Items new players might not know is useful

[BizQ]

Are there any items you think new players don't see the value in picking up, that is actually quite useful?

For example, I just learned today what that you can use paperclips instead of nails to repair fishing rods.

[BizQ]

Another example I just thought of is vinegar, had no clue it was needed to pickle food, never picked it up

[Silamon]

Trowels are nice to find, makes farming a lot easier.

[Shurenai]

Assuming B41/IWBUMS, then Scissors. They aren't just a weapon, but a tool for dismantling leather and denim clothing and getting into Tailoring to up your scratch and bite defenses.

Bleach and Mop/Dish Towel/Bath Towel- Combined together, Bleach and one of the latter will allow you to clean blood from surfaces around your home. May not be strictly 'useful', But is certainly nice for making your place look good.

Likewise, Soap or Cleaning liquid, for washing clothing. It's not necessary, but it definitely speeds up the process; and also I -think- but am not sure that it reduces the amount of water required as well. (If it doesn't, it totally should.)

And lastly..Radios, walkie talkies, and extra watches. All can be dismantled for electrical experience and parts.

Additionally, Radios and Walkie talkies have a chance of having a special channel on them called the Automated Emergency Broadcast System, that announces weather and events of the current and next day every hour on the hour. This is SUPER useful for keeping track of the weather. It will also announce a day ahead of time that the water or electricity will be cut off, giving you some warning to stock up or do whatever needs doing before it goes. But most importantly, imo, The EBS will give you advance warning of the oh-so-deadly Helicopter event! This can give you the warning needed to get your bags packed, your character rested properly and out of your base that you don't want zombies at; so that you aren't caught on an off foot.

Of note, I've heard you can manually tune into the EBS, but the frequency is different on every save, so, good luck finding the right frequency without finding a radio that has it first. :D

[Silamon]

Scissors are news to me, I've been wondering how I was supposed to get fabric for tailoring.

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by Silamon:

Scissors are news to me, I've been wondering how I was supposed to get fabric for tailoring.

It was news to me yesterday. :D Welcome to the club.

[BizQ]

Originally posted by Shurenai:

long text with loads of good info

Nice! Lots of useful info right there

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by BizQ:

Originally posted by Shurenai:

long text with loads of good info

Nice! Lots of useful info right there

Oh, One more thing.. Toilet paper and Tissues. Not useful most of the time, but if you ever get sick and need to go out of the house before you recover they're amazing- Using tissues or toilet paper when sick will muffle your coughs and sneezes so that you aren't broadcasting your location constantly to every zombie within 30-50 blocks.

[Nordil(Hun)]

GAS MASK:) If i recall well you could stay indoors while having a generator running inside, and not die.
crowbar. Not just a weapon but a tool that is required to pick up many many stuff. Also useable to remove windows, which you could not open.
So if you cannot open the window you can get it out of the frame with it!

[Silamon]

Oh here's one, cotton balls. You can poor alcohol or disinfectant on cotton balls to disinfect a wound instead of pouring it directly on, uses a lot less disinfectant that way.

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by Silamon:

Oh here's one, cotton balls. You can poor alcohol or disinfectant on cotton balls to disinfect a wound instead of pouring it directly on, uses a lot less disinfectant that way.

Now that I didn't know. I knew it could be used with alcohol; but didn't know it could be used with disinfectant, Or that it would use less in either case.... *Stuffs my pile of cotton balls into my medical bag immediately.*

[BaronVonBunghole]

Mugs, bowls, cooking pots, kettles, any liquid storage container. Load them all up with water, and store them away for when the water eventually gets shut off.

[J's]

Maps, pencils (or pens) and erasers.

You can mark buildings and add notes, if you are so inclined because it can be done externaly using the map (and bookmarking specific coordinates).

[TrashCabbage]

Collect every light bulb. They are great for grinding mechanics. IIRC each bulb can give you experience for its FIRST uninstall and install on each car. So basically if you collect like 20 bulbs and have a couple cars at your base, you can carry the bulbs in your bag (to keep track of them) and after each install/uninstall you take the bulbs that are now in your pocket/main inventory and drop them by the next car for grinding later.

This is the fastest way to level mechanics i believe. It also really helps to have one of the bulbs lower than 100% so that it is even easier to keep track of which bulbs you have already installed based on where the used bulb is in the list. this sounds confusing but it will make more sense when you try this method and see what I'm talking about. Please let me know if I'm incorrect on anything.

Also, colored bulbs make your base feel unique!

[Radiosity]

Screws. Used to be worthless, but now you can use them to repair your car hood.

[J's]

Originally posted by Radiosity:

Screws. Used to be worthless, but now you can use them to repair your car hood.

That is good to know even for veterans that may have missed the change in-between playthrough. Thanks for the info :)