Could someone explain Caravan Stealth Rankings?

[Teleblaster18]

Hey, folks-

I've got 600+ hours into the Vanilla game, and I'm not sure I understand how the Stealth ranking on caravans works.  Is a lower number more stealthy, or more likely to get yourself ambushed? 

Right now I'm running a 2-man caravan with a stealth ranking of "1", but I'm carrying an absolute ton of silver with me (6000+), 2 alpacas, 2 wolves, 2 cobras, and both my pawns are in full Power Armor.

Previous caravans have been 6 pawns in Power Armor, about 8 Muffalos, 6 wolves, an attack Bear, and 2 cobras...but the stuff they were carrying were nothing more than wood, and bedrolls to set up a forward base of attack.  These caravans came in with a Stealth ranking of around 5.5 in previous attempts, with an occasional ambush.

I did an exhaustive search pretty much everywhere, and couldn't find any meaningful information on the topic, so any insight that you have would be appreciated...I'm tempted to believe that the lower number is stealthier, but the fact that my 2-man caravan is carrying a major amount of silver makes me wonder.

Thanks for any help!

[Dashthechinchilla]

I havent been able to test, but I think the number represents some type of multiplyer. Numbers above 1 increase your chances. I run with two pawns in power armor, herbal, and a swarm of muffalos. I get a rating of about 0.9. The caravan gets a pirate attack rarely. Also in question is, does the number only apply to enemy attention or any negative event like manhunter.

[sick puppy]

the way i understand raids and manhunter events (be it normal ones or on caravans) is that they completely depend on your story teller, difficulty and your local wealth.
the one difference i have read about is that caravans on roads meet more people than in the wilderness, also if you're close to a certain village, be it traders or enemies. i assume that whenever an event happens rng determines which of the 5 or so factions it is. if it is a friendly one, they are either visitors or traders. if it is a hostile faction you get a raid. so good relationships also help here.

i do not understand what the stealth number stands for, though.

ps: honestly, generally i dont feel a difference in meeting friendlies along the way or getting manhunters on my tail or even raids. this is why i dont really care about safe routes (because i dont understand them) so i just choose the quickest route and take less stuff and troops with me. (food, colonists and their gear also count as wealth, afterall (i believe))

[Wanderer_joins]

It's directy related to the number of pawns and animals.

The best stealthiness is 5 for 1 single pawn, then it decreases with each additional pawn down to 0.9. It's a multiplier to mean time between ambushes in a caravan.

The tweaks i'd like to see/mod:

• body size is not taken into account, like the stealthiness of a colonist and a bear (2pawns)= stealthiness of 1 colonist and a squirrel (2pawns)
• nearby pirate bases should have an influence on it, nothing crazy, but like a factor of two +/- gradient when you travel directly around pirate bases
• a special apparel to increase your stealthness: a hood or a cape

[Perq]

Hey, folks-

I've got 600+ hours into the Vanilla game, and I'm not sure I understand how the Stealth ranking on caravans works.  Is a lower number more stealthy, or more likely to get yourself ambushed? 

Right now I'm running a 2-man caravan with a stealth ranking of "1", but I'm carrying an absolute ton of silver with me (6000+), 2 alpacas, 2 wolves, 2 cobras, and both my pawns are in full Power Armor.

Previous caravans have been 6 pawns in Power Armor, about 8 Muffalos, 6 wolves, an attack Bear, and 2 cobras...but the stuff they were carrying were nothing more than wood, and bedrolls to set up a forward base of attack.  These caravans came in with a Stealth ranking of around 5.5 in previous attempts, with an occasional ambush.

I did an exhaustive search pretty much everywhere, and couldn't find any meaningful information on the topic, so any insight that you have would be appreciated...I'm tempted to believe that the lower number is stealthier, but the fact that my 2-man caravan is carrying a major amount of silver makes me wonder.

Thanks for any help!

Well, it makes sense if you think about it. How can raiders tell what you are carrying?
Also, it is way easier to hide and to avoid being spotted in few people than running a whole caravan full of pack animals and whatnot.

[Tynan]

We refactored this entirely for v1, it'll be MUCH clearer as soon as that comes out.

[Teleblaster18]

Thanks to everyone who responded, and to Tynan for responding personally.  As I doubt I'm going to get a better source of info than the Developer himself, just one last clarification:

To break it down into it's simplest terms as it stands with B18: higher number better, lower number worse?

And @Tynan - sincere thanks for putting together what is one of my favorite games of all time.  It's an instant classic, and makes my time melt away quicker than "Skyrim" did in it's heyday.  I can't think of any higher compliment.

[Tynan]

Yes, in B18 a higher number is better.

You're very welcome