How fast can you reliably break into the middle zone?

[daggaz]

The slog is REAL. I feel like I must be missing something, because I am following the story line directly and I am doing my damndest to break in to the wall, but the game, she will not have me this way. The zone, she hesitates, and throws up barriers, and now it has been several afternoons and I feel I am scarcely any further in my journey than when I began. But my lockers are full to the brim (I loot as I go), and I have little left to unlock without these strange energies that are promised to me but never delivered...

I feel the grind coming on, as well. I unlocked the second engine ages ago, only to find out I couldnt even build it (4 kLIM well spent) until I harvest like a gazillion rad-away tree testicles or whatever. Thrilling. Please let me into the secret zone club, I promise I wont bring my friends around.

[Honorable_D]

All the anchors in the mid zone are unstable energy. You need to do the story mission and start making progress again.

Only go loot crazy on maps with perpetual stability. Otherwise, I only really go for all the anchors (if the aren't spread to the 4 corners of nowhere) and maybe 1 or 2 ARDA trailers that have the locked chemical lockers in them and then move on.

[Gwen]

You open access to the mid zone by going south west on the map (G3). For me due to randomness, it was the most difficult part of the whole game (I guess I had bad luck). And sure you also need to follow the story line.

[~T~D~]

Same here cause everything takes up same resource it needs balanzing ASAP. I've completed the game. Done 30 runs without incidents whatever that means. And still on my 1st engine cause not enough parts. Unlocked the electric engine now and missing only 1 part from crafting that.

[daggaz]

Originally posted by Honorable_D:

All the anchors in the mid zone are unstable energy. You need to do the story mission and start making progress again.

Only go loot crazy on maps with perpetual stability. Otherwise, I only really go for all the anchors (if the aren't spread to the 4 corners of nowhere) and maybe 1 or 2 ARDA trailers that have the locked chemical lockers in them and then move on.

But this is exactly what I have been doing. I can play in the afternoon, but only some days, Ive played like three afternoons now and Im still not through the wall.

[daggaz]

Originally posted by Gwen:

You open access to the mid zone by going south west on the map (G3). For me due to randomness, it was the most difficult part of the whole game (I guess I had bad luck). And sure you also need to follow the story line.

Maybe im just unlucky. There keeps popping storms up so Ive been waffeling between SW (which I focused on) and the north side. Or maybe I should just brave the big storm thing and get done with it.... Its not like its impossible to just drive thru when SHTF.

[xethier]

Early gameplay tips :

scan everything, because having scanned it, it shows up on the trip planner. this is critical.

you have two "types" of mission loops early on. quest and scouting / looting.

on quest loops, focus on scanning and looting as much as possible as you'll mainly have access to perpetual stability zones during these. grab the anchors while you're there, but they aren't an immediate priority.

on scouting / looting, focus on anchors and energy. scanning as able, if you see something new, by all means, grab that asap, but focus on getting the energy and looting places that will provide benefit without risking damage to the car or yourself too much. you're cycling these missions to scout the zone and the path to the interstate nodes and the mission nodes. so target your loot accordingly.

once you have access to the middle zone, you can effectively ignore the story for a very long while and farm everything based on your trip planner. make sure you're hitting the resources you need and avoiding your least-favorite anomalies (and environmental penalties)

you can also just do crazy milk runs and focus on perpetual stability junctions from time to time to supplement your reserves, but those aren't really relevant to the point.

edit: wordz r hrd

[daggaz]

Eh. I cant be bothered, the game doesnt keep my interest and I have a strong aversion to waste-of-time grinding gameloops. Its been three days now, ive put some serious hours in, and I dont really feel like I am progressing. At the same time, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ it is repetitive and boring. Sorry, but Im not gonna collect 240 coral teabags.

I feel bad saying it, because the theme is SO AWESOME. But the devs really fall flat at the finishing line, everything just feels tacked on and barely a thought into the process. Its not a game. Its a chore. I cant be bothered to see the ending -which I hear also sucks. Big surprise.