How to escape a bear in Lullwood

To escape a bear in Lullwood, cut its scent lock, not just its line of sight. A bear never charges or flanks, but a scent lock keeps it walking at you for about 11 seconds. Walk into the wind, press G, then hide in bramble.

What a bear does differently from a wolf

A bear is not a big wolf. It lacks the two tricks that define a wolf hunt and is better at the one thing a wolf is only decent at, following your trail.

  • It never charges. Wolves and lions telegraph a one-second lunge once they are 7 to 16 units away and can see you; a jump beats it. The bear is left out of that rule on purpose, so there is no lunge to dodge and jumping at a bear does nothing for you.
  • It never flanks. Only wolves coordinate. A chasing bear is one animal coming straight at you, with no second animal swinging round to an ambush point. The sideways cut that saves you from a wolf pack answers a threat the bear never makes.
  • It has the best nose. It picks up your scent trail from 40% farther out than a wolf does, and once it locks on it follows for about 11 seconds, against 8 for a wolf and about 6 for a lion.
  • It sees the shortest. About 30 units, against 42 for a wolf and 48 for a lion. Sight is the bear's weakest sense and scent is its strongest.
  • It is the slowest, and still faster than you. A bear in a real chase runs at about 13.9 units a second. A wolf runs at 15.5, a lion at 17.8, and your full sprint is 10.8. The bear gives the longest warning of the three, roughly 9 seconds from the moment it spots you, and that is time to act, not to outrun it.

What actually breaks a bear's pursuit

Once a bear picks up your trail it is chasing you even with no line of sight, at its full running speed, until the lock runs out. Breaking sight does not end a scent lock. The lock ends when its timer runs out, or when you press G, the scent veil.

  • G cuts every scent lock at once. It works only while a predator is scent-locked on you, you are moving into the wind, and you have at least 30% of your stamina bar. It can be used once per lock. A G prompt appears while it is available and greys out when stamina is too low.
  • Sprinting away spends the thing G costs. Sprint empties stamina in about six seconds and a refill takes about fifteen. The 30% price is under two seconds of sprint, but if you have sprinted the bar low, the press is refused. Walk into the wind, press G, and keep the rest of your stamina.
  • Then break line of sight. With the lock cut, a bear that cannot see you stops chasing and goes to investigate the spot instead. Bramble is the only place you can hide, and standing still there cuts how far a predator can see you by up to 82%.

Hiding first does not end the lock: the bear keeps closing on where you are until the lock ends. The order that works is G, then hide. The full list of keys and veil rules is in the Lullwood survival guide.

Pine trees and snow-covered rocks in Lullwood's night forest under a starry sky: trunks and rocks break a predator's line of sight but do nothing about its nose

Do scent and wind work the same on a bear?

Yes, the rules are the same as for every predator. Only the bear's nose and lock time are bigger.

  • Moving lays scent, standing still lays none. You drop a scent point about every 0.3 seconds while you walk, and each fades over 14 seconds. A bear smells a fresh point from about 3.1 units while you walk and about 5.0 while you sprint, shrinking as the point ages.
  • Wind carries the trail downwind and shrinks it. Points drift downwind, up to 9 units. Moving into the wind cuts the size of the trail you leave by 20%, which is also the only direction G will fire.
  • The mist veil does not help. Holding F cuts predator sight to 35% but has no effect on scent, so against a bear following your trail it spends veil charge on the sense the bear uses least. The rules behind all of this are in how scent and wind work in Lullwood.

How the bear changes by difficulty

  • Lantern: one bear, with its sight cut to 70% (about 21 units). The place to learn the scent lock.
  • Night: three bears at full sight (30 units) and a minimap.
  • Blackout (the default): three bears at 70% sight, all hunting from the start, and no minimap. Scent is the bear's strongest sense, so G and a thin trail matter most here.

What not to do against a bear

Do not sprint away: you cannot outrun it and you empty the stamina G needs. Do not jump: there is no charge to dodge. Do not hold the mist veil: it cannot stop a scent chase. And do not cut sideways as you would against a wolf pack, because there is no pincer to break. Walk upwind, press G, and hide.