The NEW Cougar 2.0: First Look, First Kills

[@Zaknafein]

While not 100% certain, I am pretty sure the glimmer fog was a glitch. It changed to heavy snow almost immediately. Probably something to do with leaving FA quickly, not sure. It didnt look like a genuine weather change to me. I have had similar things happen a couple times before and it was a bug.

[@MrRickstopher]

I’ve noticed a few bugs but nothing game breaking, like I’m noticing pallets have been popping in and out. Hinterland will get a patch out before the holidays for sure.

[@IstasPumaNevada]

Real-life cougars are more likely to attack if you crouch, turn away, or especially run. It'd be cool if a slowly stalking cougar would charge you if you decide to try running away from them.

[@npc2794]

What an obvious and easy thing to have implemented first try

[@dominikkuzila]

They're not gonna change the cougar mechanic for the third time you know.

[@AKguru762]

The game has a disclaimer that they know that the wolfs don’t behave accurately to real life. Why would they start now?

[@RealGhostface-y9b]

WHO CARES ABOUT REALISM!!! *grabs and inverts your atoms and folds you 13 times and compresses you into a perfect sphere*

[@jerebalva2913]

Yeah much like in the game Green hell when a jaguar encounters you, he stares menacingly at you and if you turn away,run or do a sudden movement he will charge at you, thats awesome

[@1297skypred]

Shoutout to Hinterland. Actually having developers making changes based on gamer feedback is SO rare nowadays, these adjustments to the Cougar just bought this game an extra year of playing time by me!

[@tink5488]

Good to see that it's a physical entity in the world now. I am happy that Hinterland took the community advice and feedback and made changes. Too many studios double down and wonder why they don't do well afterwards. Edit: Some changes I would make (if possible I don't know if it's even possible to code this) In no particular order If you turn your back on the cougar it will charge or at least advance quickly. If you start a fire it will be cautious, however once you've shown you will attack it will be 100% aggressive until one of you die. Being able to cheese (like at 20:30) undermines the Cougar entirely, even more so since this is during an Aurora. I agree with the idea of Spanner5940; where in Aurora's the cougar should have a vastly bigger stalking radius.

[@darkwillow1451]

Considering that without cheesing you will 100% take damage because you wont kill it with a shot... i think its fair. People cheese moose & bear all the time.. so i dont see an issue. The cougar is scary, faster than a bear, with huge aggro (unlike a bear), walking him like a wolf doesnt seem reasonable either. I think its perfect like this.

[@spanner5940]

thx for the shoutout bro

[@onedirectioninfection5756]

big agree, being able to cheese it defeats the purpose of implementing it with the intent of it being the predator of the player rather than just more wildlife

[@MavByte]

​@@darkwillow1451the Problem is, that bear and Moose are animals you Just stumble upon. The cougar is supposed to HUNT you. Cheesing the cougar defeats its entire purpose and makes it Just another prey, Which Just is Not fun.

[@darkwillow1451]

@@MavByte well, to an extent it does hunt you, considering the aggro range of it. What its needed maybe is a bit more work when it comes to behavior... and maybe less hissing and warnings. And ofc a leap attack that can tackle you to the ground. I dont think its an easy kill though. Even as it is now.

[@Hella-cones]

Just refreshed my KZbin feed, saw this video, gasped, and turned on my console to see an update is available for TLD. So stoked to try this out!!!

[@TimJameson-jg8sl]

Yhea. Super stoked🎉

[@sage49149]

I have the DLC, but TLD is not updating. It says that I'm updated to the latest version. No, I'm not! What is going on?!

[@Hella-cones]

@ the update is currently only on Xbox and PC I believe. PS5 and switch are coming in the next few days or so

[@sage49149]

@Hella-cones aww

[@jamesmcdonald3054]

Imagine if the cougar could pounce to reach players trying to cheese it, initiating a struggle and knocking the survivor down to ground level.

[@nicholasshaler7442]

Yes, a big cat being unable to jump is awful.

[@TheSasudomi]

We shall see, that is a hell of a thought though.

[@pwnDonkey]

even better , if it occassionaly lounged around on the elevations, like on top of trees and cars

[@spanner5940]

I like the new cougar but they should increase the distance that it runs away so it goes out of sight after a graze hit. That way the long game of man vs beast can begin. Also I would love the aurora to drastically increase the cougars territory so it can hunt you down at night. Overall, she's almost complete but just needs to be a little more elusive to be truly scary.

[@polandsilver3419]

For example like actually sneaking? Where it moves faster when attacking the player, changes its speed, and jumps to the side when player is aiming?

[@johnme7049]

Great Video Zak, a couple of things I noticed; 1: Each time, when you hit it with the rifle, (I went back and checked each time to look for the hit icon), There was no blood spray or blood on the ground like you would see from a wolf or bear hit. 2: when you hit it with the bow there was one time that there was blood spray at 12:41 when hit but still no blood on the ground and no blood trail. Only it's tracks to mark it passing. This beastie will be FUN to track. 3: There is some WEIRD shot pathing or tracking going on. Starting at 12:40 and using the < > keys to take it frame by frame, the arrow hits high on the left, (Your right), side and with each click forward it moves over tot the cougar's right side untill it is embedded in the right flank. It is not a matter of the cougar's movement, the arrow hits and the dang cougar shifts through the arrow. It just confirms what we always knew though, cats are not of this physical world. lol All the best Zak.

[@jmwall24]

There will be no tracking, cougars are like moose, they don't bleed out.

[@matty92k]

Uhhhhh so how do you kill it if it doesn't bleed 😏 I'm a pretty good shot but I am not playing chicken with something like that on my 50 day run

[@maroonnoodles]

The update is amazing, though i was hoping the cougar would be able to climb up in tree branches in their territory

[@marygatdula2744]

I'm not convinced that he can't. I really didn't think he got close enough to know for sure. I might have to watch this again.

[@yellowdracula9912]

This would be terrifying but Extremely accurate

[@shaunsmusicreviews]

Engine wouldnt be able to handle it. Can barely handle waves sprinting up hills without it looking like they are t posing

[@anthonyanderson9771]

Would also give somewhere else to lookout for

[@mindaugasstankus5943]

@@shaunsmusicreviews Engine not a problem, it would handle it. Will need write new game mechanics in and likely change (rewrite) a lot. How terrain, objects work, interactions with NPC and player models. Two decades old id Tech 3 can handle wall climbing and hopping/jumping (Tremulous/Unvanquished).

[@BlaekkTscherri]

I need to comment after some years now, I just want to tell you how much I like your Intro, especially the music. Pls never change it! But I also like all the videos you make. I learned alot but never got on your level! Ty zak for all !

[@thatguy2535]

I thought the cougar was going to acknowledge the body in the intro, but watching it clip through it got me 😂

[@connieellerbe-maycock7115]

The Cougar has Returned.

[@dpere565]

But more visious

[@connieellerbe-maycock7115]

@@dpere565 True.

[@Agent_265]

Now i can play old saves with this update?

[@koruandthistle]

@@Agent_265yup! As long as you have the DLC.

[@DLockholm]

​@@dpere565more boring*

[@kevinpratt7766]

"Animal fat useful in cooking" to make cooking oil, so they're bringing in some of the features of existing mods! I wonder if that means they're going to also use the fat to add candle crafting too?!

[@Yes-I_Smell]

That would be awesome. Also, do you think getting salt from ocean water would be bad, considering it’s used to make broth? And a way to make stews forever rather than only until the finite resources are used up?

[@solaire773]

That would honestly be dope as fuck especially with the new safehouse decoration update

[@healthyseal]

@@Yes-I_Smell there are new salt patches that can be found in the world, I assume it's finite tho, maybe we will find some in beachcombing

[@kalumjones739]

@@healthyseal You can get salt from the trader.

[@mindaugasstankus5943]

@@healthyseal can find 10 kg salt bags in the world too.

[@Flamezizz]

I feel like its worth noting some of the mechanics not shown in this video as it is basically a "combat" video: 1) The Cougar's Territory can grow bigger, especially after encounters. This is more threatening on Interloper+ where you may need to recover after a grazing hit which will do more damage. 2) The struggle mechanic is much deadlier, leaving you with the Deep Lacerations affliction, easily one of the most threatening "wounds" in the game. Like Broken Ribs, this is unavoidable once a struggle occurs. 3) The Cougar gets more aggressive the more you spend time in its territory or encounter it. This leads to it stalking you and hunting you down more and more, similar to the original mechanic minus invisibility. 4) UNCONFIRMED SPECULATION: The Cougar appears to hunt in its territory, limiting the amount of food available to the player. Harvesting a cougar ravaged corpse seems like a good way to getting back stabbed by a cat. Entertaining video, and quick to the chase in fighting a cougar while in good conditions, but there is likely a lot missing from this showcase that can only be observed with a longer play time and analysis.

[@MrRicklion]

About point 2. I heard that you can avoid the deep lacerations with the body armor. At least I think that was the case when it was first introduced but there was only a chance not to get it. But I could be wrong about that.

[@martinh.4544]

Does the territory size reset after killing the cougar? I didn't get it from the promo video.

[@HazelStone-z4g]

I am still pretty bad at shooting so I plan to avoid the cougar, is this still viable? For cougar 1.0 my plan was to simply vacate the region once my time was up, is something similar possible with the new mechanics?

[@jurassicjonahpe5294]

​@@HazelStone-z4g If you look at the trailer that Hinterland gave out, they said something along the lines of "if you leave it alone, it'll leave you alone" (alternatively, you could just turn it off on any difficulty)

[@martinh.4544]

@@HazelStone-z4g I don't think there is grace period after moving to new location. The only way is not crossing its territory (or turn it off)

[@rustyaxe155]

Can confirm that you can one shot the cougar on interloper, archery lvl5. Had two spawn in twm first one was in the spot you showed, but the other one was by the landing gear going back to pv from m. Hut. First one also took 5 shots, the second took one to the back swiped at me and fell.

[@Zaknafein]

Thanks!

[@rustyaxe155]

@ your welcome, great video btw. Tree dodging seems to be very effective. Also 3 swipes and then the cutscene attack

[@Seriously_Unserious]

The cougar 2.0 strikes me as a combination of a wolf, timberwolf, and bear. Bears take multiple shots and are undeterred when charging, unless you flare gun them, and it does the timberwolf style swipe attack, and I assume it can also optionally do a full struggle, like a timberwolf, and stalks like a wolf.

[@mandolo100]

According to the update video, it'll attack you for a struggle if you don't hit it while it charges

[@SomeRandomGuyWhoPlaysGames]

If you don’t damage it it will fully pounce on you in an uncontrollable struggle like a moose and bear and give you a new affliction “severe lacerations” it also has a trait like the moose where it doesn’t bleed, meaning you can’t hit in once in the body and then pass time, you gotta fully kill it.

[@xavier_got_ya9169]

Leaves markings and can't bleed out, like moose

[@dzurisintube]

Went back and reviewed the announcement video and it seems pretty clear that the cougar cutscene marks the end of the "grace period" once per save rather than something per region etc.

[@crowbear516]

She's a super wolf. Super wolf. She's super wolfie.

[@Knarf2285]

Not the kind you take to Trapper's...

[@jowilson5581]

yow

[@indoctrinationtheory1468]

Zak just casually harvesting and cooking cougar meat while that ominous music plays in the background

[@MrRickstopher]

Wow, I’m super stoked and legitimately nervous to encounter that thing. They did such a good job, this update has been amazing. I’m really looking forward to your safehouse video Zak.

[@schpeedwagon8184]

I bought the coffee mug on the Hinterland store! So happy

[@MajimaBestYakuzaaa]

Amazing update. Changing the cougar was a great idea

[@trap631]

Im glad it was updated it really show how dedicated to the game and also care about their community,by taking the concerns of the community they have strengthen their bond

[@QenaitheCustodianGuard]

Just like my house cat it runs around screaming a lot, has massive aggro issues and is impervious to damage.

[@agnostic2111]

Zak I love you, u are best content creator on TDL. First minutes was like tactical FPS game :) Thank you for this info video. Great change to cougar, definitely more challenging and ambitious approach.

[@jitwire]

The hide with the tail is comical- but in a good way. Thanks for the great video and the first look at taking down a cougar. It is much appreciated!

[@null_cap]

you can buy flour from the trader i believe, and it seems like it spawns much more in the world now, so recipes are actually viable in ALL stages of the game instead of saving them for specific use cases, pretty amazing, i hop to see more foraging and cooking in the future

[@thomasw6422]

Great update! I bet they’ll fine tune the cougar more, seems to be on the right track though. I love the risk that this creates going after it on a long interloper run. Gonna have to read a few stay on target books to get those bow skills up haha 😬

[@RyuuProtogen96]

I've got to say that your videos changed the way I play The Long Dark. I was, and still kind of am, a noob at the game with all the new stuff they added, but your tips helped me get much, much better at playing the game. Listening to your videos and all the info and tips you give helped me turn my current run on Voyageur from around 30 days at best into well over 300 days. On day 355 or so, and plan to shoot for the big 500 and get the achievement before I start a new playthrough. Might even give Stalker another go, lol!

[@Varrxion]

I jumped into Interloper after my first 40 day voyager game. It's interesting the different routes we all take.

[@koruandthistle]

I was sure the thick acorn trees were so they could climb up… great video Zak!

[@WristWrangler-p4s]

9:18 Yup, cougar headwrap used to be 3c/3c.

[@JoeKingAudits]

Nice I kept my cougar hat

[@snoopfox3359]

Just found your channel after searching "The long dark". I just took a bit of time this evening to search through my steam library to see if there is any game worth playing again. It turns out I haven't played this game since 2019 😲 I have cheeked a few of your other videos to get informed of all the updates over the years and I think I might download it again and give it another try. I got burnt out on it before after playing it from early access times. I'm still amazed though that they still haven't completed the story mode. Thanks for the videos and info. great content ;)

[@ElectricZinnia]

You've missed ❤❤ Wintermute ep. 4 Misery mode Ash canyon Blackrock mountain Hushed river valley Many updates and new items Best game

[@Seriously_Unserious]

I was hoping the cougar 2.0 would have some sort of stealth mechanic still in place, where maybe it would use terrain to try and stay hidden from you, but still be in world and thus possible to spot, just harder then normal wildlife, though that would take some considerably more advanced animal AI then what we've seen from any of the other animals thus far.

[@Moz29]

That would change loper so much. Whatever health you lose in a cougar struggle would be lethal most the time if you weren't expecting it. Losing a run to a stealth cougar because the one time you don't walk around at 100% condition it jacks youu would be so infuriating.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

@@Moz29 the difference is you're being attacked by an animal that exists in the environment, just using new mechanics not seen before, rather then a phantom that just appears randomly to maul you and then disappears shortly after, and follows none of the established rules of where wildlife can and can't go, as there were reports of the old cougar attacking players in cars or even load screen houses.

[@Moz29]

@@Seriously_Unserious I know. I love this new cougar implementation. I'm just saying if it was actually stealthy like you suggest it would be super annoying. Maybe if you could at least hear it still. Otherwise you'd have to either concentrate non stop or keep 100% condition, these both sound annoying to me.

[@kirksteven4316]

Thank you for the preview Zak, always helpful

[@JonathanRossRogers]

3:01 I love the moonwalking kitty.

[@pathfinder_strider]

3 .308 shots and still alive. I know it's just a game, but...

[@Anthonyk747]

He's playing on Stalker!!!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!!!!! As usual, love your videos and your experimentation!

[@depresingteen2170]

I like how difficult it seems to be even with guns. It's going to give the vest a lot more value in interloper and above.

[@tylerweese2213]

Wow this is the earliest I’ve ever been to a video lol

[@TommyHunt-s4w]

Great video Zak and thank you Hinterland for the best game ever. I love your content Zak keep up the good work my friend.

[@jmwall24]

It not being able to get you on a fallen tree needs to be fixed if possible. Cougars can definitely climb lol

[@commanderbeepo8066]

I mean, bears can too

[@Thyana-ig5no]

And humans too. Realism is no argument in this game

[@PhilippKoopsta]

What it can not do that. What is hinterland doing lol. I quit this game two months ago from being disappointed after years. Now this is just comical a not climbing cat.

[@jmwall24]

@@commanderbeepo8066 yes true, I think they kind of get around that in TLD since all the bears are frigging huge and the larger bears aren't as apt to climb trees. There's no getting around it with cougars lol.

[@simonnachreiner8380]

That's an engine limitation. Animals are set to avoid any area where their pathing might get stuck and that system still occasionally borks and leaves deer and wolves stuck running into a rock.

[@underreigns]

I'll be calling her Twougar from now on, thank you

[@LalaDepala_00]

I started a new stalker game after the patch. Spent 12 days in Coastal Highway, then moved to Pleasant Valley for 8 days - and when I came back to Coastal Highway I got the cougar alert. I was planning to avoid it by going from zone to zone within x days, but I think it just show up regardless after 20 days. No matter where you are. Thankfully the map shows you where its territory is. Edit: Typo

[@kmetrak]

Zak, thanks for this video - today I encountered cougar in coastal highway (btw, video introducing cougar was played when I was leaving trailer by the tracks in CH, just leaving CH) - I did it on stalker with bow (yes, on stalker I prefer bow - it's lighter :) ) on lvl 5 with 3 hits

[@kaiser_august4495]

Okay this is why I almost played devils advocate for Cougar 1.0 because veterans like Zak treat all animals as prey. The sense of danger is lost on top of bears and wolves nearly blind and deaf relative to the cougar. Maybe the original ambush could be applied if you live too close to its den. And this cougar needs more self preservation like actively seeking cover while attacking relative to bears and wolves being easier for Zak to shoot in a straight line. It’s hilarious that prey actually live longer because they just run away.

[@Thorumsu]

Raphael did sound his frustration in the forums about this actually. Saying that he was disappointed about the fact that players wanted the cougar to be yet another recourse for them to shoot down. I think this cougar was his attempt at satisfying people who want to always feel in control while making it dangerous, by making it somewhat of a boss fight you choose to go to get a good headgear more than anything else.

[@sleepingninjaquiettime]

Thats so cool that they made a cougar mount. I can't wait to ride it

[@Bobywan75]

I am afraid to bring the cougar in my interloper game now, especially with the wildlife refresh where I don't know where the other predator are either.

[@Nygyhoss]

I do not recommend playing with cougars enabled! I've experienced a glitch that apparently has been replicated through other people by just playing the game as normal: Upon leaving an indoor location and triggering the cutscene for the cougar to spawn your player character is evidently following and your screen switches to you have suffered internal trauma and have died. Do not play if you want to do a full run without cheating death! It can happen.

[@indoctrinationtheory1468]

Amazing, beautiful, terrifying all at the same time!

[@Moz29]

Hey Zak you probably already noticed this but looting indoors is now super easy if its safehouse customizable. The blue outline when you go into customize mode lets you see all the hidden loots. Seems a bit overpowered to me

[@Zaknafein]

Yeah and its night vision. A bit broken

[@colewernette4601]

Love you Zak! Keep making the best videos (dont change)!

[@Fishynoodles707]

When I got the cougar animation it was during the aurora at mountain town, it was terrifying

[@LorenSmith-i6x]

super cool. and the glimmer fog in the regular map is nice. Still waiting on the ps4 update... Enjoy man, good video.

[@weezypeezy1725]

Anyone else see at 12:19 where the cougar litterally becomes a wolf?

[@toshlaforest9472]

I think there was a wolf nearby that got scared by the cougar, thus running in a random direction and coincidentally running right through the line of sight. Right?

[@jmwall24]

Dropped one today on a gunloper run in a single shot. Was not expecting it to be possible to get a single shot crit hit in a cougar. Essentially it's a more dangerous moose.

[@silentshade7975]

I really liked the idea of the first cougar iteration and am a bit sad to see some of those mechanics go away. The new cougar definitely seems like a threat so that’s cool. But not a scary or interesting as the original version. But that’s ok and now we can enjoy the cougars art better while we are shredded by its murder mittens

[@SomeRandomGuyWhoPlaysGames]

The first version was scarier but it was more like a weird timer affliction like cabin fever than a real living Animal. And I think the brutal mauling, high health and no bleeding makes it pretty strong, wouldn’t make sense to be some kind of superhero boss

[@GuyFromCanada]

Some criticisms, but I like this cougar SIGNIFICANTLY more than its older implementation. It still seems exceptionally dangerous, and not something you want to mess with unless you are absolutely prepared, but also feels way more immersive in the wider world and not impossible to defend yourself. Still rewards you for being proactive and not stepping in it's territory, and also feels like you can do something reactively in a pinch.

[@pohpy]

"Absolutely prepared" u jist need a rifle.. and 4-5 rounds and you can cheese it because vrybabies ruined the pefect 1.0 cougar.

[@GuyFromCanada]

@ All the animals in this game can be cheesed, that’s more a criticism of the game than the cougar. And no, not just a rifle with 4-5 rounds, you also need a good portion of your health, an open sightline, the skill to hit it, and the awareness to know it’s around. Zak was testing AI, but he is also in ideal conditions, and is a very good player compared to the majority of the people who play this game, such as myself. I’d imagine encountering it in dark or snowy conditions, or in narrow areas with little area to run will be incredibly deadly. This also assumes you have a weapon and ammo, which is not always the case. And if you play on interloper, you just don’t have a rifle or pistol period.

[@vincentgross5417]

Definitely a use case for ballistic vest + moose hide cloak.

[@TheNebulaeCollective]

I’m kinda disappointed they didn’t keep the cougar as a punishment for remaining in a region too long, because it was a unique mechanic not found in any other animal, (but still have it be a physical entity), but I vastly prefer this iteration than the previous one.

[@blippedzip]

that looks so much better, tbh, hinterland ftw for redoing the cougar and making it better

[@xavier_got_ya9169]

Ngl calling it a super wolf is like calling bears and moose super wolves

[@Zaknafein]

Moose and bears dont have the same behaviour as wolves/cougars

[@xavier_got_ya9169]

@Zaknafein that's true, but they also have a massive health pool, like bears. They cant bleed out and also they leave markings, like Moose. They'll hit and run, like Timberwolves I feel like they're more of a combination of all three predators more than anything else

[@jasonruggles4622]

I absolutely love the new cougar don't get me wrong I didn't dislike the last one but this one this one is amazing it's exactly what I was hoping for. It's more or less the Apex agility Predator that more or less acts like a velociraptor and I love it

[@antonrobert2170]

Thank you hinterland I know it's not what they envisioned but it is so much better

[@qtip6736]

Well this was kind of what I feared would happen. You can now cheese the cougar via running around trees and standing on them. Although I will say the addition itself is very nicely done. They really show they care. But I'm afraid most people will now only chose to cheese it due to danger of hunting it normally. It is however a great addition if you don't cheese it and a nice fear factor

[@AmplifyChris]

I always cheese predators.. I don’t think it’s wrong…

[@simonnachreiner8380]

Cheese is part of the game. If you've got a problem with how people play the game that's on you buddy. No one's got a gun to your head forcing you to goat up a rock.

[@JayDidntDoIt]

This dlc is wild! The amount of work they have put in for a fairly small price is insane!

[@CMDrDarty]

Looks like cougar is back on the menu, boys!

[@Solar-496]

Zaknafein is the only The Long Dark player who went face-to-face with the cougar and said 'Here, kitty kitty kitty!'

[@HiroshimaXl]

This looks so awesome. Way more immersive!

[@cccpredarmy]

- Definitely a better version than Cougar 1.0 being a feit - Unfortunately now it has the drawback of being able to abuse and cheese by the player - With Cougar 1.0 I personally had nothing against it randomly spawning close to the player. What I was against was to not give the player any opportunity ro a chance to show his skill in killing/hitting the cougar on charge - Improve the cougar 2.0 by ALWAYS charging the player if it gets attacked. No fire, no torch or anything else should be able to stop its charge! - for me I'd add a "cougar jump"-mechanic. A player who cheeses the cougar by standing on a rock, makes the cougar jump on the player mauling him down. how to implement it: player finds a cheese spot, aggros the cougar by shooting it. The cougar runs around the rock unable to hit the player. After 7 sec (debatable) a small cut scene is played - cougar jumps, screen goes black, wrestling and biting sounds are heard, the player wakes up next to the rock with a lot of his gear scattered at the bottom, severly damaged with all sorts of afflictions upon him. The cougar now is far (enough) away and don't charge the player for 10 sec (debatable) unless provoked again by a shot. Let the cheesers and mechanic abusers (me) suffer!

[@simonnachreiner8380]

No one's making you cheese anything

[@cccpredarmy]

@simonnachreiner8380 that's unfortunately a given with undeveloped AI pathfinding and devs having to weight out pros and cons with hard accessible areas

[@marygatdula2744]

I hope that glimmer fog was a bug!

[@silverchain92channel]

It was. I encountered numerous bugs in this release.

[@burchoutdoors]

Thanks mate 👌

[@adylynemahaffey4449]

I like this addition a lot more than the previous. My only question is did they remove severe lacerations? If they did I wish they would have kept it.

[@Mobius-Gaming]

It's there but only if it pounces at you

[@TheMoffwicket]

The real question is "doesnit bleed out?". The strategy might be to shoot it once, take its glancing blow attack, then rin and hide and let it bleed out.

[@justinmundy7957]

Yep, had that same thought too. Does it bleed.

[@simonnachreiner8380]

Experience says no. Cougar doesn't leave blood trails when hit just like the moose.

[@Bad_wolf_41]

Nice to be here this early like the others. Finally i could catch up to op's posting habits!!

[@denseaf1582]

Seems like cooking oil and salt are now renewables! Very nice.

[@i-will-bite]

Okay, but salt deposits and animal fat might actually be my favourite part! Don't get me wrong, the rest of the update is cool but THIS this is what i needed

[@el_chapolman5023]

I like that the Cougar is a physical entity now, but being able to cheese kill it like this feels kind of unrewarding. I guess that isn't a problem with the Cougar itself per se, just a problem with how animal AI behaves with player position. If you get on top of "unreachable" terrain (and there's lots of small tree branches and rocksides in the world you can goat up on), you've basically beaten the rudimentary mob pathfinding system and can dispose of them in 100% safety. Since they'll never reach you. Would be cool if the Cougar could somehow climb these "unreachable" spots like branches or rocks and yank you off. It seems quite realistic for this nimble animal to be able to do so, but it would require Hinterland to overhaul their pathfinding AI system to make it work in those spots.

[@legacymse7095]

That, cooked ruined food on the ground, starving yourself on purpose, alt f4 if anything goes wrong,etc. There are tons of way to cheese the game. Every game has that kind of stuff. But since TLD is an immersion-focused game, it really hurts the experience. The only thing you can do is playing fair and say no to the stinky cheese

[@lindseymashburn-fonzeroth1806]

@@legacymse7095 agreed. I know a lot of ways to 'cheese' the game, but I choose to avoid them. especially the starving strategy. If my survivor has food on them, and their stomach goes red, I make them eat at least a little. No one would be painfully starving and save a chocolate bar for bedtime.

[@johndudek8415]

Started a new Voyager game to see how the Cougar worked and after 30 days I got the Cougar cutscene while I was in Mountain town, then three cougars spawned around the map, which I thought was odd, but I learned how to take them out, thanks to the power of fire. But I am really bummed that the cougar badge does not seem to work. I have killed 3 now and there is no reflection on the badge progress. Just FYI, it took me 8 shots with my pistol to take one down. Maybe I kept hitting it in the paw...

[@Xendrasch]

Interesting. Did not realize, that they reintroduced the cougar with the recent update. What defense from clothing and other gear, did you have during your cougar encounters? That is kind of essential information to judge the damage it does.

[@gghoulish-fun]

so excited to experience this myself

[@handsonkeyboardandmouse7321]

You compare it to the moose, but a major effect to Interloper encounters will be whether it bleeds out, or needs to be damaged to death. Will try that in my first encounter, hit it with one arrow from a tree, and then see what happens.

[@ChrisMills-v7l]

You probably already know but the dock at Crystal Lake is also a "safe zone". Woke up to a new pack of t-wolves on the lake...they spotted me, started howling and charging, but as soon as I hit the dock, it was like I didn't exist. Picked them off one by one. Should they fix this exploit? Hmmm....

[@RealGhostface-y9b]

Michael Myers summoning exactly 18 waffles

[@spider071]

oh yeah! Cougar and alll this juice before Christmas! great! :)

[@j.s.c.4355]

Much more interesting than the Quicktime 1.0 Cougar. I suspect you’re going to discover more unique features the more of them you encounter.

[@addcted842]

12:40 it's weird that a cougar attack does not trigger an automatic save point like many other attacks or fall damage or sprain

[@Mobscene_CDN]

Saves are only triggered on injuries I believe. So if you get out of the fight before you're injured it won't save. Looks like all the times he got attacked by the Cougar, he hit it just before so it disengaged before any injury.

[@addcted842]

@@Mobscene_CDN 12:18 he loses about 25 HP, no save triggered. 12:40 he again lose about 25 HP, no save again. It looks like the HP loss from a cougar attack is treated as if you were losing health from cold/fatigue/thirst/hunger (which does not trigger an autosave every time you lose 1 HP).

[@Mobscene_CDN]

@@addcted842 Yup, that's the same as any animal attack. If they don't give you an affliction, it doesn't trigger a save. You said it yourself about sprains. They trigger saves. Health loss never triggers a save.

[@addcted842]

@@Mobscene_CDN For some reason I always assumed that "big" HP loss was the trigger point for an autosave. Thanks for making me realize that it was the affliction instead that triggers it!

[@Tibor0803]

My opinion about the new Cougar: This new animal is now way better than it was in it's 1.0 phase. A tough enemy, but a Bear is still more dangerous considering you must deal enough damage on a Bear to prevent yourself being mauled down. The Cougar if gets hit with any shot, he cannot maul you down and deal all those damage on you without attacking back. The outcome is sealed similarly at the case of a Bear. So he is more powerful struggle-wise compare to a Wolf leaving you a unique and horrific affliction, the Severe Lacerations, which periodically opens up the wounds on yourself. When it happens, a guaranteed Blood Loss and Infection Risk harming you overtime. There's no way to treat Severe Lacerations affliction other than wait till it ends within 3 days. Considered the threat and the amount of condition being lost in the struggle encounter, a Moose attack's Broken Ribs affliction is worse than a Severe Lacerations affliction and a Bear's maul down attack on you condition loss-wise is also worse than the amount of condition you lose overtime, because it's managable with necessary first aids to prepare with. Just go to sleep only AFTER the Severe Lacerations caused you another set of afflictions and treated it, because you can easily bleed out in your sleep, even with constant Birchbark & Herbal Tea treatment. The duration is far from being as punishing as the rest of the already existing afflictions in the game. If you have limited first aid in your disposal, it will mean the death of you, but by the moment of attack compare to a Bear, if you have like 60-75% of condition during the struggle, you still have a chance to survive especially with proper protection bonus from clothing, but at the case of a Bear, chances are high you'll die instantenously.

[@Valoriter]

Hey Zak a little heads up, you can get food poisoning from eating raw fat. Even with cooking lvl 5. Mistakes were made.. xD

[@Zaknafein]

Thanks! Your sacrifice will not be forgotten!

[@gnomesfly8549]

you forgot to do the pst pst pst test

[@hdhsJkkll]

I spawned in PV and got mauled by pack of timberwolves immediately. I love this update :D

[@alexandreboulanger2828]

I would have loved if the cougar would be harder to detect, and would try to stealthy follow you, or move to your back, and try to attack you from behind. A bit like the old cougar, but physically in the world. That would force you to 'check your six' when traversing cougar territory, and constantly look for 'escape rocks' where he can't get you just in case.

[@Micholex]

Please dont turn this shit into a horror movie

[@yember]

8:45 I like the transition :)

[@SmenDeSmen]

that Cougar is gonna learn why humans are at the top of the chain

[@Moz29]

Strategy Idea, if theres no terrain to cheese, shoot and let it graze then STIM & repeat. For stalker this gives a good use for the millions of stims you find. For loper terrain cheesing may be necessary.

[@eduardschlegel6963]

The cougar seems to be the tankiest animal in the game so far. Even normal bears and moose can reliably be downed with two headshots with the hunting rifle at rifle lvl 1. Only aurora bears needed three so far. (To do this just sneak up to a bear/moose so you can line up your first headshot, then down it with the second.) For Zak's ML-Cougar I counted a headshot (3rd shot) and hip shot (4th shot). First shot looked like a torso shot or headshot. Couldn't tell where the second one hit.

[@andrewfisher5287]

Such a great game glad they did alter it as well for the cougar

[@ofmasterOof]

That lil rascal took 6 arrows and still killed me. Ended my 186 day run.

[@pichuyang3865]

4:38 MAGIC! 🤣🤣🤣

[@nickquelch2636]

6:33 blueprints for base customisation?? Is this out today too??

[@2lenivy]

ye

[@gnuffe7778]

@@2lenivy WHAT?!

[@ryandavis5475]

I honestly felt the idea that walking in the open fields of PV and not being able to see your predator stalking you seemed more like a Deus ex Machina in the first iteration; too arbitrary even though you're given the clues, hints and some instructions from Hinterland. This is a lot better, but noquite as powerful as I had expected, but since you can see it makes it more real. If you could still get jumped from an upper ledge or leaning tree, that would be a great jump-scare.