Really annoyed at hound attack...

[Tapirus]

4 hours ago, Shosuko said:

I'm pretty critical of summer smolder and hound attacks.  I still play the game with the default settings - but I wouldn't fault anyone for simply turning these features off.  Hound attacks start out okay but after 100 days or so they get pretty obnoxious.  Its not about difficulty as much as it creates a tedious time management mini-game based on constant assaults.  I want to do Bee Queen - okay, wait for a hound attack first, then run to bee queen.  It just gets in the way of the game.

I think the caves have it right.  The mob that attacks is dangerous but can be managed without needing to set up multiple defense death traps across the world, and the rate of assault is low enough that when one happens you're actually a bit surprised and have the added challenge of depth worms on top of whatever you were doing.  I never have "hounds +" anything on the surface.  Its "wait for hounds then..."  Not as fun really :\

Same thing with summer smolder.  Its like "build flingos everywhere" or go to oasis / caves where you just don't deal with them :\

If Klei ever makes another major overhaul to the game (new content, character balance, ect) they should include season re-balance and the hound attacks in the to-do list.  Remake them into something more engaging that you experience with other elements of the game rather than oppressive elements that lead you to completely avoid them.  Maybe go the way of the AntLion where you are given the challenge, and a few ways to deal with it.  You can accept the danger and avoid rock falls / sinkholes, or eliminate them by giving tributes to appease him, or kill him.  So maybe if you hunt / kill Varg you will not get hound attacks for the next 20 days, and summer smolder only exists while DFly is alive?  idk

Well, if we talk about personal opinions:

I like the Hounds and Splumonkeys by the high aggressivity, because they forces you to deal with them unlike the rest of mobs.

¿Spiders, Frogs, etc? Attack and kiting, repeat. Or run away.

¿Hounds and Splumonkey? You must find another way if you want stay alive.

BUT, I will never suggest something like "I want all the mobs being so reckless like the Hounds & Splumonkeys" becuase I know nobody would like a game who harass everytime the players. Something like that it's not fun.

So, I understand that some mechanisms of DS/DST are less friendly than others, but they're necesary for Survival games.

[Yuuko]

6 hours ago, Tapirus said:

Well, if we talk about personal opinions:

I like the Hounds and Splumonkeys by the high aggressivity, because they forces you to deal with them unlike the rest of mobs.

¿Spiders, Frogs, etc? Attack and kiting, repeat. Or run away.

¿Hounds and Splumonkey? You must find another way if you want stay alive.

BUT, I will never suggest something like "I want all the mobs being so reckless like the Hounds & Splumonkeys" becuase I know nobody would like a game who harass everytime the players. Something like that it's not fun.

So, I understand that some mechanisms of DS/DST are less friendly than others, but they're necesary for Survival games.

Yes exactly - when you hunt and find Varg or Ewicus you take a big risk in attacking them alone, and if you simply leave them there you may have bigger problems when some other situation forces you to deal with them as well.  I hate monkeys but I agree with you that they have a place in the game.  They make any run into / out of the ruins into a bit of a challenge.  The nightmare cycle is long, and if you enter at the wrong time you might be in for quite a chase.  None of these things take over my game play, nor do they make me wall off an entire section of content which would otherwise be enjoyable simply to avoid their tedious nature.  Again this isn't about challenge, its about engagement.

Survival games do need these things - the question is could they be done better.  Hounds coming about every 4 days with about 8-10 per player simply rushing into whatever is happening changes how a person plays.  You might say "Yes, live in constant fear of the dreaded hound attack! Do you dare leave your base? muahahahaha!!" and think it makes it a survival game, but what really happens is "I want to do x, lets sit in a screen of tooth traps until a hound attack passes so we can actually do it."  or worse "I'll just live in the caves."

The essential question is "does x make the game more engaging?"  This doesn't compete with "does this make the game challenging."  A much more challenging thing could be implemented which is more engaging and far less tedious than hound attacks and the game would instantly be much better.

[NeddoFreddo]

Fun fact:

You can run away from everything you can't avoid in Don't Starve.

[Booklover]

44 minutes ago, NeddoFreddo said:

Fun fact:

You can run away from everything you can't avoid in Don't Starve

While running seems like a good idea most of the time, you shouldn't run away from anything you can't avoid. Why? Because if you run away from hounds, they will attack other mobs and kill it. The end? You cannot get any mobs in that part of the world. Especially 100 day hound waves. Just don't run. You are wasting your time and energy by running when you can just kite them to death.

17 hours ago, minespatch said:

If you need to idle, just make a bushhat and do other things while you wait until you start needing food.

You'll have to be careful though. Your character will still say "Did you hear something?" and pop out of the bush. Plus if there's no mobs nearby you have a chance of the hounds just running around making it worse.

Personally? Just stand your ground and fight. If your really bad, fight near spider dens and build flingos for summer.( webber only). Wear a log suit, football helmet and use a spear. Bring butterfly wings or blue caps too. Butterfly wings heal you for 8 health (same as spider glands) and is faster than using spider glands. Blue caps heal for 20 health but costs 15 sanity. So unless you are good with sanity OR fighting shadow creatures, don't eat blue caps. So what you are gonna do is just sit close to spider dens( preferably 2-3), wear armor, equip spear and tank the hounds. If possible, use your spiders as meat shields. While they are not as strong as pigs or bunnymen, they are very expendable. Kill the hounds and heal up. Rinse and repeat with more spider dens and tier 2-3s as the hounds grow stronger. I know that the people here will most likely object to tanking but if you don't know how to kite, its best that you tank first. Keep an eye out for the hound's attack. Usually you can hit the hound 2 times before it attacks. Keep this in mind. When you attack the hound, count your attacks. You will find a beat. 1,2, walk away. 1,2 walk away. Keep practicing and soon you don't need to tank. If you see the hound bark(not attack, it will bark 2 times) it means it is switching aggro, as in switching targets. Whenever you see this, it's a good idea to get behind your spiders so the hound will target them instead. IF you are running and fighting 2 or more hounds, i suggest you hit the hounds 1 time only. Also you can walk close to the hound to "trigger" its attack before hitting it. So in conclusion, you need to: have armor and weapons, be near spider dens whenever possible, hit hounds 2 times before you dodge, try not to tank,  hit 1 time before dodging IF you are running away and "trigger" its attack before hitting it. Your beat when against one should be: trigger, dodge, 1, 2, dodge, 1, 2, dodge ( repeat 1 2 dodge). Against 2 it will be: trigger, dodge, 1, dodge, trigger, dodge, 1 , dodge. Got it? 

Good Luck And Have Fun!

[Tapirus]

3 hours ago, Shosuko said:

The essential question is "does x make the game more engaging?"  This doesn't compete with "does this make the game challenging."  A much more challenging thing could be implemented which is more engaging and far less tedious than hound attacks and the game would instantly be much better.

I see your point, and I agree with see something new that add another way of interact with the game.

 

2 hours ago, NeddoFreddo said:

Fun fact:

You can run away from everything you can't avoid in Don't Starve.

As Booklover said, if you try to run away of Hounds (wich takes much more time than other enemies), they start killing other mobs.

Not just that, they eat all kind of meat (recipes with this too), more fast than spiders and batilisks, and they don't despawn.