How to avoid getting bit/clawed/scratched/poked/gored etc..

[jdidds]

Firstly, if this is against forum policy, then please forgive me and delete this tread.

Having had many near death experiences with the wildlife of SoI, I would like to ask the other scouty types how to avoid getting gang molested in the forests surrounding the town. All too often, one simple mistake of being revealed by a mob brings the entire forest down upon your character, leaving very little chance to escape. Your stamina gets rapidly depleted and you end up losing a character you otherwise love. It can happen to everyone, no matter how high skill they might have, or how many times you scan surrounding rooms to check for wildlife.

What are your tips and tricks to get away from such situations? In my experience there isn't a whole lot you can do. Your only real escape route being to swim for it, provided you can find some body of water to jump in to and have time before the mobs enter your room, something which is very hard to do seeming as there is no timer for mobs following you.

[Songweaver]

Hey Jdidds:

- Keep your weight unencumbered, always. Do literally whatever you need to to make this happen, even if it means hiding excess items in the wilderness and risking them being found/stolen. Not only will this make the river a much more useful escape route, it will also ensure that you can run faster and longer when looking to make an escape. And, hey, it'll also help you get spotted less!

- Don't let your stamina get below four stars as you explore.

- Set pacifist, always, unless you intend on killing some things. Get a good shield to help further bolster your defenses in pacifist situations, even if your character uses a two-handed weapon.

- Consider how many rooms you are away from the river (or town gates) when you are attacked. If you've followed all of the above instructions, and you believe that you are eight rooms or less from reaching safety, type "set run". If you're further (say, in that far northern expansion of the wilderness), type "set jog". Always know your way back to the river or town, no matter where you are. Learning the map is absolutely key to surviving in it.

- Flee. Make a straight break for the river or the town gates if you're within eight rooms of them. Don't stop for anything. And REMEMBER to anticipate typing "swim <direction>" once you get to the river so that you don't fumble and waste time; copy/pasting or creating aliases to reduce the typing time for swimming is useful here (sn: swim north, ss: swim south, etc). Remember and anticipate that the moment before you flee, as you're considering your situation and options. Taking three extra seconds to make a plan before you type flee is only going to help you.

OR...

- Flee. If you're not close to the river or town gate, zig-zag (east, south, east, south, east, south) as much as possible. Over time, you will break the line of sight of those mobs and be able to lose them. The first option is still better, though. If you can't reach a safe spot before you run out of stamina, get as far as you can with zig-zagging, and then hide.

- If you land in a river and are unencumbered, you can float there indefinitely. Take your time and consider your route back to safety. No mob is going to attack you in the river, and if an orc PC happens to be around and takes a shot at you, you can dive under the river, move a few rooms, and pop up without them having any real means of finding you.

[Tykanis]

Lovely post songweaver. However, As someone who usually goes with average strength toons in favor of other stats I personally find it hard to remain on the unencumbered side most of the time unless I leave the oh so many things I deem important at home.

[Songweaver]

You don't need'em. :p

Eat and drink before you go out. Keep your money elsewhere. If you think you'll need a torch, take a torch or two because they weigh basically nothing. Everything else that you aren't wearing can stay behind.

[jdidds]

Agreed! Very helpful post. Thanks for that

[Tykanis]

*snaps his fingers* No more carrying giant coils of ropes, millions of torches, two RL days worth of food, my money, some other random stuff, etc like I did on Tyk then XP

[Tykanis]

But all joking aside good post

[AdamBlue]

As a forest skulker, I found the best defense is anticipating movements. Scan -constantly-. If you see something in the distance, be aware if there is a chance of the enemy moving into the room when you move in. Note that if you begin sneaking out a room and an enemy comes in while you've begun the sneak away, you cannot be spotted, as you already passed the sneak roll.

There is always a pause between movements of NPCs. Find the gaps in where they patrol and slowly skulk through.

Always be prepared for a fight. If the enemy is persistent and you have no chance of sneaking past in a VERY rare case, you can always use your fastest runner as bait to lure the enemies past you, then have them circle around swiftly back. If you can break line of sight, the chance of them following you is very low. Make sure that once you've put some distance and broken LoS, always re-hide. Always. Immediately.

[slickblades]

What do you do when you are bleeding? Can you bind a wound while hidden? I know bleeding will most likely get you spotted and put you out of hiding, but does it increase mobs ability to find you even with zig-zagging?

[AdamBlue]

What do you do when you are bleeding? Can you bind a wound while hidden? I know bleeding will most likely get you spotted and put you out of hiding, but does it increase mobs ability to find you even with zig-zagging?

Always bind wounds as soon as possible, but always ensure you've gotten the snarfagle away first, and are hidden. Remember that bleeding is on a timer, just stay within the realm of the timer and you'll be fine for not taking the tic of damage.

[Tykanis]

Yeah don't be like this guy that tried to run back home with many many many hemorrhaging wounds. Silly me assuming I could get back inside of the gates and passout there XD