Absolute Newb Start Character

This is for absolute newbs. You are using the options to buff yourself. Your not THAT strong since you don’t have skills or eq yet, but its a big buff. Its good for learning game mechanics. For challenge games it blends well with increased zombie spawns (though the increased spawns are actually harder than your buff)

Note: This is just for learning the game and you are artificially buffing your self with the options.

Start Game. Set these options

Screen Size

  1. graphics tab
  2. viewport width and viewport length. adjust until this fills up most of your screen. depends on resolution and screen size.
    I use 1920x1280 with 27 inch monitor and I use
    width: 88
    height: 31

Buffing your character

  1. debug tab
  2. initial points and trait points to 25
  3. skill rust off

Character Creation

New Game-> Custom Character
Stats: Str: 14, Dex: 14, Int: 14, Perc: 12

Traits:
Negative Traits: Far Sighted, Near Sighted, Forgetful (skill rust off. does not harm you), Smelly (they nerfed scent with .9), Trigger Happy, Truth Teller, Ugly, Wool Allergy
Positive Traits: Fast Healer, Fast Learning, Pain Resistant, Poison Resistant, Night Vision, Fleet Footed, Quick, Robust Genetics

World Defaults:

Initial Time: 6 AM. A little dark when you start, but gives 2 more hours of daylight to explore outside.

General Tips

  1. Use starter shelter as your home
  2. stay out of town during the day. wander as far and wide as possible. your #1 priority is to find corpses. If you find traps. mark on map, dont try to disarm.
  3. only eat fruit. this gives you a little water. clean water is a priority
  4. 'E’at all mutagens. Robust Genetics radically increases your odds of good stuff. You have not invested much time, so if you cripple yourself, start over or just keep trying. Its worth the gamble.
  5. Anything you can drink is your #1 priority

You want to scout as much wilderness as possible during the day. Goal is to find corpses.

Wander Tips

  1. wander as far and wide in the wlderness during the day. So you can find as many locations as possible. Mark your map for new things. Corpses are very important. Science corpses (most common) tend to have water to drink.
  2. Go outside, grab 3 rocks. go back to shelter. (s)mash bench. Make pointy stick. Wield rock to smash so breaks faster. Wield Pointy stick. carry 3 rocks.
  3. throw rocks and butch squirrels and rabbits as you go by. You can get throw and survival to 1.5 your first day easily. Survival: 2 is needed to make a stone pot for making clean water. dont pick up the butchered meat. just eat fruit.
  4. Corpses: Get all liquids if possible. take waht you can carry and mark. drink until bloated. Find clothing with pockets and put it on so you can carry more. if you find a better melee weapon like a bat take it. Helmet and Kevlar is good EQ. Leave most stuff behind and move on. You are scouting.

Combat Tips

  1. Quick/Fleet-footed makes you faster than most mobs. so throw rocks and retreat and grab more is very effect
  2. when closing to melee try very hard to engage only 1 mob at a time.
  3. press ‘@’ if you have any encumbrance, take cloths off and drop items before closing to melee. This radically affects dodge and since you dont have dodge early its critical.
  4. any pain at all slows you down. pain resistance really helps this go down faster, but even a pain of 10 really hurts you in all aspects.
  5. run away when necessary. wolves you really can’t run from. so getting a little throwing early is critical. since they can attack and jump out of melee range in 1 turn.
  6. avoid anything that can poison you even with poison resistance such as ants or bees.
  7. avoid fungus.
  8. stay out of town. NEVER engage special zombies.

Night:

Going into town. Night vision helps alot. Noise is not very important now.

  1. Best to (s) a window in the back of a house and then ‘*’ and clean window to get in. Then going to front and using a crowbar. Noise from breaking doesn’t do much
  2. priority items: Jug. Will have something in it. You need to 'w’ield it (they may have changed this with .9) and then 'U’nload. dump contents on the floor. you want to fill the jug with water from a toilet. don’t drink. you need cooking to purify to make it clean.
  3. grab string when you break windows. used to make bows. you need 2 pieces for a bow but may fail so grab a few.
  4. clothing with pockets. backpack, etc… so you can carry more.
  5. go slow in town. you can see a little farther. try to avoid combat. fight only when necessary. avoid getting much pain. if pain gets to 10 leave.
  6. guns especially if you have ammo for the guns is useful. if not, mark on map what is there. ammo is lighter. so i prefer to collect as much as ammo as possible then check map markers for guns that fit the ammo to bring back to my house
  7. bandages and first aid kits
  8. pain reducing items.
  9. nyquil/dayquil. 1-2 of these is important in case you get sick. this is enough to get rid of it. the flu or a cold is bad. but you dont need alot of this.
  10. safety glasses to protect your bifocals and 1 more pair of bifocals in case your break.
  11. anything you can drink. food is not real important. its easy enough to get fruit early before it spoilers. or kill ., butcher and cook rabbits.

I’m always a little wary of posting anything at all in these general newb tips threads, because if someone even hints at anything that makes life easier for a starting player, someone else will fire up a suggestion thread to nerf said mechanic right away.

good tips. Bump for newbs