How to deal with bloodsuckers?

[Octothorpe]

Anyone have any tips for them? I usually end up having to dump 100+ rounds into them. I've tried just filling the room with grenades and that doesn't seem to work either.

Doesn't help that whenever they get close enough they just knock me over and run away before I can shoot them again.

[Savager]

Found pump shotgun at some gas station in Chemical Plant area and it made fight with them way easier.

[GeneticResearch]

Originally posted by Octothorpe:

Anyone have any tips for them? I usually end up having to dump 100+ rounds into them. I've tried just filling the room with grenades and that doesn't seem to work either.

Doesn't help that whenever they get close enough they just knock me over and run away before I can shoot them again.

Take a Spas-12 shotgun (or any other automatic high power shotgun) or semi-automatic high damage sniper rifles and you kill them with 1-2 magazines. Less with the gauss-rifle. In the intro of the game i died 15 times from a bloodsucker because weak first weapons.

[Dallar]

Grab SPSA-14 shotgun, crouch, and just dump the whole mag into his face when he charges you. It shoots as fast as you can click, and deals enough damage to guaranteed get bloodsucker in one full reload, even if you whiff some of the shots. Makes those fights waaay more bearable.

[L@z@rus]

Originally posted by maloce:

The mods out kinda let you play this game how ya want heh.

Bad way to excuse a dev team's incompetence dude.

[XI_RiVaL_IX]

Shotguns, a blast or two usually makes them run and just blast them as they run back in. They can be trickier when there are more than one, so I usually jump on and off the closest thing near by to control them a little. Lure them out and shoot them before I reset to the elevated spot. In enclosed areas I just reposition as much as possible and try to keep track of the direction they will come from. Hallways are a friend too, to funnel them.

[Ravo]

My method: AKA CHEESE
Step 1: Find elevated platform, boxes, car, post, whatever
Step 2: Jump on elevated platform
Step 3: The bloodsucker will start moving around trying to find a way to attack, but the route it takes becomes reasonably predictable after a few seconds. At one point it's going to get at point blank range as part of its new pseudo-patrol. Every time it does this you have enough time to get a single shotgun shell into it. Since it's cloaked it's more vulnerable and at that range it only takes 4 to 5 shells, not even slugs, to drop one.
This has backfired on me before when bandits notice me standing on a car and start shooting so be warned it isn't 100% effective. All in all it trades patience for an easy kill that doesn't consume a lot of ammo.

[Schrödinger]

Shotgun. Pick an open/bright area instead of huddling in a corner. Keep moving back as you aim. This pretty much causes every mutant in the game to chase you in a straight line instead of side-hopping so it's way easier to aim.
A bloodsucker takes ~4 head-on buckshots to kill. If you run into a group, just run.

[Gordar]

When they charge at you being invisible just shoot them with a shotgun, they will cancel the attack and you can reload and repeat. The hard part is to keep track with them to see from what side they attack.

[Mr. Clark]

I typically just bust out the shotgun (10 round magazine) and you probably want to have the armor piercing rounds loaded. After 5-10 shots fired they are most likely dead. If you funnel backwards they will have to close ground and that will inform you of their direction and distance as they approach, with that you can get your shot ready and wait until they are within 10 feet or so. Aim for the triangle made by the shoulders and head when you can, aim center mass when you gotta. If it's 2 or more and you know you can't manage, just sprint for a better location or possibly escaping.

[Omalley]

I don't know if anyone said it. but just get them to charge you. then run and jump to the side (I always go left) they just swing at the air that way

[Spork Witch]

Yeah, this is way too broken currently. Taking a break until they patch spawns. Those 4 bloodsuckers? Yeah, apparently it's actually infinite bloodsuckers, as eventually some NPCs (hostile) spawned, and managed to take 3 out while taking potshots at me and getting themselves killed. I manage to finish off the last, start looting bodies now that I'm basically totally out of ammo and my weapons are in the red, more soldiers magically appear less than 50 feet away, as well as more bloodsuckers.

So load to a save from over an hour earlier, start heading the OPPOSITE direction, and the stupid psy dog spawns, exhaust all ammo, it goes down finally, more hostile NPCs spawn (again, maybe 50 feet away), as well as a legion of rats.

It's worse than a wave defense game at this point, at least the wave defense has occasional breaks.

[vamirez]

Originally posted by Mr. Clark:

I typically just bust out the shotgun (10 round magazine) and you probably want to have the armor piercing rounds loaded. After 5-10 shots fired they are most likely dead. If you funnel backwards they will have to close ground and that will inform you of their direction and distance as they approach, with that you can get your shot ready and wait until they are within 10 feet or so. Aim for the triangle made by the shoulders and head when you can, aim center mass when you gotta. If it's 2 or more and you know you can't manage, just sprint for a better location or possibly escaping.

As a data point, with the M860 shotgun (buckshot) I killed one near Wild Island with only 4 shots, and then later killed another one at the Zaton depot with 6-7 shots.

[PostNutClarity]

Don't know why my reply disappeared but you can save scum your way around these things.

F5 -> Encounter a blood sucker -> reload save -> bloodsucker disappears

Unless it's scripted.

[tetsu_maru]

Sidestep their attack, unload in their face. Rinse repeat. You get used to them. Eventually you can fight several at a time; even on Vet.

[Spork Witch]

Originally posted by PostNutClarity:

Don't know why my reply disappeared but you can save scum your way around these things.

F5 -> Encounter a blood sucker -> reload save -> bloodsucker disappears

Unless it's scripted.

Even this seems to just reroll spawn possibilities, for example, the attempt to escape where those soldier spawned and made it possible to take out that wave, only for it to spawn more soldiers and bloodsuckers right after. And if it's already spawned in when you saved (and allows save because it hadn't quite triggered active aggro yet, or lost it because you're out of reach, the save does succeed), it doesn't despawn, but MORE stuff can spawn when loading.

End of the day, spawns are just completely and totally broken currently, and bloodsuckerrs are way too spongy. I wonder if it's a console limitation, as the spawn radius does seem to be about the same as the tether radius in an ARK non-dedicated server. Enemy health needs a balance pass, and spawns a total rework to prevent the absurdities currently present, not just the ridiculous infinite spawns, but also just weird ones, like clearing out a dead-end alcove, only to have a half dozen enemies spawn inside it and start shooting as soon as you exit it.