spooking animals far to early

[FM Helldiver Radio]

I don´t know what i´m doing wrong.
I walk around for hours not spotting any animal.
I got the bloodhound DLC and trained the dog to warn me when i´m spooking an animal.
I´m not even walking but just crouching.
After 2 hours of playing I still did not spot an animal. The dog did not warn a single time.
But the statisctic shows I spooked 34 animals.

I really don´t know what to do.

[huebnerrl]

what map are you on? What level are you?

[FM Helldiver Radio]

I haven´t played for a while. I´m useing an old save where I´m level 18.
The map is Vurhonga Savanna.

I just managed to spot a pack of kudus from around 400 meters.
They heard me when I crouched up to around 350 meters and ran off. :-(
What the hack. They hear me from 350 but respond to a caller just 200 meters. At least this explains ther caller neverworked for me.

[FM Helldiver Radio]

Steam says I played 150 hours in total.
My stats show I killed 102 animals and spooked 3000.
So it takes me 1,5 hours on average to hunt one down and I spooke 20 per hour (one every 3 minutes).

I played a lot of "the hunter: classic" and found it much easier to track animals down there and it was very rewarding to overome all odd.
But here in "cotw" I just don´t know what I´m doing wrong or what to do right. I feels just random.

[Lakel]

you say spooked 34 animals, by what? sight? smell? noise?
The dog's alert is a chance thing, which you can better with a trait.
Typically i just walk but never run up to about 100-150 yards/meters, then crouch on in when im stalking.

Given the ranges you are being noticed at I'd be fairly confident saying you are either running around, or not paying attention to the wind and they are smelling you.

[FM Helldiver Radio]

Originally posted by Lakel:

you say spooked 34 animals, by what? sight? smell? noise?
The dog's alert is a chance thing, which you can better with a trait.
Typically i just walk but never run up to about 100-150 yards/meters, then crouch on in when im stalking.

Given the ranges you are being noticed at I'd be fairly confident saying you are either running around, or not paying attention to the wind and they are smelling you.

The stats say i´ve spooked 3000 by noise and 60 by scent.
I´m not running at all (expect i do a missions were I have to travel a long way).
The animals I see spooke from noise when I crawl in distance of 300 meters.
"walking up to about 100-150" simply feels impossible to me. I can´t even get to 200 crouching.

[Lakel]

Best I got at that point is make sure you put points into stalking for the few abilities that make you quieter and harder to spot

[FM Helldiver Radio]

Hm... not sure if the stats are correct. The "spooked by noise" nummer went up to 4500 (from 3000) within 2 hours. That makes 12 spooked per minute ?????
Don´t think that can be real.

I downloaded a "wallhack" to check if there reallyare so many animals and I found there are nearly no animals.
In fact I can walk 45 minutes even without the wallhack spotting an animal....

[Falcon]

it's not unusual at all to spook 40 animals for every one you manage to shoot. this game takes a little patience to learn where the animals will be and when and how to approach those places without spooking the animals before you can take a shot. keep a close eye on the wind direction gauge. your scent and more importantly your noise carry much farther in the direction of the wind

[jjs82xx]

Hmmm... If you really are creeping (CTRL key = crouched) and approaching from downwind (green scent cone behind you) then iit seems to me that something is wrong.

YOu might want to try this:
1. Spot the animals (with binoculars). If they are not rraveling at the time, you should get a zone unlock (message like: "Kudu feeding zone 1300-1530").
2. Get a tripod and set it up near that zone, but where you predict it will be downwind at feeding time. (The tripod will give you a LOT of camoflage for sight, but not scent nor noise.)
3. Next day, show up on your tripod just before the zone time starts.
4. When the animals show up to eat/drink/rest, take your shot.

[KND2501]

You are a predator, by nature of the hunting game you are always at a disadvantage. It is easier to escape the hunter, then to hunt the escapee. This something one has to accept being part of the game.

This game is all about eyes, ears and noses, this accounts for both prey and you the predator. Depending on what you are hunting, you may want to change strategy, check the codex and read about the animal you are wanting to hunt. Their ability to sense is shortly described and may imply a means of approach.

If an animal has excellent sight, but is also skittish, it simply means you may never enter its field of vision or it will run a ton. But this animal may have average hearing and smelling abilities, and allows you to get close in ways that would not work on animals with excellent smell or hearing.

Basically if you are travelling the forest you will be spooking many animals for different reasons, some will spook quicker then other animals, some will spook from greater distances then others.

Know what you want to hunt, pick the right gear, follow the proper strategy, but this only works if you know the animal you are going to hunt. As a human predator you have an amazing advantage, not just the human tools at your disposal, but the ability to outsmart your unsuspecting target.

Get to know your target, know it better then it knows itself, and make your moves in accordance with the things you know.

[KND2501]

Lets dispel some confusion about sound.

The indicator on the screen only displays the amount of volume produced, this having nothing to do with the amount of volume heard by animals. Just because your indicator is white, does not mean you cannot be heard. This depending on proximity and hearing ability.

If you want to be silent, then there can be no movement and you will see the indicator is fully greyed out.

When moving, you are always making sound, and when the situation does not allow for sound, you stop moving or risk spooking the target.

[Mom_Kat]

In Vurhonga you have far more issues with being seen than from being heard. It's very flat in spots and the animals you're hunting have very good eyesight. You have to learn how to navigate in the savanna, keeping to clumps of grass and the occasional tree or bush to break your outline. Also, you have to avoid sky lighting yourself—being silhouetted against the sky. Keep to gullies, or use items like rocks and bushes—even crawl—to come up over hill tops.

Yes, they can see you at 300+ meters. Remember, these animals are used to dealing with lions, who are not as tall as humans and are colored to match the grass. Seeing a human at a distance—even crouched—is not a big deal. I move from cover to cover. In the daytime, I will scan with my binoculars before crossing any open space, and crawl if there are animals in sight. If you can see them, they can see you, too. Night is a bit more forgiving, but you still have to pay attention.

As far a scaring animals, it's going to happen. Don't worry about it, just try to be stealthier. Use your brain and be more sneaky.

[Axe]

Originally posted by Grandpa_Is_Here:

...Also, some rds the maps are really dry coz of the bright pink hunting pressure done by players b4 you.

May I interrupt a little here and ask what you mean by this? I see the pink areas where animals have been scared off but what do you mean by 'players before you'?

[Lakel]

Assuming they mean in a multiplayer game, and yes, other players hunting pressure hurts the hosting player's map.

[Axe]

Originally posted by Lakel:

Assuming they mean in a multiplayer game, and yes, other players hunting pressure hurts the hosting player's map.

Ah thankyou. I did think that it may be a MP thing but as my SP attempts also have the pink areas I thought I may be missing something. Much appreciated :-)