Hi fellow hunters. I'm in a bit of a dilema.
Today on sale are both retriver dog and scient hound.
I wanted to hear some opinon on this forum about the dogs in particular. Are they worth it? And if they do, which one do you prefer and why?
I could really use some help cuz i haven't had a chance to play with eithe one of this dogs in this game.
Thank you all who reply's.
Cheers!
Most people find it useless, myself i find it fun to take with me sometimes.
If you are playing a lot of singleplayer it's good company .
For the tracking it's not that special, most times I can find tracks easily myself, but if you have a lot of trouble finding an animal after you shot it it can be a good help.
For me it's just some extra fun to have in the game
Depends, if your big on water fowling and small game I'd say the Retriever - it fetches birds from long distances and can save you from loosing them in the shrub, or taking long walks around huge bodies of water.
The scent hound in general doesn't work much better then yourself with a bit of training. It will only track animals that are lethally wounded, not animals that are wounded, but will never die. But anything that is hit with an arrow it will find, even with bodyshots. Also, the scent hound is at its best in places like TgT, and WRR in full daylight, where tracking can be a royal pain even with lethal shots. Also if you're stuck trying to find the next dome of an animal you've shot, say that the huntermate is pointing in the wrong direction, the scent hound will lead usually lead you in the right direction again(provided the animal was lethally wounded of course).
Personally, I prefer the scent hound, as I find it more versatile then the retriever. And also since I prefer big game.
So far i concluded that there is much of a need for a scient hound since there is not that much often that i can not find myself an animal that i previously shot.
Personally i love phesant and duck hunting. Also rabbits. Therefore i have decided to go with the retriver.
Thank you for kind replys!
Honestly, I hate the tracking system of this game. If I could change one important aspect of the game the tracking system would be my first choice.
So I will gladly purchase everything that spares me tracking. Scent dog is the way to go.
P.S. I hate that the dog even with the "stay" command spooks Turkeys (and only those). I love bow hunting on WHI and can't take the dog with me. so I have to track every animal my self.
While both act absolutely idiotic in their first say 20 levels they slowly get better like what everyone else said about the hounds though in my personal opinion I prefer using the Scent Hound mainly for more baggage weight(Retriever does the same) plus you may never know if that giant trophy or rare appears and you end up getting a bad shot on it gotta be safe then sorry(I've would've almost lost a large whitetail non-typical and a few rares if it wasn't for mine)
I'm all for scent hounds. I don't hunt ducks much (YET!) though.
For me, it's not so much about overall scent trailing, but about when I lose a track. Especially in heavy brush, like Whitehart or TgT, the dog can be a lifesaver there for relocating that one pesky dome.
I love my scent hound. She's up to level 33 now. Makes tracking an animal yourself less tedious especially when you're dealing with animals that change direction often. Occasionally I have to help her out but we work pretty good together in tandem. If I think she's moving too slow I'll just run past her to the next track and she'll speed up. Sometimes she'll stop tracking but a quick command and she's back on the trail. I don't use my retriever often. Don't do a lot of bird/rabbit hunting. Only place he really seems to good for is hunting from a waterfowl blind. Other than that I don't really find much need for a retriever.
Spoiler:
Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loudMike (Seifer210)
I enjoy both types of dogs in this game. They can be incredibly dim and get stuck on scenery or act glitchy now and then, but I tend to find those bugs more funny than harmful so they don't bother me too much. The dogs make good company if you're hunting alone, but they make awesome pack mules if you buy them a backpack. They'll gladly carry your ammo and calls for you if you need to move around stands or take extra weapons for missions.
Are they worth it? That's up to you. They don't do anything you can't do yourself, but they can take the work out of tracking or collecting dead birds. If you can track animals and have never lost one to tracks suddenly changing directions or tracks being barely in tall grass or not visible at all on rocky terrain, then you don't really /need/ a scent hound. If you have never lost a ptarmigan in tall grass or rocks or lost a duck to brushy water edges, then you don't /need/ a retriever. But their shenanigans keep me on my toes so I like to keep them around just for the fun of it.
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