Ranged vs Melee, Pros/Congs

[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.

[KA101]

[quote=“Sheb, post:25, topic:1613”]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.[/quote]

Tentacles? Ugh. Those extra attacks only use half your ST. I’d go for any Tail, no more than Horns, and Claws/Long Talons. Hooves if I had a speed-up mutation to counter the lost Sneakers.

(Bear in mind that the dev version is tougher on enforcing mutation categories…but it has some new tasty mutagens to go with.)

[Sheb]

Even at half the strength, that’s 7 more attacks. 3,5 time your STG, all told.

You can also get a nice level of armor with mutations.

[KA101]

[quote=“Sheb, post:32, topic:1613”]Even at half the strength, that’s 7 more attacks. 3,5 time your STG, all told.

You can also get a nice level of armor with mutations.[/quote]

I’ve had some bad experiences against armored targets–7x No Damage wasn’t fun. Chitin Plate seemed to add a lot of encumbrance IIRC, so this dodger wasn’t thrilled with that. Glad they’re working for you, though!

[iceball3]

[quote=“woflsipder, post:29, topic:1613”]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.[/quote]Huh. Reminds me of how I managed to beat the amigara horror barefisted. It felt awesome. Then I saw it’s reference material. While creeped out, I was kinda underwhelmed. Why’d it take so much effort to kill some kind of already mangled human I wonder?

[Sheb]

Depends on your strength I guess. And whatever martial art/claw you’re using.