Newbie getting over-the-hump tips

[Levitator]

Ok, so IMO, for new players, this game is a 100% zombie-food simulator until you learn some key things, at which point you can begin enjoying the game instead of just getting eaten. I will post my collection of tips which I found to make a huge difference.

To avoid getting ambushed and swarmed continuously

Turn the mouse wheel to zoom the view out when you're outside. This makes a massive difference, because now you can see the zombies from really far away, and you now have little reason to get dangerously close to an unmanageable number of them. The default zoom level is pretty well inside their view distance, and you can seldom spot a zombie before he sees you unless you zoom out, and then you have a huge advantage.

To fight efficiently

Do strikes initially to weaken a zombie, then focus on knocking him down with shoves. Downed zombies are very vulnerable and easy to dispatch. Lure zombies over and through obstacles because they will trip, and that's a downed zombie. With a downed zombie, I'm pretty sure it matters where you hit, so aim for the head, and that is way more efficient then slugging a standing zombie.

Use a gamepad

Old-timers will recall the Ikari Warriors style of control where you can move freely with one stick and control your direction with the other. So, that permits you to strafe, back away, or maneuver in and out of cover and behind obstacles fluidly while maintaining your facing at enemies the entire time. It took me a while to realize you can use the shoulder buttons to select specific containers in the inventory interface, and I don't know if I missed it because the help window was in keyboard-and-mouse mode. It switches modes depending on the last input device you used.

Difficulty

Learn the controls and tactics on Survivor mode, because if it's going to be trial-and-error, then make it more forgiving so you get more errors to learn from before you have to restart or respawn. I tend to impose permadeath on myself (with respect to loot recovery, or world reuse), but I might change that up, since it's not the intended play style. Once you know how the controls and fighting work, Apocalypse is the mode the game is designed for, with the others being for more casual play.

[BanDHMO]

Zombies are very stupid and you can control their speed by how close they are to you. This allows you to draw out a single zombie from a group by letting the first one get close enough to run towards you, and walk away from it, keeping it just in range to keep it running, while its buddies keep shambling and fall behind.

Use the above to never fight more than one zombie at a time, disengage if more zombies approach before you killed the one you drew away. You should be able to safely and reliably kill one zombie even when unarmed by shoving it down and stomping.

Get out of the city cores and find a place on the edge of wilderness or just in it, where z population is lower and it's easier to survive day to day. Then do raids into town.

You really don't need much to survive. So long as you are careful in fighting and aren't paniking (i.e. "I MUST find x TODAY!), you'll be fine. It's when you push too hard that you'll die.

[Levitator]

Originally posted by BanDHMO:

Zombies are very stupid and you can control their speed by how close they are to you. This allows you to draw out a single zombie from a group by letting the first one get close enough to run towards you, and walk away from it, keeping it just in range to keep it running, while its buddies keep shambling and fall behind.

Use the above to never fight more than one zombie at a time, disengage if more zombies approach before you killed the one you drew away. You should be able to safely and reliably kill one zombie even when unarmed by shoving it down and stomping.

Get out of the city cores and find a place on the edge of wilderness or just in it, where z population is lower and it's easier to survive day to day. Then do raids into town.

You really don't need much to survive. So long as you are careful in fighting and aren't paniking (i.e. "I MUST find x TODAY!), you'll be fine. It's when you push too hard that you'll die.

I've yet to figure out how to reliably locate fuel in order to commute in and out of town. Most vehicles seem to spawn empty or near empty.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Levitator:

Originally posted by BanDHMO:

Zombies are very stupid and you can control their speed by how close they are to you. This allows you to draw out a single zombie from a group by letting the first one get close enough to run towards you, and walk away from it, keeping it just in range to keep it running, while its buddies keep shambling and fall behind.

Use the above to never fight more than one zombie at a time, disengage if more zombies approach before you killed the one you drew away. You should be able to safely and reliably kill one zombie even when unarmed by shoving it down and stomping.

Get out of the city cores and find a place on the edge of wilderness or just in it, where z population is lower and it's easier to survive day to day. Then do raids into town.

You really don't need much to survive. So long as you are careful in fighting and aren't paniking (i.e. "I MUST find x TODAY!), you'll be fine. It's when you push too hard that you'll die.

I've yet to figure out how to reliably locate fuel in order to commute in and out of town. Most vehicles seem to spawn empty or near empty.

If you get a little fuel, save it. Find a generator. Find the magazine(how to use generators). Thereafter you should be able to attach a generator to a fuel pump. Fill the generator with that little fuel you found. Turn on the generator. Refill your gas container. Turn off the generator. Fill it up. Turn it on. Fill up the container again. (Or just fill up all your containers.) once done turn off the generator, as its sound attracts zeds. Now you have....FUEL for cars and generators...:)
(Btw is worse on 6 months later when most cars dont even have a running battery, and you either steal one from a garage, or you get lucky and find one someplace. But then you still need the fuel.D)

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by Levitator:

I've yet to figure out how to reliably locate fuel in order to commute in and out of town. Most vehicles seem to spawn empty or near empty.

If power hasn't shut off yet, you can grab an empty bottle or an empty gas can and fill them up at the local gas station in whatever town you started in. That, or you can carry a gas can and check cars as you come across them, some spawn with a lot of a fuel.

If power is already off, then follow Nordil's advice.

[Levitator]

Hrm. If it's dark, you won't be able to see the door rattling even though you can see the door, so the zombies can be closer than you think.

[BanDHMO]

Originally posted by Levitator:

I've yet to figure out how to reliably locate fuel in order to commute in and out of town. Most vehicles seem to spawn empty or near empty.

Depends on your settings, of course. I usually start with the power still on, and pick up every gas can I find in the first few days, then take a trip to clear a gas station and fill up. Even if you have no cans, the gas station often has a couple. Worst case, there's usually a bunch of water bottles and a bunch of cars nearby, that even if you can't drive them can be used as fuel storage. This is usually enough for transport needs until I find the generator magazine, which lets me connect a generator to the gas station pump and the fuel problem is solved for a long time.

In case that you didn't get any fuel before power outage, I'd siphon it from other vehicles and drive as little as possible, focusing on searching for the generator magazine. Sure, each vehicle may have little on its own, but there are a lot of them on the map, so if you ration it, you stand a fair chance of finding the magazine.

In the absolute worst case that the stupid magazine just doesn't freaking exist anywhere, you have two options. First, you can walk, and use a series of temporary bases within walking distance of each other, spending the day scavenging near the temp base and sleeping in it. Second, you can just create a second character and pick Electrician, which starts with the ability to use generators right away.

EDIT: Also important for new players and very often overlooked: you can have MULTIPLE characters in the same world in single player. Only one exists in the world at a time, but you can create another and switch back and forth when loading. So the second guy can be an electrician for generators or a burglar for hotwiring cars, which makes things a lot easier if you are willing to use this feature.

[Levitator]

Hrm. If you trigger a security alarm, run like crazy. It brings them in from like two blocks away, and there will be droves of them inside of about three minutes.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Levitator:

Hrm. If you trigger a security alarm, run like crazy. It brings them in from like two blocks away, and there will be droves of them inside of about three minutes.

Actually even further. And don't run. Walk, you can outwalk them, only run if the street is about to be filled fully. Then you should try to push trough, unless there is an alternative way. (Only in Lville have i had to make serious stuff on max zombies...there were times i had to turn around 3-4 times. To look for another way.)

[skunkmonkey]

Don’t forget your manners. Knock before opening a door or you might get a rough kiss. You can double tap E quickly to open and close the door faster than zombies can react. This will let you get a quick peek to see if any zombies are on the other side.

Moodles have an enormous impact on combat. If they start piling up and you can’t get rid of them, then call it a day. This is a marathon not a sprint. Especially if you are tired or exhausted. You will hit like a wet noodle. This will inevitably get you killed because zombies have a big help radius.