How do you Hunt in a19? (caution, may be spoilers)

[FileMachete]

So far I've learned that buying the first tier of Animal Tracker is my first perk point.

 

Learned that once you're equiped for it that hunting in the Snow Biome is the place to go for big game.

I saw 3 Bear, 2 Dire Wolves and 1 Cougar in just a few minutes when scouting a city in b173.

The cougars pelt blends in pretty well with all the snow, but the bear and wolves really stand out, so quite easy to spot.

 

I'd never take Animal Tracker prior to b173. Once I figured out how it worked, and what to use, it's quite effective.

When you crouch down (stealth), on the lower left there's a 3 second count down.

Once that runs you'll either get a message that nothings in the area, or there'll be an icon with little tracks and a 20 second count down.

If there are any rabbits of chickens in range they'll have a green icon on the animal itself (much easier to see than the animal itself in the grass) and there will also be a green icon of whatevers in the area up in the compass HUD.

 

The bit I didn't immediately grok was that if you drop into stealth, while there's still time left on the 20 sec countdown, it resets to a fresh 20 secs. Without having to wait out the initial 3 seconds. Knowing this really helps with the rabbits out in the wild.

 

So far it seems like the best gear to hunt with is a knife and anything to help with stamina. The running shoes or the jacket or even a basic drink to quickly refill stamina.

At first I was using the club, and while it does work, and it's aoe/glancing bit can help, it also takes more stamina to swing, and you're likely to be almost gassed out when you catch up to the prey. So I tried a knife, and I now prefer it over the club. It swings faster and takes less stamina so you'll be able to stab a couple more times, and if the bleed effect procs (not sure if it always does or what %), then that can finish the hunt.

 

So what new hunting methods have you all discovered so far?

[Bashtiks]

Well bullet to the head works quite well ..

[pApA^LeGBa]

I use the bow. The 4x sneak damage is just to good to be ignored. Sure it doesn´t kill the big animals at one shot but you do a lot of damage while beeing far enough away to switch to a spear wich you can throw before you go melee.

 

@Bashtiks I haven´t seen a gun since day 6 in my last game. And tbh a level one pistol vs a bear is a joke.

 

[Bashtiks]

13 minutes ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

 

@Bashtiks I haven´t seen a gun since day 6 in my last game. And tbh a level one pistol vs a bear is a joke.

 

I dont even bother hunting without a gun, same I dont bother with hunting some weekling chickens or rabbits or using a bow show me a bear and then we talk

[pApA^LeGBa]

Well in MP Coop you can´t wait until you have a gun or see a bear. You need the meat, impossible that 4 people live from canned food. And chickens are nice for feathers. Also bones for glue.

 

And tbh using guns to hunt is weak. Guns are generally just for emergencies in small rooms with more than 3 zombies and for hordenight.

[FileMachete]

heh heh   yeah, no way would I choose to take on a bear with a q1 pistol. I just had one visit me at night. He might have wondered off if I hadn't come outside, but I did, but only because I had an AK and ~65 rounds. @%$*#!s are real hard to shoot in the head in the black of night, so I went back inside and grabbed a torch. Then finished him off.

 

sry for the tease, my starter base is the top of the small building that's part of the new small radio tower (tallest poi i think?) that has a fence in front and a wall in back, so I was in no danger. and the following night a dire wolf came by. I'm -real- glad I didn't choose one of the wood houses right by the traders!

8 minutes ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

And tbh using guns to hunt is weak.

Even Bears?

 

Edit: err... the plural of "bug" but as slang got censored.. {bug _er_s} me thinks the forum provider is English?

[pApA^LeGBa]

If i can get a sneak shot with the bow it is a one shot kill once i have the right skills and a compound bow that is fully modded. And tbh, i don´t bother with bears early on. And if i have to because i can´t find anything else to hunt, i lure them to my base. And finish them from above.

 

I play permadeath, so avoiding bears in early game is a must. Happens to easy that you make a mistake and die.

[FileMachete]

ah, okay. I haven't put a point into bows in so long I forget that specc'd up they are quite powerful, especially with the sneak multiplier.

[Bashtiks]

13 minutes ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

Well in MP Coop you can´t wait until you have a gun or see a bear. You need the meat, impossible that 4 people live from canned food. Also chickens are nice for feathers. Also bones for glue.

 

And tbh using guns to hunt is weak. Guns are generally just for emergencies in small rooms with more than 3 zombies and for hordenight.

I play mp all the time and so far there is no problems getting food and none is starving even in current situation when you need to eat like a frikin pig to keep sta up ..

If i want feathers and bones I just go to wasteland and play with some birdies and dogos

If i want to eat i dont try to tickkle bear with a buch of wooden arrows but simply unload full magazine in head and go prepare a grill

[pApA^LeGBa]

What do you eat if you don´t hunt for meat until you find a gun? Also early game. I don´t even have a clue where the wasteland is in the first few days. We talk the first 3 or 4 days here, there is no guns in the first days unless you still play A18.

[Darthjake]

I put a point into bows as soon as I can, then another into spears for the reasons mentioned above.  Sneak bow shot, maybe a 2nd one, but more likely through the spear and then melee.  Or in case of the bear, sneak bow shot then run to a large rock and lay down frame and prepare to poke the bear with my spear.  (Hopefully with the burning shaft mod....)

[Ezed]

I've found chickens and rabbits are so plentiful and easy to pick off with stone arrows and primitive bow, even deer are one shot from sneak with same and this with no points in Agility or the bow tree at all.  Meat is plentiful without even looking for it so I can't imagine wasting a point for hunting. 

 

I will avoid regular wolves, etc until I have a firearm though, and bears are safe until I have an AK but I'll only intentionally kill one of them for that shot of Testosterone to craft a cigar with.  Once I've got a vehicle any of the predators are no longer a threat at all.  Even with a bicycle, you can ride right past predators, within a couple of meters, and they don't even take notice. 

 

All this in SP, in MP I expect wildlife and their resources are more precious.  Anyway, animal behavior is kind of a joke at the moment and for the most part, just too easy.

[Scyris]

I've never needed to try to hunt. I end up with stacks of meat without even trying. Never understood how people have food issues with how plentiful it is everywhere.

[ElCabong]

I am having more fun hunting rabbits and chickens. Two or three will give me all the meat I need for that day. Then I must loot a lot of birds nests for eggs. The burnt biome or the snow biome is best for this.

 

It takes some skill to hunt them with a primitive bow. Crossbow makes it easy, a 9mm makes it very easy.

 

For some reason I haven't seen any wolves or coyotes. Those were easy to hunt with a primitive bow.

[gurutar]

i practically trip over chickens and rabbits constantly. if i'm riding my motorcycle around i'm stopping aallll the time to pop them with a pistol. in this alpha i haven't needed to hunt once, i just see critters darting around all the time.

 

also i always put a point into master chef so i can make bacon and eggs, it makes your meat last a lot longer. grilled meat fills up i think ten food, bacon and eggs fills up 35, and eggs are easier to find than ever.

[FileMachete]

Interesting. I'm starting to think that my old video card has found another way to extract revenge on me for my not retiring him to Florida years ago.. He's hiding all the game in the grass so I need the Animal Tracker perk to be able to hunt them... mean ole @%$*#! 😒

 

Really could be a major part of it for me. Every vid options is at Lowest, except textures are at 1/4. And only 1366x768 rez.

 

Prior to buying Animal Tracker, and again talking very early game, no firearms yet, my success rate for chickens wasn't more than maybe 66%, and I wouldn't even try for rabbits. With AT the only fails are if R/C runs between a zeds legs or occasionally if I go after a rabbit without any drink on me.

[Bashtiks]

19 hours ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

What do you eat if you don´t hunt for meat until you find a gun? Also early game. I don´t even have a clue where the wasteland is in the first few days. We talk the first 3 or 4 days here, there is no guns in the first days unless you still play A18.

Plenty of food cans in poi shelves, sometimes even pies or meat stews, or can buy off food vending machines or traders, all that hunting and cooking takes too much precious time early game And usually i manage to get gun in first or second day

[pApA^LeGBa]

53 minutes ago, Bashtiks said:

Plenty of food cans in poi shelves, sometimes even pies or meat stews, or can buy off food vending machines or traders, all that hunting and cooking takes too much precious time early game And usually i manage to get gun in first or second day

You still play A18.4 then. Good luck with finding a gun in A19 before day 4 or 5. Vending machines don´t have a lot of canned food anymore, mostly just candy. Also in A19 you don´t find meat stews or pies in your first few days due to the new loot system.

 

[Bashtiks]

Ima playing lastest a19 exp tho i only playing mp i keep looting houses and so far havent had major food problems ... ima playing fast, know where to go and what to loot, and maybe if u are playing slower and looting all the crap then maybe thats the issue for not finding enought food or stuff ..dunno about sp, dont bother with it, starting from a17 sp feels even more booring af ..

[pApA^LeGBa]

You get a gun on day one in A19? You play with something like 300% XP and loot abundance and 120min days? Because with default settings there is no way looting a gun on your first or second day. I do know how to play this game, playing since 2013, but on warrior with default settings there is no way we can find enough canned food for 4 people or a gun in the first two days.

[Bashtiks]

24 minutes ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

You get a gun on day one in A19? You play with something like 300% XP and loot abundance and 120min days? Because with default settings there is no way looting a gun on your first or second day. I do know how to play this game, playing since 2013, but on warrior with default settings there is no way we can find enough canned food for 4 people or a gun in the first two days.

All on default well looting a gun on day 1 might depend on luck a bit, toilet pistols usually is the best bet or doing few quests to buy a gun in day 1 or 2 dunno and there is quite a few vending machines around too usually each have at least 2 food cans to buy, same goes for trader. In the end all boils down to indiviual preference, one likes to gather meat and cook, other just loots food and 3rd one buys it ..

[Junuxx]

I didn't see a single deer or pig in b173. Are they back yet?

Also one of my favorite tricks is to chase rabbits and chickens into the trader's barbed wire.

[smokingpaper]

I kinda mix up stuff a little bit. Somethimes if my character can run fast enough I use a knife, other times i sneak and use the bow and eventually a hunting rifle will come in handy as well or some other nice gun. 
Other than that, playing A19 on vanilla settings, haven't had any trouble with finding canned food or a gun. Found a blunderbuss on day 1 and found an AK47 (q1) on day 2 looting a gun shop with a shooting range.
Also another ways to get food: 

-Sell the crap you don't use and plunder the vending machines for food and candy.

- Take on "buried supplies"  quests and that will give some food too.

 

There are so many ways to get food..
What helps is lateral thinking.