and so far it’s a slow go.

Is there a way to know how close you are when tracking an animal? I seen droppings but they usually old. I find myself tracking for a long time but never find animal so I move on to another track.

I did setup at a need zone or rest area in a tree stand and had some luck. Is this the best way to hunt?

When it comes to what animals to shoot. I’ve been seeing mostly trivial animals. Is this normal for Layton? Should I move to a different area in the reserve?

I’m getting the hang of managing my equipment and lures so that’s a plus. However weapons and ammo is a different story. Just don’t know so far.

Someone recommended I get a particular gun (can’t remember the name) and seems to be good so I will stick with that for a bit To get better understanding of game.

Thanks again for the help!

[Tenkillsmore]

Move around, look all around. go slow keep the wind in your face, don't waist much time on tracks unless its one you shot. hunt near water and bottle necks.

[Findus]

"Just starting out and so far it’s a slow go."

I'd say that's normal, the learning curve is quite steep. Try to move along the big water ways at drinking times (charts can be found online) where you can see a bit into the distance and being quiet/slow isn't all that crucial. That way you can pick up some new need zones. Pay attention to the times and note down when animals go by or stay near hunting stands as well. And if you find a choke point, like Tenkillsmore mentioned, that also makes for a bit faster gameplay (if, again, the time is right).

"Is there a way to know how close you are when tracking an animal? I seen droppings but they usually old."
That unfortunately doesn't tell you a lot. You probably mean "very old" which is anything from 7.5 minutes realtime up. I've suggested to lengthen those times here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/518790/discussions/2/4576185279364240767/

If you really mean "old" that would be below that, so there's a small chance it's from an animal you disturbed if you are quite loud and which might return to the need zone it was in or to the direction it was heading before that happened. But I'd only follow a track if it's an interesting animal (you can choose skills to determine weight etc. later) or if I want to find need zones as it can be fun, but certainly takes time.

You'll have to be very careful, though. pay attention to the wind, listen to noises, calls etc. as it's very easy to drive animals before you over quite some distance if you aren't well hidden or quiet. On your profile page in the codex you can check how many animals you've spooked so far, which is usually a much larger number than animals you have seen.

So it's often better to wait in strategic places (where you can see a bit and the wind is in your face) for animals to return if you have established they want to return (e.g. repeated warning calls if you are progressing quite slowly). Obviously an animal can also travel quite a bit in a few minutes, so "just now", "very fresh" and "fresh" are better indicators that an animal might still be in the vicinity. And if those times go down, obviously you are catching up with the animal and vice versa. But generally if you get pretty close, there's a good chance you will spook it, so you either follow it to a need zone or wait for it to return.

Technically you can also run some animals down or until you have a good enough shot, but that's probably not completely in the spirit of the game. While most are quicker than you, they only run for a certain time and then slow down or try to turn around, so you could combine different approaches. E.g. run around until you hear a call, then hunker down and slowly proceed in that direction, or run until you have driven the animal into a suitable environment, if you are looking for faster gameplay.

[Stenleh44]

Thanks for the tips. I’m spooking many many animals. Probably mostly wiping around in atv checking out the land. Haha. Once I really start focusing I will keep my atv on trails and not in the valleys etc.

[Guntrek]

Tip: never use the atv to move around and find animals. If you want to hunt, walk, walk a lot, never ever run unless you need to chase an injured animal.

The atv is mainly used to discover the map, unlock deposits and lookouts but never for hunting actively. If you want to hunt in an area far from your position, just fast travel to a tent or a deposit near that point.

Take a look at the soundmeter in the bottom right of the screen ad the visibility.

[Stenleh44]

Thanks. Yea I mainly use the atv to explore.

[Geronimo]

Using the ATV and driving a 400 yard circle around a map marker can get hidden animals moving around.

After 5 minutes or so they might begin returning to whatever they were doing as long as you have settled into hiding.

Same tactic by running but dont do circle. You cant cover same distance fast enough. You need to change direction every 150 yards to confuse animals so they cant figure out your direction.

You only use these tactics if you're just not finding animals.

Also be aware that when fast travelling too many times in a short period, or crossing alot of ground in a short time, sometimes causes the game to lose track of you, which could cause spawning issues resulting in lack of animal presence. In such cases you need to restart game.

[jthibeault]

One of the ways to hunt is to simply walk or slow-walk around until you hear an animal call. If it is a deer it is easy enough to call in while you are crouched or prone in cover, as long as it is not downwind of you. If it is a coyote or fox the call-in is more difficult as they won't come directly in and will circle around and scope out the area.

Another method called "Run n Gun" is to simply run off in a direction until you hear an animal call. At that point stop running, get into a good position while prone and call them in with your caller.

It is difficult to stalk prey as a beginner because you make too much noise. Once you get the noise reduction skills (or perks, don't remember which it is) stalking gets a little easier. If you are stalking something, don't walk. Crouch walk or crawl to a good position and call them in.

[yogisgoat]

Here's a tip from Flinter that I found very helpful. Hunt wide open areas and spend most of your time using the binos. Establishing a lot of need zones will make hunting much easier. And pay attention to the time range associated with those need zones.

[Stenleh44]

Thanks again all. Trying to find more need zones as we speak. Made some progress but still only seeing trivial and very easy animals. I supposed that’s because of the area. Tonight I will venture out to a different part of the reserve.

Seeing a lot of bear tracks and calls but no bears. Is there a way to call them?

[Poltergeist]

Originally posted by Stenleh44:

Thanks again all. Trying to find more need zones as we speak. Made some progress but still only seeing trivial and very easy animals. I supposed that’s because of the area. Tonight I will venture out to a different part of the reserve.

Seeing a lot of bear tracks and calls but no bears. Is there a way to call them?

Yep, there's a caller for bears. I believe it's the distressed fawn caller.

[Tenkillsmore]

Originally posted by Poltergeist:

Originally posted by Stenleh44:

Thanks again all. Trying to find more need zones as we speak. Made some progress but still only seeing trivial and very easy animals. I supposed that’s because of the area. Tonight I will venture out to a different part of the reserve.

Seeing a lot of bear tracks and calls but no bears. Is there a way to call them?

Yep, there's a caller for bears. I believe it's the distressed fawn caller.

Yes that's it, and the rabbit distress as well.

[Pfingstei]

I recommend solving some missions of the game. This will give you a smooth start (good fit of equipment, skills etc. and targets) and let you visit the most interesting places of the reserves. Moreover, there is no better way to level up fast and earn cash for better equipment.

[jthibeault]

Stenleh44, if you are using the starter .243 don't bother shooting bear and moose. Most all of what you'll get is body shots and waste a lot of time trying to track them down. The .243 doesn't have enough penetration for these larger animals, even if you use the poly tip rounds. Also, change to the poly tips for this weapon as soon as you can, they have better penetration.

[dbump]

Originally posted by jthibeault:

Stenleh44, if you are using the starter .243 don't bother shooting bear and moose. Most all of what you'll get is body shots and waste a lot of time trying to track them down. The .243 doesn't have enough penetration for these larger animals, even if you use the poly tip rounds. Also, change to the poly tips for this weapon as soon as you can, they have better penetration.

^ this! Was just going to post the same. Spend time hunting deer until you can unlock higher class weapons and ammo. There are some charts in the guides section on Steam that do a better job of explaining which ammo to use for which animal.

Also, re: your question about changing reserves, opinions vary, but generally I think Layton is considered a better starting map to learn on and level up before moving to Hirschfelden. If you own any of the DLC maps, Silver Ridge Peaks would also be a good initial map.

I'd also recommend looking at some of the guides on where to shoot/aim for animals. Reckless shot placement gave me a ton of frustration when I first started playing, as I spent more time tracking down animals with light flesh wounds than was enjoyable. My recommendation would be to not take shots further than 150m, and preferably much closer than that. Also a common suggestion here is to not immediately run after an animal you shot; there are two reasons. One, spooked animals, even shot ones, often return back to the same spot in just a few minutes. Two, when an animal dies, the map will show a purple circle blotch on the map indicating hunting pressure. If you just sit tight, and you check your map, and see that, then you can start tracking the animal.

Finally, I remember trying to shoot 3 or 4 animals at a time at a need zone, and that also led to a lot of frustrating tracking. It's much more efficient to focus on just one single animal (pick the largest), spot it, shoot it with good shot placement, and hopefully it will drop while you can see it. If not, keep it in your rifle sight as it runs out of sight, and then check your map--there will be an animal pin at the last spotted point. You can drop a marker there, and start your tracking there if it doesn't return to the need zone.

[Geronimo]

Lots of good advice here but I wouldnt suggest Silver Ridge for beginners. Large game is not easily downed quickly with beginner weapons. And bison, goats and elk fall into that category.

Layton and herschfeld have medium deer to hunt.

Avoid the heartache and frustration of tracking cripples by being deliberate about spot aiming and range.

Most new players give up on COTW due to needless, self- inflicted issues.