How deal with zombie dog packs?

[boolybooly]

In my current playthrough on a fresh random map, default normal difficulty setting, I was surviving the first few days until I met a pack of zombie dogs and because they come out of nowhere and are so many and so tough, so fast and do so much damage and get in the way of movement to escape, it was impossible to survive the attack.

This keeps happening in this playthrough. Looks like a pattern. TBH I am not feeling the entertainment value of this. It does not seem survivable or avoidable and seems like the devs just want to kill the avatar from time to time. Not sure that qualifies as a game.

[aY227]

Fast placed blocks to safer higher location like a roof. If there is nothing around you are basically dead. You may try nerdpole but it will give nothing without at least pipe machinegun.

[boolybooly]

Thanks for the hints. Its hard to feel preppy about six z-dogs in a small motel room, as if by magic and you cant move for fangs, have nowhere to climb nor even time to reload.

That is more kind of a, why did I play this again? moment.

And I dont blame myself. I know there is that macho impulse to grin and bear it but after four bears in 12 days, while I have a pipe machine gun I dont have any ammo left.

Do have a couple of pistols, one semi and one pipe revolver but even multiple head shots dont seem to cut it. Its as if the zombie dogs now have as much health as a black dog, which in all seriousness seems a bit OP to me.

[ElDudorino]

With a couple hundred hours in a20 I've seen a couple groups of ~3 z-dogs nearby but never aggroed them and never noticed more than that together. If I were getting mobbed by them on a regular basis early on I agree it would be complete BS but it hasn't happened to me.

During the day you should always see them coming and be able to avoid aggroing them, at any rate. In the first few days I'd just avoid going out at night honestly.

[[-=O=-]^FightinCock]

Yes... early game... the roof is your best friend in this case.
Always have a wood blocks in your tool belt to gtfo ground level asap.

Another option when you can..... get a bike..... motor.... keep it handy and gtfo asap.

Alternatively 3rd option would be an ak with a drum mag and too much ammo.... and you might able to square them away... if you see them coming.

Generally you will hear them before you see them... so react fast is probably the best key.

Randomly.... yesterday I have a coyote Horde.... 4 dogs... in the middle of the woodlands.
No where near the desert.... actually no idea where the desert is yet... lol.
3000 hours ingame.... and that's a first for me.

But just wait to you get a zombie bear and dog horde roll up on you.... lol

[Amins]

Yeah, usually I don't end up running into them until later on when I'm better equipped. But sometimes, like you, I get mobbed by packs of dogs on day two when all I have is a pipe shotgun and a club. And if I'm out in the open, I'm totally screwed.

[comet_65cali]

Early game is always exciting, nothing scares me more than those dog hordes. Worse is when they bring a zombie bear or two in tow.

-As mentioned above I would normally try and have a pipe machine gun and horde the 7.62 ammo for those situations. If not, I try to have at least two pipe-pistols to prevent reloads. (Not to mention like 3 pipe shotguns like the blunderbusses early game) Reload with these will be the death of you with wandering dog hordes.

-Reduce your heat map when raiding: hordes are normally generated when you reach a certain "heat" AKA activity in a chunk. Avoid using firearms if necessary. Check Mailboxes/newspaper dispensers-TFP has given a larger chance of finding skill books that help early game weapons, Spear Hunter, Guide to Archery etc.

-Don't overlook spears, primary attack has a decent reach. Don't really use sledges but they do a decent job of knockdown.

-Put a point into advanced engineering and start making a ton of iron arrows, they do better damage and are easy to create compared to bullets/shells.

-Vitamins seem to be pretty available early game and worth popping when on tier-0 armor to try and avoid debuffs.

-Have an exit at least on the 2nd story of your "base," or leave that way when looting a POI.

-The Neebs-strategy: Get as many wooden spike traps between you and the dogs. Seems to work okay?

[william_es]

I has 3 zombie dogs and a zombie bear on day 1. They were far away and didn't agro on me, but it was an uh oh kind of moment.

[Brevan]

If you can get yourself 2 blocks off the ground, then the Shovel (or Spear) can reach Dogs. It just depends on how much warning you have to get yourself a couple blocks up. If you could only place Frames, then the first thing to do is place another two nearby, upgrade them, and then jump onto that. I recently enjoyed a Wastelands map where my main early strategy was to stack a couple blocks every 100m or so, just so I had to pre-built place to get to safety.

[The Rabid Otter]

Originally posted by boolybooly:

Thanks for the hints. Its hard to feel preppy about six z-dogs in a small motel room, as if by magic and you cant move for fangs, have nowhere to climb nor even time to reload.

That is more kind of a, why did I play this again? moment.

And I dont blame myself. I know there is that macho impulse to grin and bear it but after four bears in 12 days, while I have a pipe machine gun I dont have any ammo left.

Do have a couple of pistols, one semi and one pipe revolver but even multiple head shots dont seem to cut it. Its as if the zombie dogs now have as much health as a black dog, which in all seriousness seems a bit OP to me.

Are you sneaking? I find that helps me notice wandering bears and dogs, and sometimes sneak away from them before they spot me. However, sneaking doesn't help so much in a POI. When entering a POI, I will often wait a bit to see if any zeds are going to spawn on a delayed timer. Still, six dogs in one room? Yikes. If I were on the second floor of the hotel, I'd just run to the railing and jump over, and hopefully not break my leg so I could flee to higher ground.

[I can't spell]

This is the first alpha where I thought the game was actively TRYING TO KILL ME. You are not wrong.

[1ostcat]

Always have an exit strategy.
Always have a way to get to higher ground.

I've been torn limb-from-limb by dog packs, both living and undead. Now I never put myself in a situation where I can't quickly scamper up a rock or onto a bicycle in a moment's notice. Thankfully, I tend not to see dog packs until at least day 3. Not that it can't happen sooner.

[1ostcat]

Originally posted by ElDudorino:

With a couple hundred hours in a20 I've seen a couple groups of ~3 z-dogs nearby but never aggroed them and never noticed more than that together. If I were getting mobbed by them on a regular basis early on I agree it would be complete BS but it hasn't happened to me.

During the day you should always see them coming and be able to avoid aggroing them, at any rate. In the first few days I'd just avoid going out at night honestly.

I've seen packs of 5-6 zombie dogs spawn in as a wandering horde and head directly to my location. I agree that you can sometimes see and avoid aggroing them when you find them in the wild, or as part of a POI, but when they are a wandering horde, it all comes down to your location when they show up. If you are outside with no place to climb, you're dead unless you're packing some decent weapons.

[I can't spell]

I was re-purposing a poi and walked in to a see a wolf inside. It didn't see me. The game will place killing animals in and around your "'hang outs"'

[Jinxed]

Ahhh... those wonderful early game animal hordes. Love 'em or hate 'em, they do get your heart pumping. I have noticed a pattern to the animals. Night 1: I always get a wolf or bear at my area. (free meat thank you very much) Day 3 to 5: Dog Pack up to 7. Day 6 to 7: Pack of Dogs or Wolfs. Everyday: Zed horde up to 2 per in game 24 hours. One in the afternoon, One right before nightfall or right after.

I always expect these and keep my eyes and ears open. Saved my life to many times to count. Heading back to trader from a mission on day 3 and as I come up to it from the back I hear a dog to my left. So I hit the sprint key and hoof it to right around the traders front door. I see the door and my stam is low. Come on.... run a little bit more....keep moving you slow ass... made it! Go to snipe the ugly bastard pack and there was 7 of them. Almost ran out of arrows, but I was lucky and could buy a few more from the trader. Had to take a short breathing break after that and shut down the game after I got my player home. Fun Times!!

[boolybooly]

Thanks for the replies and helpful hints.

Originally posted by I can't spell:

This is the first alpha where I thought the game was actively TRYING TO KILL ME. You are not wrong.

Thanks for that. That is what I am getting too, feels a bit pointed. There is a difference between surviving in a dangerous world and devs competing with players by spawning all kinds of crazy, its a fine line and I feel like they crossed it tbh. At least I get to axe their portraits every time I invade a house, assuming those are dev faces, nothin personal.

I am not wrong about the zdogs hitpoints either which are currently 350 which is the same as a standard black dog, big black dogs being 450, bears 600. As I recall lone black dogs used to be my nemeses in the previous alphas, zdogs were very nasty but a bit easier to kill. Now not so much and the idea of zdogs having the same HPs and six of them attacking is beyond absurd, that is 2100 HP and DPS off the chart, like three and a half bears at the same time, why not just drop a piano on my avatar's head and have done with it.

Maybe I should just switch down to scavenger. I like the crafting, more kind of a minecraft player ... but those creepers scare me !

I guess its like horror movies and jump scares, its not a horror movie if you don't wish it wasn't.