Koala's Battle Guide using the Bite + Wait method [Updated for battle rework]

Apologies in advance, this isn't going to be very pretty I can't CSS to save my life. If anyone is willing to spice this up for me and make it look sexy and things, I'd appreciate it! I also cannot screenshot as I wrote this on my console, so while I'd have loved to throw images from the fight system in that wasn't possible for me. Now with screenshots!

All information was gathered from my own data, if I have anything incorrect or have missed modifiers please let me know! I can only explore the Glacier right now, so my data is only based around Glacier creatures for the moment so I'm sure there are some missing modifiers that could be used to help make things even easier!

(PS: It's not as hard as you think it is!)
 

The First Move 

[In this encounter, the Snowy Owl [Level 1] chose to lead with SMARTS. I received a +1 modifier you can see on my roll there, and my "3" was increased to a "4" which was a success. I got to go first!

In my experience from 1-20, even my highest stat that my wolf was bred for specifically always came out a result of 'low' against an enemy my level or higher, so the safer option is to assume that while you are in the leveling process and picking fights within your level range that you will always receive the 'low stat' modifier for whatever attack you're choosing.
All aspects of the fight are based on dice roll 1-6, a '4' is successful. Once the game decides what opening move the enemy is trying to take, it will automatically roll a die and decide with that stat whether you move first or whether the enemy moves first.

I took way too much damage turn 1! (failed to move first)

My wolf is structured stat-wise very well for this testing - his highest stat is Smarts (which influences who moves first occasionally, as well as the Focus attack) His lowest stats are speed and agility, and they're lower by half of his strong stats. Agility is the main stat that influences whether or not an opponent hits you and for how hard in turn 1. In theory, my wolf should be taking much more damage through his lifetime of fighting then a more well rounded wolf / stronger in agility/speed wolf might be.

If You Move First 

These are the absolute best fights to pick. Lucky Feet do not effect this next roll, but winning this next roll could potentially win you the fight nearly guaranteed without a lucky foot, so hold onto it for now. If you are low on healing salves / feet and only want to fight the things you have a best chance at winning against, these are your fights.

SNARL 

Snarl so far has no stat modifiers at all that I have ever seen. This may sound bad, but it actually makes it my favorite move because it also means you will never get the '-1 low strength' modifier.
                     WHEN TO SNARL?                     
 - When the enemy is within your level range or higher                   
   - Against a Large Prey Animal (+1 to 'snarl')

                     WHEN NOT TO SNARL?                     
 - Against a Group Opponent (-1 to 'snarl')                
      - Against a Fearless Opponent (-1 to 'snarl') [Walrus, Bear,etc]

                     WHY SNARL?                  
 - A successful snarl will make the opponent 'panic' and give you a +2 to your 'wait' ability. (HUGE!)

FOCUS 

Focus is weighted towards the Smarts stat, but again, even with my wolf being bred for high stats I do not encourage relying on the stat itself before level 20. You will either have a [-1 Low Smarts], [No Modifier] or [+1 Low Smarts] depending on your smart stat and the level of enemy you are fighting. 

                 WHEN TO FOCUS?                 
 - When you have high smarts against an enemy lower level then you              
   - Against a Group Opponent (+1 to 'focus')

                 WHEN NOT TO FOCUS?                  
- With a low smarts stat (or an enemy higher level then you) 

                  WHY FOCUS?                  
- A successful focus will give you a +1 to your 'wait' ability.

LUNGE 

I haven't done much testing with lunge because personally I hate it. yes, it allows you to move first and get an attack in if you succeed the roll, but I much prefer the +1's or +2's from the other options because they effect every 'wait' roll, whereas from what I've seen, Lunge has no benefit outside the opening move. It's stat is speed, but if you're a speed-based wolf I suggest you simply move on to chase.

CHASE 

Chase is almost as good as Snarl, in my opinion. The only downside to Chase being that it is a 'speed' modified attack, and thus, chances are you will almost always get a -1 'low speed' or 'no modifiers' during the leveling process if you're fighting higher level enemies as you should be to level up efficiently.

                 WHEN TO CHASE?                 
- When you have a high speed stat against an enemy lower level then you.                
  - Against a Prey Opponent (+2 to 'chase')

                  WHEN NOT TO CHASE?                 
 - With a low speed stat (or an enemy higher level then you)            
      - Against a Fearless Opponent (-1 to 'chase')
      - Against a Slow Opponent (-2 to 'chase')

                  WHY CHASE?                 
- Just like Snarl, a successful chase drops a very good (for you!) modifier onto your enemy - it makes them tired. Against a 'tired' opponent, you gain +2 to your 'wait' roll! Incredible!

Continuing the fight
Now that the first move is done (whether you won or lost the first attack) you can decide whether to continue. I personally continue every fight because I have the feet and salves to waste, but if you're being frugal you can retreat now if you lost the first move and took a big hit. 

BITE 

In my opinion, this is your best choice 100% of the time. It will unfortunately always have a -1 modifier attached to it, it's called 'regular bite' and while I have no idea what it means, I've never seen it go away in 500+ battles. It was here before the battle update, it's still here after the battle update, no clue what it is. You can however cancel out this modifier with a lucky foot. If you do not use a lucky foot, it will be impossible for you to roll a 6 with 'bite' because of this -1 modifier.

- Rolling a '4' as with everything else will succeed the bite - and in succeeding, you will always make the enemy bleed. There is also a chance for a 'severe' bleed, though I don't have the data yet to tell what roll it is - it may be only on a '6' roll which is only possible with a lucky foot. 

- The bleed is our goal, once you've made the enemy bleed you can move on to 'wait'ing!
- With a lucky foot it will be a 50% chance to make the enemy bleed.
- Without a lucky foot it is a 33.33% chance to make the enemy bleed.

LATCH 

Some people do favor latch, I personally dislike it. Succeeding a latch is nice in that the enemy can't hit you while it's grappled, but you're not accomplishing the goal of a fast bleed. You need to get through a few shear/crushes to accomplish the bleed, which is requiring more dice rolls aside from the successful latch. There are also more modifiers, and so far I've not found a modifier that gives a bonus to the latch attack, only negatives. As well, the opponent will attempt to 'break free' of your latch each turn, which is a strength modifier. 

If your strength is low (which, even a high strength wolf is 'low' against a higher level opponent) you will have a disadvantage to the latch to the break free and to the crush! Phew, that's a lot of dice rolls to RNG through.


WHEN TO LATCH?
- Uhhhh....
 
WHEN NOT TO LATCH?
- When you have low strength or are against an enemy higher level then you.
- Against a Group Opponent (-1 to 'latch') 

I LATCHED ANYWAYS, NOW WHAT? Now you decide whether you want to sheer or crush!
              Shear              
    

The only modifier I have found so far for shear is a [-1] against bears and walrus', who have the 'thick skin' attribute. The bonus to this is that there is no strength modifier to give you a -1 low strength, so I suppose... if you were to choose to latch, I recommend shearing. 
     Edit: I've found a "Soft Skin" modifier present on it appears every species of birds and some coyotes/small canines, it gives a +1 to your shear ability. 

              Crush                
 
 I have found no crush modifiers aside from the basic strength stat modifier that will give you either a +1, 0, or -1 modifier depending on the level of what you're fighting.

REST/WAIT 

{04-09-2021 HOT FIX HAS MADE SOME FIGHTS HARDER, THIS PAGE HAS BEEN EDITED}


This is the entire strategy, our biggest winner and the reason we're so concerned with opening moves! There are a crap-ton of modifiers here to take advantage of and make the rest of the fight stupid easy. 

WE DO NOT REST OR WAIT UNTIL THE ENEMY IS BLEEDING - VERY IMPORTANT! 

If you had a successful Snarl 
-Your opponent is now Panicked as well as (he should be) bleeding. -The modifiers from this will equal out to +3 (2 from panic, 1 from bleeding) which means you cannot roll lower then a success (4)
*EDIT* If the enemy is FEARLESS, you will need a lucky foot for the 100% success rate.

Still confused? This means that even without a lucky foot, the opponent will not be able to hit you back at all while you are resting. Rest away the rest of the fight, and enjoy the free win! 

If you had a successful Chase 
- Same as snarl, your opponent is now Tired and (bleeding) and thus, cannot possibly hit you back while you wait. 
*EDIT* If the enemy is FEARLESS, you will need a lucky foot for the 100% success rate.

If you had a successful Focus 
- Focus' bonus is slightly lower, so in this instance you will still need a lucky foot if you want that 100% success rate. Without the lucky foot, it will be a 83% chance that the opponent will not be able to hit you while you are resting.
*EDIT* If the enemy is FEARLESS, you will need a lucky foot for the 83% success rate.

If you were unsuccessful with the opening move or if the enemy moved first.
- Your chances are still good! You have a basic +1 to your dice roll simply for making the opponent bleed (66.66% chance the opponent won't hit you while you rest). If you used a lucky foot or choose to use one now, you will have a +2 (83.33% chance the opponent won't hit you while you rest).

But wait, there is MORE! 

      - SLOW OPPONENTS are my dream come true - I used to be afraid of bears, but now they're fat and lazy and slow and make me laugh. Versus a 'slow opponent' you will gain a +1 to your dice roll - making that 83.33% chance with a lucky foot that the opponent will not hit you a 100% chance the opponent won't hit you. 

*EDIT* Prior to 04-09-2021, enemies with both the SLOW and FEARLESS modifiers were not showing the FEARLESS modifier on dice roll. Unfortunately BEARS are both slow and fearless, which means their battles have been made harder. 
     Slow +1 , Bleed +1 , Lucky Foot +1, Fearless -1 will equal out to a +2 total modifier, meaning it will be a 83.33% chance at success versus a Bear or Walrus or any other slow and fearless opponent. 

       - PREY OPPONENTS should be easy for a wolf, that's just good logic. But in Wolvden they actually are! Thanks, devs, for this wonderful update! Versus a prey animal you will gain a +1 to your resting dice roll just like you would vs a slow opponent! These guys too, will not be able to possibly hit you while they are bleeding (with a lucky foot)!

     EVEN MORE MODIFIERS!
While I am locked to the glacier for now with my new lead, I can't gather the data on all the creatures around. I guarantee there are WAY more modifiers out there that could help turn fights easy peasy. If you find any (by mousing over your dice score during battle!) let me know!

    COMBINING COMMON MODIFIERS!

(these are some examples of situations you may find in battle, and the chances that you will be successful with 'rest'. Once again, a successful 'rest' means that the opponent will not damage you in that turn) 

Lucky Foot (+1) / Bear (+1 cause slow) / Bleed (+1) = +3 (100% success rate)
Wolvden's recent update has changed this so bears will give a -1 modifier to rest, you will need the snarl / focus / chase to make this a 100% chance now.

Lucky Foot (+1) / Prey Opponent(+1) / Bleed (+1) = +3 (100% success rate)

Bleed (+1) / Snarl (+2) = +3 (100% success rate)

Bleed (+1) / Chase (+2) = +3 (100% success rate)

Bear (+1) / Severe Bleed (+2) = +3 (100% success rate)
Wolvden's recent update has changed this so bears will give a -1 modifier to rest, you will need a lucky foot to make this a 100% chance now, or a successful snarl/focus/chase.

Lucky Foot +1 / Severe Bleed (+2) = +3 (100% success rate)

NEW: 

 - So far, the only enemy type I've found that disadvantages you while 'waiting' is 'Aggressive' Opponents. It's a basic -1 modifier onto your roll, I do find they're much harder enemies then any other. So far I've seen them on Lunar Wolverines (But oddly enough, not normal wolverines...) Wandering Tala, and Pherris Vegabond. [Also American Badgers and Bald Eagles, thanks for the extra data, rattlesnakeacrobat!] I ... still recommend using the bite + wait, unless perhaps they are soft skinned in which case maybe latch + shear would be best. I'll do more testing on this to see when I make it out of Glacier! the Eagles I assume are soft skinned as other birds are, so if they're also aggressive and you lose the opening move, latch + shear might be best for them!



This is a fantastic guide--thank you so much for this! <3

I just had a really good example fight, to show how even when you're losing severely and RNG hates you, how fights can be nearly guaranteed regardless. I'll share it here, with my notes and explanation on what's happening in bright blue! Many people may have ran from this fight when they got low health, but I knew the odds were on my side, and though luck took a while to kick in and I sat at 7/50 HP at the lowest, I breezed through the remainder of the fight once I got that precious bleed off. 

(read it bottom to top) 

NOTE: in this fight, I got a lucky 'severely wounded' roll off BUT I DID NOT NEED IT. THE OUTCOME WOULD HAVE BEEN EXACTLY THE SAME MATHMATICALLY IF I'D WOUNDED THE WALRUS GROUP NORMALLY.

Won a battle against a level 15 Walrus Group and got +546 EXP! Total energy used: 10.
New HP after fight: 9.
You got +546 EXP for winning!

Lucky Foot has expired.

The Walrus Group are badly wounded and have lost 4 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
[Rolled 3 + 4] WATCHING YOU DIE SLOWLY 4HP AT A TIME

The Walrus Group are bleeding profusely and have lost 3 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
[Rolled 4 + 4] HOW MUCH HEALTH DO YOU EVEN HAVE?? 

The Walrus Group are badly wounded and have lost 4 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
[Rolled 2 + 4]  COME ON, DIE ALREADY!

The Walrus Group are bleeding profusely and have lost 3 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
[Rolled 6 + 4]  GET SOME SNACKS THIS IS GONNA TAKE A WHILE

The Walrus Group are bleeding profusely and have lost 4 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
[Rolled 6 + 4] WAIT SOME MORE

The Walrus Group are bleeding profusely and have lost 3 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
[Rolled 4 + 4] WAITING WAITING

One Walrus is down! The Walrus Group scatters! 

The Walrus Group are badly wounded and have lost 4 HP.

You watch your opponent and wait.
AND THIS IS WHERE i KNOW I WIN - BECAUSE I HAVE A PERMANENT +4 TO EVERY WAIT ROLL, THE OPPONENT CAN'T HIT ME NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY TRY.

The Walrus Group are bleeding profusely and have lost 4 HP.

You rest a bit and recover 2 HP. You feel better! 
[Rolled 3 + 4]  WHILE I WAS BLEEDING BEFORE THIS ROLL AND VERY LOW HEALTH (7HP REMAINING), I WAITED UNTIL I GOT THE BLEED OFF TO REST, WHICH RAISED MY "REST" ROLL AND HEALED MY BLEED. THE MODIFIERS HERE ARE +2 SEVERE BLEED, +1 LUCKY FOOT, +1 SLOW OPPONENT. 

You are wounded and have lost 2 HP.

The Walrus Group are badly wounded and have lost 4 HP.

The Walrus Group attacks you for 3 damage.

You bite one Walrus for 3 damage. It writhes in pain. 
FINALLY! [Rolled 4 + 0] ROLLED A 4, SUCCEEDING IN MAKING THE OPPONENT BLEED BADLY. AT THIS POINT THE FIGHT IS WON FOR ME, GUARANTEED.

You are bleeding and have lost 3 HP.

The Walrus Group attacks you for 4 damage.

You bite one Walrus for 2 damage.
[Rolled 2 + 0] {ROLLED NATURAL 2, NO MODIFIERS BECAUSE LUCKY FOOT CANCELLED OUT -1 MODIFIER ON ALL BITES}

You are wounded and have lost 2 HP.

The Walrus Group attacks you for 5 damage.

You bite one Walrus for 2 damage.
[Rolled 2 + 0] {ROLLED NATURAL 2, NO MODIFIERS BECAUSE LUCKY FOOT CANCELLED OUT -1 MODIFIER ON ALL BITES}

You are bleeding and have lost 3 HP.

The Walrus Group crushes you with its tusks for 4 damage.

You bite one Walrus for 4 damage.
[Rolled 3 + 0] {ROLLED NATURAL 3, NO MODIFIERS BECAUSE LUCKY FOOT CANCELLED OUT -1 MODIFIER ON ALL BITES}

You are bleeding and have lost 2 HP.

The Walrus Group attacks you for 4 damage.

You bite one Walrus for 3 damage.
[Rolled 3 + 0] {ROLLED A NATURAL 3, NO MODIFIERS BECAUSE LUCKY FOOT CANCELLED OUT -1 MODIFIER ON ALL BITES}

Used a Lucky Foot!

You are wounded and have lost 2 HP.

The Walrus Group charges and hits you hard with its sharp tusks! You are wounded. 
[Rolled 1 + 0] {ROLLED A NATURAL 1, NO MODIFIERS BECAUSE MY AGILITY WAS 'JUST RIGHT'}

The Walrus Group's overwhelming strength makes you take a step back. Your opponent moves first.
[Rolled 3 + -1] {ROLLED A NATURAL 3, -1 LOW STRENGTH) 

Ahh, thank you so much for this!! I've not had time to read it but I'm bookmarking so I can check it out <3

Thanks for this! What a great guide

This is so helpful! Thank you 

OML ! Thank you so much for this guide ! 

This sounds super useful, thank you!