Best melee build???

[R4YN4R]

Hey guys, i've been playing with an axe but I read that spears and knuckles are op, which one is better???

[thestile]

I think that knuckles are more powerful In the end-game as far as more easily killing zombies. They are especially powerful when you can start making beer to increase your knuckle damage by 300%.
Spears are good but they are a bit trickier to aim at the zombies, so that's something to consider. Spears do solid damage and they have better range so they are still pretty good.
I could kind of go either way on a recommendation, but I would say knuckles are more powerful in the late game from a killing power standpoint.

[Limdood]

well, axe isn't a weapon...it's a tool, and it's entity damage is pretty garbage.

each other weapon category has it's own benefits and drawbacks.

Spears have the best range, and can multihit, but require VERY precise aiming, which can be quite tricky unless you're really experienced due to the frequent bobbing (even for experienced players, missing a power attack because of a sudden no-reason crouch is frustrating).

Knives are great for sneaking. Accurate so you can pop around corners and hit with less risk of hitting the corner. The machete is considered a downgrade from the hunting knife by many though, as you massively increase stamina cost and lose both the ability to knock down zombies (no idea why the machete can't knock down...makes no sense) and the "stab" swing. In return for better block damage (??) and slightly increased damage. Low range.

Sledges do phenomenal damage and have an AoE knockdown which helps greatly on crowd control, but is incredibly stamina intensive so missed swings can be deadly to you. One of the only weapons that needs to pace it's swings as even the stamina generation from kills at 5/5 sledge skill won't keep up with the stamina cost on constant power attacks. Good range.

Clubs are a nice middle ground of damage and stamina cost and range. HUGE single target control....you'll be knocking down what you hit on almost every swing.

Fists are quite lackluster until you get to steel knuckles, then they shine. Low stamina cost, middling damage, VERY low range, and a very high attack speed doesn't look that great at first glance, but the real benefit is from beer....quadruple your damage output with a beer active and the damage jumps to amazing.....just....beware the range is REALLY low.

Stun batons are a personal favorite. Low-ish damage, medium range and attack speed. Relatively low stamina cost....but you're a superstar once you get a repulsor mod and the swing charge book. Once you get that, every other power attack is an AoE powerful knockback AND an electrified stun on the target. With good timing you can hold a doorway from 40 irradiated zombies without taking a hit. Will take you a while to kill everything though.

[Lesh-9]

Clubs for me personally. Especially with the spiked and burning mods added.

It really boils down to what you're comfortable with and how you engage combat. Also, the sound bats make when you make contact.

Something about that "poink" sound just makes my heart flutter.

[JimmyIowa]

Knuckles are mainly good if you enjoy, and are able to, dodge in and out at high speed in between fast swings with a college jacket on. If you prefer standing still while fighting (which honestly seems to be what 99% of people do even if they don't admit it), then you will take a ton more hits, damage and crits using knuckles. But if (and ONLY if) you enjoy the fast pace of using them while reading the enemy animations and staying mobile at all times, they can mow down mobs perhaps the fastest of all melee weapons.

Sledge is a great all-rounder and safe melee weapon. Safe because it has both great range, and great crowd control. While also doing massive damage. Use beer, coffee and other consumables to keep your stamina up during tier 5/6 pois and horde nights.

Stun baton is by far the safest and easiest melee weapon, if a slightly slower killer than other options.

In A20 I did a series of tests once where I made a 20x20 concrete arena, spawned 8 or so rad bikers in it on insane difficulty, and jumped in with various melee weapons to see how I did. With knuckles (plus beer) I almost died but killed them quickly in turn. With sledge I took some damage but did okay. With stun baton I barely took any damage, the fight was trivial even if it took longer. Since then I consider stun baton somewhat OP.

Spears I still haven't used in A21.

[Nebgama]

lol Axe isn't garbage is BIS simply because its a tool and also a good melee weapon meaning its two categories in one slot. Steel Axe is good.

Stone axe is pro tip best starter weapon atm it used to be the torch but now its stone axe because you can swing it non stop without draining your stamina and now the mobs hit hard so you need to do a lot of kiting and running with stone axe winning and some torch play.

Torch is better than wood club because its the same thing except you get fire damage chance and you get unlimited durability where it has the same damage as a wood club so its OP.

Outside of all this its really just play what ever weapon you like because they are all the same once you get up in game stage. I don't think that the weapon types play that different from each other atm, it used to be much more dynamic like the machete used to be boss.

Now most weap just play similar to everything else most weapons are tuned to a point where there in not many that stand out anymore.

[Olly_alpha]

The steel club is my choice. Pump up stamina and a flurry of blows - and you can scatter crowds non-stop with power attacks, especially when deadly blows restore stamina. I don't see any flaws in this weapon. Of the mods, I put barbed wire, a weighting agent for stunning, a handle for stamina and a radiation suppressor.
P.S. Valid for 20 alpha. At 21, when they removed stamina from skills, their own nuances appeared.

[Lady MacBeth]

Of the two, fully perked out with all books? I would give the edge to spears. Full stamina refill on kills is very, very powerful.

[MiSFiT77]

I have said it before and I'll say it again. Stone Sledge hammer. I don't even bother with going near Iron or Steel. Top tier stone sledgie, bump up your skull crusher stats by one or two. Most Zs will drop like a stone with one hit and many won't get up again. And heres the clincher. It costs one rock to repair it.
Edit: Also little thing I've been noticing is that I tend to one hit (even bigger Zs) when I execute a perfect attack. By perfect attack I mean when you move swiftly, towards the Z, swing with perfect timing and smack it straight down onto the floor while simultaneously walking passed its prone carcass. I am noticing a lot of heads detaching from bodies when I execute this move with precision. Dunno if it's a real thing or just my imagination. But I definitely feel like being on the front foot delivers more clout, as opposed to hitting while retreating.

[Floxy_Swoosh]

I personally love the Bat/Club with Pummel Pete perks. Not one of your options, I know. Start with the wood club and you'll find a bat somewhere eventually. The bat is fast, gives a nice distance when striking, and the vanilla mods seem easy to acquire early w/ P.Pete point investment. The burning mod is a nice light source. As mentioned above, you'll eventually earn stamina regain with kill shots. Aim just a hair above the top of the zed's head.
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Pair the bat with a crouched bow and arrow when you enter a room, and you're a silent zed exterminator. Even stone arrows with a basic bow are strong w/ a crouched headshot.
*One more off topic reminder: use tons of wood spikes when you're in buildings. Folks forget about them, and they are great at temporarily sealing off open doorways, placing in front of suss large closed cabinets/closets, having your back covered, ect. Slows 'em down so you can bash their heads off whilst they struggle thru.
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Try them all and see what feels right for you Stealth is smart, and no ammo reloads needed with melee. Wise to choose melee!

[Briguy]

The answer to your question is that it depends on your atts and books. Period

[pApA^LeGBa]

If you only count melee it´s still the sledgehammer that deals the most damage and can knock down several zombies at once. But the stamina costs are high.

Spears are really good due to their reach and once you got the books you can hit multiple targets, but only if they are lined up. Stamina refill is a big plus aswell.

Club is the standard melee, has stamina refill with the books and deals good damage while having reasonable stamina cost.

Knives are fast and do have the bleeding going for them aswell as low stamina cost.

Overall i would say the stunbaton is the best but only if combined it with the junk turret or two once maxed in the skill. It´s almost too easy with that combo no matter the difficulty.

[Henry of Skalitz]

In my experience, sledgehammers, but that's mostly because I use them as a multitool. Phenomenal damage and also quite good for breaking into safes (if you have no lockpicks) or breaking through blocks, doors and all sorts of barricades.

My steel sledge does over 100 damage. Most zeds die to a single light attack. Power attack demolishes even irradiated zeds, but you gotta be careful around those since your stamina can run out very fast.

[Sprocket66]

Club with chain mod for knockdown, weighted head for stun and fire for dot. With enough points you can non-stop power attack with the stamina return for each kill. Knock them down, stun them, dot them, collect your 30 stamina, rinse and repeat.