[quote=“youtoo, post:551, topic:42”]I think the top newb tip is get a bow. The easiest way to do this is to start with the archery skill. A bow can be crafted with 1 archery and 1 survival. It is often tough to find a bow or crossbows. Bows are sometimes found in Sporting Good stores but on average tend to be rare. Crossbows are found in crossbow traps. Sometimes you get lucky and find them and sometimes you don’t. Plus there is limited ammo.
you don’t need to start with survival. You can get this to 1 pretty quick by butchering corpses. You can kill rabbits with stones, then butcher them. Turn off gain for throwing so you don’t waste exp.
While doing this break into houses on the outskirts and find 2, 3ft string. These are very common random items in general houses. On average it should not take you more than 4-6 hours to get 2 pieces of string.
you can craft a bow with 1 heavy stick that is easily found in the woods.
you can make all the arrows you need from the benches in the shelter. Carry about 30.
Arrows are reusable. Most of the time you shoot them you can pick them up.
Silent weapon. Not as serious with the current static spawns. If you use non-static spawns noise spawns Zombies (Ill bet noise will be a big problem again in a later release).
Range. So you can wear a backup and stock up on items that that let you carry more bulk for easier early game looting. Since dodging is not as much of an issue.
Range makes it easier to run a way.
you still need a bashing items. Bows are not effective at all against skeletons (probably some other mobs). So bring a bashing weapon too. But early on run from anything you can’t take down with bows.
With level 2 bows, you are already doing quite a bit of damage to most zombie types.
By level 5, you can easily take down zombie hulks at range (especially if you put some points into perception).
Due to the range of bows. It is more effective to try to clear out the corners of town during the day since you can see farther and can run away. So you can pick off a few at a time. Run. Get your exp back up and get a few more. At night you can stumble on tough baddies.
Bow is effective at close range, but you will get hit.
It is probably the single best weapon in the game. Not as powerful as the big guns ,but its much lighter, you have unlimited ammo, and ammo can be picked up.[/quote]
To make any real use of a longbow, you must have 10 or more strength. You could use a composite bow, but they are slow.
Personally, the best trick I ever learned was that you need to keep your torso, leg, and feet encumbrance low. A trenchcoat, pair of army pants, and a good pair of sneakers (all fitting preferably) will keep cover you well during the spring and autumn months and will provide good storage. Having space in your inventory to store vital items will help keep you alive for much longer while allowing you to dodge and melee attack enemies as well as shoot them reasonably well.
