Abandoned?

[Darkren]

I've found myself claiming a lot of annoying-to-gets items (Seedbags, bricks, chantrelles) from settlements, be they unclaimed or abandoned. It made me curious as to whether or not other people do the same, and what they would consider abandoned? By what methods would you identify a claim as dead enough to help yourself to any of its goods?

Most reliable seems to be rotted palisade, crops with barely minimap-visible plowed ground, or livestock with empty troughs feeding on nearby grass. In doubt I've looked in chicken coops for starving/dead chickens, before helping myself to (ex-)newbies' delicious blueberries and throwaway leather.

[Melgui]

I always respect claims, but in my opinion no claim = free to take stuff, works for abandoned and active settlements.

[melzar]

i agree with melgui. its a game of survival and scavenging is a survival tactic. if any newbies read this thread, remember this tip: before you log out for the day, make sure you have a claim up unless youre prepared to lose everything you left out. if you dont have a claim, keep as many items that you dont want to lose in your characters inventory.

[Potjeh]

I mostly judge by the fields. If there's only a couple ploughed tiles left, it's abandoned.

[Thurrok]

I used to scavenge every settlement that had reddish walls with at least one hole. If no walls, then I'd go after the redness of items on the claim. Claims never really interested me IF the area to scavenge wasn't in the middle of hostile territory.

[DigDog]

If you don't have a proper wall or a claim up then it's free stuff time in my book. If that settlement I take stuff from is abandoned then nobody cares. If it's not, then the person that lives there learnt a lesson and will soon put up a wall or claim. It's a win-win situation if you ask me.

[saltmummy626]

If the plowed tiles are mostly gone, if the walls are collapsing or just one hole in them (you want to make sure the standing walls are damaged too. if they are in good condition, then it is a trap), if the kilns, ovens, and smelters are badly damaged, then its up for grabs. I was killed for taking stuff from abandoned claims recently though, so you should still watch out.

[Gulluoglu]

Hard to say. I usually won't go onto claimed land because I hate leaving scents in general unless it's obvious the place is home to some hostile person who has already committed a crime. It's not worth it to leave unexplained scents around.

[Handofevil]

I'm a scavenger and an explorer. Whenever I go out, If I come upon a place, be it village or claim, that has a heavy amount of decay, I loot it. Generally, I don't take anything mainly because my village has plenty of the items they have. Occasionally, I'll find some valuable items but that's not very often. If the settlement turns out not to be abandoned, as it has a couple times, I simply return the items and no one get's hurt.

[Sarchi]

I usually will only loot [abandoned] villages if they have rotting palisades and buildings and if the crops and livestock haven't had any new activity, and I check to make sure that no hearthfires have a dark green flame. I stay off of personal claims, though.

Likewise, I also make sure that I have plenty of stamina so I can run/teleport if I see anyone moving around. It is usually better to flee (just incase) and then apologize later.