Ranged skill advice?

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Ranged skill advice?

So, I'm feeling a bit frustrated trying to make a ranged build work. I can't find much on how to play ranged with the new version (points based skills/flaws). I've been playing with this build: Medic, Ranged, Trapping, Tracking, Hiding. I can't seem to survive more than 3 days at the most, and most of my attempts are failures within 24 game hours.

So my strategy so far has been:

1. make a torch, and a hardened spear before i scavenge the first time, because that's just about the only way i can get anything useful from the first scavenging area, or have any chance of surviving a fight (even so, usually i don't survive the first fight).
2. hope i find anything better than a torch to make scavenging more productive (lighter, crowbar).
3. make a bow/arrows
4. hope i find a pot to clean water/rags.

I usually fail to find a pot or a crowbar, and end up wandering around scavenging so much that i attract an enemy i can't evade/defeat.

I tried playing a melee character once, and immediately found a compound bow and a rifle (with ammo). I survived on that build longer than the other, but still only 4~5 days. I suppose my overall strategy is to explore the surrounding area using the cryo facility as a base until I've got myself a collection of sterilized water and collection of arrows.

I feel like maybe i'm just missing some techniques/crafting ideas to make surviving easier. Any advice? I feel like the reason I can't make a ranged build work is because of the RNG, not because i'm making bad decisions, but I'm not sure.

If you want to play a Ranged build, make yourself a sling. It is a really great weapon, especially in the hands of the characters with Ranged skill - not only does it a lot of damage but also, being a blunt weapon, has a big chance to stun the enemy. In fact, if not for the minor detail that it's ammo - Stones (don't even bother using Pebbles)- is really heavy, it could be easily considered better than bow.

And if you insist on getting a bow, go straight to the ATN, as they are selling both arrows and better (more durable) bows than the ones you can make yourself.

Other than that, general hints apply. Don't stay too close to the Cryo Labs, otherwise the dogs will wear you out. Stay on the move instead. If you are good at killing creatures, go to ATN, hunt and sell the big chunks of cured meat there - its near-instant wealth :D You can also often buy Travois and Patchwork Tunics there, meaning you wont have to worry about transport and heat. Plus, they give a free meal once every 24 hours, so you should not starve. If short on cash, set up a water purification/tanin tea making business/scam, until you can get the gear you want.

Oh, and once more thing - kill and cure ALL the deer you encounter :D

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Thanks, I just tried again, and survived a pretty long time by staying on the move. I got a really terrible loot RNG. Really lucky on drinking pond water, and didn't get sick, but running away from the labs worked surprisingly well. I survived 3 days finding only 2 backpacks and a couple of binocular halves (scavenged probably 20-30 locations). I was without clothes for the first 2 days. So, that's interesting. I've made a sling before, but never used it in combat.

I feel like I understand the scarcity of loot, but it really seems like the game isn't survivable unless you find a crowbar or a light source within the first 2 days. And then when you do find a crowbar, it's the loot is a bit overwhelming. Maybe what I wish is that there were more middle-ground looting.

As someone who by now almost always plays ranged, I can second Kaaven's tips. The only thing I would add to "don't stay in Cryo, keep moving, make a sling" is that you really really can ignore the bow for a long while. With a broad spear, a sling, avoidance tactics (ie: don't get into fights, take precautions, play defense, sleep in fields, etc), you can completely ignore other ranged weapons till you get a decent one at ATN or till luck throws some guns and ammo your way. Which could be weeks after the start but that's fine.

As far as loot goes, my go-to advice is: Don't get hang up on the one thing you think you need. No matter what it is, you don't need it. Sounds weird, I know, but you really don't need it, whatever IT is.

You can die an hour after finding a crowbar, light source, shoes, backpack and YourDreamItem(tm) on your first scavenge. You can survive for several weeks without even one source of fire/way to boil water (not just through luck, also by knowing to rush towards a place that sells water, and/or by using other alternative strategies). Yes, it can be hard and often annoying to have to make do without X, but it is rarely that missing thing that will kill you. What will kill you is either RNG or getting annoyed by not finding said elusive item X and making bad decisions.

And btw, personally I almost never use crowbar or light when scavening, especially in early game when I'm still poorly equipped. They attract too much attention and will get you killed far more consistently than not having tons of good loot ever could. Figuring out how to make do with whatever it is you do happen to come across is part of the fun of this game for me.

For what it's worth, I can remember myself having the exact same problems/questions/worries you're having when first starting out. ;) I think most survival games train us to think that we need one very specific strategy/those very specific good items in order to win. NEO doesn't have to be played that way - which is refreshing but also a bit mind boggling at first.

NEO Scavenger: FAQ
10 Ways (not) to Die - A beginner's guide

Cool, and thanks for the advice. I've had a couple of games now where I've survived for a pretty long time (almost 4 days). Of course the one time I finally made it to the ATN I was severely poisoned and died pretty much immediately after leaving the ATN.

So, if I don't see red footprints with tracks:player in the description, i don't have to worry about hiding tracks, right?

Footmarks below certain levels of "visibility" may be hidden, depending on your/NPCs detection levels (Tracking/Eagle Eye helps). Also, even repeated track hiding will live some traces behind.

Still, generally you are right - if you can't see them, most people wont. Dogs, on the other hand...

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You should also loot "a shack in the forest" whenever you see them. They are the best places to find loot, specially in early game since the chances to find loot in those are pretty high.

Pew pew pew!

You should also pick the "Athletic" skill, this will allow you to use the "sprint away" move in combat, so that you make distance easier. It will also reduce the chance of tripping during combat, so you are less likely to trip when you run away and get kicked until death

My advice would to be to drop Medic. It's been said before, but Medic is a helpful skill mainly for beginners, because it shows more detailed aspects of your health. Once you get more experienced in the game, you can tell what's going on without the skill. You can also identify pills with Medic, I believe, but you really only need the red/white's (painkillers) and the white ones (antibiotics). So, I'd drop Medic and pick it up for either Athletic, as stated above, or mechanic for safer scavenging and extra recipes. You could also go with lock picking, I suppose, if you want to loot more quietly. It just seems like you could drop medic for something more useful.

I tried ranged builds at first, didn't have much luck with them, but I haven't tried a dedicated one in sixty hours of playtime, so maybe I'll do that.

alot of good advice here, especially from kaveen and lini. I'd say athletic and a sling is THE way to go. Your aim is Much more accurate if your 5 paces away. At that range theirs a good chance to hit them, and therefor stun them. use that time to gain some distance.

i really feel like this game would gain alot with a simple battlefield drawn out. doesn't have to be detailed, or pretty.

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Hey guys, mind if I chime in with the question?

How really important the Ranged skill?
I mean, most of the time I slap Strong/Melee/Athletic/Hiding/Hacking something like that, there is literally no way fit Ranged in.
Can I actually hit anything without it? Say, with a DMC guard's shotgun?

The ranged skill lets you get more money for your guns, and i think it's required to craft arrows and bows. I think

aside from that it doubles the range you can use the weapons, which supposedly means you can hit more often from further away...

in my experience though if your not 5-4 feet away you'll miss a lot, with any weapon.

so my point is, i think even without ranged you could probly land consistent hits at 4 feet away with slung stones. there is that rare occasion when the odds are agenst you and that 20 foot range gives you a glimmer of hope that you might knock one out before the others reach you...but Ranged and Athletic is a very good combo for keeping within that 5-4 range.


i'd say the skill itself is questionable, but having a ranged weapon is invaluable as there are some things you don't want to get within arms reach of.

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Thanks man, will keep trying without it then.