Since the Update, I Can't Find the Animals I've Shot

[Tigre feroz 2012]

Hello. I’m a new player & my knowledge & skill are limited. Since the December 2022 update, I’ve noticed it’s a lot harder to track & find the animals I’ve shot. I’ve noticed this especially on the New England map. Often, I get in a good shot but never find the animal, which is frustrating. I know, this isn’t an arcade, quickly grind game. But before the update, it was a lot easier to find my shot animals, so I’m struggling lately.

I realize that my inability to find the shot animal is partly or maybe mostly due to a lack of skill and/or not spending enough time to find the animal. Right now, I’m mostly using the game as a hiking simulator. But I am interested in hunting & plan to gradually do more & more hunting. Hence my questions. So other times when I’m tracking a shot animal & I’m willing to spend the time, the trail goes cold, dead ends. I don’t see the next clue like footprints, blood, etc. & I’m stuck. This happens even when I’ve used the bloodhound.

What are your thoughts? Any advice? I’m watching the beginner tips videos from YouTuber LadyLegendXO. Eventually, I plan to take some good notes on her videos, practice & implement the suggestions & in time I'll get better. TIA for your help.

[CaddyKing1]

I suggest shooting them in the heart so you don't have to track them. I hope this helps.

[DanthemanBoone]

The money shot for beginners is from the side, just behind the shoulder into the centre of the chest. Ideally a double lung and instant death.

First off you need to be sure they are dead. If you don't get a purple patch on the map within 5 or 10 minutes the animal is well gone.
If you do get a purple patch immediately or within 1 minute go to the centre, and look for the blood patch there, The animal will be within a short distance and the blood track will be strong and easy to follow.

Alternatively get the dog and that will help a lot and following the dog and observing will increase your tracking skill immensely and you may be able to eventually retire the dog.

Or maybe not.

[sneakybass]

Upgrade your hunter In game and take tracking perks It really helps you will get more clues on the ground for trailing animals . Hang In there. It get easy after a while playing , but up grade your hunter in game. I use the color white for tracks and blue for tracking really shows up to track animals real easy for me in game saw a cc using those colors. And good luck Tigre on getting your first Gold or even Diamond even Legendary animal... Shoot the vitals and tracking Is pretty easy ..........

[Woodyplank]

Tracking can be difficult, no doubt about it. Tracks can be up to 60 meters apart in this game. Poo Piles count as tracks btw and they never give a direction of travel. It only takes about 15 RL min for a pile of poo to change from "just now" to "old". The most common mistake hunters make is to start tracking right way after wounding an animal. That's a good way to make sure the animal heads for the next county just as fast as it can go. Congrats...you've just added a couple hundred meters to your tracking job. A wounded animal that is going to die will do it in less than 15 min (unless you started tracking right away).

Assuming the animal you wounded has died and you've lost the trail to find it, check around the edge of the hunting pressure created on your map when it died. Just go back to where you last had a direction of travel left by the animal and head out for the edge of that hunting pressure. I find a number of them within 50 meters of the edges of the hunting pressure.
Doesn't always work but it's better than twiddling your thumbs.

[James]

One solution is to get a dog :)
I always play this game with all visual clues off. The dog does the job tracking wounded animals. Even if you made a bad shot and blood trails cease, the dog continues to track the prey.

[Tigershark1968]

Here is a secret I discovered since they broke the dog. Do this and you will find almost every single kill. Shoot the animal. Go to the very first blood spot where you shot the animal. Activate tracking on that one and only blood trail. The very first one that gives you an arrow direction. If it doesn't, then go to the second blood trail and select it. Now that you have the path highlighted in your favorite tracking colour, do not and I mean this, do not select any further tracks. None. Just send the dog out. Now follow the dog as fast as you can. Don't let the dog stop for too long or this doesn't work all the time. The dog will negate most of the tracks you see and know are your animal and will go directly to where the animal is at that moment. So shoot, spot initial blood, set dog loose and follow the dog without selecting anything else. No need zones, no other animals, no tracks of the animal you shot and are following. This totally works. I lose no more than an animal a night. Those ones that stop bleeding and go on with their business. Sort of unavoidable. Doing this method, you'll find most, if not all your shot animals. Good luck.

[Findus]

Originally posted by Woodyplank:

It only takes about 15 RL min for a pile of poo to change from "just now" to "old".

This might have been changed/fixed, but the last time I checked that it was even worse, with the droppings going to "very old" in 7.5 RL minutes. I'm not using the latest version, so in case your figures aren't based on a recent test, it might make sense to try to confirm that.