How Strength Actually Works (and it's not how you think)

[@syphon583]

This is a perfect example of why early access is (potentially) so useful for dev teams. Hopefully they get plenty of feedback that strength in its current state is essentially useless and make some changes in the in future to influence more than just max health without making it OP. I say "potentially" because it's really up to the dev team at this point to take that feedback and do something with it.

[@Midget32]

They're quite private Endnight, they're definitely listening, just not replying.

[@ArinJager1]

early access is cool and all, but it's a double edged weapon, too... on one hand, it's pretty cool to watch a game being done, on the other, you'd have played the game through and through multiple times, and there's not much new to find when it hits the 1.0 full release version (it gets really boring)

[@nivern07]

@@ArinJager1 True, but the best part of this tactic is the target community. For one, early access are mostly for players that are hardcore fans towards this genre and is willing to sit and play this game hours and hours despite the repetitive of the game core, just to find out all the minute detail of the games has to offer, with devs implementing more options to the game, players will get to know the lore of the game and how the mechanics works. On the other hand, full release version is for the players that liked the game but do not have the time to go through every single update nor had the strength to do so, even then that does not stop them from liking game. And because of that the full released version is much more accessible for these kind of players. I kinda like this tactic of releasing a game. Hope more game does this as well.

[@Midget32]

@@nivern07 me on console who can't be classed as OG in a playtime sense

[@j.lucasdecastroaraujo761]

@@ArinJager1 If what they say (most craftables are not available until full release) then that won't be a problem.

[@Szilagyicsabaistvan]

I think they could add a 2% on damage output every level. By level 50, which let's be honest, not many will achieve, you will not only double your health, but your damage as well. It's really flexible, they can do so much with it, like not being able to carry 2 logs, only after level 10, maybe carry even 3 after lvl 25 etc.

[@Zdendakrup]

they should add back all the animal furs that you had to aquire to be able to craft pouches so you can carry more stuff it made the ga me more challenging and grindable

[@Howwerelivingfishing]

@@Zdendakrup I wish they’d bring back farming rabbits but add new livestock and more plants you can grow in beds

[@berndwindi1525]

@@Zdendakrup not really necessary since you already have a huge backpack(since they mostly going for some realism) but it would be different if you could find some like attachments do the backpack which spawns randomly at some locations

[@johnmarston1419]

​@@Zdendakrup but it's not really sensible to go looking for new creatures every time

[@dra6o0n]

They could add in the ability to tether logs into a pile with ropes, and drag them back, but your movement speed is dropped since the logs are heavy, by 10% per log. This means you can 'drag' 6 logs at 40% move speed, but at lv50 strength you can drag them at 100% move speed. It's like a log sled but instead of pushing you pull, but how well you do it depends on strength. They could also make use of strength when lifting logs by reducing your movespeed when carrying them, and have strength nullify that debuff back to 100% move speed. You could only lift up to 2 at a time, but maybe make it so your movement speed is reduced by 20% for each log you lift.

[@DizzyDJW]

Bless you. I hope they give strength more usefulness in the future and I really hope they add athleticism back in from the first game

[@mannemannen7211]

book that shows all the stats including the insanity one would also help....

[@eliasergaibi5317]

@@mannemannen7211 Sanity doesn't exist in sons of the forest. They removed it, but I agree. That book page was useful.

[@sfreemanoh]

I honestly think that strength is something they either intend on giving more weight to (carry capacity, increased damage, whatever), or something they intended to implement further but decided not to and just left it in for now. Just having it boost your max health doesn't make much sense.

[@cate.316.]

Yes! plus I wanna see a return of effigys!

[@jakemartinelli5049]

@@eliasergaibi5317 Or add like a fitbit item? So u can check vitals(ur stats) when u press the utility key? I saw something that looked like a pedometer in the early screenshots of the game, I wonder if that's what that does

[@gaboderflinger7854]

It should increase your melee damage, reduce the stamina consumption of that, increase your health, your carrying capacity and make you more resistant to being knocked down.

[@drampadude9216]

That would be awesome bit would definitely be a bit unbalanced and complicated to calculate

[@Aust1in]

That would be easy to balance and "calculate"@@drampadude9216

[@Tipikx1]

and absolutely OP :D :D but good point, i would add more stats in the game :) its survival, why couldnt it be more RPG@@drampadude9216

[@EricH-ht4ib]

Could also affect power attack animation speed. To be honest, it doesn't seem unreasonable if the below system is implemented: Per Level: +0.5% Thrown object distance & speed (Max 25%) +0.2% Melee dmg / Strength Level (Max +10%) +0.3% Power Atk Dmg (Max +15%, total +25% more dmg including melee dmg bonus) -0.3% Power Attack Animation (Max -15% animation time) +0.2% Running/Swim Speed (max +10%) +0.4% Stamina (Max +20% stamina) +0.2% jump height At level 25: Carry 3 logs, 4 stones Level 35: Blunt Weapon power attacks have a high chance of knocking enemies over +10% Level 45: Bladed attacks have additional dismemberment chance +10%

[@artyomsevchenko6089]

I thought it did until I saw this video

[@biojawn]

You are a Champion! You all know this video took hours and hours to complete! Between the testing for hours, and the editing for hours. Sometimes the work doesn't pay out per hour of work put in... I hope this video does much more than that! What a struggle just to help your fellow player! Again, You Are A Champion! Thank you so much for all of the work you put in to your videos. Highest quality content, and I've watched every single one. You are an inspiration.

[@ArinJager1]

now go watch _letsgameitout_ break the game ( now THAT is "hours and hours and hours and..." - tho' it's not as useful or informative, but _fun must be had_ )... or go watch spiffing brit finish the game with just a stick (possible before the patch, no longer a thing)

[@tylermartin6640]

This is the first video of your I watched I liked and subscribe because I can tell the depth of study and how long this may have taken to make. Thank you and I will continue at this point on follow everything you do.

[@Xvirus76]

Props to you for taking the time to go through all this. Something the Devs should of made clear to start with. Really appreciate the videos you do.

[@elevown]

I assume they will later in dev- stuff like tool tips and guide screens is one of the last things you'd bother with.

[@IsM1ku]

The Forest was full of stuff you weren't meant to understand, SotF is the same

[@minisithunknown5568]

@@IsM1ku Early access is stuff you were not meant to understand. But every little gamer is an expert that everyone must adhere to.

[@udontknowme00]

to be fair, the tooltip in-game does say that raising your strength gives you more health. I think the confusion just comes from the word "strength" implying a lot more than just a health boost. That, and misinformation being spread about "it actually does this and this". But I do agree, they could make it a bit clearer so that people don't feel the need to spend hours doing tests on it

[@udontknowme00]

@@IsM1ku if we arent meant to understand it, why is the strength meter right beside all of the other incredibly important meters like hunger, thirst, and sleep? It's okay to admit that the devs just didnt do a good job of explaining what they present to the player as a core mechanic

[@seanmcgee2501]

Another great video full of helpful information. Good job sir

[@nym7973]

Probably my favorite channel for SotF content. Appreciate all your hard work, my guy!

[@rasputin7633]

It does nothing but increase your health. You're welcome. Just saved you 10 minutes.

[@lvcamartin]

Should’ve just read the comments before watching. Shit

[@mamneo2]

Incroyable.

[@lucutes2936]

Thx Putin

[@cricketoverlord4357]

Thanks man 😊

[@ouroesa]

Love the more witty, honest and unfiltered commentary. More of that please!

[@RasmusAR31]

4:52 love how the golden mask cannibal is just standing there and watching you maniacally swinging your axe

[@zanderwhitcroft]

@7:41 My friend dug thru the INI files and said they get harder based on how you fight them, if one gets away after you headshot a village, they will start wearing head armor. That's the sort of response they have. If you hit them normally they will slowly wear armor. They get stronger as you show yourself to be stronger. They respond to your methods and try to evolve. Leaving no witnesses keeps this level to a minimum but not totally from growing. Just wanted to share some inside info from someone who is able to read that stuff.

[@zanderwhitcroft]

Update i've been studying the AI for 2 weeks and there is way too many thing to say in text. Some thing I was told are wrong and half-true. Willing to talk about it if you want!

[@statichispanic6344]

Thanks for the fantastic video! You didn't put any false info or try to feed us a hypothesis as 'fact'. You did so much research and we appreciate it! Also, bless you @9:39 lol

[@GunsNerdsandSteel]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@metalxcore5368]

Thank you for saving me the time of having to test this! Although the results are incredibly disappointing, I found the information very useful.

[@Zych.Grzegorz]

I love how hat cannibal at 4:55 just stood there looking at the lunatic trying to slash the air :D

[@MrAllekzander]

The only other thing that comes to mind to check is hunger & thirst depletion rate. I'd still assume no effect. I salute your determination and patience as you chew through these testing style videos. I'd go crazy(er)

[@tpeel6309]

You really go to great lengths to help us understand the way the games work and it is much appreciated!

[@IvoNotIvo]

This is so high quality wow, thank you for this

[@vladex9999]

Liked, subscribed and turned the bell icon on This was really what you would expect from explanation video. Thank you :)

[@GunsNerdsandSteel]

Awesome, thank you!

[@elevown]

Thats useful. I do hope they make strength do more as they keep updating the game tho. Being able to carry more and do some more melee damage seem no brainers.

[@wolkenspalter4428]

bro you can carry 2 logs that probably weight 400kg

[@elevown]

@@wolkenspalter4428 No i mean it should give you more carry capacity for all the item types inside your backpack. One thing these sorta games should do is remove early game frustration/time sinks by late game when you've been doing it for ages and wanna get on with stuff.. Part of that process is normally more carry capacity. Also things like your food and water and stamina bars last longer.

[@envoked2168]

@@wolkenspalter4428 definitely not 400kg

[@wolkenspalter4428]

@@envoked2168 bro this log is 2 meters long and 40cm thick

[@elevown]

@@wolkenspalter4428 google recons a hardwood log that size is about 180kg - so if you meant 400kg for both not each, you were pretty spot on with that guess!

[@SoopCanSam-EthoPlaylists]

Unfortunate. The carrying capacity would be such a nice reward. Especially since if you're level 50 you probably already beat the game and you're building a lot.

[@bodensharman8177]

The first time I played, I thought the strength thing was telling me I was getting tired.

[@PrevName-h9v]

This was really well done, I like the way you performed the tests and kept track of the results, great job!

[@matthewnelson4160]

Just found your channel and I absolutely love how methodical and clear you are with your explanations of your methods and results. Thanks for all you do and I’ll be looking forward to more

[@ibleedblue2]

amazing informative video. your voice wasn't annoying, you didn't waste time, you tested and answered most asked questions and presented everything flawlessly. thank you

[@JAA_007]

Wonderfully work, I noticed the change and was going to make myself a video myself but im already been in the production of a video and had streams covering this but didnt have the exact sample data to say anything fully conclusively Thank you, we appreciate you and your service

[@Tepcafna]

Around 5:00 stamp....you swinging the knife and the cannibal just standing there..probably with only "WTF am i seeing here?!" thought on his mind lol

[@Som3Won]

4:53 the cannibal just looking at you lmao

[@CrabClownJimmy]

02:55 "I can't read this crap and I'm done trying." 🤣

[@ondyscz7150]

I really liked your video. And I also really like that you test the facts yourself and show it in the video. I, as a viewer, am much more convinced of the truth of the facts presented in the video and am overall more satisfied with the new information.

[@aliqasim604]

Bro I was looking for strength improvement tips at the gym and I ended up here

[@GunsNerdsandSteel]

I hear that lifting up logs is good for you

[@Asult47x]

I've read strength allows you to carry more items. I haven't tested this but specifically spears. If I remember correctly, you are only allowed to carry 3 spears in the beginning of the game.

[@mtsurov]

This deserves a sub. Tremendous amount of work done here.

[@onesadtech]

Kinda disappointed that it only affects health, but good to know! Thanks for doing all this work to put this together, fantastic work.

[@Jackmeinert]

love the sneeze at the end👍

[@skiplash4518]

I love that you cover every single possible out come it makes the video more correct I suppose. Love it

[@thisfnguy3748]

I watch you because ur amazing editor/content creator ur also awesome. Don’t burn ur self out

[@bluesurfer1255]

Thanks for doin the grinding research... I bet the DEVs were hoping to have just skated by hoping no one would really figure it out. we would have NEVER really known for sure... without this data. to me only gaining the ability to take a few more hits at max level compared to day 1 it kinda defeats the hole purpose of leveling up your character to be bigger better then day 1. i mean isnt that one of the MAIN things we enjoy from a game? i hope the DEVs change this and soon. again thanks for doin the grind data research so we all can know better... (Youve got a new SUBSCRIBER!!)

[@KevLarGaming]

Some great tests there, I bet that was a lot of hard work! Thanks and well done!

[@brendanbarbar4782]

Just gotta say.... immediately when I clicked on your video I started head banging I love your intro its not like other cringe intros where it slowly builds up and then plays a dubstep, yours just instantly starts playing this sick beat.

[@Tygersnark]

The dude at 4:53 was fascinated by the crazy man swinging a knife around 😹

[@adiabeticjedi3278]

Thanks brother. I just finished my first "playthrough". It was my Test character just to see how the game works. I like the uncertainty and the horror it brings to game like this, but with hud based game mechanics, I think the ins and outs(basic) should be provided easily in game. Also I'm with you, I want strength to mean something this time. In the first game it only increases the dmg you do to enemies, not animals, just hostile humanoids. I'd like to be able to carry three logs, hold 2x the current inventory, reduce dmg taken(muscle = padding), and increase my stamina.

[@howardadams7111]

I have noticed exactly the same info for my experience with strength. The game is still buggy at times with inventory so sometimes it seems you have more than you can hold but upon researching it, when you get rid of the extra, you still can't pick them back up. Thanks for testing!

[@shadry9917]

I've found the quickest way to level strength is to take logs from the holder and put them back. This can be done super quick by just spamming 2 buttons.

[@BrentDnD]

@Guns, Nerds, and Steel: You're a hero. Not the hero we deserved but the hero we needed.

[@mvendi86]

Well done GNS, I can tell this video took a lot of testing and editing. Keep up the amazing work!

[@dhaxiskhadhammer]

I'm so glad you made this. When I looked up stuff myself and found very sparse information I definitely was like "This is prime video content for GN&S I hope he makes a video" and here we are.

[@Child_of_woe_1994]

I admire your determination because after like 5 or 10 minutes of swinging a weapon or picking up a log over and over again I would lose interest but I hope in the future they make strength do a little more because I think in the first game I'd made you do a little more damage

[@JustinDeFouw]

Good job researching this. Sure it took lots of time but helped me not going nuts for 11 hours to level. Well done!

[@jeremybanks7017]

The sheer dedication to completing this video for us. This episode absoluately earned my subscription dude! Thank you!

[@TrickyTheGamer]

I'm not sure if they changed things since this video, but in the game, there's a loading screen hint that says strength increases your health, melee damage, and damage to trees.

[@ShawnieP512]

Great video. I was actually testing this out myself today. I noticed something about strength and I could be wrong, but when I started a new custom game, I was doing several actions to get to at least level 20. I believe swimming underwater increases strength. Swimming on the surface does not, as you said. Again, I could be wrong and I'm going to start a new game again and see if swimming underwater (or just staying underwater) will increase it. I swore I noticed it did. It reminded me of the original Forest where just treading underwater would increase athleticism. Thanks for the video.

[@N9Entertainment_]

You know what. I actually enjoyed sitting here and learning allllllllll that it didnt do, how to level it, and then the LITTLE it actually does lmao. This was nice

[@7iger]

4:58 : "What you doooooin'?"

[@kolaiah7243]

Thanks for taking the time to test. So many people just parrot untested speculations they hear until misinformation becomes fact.

[@TheCanadianGuy56]

I love watching vids like this, haven't played sons of the forest, but watching a few playthrough and just love "play testing" vids

[@Unseen420]

Amazing work going through al that for the vital information we've recieved from these experiments.

[@CooKie_415]

Thank you for the incredible effort that must have taken, and bless you!

[@simokoistinen276]

Mr. Goldman is like: "WTF is this guy doing?" 4:54

[@warboss4896]

You my friend are the good kind of crazy.

[@JamesOGant]

The way to be sure that the curve is exponential is to divide the previous value in to the next value for swings because each iteration is one power greater then the previous one. (P*A^(x+1))/(P*A^x) will always equal A which is the factor of change. The factor of change is constant in exponential growth. The only reason I mentioned it was cause there are other curves that look exponential especially in the first couple positive integer steps.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Solid topic, work, research, and video bro! Excellent job and thank you 😎👍

[@dadthegamerpro6892]

Great video Tem!!! Thanks for all the hard work here, and the amazing videos you release!!!

[@austinmarks3910]

Thank you sir, on behalf of everyone. Thank you for putting yourself through this to figure out strength. I hope this video makes allot of money for you

[@EvilSnipa]

Yeah that whole system needs to be rethought

[@rueben225]

Thank. You. So clear. The scientific method. No opinions, no feelings, no half-assed conjecture.

[@joejoe_tptg7733]

7:40 You just had to Judy Chop Kelvin huh bro. lmfao

[@AnthonyWW68]

SO HELPFUL! Straight to the point, with great video comparisons and quick explanations. Excellent, excellent, well made video. Subscribed.

[@bigwoke5956]

what I love about SOTF, is that, because you're a special forces soldier, you have tons of stamina right off the bat

[@GlorifiedGremlin]

I gotta reel myself back when I get annoyed at this game. It's so pretty that I forget it's a brand new early access title lmao like it's so dumb that swinging tools boosts strength, but swinging a tool into a tree, actually USING THE TOOL, does nothing. But then I remember they probably just haven't gotten around to it yet

[@qd5683]

I’ve also had the random bug where I suddenly have 39 stones in my inventory. But when you use them your max carry is still the usual 10. I think they will make strength more useful in the future. They did that in the Forest 1 - where your strength let you deal more damage and carry more logs etc.

[@ravenheartwraith]

THESE are the kinds of videos I loved from 7DtD that i've been waiting for ! :) thank you

[@morbidmurph]

Ok 4:13 that is genius... I'm doing this on my current playthrough lol

[@tristanjeffords2225]

As of the full release, strength actually does something now. The following is copy-pasted directly from the Steam patch notes; - Players max strength level has been increased from 50 to 100 - Each level in strength now increases melee and tree chop damage by 1%

[@raphunter7303]

Thanks

[@tristanjeffords2225]

@raphunter7303 but of course

[@Thevideofish85]

Wow man, amazing research. This must have taken you a ton of time and it was incredible thorough

[@daschwick6676]

I can confirm I've temporarily had bugged inventory items. For me, it was bones. I had 60+ one time I looked; it went back to the standard amount the next time I opened my inventory

[@GeekMaister]

ad note that maybe bow draw power? so trajectory speed and reach could be affected? surely would like to see it added. Great video!

[@emokretz839]

Things that can be added for levels imoroved attack damage ( strength ) carry more logs could be 4 on level 50 Improved muscle memory (easier to cut trees) stamina , from running and maybe they could do something about the thirst and hunger too

[@Slippery-Hand]

Never have heard or seen your channel, but I believe the effort put into making this video. Takes time to make something factual even on an early access game.

[@GunsNerdsandSteel]

Still needs further testing, I'm working on another experiment

[@DublinOdinson]

Bless you. Heard the sneeze at the end.

[@syphon583]

Things that increased strength *could* do: -Allow more carrying capacity (balance by decreasing initial capacity) -Increase melee damage to enemies and trees -Decrease stamina usage -Allow character to carry more logs (balance by starting with 1, increase to 2 at strength 10, max out at 3 logs at strength 20) -Allow character to pickup larger enemy corpses (red dudes, etc) at a certain level

[@nicholashart1666]

thank you for your research and explanation of this. i truly hope they take into consideration of tweaking this to effect at least some of the suggestions/assumptions you had for how strength would benefit the character.

[@thedrangler599]

Liked, subbed and commenting just for the sheer hours put into this.

[@punkachuros]

Really cool video, thanks for all the testing !

[@GunsNerdsandSteel]

Thanks for watching!

[@Sharpie360]

Awesome job! It's got a lot of potential. I initially thought it had to do with an overencumberment system.

[@KenevyUnholyJesus]

I wasn't expecting the sneeze at the end. Perfectly unexpected. Lmao.'d.

[@flabbergasted6231]

I have a feeling it will get way more in depth as they continue to work on the game. This is just the bare bones of the game currently and it is already a fun game to play.

[@LouiseForsMeToBeNice]

Thank you for the video! I've been really wondering what strength does and how I see my level. Frustrating that you can only see it for a few seconds. I actually ended up with that bug where I had a MASSIVE amount of bones in my inventory and I guessed that it was because I had a higher strength than my friend, but it was just that bug that you mentioned. Sad, I really wanted a higher carrying capacity and more damage. A comment to please the algorithm

[@FullmetalAngyl]

Thank you so much for all your effort in making this wonderful and informative video. I can understand gaining strength from lifting logs and swinging, they're genuine training exercises. I can understand not gaining anything from dropping logs, you're just dropping something, but chopping trees and logs really should also increase strength even if only to a lesser degree. They're genuine strength training exersices too. I also think strength should increase tree chopping efficiency. Then you'd need to chop more and more trees to gain strength from chopping thus a diminishing returns system. This makes you rely a little less on poor Kelvin while encouraging more building. Further more you should be inflicting more melee damage with things like knives and axes, even if only a little. I also think mutants should try to path find across water and drown like in the caves. Especially the blind ones. If you're next to a river with a wall then they should either attack the wall or drown trying to get around it. They're mindless enough to drown in the cave so why not on the surface. Cross a river to escape them and they might follow and drown. Then you stand there pointing and laughing like an idiot until the ones who went around reach you. I want to send suggestions through the discord, but I haven't figured out how yet.....

[@fanatic.9150]

The extra item(s) that go over max capacity is a bug. I once logged on and had over 200 sticks and over 50 rocks in my inventory. Let’s just say that helped me a lot 😅.

[@zaf4155]

I would challenge the transport capacity claim in some degrees: My friends and I could only craft and carry a maximum 2 spears while starting the game, it increased steadily through time and we can carry up to 5 now. Strength is the only displayed variable I can think of to justify the change.

[@jokersadress3710]

This was amazing work, thank you for the detailed experiment!!

[@Fergus-H-MacLeod]

Damn, I can tell you really put the work in doing this strength test demonstration. Great vid, really interesting. That's pretty disappointing that strength doesn't increase damage.

[@KarurosuSJ]

Thank you 🙏 for taking the time.

[@bluephoenix30]

Holy cow man, I don't know anyone that does such deep dives as you do. Freaking amazing dude!

[@sethm9182]

I appreciate your process! Great video!

[@Subquake]

Thank you for making this video, it was very helpful!

[@DanyF02]

I bet the devs spilled their coffee watching this video and went like "Wait what, we coded that wrong for sure!"

[@ArinJager1]

well, if it's anything like the first Forest game, higher the strength = more damage you deal with the melee weapons (which you've confirmed), but it doesn't affect the bow, and the guns (duh)... I had no idea it increases the Hp, that's pretty cool, too (good find)

[@11kele]

I don't know if they changed this for the final game, they changed a lot of things and details. NPC enemies are smarter enough so that the camp fights are more challenging (at least for me) until you get OP weapons like the shotgun and the crossbow. They also reduced the inventory number for some items and you can open plastic boxed and briefcases only once, those will not respawn after exiting and entering the game. Only some items will respawn. The strength meter is now showing the level number inside the icon. Some items are moved to different locations, such as winter jacket. In one sentence, the final game is much better than I hoped it would be, the variety of enemies is great, the map is huge and there are a lot of things to do and I enjoyed every minute of it so far.