Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

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rogor
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Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by rogor »

I have been wondering for a while if one can truly ‘bootstrap’ theHunter using purely the ‘Free to Play’ options.
With this in mind, I looked at the (obvious) strategy of how to ‘raise money’. Since there was going to be no $EM, everything has to come from $GM. Sources of $GM are
• Missions
• Harvests
Everything has to be targeted at optimizing these.
A newbie hunter has two good guns
• .243 with a 4x32 scope
• Single action shotgun
Yes, they are good. You can shoot ANYTHING except Bison and Buffalo with these. The main limitation is getting close enough to actually hit anything.
The .243 is OK for everything up to Mule Deer and Whitetail out to about 150m with the free scope. The shotgun is limited to about 50m with buckshot and slug. For bear, I don’t like more than 40m.
I looked at a strategy. The obvious thing is ..
• Missions, missions, missions until I don’t have the assets (guns, blinds, etc) to do the next mission.
• Reset the missions.
• Start again
The catch .. resetting the missions costs $GM 13600 !!
Each Cycle (between mission resets) has to be maximized.

Test rationale
Obviously .. create a new player ..
meet Roger_Hunter
I need to get close. The only free caller is the Deer caller ..
a) The main limitation is the lack of callers. The callers I identified as ‘critial’ are Elk, Red Deer, Predator, Hog, Moose in this order. Total cost of these .. $GM 14195. As I earn enough I will buy each in order.
b) After an analysis of all the missions, I figured I could afford these items, and still make enough to reset the missions, possibly with a bit left over. Most missions are not do-able with the current assets.
c) No money for guns, Must wait for the next cycle. However, it will be the 300 Carbon and the 5.5-22x56 scope. This will alleviate the need for a spotting scope for now. Next cycle also includes a Rangefinder ..
If I can succeed in THIS Cycle, the following cycles, following the same basic principles, will only get easier. If I fail to generate enough income to accumulate funds to reset missions, moving to the next step (ie accumulating funds) becomes very difficult and tedious .. limited to harvests with my current asset set.

I am nearing the end of first cycle now. Just completed day 4. Maybe another day and a half. Then I will post a brief summary of the progress and terminate this test .. get back to playing seriously!
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by 22SAS_Wimp »

Sounds interesting. Good luck. ;)
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JimboCrow
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by JimboCrow »

Are you sticking strictly to SP for the bootstrap? I see the possible conflict, but you might consider scanning available MP games for advancement, without asking for any specific assistance. You just might find a necessary treestand, ground blind, or especially bait site or goose setup, to help you along a bit. Or is that just defeating the purpose?

I've kind of wanted to do this myself so I will be checking your summary. Good hunting to you!! :)
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by DanthemanBoone »

So much Xtra advancement you can do in MP, especially when you dont have the weapon required. If someone else shoots the animal with the required weapon and you pick it up the mission will be completed. Since I dont Know of any mission set that requires more than one specific weapon requirement (Open to correction here ) this would allow you to bypass most of the specific weapon missions and carry on with the set.
Old hunters never die.They just sit around the campfires and tell the biggest lies.
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by Tod1d »

DanthemanBoone wrote:I dont Know of any mission set that requires more than one specific weapon requirement (Open to correction here )
The first set (Whitetail)

Objectives
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using any .243 Rifle.
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using any .270 Rifle.
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using any .30-06 Lever Action Rifle.
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using any .300 Rifle.
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using a .357 Magnum.
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using a .44 Magnum Revolver.
Harvest a male Whitetail Deer using any 12 GA Pump-Action Shotgun.

Happily it's the last mission in the set
It's "Tod", with one bloody 'd'!
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rogor
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by rogor »

Hi everyone. I have just completed Cycle 1 -- Purely SP, no assistance in MP.
5 days of play to complete this Cycle.

The player is Roger_Hunter .. you can go look at the games / stats if you like.

Final result

I managed to buy Elk, Red Deer, Predator, and Hog callers.
I opened slot 7 (ie HS of 300)
I accumulated a total of $GM 27929, of which I spent 13600 on the mission reset. I now have $GM134 left.
I could have pushed red deer .. they are easy to harvest .. and there are 2 Whitetail missions and a few Mule Deer missions I could have done.. this would have allowed me to have also bought the Roe Deer caller.

I am ready to go into Cycle 2 (which I am NOT going to do) to get my first gun .. the 300. And maybe a decent scope.
Cycle 2 would be pretty much a repetition of Cycle 1, just a lot easier and quicker. Also can shoot bears .. more income from harvests. However, the main gain starts in

Cycle 3 would be the main cycle things start happening. Snakebite Bow, Pump Action shotgun would open up a number of extra missions, thus income.

BUT .. Yes, BOOTSTRAPPING can be done. Slow, yes. Tedious, yes. Buying $EM 1000 would eliminate the need for this very careful Cycle 1 and 2.

The temptation to buy the 300 now, in Cycle 1, and to 'try to make up the money' was an almost overwhelming trap. The last few missions were EXTREMELY slow .. just not geared for them. Trying to 'make up' an additional $GM11000 would not be feasible, imo.

So .. I have the Excel worksheet with the mission and balance sheets; PM me if you want it.

A final comment ..

Obviously, I have a HUGE advantage over new players .. knowledge. What took me 5 days would take a complete tyro 7 to 10 days, at a guess.

But getting that knowledge is what the forums are for, not so??
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by JimboCrow »

Thanks for the update rogor!! Much appreciated!!

One of the great pleasures of this game is being able to accomplish the missions. They are a huge part of the appeal of the game for me, and it pains me to know that many new players are denied the fun just because they don't have the necessary materials. The game is so microtransaction oriented, and has added so many items over the years, that it simply makes some aspects entirely Out.Of.Reach. for 99.99999% of new players. :? :cry:

This is a very old game. It won't be around much longer. No new player just starting out is going to invest the time and/or treasure into this game needed to own all of the weapons and the complete setups and gear to finish all the missions EVER AGAIN!! I say it's time to open up the Rental Business, and get busy making money while they still can. If they can sell "Three Day Unlimited Ammo Subscriptions," how about "Three Day Single Weapon Subscriptions" as well, so that you could rent the one you need to complete the mission? It would make money for EW that otherwise I don't believe they would ever see, with the added benefit that players could try out weapons for a few days to see if they like them. EW just might end up selling some items that would never have even been considered without it, and they would sell more ammo and attract more new players too, I guarantee it!! ;) :D
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DanthemanBoone
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by DanthemanBoone »

How many actual real time hours do you think it took to get that far. Because the biggest problem with a lot of young players is the inability to commit the time needed to make that sort of progress over an time span that exceeds 10 minutes.
I also have to wonder if you could have carried on with the first cycle, having made no mention of so many other animals you could have hunted, rabbits, foxes, bobcat and lynx, turkey, sitka, dall sheep , goats, ibex, Bighorn, reindeer etcetera and so wether or not buying the 300 would have increased your chances of progression even further with the larger animals. Maybe you have limited your progress by fixing the goal on buying the mission reset too early.
Old hunters never die.They just sit around the campfires and tell the biggest lies.
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by curlyCoyote »

Sorry if I am not understanding correctly, but why buy .300 instead of a weapon that can shoot faster, like .30 R/U breack action rifle?
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Nathan112244
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Re: Bootstrapping theHunter in Free to Play

Post by Nathan112244 »

curlyCoyote wrote:Sorry if I am not understanding correctly, but why buy .300 instead of a weapon that can shoot faster, like .30 R/U breack action rifle?
Break*
and the .300 opens new missions for completion
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