The Black Wolf world boss is introduced in the LUPINE mission, which is the Styx version of KILL LIST: Extermination. In exchange for taking down a couple Black Wolves, you will learn two new recipes for gear that uses Black Wolf Teeth.
World Boss Dossier: The Black Wolf and its Pack Wolves
These world bosses can pop up in several places in the Forest and Arctic biomes on a single prospect.
The Black Wolf can inflict a strong form of Hemorrhage, a new status effect similar to poison that worsens if you try to move.
Pack wolves emerge when you approach the den and are highly territorial; they will attack nearby predators as well as prospectors.
The Black Wolf will only emerge when you are very close. Unlike the pack, it is tethered to its den and will retreat to heal after attempting to maul you.
This world boss is fast and agile: it is the first enemy on Icarus that will attempt to dodge your attacks.
While pack wolves are similar in strength to the Conifer (Forest) Wolf, even a Level 1 Black Wolf has several thousand health points.
Objectives and Tips
Your Dropship will land in the Dry Ridge region, near the canyons on the southwestern end. In the northwest part of D7 is a stone arch that leads to an enclosed canyon ringed by ore and the entrances to two caves. (See the Map of Objectives, below.) The enclosed canyon is a great location for a base, with easy access to prime meats, water (from caves), wood, fiber, ore, and minerals.
LUPINE is a walk-in-the-park mission as missions go. However, it can be a sprint or a slog, depending on what you bring with you. High-tier equipment and workstations are not necessary. However, if you want to pursue the optional objectives, you will need to advance to Tier 2 and craft an Anvil.
It is sufficient to bring or craft good armor for the Forest and Arctic (Fur or Naneo), as well as a good bow (Caveworm/Recurve) and Knife, and a stack of Flint Arrows. You may need to go several rounds with each Black Wolf, so cook or craft 500-1000 points of healing items, as well as a stack (10) of Basic Bandages and Suture Kits.
Find a Way to Track the Black Wolves
The Boss Reveal perk is only active in range of the Tracker, so bring it with you to redeploy and place a map marker on the next Black Wolf Den
When you have your equipment ready, you will first have to find the wolf dens. There are three ways to find Black Wolf dens on this prospect:
Pick up the Prototype Threat Tracker from the Dropship and deploy it. The Tracker provides a Boss Reveal aura that is effective within a few meters. Check your map while the perk is active to see the locations of the Black Wolf dens.
Learn the talent Big Game Hunter from the Survival-Hunting branch of the talent tree.
Research and craft the World Boss Module in the Orbital Workshop. Bring it on the prospect and equip it.
After successfully employing one of these methods, the objective will be complete.
Kill Two Black Wolves
What happens when you approach a Black Wolf den depends on the biome you are in. If it is the Arctic, then the pack wolves will see you from far off and come attack you long before you see the health bar of the Black Wolf. If it is the Forest, then you will be much closer to the den when the wolves emerge. Some may come attack you, while others may attack other predators in the area. In both biomes, the pack wolves aggro almost immediately, so Sneak Attacks are unlikely.
Usually the wolf dens come in clusters of 3 or 4 caves. The initial pack attack will have the same number of wolves as dens.
Like the Alpha Wolf fight on Olympus during KILL LIST, the Black Wolf will not emerge until you get very close to its den. Each time you try to draw it out, you will hear a howl and one or two pack wolves will be summoned. You have a few seconds to eliminate them before the Black Wolf emerges. It may attack another predator, or it will run straight at you and attack and dodge rapidly. If you backpedal while you slash or shoot at the Black Wolf, you can reduce its rate of attack.
The Black Wolf has a fast dodge that frequently follows an attack or a feint. Backpedaling will make it run and jump at you instead.
Eventually, the Black Wolf will tire, feel weakened, or run too far from its den, after which it will return to the den quickly and begin to heal. If you want to stop this, you have to try and draw the Black Wolf out again. The cycle repeats until either the boss or your prospector is dead, or you stop engaging. NOTE: While premium arrows may not break, they tend to disappear when the Black Wolf reemerges from its den.
Even these Level 1 Black Wolves have several thousand health points, so you may need to engage it multiple times. It is worth taking a few moments to heal any Wound or Hemorrhage ailments you have contracted, so that you too can regenerate health and not lose more of it.
Which would win in a fight: a Level 64 Komodo or a Level 1 Black Wolf? Answer: the prospector with the hunting rifle.
The reward for your diligence is the chance to skin a Black Wolf. The loot includes normal wolf loot as well as Black Wolf Teeth and a lot of Stringy Meat. Take down at least two Black Wolves, and the objective will be finished.
You do not need a special knife to skin a Black Wolf, but iron or better knives will improve the yield
Whether you choose to take part in the optional objectives or not, to complete the mission all you need to do is return to your Dropship and access its inventory.
(Optional) Craft Black Wolf Weapons
Good hunters use every part of their prey that they can. Once you have killed two (or more) Black Wolves, you will get the optional objective to craft weapons from the teeth of your enemies. The Black Wolf Knife and Arrows are recipes for the Anvil, and they require Iron Ore to complete. Save a little to craft these new weapons and ammo after you dispatch the wolves.
We hope this walkthrough helped you eliminate the Black Wolf threats and craft some cool new gear! Let us know what you think in the comments below. NOTE: This is a brief mission walkthrough, a new format we are testing. It lets us cut to the chase with tips and tricks, and allows us to cover the many ICARUS missions and updates as they come out.
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SurvivalSherpa
SurvivalSherpa is an avid gamer spending most of his time at the nexus of the survival, crafting, building, and role playing genres on any platform, especially to test indie titles in EA. AFK, life is about work and education in STEM fields, reading fantasy, and sipping great coffee in the Pacific Northwest.
