How am i suppose to deal with apocalypse mode?

[Wildly Mild]

I get that combat is discouraged, but there are just so so so many zombies that i don't have a choice. It's next to impossible to stealth past zombies without running into even more, but if i kill them, more just keep showing up to take their place. Like i spend all day clearing zombies around my base, go to sleep, and i'm surrounded yet again. I can't figure out how to feel safe. I can't base super far away, cuz by the time i finish traveling back to town to loot, i'd need to sleep in an unsafe house anyway, so it's pointless.

["Hard Tack" Tom]

i seem to be fine living in the woods at the lake house by West point. Never seen a zombie near the house since i killed the original 2 in the house and im 13 days in.

And as far as the combat part, just walk by them. Whenever i run into west point i run by hundreds of zombies, but theyre slow and you can simply outwalk them - sprinting only when you need to run around a group or get ahead.

Once i get to a place i want to loot that's when i begin smacking zombies. usually there's about 30-40 around the smaller houses/lone buildings but as long as you keep backing up in a circle they'll never get you. (think training in CoD zombies) Just dont try and go for the ones that are downed or youll get swamped and you should kill them all without even breaking a single baseball bat. Once an area is cleared they dont repopulate until you leave the area.

And of course never go for the big prizes like warhouses/malls/schools untill you have guns and a crap ton molotovs.

[Wildly Mild]

How are you able to kill any zombies at all when you have multiples on you? You can only hit one zombie at a time, and it takes a huge amount of time to kill one if you don't stop to stomp them on the ground which you can't do while being chased, and it slows you down to attack which will cause you to get grabbed, and at 10 fitness i just barely move fast enough to escape them if i have max stamina.

[Aledas]

If you see a group sneak far away from them that they dont all inmediatly see you , move a bit untill 1 or 2 does and then lead them away to a bit of a safe spot , you can kill groups like that just by leading away a few at a time , make sure the area where you leading them its not going to have zombies sneaking up on you .

Blunt weapons are king for me , specially if its a 2 hander like a baseball bat , spear work really well as well but brake fast untill like lv 2 maintenance , standing on top of a zombie will not allow it to stand back up and can give you the time to try and kill another one , use windows , fences to your advantage .

It will take a lot of death to get the hang of it but the more you do it the better you will get a feeling for the combat and how to act , and dont let your hubris get the better of you , i think thats how most of us die after we get confortable with combat :P

[Wildly Mild]

Seems like fences and windows are intended to give you a disadvantage, cuz 50% of the time a zombie going thru one will crawl towards you and trip you, leading to your death if you have multiples on you. I try to pull one or two at a time to clear big groups, but it's hugely time consuming and the groups just keep respawning, and eventually i make a mistake and get scratched and die of infection.

[katsuragi]

it takes strategy and good judgment. You can fight off 5 at once with a frying pan if you don't plant your feet in the ground and make good decisions about when to swing and when to backpeddle.
Yes Zs lunge after they crawl over a fence or through a window but, before they do, you have an opportunity to one shot them when they hit the ground. If there are a dozen coming through at once you are going to get F'd but if you can stretch the mob out, fences and windows are definitely your friend.
Apocalypse is going to be your default game mode once you develop the skills required to play the game but prior to that, you want to play on easier modes or make your own sandbox game.
I play on Apoc and I base inside of towns. My kill counts are usually up into 400 to 500 by the time my neighborhood quiets down. Keep in mind that the Zs are sort of aware of their overall distribution so as you clear an area, more will file in from the surrounding areas to fill the void. That's why they seem to be infinite at first, but you really can kill so many that they dry up.
I recommend grabbing as much fitness and strength as you can in character creation and build your other skills in game. Even with 0 fighting skills you can still fight with any weapon (except guns). It's a lot more about your personal skill at manuevering and deciding when to swing than it is about the number on your skill page.

[Brother Frederick]

This is one of Devs talking about the point of this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tDuU8I5MU

Anyway, patience if advised when dealing with zambos, thinking ahead and using things like alarm clocks, cars or any thing that will give you some edge (enviroment).
But most important thing is to know when to fight and when to flee.

(also to know the game better use sandbox to tweak it to your liking and if you find the balls to raise the bar - dew it!)

[Lucifer]

You’re going to eventually die... that’s the point. You can defeat groups of zombies in Apocalypse with practice learning the best tactics. Yes, they’re going to respawn eventually but you only need to clear where you need to scavenge. It’s best to set up a base in a remote location... if it’s remote enough the helicopter won’t even attract zombies.

Here’s a video where I cleared a full group of 20 in Apocalypse (happens around 13 minutes in): https://youtu.be/iLO7Kxl4vdo

[Death]

Originally posted by katsuragi:

it takes strategy and good judgment. You can fight off 5 at once with a frying pan if you don't plant your feet in the ground and make good decisions about when to swing and when to backpeddle.
Yes Zs lunge after they crawl over a fence or through a window but, before they do, you have an opportunity to one shot them when they hit the ground. If there are a dozen coming through at once you are going to get F'd but if you can stretch the mob out, fences and windows are definitely your friend.
Apocalypse is going to be your default game mode once you develop the skills required to play the game but prior to that, you want to play on easier modes or make your own sandbox game.
I play on Apoc and I base inside of towns. My kill counts are usually up into 400 to 500 by the time my neighborhood quiets down. Keep in mind that the Zs are sort of aware of their overall distribution so as you clear an area, more will file in from the surrounding areas to fill the void. That's why they seem to be infinite at first, but you really can kill so many that they dry up.
I recommend grabbing as much fitness and strength as you can in character creation and build your other skills in game. Even with 0 fighting skills you can still fight with any weapon (except guns). It's a lot more about your personal skill at manuevering and deciding when to swing than it is about the number on your skill page.

I don't necessarily agree that apocalypse will be everyone's go to game mode even after learning the game. I personally only play sandbox, because there are other options that I like to change and I'm perfectly capable of playing the game. I'm not saying anything else in your post is wrong as you are ultimately correct in everything else. I'm just saying that in my opinion sandbox is the way to go.

[katsuragi]

Originally posted by Death:

Originally posted by katsuragi:

it takes strategy and good judgment. You can fight off 5 at once with a frying pan if you don't plant your feet in the ground and make good decisions about when to swing and when to backpeddle.
Yes Zs lunge after they crawl over a fence or through a window but, before they do, you have an opportunity to one shot them when they hit the ground. If there are a dozen coming through at once you are going to get F'd but if you can stretch the mob out, fences and windows are definitely your friend.
Apocalypse is going to be your default game mode once you develop the skills required to play the game but prior to that, you want to play on easier modes or make your own sandbox game.
I play on Apoc and I base inside of towns. My kill counts are usually up into 400 to 500 by the time my neighborhood quiets down. Keep in mind that the Zs are sort of aware of their overall distribution so as you clear an area, more will file in from the surrounding areas to fill the void. That's why they seem to be infinite at first, but you really can kill so many that they dry up.
I recommend grabbing as much fitness and strength as you can in character creation and build your other skills in game. Even with 0 fighting skills you can still fight with any weapon (except guns). It's a lot more about your personal skill at manuevering and deciding when to swing than it is about the number on your skill page.

I don't necessarily agree that apocalypse will be everyone's go to game mode even after learning the game. I personally only play sandbox, because there are other options that I like to change and I'm perfectly capable of playing the game. I'm not saying anything else in your post is wrong as you are ultimately correct in everything else. I'm just saying that in my opinion sandbox is the way to go.

Lol... sorry I wasn't trying to dis sandbox mode. I just think of apoc as a baseline for bragging rights. Like you can say "I survived for 90 days and got 2,000 kills!" but maybe you were playing with some easy settings? If you like to brag about accomplishments (like I do) then you have to play on Apoc so your bragging means something. Pathetic, I know, but I won't pretend to be someone else so.... it is what it is...

[noahphense]

Love the game, want to see someone play vanilla on Apoc? This is the guy. I'm not done with the playlist yet. I'm on #15. Where he has 'hundreds' of zombies and he's managing it very well. (if not he will just leave the area) EP1 shows what exact settings he chose for the world, and for his character. He's defo a seasoned player.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnT8YvRk1XmRWJ3iR_KWwZexn8w0xrR3-

[zdowgg]

i can also survive an infinite amount of time in apoco mode if you ever want to see a run through i could show you how to make good characters

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by zdowgg:

i can also survive an infinite amount of time in apoco mode if you ever want to see a run through i could show you how to make good characters

After a while it does not really come down to making good characters though.
What matters is patience, in game knowledge and the like. Even 0/0 characters can survive, though they may be harder, you may have to miss out things until you are able to do stuff and so on. (Patience)
There is no unplayable character (unless it is bugged or there is a bug), it all just takes to get to know the things.

Of course there are character builds with which it is much more easier to play compared to others.

[_TheBunnymaster_]

First of all, hats off to whoever has 10 fitness here. I've never achieved that number, although I have a real shot with the character I'm working on right now since she's doing workouts every day or at least every other day. (started at four fitness)
Anyway, I think if you don't want to use a map mod, grab a spot like Twiggy's and try to hold it. The practice you get pounding on the undead will be pretty expansive.

[Aledas]

Originally posted by _TheBunnymaster_:

First of all, hats off to whoever has 10 fitness here. I've never achieved that number, although I have a real shot with the character I'm working on right now since she's doing workouts every day or at least every other day. (started at four fitness)
Anyway, I think if you don't want to use a map mod, grab a spot like Twiggy's and try to hold it. The practice you get pounding on the undead will be pretty expansive.

Wow , congrats on that ! , i have a character at 4 as well and was thinking about starting to make her train to get rid of the out of shape trait , but it seems to be so slow gains even with quick learner , which exercise have you been using ?

[_TheBunnymaster_]

Originally posted by Aledas:

Originally posted by _TheBunnymaster_:

First of all, hats off to whoever has 10 fitness here. I've never achieved that number, although I have a real shot with the character I'm working on right now since she's doing workouts every day or at least every other day. (started at four fitness)
Anyway, I think if you don't want to use a map mod, grab a spot like Twiggy's and try to hold it. The practice you get pounding on the undead will be pretty expansive.

Wow , congrats on that ! , i have a character at 4 as well and was thinking about starting to make her train to get rid of the out of shape trait , but it seems to be so slow gains even with quick learner , which exercise have you been using ?

It's slow as hell, but here's what I do:

1) Play on 12-hour days. It's a slog sometimes, but fast forwarding is still a great way to move things along when you're reading, training, crafting etc.
2) Take a spot on a coast. I like Twiggy's, the lighthouse or one of the three houses at Prewitt's lake just outside West Point. There are plenty of other locations, but the idea is to include a nice long run to wherever it is you're going that day, right after you:
3) Workout first thing in the morning. Two sets each of 10-minutes of Squats, Sit-ups and Burpees. No strength exercises for this build (started at five str). Burpees give a little strength anyway and you'll get plenty more when moving a ton of crap around all day. Plan on being back at base before 12 hours have passed or your out-of-shape couch potato ass will be feeling it around zeds instead of safely on your couch with a book and your woobie.
4) (Stupid Bonus Points Section) If you're wanting extra credit, push disabled vehicles off the road or down the road. If, somehow nobody shows up to ridicule or eat you, it's hundreds of points per hour (again, YMMV based on day length) I haven't done this a ton, but areas you'll at least get to see the mob moving in on you are the bridges around the game that tend to gather traffic jams. Obviously the safe/smart thing to do is to have your propane torch/mask handy and just clear them out, but still, doing it once isn't going to kill you...maybe.