To start looking for blood trails right in the middle of the purple stain created by hunter pressure.
That if you shoot more than 3 animals on foot with any firearm all species need zones concurring in the excessive hunting pressure get wiped out.,not just the species yiu shot last.
To ad a bit of info to this: If you are on foot and shoot animals with a bow or crossbow, you can kill about 8 animals in a zone before it dissapears, as these silent weapons are silent and build up hunting pressure much slower.
The same goes for shooting animals from a hunting blind (dlc), or the buildable ground blinds and hunting towers you can find on the map (some of the green questionmarks on the map are buildable huntingstructures). If you find one while exploring you can go close and build it up for a small price. I believe the price ranges from 1700 to 2400 ingame money. You dont need to build them, but if you find a nice spot with some needzones that you want to hunt a bit more at, building a structure (if it is nearby) certainly isnt a bad idea. But you absolutely dont need to, as you can just shoot a few animals in the zone and then move somewhere else to explore further.
If you want to get rid of hunting pressure in an area, shoot animals somewhere else on the map. As you build up pressure in other areas, the oldest blobs of pressure will slowly dissapear. There is a limited number of hunting pressures that can be on one map, I believe it´s 10.
Take your time mastering the game. The more of a mystery this game has, the more fun you'll have. You have the rest of your life to know this game like the back of your hand. You only get so long to be a newb.
This! I wish I could so go back to the first year of me playing… payed no attention to the level of the animal and just shot whatever I could find. I still remember seeing the first black bear on Layton and stalking it. I don’t think I’ve felt that excited stalking something since I know how all the levels and stuff work now
I kinda wish I had invested in tents. I enjoy the random hunt. But, these people on YouTube are finding monsters at drink zones, and just picking up and going to the next drink zone.
I've never understood the benefit of soft point bullets. Except for the lower price it seems like polymer tips are always the better choice? When is expansion more worth it than penetration?
the 7mm bolt action rifle, along with the standard .243 and a .22 rifle covers every single animal class
for big dangerous game and proper moneymaking (crocs on emerald coast, water buffalo, cape buffalo, bison, moose,...) the .300 AR rifle is the best of the best.
Invest in tents and tripods. Forget about treestands, blinds,... They are all just inferior.
Laser Rangefinder binos are the best.
umm a lot of other stuff but I'll stop here for now :P
I prefer the .300 canning magnum, solely because I like the classic look and feel.
I've never liked the .22, seems I can't hit anything with it, I usually sneak with a shotgun loaded with birdshot instead for class 1.
If you get a trophy lodge and plan on playing a good bit, don’t be like me and fill up every spot in the lodge with animals you’re going to eventually replace. It wastes TONS of money that you should be using on tents, blinds, tripods, tree stands, etc.
Not really as long as you use it at the right times, if your stalking, getting to a certain hill or choke point that u can see a herd going for can be vital, u just need to know what your distances are for your stances and play it safe by about 20-30 yards for some species or mythicals and legends. The number of times ive lost sight and had a flee because im going too slow and the herd gets to a better position for sight far outweighs those ive lost by sprint. But lets all be real, if anything, they could take sprint away as long as they dont make me drive Bobby Boucher’s Lawnmower for another 400 hours 🤣
It is pointless to run after an animal esp when you're new. If you don't have the knowledge of how the animals move, or actually trying to follow tracks but whatever you see. sprinting after a flee is going to make learning the distances much more difficult.
A new player isn't going to know when to use tho let alone "at the right times", after my first two play sessions I slowed down and was able to notice the distances vs. Species first, then I was able to gauge stances. When I learnt how far a walk would alert, sprinting was a lot easier to guess on. Plus you get less overlapping of sound alerts or whatever, so many times I'd slow down for a warning call and not realize the animal had already ran off!
I honestly would hate it if they took sprinting out, sure it's redundant when compared to RL but come on it's a video game, the quad is already bad enough going up any incline don't take away mah sprints 🤣🤣
Noise is the biggest factor, by far, for animals to detect you. Even more than eyesight.
AKA: Do NOT run unless you really want to cover some ground.
Also, idk if its still the case, but gunshots aren't detected by animals if they are more than 200m from you. Animals will still run if they hear the bullet land nearby though, obviously. So, dont miss.
The binoculars 100%. I can spot animals with my scope, which is nice in tall grass, but I still use my binoculars until I'm actually ready to take a shot.
One for my fellow newbies. Do NOT use the free ammo for the starter rifle. Get a magazine or two of the paid ammo for 250-500 bucks. Trust me. The first few hours of this game I'd nail Whitetail directly in the lungs and every time I got a No Vital Organs Hit. Saw a youtube video where a guy said to try the paid for ammo as it has higher penetration and boom. I'm downing Blacktails left and right now no sweat
e; and if you're worried about the cost. One magazine gives you 10 rounds and a single deer will recoup that cost immediately so don't worry about it
e;e; And also, another tip. The lure is incredibly handy. Walk (don't run) around an area following a track and with Whitetail and Blacktails at least you'll get a warning call. Stop, crouch, go stand next to a tree so you're nearly invisible and start hammering the Bleat lure. Takes a minute or two but one of of the herd will come to investigate eventually. I've nailed 3 deer tonight by doing this
e;e;e; Also the scent eliminator you start with (bound to #8 on the keyboard) is very good. It's got 50 charges and they last about half an hour. Don't be afraid to put on a layer of Axe before you go out hunting
The calls are so important, you don’t have to stalk your prey, just up to the warning call. Especially if you can find a spot near their trails that has good line of sight. I play the patient game and it pays off. The time waiting for animals to show up is time spent looking at the world and going “this is nice and peaceful”.
Figure out how you like to play and gear your perks and skills to that. I like stealth so I worked toward mastering it and boy howdy does it help. Some wepon ones work for multiple weapon types so spend some time reading up on them and have a plan for how you want to level up. Don't waste perks and skills, it gets expensive to reset them. Know that gaining perks and skill gets harder the higher level you are.
To prevent burnout, consider changing up why you are going out. Sometimes I want to do missions and find that satisfying. Sometimes I'm trophy hunting and only shoot at trophies. Sometimes I am doing what I call 'fundraising' and blast every animal I see. It keeps.the game interesting.
The rifle range in Hirschfeld and the short range in Parque Fernando are a must to practice on, especially if you are shooting at long range. You'll learn the wobble pattern of your weapon, how much drop to expect from certain weapons, how long it takes the bullet to travel long range, as well as trigger discipline. Do not underestimate. If you are going to use shotguns especially for birds, the short range in Parque Fernando will show how much spread and drop to expect and it's great for understanding how bows and crossbows shoot at various ranges. I also think the ranges are kinda fun.
I’m gonna assume this is for CotW.
1. Shooting animals with non-permitted ammo is fine and decent way to make money. But not ideal as you do not pass the harvest check and might not make a trophy (someone can correct/confirm this).
2. Basic unwritten rule of a vital shot is aiming a couple inches behind the front shoulder or armpit. This is true for most animals, but you will learn more as the game literally shows you all the organs and anatomy of a creature when you harvest it. Big blood splatter on first hit? Vital organ hit. Small blood splatter? Body or non vital organ hit.
3. If you’re just starting, your ability to shoot animals dead on the spot is very low. Tracking wounded animals is major part of the game but it will be a chore if the animal isn’t hurt enough because it will hear you walk up to it and it will run further and further away. It is fine (non ethically) to leave the trail if it’s taking too long (longer than 15 mins which is still high). Work on your aim, eventually animals will die closer and closer to your first shot.
4. Addition to point 3: Invest in a bloodhound dog when you are still new. Easier to track your hunt. Especially if you’re struggling to follow tracks. Good company too.
5. Plan a simple route and try to stick to it. If you decided to walk from one outpost to the other, shoot anything you find on the way while still heading to that one general direction. This will prevent aimless wandering and walking the same path 10 times in a row. Keep using your binoculars between intervals to see if you spot something. (PS. you can zoom in on animal calls to narrow down roughly where they are located instead of a general area).
6. Missions are a great way to explore the map and earn cash and xp. Both of which are needed to unlock better stuff in-game.
7. Just because a weapon perk is listed on a handgun doesn’t mean it wont affect a rifle. Read perks they offer and work towards what you think you want to have first to improve your hunting experience.
Animals don't despawn, i messed up a diamond fox years ago because I thought it would be gone. Bty this was on the old scoring system, quick kill was the death of me
This is huge. You don’t have to rush any shot. I botched so many animals and panicked for no reason not knowing it would be in the same exact spot when you reset the time
Its pretty handy to choose the right skills and perks, lady legend got a video about it, but remember that skills and perks is all up to you and how you like hunting.
Looking up animals drink times and hunting mostly drink zones is the best way to hunt. They are out in the open with few trees in the way, and they will return in a short amount of time between shots.
Just take your time (don't run, it's not COD) and walk around discovering need zones and outposts
Discover more outposts usually by following roads/paths and walk around in a big circle to discover more need zones.
Now you have fast travel locations to bounce around to and hunt the different zones you discovered.
When you walk around body's of water you will almost always discover zones
There are many many things I wish to have known as a newcomer but too many to list them all. Lot of dudes already said a lot, I didn’t see anyone mention -but I might be wrong- that hunting pressure showing up means the animal is dead somewhere. Anyway, I believe the experience growing process is one of the things that keep you playing and replaying this game again, so yeah there is a lot of stuff going on and you shouldn’t bombing your mate with all of this ‘behind the curtain’ stuff. Help him approach the game the same you would do to a real life new comer hunter, the most important thing is he understand that this is a slow paced game, not COD, and at first you don’t get much harvest, maybe not even one in half to one hour of play and it’s completely fine because the most beautiful thing of a new map is to breath the atmosphere that Expansive Worlds is amazingly recreating. Then you start to discover need zones, you learn when and how to get quest related game, and everything speed up a little. Still it’s not gonna be COD.
Hunt into the wind when possible
Use waypoints when traveling to keep track of distance to your destination. If hunting with friends they can enable seeing your waypoints from the MP menu.
NEVER wear a backpack
General rule you can run to 200m. Walk to 150. Crouch to 100. Of an animal without spooking it with good wind.
Scope spotting, all 3 levels of track id, soft feet are a must IMHO.
Use the guide pinned at the top of this sub reddit for all animal info on the map.
Stop wandering around aimlessly and put more effort into finding zones - since I've done that I've found way more nice/diamond animals than just wandering around at random times hoping to bump into stuff. Don't get me wrong you can definitely spot sweet stuff out of nowhere, but knowing where stuff gathers time again and where you're likely to find the big herds is really nice.
First of all, dont run unless you want to get to a specific point quickly, like an outpost you want to unlock or a tower you want to climb. Running will spook animals in a large distance (I believe it´s around 250-300meters).
I´m going to split this into a few parts. First the tips for general gameplay, then a bit about weapons.
**Wind:**
Try walking while exploring the map and spot any needzone you come across. If you are walking and suddenly get a warning call from an animal, immediately stop and crouch down. If you want to hunt that animal at that moment check the wind direction. If the wind blows towards the warning call see if there is a lot of open ground and visibility between you and the call. If yes, you can use the scent eliminator to reduce your scent and use a caller to try and get the animal to come in a bit closer. Note that if the wind is blowing towards the animal they will spook a lot sooner, even with the scent eliminator. But the elimitnature can often reduce your scent enough so you can get to a position where you get a decent shot. As with everything else this is something that you´ll get a feel for over time.
**Marker:**
As you wont have acess to a rangefinder in the beginning, use the marker to see the distance between you and an animal. Spot an animal through your binoculars, then open your map and zoom in on that location. You will see a green circle that shows the spotted animal. Now place a marker on it and you have the aproximate distance.
If you are walking towards a previously discovered needzone to check for animals, try putting a marker on it on your map. If you dont mind spooking any animals before that, you can usually run up to it to about 300 meters to save some time. (I´m actually able to run up to zones to about 240 meters but that might be due to some skill that reduces noise slightly, I´m not sure)
**Lures:**
Always try to carry the lures of the animals of the reserve with you. Especially in the beginning this can be a bit difficult due to you needing money for new weapons and equipment. Luckily the game already provides lures for some of the animals you´ll find in both basegame reserves, so take them with you as they are extremely useful. Some lures only unlock at a certain player level so it will take some time. Dont stress too much about it, you´ll get there eventually and should be fine with the lures/callers the game already provides for now.
**Backpacks:**
While it may be tempting to use a back pack since it allows you to carry more stuff, you should avoid using one since it will create more noise that will spook animals a bit sooner. Your standart carrying capacity is definitely enough so dont worry about backpacks.
**Needzones:**
Always discover any needzone you come across. See some flashing white stuff that looks like short grass or trampled vegetation? Walk up to it and press the prompt to discover it. These are restzones and feedzones were animals either sleep or eat. Find a lot of tracks next to a body of water that look like some animals had a riverdance contest? That´s usually a drinkzone. Once discovered it will be marked with an icon. If you hover with your cursor over that icon on your map, it will display the approximate timeframe were animals can be found at that zone. Note that they wont be there for the entire duration. Some might come in a bit later during that timeframe (if the zone says 6:00 to 10:00 they might come in at 7:00 or at 8:00).
**Skills and Perks:**
Another very important aspect of the game. These will help you out by giving you adittional information about spotted animals for example, or give you more weapon abilities like adjusting the short and long range zeroing of your weapon (more on that in the weapons section) or allowing you to reload your weapon while sprinting. There is a lot of perks and skills, some of them quite essential, like showing the approximate trophy rating and current health af a spotted animal.
For a easy overview and explenation of echa perk and skill I can highly recommend this video from LadyLegend on yt: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e02ZGoLLGhU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e02ZGoLLGhU)
It will take some time to unlock them since you get skill and perk points by leveling up and that will take a bit. So dont sweat it too much, you will get the points as you play the game and while some of them are kinda important, it´s not like you cant play the game without them, they just make a lot of things easier, like seeing how far away animals are or giving you more information about a spotted animal.
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
**Wich animals to shoot:**
Try to prioritize the males in a group of antlered animals, as often they are the ones of the species giving you a trophy and therefore higher money and xp reward. If there are multiple males, try to shoot the one with the biggest rack/antlers. If there are only females, just shoot one of the females. While not a trophy animal they will still give a good amount of money and xp on a successful shot. If you come across a lone female animal roaming around take it down as well. It´s more money and xp.
If both male and female of an animal species count as trophy animals (such as fox, coyote, bears etc.) just shoot eiter of them. Always try to shoot a fox or coyote if you can, as the will give you a lot of money even with a messed up shot.
**Bad shots:**
If you hit an animal with a bad shot and the blood splatter is tiny (and it says non vital hit) you can ignore that one as it will probably not go down. If the blood splatter is a bit bigger and it says non vital hit, try open up your map and see if hunting pressure builds up if you want to get this one. If it builds up within 40 -60 seconds after you shot it, you can try and follow the tracks to find it, but you may want to run as it has covered a lot of distance and walking would take a long time. If you dont want to run all that distance you can also ignore it for now and try to take a better shot next time.
On fox and Coyote always follow the blood trail, even on a bad shot. While they may take a while to go down they will almost always go down since they are so small and dont have a lot of health. And even with a bad shot they will give decent money and xp.
**Where to shoot:**
To sucessfully kill an animal you need to hit one of its vital organs. The ideal ones are either of the lungs or the heart. As heart shots require a little bit more skill and ammunition with decent penetration, the safest way is to try and hit the lungs. If you have a weapon with great penetration you might be able to hit the lungs straight through its front, but it is usually safer to take broadside shots and hit lungs through an animals side. The exception are class 1 animals (birds and rabbits), those only need to bit hit anywhere on there body and they will go down.
**General weapon stuff:**
Most importantly: Most rifles are zeroed in at 150m by default if you dont yet have the zeroing perk unlocked, meaning that up to 150 meters you wont have to compensate for bulletdrop and the shot will hit right where you aimed at. At longer distances wou will have to start compensating for bulletdrop, as bullets are obviously affected by gravity. To practice that I would highly suggest visiting the shooting range in Hirschfelden. While at the range you have unlimited ammunition so dont worry about wasting ammo.
With the long range zeroeing perk unlocked you can zero most rifles up to 300 meters and have pinpoint accuracy at that distance. But please be aware that shooting a animal at close range while your weapon is still set to 300meters will cause the shot to go significantly higher than were you aimed, so always set your zeroing to the appropriate distance if you can. It is advised to use a scope with higher zoom for shots at longer range.
**Ammunition:**
Always use the ammunition with better penetration. For most rifles that is Polymer Tip ammunition. While the softpoint ammo may be cheaper (and in the case of the Ranger .243 free) it is always a worse choice since a higher penetration will be able to reach a vital organ much more reliably and even at an angle. And what money you did spend on 10 rounds of Polymer Tip ammo you will make back (and even a bit more) with 1 successful harvest anyway. If you have not yet unlocked the Polymer Tip/high penetration ammo for a weapon, it is best to take broadside shots at animals. That way the Soft Point ammo will have the best chance of reaching the lung.
Always check wich classes of animals a weapon and its ammunition is rated for. You can do this ingame by visiting the store (at the locker at outposts), going to a weapon and selecting compatible items.
Some items like callers require a certain playerlevel to be unlocked and some weapons and ammunition will require a specific weapon score to be unlocked.
Part 3 of 3
Now about the weapons themselves:
***Bows*** are fantastic to take down animals at close range and dont spook nearby animals much since they are so quiet. On the downside the arrows are significantly impacted by wind and the arrow drops much more than a bullet does,making it much easier to miss either a vital organ or the entire animal. Bows require a lot of skill but can be very rewarding and fun to use. With their different arows they can take down animals from all classes in the game (1-9).
***Shotguns*** are jack of all trades weapons for closer ranges and with their different ammuniton types capable of taking down most of the animals in the game. However they are best at hunting birds and rabbits with their birdshot. Buckshot, whle in theory capable of downing small deer at closer ranges, seem to underperform quite a bit in the game at the moment and should be avoided for now. Slugs on the other hand are decently powerful and can even take down bears with a good shot.
***Handguns*** are little pocket cannons. Less range than a rifle but much lighter and overall pack a big punch with their high penetration ammo, usually on par with some rifles at similar ranges and sometimes even better. Handguns are not a replacement for rifles, but simply another fun way of hunting.
***Rifles*** are probably the main weapon for most hunters. They are powerful and most of them are great at both short and long range. It has to be said that all weapons, including rifles, will perform best within their effective range (150m for most rifles) and this is where they will be the most powerful. At long range you´ll notice a drop in power and penetration compared to closer ranges. That does not mean rifles are bad at that range, most rifles do just fine even at 300m and beyond. But keep in mind that the reduced power and penetration at range might mean you´ll have to take broadside shots, especially on bigger and tougher animals.
Now, if you or your friend are not planning to buy any dlc weapons for now, that means you´ll be going through the basegame weapons. As you already start with a good revolver and a shotgun I´ll quickly focus on the basegame rifles and try to give a very quick overview to maybe help you decide what rifle to save up for (note that everything I say is with high penetration ammo in mind):
**Ranger .243:** Some think it´s just a starter weapon you have to get a way from as fast as possible, but that is completely wrong. It is rated for animal class 2-6, wich makes it a versatile rifle especially for small and small-meduim game. It performs best at class 2-4 and is porbably the best 2-4 rifle in the game. Still decent at class 5 against pigs etc. it will struggle to take down class 6 like red deer quickly. It´s still perfectly capable of killing them, but you should take broadside lungshots for best results.
**.270 Huntsman:** Rated for class 4-8, it is a nice upgrade over the Ranger for class 4-6 and the first rifle available to you for class 8 animals such as moose. It performs best at class 4-6, is even decent on bears at class 7 but, while perfectly capable of downing them, lacks the power to take down moose quickly so you´ll have to track them for a decent bit. Overall really nice rifle, especially for deer or bears.
**7mm Regent Magnum:** This one is a serious step up in power compared to the .270. It is rated for animal classes 4-9, meaning you can take down everything from Fallow Deer all the way to the biggest animals like Bison (just not quite as fast as exclusive big game rifles).
It´s one of the most versatile calibers in the game and takes down moose noticably quicker than the .270. You´ll still have to do a little bit of tracking but not nearly as much as with the .270. Class 4 animals should pretty much die instantly with this. So, a great rifle with fantastic balance between power and versatility.
**Rangemaster .338:** If you want more power to hunt the largest animals in the game, this rifle is for you. It´s rated for classes 7-9, so there is no mistaking that this one is a powerhouse. It´s build with only one thing in mind: killing big animals. And that it does really well. It´s actually one of the best big game rifles in the game, only outclassed slightly by the .300 Canning Magnum and the Arzyna .300.
**Bonus part:**
I excluded the .223 Docent, the Whitlock 86 and the Coachmate Lever .45-70.
While these are all great rifles, they are actualy more like sidegrades with some limitations rather than direct upgrades, as they dont offer much improvement over the other rifles and, in case of both lever action rifles, have a lower maximum range. These should be considered for purchase once you have the other basegame rifles unlocked.
While the .243 is more powerfull, the .223 Docent is still a nice and capable class 2-4 rifle with actually lower recoil and weight, while the Whitlock is a class 2-6 with less range that has has a nice wild west feel to it.
The .45-70 is more suitable for closer ranges, or up to 150m with the zeroing perk unlocked.
While lacking in range and definitely outclassed by the 7mm, it still packs a decent punch, being rated for class 4-9.
A few additional things that are important to know:
**There is a bug in the game** that can cause you to spook animals much faster: If you walk through thick vegetation like bushes etc. you create more noise, but sometimes that noise stays even if you walked out of it. Sometimes it fixes itself as you walk in and out of more bushes, but the only sure way to fix it seems to be fasttraveling to a nearby outpost.
**About hunting pressure:**
If you are on foot and shoot animals with a bow or crossbow, you can kill about 8 animals in a zone before it dissapears, as these silent weapons are silent and build up hunting pressure much slower.
The same goes for shooting animals from a hunting blind (dlc), or the buildable ground blinds and hunting towers you can find on the map (some of the green questionmarks on the map are buildable huntingstructures). If you find one while exploring you can go close and build it up for a small price. I believe the price ranges from 1700 to 2400 ingame money. You dont need to build them, but if you find a nice spot with some needzones that you want to hunt a bit more at, building a structure (if it is nearby) certainly isnt a bad idea. But you absolutely dont need to, as you can just shoot a few animals in the zone and then move somewhere else to explore further.
If you want to get rid of hunting pressure in an area, shoot animals somewhere else on the map. As you build up pressure in other areas, the oldest blobs of pressure will slowly dissapear. There is a limited number of hunting pressures that can be on one map, I believe it´s 10.
If too much hunting pressure builds up in an area, all needzones within the hunting pressure get deleted and will appear somewhere else on the map where they have to be rediscovered.
Also, gunshots will spook any animals in a radius of 270-300 meters.
Have stupid fun. The DLC maps are honestly really amazing, but parkour, find the train tunnel and race the train to escape, jump off everything for shits and giggles, blackmail your friends who wouldn't normally be interested into multiplayer shenanigans because hunting with buddies is a blast!
Also, as long as one person has the map up for multiplayer(public or private) you don't need it yourself! Be careful of multiplayer maps because they could be modded with higher rates for rares/diamonds, and the 'proper' way to play would avoid mods all together, but remember it is just a game meant to be fun. But honor does hint to not flaunt mod kills online. At the end of the day just do what you wanna do to make it a fun game for you. Everything doesn't always have to be pristine elitist rules and strict no-goofing-around policing.
What I wish I knew when I started playing was every animal have a different diamond level I’ve botched a level 5 moose and a level 3 whitetail because I thought diamond was always at level 9 lol
Use multiplayer and get outposts on a different map. Then load back into your map and start hunting without disturbing anything. Honestly don’t use ATV’s to unlock outposts, it takes time but walking/running is best
Drink zones are probably the best place to farm animals. Find a drink zone that hosts a large group of animals, put a tent and tripod across the lake/river and then lie and wait
To start looking for blood trails right in the middle of the purple stain created by hunter pressure. That if you shoot more than 3 animals on foot with any firearm all species need zones concurring in the excessive hunting pressure get wiped out.,not just the species yiu shot last.
So need zones may be permanently "destroyed"?
No but they move to another place nearby without excessive hunting pressure and you will have to unveil them again.
Thank You!
To ad a bit of info to this: If you are on foot and shoot animals with a bow or crossbow, you can kill about 8 animals in a zone before it dissapears, as these silent weapons are silent and build up hunting pressure much slower. The same goes for shooting animals from a hunting blind (dlc), or the buildable ground blinds and hunting towers you can find on the map (some of the green questionmarks on the map are buildable huntingstructures). If you find one while exploring you can go close and build it up for a small price. I believe the price ranges from 1700 to 2400 ingame money. You dont need to build them, but if you find a nice spot with some needzones that you want to hunt a bit more at, building a structure (if it is nearby) certainly isnt a bad idea. But you absolutely dont need to, as you can just shoot a few animals in the zone and then move somewhere else to explore further. If you want to get rid of hunting pressure in an area, shoot animals somewhere else on the map. As you build up pressure in other areas, the oldest blobs of pressure will slowly dissapear. There is a limited number of hunting pressures that can be on one map, I believe it´s 10.
Whoa I thought it was the one I was popping thanks!
Take your time mastering the game. The more of a mystery this game has, the more fun you'll have. You have the rest of your life to know this game like the back of your hand. You only get so long to be a newb.
This! I wish I could so go back to the first year of me playing… payed no attention to the level of the animal and just shot whatever I could find. I still remember seeing the first black bear on Layton and stalking it. I don’t think I’ve felt that excited stalking something since I know how all the levels and stuff work now
I kinda wish I had invested in tents. I enjoy the random hunt. But, these people on YouTube are finding monsters at drink zones, and just picking up and going to the next drink zone.
Crucially, this isn't just about tenting drink zones - that's about herd management.
Shoot everything that moves with poly bullets until you get leveled up
I've never understood the benefit of soft point bullets. Except for the lower price it seems like polymer tips are always the better choice? When is expansion more worth it than penetration?
The lower price point. Much more worth spending the extra money for soft point IMO
Yes, you will eventually invest in the lodge DLC so yes, do save that rare/diamond trophy to taxidermy it later.
Yep! Will forever think about that max weight Diamond bison and albino sika deer 🙃
the 7mm bolt action rifle, along with the standard .243 and a .22 rifle covers every single animal class for big dangerous game and proper moneymaking (crocs on emerald coast, water buffalo, cape buffalo, bison, moose,...) the .300 AR rifle is the best of the best. Invest in tents and tripods. Forget about treestands, blinds,... They are all just inferior. Laser Rangefinder binos are the best. umm a lot of other stuff but I'll stop here for now :P
I prefer the .300 canning magnum, solely because I like the classic look and feel. I've never liked the .22, seems I can't hit anything with it, I usually sneak with a shotgun loaded with birdshot instead for class 1.
The velocity of the 22 is balls slow. I practiced on turkeys in flight.
Ohh I definitely understand ya. Thing is the weight is much heavier with those setups.
If you get a trophy lodge and plan on playing a good bit, don’t be like me and fill up every spot in the lodge with animals you’re going to eventually replace. It wastes TONS of money that you should be using on tents, blinds, tripods, tree stands, etc.
Don’t run 😂
This. 100% lol because of predator species, I get why it's even an option. Using it while looking for animals RUINS your chances
Not really as long as you use it at the right times, if your stalking, getting to a certain hill or choke point that u can see a herd going for can be vital, u just need to know what your distances are for your stances and play it safe by about 20-30 yards for some species or mythicals and legends. The number of times ive lost sight and had a flee because im going too slow and the herd gets to a better position for sight far outweighs those ive lost by sprint. But lets all be real, if anything, they could take sprint away as long as they dont make me drive Bobby Boucher’s Lawnmower for another 400 hours 🤣
It is pointless to run after an animal esp when you're new. If you don't have the knowledge of how the animals move, or actually trying to follow tracks but whatever you see. sprinting after a flee is going to make learning the distances much more difficult. A new player isn't going to know when to use tho let alone "at the right times", after my first two play sessions I slowed down and was able to notice the distances vs. Species first, then I was able to gauge stances. When I learnt how far a walk would alert, sprinting was a lot easier to guess on. Plus you get less overlapping of sound alerts or whatever, so many times I'd slow down for a warning call and not realize the animal had already ran off! I honestly would hate it if they took sprinting out, sure it's redundant when compared to RL but come on it's a video game, the quad is already bad enough going up any incline don't take away mah sprints 🤣🤣
Noise is the biggest factor, by far, for animals to detect you. Even more than eyesight. AKA: Do NOT run unless you really want to cover some ground. Also, idk if its still the case, but gunshots aren't detected by animals if they are more than 200m from you. Animals will still run if they hear the bullet land nearby though, obviously. So, dont miss.
The range for animals hearing gunshots is 250-270 meters now, so you have to think about it slightly more often than when it was 200
Using tents to transport stuff using flashlight at night to see tracks and using binoculars to spot animals up until close enough to shoot
The binoculars 100%. I can spot animals with my scope, which is nice in tall grass, but I still use my binoculars until I'm actually ready to take a shot.
Been playing forever and I still pack my binocs I love the field of view especially when transitioning between cover and open ground or vice versa
I will walk around with my binoculars on the shortest sight just to get a slight zoom on areas or to be ready to spot something
Same
One for my fellow newbies. Do NOT use the free ammo for the starter rifle. Get a magazine or two of the paid ammo for 250-500 bucks. Trust me. The first few hours of this game I'd nail Whitetail directly in the lungs and every time I got a No Vital Organs Hit. Saw a youtube video where a guy said to try the paid for ammo as it has higher penetration and boom. I'm downing Blacktails left and right now no sweat e; and if you're worried about the cost. One magazine gives you 10 rounds and a single deer will recoup that cost immediately so don't worry about it e;e; And also, another tip. The lure is incredibly handy. Walk (don't run) around an area following a track and with Whitetail and Blacktails at least you'll get a warning call. Stop, crouch, go stand next to a tree so you're nearly invisible and start hammering the Bleat lure. Takes a minute or two but one of of the herd will come to investigate eventually. I've nailed 3 deer tonight by doing this e;e;e; Also the scent eliminator you start with (bound to #8 on the keyboard) is very good. It's got 50 charges and they last about half an hour. Don't be afraid to put on a layer of Axe before you go out hunting
The calls are so important, you don’t have to stalk your prey, just up to the warning call. Especially if you can find a spot near their trails that has good line of sight. I play the patient game and it pays off. The time waiting for animals to show up is time spent looking at the world and going “this is nice and peaceful”.
Figure out how you like to play and gear your perks and skills to that. I like stealth so I worked toward mastering it and boy howdy does it help. Some wepon ones work for multiple weapon types so spend some time reading up on them and have a plan for how you want to level up. Don't waste perks and skills, it gets expensive to reset them. Know that gaining perks and skill gets harder the higher level you are. To prevent burnout, consider changing up why you are going out. Sometimes I want to do missions and find that satisfying. Sometimes I'm trophy hunting and only shoot at trophies. Sometimes I am doing what I call 'fundraising' and blast every animal I see. It keeps.the game interesting. The rifle range in Hirschfeld and the short range in Parque Fernando are a must to practice on, especially if you are shooting at long range. You'll learn the wobble pattern of your weapon, how much drop to expect from certain weapons, how long it takes the bullet to travel long range, as well as trigger discipline. Do not underestimate. If you are going to use shotguns especially for birds, the short range in Parque Fernando will show how much spread and drop to expect and it's great for understanding how bows and crossbows shoot at various ranges. I also think the ranges are kinda fun.
I’m gonna assume this is for CotW. 1. Shooting animals with non-permitted ammo is fine and decent way to make money. But not ideal as you do not pass the harvest check and might not make a trophy (someone can correct/confirm this). 2. Basic unwritten rule of a vital shot is aiming a couple inches behind the front shoulder or armpit. This is true for most animals, but you will learn more as the game literally shows you all the organs and anatomy of a creature when you harvest it. Big blood splatter on first hit? Vital organ hit. Small blood splatter? Body or non vital organ hit. 3. If you’re just starting, your ability to shoot animals dead on the spot is very low. Tracking wounded animals is major part of the game but it will be a chore if the animal isn’t hurt enough because it will hear you walk up to it and it will run further and further away. It is fine (non ethically) to leave the trail if it’s taking too long (longer than 15 mins which is still high). Work on your aim, eventually animals will die closer and closer to your first shot. 4. Addition to point 3: Invest in a bloodhound dog when you are still new. Easier to track your hunt. Especially if you’re struggling to follow tracks. Good company too. 5. Plan a simple route and try to stick to it. If you decided to walk from one outpost to the other, shoot anything you find on the way while still heading to that one general direction. This will prevent aimless wandering and walking the same path 10 times in a row. Keep using your binoculars between intervals to see if you spot something. (PS. you can zoom in on animal calls to narrow down roughly where they are located instead of a general area). 6. Missions are a great way to explore the map and earn cash and xp. Both of which are needed to unlock better stuff in-game. 7. Just because a weapon perk is listed on a handgun doesn’t mean it wont affect a rifle. Read perks they offer and work towards what you think you want to have first to improve your hunting experience.
Animals don't despawn, i messed up a diamond fox years ago because I thought it would be gone. Bty this was on the old scoring system, quick kill was the death of me
Quick kill sucked So glad it is gone
This is huge. You don’t have to rush any shot. I botched so many animals and panicked for no reason not knowing it would be in the same exact spot when you reset the time
Its pretty handy to choose the right skills and perks, lady legend got a video about it, but remember that skills and perks is all up to you and how you like hunting.
Looking up animals drink times and hunting mostly drink zones is the best way to hunt. They are out in the open with few trees in the way, and they will return in a short amount of time between shots.
Just take your time (don't run, it's not COD) and walk around discovering need zones and outposts Discover more outposts usually by following roads/paths and walk around in a big circle to discover more need zones. Now you have fast travel locations to bounce around to and hunt the different zones you discovered. When you walk around body's of water you will almost always discover zones
I didn’t save any animals, I deleted a damn albino and two piebalds!
There are many many things I wish to have known as a newcomer but too many to list them all. Lot of dudes already said a lot, I didn’t see anyone mention -but I might be wrong- that hunting pressure showing up means the animal is dead somewhere. Anyway, I believe the experience growing process is one of the things that keep you playing and replaying this game again, so yeah there is a lot of stuff going on and you shouldn’t bombing your mate with all of this ‘behind the curtain’ stuff. Help him approach the game the same you would do to a real life new comer hunter, the most important thing is he understand that this is a slow paced game, not COD, and at first you don’t get much harvest, maybe not even one in half to one hour of play and it’s completely fine because the most beautiful thing of a new map is to breath the atmosphere that Expansive Worlds is amazingly recreating. Then you start to discover need zones, you learn when and how to get quest related game, and everything speed up a little. Still it’s not gonna be COD.
Hunt water.
To know piebald was rare I found 2 piebald fallow but never taxed them because never known they were rare
Hunt into the wind when possible Use waypoints when traveling to keep track of distance to your destination. If hunting with friends they can enable seeing your waypoints from the MP menu. NEVER wear a backpack General rule you can run to 200m. Walk to 150. Crouch to 100. Of an animal without spooking it with good wind. Scope spotting, all 3 levels of track id, soft feet are a must IMHO. Use the guide pinned at the top of this sub reddit for all animal info on the map.
Scent spray is a must, dont run choose the right perks and buy the dog.
Stop wandering around aimlessly and put more effort into finding zones - since I've done that I've found way more nice/diamond animals than just wandering around at random times hoping to bump into stuff. Don't get me wrong you can definitely spot sweet stuff out of nowhere, but knowing where stuff gathers time again and where you're likely to find the big herds is really nice.
First of all, dont run unless you want to get to a specific point quickly, like an outpost you want to unlock or a tower you want to climb. Running will spook animals in a large distance (I believe it´s around 250-300meters). I´m going to split this into a few parts. First the tips for general gameplay, then a bit about weapons. **Wind:** Try walking while exploring the map and spot any needzone you come across. If you are walking and suddenly get a warning call from an animal, immediately stop and crouch down. If you want to hunt that animal at that moment check the wind direction. If the wind blows towards the warning call see if there is a lot of open ground and visibility between you and the call. If yes, you can use the scent eliminator to reduce your scent and use a caller to try and get the animal to come in a bit closer. Note that if the wind is blowing towards the animal they will spook a lot sooner, even with the scent eliminator. But the elimitnature can often reduce your scent enough so you can get to a position where you get a decent shot. As with everything else this is something that you´ll get a feel for over time. **Marker:** As you wont have acess to a rangefinder in the beginning, use the marker to see the distance between you and an animal. Spot an animal through your binoculars, then open your map and zoom in on that location. You will see a green circle that shows the spotted animal. Now place a marker on it and you have the aproximate distance. If you are walking towards a previously discovered needzone to check for animals, try putting a marker on it on your map. If you dont mind spooking any animals before that, you can usually run up to it to about 300 meters to save some time. (I´m actually able to run up to zones to about 240 meters but that might be due to some skill that reduces noise slightly, I´m not sure) **Lures:** Always try to carry the lures of the animals of the reserve with you. Especially in the beginning this can be a bit difficult due to you needing money for new weapons and equipment. Luckily the game already provides lures for some of the animals you´ll find in both basegame reserves, so take them with you as they are extremely useful. Some lures only unlock at a certain player level so it will take some time. Dont stress too much about it, you´ll get there eventually and should be fine with the lures/callers the game already provides for now. **Backpacks:** While it may be tempting to use a back pack since it allows you to carry more stuff, you should avoid using one since it will create more noise that will spook animals a bit sooner. Your standart carrying capacity is definitely enough so dont worry about backpacks. **Needzones:** Always discover any needzone you come across. See some flashing white stuff that looks like short grass or trampled vegetation? Walk up to it and press the prompt to discover it. These are restzones and feedzones were animals either sleep or eat. Find a lot of tracks next to a body of water that look like some animals had a riverdance contest? That´s usually a drinkzone. Once discovered it will be marked with an icon. If you hover with your cursor over that icon on your map, it will display the approximate timeframe were animals can be found at that zone. Note that they wont be there for the entire duration. Some might come in a bit later during that timeframe (if the zone says 6:00 to 10:00 they might come in at 7:00 or at 8:00). **Skills and Perks:** Another very important aspect of the game. These will help you out by giving you adittional information about spotted animals for example, or give you more weapon abilities like adjusting the short and long range zeroing of your weapon (more on that in the weapons section) or allowing you to reload your weapon while sprinting. There is a lot of perks and skills, some of them quite essential, like showing the approximate trophy rating and current health af a spotted animal. For a easy overview and explenation of echa perk and skill I can highly recommend this video from LadyLegend on yt: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e02ZGoLLGhU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e02ZGoLLGhU) It will take some time to unlock them since you get skill and perk points by leveling up and that will take a bit. So dont sweat it too much, you will get the points as you play the game and while some of them are kinda important, it´s not like you cant play the game without them, they just make a lot of things easier, like seeing how far away animals are or giving you more information about a spotted animal. Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3 **Wich animals to shoot:** Try to prioritize the males in a group of antlered animals, as often they are the ones of the species giving you a trophy and therefore higher money and xp reward. If there are multiple males, try to shoot the one with the biggest rack/antlers. If there are only females, just shoot one of the females. While not a trophy animal they will still give a good amount of money and xp on a successful shot. If you come across a lone female animal roaming around take it down as well. It´s more money and xp. If both male and female of an animal species count as trophy animals (such as fox, coyote, bears etc.) just shoot eiter of them. Always try to shoot a fox or coyote if you can, as the will give you a lot of money even with a messed up shot. **Bad shots:** If you hit an animal with a bad shot and the blood splatter is tiny (and it says non vital hit) you can ignore that one as it will probably not go down. If the blood splatter is a bit bigger and it says non vital hit, try open up your map and see if hunting pressure builds up if you want to get this one. If it builds up within 40 -60 seconds after you shot it, you can try and follow the tracks to find it, but you may want to run as it has covered a lot of distance and walking would take a long time. If you dont want to run all that distance you can also ignore it for now and try to take a better shot next time. On fox and Coyote always follow the blood trail, even on a bad shot. While they may take a while to go down they will almost always go down since they are so small and dont have a lot of health. And even with a bad shot they will give decent money and xp. **Where to shoot:** To sucessfully kill an animal you need to hit one of its vital organs. The ideal ones are either of the lungs or the heart. As heart shots require a little bit more skill and ammunition with decent penetration, the safest way is to try and hit the lungs. If you have a weapon with great penetration you might be able to hit the lungs straight through its front, but it is usually safer to take broadside shots and hit lungs through an animals side. The exception are class 1 animals (birds and rabbits), those only need to bit hit anywhere on there body and they will go down. **General weapon stuff:** Most importantly: Most rifles are zeroed in at 150m by default if you dont yet have the zeroing perk unlocked, meaning that up to 150 meters you wont have to compensate for bulletdrop and the shot will hit right where you aimed at. At longer distances wou will have to start compensating for bulletdrop, as bullets are obviously affected by gravity. To practice that I would highly suggest visiting the shooting range in Hirschfelden. While at the range you have unlimited ammunition so dont worry about wasting ammo. With the long range zeroeing perk unlocked you can zero most rifles up to 300 meters and have pinpoint accuracy at that distance. But please be aware that shooting a animal at close range while your weapon is still set to 300meters will cause the shot to go significantly higher than were you aimed, so always set your zeroing to the appropriate distance if you can. It is advised to use a scope with higher zoom for shots at longer range. **Ammunition:** Always use the ammunition with better penetration. For most rifles that is Polymer Tip ammunition. While the softpoint ammo may be cheaper (and in the case of the Ranger .243 free) it is always a worse choice since a higher penetration will be able to reach a vital organ much more reliably and even at an angle. And what money you did spend on 10 rounds of Polymer Tip ammo you will make back (and even a bit more) with 1 successful harvest anyway. If you have not yet unlocked the Polymer Tip/high penetration ammo for a weapon, it is best to take broadside shots at animals. That way the Soft Point ammo will have the best chance of reaching the lung. Always check wich classes of animals a weapon and its ammunition is rated for. You can do this ingame by visiting the store (at the locker at outposts), going to a weapon and selecting compatible items. Some items like callers require a certain playerlevel to be unlocked and some weapons and ammunition will require a specific weapon score to be unlocked.
Part 3 of 3 Now about the weapons themselves: ***Bows*** are fantastic to take down animals at close range and dont spook nearby animals much since they are so quiet. On the downside the arrows are significantly impacted by wind and the arrow drops much more than a bullet does,making it much easier to miss either a vital organ or the entire animal. Bows require a lot of skill but can be very rewarding and fun to use. With their different arows they can take down animals from all classes in the game (1-9). ***Shotguns*** are jack of all trades weapons for closer ranges and with their different ammuniton types capable of taking down most of the animals in the game. However they are best at hunting birds and rabbits with their birdshot. Buckshot, whle in theory capable of downing small deer at closer ranges, seem to underperform quite a bit in the game at the moment and should be avoided for now. Slugs on the other hand are decently powerful and can even take down bears with a good shot. ***Handguns*** are little pocket cannons. Less range than a rifle but much lighter and overall pack a big punch with their high penetration ammo, usually on par with some rifles at similar ranges and sometimes even better. Handguns are not a replacement for rifles, but simply another fun way of hunting. ***Rifles*** are probably the main weapon for most hunters. They are powerful and most of them are great at both short and long range. It has to be said that all weapons, including rifles, will perform best within their effective range (150m for most rifles) and this is where they will be the most powerful. At long range you´ll notice a drop in power and penetration compared to closer ranges. That does not mean rifles are bad at that range, most rifles do just fine even at 300m and beyond. But keep in mind that the reduced power and penetration at range might mean you´ll have to take broadside shots, especially on bigger and tougher animals. Now, if you or your friend are not planning to buy any dlc weapons for now, that means you´ll be going through the basegame weapons. As you already start with a good revolver and a shotgun I´ll quickly focus on the basegame rifles and try to give a very quick overview to maybe help you decide what rifle to save up for (note that everything I say is with high penetration ammo in mind): **Ranger .243:** Some think it´s just a starter weapon you have to get a way from as fast as possible, but that is completely wrong. It is rated for animal class 2-6, wich makes it a versatile rifle especially for small and small-meduim game. It performs best at class 2-4 and is porbably the best 2-4 rifle in the game. Still decent at class 5 against pigs etc. it will struggle to take down class 6 like red deer quickly. It´s still perfectly capable of killing them, but you should take broadside lungshots for best results. **.270 Huntsman:** Rated for class 4-8, it is a nice upgrade over the Ranger for class 4-6 and the first rifle available to you for class 8 animals such as moose. It performs best at class 4-6, is even decent on bears at class 7 but, while perfectly capable of downing them, lacks the power to take down moose quickly so you´ll have to track them for a decent bit. Overall really nice rifle, especially for deer or bears. **7mm Regent Magnum:** This one is a serious step up in power compared to the .270. It is rated for animal classes 4-9, meaning you can take down everything from Fallow Deer all the way to the biggest animals like Bison (just not quite as fast as exclusive big game rifles). It´s one of the most versatile calibers in the game and takes down moose noticably quicker than the .270. You´ll still have to do a little bit of tracking but not nearly as much as with the .270. Class 4 animals should pretty much die instantly with this. So, a great rifle with fantastic balance between power and versatility. **Rangemaster .338:** If you want more power to hunt the largest animals in the game, this rifle is for you. It´s rated for classes 7-9, so there is no mistaking that this one is a powerhouse. It´s build with only one thing in mind: killing big animals. And that it does really well. It´s actually one of the best big game rifles in the game, only outclassed slightly by the .300 Canning Magnum and the Arzyna .300.
**Bonus part:** I excluded the .223 Docent, the Whitlock 86 and the Coachmate Lever .45-70. While these are all great rifles, they are actualy more like sidegrades with some limitations rather than direct upgrades, as they dont offer much improvement over the other rifles and, in case of both lever action rifles, have a lower maximum range. These should be considered for purchase once you have the other basegame rifles unlocked. While the .243 is more powerfull, the .223 Docent is still a nice and capable class 2-4 rifle with actually lower recoil and weight, while the Whitlock is a class 2-6 with less range that has has a nice wild west feel to it. The .45-70 is more suitable for closer ranges, or up to 150m with the zeroing perk unlocked. While lacking in range and definitely outclassed by the 7mm, it still packs a decent punch, being rated for class 4-9.
A few additional things that are important to know: **There is a bug in the game** that can cause you to spook animals much faster: If you walk through thick vegetation like bushes etc. you create more noise, but sometimes that noise stays even if you walked out of it. Sometimes it fixes itself as you walk in and out of more bushes, but the only sure way to fix it seems to be fasttraveling to a nearby outpost. **About hunting pressure:** If you are on foot and shoot animals with a bow or crossbow, you can kill about 8 animals in a zone before it dissapears, as these silent weapons are silent and build up hunting pressure much slower. The same goes for shooting animals from a hunting blind (dlc), or the buildable ground blinds and hunting towers you can find on the map (some of the green questionmarks on the map are buildable huntingstructures). If you find one while exploring you can go close and build it up for a small price. I believe the price ranges from 1700 to 2400 ingame money. You dont need to build them, but if you find a nice spot with some needzones that you want to hunt a bit more at, building a structure (if it is nearby) certainly isnt a bad idea. But you absolutely dont need to, as you can just shoot a few animals in the zone and then move somewhere else to explore further. If you want to get rid of hunting pressure in an area, shoot animals somewhere else on the map. As you build up pressure in other areas, the oldest blobs of pressure will slowly dissapear. There is a limited number of hunting pressures that can be on one map, I believe it´s 10. If too much hunting pressure builds up in an area, all needzones within the hunting pressure get deleted and will appear somewhere else on the map where they have to be rediscovered. Also, gunshots will spook any animals in a radius of 270-300 meters.
Have stupid fun. The DLC maps are honestly really amazing, but parkour, find the train tunnel and race the train to escape, jump off everything for shits and giggles, blackmail your friends who wouldn't normally be interested into multiplayer shenanigans because hunting with buddies is a blast! Also, as long as one person has the map up for multiplayer(public or private) you don't need it yourself! Be careful of multiplayer maps because they could be modded with higher rates for rares/diamonds, and the 'proper' way to play would avoid mods all together, but remember it is just a game meant to be fun. But honor does hint to not flaunt mod kills online. At the end of the day just do what you wanna do to make it a fun game for you. Everything doesn't always have to be pristine elitist rules and strict no-goofing-around policing.
What I wish I knew when I started playing was every animal have a different diamond level I’ve botched a level 5 moose and a level 3 whitetail because I thought diamond was always at level 9 lol
Stop running
Use multiplayer and get outposts on a different map. Then load back into your map and start hunting without disturbing anything. Honestly don’t use ATV’s to unlock outposts, it takes time but walking/running is best
Drink zones are probably the best place to farm animals. Find a drink zone that hosts a large group of animals, put a tent and tripod across the lake/river and then lie and wait
Go. To. The. Water.