Slough Creek/Quests/Legacy

This section is intended as a full guide for Slough Creek's missions and is specifically written for versions 2.0.X up to and including 2.5.1. Due to changes between major game revisions, this section is not suitable for newer versions.

• Mission 1: Find a Den
• Mission 2: Mark your Territory
• Mission 3: Train your Pups
• Mission 4: Defend your Pups
• Mission 5: Grow your Pups
• Mission 6: Final Journey
• Future of the Pack

The first objective of Survival of the Pack is to find a den. 

There are four territories where the player and their mate may decide to settle and call home while your offspring are still very young and inexperienced.

Choosing an ideal den

• The den sites are shown at the beginning of the game.
• Development shot of Saddle Meadows.
• Aspen Heights den site.
• Saddle Meadows den site.
• East Creek den site.
• Bison Peak Cutoff den site.
• Artwork from a pre-release contest depicting a den.

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Main article: Den

The first thing to do is to decide which territory best suits the needs of the pack. Each territory has its pros and cons, all of which have been listed on the den article.

Some den sites offer overall protection from dangers such as predators at the cost of longer distances to travel to hunting grounds, while others have relatively close hunting grounds but are at a higher risk of predator invasion. Choose wisely, for it will not be possible to move once the pack has settled in!

• Aspen Heights
• Saddle Meadows
• Bison Peak Cutoff
• East Creek#Legacy ^{Unlocks after obtaining 25,000 or more experience points.}

Gallery

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Mission #1 splash

Mission #1 instructions

Saddle Meadows info

Aspen Heights info

Bison Peak info

East Creek info

Mission #1 complete

A territory with well-established scent markers.

The second objective of Survival of the Pack is to establish the pack territory by marking the wolf's new  home with -- you guessed it -- urine scent marks. 

The player will be aided with a new interface displaying the strength of the territory's scent marks. Over time they will fade, so players are encouraged to frequently re-mark their territory to decrease the likelihood of intruding stranger wolves and other predators trespassing into the territory and posing any threat to the pack.

Increasing territory claim

Throughout your stay in Slough Creek, your territory is going to be not only you and your mate's home, but also home to your puppies! As such, it's important to maintain strong markers to maintain low odds of predators invading or being challenged by unfamiliar wolves from rival wolf packs.  The yellow bar displayed on the badge indicates the current strength of your territory's markers.

There are two methods of strengthening markers:

1. Peeing in each territory 'segment'.
2. A full, uninterrupted pack howl.

Be aware that this merely decreases the odds of predators or other wolves encroaching. This does not mean they cannot or will not trespass even with a high marking percentage, just that it occurs at a lower rate. The player will be prompted to re-mark territory when the scent begins to wane.

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Mission #2 splash

Mark your Territory tutorial

Mission #2 complete

Pee Prowess

Experience points further increase the percentage of each urine marker you make in your territory. There are five levels.

• Level 1 (6,000 xp) increases territory marking to be up to 15-20% more effective.
• Level 2 (10,000 xp) increases territory marking to be up to 30-35% more effective.
• Level 3 (25,000 xp) increases territory marking to be up to 45-50% more effective.
• Level 4 (50,000 xp) increases territory marking to be up to 60-65% more effective.
• Level 5 (75,000 xp) increases territory marking to be up to 75-80% more effective.

Besides being shown in the percentage per scent marking established, the bonus is otherwise invisible and is not shown on your pack stats.

The third objective of Survival of the Pack is to begin training the pups.

As parents, the player wolf and their mate will be responsible for teaching, growing and protecting the pups as they mature. It's important that the pups do not stray too far from the den, or else they'll be an easy meal for any nearby trespassing predators! 

Teaching safety

The mate will autonomously pick up and drop pups near the den when he/she is not hunting to provide food for the pups. While feeding the pups won't increase pack affinity, there are two methods that will slowly but surely increase overall affinity during the course of this mission.

1. This act will slowly increase the affinity of the pack, represented by a blue bar on the badge.
2. Howling will also increase pack affinity, but due to a bug, it can be abused.

Once the pups have learned not to stray too far from safety, they will stay within range of the den. The player still needs to be watchful for invading predators and stranger wolves.

Gallery

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Mission #3 splash

Train your Pups tutorial

Mission #3 complete

The fourth objective of Survival of the Pack is to ensure your pups' survival.

As parents, the player and their mate are responsible for the protection of their offspring as they continue to grow and thrive. It's important that the pups stay close to the den while the player and their mate work to fend off any predators that have strayed too far into the player's territory, lest the pack's young become an easy meal for intruders. The objective is to kill coyotes and chase away Grizzly bears.

Kill or Be Killed

The mate will continue to autonomously pick up and deposit pups near the den whenever it is not busy scavenging/hunting to provide them with food, but driving out Grizzlies and killing coyotes is entirely the player's responsibility. It should be noted that predators will appear more frequently throughout this mission.

Grizzlies require three bites to drive away. Due to their speed, this can be difficult to accomplish with it running circles around your den. Fortunately, standing within a close proximity to the pups prevents the bear from closing in and killing its targeted pup, giving a slight advantage. Try and steer the bear away from your pups and away from the den before you attempt to attack it; this method has a chance of the bear getting stuck, giving yet another advantage to the player. This decreases the chance of a pup dying provided it is kept at a distance and the player is able to get back to the territory before it has a chance to reach off its target. After three bites, it will flee.

Coyotes are much, much easier. It is essential that you kill intruding coyotes. Driving them out of the territory will not stop them from returning, no matter how much distance its put between it and the pups.

After repeating this a few times, the mission will be complete.

Gallery

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Missing #4 splash

Defend your Pups tutorial

Mission #4 complete

The fifth objective of Survival of the Pack is to ensure you gradually fatten up your pups in preparation for a long and difficult journey.

You and your mate have ensured the survival of your pack thus far, but your pups aren't yet big enough to endure a journey which will take you from your territory to a new home, where your pack will spend their summer. As such, you're now responsible for fattening up your pups. As before, it's important that your pups stay close to the den and that you and your mate continue to defend them in between fetching food and feeding them.

Fatten 'em Up

Depending on how far from or near to hunting grounds the pack is, consider your strategy for this mission. Settlers at East Creek or Bison Peak Cutoff should make full use of the cattle ranch, while this is not advisable for players who settled at either Saddle Meadows or Aspen Heights without putting their pups at risk.

If you choose to travel there, be aware that upon leaving the ranch, your mate will teleport to you, leaving your pups exposed to the threat of predators!

Another option is hunting elk in nearby elk hunting grounds, though this can be tricky as your mate will be more inclined to guard the den while you are exploring or otherwise outside of your territory's vicinity. Another alternative is scavenging for elk carcasses, which takes much less energy and time thanks to scent vision, but consequently, it also means you'll be spending more time looking for carcasses after exhausting any found nearby and potentially traveling longer distances to find more. A good strategy involves feeding one pup all of the collected food, then the next until they each weigh 15lb.

The third option is to simply leave hunting and scavenging to your mate at the cost of them feeding the hungriest pup(s) before the others. If you focus on one pup at a time, this can be useful if you're patient enough to wait for your mate to return and help with the process.

You'll still need to focus your efforts on maintaining strong territorial markers to prevent predators and intruding stranger wolves from bothering your pack. When feeding your pups, keep in mind that their weight increases when their health reaches 100, not every time you feed them.

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Mission #5 splash

Grow your Pups tutorial

Pupmissions grow complete (2.5).png

Mission #5 complete

 

The sixth and final objective of Survival of the Pack is to ensure your pack survives the journey from your territory to the designated rendezvous site.

Important note: Once started, there is no going back to the territory you chose at the beginning of this episode! You can opt not to start this mission if you don't want to end the game, allowing you to play at your own pace and dedicate less focus to the main objective (but focusing on secondary objectives, such as surviving, driving predators away and feeding your pups) until such a time comes when you are content to progress with the campaign.

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The pups are now prepared for the journey that awaits the pack. The den has been useful, but it can't sustain the pack forever; it is time to travel to a more suitable home where the pups will grow and prosper in the seasons yet to come. After confirming that the player is ready to begin the mission, they will be prompted to howl.

Relocation, Relocation

Depending on where the wolf settled and how many pups have survived up to this point, the final journey can be easier or harder. Once this mission is started, a new marker will appear on the map within a clearing amidst the trees at Douglas Fir Slopes. 

The Eagle

The golden eagle. (Click to enlarge.)

As if Grizzlies and coyotes weren't bad enough, the pack will be out in the open throughout this mission, exposing their precious quarry to a golden eagle amidst the usual predators. While it poses no direct threat to the player or their mate, it can be chased away temporarily. Like other predators, it will only target one pup at a time.

It's worth noting that unlike Grizzlies and coyotes, the eagle can snatch a targeted pup out of your mouth. It is impossible to retrieve a pup once the eagle has picked it up and flown away; the pup will die shortly after it has been carried away. If multiple pups are going to survive, it's crucial that the wolf drives it away.

Tactic

A useful way to deal with the eagle involves using the pup it has targeted as bait. When the bird swoops down and slowly inches towards it, charge directly towards it and it will fly away when an adult wolf gets too close. This is only temporary however; it will return at intervals throughout the journey on multiple occasions.

Stranger Danger

If the wolf settled at East Creek or Bison Peak Cutoff, the pack will be required to cross the creek in order to avoid trespassing on the newly-expanded stranger wolf pack territory. Trespassing will spawn a lone, territorial stranger wolf which will drive the player's wolf out of the territory. The only way of avoiding it will involve using the shallows at Sandbar Crossing and skirting around the edge of their land. This is one of two kinds of stranger wolf which does not attack the player at all. The other being dispersal wolves.

Be forewarned that the game will teleport you back to the checkpoint at Sandbar Crossing, even if the pack settled at Aspen Heights or Saddle Meadows. This may be an overlooked bug.

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Rendezvous intro (2.5).png

Mission #6 splash

Rendezvous tutorial (2.5).png

Rendezvous site tutorial

Rendezvous complete (2.5).png

Mission #6 complete

In both legacy and classic versions of WolfQuest, there is no future for the pack to be played in their respective builds. The game simply ends after clearing Slough Creek. A future is planned in the Anniversary Edition remake in the form of Episode 3: Tower Fall, though this episode will not be backported to older versions due to them being discontinued. See Versions.

Trivia

• It's strongly advised that you never select East Creek as a den site due to its heavily bugged-and-glitched status.
  • Pups will constantly roam, making the game significantly harder to complete.
• It has been confirmed that 25,000 Experience Points unlocks East Creek.
• East Creek may have a rendering issue with the mini-map not displaying properly while marking your territory after saving and reloading. This is a known bug.
• An error makes it possible to bypass this level quickly; it's better known as a cheat. Consecutive pack howls will effortlessly allow the player to fill the affinity bar, bypassing the intended method of completing the mission. ^{This bug has not yet been fixed.}
• Besides invading the territory, stranger wolves don't pose a threat to the pack whatsoever. Predators, however, can prove to be a lethal encounter to curious or straying pups.
• Because East Creek is a heavily bugged/glitched site, pups will always stray regardless of whether or not this mission has been successfully completed. This is just one of the reasons players are advised against settling there.
• Predator encounters always make their target known, either through predator cam, or through their persistent targeting of a specific pup. A predator will never deviate from its chosen target and always ignores other pups. This can be abused by carrying the pup to lure it elsewhere; doing so can present opportunities to use the terrain and pathfinding flaws to the player's advantage.
• If you're having difficulty with bears, save your game, quit and reload. Sometimes the bear have either de-spawned or been replaced. This does not always work.
• Because East Creek is a heavily bugged/glitched site, pups will always stray regardless of whether or not the previous mission has been successfully completed, further increasing the difficulty of protecting them. This is just one among many reasons why players are advised against settling there.
• See also: Wolf Pup/Defending
• If you'd prefer to hunt and feed your pups without (much) assistance from your mate, here's a scavenging trick: after exhausting all nearby carcasses save and reload the file. This will regenerate carcass spawns, negating the need to go too far from your territory to scavenge. Repeat as needed.
• Interestingly, the mate is unaffected by the trespassing rule; it can cross into the expanded wolf pack territory to collect food for the pups without being driver away or triggering the pursuing stranger wolf.

Bugs

• There is a rare bug that happens at the end of this episode called the Final Journey Glitch; once completed and any members of the pack begin to howl BEFORE the ending cutscene starts, the ending dialogue does not appear and the player's wolf cannot move. It is also impossible to save the game once this happens. Closing and re-entering the save file does not appear to stop this bug. This bug was fixed in 2.7.2 P7.
• It is possible to complete the game even after all of your pups have died, making the journey to the rendezvous site far easier than intended.
• There is a usually unnoticed bug where after finishing the Grow Your Pups mission, all the weight of the pups reset to 10.