# Tips, Tricks, and Newb Questions!

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42>\
**Category:** The Bunker\
**Created:** [January 3, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42 "2013-01-03T03:04:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 249

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**Author:** ![IcedPee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/icedpee/32/259_2.png) [@IcedPee](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/IcedPee)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4962 "2014-10-28T21:04:38Z")

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Question about unarmed styles:

So say for example, I start a character who knows Tiger-Kung Fu. The words “Tiger KungFu” appear in blue on my screen and the Tiger Strength effect is added to me. If I equip a weapon like a gun, both of these disappear.

But then I equip nail knuckles, and “Tiger KungFu” turns red but Tiger Strength stays in my effects. What does this change in color mean? Does it mean I’m getting less of a benefit from the style because I’m not completely barehanded, or does it mean I’m still getting the full effects with added damage from the knuckles or… what?

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**Author:** ![Coolthulhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/coolthulhu/32/2446_2.png) [@Coolthulhu](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Coolthulhu)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4963 "2014-10-28T21:18:41Z")

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It means that you have a weapon equipped, but your style still works. Red color simply means that you’re using a weapon.  
Now, if it changed into red “Normal”, it would mean the style effects are negated, except for some attacks (for example, power hit from brawling).

From what I can tell, brass knuckles are effectively useless for damage, though. In melee.cpp, in roll\_bash\_damage, your weapon’s bash damage is overwritten by your unarmed damage if you count as unarmed (for example, because you use an unarmed weapon).

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**Author:** ![lordmoneyofman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/lordmoneyofman/32/366_2.png) [@lordmoneyofman](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/lordmoneyofman)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4964 "2014-10-28T21:35:09Z")

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I just had a character thrown through a building by 4 Zombie Hulks, after killing Thriller. Just wondering if the Zombie Dancers around the Thriller are always Hulks or if I was just the unluckiest guy in the world.

Also, the Thriller had the red leather jacket, red leather pants, and the white glove. So, it was worth it.

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**Author:** ![Rhodri](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/rhodri/32/342_2.png) [@Rhodri](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Rhodri)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4965 "2014-10-28T21:37:32Z")

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[quote=“lordmoneyofman, post:4964, topic:42”]I just had a character thrown through a building by 4 Zombie Hulks, after killing Thriller. Just wondering if the Zombie Dancers around the Thriller are always Hulks or if I was just the unluckiest guy in the world.

Also, the Thriller had the red leather jacket, red leather pants, and the white glove. So, it was worth it.[/quote]

It’s always hulks, I think.

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**Author:** ![Arek\_PL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b77776/32.png) [@Arek\_PL](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Arek_PL)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4966 "2014-10-28T22:13:51Z")

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its possible to kill them before they turn into hulks  
you need to give high stun and extremely high atak speed and high damage per atack  
or  
telefrag them you need to be realy lucky but with teleport pads is easier to do this than using teleporter

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4967 "2014-10-28T22:15:24Z")

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[quote=“Rhodri, post:4965, topic:42”][quote=“lordmoneyofman, post:4964, topic:42”]I just had a character thrown through a building by 4 Zombie Hulks, after killing Thriller. Just wondering if the Zombie Dancers around the Thriller are always Hulks or if I was just the unluckiest guy in the world.

Also, the Thriller had the red leather jacket, red leather pants, and the white glove. So, it was worth it.[/quote]

It’s always hulks, I think.[/quote]

Yep. As you’ll notice, the ASCII for dancer and for hulk is precisely the same. Bit of a hint there. 😉

Killing off a dancer means you’re either lucky or very, very OP.

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4968 "2014-10-28T22:16:32Z")

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OR RUN THEM ALL OVER WITH A LARGE TRUCK RAM

I’ve never seen these “dancers”.

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**Author:** ![Arek\_PL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b77776/32.png) [@Arek\_PL](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Arek_PL)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4969 "2014-10-28T22:36:29Z")

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[quote=“FunsizeNinja123, post:4968, topic:42”]OR RUN THEM ALL OVER WITH A LARGE TRUCK RAM

I’ve never seen these “dancers”.[/quote]

they have 10k hp and regenerate like shooghoth ramming with truck will do small damage

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**Author:** ![jokermatt999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@jokermatt999](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/jokermatt999)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4970 "2014-10-28T22:41:11Z")

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> [@Coolthulhu](#):
>
> From what I can tell, brass knuckles are effectively useless for damage, though. In melee.cpp, in roll\_bash\_damage, your weapon’s bash damage is overwritten by your unarmed damage if you count as unarmed (for example, because you use an unarmed weapon).

Pull request submitted. 🙂 I’d seen you (I think) mention this before, but I didn’t know how to submit before then.

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**Author:** ![IcedPee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/icedpee/32/259_2.png) [@IcedPee](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/IcedPee)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4971 "2014-10-29T00:28:06Z")

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Caught influenza, kept getting woken up by the sound of myself coughing in my sleep.

Crafted noise cancelling headgear and put it on to deafen myself, but I’m still waking up early even though the coughs aren’t being reported.

What happened? That always worked for me before, there’s no reason it shouldn’t.

EDIT: Also, is it possible to die of sleep deprivation? Because dropping dead from not being able to stay awake would be a really crappy way to end this character/

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**Author:** ![ekcolocke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ekcolocke](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/ekcolocke)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4972 "2014-10-29T00:58:00Z")

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I’m fairly sure that zombies now reanimate if you leave the area that their corpses are in (piles of clothing lying where corpses did, new zombies in the previously cleared area that are naked). Butchering seems to stop them from reanimating. But are there other ways to stop it? For example, smashing the corpse or burning it, or both; does that stop them from coming back to life?

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**Author:** ![IcedPee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/icedpee/32/259_2.png) [@IcedPee](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/IcedPee)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4973 "2014-10-29T01:10:01Z")

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Smashing their body so that it’s labelled “pulped” will stop them from reanimating. And obviously if you burn or melt them away into nothingness with fire or acid they won’t come back either. However if you have the time to do so, try to butcher them because that levels up your Survival skill.

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**Author:** ![The\_Lone\_Badger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_lone_badger/32/8063_2.png) [@The\_Lone\_Badger](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Lone_Badger)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 8:26am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4974 "2014-10-29T08:26:56Z")

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Burning works in theory, but you will need extra fuel to do it properly. Just setting the corpse/clothing on fire will usually not burn long enough to do the job.  
Smashing works. So does acid (must be deployed as an acid bomb, not just poured out).

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**Author:** ![TheFlame52](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/theflame52/32/247_2.png) [@TheFlame52](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/TheFlame52)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4975 "2014-10-29T15:11:57Z")

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The hell does a directional antenna even do? It isn’t used in any crafting recipes.

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**Author:** ![bahihs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@bahihs](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/bahihs)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4976 "2014-10-29T15:23:15Z")

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Whats the deal with spider basements? I cleared one out expecting some good loot but found absolutely nothing.

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**Author:** ![baldamundo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/baldamundo/32/2859_2.png) [@baldamundo](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/baldamundo)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4977 "2014-10-29T15:26:07Z")

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> [@TheFlame52](#):
>
> The hell does a directional antenna even do? It isn’t used in any crafting recipes.

Activate it when you have an on radio in your inventory, and it tells you which direction the signal’s coming from. Not certain why you’d want to know though given so far all it’s done is take me to radio towers with no loot and nothing to interact with (?)

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**Author:** ![Arek\_PL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b77776/32.png) [@Arek\_PL](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Arek_PL)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4978 "2014-10-29T15:33:09Z")

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why use directional antena? in radio boardcast you will hear coordinates of fema camp…

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**Author:** ![chevil](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/chevil/32/282_2.png) [@chevil](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/chevil)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4979 "2014-10-29T17:18:45Z")

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[quote=“Newper5, post:4959, topic:42”]So, I have finally reached the personal skill-level where I can reliably (0.5% of the time?) survive to the point that normal zombies aren’t much threat and I can focus on other projects. As I’m looking at cars to salvage and potentially build, I’m noticing that we’re only ever given a flat number for fuel usage. Does fuel usage shift as you increase your speed (no modifications, just mashing the gas petal)?

For example, will your sports car burn as much gas going at 9 miles per hour as it will at 900? And, if the fuel usage does shift according to the speed, is it much more efficient to switch a car’s V8 for a V6 if you don’t need the extra speed and hauling capability?

I’m not sure I’ve articulated this well, but hopefully someone will be able to decipher my cluelessness.[/quote]  
Car speed shouldn’t affect fuel usage but acceleration does. If you want to conserve fuel try driving at a constant speed and use a smaller engine.

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**Author:** ![Wildbeard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dbc845/32.png) [@Wildbeard](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Wildbeard)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4980 "2014-10-29T18:25:56Z")

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Hey I had a question, i’m wearing heavy power armor with helmet (that is powered) and have internal climate control, how the hell do I stop from freezing on the lower lab levels?

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**Author:** ![Zireael](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/zireael/32/956_2.png) [@Zireael](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Zireael)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4981 "2014-10-29T18:39:22Z")

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> [@Wildbeard](#):
>
> Hey I had a question, i’m wearing heavy power armor with helmet (that is powered) and have internal climate control, how the hell do I stop from freezing on the lower lab levels?

Change the power armor for winter army clothes/survivor winter clothes/furs.

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