Update: Raids 30 and 31. Profile in Discourage

7 Scav kills are all I need to finish the Shootout Picnic Quest. Hopefully I can get that done in a raid or two.  

Goals

• Survive
• Kill 7 Scavs

Progress:  Utterly Discouraging. Hopes dashed.

Raid 30

Loadout: VPO-209 with 5 mags of .336 TKM FMJ, Eotech-HHS-1 variable sight and 3x scope, two grenades, meds, class 5 armored rig, ears, 3001 rubles for extract, food, sling, water and car med-kit in pouch

Insurance:  12K

I have written down "move, cover, aim, breathe, fire" on a piece of paper as a reminder.

Spawned on spine.  Circled sniper rock heading to village - went around it a little too far and so the ridge I followed down ended up north of the car exfil bridge, instead of south near the old sawmill.  No matter - likely less players here anyway.  As I made my way south along river towards Village heard shooting in Village.  Used gunplay to cover my sound as I hurried my approach - maybe I can catch something.  When I arrived, things were quiet again. Quietly approached intersection with bus, looking at the bushes across road on the north end of the village - a scav sometimes lurks there. But they were empty. Withdrew up towards car exfil a little. I will need to cross this main road and I don't want the sound of my boots on the asphalt to be heard. There is a gap in the barrier - also good - no need to loudly jump it.  Crossed road, looking into village. Dead quiet. No sign of any scavs, bodies, or players.  Dropped into shrubbery and checked the view of the beach - all clear.  Approached bus. Peeked, nothing.

Then my ears picked up walking on wood - there was a player in the house over the blue fence!  I switched to my slowest crouch walk and approached the fence.  OK - if he's looting, he may use the street to go between houses - I might be able to catch him unawares.  I heard his steps on the pavement - heading towards me!  I backed up slowly into the little scrubby bush alongside the fence. I suddenly remembered that my Eotech was in scope position, not dot sight position. Changing it would make noise, which I don't want. Oh well, I'll just rush him hip firing.  

And then things happened very slowly and I made three critical errors. 

• I forgot that I was in "slowest" mode, so my rush out of the bushes was anything but.
• Despite the mental note to hip fire, out of reflex I aimed down sight, with the damn scope not helping at such a close range.  And now mousewheeling wasn't raising my walk speed - it was doing nothing (it changes scope magnification in ADS).
• It wasn't one guy - it was two.  One was jumping around doing some sort of parkour interpretive dance routine  (it was very pretty).

So I ended up slowly and blindly emerging from a bush in front of this dance troupe who promptly reprimanded me for interrupting their performance.

I hit the trifecta: 0 scav kills, 0 shots fired, 0 experience. 

Time In Raid: 10 minutes, 58 seconds.

Experience: 0

Healing: 8K

Killed by Gowkiller300tv (and friend) with 12/70 AP-20 shotgun rounds (and buckshot).   Nice work Gowkiller300tv  (and nice dancing too, good luck with your show)!! I'm guessing I won't be seeing that accursed scope again.   I hope the armored rig comes back.

Unfortunately, Gowkiller300tv was not streaming at the time of my death, so I can't review the footage. He started his stream on his next raid, I believe.  

Mistakes

• not surviving
• misreading audio clues (should I have been able to pick out two players in this case?)
• forgetting plan of hip firing
• completely fucking up the controls - this isn't the first time "stuck slow walking in ADS" has resulted in my death - though, it has been awhile since making that particular error. I should add it to the Mistakes post.

Successes

• Remembering the scope/sight position and deciding to hip fire was the right call. Even if I then forgot it a second later.  

Raid 31 - in which I fail to move the needle

Loadout: Vepr VPO-136 with two magazines of BP, and three of PS. One grenade. Class 3 armor, rig, razor ears, MBSS backpack, 3001 rubles for extract, meds, canned peas. Water and Car med-kit in pouch.

Spawned near construction vehicles on west side of map. Headed along wall towards Scav House.  Near ZB-014 heard a player moving on pavement. Probably in ZB-014.  Waited on other side of big rock - if he comes out and goes, north, east or south I should be able to take him from behind.  But instead he went west and ran along other side of wall.  Oh well. He's probably not a scav, so what do I care?

Went around Scav house. As I was in the depression that is just below it on the south east, I heard footsteps moving on wood.  Man these Razor ears are really good.  I silently crept into a bush. Raised up my walk speed again in preparation for what should come next. The footsteps continued in the house. I can't see the entrance from here, but after he exits if he bears towards the water or outskirts, I should be able to catch him.   The treading on wood ended. Wait for it... wait... don't get impatient - patience is the first rule of hunting. Wait...wait...  Fuck it - he must have gone north where I can't see from down here.  Oh well, maybe we wasn't a scav, so what do I care?

Made my way across road to find a perch to camp scav house, hoping scavs would start to spawn in its surroundings.  And nothing.  Ok - I need to be more aggressive.  Went to scope shack.  No sign of Scope Scav (however, there was more loot that usual).  Working my way towards mill when I heard firing at USEC checkpoint. Awesome!  Took cover behind tree and checked it out. A player across the road exchanging fire with a scav about 45 degrees to my left - but I couldn't see the scav. Kneeled, aimed, held breath, fired. Definitely hit, but didn't drop him. Fired more, but not sure if these rounds were hitting. The player went to cover fast.    

That player knows where I am - I need to reposition. Using USEC checkpoint as the center, rotated clockwise to tree line. There is a small mound there with a tree for good cover. Went up and peeked. No sign of anything at players position. Nothing moving between him and my previous position,. Nothing at USEC checkpoint. No bodies. Nothing in the clear either. Hmmm.  Expanded radius and began to rotate back counter-clockwise, back into trees. Suddenly a scav shouted and began firing. I took cover and began firing at him.  I think I landed a hit, but didn't have a good angle.  Aggressed to another tree on the left, but lost eyes on him.  Boom! Boom!  - Shit, he didn't lose eyes on me. I was hurt badly. 

Retreated, hot-keyed my painkiller, retreat, hot-keying my cheese.  Stopped near scope shack. Not a good place, because if that scav was Scope Scav, he may just automatically waltz back here - but I can't delay. Left arm blacked. Esmarch for the bleed - and used my cheese and some of my car-kit to restore health. Drank my water and ate my peas.  Ok, have a black arm - but otherwise doing ok.  Let's go find that scav.

Couldn't find the scav. Or the player. Nothing at marked circle, USEC checkpoint, mill overlook, scope shack.  God damnit!!  Went to back to scav house overlook, hoping, praying that scavs might spawn. But nothing. And its getting late and I still need to cross the map. 

Wanted to skirt the mill water-side, which is fastest. But there was a two-stack on the mill dock. I had good cover so I took some shots at them. Doubt I hit anything.  I went around the mill the long way - confident that this late the two-stack wouldn't follow.  Once I rounded the mill I made a bee-line for UN Checkpoint - just curving a little towards the old train station - the two east side scav extracts are there - maybe I'll catch a scav who is heading to exfil.  But fast walking it's not likely I would catch sight of much, and I didn't.  

Extracted.  

Time In Raid: 43 minutes, 6 seconds

Exp: 984 

Healing: 1K

Ammo Used: 26     Hits: 3    Accuracy: 0.08   ( unacceptable ).

Mistakes

• Not landing shots
• Losing eyes/ears on player and scav.  Not sure how to "not push" and keep contact.  So easy to lose people in Woods. 
• Shooting at that two-stack. If I was serious about taking them on, I should have set-up on them, used grenades, etc.  But since I was never serious, why bother?  Guess it was fun to startle them.
• What about the contacts in ZB-014 and the Scav Shack?  Because of the time in raid I'm assuming ZB-014 was a player.  But what of Scav Shack searcher? That might have been a player scav. Maybe I should have pushed and tried to take him? I could have hustled up, thrown a grenade in, and setup on the door. But at the time I really thought I had him - I was sure he'd try to move towards the water.  

Successes

• Survived raid and survived fire fight. 

PostScript

I have now done 10 different raids in Woods trying to complete Shootout Picnic. With 7 scavs kills remaining, I am only half-way done.  Do I have to endure 10 more raids like this before I complete this quest?  I think I need to be more aggressive - but would that have helped today? In the last three raids I have seen exactly one (1) scav (who I failed to kill).  

I am discouraged and not sure what to do next.

• more offline practice? (In offline raids with "same as online" for both settings, I often kill 7+ scavs in a single raid. In part, because if I retreat there will always be another, so I can pick and choose battles. But online, the pickings seem slim, and, of course, players make everything harder)
• switch weaponry? Autofire weapons? Shotguns? Scoped sniper rifle?
• use grenades more? ( in 10 raids, I never threw even one )
• go to mill?  Shturman and his guards don't always spawn, so maybe this is the play, take on the scavs there?  But the mill seems dangerous - it's the focus of the levelled players, its the focus of nearly every sniper on the map, and Shturman and his guards may be there.