Has anyone noticed the most time spent in buildings is trying to find your way and which direction to go? Or time lost backtracking? The buildings, metros, etc. are like mazes, i swear...

however sometimes getting lost gets you some good loot or is just fun, am i right?

Yes always know where your going. This happens to me often in the metros.

But there is good loot along the way and more than likely you havent searched through it all.

have u been to the deathclaw sanctuary? its the worst maze of all when u go deep inside the cave

I haven't been there in forever and a day. Maybe I'll take Charon and Dogmeat with me this time. I once resorted to leaving a trail of breadcrumbs so I could find my way out of there :yes:

On topic, I have found that the local map is very nearly useless, especially while trying to navigate indoors. :banghead:

I agree with the OP. Many of the building are maddening mazes. And local map is pretty close to useless.

Factories in particular with all there passage ways at various levels. It's easy to get lost and end up going in "circles".

I used to get real annoyed by that. But now I just view it as a challenge.

It can be confusing at times. Putting a marker at the main entrance of the building can help a bit, I tend to try to systematically cover areas of a building at at time, then go upstairs or wherever.

Metros are an interesting challenge when you get tunnels linking to each other with side access points and stuff in-between that can lead to good loot. You're right it's great fun.

Exit markers will be placed automatically showing the way out (if you have an open quest waiting to be done sometime outside) ... I'm pretty sure that is correct. It can help a tiny bit.

I am using a "hug the left wall" strategy most of the time. Most of the time, this works pretty well, unless the developers constructed the building in a specific manner that makes you miss some parts of it when you just follow the left walls. (I.e. the left wall is a circle hallway, and the interesting stuff is only accessable by turning right at some points.)

^^^^^This is my most effective exploring technique. Pick a wall and stick to it. Watch the map as it is unvieled and check to see if you miss any "blind" spots, go back and hit them later. Always go through any portal to unlock that portal's map marker, then go right back in and finish exploring. Do one floor at a time, completely clear that area, then move up/down. Sometimes I'll clear a building of enemies first, then do a thorough sweep for loot, and sometimes I'll do the slow crawl searching everywhere and silently take out enemies as I come accross them.

_Gunny out.

I do this too. I also have about 6 frag mines that I carry with me. It's the usual loadout for my character. I use the mines to mark passages that I have not yet gone down. If I come up to my mine from the opposite direction, I know that area is good. I never look at the map anymore, too damn confusing. :banghead: Just go by memory.

Lol and those mines are helpful to know if theres enemies around when the go BOOM.

Another left wall hugger here and I pretty much do the same as Gunny.

I wonder why we all go left, did we all get told it was the best way to navigate mazes when we were kids?

That is simple. If you are sitting in the left corner infront of a door, then your right-handed character can shoot through that door without exposing herself to the enemy gun fire.

I would personally follow the right wall, probably because I am left-handed in RL, so it took me a while longer to adapt to the left wall navigation which the game so quite clearly favoures.

I'd prefer going with something safer like teddy bears. Mind you my memory's terrible for things like that: I'd end up forgetting about the mines and keep exploring until they blew up, then come on here posting about this random building which had mines everywhere!

Your mines "recognize" you, and will not hurt you. The added bonus, mentioned by Ace Hanlon, is that you know if you have issues behind you.

Dead body is a good marker.
... remember him.. bin there ....
usually quite a lot near the entrance.....

I think the years of exploring the very repetitive dungeons in Oblivion have trained my brain to know where I am, because I've never really had this problem, and in those moments when I think 'where the hell am I?' the local map has helped me.
I keep forgetting the lay mines at intersections, but its a great idea. The only time I tried it I ended up never going back that way and lost all my mines :facepalm:

I'm a wall hugger, though I will decide at the first point I have to left or right, then use that for the whole floor/level. It's not always left or always right for me.

I generally peek through a doorway and may pull up the local map to determine if it's a one off room in which case I will go ahead and explore it while I'm there even if the doorway is not on the wall I'm following. Then I go back to the 'hall' and get stuck back on my wall.

I haven't resorted to dropping items as markers yet but that could be an intersting tactic to try in the future. I'd probably use clipboards and the like, those 1 weight 1 value items that aren't usually worth selling and I'd just leave thema nd not pick them back up...

What would handy is a method of writing on walls. Perhaps a decal like some of the groups have.

In buildings I hug the walls (leftie) and go floor by floor, but I have a harder time in tunnels. The Deathclaw Sanctuary is the worst. I got so lost in there the first time I went in that I almost had to reload my save from before I entered and abandon the whole time in the place. I finally, after a lot of frustration with the local map, found my way out.

Sanctuary is nothing, that metro system where you can find a burnmaster - now that's confusing.

Nuka Cola Quantums make good markers. They glow in the dark. :thumbsup: