Abandoned settlement ettiquette?

[sparrowbee]

Hello hearthlings! Currently I'm a hermit living who-knows-where and I've only once seen another person. Right now I'm trying to keep my head down and avoid stepping on people's toes... so I have to ask: What is a good way to tell if a settlement has been truly left to rot??

Thrice on my travels I have come across seemingly abandoned settlements, but this time I seem to have hit the jackpot. The place is surrounded by palisade which is decaying in many places, which I finally managed to gain access to after two spots (seemingly) rotted away. No hearth fires, and a single claim in an area that remains blocked off. All crops are in full growth... many placed upon grass instead of tilled soil. I took a peek in the houses and the swag is unbelievable. There's even a few unattended sheep! No mine, though.

My major worry is that the few runestones in the area are in Russian, so I can't read them for any information. The area is too big for a single person to upkeepI haven't taken anything yet, anyway. What do you think? Is it safe to claim these ruins as my own??

[vikingdragons]

It is a dog eat dog world, and your wearing bacon pants.
seriously though, so long as you don't steal from the claimed area, no one can do a thing to you. Take whatever you want form the non-claimed areas and set up somewhere else, or take whatever you want period and set up somewhere far away. Because there is a claim in the area, i don't advise claiming the ruins. there is a four or five tile buffer, and if they come back, they may not be to happy. but in the end, totally up to you.

[sparrowbee]

Oh goodie! I'm trying not to get myself killed by (rightfully) angry peeps. I'm sticking to the non-claimed area and my camp is pretty remote... so I might be able to get away with multiple trips! Now at least the livestock won't starve.

[Griegor]

Rotting pallisades are usually an indicator the owner has moved on. Most people keep thier walls in good repair if they know what is good for them.

[Flame]

in the previous world i've toke most of my seeds and first precious things (milk and what a noob can't have easily) from abandoned villages. Usually also a village full of meat and tools is like gold for a noob.
Like they told to you, don't try to get anything from a claim (or if you'r kind, from a place near a claim) if you wanna avoid dangers. Oh, and wall yoursellf anyway, also if you are in the middle of nothing or in a island. (i died in a island)

If you want, take the use to left a stone "Abandoned Plot" when you'll leave your. I've found few of those stones where i explored time ago. Anyway you need to be carefull all the time, also in an abandoned place. Who know if there is another thief that is there, maibe not noob?
Who know. XD

[bear2973]

if you dont mind walking at a dragging speed, make a rope and bring one of the livestock home with you.

like the others said, stay away from that claimed area.

the best way to know if something is abandoned is to look and see if the buildings/fences are pinky-red.
the garden on grass means (usually) its been a while.

just a note: everyone is seemingly terrified (with good reason) of the russians. but every grief ive
had to deal with (from blocked gates to stolen food to dead villager) has been someone of the non-russian persuasion.

just thought for those who tend to blame every bump in the night on the russians.

[Tonopah]

Abandoned-decaying villages seem to be one of the more interesting aspects of the game right now. People either get bored playing and quit or move on to a larger mining settlement - no matter the reason - they leave behind a portion of their former lives. So, as I travel around the world... snooping through the shattered ruins of homes, mending a broken fence here, feeding a lonely cow there or eating some weeks-old mutton steak from the cupboard - has become a favorite Haven and Hearth pastime and its always fun.

The old homes have a Rod Serling/Twilight Zone vibe to them - are zombies lurking in the shadows? Did those sneaky Cossack bastards kill them!@ Body snatchers!!1 (I've met loads of cool Russians - just playing the 50's cold war/red menace paranoia shtick.)

PS:
I found a very large but abandoned palisaded fortress - There's gotta be some uber loot in that vault! Constructing a battering ram is a priority now!

[theTrav]

MIGHT MAKES RIGHT!

Take it if you are powerful. If you are not powerful, then become powerful!

[saltmummy626]

Well heres how I go about it becuase ive suffered badly from taking things from active settlements:

step 1: what do the crops look like? fully grown crops sitting on top of mostly unplowed land are a slight indicater, but sometimes the owner is just too lazy to harvest, replow, and plant his crops.

step 2: what do the amenities look like? kilns, smelters, and ovens are a good indicator and can dictate a settlement has been abandoned for a short time, but as a short time may not be enough. sometimes, as with crops, a person is too lazy too repair there stuff.

step 3: what do the walls look like? this is the only way to be really certain, if the walls are screwed than the person has almost definetly moved on. this isnt always true though. example, recently i was watching a place with bad walls, checking everyday to see if the walls had gone down when suddenly, about a week after id found the place, someone strode propriatoraly out of the stone mansion and asked me what i was doing. i explained myself and he simply responded "a guy cant go away for a week or two without some guy coming along and looking through his crap?".

if the settlement has no walls, then steps 1 and 2 are your only indicator. places without walls but with claims are usually abandoned becuase they have been robbed before.