# Stealth builds / gameplay
**URL:** https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309
**Category:** The Bunker
**Created:** [March 5, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309 "2014-03-05T23:29:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tase](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tase)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/1 "2014-03-05T23:29:55Z")
Anyone here fancy the stealth gameplay ?
I’ve tried to make a stealth build but it seems smell/noise really kills hiding.
I get the Bionic Thief profession with the “FASTREADER” “FORGETFUL” “GLASSJAW” “INCONSPICUOUS” “LIGHTSTEP” “MOODSWINGS” “NIGHTVISION” “PARKOUR” “ROBUST” “TRUTHTELLER” “UGLY” “WEAKSCENT” traits. Cheated a bit and started with 10 points instead of 8, but otherwise playing a rather standard game 0.A. I’ll try to find a crossbow trap but it seems the amout of ammo you get from them is nerfed ? Broke 2 traps and only got 3 steel bolts in total.
What kind of stealth builds do you guys roll with ?
Additionally, what kind of “perfect” profession would work with a stealth playthrough. Bionic Thief’s lockpick tool really helps staying silent while breaking in, but I’dd figure something more defensive like Enhanced Hearing or something that would mute your smell would be cool.
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### Author:  [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/2 "2014-03-05T23:31:28Z")
There is no stealth. Your build is honestly, the most useless.
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### Author:  [@Tase](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tase)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/3 "2014-03-05T23:40:20Z")
Gezz, thanks for your constructive input to this topic.
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### Author:  [@John\_Candlebury](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/John_Candlebury)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/4 "2014-03-05T23:47:07Z")
Hes right though, barring blindly walking during night raids and some really expensive to use and rare bionics, there’s no way to really be stealthy in the game.
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### Author:  [@infectedmochi](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/infectedmochi)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/5 "2014-03-05T23:52:25Z")
Stealth in general is not really viable at this state of the game, the “short term” problem is there is no “sneak mode” aka moving slower but cause less noise, able to dash past Zs without trigger their attention, and to an extent - ambush/dodge/cover (for thing like gun fights). The “long term” problem is that unlike other RLs that can give stealthy character reward (by giving experience point for progressing, not just killing monster) in CDDA you HAVE to raise your combat skill if you want to stand a chance against future encounters - you can’t expect to sneak past all of them Zs all the times.
So yeah, you can try being stealthy and just live a relatively normal life without blood-bumping encounters, but it will be risky and you must adhere to certain limitations (crowded area is off-limit, same to open field, daylight is risky).
That said, I certainly hope someday the game will have a stealthy prospect to it, would make quite an interesting gameplay.
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### Author:  [@Tase](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tase)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/6 "2014-03-06T00:41:21Z")
> [@John Candlebury](#):
>
> Hes right though, barring blindly walking during night raids and some really expensive to use and rare bionics, there’s no way to really be stealthy in the game.
Well this is supposed to be a discussion, not a bashing fest. Posts along the lines of “stealth is garbage” isn’t productive. Saying stealth doesn’t work unless you get rare bionics (or doesn’t work because the game doesn’t reward the game style), is welcomed.
Thanks for the input.
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### Author:  [@Inadequate](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Inadequate)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/7 "2014-03-06T00:56:11Z")
What’s there to discuss? Stealth doesn’t work because it literally hasn’t been implemented, and any attempt to make it work despite that is hilariously misguided at best.
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### Author:  [@HunterAlpha1](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/HunterAlpha1)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/8 "2014-03-06T00:58:08Z")
[quote=“FunsizeNinja123, post:2, topic:5309”]There is no stealth. Your build is honestly, the most useless.[/quote]Sounds like something Inadequate would say ☹
That being said, they are right, stealth is, sadly, not viable at this stage, though I would have said so in a much less rude manner. However, any suggestions you might have as to how it could be implemented would be more than welcome, there are always discussions regarding stealth popping up in The Drawing Board.
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### Author:  [@Nopkar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Nopkar)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/9 "2014-03-06T01:00:26Z")
> [@Tase](#):
>
> [quote=“John Candlebury, post:4, topic:5309”]Hes right though, barring blindly walking during night raids and some really expensive to use and rare bionics, there’s no way to really be stealthy in the game.
Well this is supposed to be a discussion, not a bashing fest. Posts along the lines of “stealth is garbage” isn’t productive. Saying stealth doesn’t work unless you get rare bionics (or doesn’t work because the game doesn’t reward the game style), is welcomed.
Thanks for the input.[/quote]
Unfortunately ‘stealth’ is broken/not implemented. getting a higher version of nightvision or heatvision works fairly well for the playstyle I think you’re trying to accomplish.
Other than what you’re doing or the above suggestion unfortunately there’s not much more to explore within the realm of stealth at this point, sorry.
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### Author:  [@Tase](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tase)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/10 "2014-03-06T02:22:31Z")
Stealth implementation would just be a mode with reduced visibility and noise. I don’t know if scent has been worked on / tweaked but that would be a problem since your scent travels through walls and shit, and there isn’t anything you can realistically do about it. Though I’m sure a simple passive “mutes your body odor” bionic could fix this, still isn’t real stealth. But I guess then that’s what you have do deal with when trying to sneak around zombies with dog-like noses.
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### Author:  [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/11 "2014-03-06T03:52:48Z")
Scent has been vastly improved in .A over .9, it is actually possible to sneak fairly close to zombies now and not have them pick up your scent (nor does scent go through walls).
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### Author:  [@Let\_it\_end\_in\_hellfi](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Let_it_end_in_hellfi)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/12 "2014-03-06T04:53:23Z")
I haven’t looked at what is considered a wall so this might not work, but:
If “wall” is simply any tile that cannot be moved through, then you could build a foot-powered cube of boards (if doors don’t block scent as well, you’ll have to build it around yourself) as a stealth vehicle. Can’t be seen through the boards, (if I’m correct above) can’t be smelt through the boards, and doesn’t make much noise (until you crash into something since you can’t actually see out).
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### Author:  [@Inadequate](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Inadequate)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/13 "2014-03-06T05:39:15Z")
I’m pretty sure you can’t move vehicles over a certain weight limit with pure foot-power. A fully armoured bike was incredibly sluggish, the cube sounds significantly heavier. This isn’t even getting into the logistics of steering a vehicle you can’t see out of or exit. Basically the only way you could make it work is with one of those things that let you see through walls and the walk through walls bionic, and if you have those why are you even bothering with stealth?
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### Author:  [@HunterAlpha1](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/HunterAlpha1)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/14 "2014-03-06T15:48:21Z")
[quote=“Tase, post:10, topic:5309”]Stealth implementation would just be a mode with reduced visibility and noise. I don’t know if scent has been worked on / tweaked but that would be a problem since your scent travels through walls and shit, and there isn’t anything you can realistically do about it. Though I’m sure a simple passive “mutes your body odor” bionic could fix this, still isn’t real stealth. But I guess then that’s what you have do deal with when trying to sneak around zombies with dog-like noses.[/quote][https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1DVCL\_en\_\_\_US382&espv=210&es\_sm=122&q=cover+scent&spell=1&sa=X&ei=sJgYU63pAqKq0QGBs4DADw&ved=0CCcQBSgA&biw=1024&bih=681&dpr=1](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1DVCL_en___US382&espv=210&es_sm=122&q=cover+scent&spell=1&sa=X&ei=sJgYU63pAqKq0QGBs4DADw&ved=0CCcQBSgA&biw=1024&bih=681&dpr=1)
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### Author:  [@Tase](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tase)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/15 "2014-03-06T18:16:42Z")
I actually got lucky last night and mutated Full Night Vision (and then Infravision), and without the Light Step / Weak Scent traits I could squeeze between a building and a Z, so it looks like the scent cloud is really different now. I’dd say stealth (during day) is possible if there was a mode for it (-sound -visibility -speed). Though doing it in the night would be pretty hard without at least basic night vision, but that goes for everything done during the night.
And implementing that Cover Scent thing could help, I know some Z’s have good scent detection over basic zombies. It could be a consumable that halves your scent strength for a certain period of time. Maybe you could craft it from [baking soda and water](http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2012/08/get-rid-any-odor-baking-soda).
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### Author:  [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/16 "2014-03-06T18:40:27Z")
Yeah with a high enough night vision (or appropriate bionic/goggles) it’s actually possible to sneak around most zombies, quite thrilling IMO actually, though I’ve had a few times where I’m sneaking past them all only for a thunderstorm to light up the area with a lightning strike, or to misjudge my time and dawn to break (which led to some quite !!FUN!!) moments.
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### Author:  [@One-Eyed\_Jack](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/One-Eyed_Jack)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/17 "2014-03-06T19:32:21Z")
Stealth works fine, you just have to kill everything around you first
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### Author:  [@Caconym](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Caconym)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/18 "2014-03-06T20:31:36Z")
I find by the time a have a good source of nightvison (either bionic or mutation) I can pretty much take on all the Z’s in fight.
But still if nothing is there to see me it’s still stealth.
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### Author:  [@Zireael](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Zireael)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/stealth-builds-gameplay/5309/19 "2014-03-06T20:36:56Z")
> And implementing that Cover Scent thing could help, I know some Z's have good scent detection over basic zombies. It could be a consumable that halves your scent strength for a certain period of time. Maybe you could craft it from baking soda and water.
That’s a good idea.