Best perk/skill tree

[Andy Mil]

I would like to hear you guy experience after advance into late game in single player world (where rads zeds appear) how strong you are, how effective in kill zeds, walking tank etc

I find that playing alone is way too boring so I wanna try ultimate walking tank build before become strong warrior

[Kauldric]

Shotgun and M60 are pretty sweet. But you really can play with any weapon and do all right. That’s one part of the game that’s decently balanced IMO. If anything I think the weapons become too OP over time.

[Maddermax]

Walking Tank? Endurance build is what you want.

Pain Tolerance, Healing Factor and Heavy armor skills to maximum, once you get a steel armor schematic, or are lucky enough to find a few T5/6 steel armor pieces, you'll be basically immune to most regular zombies, birds and dogs. Any damage they can do (usually only 1-2) is healed in seconds. Even ferals and irradiated zombies become mere annoyances in small numbers, though large groups can still be dangerous if you're not careful.

Endurance also has the Machinegunner perk and fists perk - both excellent weapons, so you don't have to max out a second stat tree for weapon perks. Fists for normal fights, AK as a backup weapon (or M60 when you get it) when a few zombies appear, and you can murder just about anything solo.

That said, while I'm a big fan of fists, clubs are easier to use if you're not confident in melee.

[Kauldric]

Originally posted by Maddermax:

Walking Tank? Endurance build is what you want.

Pain Tolerance, Healing Factor and Heavy armor skills to maximum, once you get a steel armor schematic, or are lucky enough to find a few T5/6 steel armor pieces, you'll be basically immune to most regular zombies, birds and dogs. Any damage they can do (usually only 1-2) is healed in seconds. Even ferals and irradiated zombies become mere annoyances in small numbers, though large groups can still be dangerous if you're not careful.

Endurance also has the Machinegunner perk and fists perk - both excellent weapons, so you don't have to max out a second stat tree for weapon perks. Fists for normal fights, AK as a backup weapon when a few zombies appear, and you can murder just about anything solo.

That said, while I'm a big fan of fists, clubs are easier to use if you're not confident in melee.

I need to try this build. M60 with regen FTW :)

[Khissi]

I've tried pretty much every difficulty and restarted the game at least 15 times since 18 hit while testing in experimental. I've tried many different builds, though I have to say that melee builds are not my forte, so I tend to stay away from those after giving each one a good try. The thing is, it really depends on your game difficulty and your ability rather than on a particular weapon or skill. The highest gamestage I've achieved while doing this was around 295-300 in solo and about 650 combined GS in a duo game. This is NOT my normal, though because, by that time, I'm totally bored and ready to start again. I tend to get pretty bored after I've made a hoard base that works very well and made it past a few Demo laden Blood Moons.

The point is that late game is what you choose to make it. There is no best way, no perfect build, no best weapon combo. Everyone plays differently and everyone has different abilities. This game is unique in that it can be adjusted to each person's abilities in so many different ways. I can't say enough good things about that. For example, I'm a 64 year old grandmother, but I can kill zombies with glee and love loot runs and building cool bases. I don't have the reaction time of a younger person, but that doesn't mean I can't play with the best and do very well since I know my weaknesses and can adjust my gameplay to match.

Whichever build you choose, make it your own. Don't try to play as another person plays. Play to have fun. If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.

[Andy Mil]

Originally posted by Khissi:

I've tried prett.....

I too. it just too bored doing thing alone but the point of single player is single player and i really want to enjoy the game the way dev want us to but it not for me. I more of Call Of Duty and quick scope guy and slow game like this just not my thing but there is no survival game like it. but in same time there is like frustaste and annoying stuff in the game that i want it fix and also like this game is fun..maybe so i keep playing

I been playing and finding soo many game. so dont suggest anything. whatever that game call Dark day ahead something. I have played em i dig that deep to the internet.

Anyway, I suppose to be on topic. Sorry that this may anger you but... have you watch Simson the movie? there is a scene where a rich guy asking 3 person for satify answer and one of them giving the same answer as you are.

I want to be more civilian way but i feel as anger as that guy if the answer is "Just think of the answer yourself". No, I the one asking for specific answer. I did not ask you to counter question me, you smart person.

[Khissi]

Ah, I sincerely apologize. I would never mean to make you angry. For me, the best combination and the most fun is pistols and junk turrets for looting, which means there is the possibility of being overwhelmed if I'm not good at what I'm doing. I like building a pit hoard base and using grenades for blood moon. At 64 alive on insane, this setup gives an inordinate amount of xp, and the waves are over before the loot bags disappear. I am not good at melee, so do not have fun using it except in emergency situations. For those, I prefer the shock baton. Make the zombie stop moving, then make it dead.

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by Maddermax:

Walking Tank? Endurance build is what you want.

Pain Tolerance, Healing Factor and Heavy armor skills to maximum, once you get a steel armor schematic, or are lucky enough to find a few T5/6 steel armor pieces, you'll be basically immune to most regular zombies, birds and dogs. Any damage they can do (usually only 1-2) is healed in seconds. Even ferals and irradiated zombies become mere annoyances in small numbers, though large groups can still be dangerous if you're not careful.

Endurance also has the Machinegunner perk and fists perk - both excellent weapons, so you don't have to max out a second stat tree for weapon perks. Fists for normal fights, AK as a backup weapon (or M60 when you get it) when a few zombies appear, and you can murder just about anything solo.

That said, while I'm a big fan of fists, clubs are easier to use if you're not confident in melee.

Don't forget Iron Gut, It serves to lengthen consumable buff duration for things like Beer (+300% fist damage), Recog (+500% ranged damage), fort bites and so on. Really nice for not having to apply them as often over the course of a horde night.

Overall, Fortitude is my favorite tree, for many of the reasons mentioned by Maddermax. If 'Walking Tank' is your goal, Fortitude is the tree to choose. Even just in iron armor, once you have 3+ ranks in Healing Factor you can basically ignore damage a lot of the time, as by the time you get to the next fight, you'll be full again.

Once healing factor is rank 5, you regen 1 hp per 4 seconds, which paired with Steel Armor with +armor mods can mean many weaker zombies can only hit you for 0-2 damage.

Fist weapons, in my opinion, are the most hilariously OP weapon in the game. Maybe not in raw damage, but in the sheer number of effects it can inflict.. As many as 9 different effects with a Q6 steel fist weapon that is modded right. Wielded correctly, you can just bowl through enemies, and never have a problem.

The AK47 and M60 especially are great for panic moments (Zombie bear horde anyone?) and are incredibly powerful in their own right especially paired with it's special effect- + stamina per hit scored with one of these two guns.. Which means more stamina for punching things, and more stamina for running either towards or away from the fight. It gives you a great deal of control.

If you're willing to go into other attribute trees, pick up Sexual Tyrannosaurus from Strength for stamina reduction and +stamina on killing blow, and you'll never have stamina problems in a fight again -- And then from Agility, Run and Gun, and Flurry of Blows are excellent bonuses. Parkour is a great option too, enabling you to jump out of problematic situations if you're outside, and create neat little escape paths that only you can use and zombies cant. Lastly, Physician from the Intellect tree boosts medical healing- With how med kits and bandages are effects over time now, you can use them to recover large sums of HP while basically ignoring damage taken due to Healing Factor + Medical healing recovery. As long as you use one every so often, you're almost untouchable.

[Andy Mil]

I accept your apologize.
also you really are more a range guy. I feel abit less frust after decide to quit melee because most off zeds dodge and using hand to block the head even the hand was in shoulder level and also I tired of timing counter attack moment too.

what should I focus at the very beginning of the game? max out lucky loot first like usual? or straight to toughness like u guy want. I wanna be very very hard to kill in early game because I feel that dump skill into weapon and it not worth it so I wanna try this new build.

also how the fireaxe against zeds? is it good as few older version do? I can not play the game right now so I dont know

[Khissi]

The fireaxe is more of an emergency weapon, to me, rather than what it was back in the day. The Fireman's Almanac has some really nice perks, though they are not intended to make the fireaxe into a weapon. They do enhance axework in several ways, but I don't see it ever being the weapon it once was. There are so many other really great new weapons, though, that you won't really miss it.

You mentioned wanting to be an ultimate walking tank and Shurenai has the best way to go for that. Which perks you do first will depend on how you plan to level up. If you will be doing a lot of building to get levels and your perk points, it won't be so necessary to put the first few into healing. If you'll be looting and killing zombies, you should really get those healing factor points up and then decide which weapons you will be focusing on.

[Maddermax]

Originally posted by 茉莉 มะลิ Mari マリ:

I accept your apologize.
also you really are more a range guy. I feel abit less frust after decide to quit melee because most off zeds dodge and using hand to block the head even the hand was in shoulder level and also I tired of timing counter attack moment too.

what should I focus at the very beginning of the game? max out lucky loot first like usual? or straight to toughness like u guy want. I wanna be very very hard to kill in early game because I feel that dump skill into weapon and it not worth it so I wanna try this new build.

also how the fireaxe against zeds? is it good as few older version do? I can not play the game right now so I dont know

The fireaxe is a tool, not really a weapon. It can be used in a pinch if you get a good one early on, but the real melee weapons are better for fighting.

As for where to put your skill points, there are a few ways of doing things, but I'll tell you about the path I've been taking most recently. I tend to put my first point into lucky looter, often a second (with a point to upgrade to perception to get it), right off the tutorial skill points. I honestly don't know how much it helps, but considering how crucial every item is at the very start there, it feels like it makes a difference.

After that, a level of Sex T.Rex, to lower stamina usage (as stamina is at a premium early on), a level of healing factor, to lower the need for making bandages so often, and a level of pain tolerance.

From there, everything goes into endurance skills, Brawling, Healing Factor, Pain tolerance, Heavy Armor. Upgrade Endurance, do it again. Once I get a couple of points in Heavy Armour, I'll craft some scrap armor or Iron Armor if I have a working forge. Same for Iron Knuckles. If I find an AK, points start going into Machine Gunner as well.

I'll sometimes add a point of cooking in at this point, as coffee and bacon+eggs are both worth it.

Once all those skills are up to rank 3, you can branch out a bit to anything else that seems useful, like Mechanic if you haven't found a vehicle, Better Barter, Daring Adventurer, a point of Flurry of Blows, anything like that. Then put some points into Cardio and Iron Gut. Then keep upgrading Endurance skills till you're maxed. That's about it really, easy endurance build.

[Andy Mil]

I always go with lucky loot skill in every run I suppose it is what this game now but I not hate it to be this way that much because developer said they want it to be more easier than alpha 16 which I agree now. I heard that brawler skill can disable zeds bite so I won't get infected. I try that in this new playthrough. also if I have better axe quailty does that mean I do more damage as well?

anyone else to show their successful run til late game?

[Andy Mil]

Oh gosh, am so sick of melee in this game. making zeds stiff animation when stop like this make them like able to dodge melee attack and in additional of simple attack mechanics with no match hit detection match with animation.

I got board so am on survivalist and trying spear again with hope that I may enjoy it but no. throw it to the face and miss because zeds moving all the time and appearly slightly off the face not count as hit so should I really really go for body all the time now? I even remember I miss my shot even I aim at body. like the crosshair is in body. clearly there is no chance of missing but shot decide to go to the left and go through cloth and hit the ground behide zeds

[BIT Bear]

If you want to hit zombies with melee reliably you have to be in "hugging" distance.

Try practicing dodging their attack then going in. Back off again and repeat.

Edit: Also spears aren't recommended for Melee. Throw the (stone) spears instead.

[Andy Mil]

Yes. I do I play that long but they animation and I too tall than some of them make me miss but I suppose I should not try to go for close combat after all if it not prefectly work well
the game is too much like arcade causal rpg game where you hit the guy and the guy feel no impact sometime. just how hard I hit the guy anyway and also this suddenly walk on small stuff and got taller all of suddenly instead of actually have bone in leg and not got tall up suddenly because one leg was still in the ground. it just.. feel so causal game.

but well anyway, it work. for range weapon that it. I try to aim upper chest more

[Uscari]

Best Perk is without a doubt Better Barter. Traders are so overwhelmingly OP in this game and any perk that increases your dukes or access to high tier items is really strong.

Best skill tree is Intellect purely because of Better Barter and Daring Adventurer. Even after you've run out of things to buy, the dukes you gain from completing a Tier V quest and modding out 2 purple items to be sold gives you so much brass.

Better Barter and Daring Adventurer are seriously overpowered. Game isn't even difficult when you revolve everything around the trader.