The first thing i do is check my map to see if i spawn on the edge of town. Then i quickly grab the two or three most useful things i see, usually a knife, lighter or bag,and then i pop a door or window on the side of the house closest to the wilderness, hit the sprint key and run to the nearest woods. I don’t spend more time looting because the zombies probably heard me and i find busting out quickly is usually my best odds of escape. Sometimes the better plan is to hide out until nightfall though.
If im lucky enough to get a lighter or matches i will light the building on fire (3 tiles together to ensure it burns even if its raining). i like having wander spawns on because it more challenging but also opens up some cunning tactics like this. The noise and light from the fire will attract the zombies from all over the city and distract them while you make your escape. Odds are good that a bunch of them will get killed too. This is also my tactic to be able to loot a fresh city in relative peace early game. Whack a few vending machines or atms for even more chaos. They will make a ton of noise and spawn an eye bot or two and maybe even a riot control bot if you are lucky.
Sound can be both a clever tool or a deadly mistake depending on how you use it. Instead of running towards the turret you should have instead moved to the opposite side of the turret from the migo and used the shout key to lure it into the death zone. Turrets arent the only thing you can do something like this. All the hostile factions dont like each other either. If there happens to be a fungal patch or an ant nest nearby you can use a similar technique to kite them in and then “scrape them off” on a convenient ant or fungaloid.
Once i make it out of town i craft a cudgel. I prefer it to the spear for its decent block modifier, its accuracy and speed and the fact it has flurry on it. The only thing spears have is reach and i find that half the time i blow my reach shot and the thing just comes up amd eats me anyways. Dogs, coyotes, and wolves become trivial with a cudgel. Just use . to pass your turn until the dog comes in melee range and smack him. He will run away then come back so you wait amd smack him again until he is dead. Even if theres like 12 dogs you almost never have to fight all of them. Usually you can just kill 1-3 and the pack will leave you the F alone. If you dont have a knife then smash a few undergrowths or shrubs for withered plants, a small tree for heavy sticks and grab a couple rocks and make a stone one. You can do this with 0 skill.
I usually dont bother with towns until i need something very specific. Once i escape and get myself some very basic equipment i try to go find a mansion. They usually have just about everything a fresh character could need, books, food, meds, tools and if you are really lucky some will have medieval weapons and armor. There are zombies but they are in manageable numbers.
Once i clear out the place i usually set up here and build my skills and tech base. Put a metal tank and funnel outside for water and make a hobo stove to cook food. Get enough electronics skill to build a makeshift welder and put battery compartment mod in it. Get a frame, foot crank, alternator, vehicle battery(s) and saddle and build a power bike to charge the batteries. Pop them into your welder and you have a cheap source of infinite power by riding your bike. Steal a shopping cart from a nearby town to haul your crap home or around the base and build or repair a functioning vehicle. Once you have a vehicle with all the fixings your options open up a lot. Then i usually go looking for science cards, books and military loot so i can get to the labs for the good stuff.
I like eskrima a lot but i like silat the best. Silat + cudgel or better yet, trench knife or machete can be kinda silly. Once your character skills up and gets decent armor you can just wreck zombies. Ive occasionally gone up to hulks and punoed their face for like 120-150 damage and killed them in a hit or two.
Theres lots of ways to do it honestly. Thats why i love this game. General rule of thumb is that if it looks like a bad idea it probably is and its not the best idea to go picking fights until you are much better prepared.
