So... What am I doing wrong?

[Eric Wake]

First time player here.

I try to track literally anything. Poop says fresh. Or very fresh. Or even just now. No animals around. Hear a mating call. Look around. Investigate the general direction... nothing. Try the lures... nothing.

Move at base walking speed. Everything hears me coming a mile away. Can't crawl because animals *outpace* the glacial movement speed, so it's impossible to catch up to them.

So I try hanging around in one place and wait for something to come to me. Only... that requires lures. And all the big lures are locked. All I have to work with are blinds and water blinds. I don't have the tripod or tree blind dlc.

Can't shoot moose. Can't shoot bears or anything bigger than white/blacktail because all the bigger weapons are locked.

I hang around the need areas but nothing's ever in them and nothing ever comes at the indicated times. Leave the game running for 20-40 minutes at 7 different need areas. Nothing... except for a whitetail that wandered through a coyote need spot. No coyotes. But one whitetail after 15 minutes.

I've set up atop bridges, cliffs and other elevated vantage points for 20-40 minutes at a time. Nothing ever shows up. Not even through binoculars.

So what's the trick?

[Cryptic]

Patience.

[Hazy_Memories]

so I assume you're using the 243?....do you have silver ridge (I've been playing so long don't remember if its a stock map)...if you need money that is where you should be hunting pronghorn from a hunting structure...easy money, get your stats up to unlock better guns and equipment...and they keep coming back!

[Mosin Greymantle]

I can tell you what has been working for me. but things may have changed since I started my character. I assume you start with the .243 on Layton Lake and Hirsch.... The blinds/tripods are don't think work without the call/lures so walking is your best bet. I think doing missions will get you money to purchase a better rifle for Moose. Walking has 5 speeds, Crawl (which I have rarely used) , Crouch (which I use when I know there is an animal very close by or all ready alerted to me), Crouch+CAPS (to move toward a animal that has called or that I have seen), Walk which I use most of the time till I hear or see an animal, and Walk+CAPS which is a run. I usually only follow tracks of a wounded animal. I usually get my animals while walking towards Missions or finding the camps and lookout points. The time on the zones are when they head towards these areas is how I understand it working. So if you can position yourself between two zones they may be using you may find you blinds useful for ambusing them. Hope this helps, Good Luck.

[Kacho]

Welcome to Call of the Wild bro.

Seems like most people fast travel all over the map and check the nearest water source because it’s the most efficient method. There you can scan a large range without your vision being obscured by copy and paste foliage all around you. If there isnt anything there, do that again at a different spot.

If you’re playing the game as it’s intended to be played you will have varying degrees of success. Sometimes you’ll come across loads of animals and other times you won’t.

Mechanically it’s pretty poor imo.

[Eric Wake]

Lots of good advice. I'll take it all into account. Thanks.

I've given up on tracking since it's obviously unreliable.

Making judicious use of binoculars has payed off for me. See them before they see you. Almost all my kills have been around need areas. So I guess the need areas are working as intended.

I even managed to take down a moose since there's a free gun for some past holiday or anniversary or something big enough to take down large game that I didn't notice before.

[Kacho]

Keep at it. The game gets easier as you unlock more perks.

[Uneazy]

explore a map you really like and find a bunch of need zones all over it, you will find a bunch of animals just running around in the process too, don't just time need zones because you'll probably scare them away going to the zone anyways before you figure out distances and noise etc. Lakes and rivers are usually a good place where multiple animals will have need zones and as you progress you'll start to figure out the rest. Tracking is mostly for finding an animal you shot unless you wanna crawl across the map following old tracks.

Once you know where need zones are you'll be able to assume they're going to be walking in the area at different times between moving need zones. I don't bother trying to be super stealthy, I find a spot I want to hunt in and use binoculars for a little while and move if nothing happens.

[david.hardie]

If you want to progress faster then I suggest buying the Duck and Cover DLC.
I remember when I first started I was ALWAYS short of money. Duck Hunting on Layton Lakes is a license to print your own money.
Ducks do not spawn everywhere and there are "hot areas". You will need to move your hide after a day or so to a new area. Goggle the good places but make sure its a recent guide. They got moved a while ago.

Only issue is you will be leveling up shotgun XP and not rifle although you can still take individual ducks with a 22 or indeed pistol/bow.

With money the game gets easier as you can afford more equipment and set up towers etc.

[The Sarge]

Originally posted by Eric Wake:

Lots of good advice. I'll take it all into account. Thanks.

I've given up on tracking since it's obviously unreliable.

Making judicious use of binoculars has payed off for me. See them before they see you. Almost all my kills have been around need areas. So I guess the need areas are working as intended.

I even managed to take down a moose since there's a free gun for some past holiday or anniversary or something big enough to take down large game that I didn't notice before.

Just remember when using the binoculars, the animals in this game have super powers and know when you're looking at them. It's just one of the more annoying mechanics of this game, the beaver being one of the top annoyances....
Try and discover as many need zones as you can. I believe that helps quite a lot, but be aware that they (developers) love to screw you with their updates?

[大王六九]

Patience is what you need

[Ivory]

You start off somewhat inefficient and have to grow your way into becoming a better hunter. Leveling up gives you skill and perk points that will make hunting a bit easier, as well as unlocking equipment in the store. I recommend you do missions as well because they give you a lot more money and xp than simply hunting on it's own.

Animals have good senses and will be able to detect you sometimes before you even know they are there. Fresh tracks means the animal is close and if you're walking around then chances are they've already noticed you and bolted away. On the other hand, old tracks can be deceptive because animals can stay at their need zones for hours on end. You're probably thinking they are far away when in reality they are just around the corner, resting or eating.

Animals that have sensed a predator nearby (you included) will be more attentive. If danger persists, they will become nervous, alarmed and eventually run away. Nervous animals will not respond or react to lures until they've calm down.

While you can walk and run around everywhere, it is far more efficient to scout an area before doing any real hunting. Use the binoculars often and look for tracks so that you may follow them (in both directions), in the hopes of finding a need zone. Once that happens, all you have to do is return another time to ambush those animals, this time more careful and better prepared.

Also, be careful when placing down equipment and teleporting to tents and outposts. Both instances spook animals in a large radius around it. Animals are usually located within 250m of a need zone and equipment/teleporting can scare animals up to 150-200m. Prepare things accordingly.

[Findus]

Originally posted by The Sarge:

Just remember when using the binoculars, the animals in this game have super powers and know when you're looking at them.

Granted I'm using an older version, but I don't think that's true. And I don't see a good reason to program that in or how it could happen as an unwanted side effect either.



@ Eric Wake
Try to move through more open areas at first, like along the big rivers in Layton Lakes during drink times of different species. That way you can see the animals from far away and study their behavior as you approach and can cover more ground because you don't have to be so careful. Optically, running or walking makes no difference (or none that I would have noticed) it's just the noise that differs, and in an open terrain, you'll see the animals before they can hear you.
Don't walk with the wind but as much against it as possible. Use the binoculars or scopes to look around like others have said.
You can shoot moose and bears in the heart if they are facing you / stand up even with rifles ideal for lower class animals, but that might be an exercise in frustration at first as well.
Also make sure you don't shoot more than 3 animals in one place as that will erase the herd specific need zones they are currently using in that area.

Shooting ducks is good to make money to buy better rifles, but a bit different than shooting other animals, so you'll get cash, but perhaps a bit less practice.

[Ilpo82]

-Hirsch.?.?.?(Germany), somewhere north-west
-Shotgun
-European Bison
Let the money and unlocks flow...

[Geronimo]

I'm not so sure that doing missions is going to be helpful. Some early missions can be extremely difficult, especially for the novice. And that can lead to disenchantment with the game very quickly.

Ivory is on key with the whole needing to level up and improve based upon acquiring skills. Especially with regard to tracking.

But IMO this progression is only meant as a beginner dynamic, and it shouldn't define the rest of your experience. Too many 'achievers' that only play with the goal of reaching pinnacles will inevitably find themselves bored and wanting some new and greater target to chase after.

Your goal should be to quickly acquire hunting skills, and than to simply enjoy the many hunting opportunities the game offers.

You will find that as a new player the main skills will come to you quickly. The actual experience potentials will depend on how you choose to play. The actual difficulty will depend on the settings you select.

The key to finding animals on a newly started map is to get out there and put some Activity Zones on your map. I am pretty sure that doing this will cause more animals of those species you connect to these zones to spawn in those surrounding areas. And the trick here is not to start hunting these animals right away. Because it's believed that if there is only one animal connected to that zone, the one you just opened it with, and you immediately kill it, than that zone becomes disconnected from your map. It might not disappear from your map right away, but it will not show any further usage info, nor will it become connected to any other animals.

The zone itself is always there, but how it gets displayed/pinpointed on your map as 'informationally connected' to various species only happens when you do the connecting by spotting and/or entering a zone that is being used.

Some will disagree, but I'm not sure why.

Further advice would be to make sure you never run when you want to hunt. And that you always observe how animals are responding to your interactions so that you can accumulate knowledge useful to hunt for them.

You cannot kill animals that you confidently know aren't ones you used to open a Need Zone, but you can increase those odds by trying to only open zones with females whenever you have the choice, or at least choosing the lower level males. This way when you come across animals later you will know that killing it won't ruin that zone's spawning potential for you.

Another trick is to avoid establishing bad habits. For example, start learning to distinguish the different footprints of each species. You will soon learn to recognize them without clicking on them. And this will avoid your becoming one of those 'click-happy' hunters that have developed the very bad habit of clicking on everything, just because.

Learned hunters know that there are many times that clicking in the wrong place at the wrong time can ruin your day. And this is even more difficult when it comes to identifying an animal by spotting it in your scope or binocs, which presents the same process of establishing that bad habit.

Yes, there will be times when you will want to know which animal is which, at distances that your natural eyesight cannot be used. But you need to learn and always be aware that each time you take that chance, that animal could be in a zone that might be somehow compromised by your connecting it.

Having said alot about Need Zones, you should also know that recent changes to the game have greatly affected the part that zones used to play. And there is still alot of debate surrounding their truths.

Early on, you won't have access to some luring options, but you'll come to find that these will greatly improve your hunting, IF you learn how to use them properly.

And scent is a no brainer my friend. Think of it this way. If you were trying to sneak out of the house, and you didn't know where parent/spouse was located in the house, and you were covered in the smell of that 24 of beer you just polished off, would it matter to you which way the various house fans might be wanting to drive that smell?

Well, this is the exact same situation created as soon as you step into your hunting area. It might not seem like you stink, but to every single animal within 200 yards plus, you have a distinct unnatural odor that will put them instantly on alert. And the direction the wind blows is where that scent will be dispersed with even greater intensity. Beer or no beer.

[Skybird]

What works for me and is immersive, is to walk around but often halt,kneel, and use binoculuars to scan 360° around. The game is such that often animals nearby cannot be seen in shadowy parts of the environment without binoculars. This is one of the things they got very well in this game.

Fast travelling or annihilating whole herds because after the shot the fleeing AI animals after 20 seconds or so turn by 180° and return to the kill place again as if nothig has happened and no shot was fired, is not only immersion-breaking, but also turns the game into the shooting gallery in an action shooter. The animal AI in some aspects is most awful. They may describe it as "as deisgned". I describel it "in parts broken".

This game has much light and beauty they got right. But also some incredibly stupid design decisions and real flaws - I just dont get it. The animal AI is a real downer too often.

The game is, in a positve meaning, a wlakign simulator. Enjoy the beuatifully drawn landscape, the chnaging mood with chnagign weather, and occasionally get a kill. This is neither Unrela Tioruznament, nor ArmA. take it for what it is, and that way you enjoy it probaly best. Dont chase highscores. The highscore finds you when the time is right. ;)