Am I the only one that dislikes the hunting?

[DirtCheap]

Yes, this may be considered a B&M, but I feel like this should be discussed.

 

Like the title says, am I the only one who dislikes the hunting? The whole thing of having a "perfect pelt", carrying the pelts physically, rarity, etc. really bothers me. I'll try explain each point:

 

 

The "Perfect Pelt" System

So let's move onto my first and biggest complaint about hunting in the game: the "perfect pelt" system.

 

Trying to be realistic as possible, R* decided that the creature you're hunting will be affected by the weapon you used. So basically the Perfect skins are the best, and the Poor and Good skins are essentially useless. Not a bad idea right? This idea may have sounded great at first, but there's a problem: less than half of the creatures you find  in the game have a Perfect status. This makes it a huge issue as nearly all the creatures are Poor or Good, making them pointless to hunt, and makes you more frustrated to find the right animal. Now many may not have an issue with this, but many animals are quite rare (I'll discuss this later), and when they finally appear, they are Poor or Good most of the time, adding to the frustration. For example, I went looking for a moose for nearly an hour, and when I found one, it was only Good.

 

In my opinion, I think all the animals should be Perfect, and only change to Poor or Good depending on what weapon you used or how you hunted it. This would make the hunting more skill-based rather than luck-based.

 

 

Pelt Carrying

Now for pelt carrying. 

 

Now I can understand how it works and is mostly fine in some ways. It makes sense that you can only carry one pelt of a large animal like a bear or a bison, and it makes sense that you can't carry medium pelts from medium creatures like the deer or wolf in your satchel. However, it makes less sense when you can't carry a rolled-up beaver pelt or a rolled-up fox/coyote pelt in his bag. In the game, those creatures are just slightly bigger than rodent (rabbit, raccoon, skunk, etc.), yet when you skin them, their pelts grow to the size of a deer's pelt. If you think I'm being nitpicky about this, then explain to me why he can't carry either of their pelts, rolled-up, yet can carry an entire moose antler in his satchel.

 

 

Rarity

Time to move onto rarity.

 

This is another big issue I have with hunting in the game. There are some creatures that appear once a blue moon in the game and it becomes insanely annoying. It makes sense for creatures like the panther to be rare, but not for some like moose. Like I can easily find the Legendary Moose, no problem, yet I rarely find a regular moose in the game. This makes less sense as they're abundant in the US in real life, yet they can barely be found in the game. Grizzles also seem to have become extinct in Tall Trees, despite them appearing in droves in RDR. And like I said in my first complaint, when the creature you spent close to an hour looking for is Poor or Good, you cannot help but get mad.

 

 

Weird Bits

Last complaint in this topic, I promise.

 

Now I'm no pesky vegan, but don't you find that you can eat pretty much eat the entire ecosystem disturbing? Like it becomes weird when you can pick up a wolf, puma, eagle, coyote, fox, panther, hawk or exotic bird and cook it over a fire. I know it could be said to show the game's gritty survival theme, but I didn't expect to be eating canine meat over a fire. (For those wondering why I didn't mention that you can cook bear or gator meat over a fire disturbing, I give it a slight pass as eating the meat of these 2 seems to be common in the U.S., but the other ones above...not so much.)

 

Also, while the skinning animations are as expected brutal, I don't understand why he takes a gator's head with him, along with the pelt. For all the other medium and large animals, he just takes their skin along with the odd fang, claw, horn, or antler, but for some reason he decides that taking the gator's skin and fang is not enough, and takes the whole head with him (you get only 2-4 teeth for some reason, despite him having it's head with all it's teeth).

 

Lastly, I want to talk about why he steals wolves' hearts (literally). As mentioned above, he usually takes an animal's fang/tooth, claw, and horn/antler when he's skinning it. Yet for some reason, he decides to take a wolf's heart, which isn't really what you associate a wolf with. Does anyone know why he does take it's heart instead of, let's say, one of it's fangs? 

 

 

 

So what do you think guys?

Edited February 1, 2019 by DirtCheap

[Cutter De Blanc]

It's been my experience that about 33% of the animals are perfect, not ten percent. Where are you getting your numbers from?

[DirtCheap]

28 minutes ago, Cutter De Blanc said:

It's been my experience that about 33% of the animals are perfect, not ten percent. Where are you getting your numbers from?

 

It's a hyperbole and maybe I'm exaggerating too much. I just hardly ever see some creatures with a Perfect pelt. 

 

And I'm not referring to common creatures like deer and antelopes as you can find one with a Perfect pelt easily. I'm referring to the uncommon and rare creatures e.g. big cats, lizards, birds required for the Hunting Requests, etc.

[sunhuntin]

I have pretty much given up on achieving any of the hunting goals and no longer check their status before firing. Basically, I hunt to eat and thats it.

[Guest Guest176525326]

The hunting itself isn't boring, but the pelt system is awful. And I agree that all the animals should have the perfect pelt to start with, and it should only be affected/decreased by the way you kill them. 

 

Anyways, hunting is still 10 times better than the lame fishing

Edited February 2, 2019 by Guest176525326

[Algonquin Assassin]

I don't dislike hunting. Infact it's much deeper and more immersive than hunting in Red Dead Redemption, but it's one of those things I find a bit overwhelming because you need the patience to get perfect pelts and such for challenges, Trapper clothing etc.

 

I only do it for the hell of it honestly if I'm out and about and want to kill something for a quick feed at the camp fire.

[Display Name]

Quote

Now I'm no pesky vegan, but don't you find that you can eat pretty much eat the entire ecosystem disturbing? Like it becomes weird when you can pick up a wolf, puma, eagle, coyote, fox, panther, hawk or exotic bird and cook it over a fire. I know it could be said to show the game's gritty survival theme, but I didn't expect to be eating canine meat over a fire. (For those wondering why I didn't mention that you can cook bear or gator meat over a fire disturbing, I give it a slight pass as eating the meat of these 2 seems to be common in the U.S., but the other ones above...not so much.)

Humans are great at adapting to harsh conditions. Eating birds is not necessary and gives you only slight stamina and health boost (without spices), so you are meant to eat it only when you really need it and there is no other animals around.

 

Quote

Also, while the skinning animations are as expected brutal, I don't understand why he takes a gator's head with him, along with the pelt. For all the other medium and large animals, he just takes their skin along with the odd fang, claw, horn, or antler, but for some reason he decides that taking the gator's skin and fang is not enough, and takes the whole head with him (you get only 2-4 teeth for some reason, despite him having it's head with all it's teeth).

He takes gator's head, because the entire carcass is too heavy to carry. With other animals the character can sell entire carcass for money, with gator the most he can sell is its skull. 

He could be taking only 4 teeth, because the rest are rotten or damaged and only perfect ones sell.

 

Quote

Lastly, I want to talk about why he steals wolves' hearts (literally). As mentioned above, he usually takes an animal's fang/tooth, claw, and horn/antler when he's skinning it. Yet for some reason, he decides to take a wolf's heart, which isn't really what you associate a wolf with. Does anyone know why he does take it's heart instead of, let's say, one of it's fangs? 

Maybe wolf's heart was used in medicine? Who knows.

 

 

The one thing this game is good at is making me hungry for some wolf's meat. Why is wolf's meat the only meat in the game that fortifies all your cores? I want to taste wolf's meat one day, there has to be something Rockstar devs know that we do not.

Edited February 2, 2019 by Display Name

[DirtCheap]

54 minutes ago, Display Name said:

He takes gator's head, because the entire carcass is too heavy to carry. With other animals the character can sell entire carcass for money, with gator the most he can sell is its skull. 

He could be taking only 4 teeth, because the rest are rotten or damaged and only perfect ones sell.

 

I can see where you're coming from, but I'm wondering why he takes the head, as just the skin is good enough to sell. 

I also don't see why he doesn't skin them the same way he skins the herbivores i.e. takes their pelt, but leaves the legs and head intact (he does this with the Legendary Gator, but not the regular one), as this is the most common way to skin one IRL.

 

54 minutes ago, Display Name said:

Maybe wolf's heart was used in medicine? Who knows..

 

That would make sense, but he can only sell the hearts at the Butcher and Trapper, not the Doctor.

It makes sense when he can sell a claw or antler, as that's a hunting trophy you could associate with the animal. However, I don't really see a connection with hearts and wolves.

Edited February 2, 2019 by DirtCheap

[BoulderFaceplant]

I largely disagree with the OP here, but I certainly have my own issues with the hunting system. 

 

- It is too easy to damage a pelt: For example, say I raise my weapon and kill a deer from behind. The bullet still went through its vitals, it just entered from the back thigh instead of the ribcage. Why would that do any more damage to the pelt?

 

- It’s too easy to kill an animal: How did that shot through the rump make it all the way to that deer’s vitals anyway? This one’s more of a minor point but I guess I’m just saying the game should have tougher hides AND tougher animals. 

 

- Why oh WHY can you drag a carcass from your horse with a rope without damaging the pelt? Seriously, that would render any pelt borderline useless. 

 

- Headshots are handled poorly: Why shoot a deer in the vitals when you can blast it in the brain? This is unrealistically effective (hitting the head, easy. Hitting the brain, not so much irl) and completely circumvents the whole pelt damage system. Seriously, this is probably my biggest issue with the hunting here. You will never have to worry about pelt quality on anything coyote sized or larger if you just Dead Eye tag the head. By the time you find another 3-Star animal, your Dead Eye will be replenished and you can just do it again. There should be some deterrents from doing this, like maybe a small ding to your Honor, or the head parts can’t be harvested. I don’t know, just SOMETHING to keep this from being almost as primitive as RDR’s hunting mechanics. 

Edited February 3, 2019 by BoulderFaceplant

[DirtCheap]

Can't believe I forgot to mention this

 

Losing your pelts once you die, no matter how unfair it can be (getting bushwhacked all of the sudden, getting hopped by a big cat because horse is a pussy , misjudging a height , etc.).

It makes even less sense when the horse loses all the pelts, even if it didn't get harmed by any of the problems above.

I lost a Perfect panther pelt all because some Lemoyne Raiders were upset* and when I respawned, the horse decided to ditch the pelt for no apparent reason.

 

*

Spoiler

because of Shady Belle

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by DirtCheap

[Smokewood]

On 2/1/2019 at 1:11 PM, Cutter De Blanc said:

It's been my experience that about 33% of the animals are perfect, not ten percent. Where are you getting your numbers from?

33% or 10% either one is TOO MANY in my opinion.

I would like to see it at about 2 - 3 %

[Middle Class Roadman]

Hunting for me is the best side activity in the entire game. I absolutely love it. It's pretty much a daily ritual in my playthroughs. Theres always something I need either for the trapper, crafting or for camp upgrades. Some of my best memories playing RDR2 simply come from setting up camp by a lake and just going hunting.

 

The rarity of three star pelts just adds to the challenge IMO. I love how you actually have to be mindful of where you shoot the animal and with what weapon. I get that it can be frustrating as sometime three star pelts can take a while to spawn but for me it just adds to the challenge. I much prefer it this way than RDR1's hunting mechanics of simply just blasting away at will whenever you see an animal. However the rarity of a 3 star western bull moose is unbelievable, I've literally seen 2 in my 4 months of owning the game.

 

The addition of the trapper is pure genius, I knew it was gonna be good when I first read about it but hunting specific animals for clothes and accessories is insanely satisfying. I also try not to use dead eye while hunting, all my shots are just done manually...much more satisfying.

 

My only complaint about hunting is that legendary animals are WAY too easy to hunt. The game basically just gives them to you on a plate and you dont have to be mindful of how you kill them as the quality of their pelts isn't a factor. The only legendary animal I had trouble with was the Panther as it literally just pops out at you from virtually nowhere. It's not that big of a deal but its a little strange how regular variations of animals are more difficult to hunt than their legendary counterparts.

 

[FreeMaxB585]

Its ok. But I never really do it even in SP I rarely did. I think without how much they put in the game and with how much great content we actually got that hunting wasnt their biggest focus, so with everything else we got I think they did more than an ok job

[Lonely-Martin]

On 2/2/2019 at 9:50 AM, O.Z said:

The hunting itself isn't boring, but the pelt system is awful. And I agree that all the animals should have the perfect pelt to start with, and it should only be affected/decreased by the way you kill them. 

 

Anyways, hunting is still 10 times better than the lame fishing

I disagree with this point here.

 

The animals are living in the wild, and many animals scrap to hunt/graze/survive or mate etc. For all animals to have a perfect pelt to begin with would take away that 'alive world' feel.

 

I get it's frustrating for some to find a perfect pelt to begin with, though I never had issues, but for the immersion of a more dynamic world, it's got to be varied I do feel.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Lonely-Martin

[Jimbatron]

I understand it can be frustrating but with experience I found it got more enjoyable.

 

Some top tips:

 

1) This should hopefully be obvious but don’t go after any perfect pelts until you’ve crafted the buck antler trinket.

 

2) Method if killing can make your life easier. Medium sized herbivores and ominovores such as Deer, Elk, Boars etc can be lasso’d and killed with a knife. If it’s a three star animal you are gauranteeed a perfect pelt. For most predators the bolt action rifle will quickly become your new best friend, but it’s much easier to get the headshot once you’ve unlocked the ability to manually paint targets with deadeye. It’s unlocked late in Chapter 2 but prior to that autopaint carries a risk of hitting the wrong body part. Headshots are almost always fine though - unlocking the critical area dead eye ability is near but by no means essential. Poison arrows work really well for Panthers and Cougars - but activate dead eye quickly. Varmint rifle for small mammals and small game arrows for birds. And did I mention dead eye? Keep it fully topped up, always, when hunting.

 

3) Location is all important. Don’t necessarily assume the first place you see what you want in a YouTube video is the best and only one - from my experience there is a massive difference in spawn probability. Take the humble Robin. You can find it in a lot of places but there are almost always three or four on the banks of the upper Montana river during the day. Also I have a suspicion location might affect animal quality. Between Emerald Ranch and Calliga hall I’ve found three star deer in abundance - whereas far fewer in the west of the Heartlands.

[Middle Class Roadman]

On 2/1/2019 at 6:36 PM, DirtCheap said:

 

 

In my opinion, I think all the animals should be Perfect, and only change to Poor or Good depending on what weapon you used or how you hunted it. This would make the hunting more skill-based rather than luck-based.

 

 

I disagree with this. The hunting is already based around skill considering you have to be mindful about how you kill 3 star animals. If every animal was of 3 star quality it would be way too easy and take away the fun of going on lengthy hunting trips. People dont seem to understand having to find 3 star pelts just adds more gameplay. 

 

The only time I think animals should always be of 3 star quality is for super rare species such as the Western Bull Moose as it's borderline non existent. Considering it's rarity it should be a 3 star pelt every time it spawns. 

 

[Mac-]

I like hunting, it's away better than in the first game, though the perfect pelt could do with an overhaul.

[Syrens]

I enjoy it so far, but right now I'm still early in the game, only reason I hunt is to feed the camp.  Not really ventured further than that.

[DirtCheap]

4 hours ago, Jimbatron said:

I understand it can be frustrating but with experience I found it got more enjoyable.

 

Some top tips:

 

1) This should hopefully be obvious but don’t go after any perfect pelts until you’ve crafted the buck antler trinket.

 

2) Method if killing can make your life easier. Medium sized herbivores and ominovores such as Deer, Elk, Boars etc can be lasso’d and killed with a knife. If it’s a three star animal you are gauranteeed a perfect pelt. For most predators the bolt action rifle will quickly become your new best friend, but it’s much easier to get the headshot once you’ve unlocked the ability to manually paint targets with deadeye. It’s unlocked late in Chapter 2 but prior to that autopaint carries a risk of hitting the wrong body part. Headshots are almost always fine though - unlocking the critical area dead eye ability is near but by no means essential. Poison arrows work really well for Panthers and Cougars - but activate dead eye quickly. Varmint rifle for small mammals and small game arrows for birds. And did I mention dead eye? Keep it fully topped up, always, when hunting.

 

3) Location is all important. Don’t necessarily assume the first place you see what you want in a YouTube video is the best and only one - from my experience there is a massive difference in spawn probability. Take the humble Robin. You can find it in a lot of places but there are almost always three or four on the banks of the upper Montana river during the day. Also I have a suspicion location might affect animal quality. Between Emerald Ranch and Calliga hall I’ve found three star deer in abundance - whereas far fewer in the west of the Heartlands.

 

I can see what you are saying, but it's finding the Perfect animals that annoys me.

 

Killing them is quite easy as it's easy to know how to kill them ( Small arrows for tiny animals, varmint for small ones , rope & knife for ungulates (hoofed creatures), bow and arrow for canines and felines (foxes, wolves, coyotes, pumas, panthers), sniper for big and heavy creatures)

[DirtCheap]

14 hours ago, Lonely-Martin said:

I disagree with this point here.

 

The animals are living in the wild, and many animals scrap to hunt/graze/survive or mate etc. For all animals to have a perfect pelt to begin with would take away that 'alive world' feel.

 

I get it's frustrating for some to find a perfect pelt to begin with, though I never had issues, but for the immersion of a more dynamic world, it's got to be varied I do feel.

 

That may work in some areas e.g. waterfall near Annesburg as the creatures found there are mangy, but many creatures in the game can be quite rare and when you find them, they're always either Good or Poor, and adds to the frustration

 

3 hours ago, Dark Rosewood Varnish said:

 

I disagree with this. The hunting is already based around skill considering you have to be mindful about how you kill 3 star animals. If every animal was of 3 star quality it would be way too easy and take away the fun of going on lengthy hunting trips. People dont seem to understand having to find 3 star pelts just adds more gameplay. 

 

The only time I think animals should always be of 3 star quality is for super rare species such as the Western Bull Moose as it's borderline non existent. Considering it's rarity it should be a 3 star pelt every time it spawns. 

 

 

Like I said to someone else in this topic, I don't mind if the common creatures (deer, antelope, boars, etc.) are mostly Good or Poor as they can be found easily. It's the fact that many uncommon creatures (big cats, lizards, small birds) are mostly Good or Poor and you have to spend close to an hour to find a Perfect one. 

 

I agree with the rares being Perfect, but there are quite a good few rare creatures, so it's hard to say which ones deserve a Perfect pelt 100% of the time, and which ones don't.

[Lonely-Martin]

9 minutes ago, DirtCheap said:

 

That may work in some areas e.g. waterfall near Annesburg as the creatures found there are mangy, but many creatures in the game can be quite rare and when you find them, they're always either Good or Poor, and adds to the frustration

Na, once you figure out the spawn points, just a bit of patience is needed is all. 

[DirtCheap]

45 minutes ago, Lonely-Martin said:

Na, once you figure out the spawn points, just a bit of patience is needed is all. 

 

Yeah, but it's not that much fun waiting for a certain creature.

 

Even better, the creature you waited a good long time for is mostly likely to be Poor or Good.

 

Don't know one person who wouldn't be mad at that.

[Lonely-Martin]

1 minute ago, DirtCheap said:

Yeah, but it's not that much fun waiting for a certain creature.

 

Even better, the creature you waited a good long time for is mostly likely to be Poor or Good.

 

Don't know one person who wouldn't be mad at that.

You do now, me.

 

Hunting is relaxing and great fun. Good atmosphere, and most of all, piss easy.

 

But I'm rarely in a hurry in a game, and I like a bit of a challenge. Only took 3 weeks to 100% this bad boy. If anything, it's too easy.

[Middle Class Roadman]

7 minutes ago, DirtCheap said:

 

Yeah, but it's not that much fun waiting for a certain creature.

 

Even better, the creature you waited a good long time for is mostly likely to be Poor or Good.

 

Don't know one person who wouldn't be mad at that.

 

What animals are you having trouble finding?

[DirtCheap]

43 minutes ago, Lonely-Martin said:

Hunting is relaxing and great fun. Good atmosphere, and most of all, piss easy.

 

It's piss easy when you're hunting a deer.

 

Try saying "It's piss easy" to find and skin a Perfect bull moose. 

 

But like you said, hunting can be fun at times.

 

39 minutes ago, Dark Rosewood Varnish said:

 

What animals are you having trouble finding?

 

Bull moose, Fer-de-Lance and Parakeet.

 

Well, I have found the bull moose (after wasting over an hour and over 10 Herbivore Baits), but while I know it's spawn point(s), it appears once a blue moon.

Edited February 5, 2019 by DirtCheap

[Lonely-Martin]

46 minutes ago, DirtCheap said:

 

It's piss easy when you're hunting a deer.

 

Try saying "It's piss easy" to find and skin a Perfect bull moose. 

 

But like you said, hunting can be fun at times.

Glad ya found the bull. Peace out dude.

[DirtCheap]

3 minutes ago, Lonely-Martin said:

Glad ya found the bull. Peace out dude.

 

Likewise 

[Middle Class Roadman]

2 hours ago, DirtCheap said:

 

 

Like I said to someone else in this topic, I don't mind if the common creatures (deer, antelope, boars, etc.) are mostly Good or Poor as they can be found easily. It's the fact that many uncommon creatures (big cats, lizards, small birds) are mostly Good or Poor and you have to spend close to an hour to find a Perfect one. 

 

 

In my experience 3 star big cats aren't that hard to come by. Pretty much every time I've gone to hunt a panther in those secluded woods south of Braithwaite Manor the ones that spawn are 3 stars.

 

With Cougars again I'll get a 3 star variation most of the time, especially by that spawn point west of Mount Shann along the stream. 

 

Iguanas - if you take a canoe to those islands opposite the camp in Chapter 3 it won't take you long to find one of 3 star quality.

 

Small birds such as Sparrows, Robins, Orioles, Songbirds, Woodpeckers etc. usually come out perfect if you hunt them with small game arrows. I had to collect a bunch of them for those hunting lists you can do and every time I saw one through my binoculars they wouldn't have a rating but would always be perfect once I had killed and picked them up. 

 

 

[Jimbatron]

4 hours ago, DirtCheap said:

 

I can see what you are saying, but it's finding the Perfect animals that annoys me.

 

Killing them is quite easy as it's easy to know how to kill them ( Small arrows for tiny animals, varmint for small ones , rope & knife for ungulates (hoofed creatures), bow and arrow for canines and felines (foxes, wolves, coyotes, pumas, panthers), sniper for big and heavy creatures)

Yes for sure I know what you mean. I wasted far too long around the Braithwaite Manor looking for rare birds in my first play-through - and whilst most will spawn there, the Upper Montana River, the north part of the Kamassa River and Little Creek River are all better depending on which type you need.

 

I'm actually about half way through drafting a 100% completion guide on this site, and there's a couple of other important things that can make the whole thing less painful. Consider these questions

 

1) Do you need whatever you're hunting urgently or can you deal with other tasks in between?

2) What different types of animals are you trying to get a perfect skin for at the same time?

 

Take for example the first question. If you want the Legend of the East Satchel, you will need, amongst other things, seven perfect deer skins. But do you want it right away? Because if you can wait a while, there is no point in hunting seven three star deer in a row. If you simply play the game, travel back between missions, and check out every deer you see, it is almost certain you will find seven three-star Deers by the end of chapter III without proactively looking for them.

 

Then consider the second question. If you are looking for multiple animals, quite often some locations will be the spawn point for multiple rare animals, and unless you are looking for it, you may miss the opportunity. One example is the Islands in Flat Iron lake. It's a great place to get an Owl (you'll need a feather for crafting a homing Tomahawk for the weapons expert challenges), and an Iguana (needed for the satchels).

 

The guide I'm writing will attempt to highlight a lot of these combos.

 

Granted one thing that's a real pain is the Moose. Be in Ambarino in the right spots, save and reload until one appears is the best I can offer.

[DirtCheap]

2 hours ago, Dark Rosewood Varnish said:

 

In my experience 3 star big cats aren't that hard to come by. Pretty much every time I've gone to hunt a panther in those secluded woods south of Braithwaite Manor the ones that spawn are 3 stars.

 

With Cougars again I'll get a 3 star variation most of the time, especially by that spawn point west of Mount Shann along the stream. 

 

Iguanas - if you take a canoe to those islands opposite the camp in Chapter 3 it won't take you long to find one of 3 star quality.

 

Small birds such as Sparrows, Robins, Orioles, Songbirds, Woodpeckers etc. usually come out perfect if you hunt them with small game arrows. I had to collect a bunch of them for those hunting lists you can do and every time I saw one through my binoculars they wouldn't have a rating but would always be perfect once I had killed and picked them up. 

 

 

 

Pumas are usually Poor so that's a bummer. Panthers appear mostly Good than Perfect for me.

 

Iguanas are easy to find Perfect. Well, easy in comparison to the Gila Monster, which barely spawns Perfect.

 

Smaller birds usually appear Good, but it's easy to kill a Perfect one with small arrows.