[quote=“Womble, post:3, topic:6479”]Quick and Fleet is nice, but there is an alternative to running away. Two layers of “armor” (at least reinforced leather + plastic on the torso and reinforced leather + cloth on your limbs, plus the best helmet and glasses you can find) makes you extremely resistant to damage. Avoid getting surrounded, but otherwise feel free to wade into fights with Z, including Tough and Soldiers. If you can find a School, use it to grind your combat skills, but short of “dungeon” areas, you should be fine to go around the map taking what you want, sleeping - more or less - where you want. Make disinfectant a priority and keep on the lookout for kevlar to make yourself even more resilient.
In a more general sense: Shopping carts are very useful while you’re getting skilled up for building a powered vehicle. Eat healthy. Consume lots of caffeine and stay beside a powered computer console to read through the nights. Get funnels and large containers for collecting acid rain so you can make your own batteries.
Above all: never just go out “because”. Every time your character leaves (relative) safety, it should be with a purpose. Aimless roving is the main cause of my survivors ceasing to survive - when I don’t have something in mind, I have them stay in and read, or stop playing![/quote]
Armor has gotten a very heavy nerf recently (50%), so this may no longer be a great option. Id say go with high stats. STR especially 13-14 isnt crazy. This will make you hit harder and have more hitpoints, so surviving is generally easier. From there, take 12 points of bad traits, heavy sleeper, trigger happy and poor hearing are all very good, if you are playing with no npcs, truth teller and ugly are basically free. Glass jaw will very seldom kill you and lactose intolerant and wool allergy are also pretty good. Many of the good traits are very good, but Night vision is the only one I say is a must.
1 point in dodge is a smart way to go, this will also up your survivability alot. Tailor is a good starting prof, you can craft a backpack and trenchcoat in the starting shelter with the curtains then leather helm/gauntlets as soon as you kill some Zs and get some leather to cut up. Try and keep your torso enc. at 1 or below, torso enc hits you hard in to hit and dodge. Craft either a nailboard or crowbar (always carry a crowbar) as a weapon and head into town.
Static spawn is much easier than dynamic for learning on, once you clear an area of Zs, it will stay clear. Areas with just houses have less Zs than around shops, so find a residential area and clear out a few blocks, looting as you go. Dont fight flat footed, fight by kiting Zs onto things that will slow them down, benches, bushes, fences, etc. A 1 tile wide window and an ok weapon and you can fight off piles of Zs. Early on you will get hit and get an infection, always seems to happen, you want in order of preference: disinfectant (instant, small heal), first aid kit (takes a while, big heal, you want to be somewhere safe to use it) or a heatsource and knife or soldering iron (instant, small damage, lots of pain, may fail so you may have to do it 3 or 4 times, leaving you with piles of pain). If you go the cauterize with heat route (and you will probably have to) be inside in an area you have already cleared, if you dont have painkillers then I recommend having a skill book to read while the pain goes down, wandering about with 40 pain trying to fight is a good way to die.
