Hidden stashes in early game

[Jan2607]

I am a few days in my new colony and I got the hidden stash event with loot I definitely want to have. Easy, I thought, it's really early game, there will not be much danger there... And so I did send 2 of my 5 colonists to get the stash.
Well, it didn't work out well. The stash was guarded by 10 pigs, that instantly attacked my 2 guys. I only had repeating rifles and soon my colonists were downed.

So, is there any point in going after the stashes in early game? Do you go after every of them, no matter how long you are in or do you wait until you have a few more colonists and weapons with high DPS?

[Nameless]

I usually just wait. As early game you have not enough people to deal with your own base to keep things running, let alone going outside to get a stash that you may or may not end up able to acquire due to what you mentioned.

[Dashthechinchilla]

Unless you get lucky and the stash is easy or unguarded, probably not worth it. That or your meta skills are enough to compensate.

[Teleblaster18]

I go after them right away, as early as possible...I'm a sucker for caravans.  I've sent single pawns early on to retrieve items.

In your specific scenario, there might be a different approach - run, get some distance, and fire.  Sometimes it's better not to be a stationary target and get overwhelmed by numbers.  If you check your colonist's Stats page, you'll see their move speed.  A pig's move speed is 3.60 c/s, and if your colonists are faster than that, you'll be able to put some distance between you and the manhunters.  If you bait them over bad terrain, this will increase the distance between you and them.

Once you have enough distance, you can turn, fire, and get moving again.  It's micro-intensive, but it'll work in many cases.  In my current game, really early on, I had about 8 manhunter Labs attacking 3 colonists, who had early-game weapons - recurve bows, IIRC.  I baited and led the entire pack with my fastest colonist, and had the other two pot-shot the Labs as the fast guy led the pack near them.  The fast colonist was also able to turn and fire, whittling it down.  It took awhile, but all three walked off without a scratch.

Rarely will there be a scenario where it's just RIP everybody, in my experience...there's usually a way to win a conflict, even if the answer's not immediately apparent.