Been a few years since I did this, but I feel it's time for a part 2. Let's pump some life back into this sub.

I dont know what to do bro frfr 😭

What is your favorite CotW memory?

I started playing in 2021 between the release of Te Awaroa and Rancho Del Arroyo. I'll go in chronological order of the memories the best I can.

Cuatro Colinas

I've never been one to play multi-player, but when I was new to the game at 26 years old, I did make friends with this random 17 year old over multi-player the first time I tried it out. We went on several hunts together over the next month or two and helped each other learn the game. I ended getting my first diamond ever, a Roe Deer (still my only diamond Roe on playstation), while hunting together on his Cuatro map. I never even saw his antlers as I shot him through some thick brush. Not sure I even knew what diamonds were then so it was a total surprise when I picked him up. I sometimes wonder what that kid, now a man, is up to these days. Seemed like a really good kid.

Te Awaroa

I started playing shortly after this map came out. At the time, my best friend to this day was living with me and we used to take turns, passing the controller every time we got a kill. We had never played this map before, but it looked cool. As soon as he loaded in for the first time, he spooked a Feral Goat and spotted it fleeing parallel to him. As soon as we saw the big horns he screamed "IT'S A GIANT" and I yelled "BLAST HIM". So, he waited for it to slow to a walk and blasted him. We had never even seen a Feral Goat before, in game or irl, but our instincts were correct because it was a diamond. Not too bad for a couple of noobs!

Rancho Del Arroyo

A few months go by and my best friend had gotten his own place and his own Playstation. We used to play this map when it came out obsessively, trying to get a diamond Whitetail deer. One night, I found tracks of a Whitetail herd with two max weight tracks in it and, being a noob, I thought max weight tracks meant they were probably both going to be diamonds. Under this false impression, we spent the next 2 hours spooking them over and over again trying to get them with bows. When we finally got them, we celebrated like we just did something really special. Two diamond Whitetail in one hunt with your best friend and neither of us has ever even seen one before? And with bows!?!? I think mine scored like 244 and his 239. They never had a chance lol. Enjoy being a noob people. Seriously it's the most pure fun you'll ever have playing this game.

Hirschfelden

Hunting Geese back in the day before the waterfowl rework in the Revontuli Coast update made them more realistic (not a bad thing). They used to pay bank and you could easily snipe the remainder of the flock with the .22 while they were flying away even if you only got 3 or 4 with the shotgun. Super fun, not realistic, but super fun. Trying to go pick them up afterwards before the retriever came out? Not so fun. My best friend accidentally claiming my first diamond Goose before EW made a back button to get out of the harvest screen? Not so much fun at all!

Layton Lake

Watching my best friend kill his Great One Whitetail, well kind of watching it that is. This was back when you could have initial spawn Great Ones. He was setting up for a grind and found him on the southwestern lake like 30 hours into looking for zones. Also back then, only the host could actually see that it was a Great One. So from my POV, it just looked like the average level 2 buck and I had to use my imagination the whole time. He was so excited, but he pretty much quit shortly afterwards because he felt like he pretty much won and was never going to top it so why keep playing? Too bad.

Verhonga Savanna

Getting attacked by my first diamond Cape Buffalo, not knowing he existed before that. I've had it happen since with plenty of other animals, but this was the first time getting to experience that feeling. Unfortunately for him I think I was carrying the Rhino .454 that day.

Medved Taiga

Back in the day, the animal distribution on this map was a little screwy which meant, for most players, the area around the southeast most lake always had an obscene amount of animals in it. Going down there was always fun. Glad they fixed it though because so many areas of the map were empty because of this and a few other spots like it.

Revontuli Coast

For like two years I struggled so hard trying to find a diamond Moose on Layton, Medved, and Yukon, until one day I decided to try Revontuli. I loaded in to an outpost that happened to be next to a lake during Moose drink time, turned to my left, and immediately spotted a massive level 5 Moose just standing there. He'd probably been there waiting on me to find him for months while I scoured other maps. To make it even better, I found a level 4 right after that which also made diamond. Good times.

Silver Ridge Peaks

Taking my first diamond Mountain Goat ever with a crossbow on the literal top of a mountain. It was an amazingly fun hunt of several smaller Mountain Goats while ascending the mountain, only to be met with the final boss at the top. He never even saw me. It was epic and ended up being my proudest trophy for a long time. I highly encourage everyone to get out there and hunt those species that don't have drink zones, because it makes getting a trophy of them that much more satisfying!

New England Mountains

I dont know if anyone else can relate to this, but I have vivid memories of playing this gorgeous map because it released around Christmas time. I'll never forget constantly falling asleep accidentally due to the relaxing sounds of the river flowing while being warm in my recliner, the soft lights of my LED fireplace and Christmas tree shining in my living room, and the cold wind blowing outside...... only to be woken up by a random cow Moose trying to kill me for standing in her river for too long.

Emerald Coast

The time some Kangaroos decided to make CotW the scariest horror game I've ever played.

https://www.reddit.com/r/theHunter/s/8GxiCxWLEz

Mississippi Acres

Getting my diamond female Gray Fox with the longbow in its rest zone. This was the first time that I worked up the courage to truly challenge myself on a once in a lifetime trophy. A feeling I've been addicted to ever since and what started my journey of trying to get every diamond in the game with the longbow.

https://www.reddit.com/r/theHunter/s/vpTYA0xH8M

Yukon Valley

This diamond Grizlly bear hunt with the longbow. Complete chaos. Easily the most intense hunt I've ever had in this game!

https://www.reddit.com/r/theHunter/s/GooyWrOl6V

Salzwiesen Park

Wondering around leveling up the new pointer dog that released the same time as this map. I named it after my uncle that passed away when I was 10. He was probably my first best friend. He loved hunting irl and could call Turkeys just by using his mouth. He would even play video games with me when I was little. I think if he were alive today, we'd still be very close and maybe even play CotW together.

Askiy Ridge

Another "it's not a horror game" moment.

https://www.reddit.com/r/theHunter/s/j1WRQL3JtT

Parque Fernando

Randomly happening upon, as far as I'm aware, the biggest Parque Fernado Axis Deer ever posted online while playing single player on my realistic settings PC account. What's crazy is that it was an initial spawn. It had been spooked by a Puma and was running past me when I shot it on the trot with my .44 pistol. If I had known what I was shooting at, I would never have taken that shot haha. Glad it worked out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/theHunter/s/mmpXPjCtsU

Torr Nan Sìthean

Probably the time I let my daughter, who was 3 at the time, hlep me shoot at a diamond red deer with the longbow. When I let her play, she sits on my lap I help her hold the controller. I work the sticks and she works the aim and shoot triggers. We spine shot it and botched it, so I let her put it in her "house" which is her own spring creek manor lodge. She's got about 30 animals in there now and does all of the placing and plauqe decorating herself! So, if anyone is interested in seeing a 4 year old's lodge tour with her narrating, let me know!

Sundarpatan

Getting my first and probably only diamond Snow Leopard I will ever get thanks to the scent tube feeders being released. I'll never forget sitting on my knees late at night in front of the TV, so nervous to take the shot and that Yak scaring the crap out of me right as I was about to fling the arrow the first time. When I saw that it was max score and max weight, I remember just staring in disbelief at the TV for like 3 straight minutes, speechless. My wife, who I thought was dead asleep, came out of the bedroom for something while this was happening and saw me sitting there like a kid on the floor and seemed concerned for my sanity lol. It's bittersweet that I'll never top this kill, but I can't be happier with how I pulled it off.

https://www.reddit.com/r/theHunter/s/xdES6l9yH4

All this to say, thank you again EW for creating such a wonderful game. It's brought me a lot of joy over the last 5 years and probably will for many to come.

Happy hunting everyone!