How do you survive nights with running zombies?

[nosmaclear]

-I get the impression that this is not designed to be a solo play game. I'm very wary of multiplayer games, however, as they are totally dependent upon the popularity of the game at any given time.

-On the Random Gen worlds, I've only ever survived nights without any spawns near me. Whenever there's a swarm, I've no choice but to hide outside the house and wait for daylight. By that point there's a pack of 8 or more dogs added to the bunch which makes culling them impossible for me. I feel I'm a decent shot (to the head) but I must be doing something strategically wrong. Even if I had the stamina to sprint that much, I don't have the requisite number of feathers to make the 200+ arrows.

-I've tried the pre-made map as well, but my experience was worse. I receive a swarn every night. After laying down ~180 spikes (seems silly) I find that they don't path through the open portal, but prefer to beat down a wall next to where they spawn (which I couldn't have predicted). I figure I'm doing something wrong in a broad sense, so I'm hoping others can guide me.

[Ragequit Inc.]

For this particular question, I'd say hide and be quiet. By 'hide' I mean hide on the upper floors or attics of buildings. And by 'be quiet' I mean don't open any containers etc. that makes noise, while the horde is passing. If the zeds don't know you're there, they won't come for you. Outside of the weekly feral horde, of course.

[Hazard Pay]

Zombies can't jump so removing the bottommost part of a ladder (that touches the ground) will stop them. There is a ladder on the rear of some of the big squarish buildings and also one going to the attic of a house. You can also chop the stairs out to stop them going upstairs. Certain food items have a smell (shows on their mouseover icon). You can put the raw/cooked meat or whatever into a box. If you are outside in the wild, you can dig a hole down about 4 or so blocks and then put a wooden frame over your head. This will stop the non-feral hordes from seeing/chasing you at night. You can sometimes get large number of feathers from nests so arrows should be easy to get. Bows are quiet and won't attract as much attention as a fired shot. For walls, zombies get a bonus vs wood. You can make cobblestone frames (5 sticks and 1 grass). Then put cobblestone rock (4 of them) into the frame. Cobblestone rocks = 1 small rock and a piece of clay (each clay you dig up from ground turns into 9 clayballs.)

[Nocternaldaze]

i tend to use frames if not in a base, and place them 5x5 then i place 2 rows of spikes around rhe outside, then spikes on the inside so that if they break through a wall they get killed by the spikes inside. build it up 4 high then place the main floor followed by another 4 high (no need for a roof unless they are in feral mode).

you can use the same tactic on your main base, and if enough resources change the wooden spikes to log spikes.

by the way when using this tactic dont upgrade the first floor just incase you need to make repairs. also when they are outside and you are being hunted just run around the inside has they will follow you and eventually die by the spikes.

[Lions_Den]

Don't use the cobblestone ramps as they are currently bugged and can make your world unable to load.

[Pèpè Silvia]

Until you get a base with good defences; just crouch and don't move, or even craft (they can sometiems hear you access your backpack\chests).

Once you get a good defense, then you can start doing things at night. However, every 7 days you get a GPS hoard, which will close on your position no matter what.

[Contessa]

Originally posted by Pèpè Silvia:

Until you get a base with good defences; just crouch and don't move, or even craft (they can sometiems hear you access your backpack\chests).

Once you get a good defense, then you can start doing things at night. However, every 7 days you get a GPS hoard, which will close on your position no matter what.

In which case you need a lot of beer, coffee, or grain alcohol, and just run run run down a road until morning.

[Brian9824]

Wood log spikes are your best friend. With them you have passive defense while you are hiding and they will whittle down and take out large groups of zombies. If you have a concrete wall 1-2 blocks thick and 2-3 rows of spikes it can hold off all but the largest hordes by itself. If you combine that with active defense during major hordes and make sure ot keep it repaired you should be good.

[patgal5492]

Having trouble that first night? Make a stone shovel, dig a hole in a dirt wall and cover it up behind you. Then wait until morning. You start with a torch, so there is your light. You really just need to get food and water for the wait.

[Patouski]

There's a post here of a player who built a stilt tower base, with specific heights and for good reasons. In any SP game, it is doable to build it (or at least the highest part) before day 7 - yes, even in the desert on the highest difficulty setting and maximum spawns - that's how I tested the design).

Here's the low-down:

Singleplayer by nature, you are the ONLY target. Zombies got nowhere else to be, but near you. POI's, Random wilderness, Cities... etc!

Wandering hordes, be they dogs or regular zombies, will always go from point A to point B based on the location you are at when they are spawned by the AIDirector. They will, however, wander just past the smelling range and idle for a bit, but by keeping on the move and paying attention to noises they make (multiple footsteps on gravel / sand / asphalt - random howling followed by increased footsteps), you'll avoid most of them.

Feral hordes: One point to remember: Sense Height. Beyond 32 blocks (30 seems enough, but the extra 2 is to be sure) - they do not HUNT you right away. The Feral Horde acts like a GPS and since at night we usually idle in "safety", you're an easy target to home in on. However, once they reach "pitstop", they idle looking for trouble (taken directly from the console - it's how they describe it). However, once the idle timer is up, they resume and head to "endstop" and walk / run away.

That's why, being 30+ blocks high, you maximize your survival chances, as they simply don't hunt you right away. And once morning comes - they're easier to pick off (except dogs or cops at lower levels).

Hope this helps.

That's one way to play it. In MP games, the zombies are divided amongst all players, so getting the wandering hordes or the ferals - is not 100% certain.

[Tchortiderritta]

I surprised no one said it yet. You can just sprint laps in open field. Having some light (mining hat) certainly helps at darkest hours. To manage stamina or have a lunch break, from time to time put some obstacle like stones or hill between you and them.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=509421192

[🍋 Lemonfed 🍋]

I think they've removed them but in the previous version I used to make floating base on the deep lakes , as the zombies can't swim they could not reach it or damage it.

[Thorian]

I tend to spend my first 4 days gathering resources, getting a ton of stone, wood, food, concrete, metal etc. I use two tactics to survive the night, nerdpoling up a stack of wood frames(usually 32 blocks plus), or I will dig underground 4-5 blocks down and cover myself with wood frames so anything just walks right over me at night, and then I just wait out the night. By day 5 I build a base with log spikes that are trenched down at least 3-4 blocks, and 3-4 blocks wide(more is better I beleive). Outside the trench i add 3 more blocks high of dirt to create a ramp effect so in essence the GPS mobs on day 7 drop some 6-7blocks and land on the spikes, which seems to increase my survival odds. My bases so far have never been more then the average 3 floor house in height. I build a lip around the roof to help with them pesky spider zombies. Day 6 horde has them nasty old dogpacks which get trashed pretty quickly with the trench full of spikes. I also like to try to "win" against the feral hordes and tend to be active throught the night of day 7 so the lip gives me a nice spot to shoot the zombies from.

Happy hunting :)

[Ketobi]

I keep dying.
15 death in 20 minutes.
New game.
10 death in 40 minutes.
Think to myself: "You can do this! You were a god in A9!"
New game.
Use stealth, avoid every fight, find a cave, be ready to sprint any time.
Find a cave for the first night.
2 Death in 10 days lvl 20 now and everything is running great.

Find a cave or dig down.

(The nerdpole aka "Survivor on a stick" never worked for me. The zeds always sensed me somehow. Also if you are spotted you are done.)

[simon]

This game has a very steep curve for the first week or two in a new game and you can die over and over until you have a lucky brake.

My strategy is to follow the roads until i find a certain type of building. They are the buildings that look like petrol stations, hardware stores etc and they have a ladder at the back. The yard at the back has a wooden fence all the way round the yard with 2 wooden gates in the fence. the gates are on opposite sides of the fence (at the sides not the back) and a ladder up the back of the building to the roof.

Once i find this type of building i make a temporary base on the roof and loot in the day and get back to the roof at night. Then at night i just crouch on the roof and stay still. Don't do any crafting or cooking etc. and don't use any lights. You cant even look in your back pack as they can hear that.

On the roof make chests, a fire, forge and sleeping bag. Once you have these items you can loot until you have the gear and levels to look for a location for your main base.

One tip to avoid agro is to build an underground base. some may see this as an exploit but if you dig straight down (make sure you have a enough wooden ladders to get out again) deep enough they can’t hear you. Once you get deep enough you can just dig out areas to make your base. You will have to use pillars in the rooms (depending on how large they are) or you may have a cave in.

Number one tip is that you have to keep at it as the start of a new game with a new toon can be a frustrating experience but once you get the hang of it the game rocks.

[Ketobi]

Originally posted by simon:

...build an underground base. some may see this as an exploit...

I don't think anyone sees this as an exploit. The first time you read in the chat.
"Help me, there are 6 dogs on top of my bunker and i cant get out and i am running out
of food." You see the flaws of this "exploit". Also the ability to dig down is not only an intended
game mechanic it is THE game mechanic for some of us.