Rancho del Arroyo: A challenging desert map in theHunter: Call of the Wild

A few days ago I talked about the best snow map in theHunter: Call of the Wild and today, let's have something contrasty to that and explorer "Rancho del Arroyo, Mexico's hottest desert with a very arid climate.

There are some dry maps, the plains of Vurongha Savannah or parts of the Australian map. But none is as challenging and as dry as this one. The terrain is quite tough with plants that want to kill you.

You can feel the hotness through your screen, there are thorny cacti all over the place, dry shrubs and even completely dried-up rivers. You can see where the river used to flow but now it has dried completely.

Even in these hot deserts, there are pockets of water which are the lifeline of many animals and these make perfect hotspots for animal activities. Even Sheru was feeling relieved and went into the water to cool himself.

The lakes here are not that small either. You can see from the next images that the lake is quite big and the vegetation is quite green, unlike the mostly barren hilly areas around it.

You will find a lot of good hunting spots on this map. It is perfect for those who prefer hunting with long-range rifles. And there are multiple structures you can build if you go for a more stealthy and patient approach.

Now, let's focus on the animal species you can find on this one. There are just two unique species on this map: Rio Grande Turkey and Antelope Jackrabbit, both of which are just small animals and not many players prefer to hunt those. So, naturally, this map is not very popular among players.

I can see myself going back to this map primarily for Antelope Jackrabbit. I took down a few of them during my visit. Poor animals!

This is one of the few maps which only have class 5 or smaller animals and the biggest one is Mule Deer. The predator species only contains Coyote and Mexican Bobcats, which are relatively difficult to hunt. Some easier hunts are the Whitetail deers, which I found everywhere on this map.

You can see a couple of Whitetails resting on the rocks while other members of their groups are in the shade. Some are not as smart as they should be and came right towards me. It was an easy target practice for my bow hunting.

Did I tell you about the Outposts here? They have unique styles and I loved them. The one you spawn close to is like a big mansion.

Even the interior was quite beautiful, it must be some kind of official guest house or something.

But the other ones you will find are more like small trailers and small houses with just a couple of rooms.

Even with just ten species, you will hear a lot of calls from animals, especially near the water source. And those Turkeys are really annoying and super loud! Walking here is a tough job and the uneven terrain makes it tougher. Even though driving your ATV is challenging in some parts it is still the best way to get from one place to another (you will scare everything away with the loud noise though).

Few roads provide a smoother driving experience and easy access to outposts.

Like every other map, there are some lore items to be discovered in the regions. I loved the story of Chupacabra or "goat-sucker". Quite interesting!

Last but not least, the watch towers! They also have unique designs and are not that high. They are generally constructed in higher grounds so it doesn't matter if they are not too high up. You can still see a lot of terrain when you survey the land from the top.

I hope I was able to show you the beauty of this desert map. I am not a big fan of arid climates, I love greenery, rain and snow so it is not the map for me. But for some, it could be quite a unique experience and nothing like this exists in the game too.