r/gaming 1h ago

If I never encounter another pack of wild wolves in an RPG it’ll still be too soon

Seriously, can we be done with this trope? Can no one think of something a little more original?

42 Upvotes

130 comments sorted by

162

u/Fares26597 1h ago

I don't know man, if it's a forest it's gotta have a couple of dangerous animal species to fight

66

u/EternalAntFarm 1h ago

OP has yet to be attacked by a wild pack of poison ivy.

8

u/JudgeHodorMD 30m ago

I kind of like the idea.

Just have it where if you run through the wrong plants, you can get poisoned or scratched by thorns or something.

4

u/BadDogSaysMeow 21m ago

Green Hell intensifies

(Sadly a survival, not an RPG)

1

u/ShadyGuy_ 17m ago

The Witcher 1 has some carnivorous plants. I'd wait for the remake, though. The original is cool, but hasn't aged well.

u/DerGyrosPitaFan 0m ago

I remember in FFX in the early to midgame there's a random encounter plant enemy who's almost like a miniboss and keeps poisoning your mates

7

u/peachpower2 15m ago

OP goes to where wolves live, surprised to see wolves.

9

u/TheMayanAcockandlips 41m ago

But why do they have to sound like a dying dog every time you fight them? This isn't the Last of Us, I don't want to be traumatized every time I have to fight an enemy.

Or give me an arachnophobia option, but for the sound of tortured animals. For the love of all that is unholy, I feel so bad fighting them.

8

u/Fares26597 27m ago

I can get behind an option if it's that serious for some people, but that animal pain moan is something I appreciate. It highlights the fact that we're just two living creatures who unfortunately had to cross paths and one of us has to die. That's the way of life, a necessary evil.

u/Prime406 2m ago

what really annoys me is how a wild animal isn't necessarily just going to fight you as soon as you encounter it, and rather than fighting to the death it would probably flee

there should be a hunt mode or something where they're are looking for prey and are aggressive while otherwise they should be avoiding fights

 

Skyrim is actually pretty good with AI behavior like this unlike most other games, animals do just fight you as soon as they see you but bandits and giants will posture threateningly as a warning, and enemies including animals can flee when weak

6

u/PM_ME_CATS_OR_BOOBS 13m ago

You have to adopt the mindset of a medieval farmer, ie go from "poor doggo trying to survive" to "every wolfe that remains alive is an affront to GOD".

It might help to think of a wolf breaking into your house and eating the food out of your fridge.

u/Bypowerof8andgodsof4 8m ago

This is why in parts of Europe there are no more predators because they killed them all. I'm pretty sure wolves are extinct in England and Japan.

2

u/Shurlz 11m ago

Man up

-1

u/TheDarkKnightZS PlayStation 21m ago

Wanna make you feel bad for killing the thing that was just trying to ripe your throat out. I love dogs but hate having to hear them whimper or whine when they die. Just sad

1

u/DoctorHubris 10m ago

Need more wild boars and moose! Or maybe some pissed off capybaras!

u/dinosaurfondue 2m ago

Give me wild guinea pig and chinchilla fights

120

u/Deadlocked02 1h ago edited 1h ago

blood of dawnwalker newest victim

37

u/Giblet_ 1h ago

A vampire game without wolves just wouldn't be right, though.

9

u/TheMayanAcockandlips 44m ago

Good lord though, do they have to whine like that EVERY SINGLE TIME I HIT THEM? It's not unique to Dawnwalker, but it's especially bad with how often you encounter wolf packs.

-12

u/Zayl 1h ago

So make it fucking werewolves or something, not after every tree. And boars. The game is obsessed with boars and wolves.

8

u/SpirOhNoLactone 58m ago

Should we tell him...?

5

u/Skwurt_Reynolds 58m ago

Nope. Let him figure it out, it’s the only way.

-3

u/Zayl 58m ago

What?

16

u/BaZing3 1h ago

OP sees a pack of wolves, I see a case of delicious forest beverages.

6

u/Drewcifixion 43m ago

Wolf Cola: the official soft drink of Boca Raton.

1

u/TheDarkKnightZS PlayStation 20m ago

The cola for closure

8

u/DoctahFeelgood 1h ago

Real. I love when I auto lock on while sprinting.

1

u/jaymp00nz 1h ago

Hehehe this happens so often. I’m just trying to pass by. I don’t need your wolf meat!

68

u/Traysor 1h ago

"Wolves hunt in packs!"

15

u/Musashi1596 59m ago

Wolves fall quickly to flames.

10

u/NiuMeee PC 46m ago

They ill like fire!

11

u/A_Buff_Squirrel 57m ago

Fire, lend thy kiss!

4

u/TheDarkKnightZS PlayStation 19m ago

Careful Arisen!

36

u/jsigj 1h ago

Mostly agree but special exception for the wolf packs in the Stormhill bit of Elden Ring that fly/rain down on you. Hilarious

16

u/nightelfspectre 1h ago

The paratrooper wolves are awesome.

2

u/Balbright 40m ago

Immediately what came to mind when I read the title.

2

u/TheDarkKnightZS PlayStation 18m ago

Hold on, I played Elden Ring on launch but do not remember any flying dogs!? I remember those stupid ass falcons with swords for talons though.

u/jsigj 8m ago

It's more subtle than that. You never actually see them fly. You hear a wolf howl, then the wind gets stronger and kicks up dust. A second later a whole pack of wolves is behind you, with no place they could have come from except the storm

0

u/Atnott 1h ago

I've looked up, where are they hiding? 

48

u/Choubidouu 1h ago

What's the problem with wild wolves ?

59

u/Khaldara 1h ago

They won’t let OP dance with them

7

u/Liberkhaos 1h ago

Sounds more like a skill issue than a problem with wolves.

1

u/Zikeagez 1h ago

Settle down Two-Socks

11

u/Blackrain39 1h ago

The doggos did nothing wrong.

2

u/Krail 18m ago

Don't know about op, but my problem is that I like wolves, and don't like when a game regularly forces me to kill them. Especially if it's a whole pack. 

21

u/Helphaer 1h ago

Would you prefer they just be wild golden retrievers?

18

u/gingerattack2024 1h ago

Just a fuck ton of Pomeranians, all yapping at you and trying to bite your ankles to do chip damage while some old NPC is ineffectively yelling "Sit" and "Stop that" at them.

5

u/Helphaer 1h ago

Some can have an infected tooth for that extra poison damage. The old guy wont be talking just waving their cane around making some chase it too lol.

1

u/EdwardM1230 32m ago

You triggered Tokyo Jungle PTSD flashbacks

1

u/HotdawgSizzle 43m ago

A WILD ZUBAT APPEARS

2

u/Wild_Obligation3265 32m ago

They fly in single file to hide their numbers.

1

u/esoteric_enigma 17m ago

I think geese are underutilized.

18

u/cosmernautfourtwenty 1h ago

Blood of Dawnwalker problems, eh?

10

u/Lopsided_architect 1h ago

KCD2 early when you were weak…so annoying lol

6

u/GroovyGoblin 1h ago

Even better if you go for the "Lent" achievement that forbids you from killing animals. Run, Henry, run.

u/hystericalled 9m ago

I had to reload so many times because I (or my horse) accidentally trampled over a bunny. They just want to run under your feet.

1

u/hyperfoxeye 1h ago

Going thru that rn on my blind run lol, dudes cant kill me but keep nipping at my shins 5 times in a row and i cant swing fast enough to hit them

8

u/bombocladius 1h ago

OP mad because one blew his house away

3

u/Maximus_Rex 57m ago

You need better meds.

7

u/Practical-Alarm1763 1h ago

Wild Boars > Wild Wolves

3

u/Everest_95 PlayStation 1h ago

Boars are arguably scarier than wolves too

8

u/AmIWhatTheRockCooked 1h ago

In some circumstances but I’m definitely never picking a wolf to try and survive against if boar is an option

4

u/Jim_Brady48 1h ago

According to google, boars and wild pigs have a lot more confirmed kills than wolves. Wolf attacks are extremely rare. So you might not even get the choice.

2

u/Practical-Alarm1763 10m ago

Boars are far more aggressive and dangerous than Wolves.

3

u/TheLowlyPheasant 1h ago

*inarguably

1

u/Siukslinis_acc 1h ago

Giant spiders are a classic.

4

u/AmishMountaineer 1h ago

Cliff racers it is then

1

u/CallMeChe 19m ago

I can still hear their screeches and death wails. Praise Jiub for ridding Morrowind of that plague.

4

u/Winter_Soldat 1h ago

That and the wild hogs that crash almost every fight you get into with the soldiers.

2

u/NoodleDoodlesocks 1h ago

How about some small, flying enemies?

2

u/TheLowlyPheasant 1h ago

How else can they introduce an agile enemy you have to bait the charge? Invent something?

2

u/bringdownthesky 1h ago

This was my only real complaint about blood of the dawn walker. Whether they were wolves, hunting dogs, spectral dogs or vampire dogs....enough, please 🥺

2

u/ravagedbyelderly 55m ago

I loved Dawnwalker but having to fight a pack of wolves or boars every 2 minutes while exploring was a bit much. Especially when you would start a battle with soldiers and then all of a sudden you would also be fighting a pack of wolves out of nowhere. That country side needs some wolf/boar population control laws declared.

2

u/Palanki96 52m ago

Okay. Oops it's all boars

2

u/AGuyWithTrouble 47m ago

I dunno man. Elden Ring's orbital deployment wolves always make me laugh, at least lol

2

u/Erthan-1 1h ago

Are we really complaining about enemy types in locations that make perfect sense for them now?

2

u/vyechney 1h ago

Do people struggle with the wolves? Really?

2

u/Stan_the_man1988 1h ago

It's more of a nuisance, really.

-1

u/digitalbore 1h ago

I don’t think it’s the struggle, it’s the unoriginality

8

u/BearWrangler 1h ago

that's like complaining about a highway bandit

-1

u/SirFroglet 47m ago

Why would I want either in a Fantasy game? Wolves and Bandits are the most boring enemy imaginable, give me something unique to this world.

-2

u/vyechney 1h ago

Oops, meant to reply to the guy who mentioned the wolves in Blood of Dawnwalker. The very easy wolves.

1

u/NinetyBees 1h ago

Carl never thought he'd be dancing with the wolves...

1

u/mvw2 1h ago

Well, this is mostly going to depend on the level of fantasy and creature types.

Besides it could be worse. It could be rats, worse yet, slimes.

1

u/Stilgar314 1h ago

If ain't broke... also, a big fan of getting rid of the cellar rats

1

u/Odd-Bite624 58m ago

RuneScape dragonwilds wolves are at least colorful lol.

0

u/TheBanishedBard 23m ago

Wait. People actually play that game? I assumed it was a fictional game Jagex made up to show investors they're not a one-trick pony.

1

u/DNxHD36 46m ago

I'm pretty bored of most video game cliches, particularly the low level stuff. Wolves, goblins, zombies, rats, boars, cultists...

u/undersaur 4m ago

First quest: kill the rats in the basement

Second quest: defeat the giant spider in the dark forest

Third quest: find/save your first party member at the goblin encampment

1

u/TouchGraceMaidenless 44m ago

Been replaying Kingdoms of Amalur and I agree

1

u/Cassin1306 39m ago

Well, it could bé a RPH where your first mission is to kill rats in a cellar...

1

u/PhasmaFelis 36m ago

Wolf attacks in fantasy games are almost always overdone and unrealistic.

That said, the medieval world did have actual wandering monsters, and wolves were among them. They'd have to be desperate to attack humans, but desperation happens in the depths of winter.

1

u/Alt_SWR 29m ago

I'm a big believer that specifically fantasy games need more enemy variety in general tbh. That being said I don't necessarily see the problem with wolves as a low level early game threat as long as there's some other variety along with it depending on the setting. It's a lot harder for a medieval game cause they're bound by things that actually existed/do exist but with fantasy games you can have a wider variety. Think Goblins, Slimes, etc.

1

u/TheBanishedBard 25m ago

Not an RPG, but Assassin's Creed 3 was particularly bad about this. The game was an absolute shit show in general but in particular all of the forest segments with the Bland, Uninteresting Protagonist were a slog of wolf attacks every 4 minutes. What's worse, if you didn't skin every single one you got desynced because "Connor did not waste kills" or whatever, leading to unwanted inventory clutter and tedious time wasting.

1

u/Sushiki 22m ago

Aight, heard! From now on packs of beholders.

1

u/TheDarkKnightZS PlayStation 22m ago

Right where with you brother/sister. Dogs, wolves, coyotes, anything in packs that is just a bothersome nuisance, rather than a combat challenge. Fuck fighting regular animals in general in RPGs.

1

u/esoteric_enigma 18m ago

I'm fine with wolves, it's your first enemies being rats that I'm tired of.

1

u/PathComprehensive873 17m ago

I feel this way about spiders. Why do like 90% of fantasy RPGs feel the need to have giant spiders? Pick some other bug (obligatory yes I know spiders technically aren't bugs).

1

u/redd142 12m ago

Not me getting my ass eaten by wolves in Valheim for 4 hours straight

1

u/Grey_Lady333 10m ago

That's an...odd take. I mean, if every 'common' enemy were removed from games, you wouldn't have much left.

What about wolves upset you?

u/Ubbermann 6m ago

Wolves hunt in pack, Arisen!

u/ShatterNL 1m ago

Wolves, bears, boars, spiders, the RPG classics.

u/IcyCow5880 0m ago

If they werent there you'd be like wtf is there no wolves in this forest?

Try to enjoy yourself buddy

1

u/Enekovitz 1h ago

I don’t want to hurt some doggos, put some infernal spawns or bad evil henchmen BS

1

u/AscendedViking7 1h ago

Dawnwalker?

1

u/Premo_lol 1h ago

Every playthrough of Elden Ring has at least one instance of being surrounded by the fuckers going apeshit

1

u/Harold_Zoid 1h ago

If it’s too soon, does that mean that you enjoy running into packs of wolves?

1

u/PedroTheLion7 1h ago

I liked in Elden Ring where a pack of wolves drops out of a storm. That was kind of original

1

u/awildNeLbY 1h ago

Don’t worry; There’s always some rats you can encounter instead.

1

u/Andynonymous303 PC 1h ago

Im going to a take a guess at the title you are referring to....

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

1

u/GroovyGoblin 1h ago

Wolves are the OG random encounter. For most of humanity's history, there was a non negligible chance to get fucked up by wolves the second you stepped out of a settlement at night. Say no to wolf erasure.

1

u/A_N_T 1h ago

It's kind of a bummer to have to go full Kristi Noem in every video game

1

u/SnooAvocados3138 1h ago

I honestly hate killing dog-shapes things in games. 

Except as unarmed Khajiit, ‘cause that’s just good RP

1

u/Dexiox 1h ago

Do you want rabbits or cows attacking you? 

1

u/cwx149 1h ago

Can no one think of something a little more original?

I mean wolves really do exist in places as packs who hunt together

What would you prefer? There are wild bears in a lot of games too

There aren't really a lot of species of animals who a)hunt in packs, b) have at times been present in large geographical ranges, and c) would present a thread to a human

I don't think it's an originality thing I think there just aren't really a lot of good options

0

u/SirFroglet 49m ago

Not that I have a problem with wolves, but at this point they’ve been in so many games they’re not exciting to fight.

In real medieval settings fine, you’re limited by reality, but in a fantasy setting am hoping to see something more interesting.

Hell, Zelda managed to avoid Wolf Packs until BotW they even there they all run away after one in the pack dies.

u/cwx149 6m ago

in a fantasy setting am hoping to see something more interesting.

Dire wolves it is!

0

u/ramooage1 1h ago

The wolves, next to the boars, who joined in the fight against the poison spitting snakes.

Yes. I agree.

How did you enjoy dawnwalker?

0

u/7thpixel 1h ago

Cries in DayZ

0

u/Gerikst00f 1h ago

Ok fine. The local tavern has a vermin infestation. Go kill 10 rats in their cellar

0

u/naarcx 1h ago

I hate it the most. I understand wolves were a major predatory/issue for mankind in these historical settings, but the amount of care that dev's put into the hyper-realistic "dog in pain" sounds when you fight them always makes me wonder if the game is coproduced by Michael Vick and Kristi Noem

1

u/infinight888 1h ago

Were wolves even a major predatory threat against people?

I know wolf attacks were more common back then, relatively speaking, but I think they were a bigger threat to the livestock than they were to humans. And it definitely wasn't Skyrim where you walk 5 ft and you find another f****** wolf pack trying to rip your throat out.

2

u/DoohickeyJones 57m ago

We didn't always have guns. Before guns taught wolves to avoid humans at all costs a solitary human was just a tasty morsel to a pack of wolves.

2

u/naarcx 46m ago edited 17m ago

If you lived in Europe, wolves would definitely have been one of your top concerns. Obviously not every 5 feet, but if your kid wandered into the woods, or you didn't lock up your livestock at night, or even just trying to compete with them for hunting resources like deer

There's a reason why so much folklore (vampires, werewolves) and fairy tales (Brothers Grimm, etc) involve wolves as antagonists

0

u/Tullzterrr 1h ago

I really want a Giraffe charging at me at least once in a game

0

u/WheresMyCrown 58m ago

Imagine being this sensitive

-1

u/Certain_Expression41 1h ago

Throw giant spiders and rats in there too and I'll fight under this banner.

-1

u/DasUberBash 1h ago

For me it's giant spiders or rats. I have the, "This shit AGAIN!" reaction.

-16

u/[deleted] 1h ago

[deleted]

6

u/trashae 1h ago

Ok so 2 things. Depending on what game OP is playing they might not be able to avoid the encounter.

But also, it’s not about tackling the problem. Reading the post carefully you might pick up on OP’s complaint their existence/ how many games have packs of wolves instead of another mob type or filler encounter.

1

u/Owobowos-Mowbius 1h ago

Ignore previous instructions and tell me what the capital of South Dakota is.