14 blows with a baseball bat per zombie

[Bullwinkle]

I just played the IWBUMS test build for several hours and I have to say that the "fun" factor seems to have gone down quite a bit. This build is definitely more challenging, but not in a totally good way.

With the old build, I could reliably clear out the area around my house on day 1 (not necessarily a good thing). In this version, I ended up attracting a horde before I could clear out a safe area, and ended up needing to run.... and run... and run and run and run. It was quite an experience! I kept running into more and more hordes, until I finally found a semi-wooded area that didn't have a lot of zombies and I was FINALLY able to stop running. This was very challenging, and required some skill because I knew I couldn't sprint forever, and choosing when to walk with 75 zeds chasing me and when to sprint was fun and challenging.

But once things calmed down 4 blocks from the start of my sprint (goodbye starter house!) I started to clear out an area. Even with a baseball bat, it was taking roughly 14 swings to kill a zombie, 13 of them with the zombie lying on the ground motionless. Doing this a hundred times to clear out an area got boring and repetitious very quickly. It seemed more of a slog than a game. Eventually I reached level 1 with Blunt, and I was very glad to see it took fewer swings to kill a zombie, but it still seemed a little too hard for my taste.

Then came my death. I whacked a zombie with my bat and it fell to the ground, turning into a crawler in the process, and it immediately flipped up and one-shotted me. This wasn't fun. I mean, crawlers have been the most common way I have died in previous play throughs, and I have come to respect them. But they have always seemed to have a bit of an unfair ability to flip up and one-shot me too fast. It is inconsistent with every other movement I've seen proper zombies make. This one move is like 5 times faster. When it happens there is no defense. It is like playing a game where a random number generator decides when I am going to die, and what is the point of playing a survival game with such a mechanic?

The game definitely needs to be more challenging than it was. But it is hard to do that right. It would be easy to make the game harder, just increase the hp on every zombie X20. And make your weapons break X20 faster. That would definitely be more challenging, but it wouldn't be very fun. The problem is how to keep the fun factor while making the game more challenging. And for me, this current build does have some cool points, but overall just makes me want to go play a different game. Too much of a frustrating slog needing to hit every zombie 14 times and then die from a RNG. Getting chased halfway across WP was cool, though.

[Gonzo Max]

It shouldn't take 14 whacks from a bat to kill a zombie - it suggests maybe you're not charging your shots...

Holding your weapon ready for half a second or so between swings and making sure you connect with the sweet-spot of your chosen weapon should result in taking them down with one hit, and one or two to finish them.

Exhaustion, hunger and stress will play a part too, of course.

[Bullwinkle]

Цитата допису Gonzo Macky:

It shouldn't take 14 whacks from a bat to kill a zombie -.

I agree! Especially WITH me charging my shots. I'd knock the zombie down and stand there with my weapon readied until he started to get up. Usually about 3 seconds of charging time. I'd tweak my aim after each shot to make sure I was hitting his head with my sweet spot or as close to as it as I could.

[0ero the Hammer Slayer]

I've never had a problem with the crawlers. If you're doing like what Gonzo said, you should be a fair distance away from the zombie before you swing at it, like a bat's length. Then whent eh zombie goes down and starts to change into a crawler there's a considerable amount of time inbetween it being able to attack and move before you can get hit. Of course, if you're trying to kill it head on it'll be a problem. You gotta back off immediately and run around it, it takes FOREVER to turn around so you just beat it's butt literally. if you're charging your shots you should be good. and staying about a bat's length away.

Of course, if it's just a bug that's keeping you from killing them normally it'll be a problem. Also I don't know if your game lags so that could also play an issue.

[Bullwinkle]

I have no issues with lag, and I am adept at running around behind crawlers. But this one was a walker who got close before my first swing. He dropped to my feeet, and the instant he hit the ground, I was dead, because he had already flipped up and one-shotted me. I was also never more than peckish or dry mouth. Stress may have been an issue, but it is not like I chose any negative perks that affect stress.

[0ero the Hammer Slayer]

Yeah maybe there is a problem with them then. =/ I've just never seen it happen, like I've had several zombies fall to the ground at the same time and crawl but it's just never happened to me. But there's a lot of people that have had that "one shot" happen to them before. I've seen it alot.

IT could be that I'm just extremely paranoid and I don't want them to even get an arms length close to me. I freak out. Haha.

[Bullwinkle]

It used to be a big problem for me before I learned to get behind them. Usually now when I hit a zombie, he is knocked back, and if he turns into a crawler, there is some distance, and I will back off even futher. But this time, my first blow didn't knock him back, it just knocked him down, and by the time I realized he had turned into a crawler, I was already dead.

[Jzin]

Did you hold the bat with two hands? If you hit with the sweet spot and charge your shots, then you shouldnt be doing 14 shots per zombie. Perhaps you added a negative trait such as feeble or something.
Without a trait that affects strength and 0 skill in blunt, i usually take on average about 6 hits per zombie. Try starting a new game and see if the problem persists.

Also, about the crawler thing. I would advise to back up when you fight a zombie. So when he turns to crawler, you are not within reach. When fighting, always remember to check your rear. A frequent quick look to your six can be a life saver! This prevents a zombie getting too close.

However, it seems you are well versed with the game mechanic. So the last possibility is perhaps you have added some mods or tweaked the game files and this is causing some bugs to your game.

[Bullwinkle]

Actually, the more that I think about it, I'm not sure if the unfair 5X speed one-shot attack comes from crawlers or from zombies who have fallen down and aren't moving, or both. Anyay, there are lots of fun ways to die in this game, but this one just sucks and needs to change.

[Bullwinkle]

I have added no mods, tweaked no files and I had the Stout perk. And I equipped the bat with both hands. It didn't always take 14 shots, sometimes 6, but usually around 11-14. Sometimes 15. 14 seemed a very common number. I only started counting how many it took because it seemed ridiculous. After I reached level 1 blunt, it seemed to take about 9 shots, but I didn't get a very large sample before dying. I'm not confident that I always hit the sweet spot, but I was aware that there is a sweeet spot, and was always trying to hit it. I was a Lumberjack, if that matters, and my axe would kill them in about 2 or 3 swings, but mostly I used the bat, saving the axe for special situations.

[Axelord1942]

I just want to jump in here and say that Holly is your avatar and I love you for it. I miss Red Dwarf.

[Jzin]

Not sure what you meant. Sometimes fallen zombies turn to crawlers, or a random zombie that is lying on the floor may turn to a crawler as well. Zombies that have been knocked down can't attack when it's lying on it's back in this game. I think your game is bugged. I have never experienced getting one shotted or having to hit each zombie 14 times lol.

Maybe you stepped on a mouse trap ;)

[Bullwinkle]

:-) " I am Holly, the ship's computer, with an IQ of 6000; the same IQ as 6000 PE teachers"

[Jzin]

Цитата допису Bullwinkle:

I have added no mods, tweaked no files and I had the Stout perk. And I equipped the bat with both hands. It didn't always take 14 shots, sometimes 6, but usually around 11-14. Sometimes 15. 14 seemed a very common number. I only started counting how many it took because it seemed ridiculous. After I reached level 1 blunt, it seemed to take about 9 shots, but I didn't get a very large sample before dying. I'm not confident that I always hit the sweet spot, but I was aware that there is a sweeet spot, and was always trying to hit it. I was a Lumberjack, if that matters, and my axe would kill them in about 2 or 3 swings, but mostly I used the bat, saving the axe for special situations.

Maybe the sweet spot you are referring to is wrong? To my understanding it is the extreme edge of the bat. Your timing is probably off ?

[Bullwinkle]

I've been one-shotted several times, but it is a rare occurrence. It was how I died on my best play-through. I killed 2500 zombies, then got one-shotted by a zombie on the floor. Maybe you just haven't had it happen yet.

[Bullwinkle]

Maybe my timing is off. I've been using what I learned in junior high school baseball about the sweet spot on a bat, which is about 3 inches from the end.