Ffire attracting unwanted attention

[Freedekogge]

I used the search function for this but there seem to be two conflicting oppinions:
a. Fire can or will make natives spawn in the vicinity, however the fire will not attract those natives to your fireplace.
b. Let your fire burn and the natives will come in force and attack your base.

Also, everything I found was from before Amazonia.

So, what is true here?

Also, can we reduce the risk by hiding our fire, like having a fire in a house with mud brick walls/roof? If so, is there any finetuning (think windows making a difference)?

My personal experience is limited, as until recently, I used to live in and around the fishing dock on both sides of the river. I used to cook on the hilltop where the bamboo smoker can be found, then let the fire burn through the night for ashes (large building project with lots of mudbricks). But I would sleep on the other side of the river. Nothing happened.

[nextgengranny]

Playing SoA in story mode (ie, on the new map), I lit a fire in a cave & kept it going, & a group of three natives showed up on like the second day/night. This was when I discovered I needed to work on my skill w/ the bow before enabling hostile tribes. ^^

For what it's worth, given the position of my fire, it wouldn't have been visible from any direction, so that doesn't appear to be a factor.

[BaronVC]

Fires attract Tribal attention in all play modes where they are active.

Putting a fire inside a structure, or using the mud fireplace wall, even if completely hidden from outside view make no difference. It's all RNG as to if/when the Tribals may show up to a fire.

As to the more specific points, while a fire will eventually attract attention, the shorter the period of time you have one burning, the less likely you will ever get a visit. I've made multiple 50+ day runs and only attracted Tribals once (I don't leave fires burning). Don't forget that you can easily extinguish a fire when done with it.

The charcoal furnace does NOT attract Tribals even if you burn it again and again. It is the most efficient way to get charcoal and ash (also harvested from charcoal).

If/when Tribals show up due to fire, they may stay outside your camp, or they may attack straight away. They may come right for you, or they may attack any structures you've built.

However, you have to also understand that Tribals may show up at your camp anyway, even if you've never had a fire there.

[NukeAJS]

BaronVC's observations are mostly consistent with my own. I'd add two points:

First, you can stay near your fire forever (as long as you keep feeding it) and natives will never check it out. That being said, I have seen natives just walking around which seems quite rare. I'd guess that if those patrolling natives walked by your fire -- you'd be in trouble. Totally unsure about that though, because it's such a rare event.

Second, natives might be attracted to the mud furnace OR the forge. I was running both of them right next to each other, went exploring, and they definitely spawned. Dunno which did it, but it was one of them. Regardless, they obey the same rule of "if you walk outside of their range, you might get a spawn." Anyways, I smelted nearly 30 pieces of iron and stayed fairly close to the forge the entire time and natives didn't bother me.

Lesson -- if you stay near your fire, natives will never spawn. If you walk away (like, 100m away), they might spawn.

[Freedekogge]

Thanks for your answers, everybody!

Originally posted by NukeAJS:

I'd guess that if those patrolling natives walked by your fire -- you'd be in trouble.

I am not so sure about this. Yesterday, I had a random native scout patrol - not fire related though - and he past my base by in a distance of say 10m, then passed by my water filter which was like 1m away from his path. He didn´t notice. I believe there has been some critique concerning native AI in other threads, too.

[Deathbloom]

I've had a few different experiences, possibly due to inconsistent AI. These are my experiences and may differ for others ofcourse.

The Mud Furnace 100% attracts natives. I've had only the Mud Furnace active for hours and hours and I've even stayed relatively close to it, probably max 5M or so away and after some time natives came and attacked my base.
I even conducted an experiment and had a Mud Furnace setup and active at the abandoned camp while I had my main base at the Boat dock. Everyday I went back to go collect my charcoal and ash and nothing happened for the first 2 days. The 3rd day however, I got to the abandoned camp and was greeted by a party of 3 natives who had already destroyed the mud furnace and immediately attacked me

[NukeAJS]

Originally posted by 76561199008528218:

Thanks for your answers, everybody!

Originally posted by NukeAJS:

I'd guess that if those patrolling natives walked by your fire -- you'd be in trouble.

I am not so sure about this. Yesterday, I had a random native scout patrol - not fire related though - and he past my base by in a distance of say 10m, then passed by my water filter which was like 1m away from his path. He didn´t notice. I believe there has been some critique concerning native AI in other threads, too.

Yeah you're right. I saw a youtube video a week or so ago where a patrolling native literally walked within 5m of a lit fire and he didn't care about it.

[BaronVC]

<<Note, what is written below is current as of the date posted due to ongoing changes in Tribal behavior/AI being made by the devs>>

Originally posted by NukeAJS:

First, you can stay near your fire forever (as long as you keep feeding it) and natives will never check it out. That being said, I have seen natives just walking around which seems quite rare.

This is inaccurate. Fires are the source of Tribal spawns specifically when the player is in the same map chunk as the fire. Otherwise, Tribals will not auto-spawn in the same map chunk, nor within the player's no-spawn bubble. And yes, the wandering Tribal is rare behavior, and it seems to be meant to be more of an ambient environment experience, not a confrontational one.

Originally posted by NukeAJS:

Second, natives might be attracted to the mud furnace OR the forge. I was running both of them right next to each other, went exploring, and they definitely spawned.

Tribals spawn to the structures, not the fires in them. It's almost a distinction without a difference, but can be tested by not lighting fires in them or building other random structures and seeing that they do, in fact, get attacked just because they are foreign structures in the jungle (see the Notebook for which fires draw attention).

Originally posted by NukeAJS:

Regardless, they obey the same rule of "if you walk outside of their range, you might get a spawn." Anyways, I smelted nearly 30 pieces of iron and stayed fairly close to the forge the entire time and natives didn't bother me.

Correct, see above.

Originally posted by NukeAJS:

Lesson -- if you stay near your fire, natives will never spawn. If you walk away (like, 100m away), they might spawn.

Again, this is inaccurate. See above.

[Abs]

I think it's pretty much random. Got two games with two different players but both maps explored and have big camps in the same location. Fire pits inside and out, smokers, coal furnaces, smelting furnaces, ect ect basically carbon copies of each other. Everything running around the clock. We'll call them A and B. In "A" we get jaguars or natives about every couple days. If we travel away from camp 100 plus yards will see two to four man groups and lots of jaguars.In "B" never got anything but snakes unless we would travel away from camp 100 yards or so. Then we get jaguars but only natives from their camps. Two very different outcomes which leads me to believe its a random generation in game or possibly of the map at the start.

[Fragtzack]

Anyone test if the mud firewall makes a difference ?

[JayXL]

This is all very strange to me.

I've played Story Mode, both SoA chapters, and Survival Mode. I've never had a tribal native attack any of my bases. I have fires going and the forge going at various times, and I've left with fires still going before and not been attacked.

I'm not sure what I'm doing right (or wrong) lol.

[Player 1]

Are the rules or guidelines the same for the Jaguars and other predators as the tribal warriors? Or is there a difference between what makes the warriors spawn and what makes the cats spawn? I played through the story line but didn't build much just a few fires to feed and a few small huts to save progress,It didn't really take too long to finish the story. I'm now on SoA and it has been difficult. I am constantly getting attacked so I am building a lot of save/restart points with small shelter ( the one you can build a fire under when raining and not go out )water collectors or filters , small fires. It sounds like I may be causing my own problems. It would be nice to understand how the enemy gets prompted to appear or what may help prevent it to some degree.

[Jaunitta 🌸]

Every main area that has an ai building may have a predator and a tribal camp nearby.
These areas are the main for attacks from natives when we have a fire on but its rare.
No predators dont apply.
Also depends on what level you're playing.
There is aditional modes>customization options now where tribes sanety predators can be turned off so the player can enjoy the normal survival aspects and just normal predators like the snakes scorpions stingrays spiders etc no cats or tribes.
I made a short small video in that year showing them
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1855361314

[BaronVC]

Originally posted by Player 1:

Are the rules or guidelines the same for the Jaguars and other predators as the tribal warriors?

No, they are different. Predators spawn at multiple distinct locations around each map and then wander a ways around their spawn point. Their spawns do not appear to be affected in any way by player structures.

Tribal attack parties spawn near player structures/fires, but outside a no-spawn bubble around the player. Patrolling Tribals spawn in the vicinity of the totems you can now find around the jungle and move along somewhat fixed paths. Patrolling Tribals were added as part of the SoA2 update.

Originally posted by Player 1:

Or is there a difference between what makes the warriors spawn and what makes the cats spawn?

Yes, please see answer above. Also, note that Jaguar/Puma aggro range was significantly increased, along with stealthier behavior, with the SoA updates.

Originally posted by Player 1:

It sounds like I may be causing my own problems. It would be nice to understand how the enemy gets prompted to appear or what may help prevent it to some degree.

It doesn't sound like you are doing anything that would make the problems worse, just that the spawn behavior and new Patrolling Tribals were added.

[Mike]

Fully aware I'm super late to the post, but I want to add that natives will spawn on your base; furnace, fire, or not. In my experience with the wandering native he is looking for the player, if he sees you he will run away making bird noises and tell his tribe basically to come attack you, prompting an attack by squad of 3.

[Jaunitta 🌸]

Put it out after use. Use dryers instead and eat meat from it then it lasts a long time. Make lots of stews and stack on the ground. :)