Ranged vs Melee, Pros/Congs

[prytoclasm]

Having a melee only character is dangerous, as is having a firearms only one. Especially robots and turrets can be quite destructive to a melee only character. Additional, firearms related, you got close to infinite resources for the nailgun which is suitable enough for a lot of enemies. For anything else: 9mm +P+ is fine.

You should not rely on melee only, it’s possible, sure, but it’s also quite ineffective.

[ClaytonRISING]

Eh, the nailgun is a little OP for my fancy.

[Weyrling]

As far as pros/cons go, I usually do melee and ranged fighting so not much specifics.

One tip I’ve found really useful for a melee character is to avoid using first aid/bandages on restoring health if above roughly half health, because you can restore health by sleeping. Note that I usually have Tough and/or Fast Healer.

I always leave an escape route when I’m exploring or fighting zombies so if I feel it’s risky to keep fighting I just leave, weaving around bookshelves and tables, pit traps and bear traps, the only real dangers are ranged enemies and zombie hulks, and hulks can easily be burned to death with some two by fours and a bear trap.

When it comes to ranged characters, I start out by training my throwing skill until I find/make a shovel or some traps, then I train traps by messing with nail boards a lot. Once I have some decent skill I loot some bear traps and head deeper into town, digging the occasional pit trap diamond pattern up against a building as an escape route, I also move bookshelves and tables around when looting houses in a similar manner so I can fight from a window and then run away from packs of zombie dogs/hulks without taking any drugs.

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[halberdsturgeon]

In brief:

Melee pros - no reliance on ammo and subsequently requires you to carry less weight and volume, generally quiet, no penalty versus enemies flagged HARDTOSHOOT, benefits from certain special attacks/defenses depending on your weapon; benefits greatly from hydraulic muscles.

Cons - renders you very vulnerable to damage/pain/special attacks/clothing attrition, attacking is typically much slower than with firearms, cutting and piercing weapons suffer further speed penalties when they get stuck in an enemy, typically gets you surrounded unless you use choke points, puts you at the mercy of the encumbrance system and makes it harder to remain combat effective with a high volume capacity, guarantees you’ll take heavy damage from any enemy that explodes or has a ranged attack.

Ranged combat is more powerful, but dependent on ammo. There are situations where you’re better off using melee however, especially if you’re in an area where things spawn dynamically and don’t want to have to fight off a large horde to progress, or are fighting things that are HARDTOSHOOT (skeletons, smokers, vinebeasts, etc). No one is forcing you to choose between one or the other, so don’t.

[system]

I imagined a CS:GO counter terrorist and DonkeyKong going at it when I saw the title.

[Vorpal2]

Firstly, remember that both melee and ranged can be used - keep shooting till the enemy is close, then switch to a melee weapon once the horde is near you (and you’re in a good position)

Ultimately, firearms are superior for combat. Hence the military using them.

Melee is the more economical choice, because of the variety and ease of getting weapons, and the lack of ammo needed.

Firearms require very little skill to be effective, where as melee is very dependent on skill, which also includes the -s for torso encumb. I’ve found it doesn’t really require any particular build to be effective with guns. If your perc is good, should hit most of the time at close range, especially once you’ve got 2-3 skill points. A .22 rifle/pistol is great for training, esp because ammo drops 100 at a time. Shooting rabbits with .22 rat shot can get you decently skilled. Just don’t expect headshots while riding a motorbike at 100kph.

[Mdnthrvst]

About what someone said regarding ‘killing a zombie before they get a single hit in’,
that’s actually possible right from the start of the game with zero skill investment.

Smash the locker in the starting shelter. Grab the pipe. If you have mechanics you can craft it into a crowbar, but you don’t need to.

Lure a zombie over a 400-movement-penalty tile. This includes the darker bushes.
As long as there are no other zombies attacking you, you can get about 4 or 5 hits in, and that is ALWAYS sufficient to kill a regular zombie (or a shrieker)

Granted, you’ll want to actually be skilled when going up against brutes and shockers and the like, but as long as you kite effectively, you can take out an entire group of greens without getting hit once, as long as you use your pipe.

[Asra]

Melee is economical, quiet and deathly effective. Mind you, it was more effective when you could learn some of the other martial arts, like some of the animal styles. If you’re going with weapons, I actually like steel chains because it has a chance to knock over whoever you’re fighting, giving you a chance to hit them multiple times even when they’re not climbing over something. One of the main things about them is that they’re fun to experiment with and see which fits best for you. If you’re competent enough, you can take out a hulk or even a bear in melee combat without taking any significant amount of damage.

The major con with melee is turrets and exploding robots, either of which will kill you.

[woflsipder]

get 4 dodge in character creation and you will be able to take down zombie brutes using only a pipe , like i always do.

[iceball3]

Wearing lots of good coverage reinforced armor/clothes helps train dodge very effectively, actually. The simple act of soaking up damage actually technically trains it more than evading attacks.

[grisamentum]

[quote=“Mdnthrvst, post:17, topic:1613”]About what someone said regarding ‘killing a zombie before they get a single hit in’,
that’s actually possible right from the start of the game with zero skill investment.

Smash the locker in the starting shelter. Grab the pipe. If you have mechanics you can craft it into a crowbar, but you don’t need to.

Lure a zombie over a 400-movement-penalty tile. This includes the darker bushes.
As long as there are no other zombies attacking you, you can get about 4 or 5 hits in, and that is ALWAYS sufficient to kill a regular zombie (or a shrieker)

Granted, you’ll want to actually be skilled when going up against brutes and shockers and the like, but as long as you kite effectively, you can take out an entire group of greens without getting hit once, as long as you use your pipe.[/quote]

Pretty much this. It’s really too easy, if you ask me.

[JMatt]

Agreed with most comments. Using bushes, window frame tiles, and vehicle frames are good obstacles to get zombies caught up on. Then you can whack away freely before they can get any swings at you. If you really want to prepare, find a shovel (or make) and dig some pits. Alternately, you can pick up a bear trap or two. I find it to be highly effective, because most green zombies only need one hit after getting stuck on a bear trap. Of course, having a ranged weapon as backup is a good choice if you’re character is primarily melee.

[Alistaire]

Get a nailboard in your Evac shelter;

1. Break benches till you have 6 nails
2. Go outside and get one stone; wield it to not overencumber yourself
3. Get back to the broken benches, and craft on top of the two-by-fours
4. Craft your very own nailboard, and replace the stone with it

This has been amazingly effective for me; two-shotting some common zombies while they walk into bushes and stuff.

[TonicEngine]

I’m with Asra on the chains. When hitting with one, you often get a free melee hit at the same time, which is usually enough to put a zed down before it can hit back. And it doesn’t get stuck in the foe!

I haven’t tried it with martial arts, but I intend to.

[Sheb]

To me, the major con of melee is that you can’t wear 2 military rucksack and 2 backpacks. That, and turrets/robots that explode on death.

Other than that, it’s great to raid a town by night (because it’s silent), or, at high enough level, to clear it (because you don’t have to spend 200 rounds of ammo).

I my opinion, the best way to go is to take martial art and karate and find some hard arm guards. Once you’re trained a bit, you’ll be able to stop all the blows with your arms, and the arm guards will soak up the damage.

A good trick for melee character is to take robust genetics and mutate a LOT. Lots of mutations give melee bonus and/or extra attacks (Up to 7 extra attacks with tentacles!). My thoroughly-mutated character could output 150 reliable dmg a turn with skills at 4 or 5.

[woflsipder]

Now im going only melee. After few days i am usually good enough to take out a town only with Nail bat and not using windows or any tiles that make Z’s slower , because i had fluffy tail mutation that gave me +8 dodge and i already had 8 dodge. I even tried to fight Amigara Horror with melee , it was my only mistake.

[Sheb]

Well, even the horrors die nicely if you can get your Int high enough.

[vultures]

Let’s just say you’re dashing and amassing your tail when you pull a corner and find a door, which is fair for losing heat; when you open it, you rush into trouble and get bitten. So you pull out your USP and blast the f***er, finishing him off with a combat knife. To sum up, you have about five steps/turns back before they start crunching you, and a misty chance ahead with a cup-de-grace from another Z with a step in. The only way around the recoil penalty is to range-hit him, slip past him and finish him with a bullet. Another ranged opportunity can’t be wasted with scavenging of what’s on the ground, so the only smart thing would be to use a molotov or a grenade, rather than just building a fire manually. Since you’re not only backing up, you’re counting on your initiative roll being in favor so you must flank & avoid blows. Again, it’s fire weapon, switch to melee, throw a piece if there is time, step aside and fire again, or pull a fast melee attack.
To sum up, you need heluva melee and dodge in close quarters just to be efficient every round. Thus, it’s preferrable to have skill in both firearms and close combat, if you want to end your ranged effort with a good swing. Also, you can fight off armored/bot oppos with EMPs and flashbangs which yields a nice opportunity if you’re proficient with bigger calibers.
Also, saving teleporters and powerfull buffs and weapons for a higher encounter rated area is a must; a holstered, loaded backup gun is a good idea too.

[woflsipder]

There were more than 1 amigara horror and after the first hit i recieved the pain took over and speed dropped to nothing. There was no escape. At least i got to flash out my Desert Eagle at it’s face.

[Sheb]

Never had problems. But then, I had chitinous plates and scales, so quite a lot of armor.