Stealth

Stealth is a stat which can be utilized within The Forest. It can be used to avoid enemies, to help perform Stealth Kills, or any other activity in which the player avoids detection.

Gameplay
To decrease the chance of being spotted by the cannibals, it may be a good start to crouch in foliage, such as a bush or a fern. In addition, there are mud piles which the player can collect to cover his skin, causing a dramatic increase in camouflage. However, mud will wash off in the rain, if you enter a body of water, or if enough time passes. Similar to what mud will do, as of v0.12 Stealth Armor will help disguise the player.

Be warned, even if the player uses both mud and a flora hiding spot, it is still possible to get spotted if the mutants are too close. It is considerably easier to hide if the player crouches behind an unmovable object, such as a boulder or tree.

In v0.08 Stealth was greatly expanded upon; decreasing both vision range and cones of view of the cannibals. Bushes will now also hide the player from enemy vision when crouched and the player is now less visible at night, unless his lighter is out, making him more visible. But enemies will bash bushes looking for the player when hidden from them.

Hard Survival Penalty
In hard survival mode, the players stealth is penalized. A player can only have a max of 50% stealth, even if they have mud, max stealth armor and rabbit fur boots on, all at the same time.

How to increase stealth
Note that the green on the armor meter is not an indicator of stealth, it is only an indicator that you are wearing stealth armor or lizard skin. Wearing lizard skin has no effect on stealth.
 * Crouching increases stealth and reduces noise
 * Rabbit Fur Boots +20%
 * Stealth Armor +10% per piece
 * Mud +40%
 * Hiding in bushes - Temporary increase in stealth while in bushes
 * Avoid using light sources such as Fire Upgrades, flashlight, flares, etc

Noise
Noise made by the player can give away the players location. When enemies detect a noise, they will check the area of where the noise was made. It is unknown how this mechanic operates exactly, though it seems to be fairly accurate in terms of a real life situation. Noise can be used as a positive or negative for the player, depending on what the player wants to achieve. A positive example, placing a cassette player on a trap could lure enemies into the trap. A negative example, setting explosives while farming logs, and it causes mutants to harass the player. Here is a list of what creates noise:
 * Sprinting
 * Walking/Sprinting through bushes - This makes a noise, but if the player crouches and hangs still, enemies may lose sight of them.
 * Tree cutting, when the logs separate upon hitting the ground, enemies nearby will check out where it landed
 * Hunting game
 * Detonating explosives
 * Throwable Rocks - Can be used to distract enemies
 * Cassette Player - Will draw enemies to its location, can be used as a distraction device if placed on a tree or trap
 * Flare Gun - shooting flare gun ammo will create noise and bright visuals that will draw in enemies
 * Flares
 * There is most likely more actions that will create noise, though it would require further testing.