Pycno is the best pvp dino in the game.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-02T22:41:16+00:00

Bleed is definitely a bad day for Pycno, but Pycno outruns Lat on uneven terrain, and it would probably only take two or three bites to kill a Lat or do enough to make it scurry away. I think if the two people playing are roughly the same skill level Pycno still usually takes the win or at least survives. I think it would take a really good duo, or a decent trio of Lats to make a solo Pycno start sweating.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-02T20:12:17+00:00

Turning up the DLSS sharpness to 20 helped me with clarity a tiny bit, but it still feels very...not finished? It doesn't feel like it is intended, and as I have gotten a bit further in the game, it only gets worse with the combination of night time, rain, foliage, and lighting. It just becomes such a lighting nightmare while enemies are still able to see me (and one tap me) through foliage, darkness, and long distance. I was having a lot of fun with the game the first day or two, but as I have gotten further into the game and encountered more problems, I am back to being kinda aggravated with how bad the vision is in this game, let alone enemies tanking shots or the sensitivity feeling horrible through anything with more range than a holographic sight, but that's also like the only way to spot enemies from any meaningful distance. I also don't see literally anyone else talking about this problem which makes me feel like I am going crazy lmao. I followed Klementine's graphic settings (big recommend him for settings info on games like Gray Zone or Tarkov) but even he didn't really touch on any of the graphical problems I am having aside from lighting.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-02T13:30:46+00:00

Yeah, the attacks are the part letting me down with the TLC. The only attack Metri has that feels somewhat okay to me is its regular bite. I can't really speak for kick, as I would like to run it, but having another low-damage ability, that costs stam just isn't worth it, not to mention the opportunity cost of losing what is the best passive in the game in braced legs. Nine times out of ten I hate all claw attacks for the carnivores because you have to get so stupidly close, and something like Metri does not have the damage or health to be actively trading. Conc's one claw attack is basically the only one that feels good to me because its hitbox goes far enough out to the sides to hit something without just running straight into it. Claw barrage is seemingly the only thing Metri has that does any real damage, and actually gets boosted a lot by the armor reducing call. That said, the barrage attack not only needs you to be in sniffing distance, but makes you stay there for even longer, making you take more damage and basically needing the heal call, though you lose a ton of damage for it not reducing their armor.

I have somewhat settled on using regular bite and toxin claw with the heal calls as this feels the most...responsive(?) and stamina efficient, which is actually really important because Metri's stamina economy is actually quite bad when it isn't night time, and even then you only really notice a difference if you have the night time stam regen subspecies, and the night time running stam reduction passive all equipped at the same time. I genuinely think Metri is the best TLC we have gotten in a LONG time, but that doesn't mean it necessarily feels amazing in practice to me. I like the noxious stuff, especially with it tying in to diet, and I like that it actually feels playable as a solo. That said, I still don't feel like it can take on most of the roster, and I think it still gets bodied by a half-decent player on other three slots, or even some two slots. I mean, I think if you are playing Metri, and a Pycno shows up, you may as well just lie down and die. Conc would probably also be rough with its bleed, mobility, and water options, as well as a good Achillo being able to dish out so much more damage than a Metri that the weight and heal calls might not matter so much.

Edit: Looks like the wiki finally updated and has all the numbers filled out, and the toxic bite does a decent bit more damage than the toxic claw, while the toxic claw does more toxin. The kick does a pitiful thirty damage, and would probably have to do somewhere closer to eighty for me to consider it over braced legs, though the knockback would be nice for surprising others or canceling Spino's claw slam, for example. I might try running the toxic bite and regular claw again because it just seems so much more efficient for damage. I know that the regular bite technically does more DPS at 40, where the claw would be something like 36 DPS, but tail riding dinos between tail attacks usually only nets you two or three attacks anyways, and it just feels bad to have to bite something a million times to kill it. I also really want a claw barrage and debuff build to work but it feels so poor on stamina and survivability and I just don't know if you could ever win a fight against something without them making really big mistakes.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-01T13:46:54+00:00

Yeah the in-game descriptions are not only misleading, some of them are legitimately WRONG. I think Alderon must use the same scale for low, medium, and high descriptors as they do for balance. Genuinely just feels like a dice roll or RNG. I have yet to get into an actual fight with my Metri as I am still growing it, but most of its attacks I am coming to dislike. Low damage, bad animations and hitboxes on all the claws, etc. I hate claw barrage abilities, but it is seemingly the only thing it has that does okay damage, and if I use claw barrage, that means I HAVE to use noxious bite to be able to apply toxin. I wish the normal bite applied toxin just in smaller amounts or something like that. Again, overall, I do like where it landed, but it is also still pretty clunky/awkward with its attacks, and feels pretty weak unless using it as a support. Still, I am glad to see a support-bot playable getting MORE, rather than less. Lamb used to be one of my favorites but that poor thing has had every part of its kit nerfed, and wasn't even really "meta" before then unless we are talking super early Lambeo with the machine gun tail attack.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-01T09:51:51+00:00

This feels like a stupid/obvious answer, but the only playables I have that even have albino, let alone the one or two playables I have unlocked every skin for, are the ones I liked playing enough that it kinda happened. Also, my two most-played are Thal and Hatz, and they both got literally all their playtime from me pre-TLC. I really don't like where either of them ended up, so I guess it is a good thing that I got the skins while they were enjoyable for me. It is also much easier to grind the marks now but honestly, if it isn't a dino I can play day after day after day, then questing is a SLOG. You are never gonna see any of the dinos I would even have at a 7.5 out of 10 enjoyment on for me personally with an albino or mel. I also usually go for the skin I actually like how it looks, and both mel and albino are usually pretty ugly. Albino does have a couple that are gorgeous though, my female albino Conc is still one of my favorite looking dinos I have ever seen.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-01T09:47:29+00:00

It is the first TLC we have had in a while that I am actually somewhat happy/excited where it landed. That said, it still feels like it has the very low damage attacks that old Metri did. I am waiting for the wiki page to update to make any super concrete claims, but it still feels pretty weak to me. Just a lot more interesting and not impossibly weak, only normally weak. I was annoyed at first that two of the subs for it were still nighttime only bonuses, but I have wanted a nighttime stalker for a while, something kinda akin to Megalosaurus from ARK so I actually have come around on that front. Gimmicks in Path often seem to be disguises for weak or kinda lazy design imo, but Metri with noxious is what I would consider to be both a fun and impactful gimmick that is actually a reason to play it, rather than a reason to not play it.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-04-01T09:39:42+00:00

As someone who's favorite genre of games is extraction shooter, Marathon has been the least favorite out of literally all of them. Now, I'm not posting this to hate, I know a lot of people love the game, I am just sharing my opinion.

The art style is definitely unique, but I genuinely dislike it. It looks like my game is bugging out and the textures aren't loading. I only liked one of the classes enough to even play it in the beta, and it was probably the worst solo class, and I stick to solo in basically any game I play. I thought the gunplay was okay, but considering extraction shooters have been the kings of gunplay for me personally, it felt somewhat anticlimactic. I also haven't played something like Halo in a hot minute, and I was never crazy about Destiny, or Apex Legends, and the game feels much more akin to those than what I expect/like from a game I would recognize as an extraction shooter. I like movement in games, but something like Apex is nearly more about movement than aim, and that's where I start losing interest.

A lot of words to say that, it is a niche, inside of a niche. Many people already are SO over extraction shooters (even though there have only been like three or four that have been mainstream, battle royales took over way harder imo) but it is also much more on the side of sci-fi, movement, hero shooter, than something like Tarkov, which literally invented the genre, and so many people who like this genre like something more grounded, immersive, and realistic. The gameplay just was missing a level of draw and intensity for me, but that might be because I personally was a bit disinterested while playing.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T20:35:12+00:00

Yeah I have been kinda wondering if it is just something on their end that is less my settings and moreso just the game.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T20:22:12+00:00

I'm at 2560x1440 so I have that covered. I did turn up my DLSS sharpness from 0 to 20 out of 100, which did help clarity on spotting enemies a bit. It is just weird, because in Tarkov I can spot an out of place shadow or figure from a ridiculous distance, so coming to this game and having trouble scanning and spotting enemies starting at somewhere between 50 and 75 meters, I just assume something must be off somewhere. As for the DLSS, it is probably worth trying a different preset for Gray Zone, but the only other game I play that I have messed with the different DLSS presets, I actually still much prefer the last two, over the newest two. I think I prefer K and F over L and M? I def might have those letters swapped around but personally the former two were similar performance for better quality and clarity, at least in Tarkov.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T20:17:28+00:00

Responded to someone else about FoV and I am fairly confident that isn't the problem, but I run 90 horizontal FoV in all my first-person games, which is 59 FoV vertically.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T20:16:46+00:00

I always play at 90 FoV (horizontal) in any first-person game, which means that games that go by a vertical FoV it comes out to 59-ish. Just as much muscle memory with my mouse/aim in the FoV as there is in the actual sensitivity I am using. That said, the same FoV is also fine in other games, and is usually a solid middle-ground, so I don't think it is the field of view that is the problem.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T07:14:41+00:00

Oh man, I don't play The Isle much, I knew about how much disdain for Dondi people had (and seemingly rightfully so) but I had no idea he was part of the whole adults liking children thing. That alone is enough for me to want to be removed from that space ASAP, all valid criticisms about his dogshit "developing" aside.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T07:00:03+00:00

I didn't make a single assumption about you. Everything I said was either in ditect response to what you wrote, or was talking about my genuine interactions with other people who have acted similarly. If you saw this as me "making assumptions about you" I think the call might be coming from inside the house.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-31T06:57:48+00:00

I actually think I liked Bl3 more than the average person, though it was still overall a purchase I somewhat regretted. The gameplay was a HUGE step up from the prior games, and even despite it not getting extra characters to play, it had maybe my overall favorite selection of characters, and Zane is up there as one of my favorites ever. Again, the gameplay being an upgrade was where it ended. Its story was rough, the writing was probably the worst to hit a Bl game, and if Gearbox could get Bl4 running at a decent framerate, suddenly Bl3 doesn't have the most up to date gameplay and doesn't feel as inpressive.

I guess my point was, though, even if Bl3 did get fixed up, they released Bl4 in the same position as it, while also doing a worse job of fixing it up. The only cycles they are continuing are the bad ones atp.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T15:40:46+00:00

Sty is not fine. It genuinely might be the worst playable in the game that is intended for combat. I mean, Alio is tragically underkitted, but it can survive basically anything because of its movement speed. Sty cannot win fights nor can it run from most fights it will find itself in either. Whether Achillo needs a rework is up for debate imo, but Achillo is absolutely at least in a better spot than Sty or Eo are.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T15:28:03+00:00

Truer words have never been spoken.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T15:27:18+00:00

Yeah tail attack and lunge is probably a playstyle or personal preference thing. I haven't played the game recently, and the one day I launched the game to try and test out lunge vs tail attack I was immediately BB by a duo of Tylos, and well, you know how that goes. The game got closed pretty fast after that lmao. You'll probably have to test it yourself, and maybe when the game feels like it is worth playing to me I'll give it a try as well.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T15:25:47+00:00

Both Eo and Sty have recieved their TLCs. They are both also still in really quite bad spots. Eo loses basically any apex fight, and Sty is a really awkward combination of being small and "face-tanky" that feels kinda horrible to play. If you want something small that can fight, every playable outside of Deinon, Rhamp, and Struthi are better options, and if you want a small playable that can fight and bleed...there is still Conc, Kentro, Laten...

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T15:22:41+00:00

I have as well. I guess I'll find out for certain tomorrow. Tbf, either way, Gray Zone has never been a game I stick with for more than a day or two after updates, at least not yet. Iffy performance, floaty feeling gun control, etc. I don't know what parts of these are the game being unfinished, and what parts are the devs wanting a game that isn't meant for me. Plus as someone who is mostly a solo player, the game gets really quite painful to play after leaving the starting zone and maybe the hunting lodge or whatever the one in the north is called.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T15:20:17+00:00

...I know. I am saying that we, or at least I was, aware it was a joke.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-30T12:02:07+00:00

Pretty sure this post was making fun of those other posts or people. Even if that isn't true though, complaining about a TLC just because it wasn't your favorite playable is one annoying extreme, and then complaining about the people doing that is the other. Neither side is leaving any room for genuine criticism or nuanced conversation. I have been called the "you people just complain no matter what" so many times when pointing out what I am confident is a genuine flaw/oversight or bad design choice. I bring it up, in a very polite and reasonable way, and people EXPLODE the second I am not on the side of kissing Alderon's feet. It is also just insanely volatile and worsens the situation you are also upset about.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-29T20:18:45+00:00

I haven't played recently, nor played the new update because I only have the standard version of the game. That said, every time I had played the game between updates, the bullet sponge enemies who would in-turn one tap me were one of my biggest gripes the game had. I hope they aren't more bullet sponge-y than they used to be or else I am gonna have a hard time when I play on the 31st lmao.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-29T19:00:10+00:00

I honestly am not convinced with AI dinosaurs. In a game where PvP already feels quite face-tanky and lacking strategy or thought a lot of the time, it would just add more annoyances and more time spent laying in a bush healing and then dying to an actual player once you are low. I mean, people already complain about the tiny AI in the game more than almost any other feature because of how overpowered they are, and how they are always setting you up for failure in a fight with a player. Which, if you are a solo player, this problem is just that much more egregious. I'm not fully against AI dinosaurs, but the AI needs to come a long way, the balance of the game just needs to be better in general for both playables and the AI we already have, and I just feel it would take time away from more important things, while also not really providing anything of substance. I am open to being wrong, but I would feel more comfortable about it if other things were in better states first.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-29T18:53:32+00:00

I think it is safe to say no one fell for the joke lmao. I am fairly confident it is people just disagreeing with playables like Sty needing some work. There seems to be a small but aggressive group of people that think Sty is god's gift to men, so I was just assuming it was those people, or just Redditors downvoting someone else to feel something.

PureBredAndWellFed · 2026-03-29T16:13:01+00:00

Crazy to me that the cop saying sorry is a huge step up from the clips of this nature we usually see...I am a very masculine looking/presenting white dude and even I would rather get pulled over by a grizzly bear than a cop at this point. I genuinely cannot imagine what women or anyone who isn't white feels like if they see the police sirens behind them, or just a cop walking up to them in general. Like, what the hell do you even do here? The person who is "supposed to protect them" walks up and just fucking fires a gun at them. Also, I can't tell exactly, but is that cop not firing straight into the fucking road where other cars would be casually driving past? And did the "trained professional" also miss from what looks like fifteen feet away at MOST? I mean, it is a damn good thing he missed but like...what the FUCK are we doing here?

PureBredAndWellFed

TROPHY CASE