Any tips on leading a nomadic lifestyle

[SuperAmoeba69]

I know that setting up a base of operations is pretty important, but the game can get a little stale if you stay put and don't explore. That said, I'm wanting some advice on how to actually survive on the road, and how to manage inventory (what to take/leave so backpack doesn't fill up all the way).

[No Ragrets]

you'll not find a solution to filling up the backpack unless you make containers every so often but my advice is ALWAYS carry at least wood frames and wood to upgrade them.. that way at night you can place one upgrade then standing on it jump up and upgrade the second one while standing on it.. Gives you a vantage point thats only breeched by bees and spiders and can help you not die if there are running or lots of zombies. =p
EDIT* can be breached but upgrading is what gives you enough time to figure out what your doing .. and grain alchohol is going to be your best friend =)

[SuperAmoeba69]

I was actually contemplating making tiny dirt huts every now and again since they have added in the stone shovel. Maybe keep a container in each to store stuff along the way. Only problem I see with that is there is no good way to keep track of them other than marking down coordinates. Also very little protection if I'm found out whilst inside my tomb.

[SuperAmoeba69]

So for a main base, do you suggest a fortified prefab or custom built fortress. I'm going to have my setting set as realistic as I can, no loot respawn and the like, so I won't be making any kind of serious base untill later in the game

[SuperAmoeba69]

Ugh I remember the first time I built my own fort. Getting all the iron for pipes with nothing but a pickaxe took ages. After all that work, here comes A11 to take me back to the good ole days

[Hades]

The problem with a nomadic lifestyle.. is you will die every 7 days... like the game title says.

Two words: feral horde

[Ava]

Not really doe for the feral horde living like a nomad. My husband and I are playing this way right now and as we move along we gather wood. Around day 6 we find a small prefab, secure the bottom wondows/door ect, add a row of wood log spikes around it ( upgraded) knockout the stairs and barricade ourselves in. Works fairly well. Clean up remaining horde in morning and on our way :)

[Hades]

Impressive! Though I suspect you are playing on easy settings and haven't gotten to day 21 or 28 yet. If you are playing on normal difficulty and have survived feral hordes I take my hat off to you!

[Ketobi]

You can always run from them. Keep dehydrated for day X*7 so you can drink a lot of beer.
(I don't believe in grain alcohol or coffee because it needs to be crafted.)

[Ragequit Inc.]

Originally posted by skamaniac:

You can always run from them. Keep dehydrated for day X*7 so you can drink a lot of beer.
(I don't believe in grain alcohol or coffee because it needs to be crafted.)

But grain alcohol (corn) and coffee are renewable resources. I trust in the moonshine, personally. :) I don't think I've actually even had coffee in my current game.

[Squirting Elephant]

Originally posted by Storm:

The problem with a nomadic lifestyle.. is you will die every 7 days... like the game title says.

Two words: feral horde

drink alcohol and outrun them all night long. No problem. You can loot them (if lucky) from nurse-zombies. grain alcohol also can be drunk even when your thirst-bar is 100%. Also lasts longer than beer. Moonshine is the way to survive any zombie in this game.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=441155463
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=440085531
I survived because of alcohol and then headshotted them all with the xbow.

[Chaoslink]

OP, I generally play this way. When it comes to inventory management, I suggest only bothering when you find a town. Go to the first building you see and get into the roof/attic. Break the ladders/stairs and set up the basics, fireplace, forge, chest or two. Then you go about empying everything but the essentials. Go looting.

Collect your metals if you feel you need tools. Gun parts. Ammo, food. Get it all back to the safeplace you set up. Once you've looted everything, or at least everything you intend to, then it is time to pack. Generally I limit what I take to ammo (for guns that I use, no 10mm). Take only the large stacks of canned food (eat the ones you only have one or so of and keep the rest). Generally the rations are best as they seem more common, chicken ones specifically as I find those most common in hollowed stumps.

Keep a bow/xbow and as many as a single stack of bolts/arrows. One of each gun and spare ammo /only/ if you intend to use it. I also tend to keep the rarer/valuable things that I don't end up using. beakers/moldybread, antibiotics/painkillers/bandages. All in all you'll end up with about half a backpack full at this point (considering the basics are in there too, tools, pipes to repair em etc). The rest depends on you. I take frames for getting around in towns, and a stack of wood logs. Also generally have a stack of bottles in addition to the stack of water, a cookpot and even a grill at times. Small stones and a few other things. Generally good to keep at least ONE slot empty if you need to grab something good, quickly.

At the moment you could also take advantage of your crafting grid. As of the last time I checked, you can store as much of one metal type as the grid allows as if you were making scrap metal, close the inventory and things will stay in there. helps you carry more than normal if you're like me and can't leave things behind. Generally you'll want to set up a base somewhere in the 21-28 day mark though as you'll have too much you'd want to keep, or be losing interest as you have all the things you could need and looting no longer holds much value.

As for feral hordes? plenty of easy ways to deal with them, most easily of which is running. Though personally I've never seen a true "feral" horde. They all insta-detect me within a certain range, continuously spawn til you've killed a certain number, but are scripted to head to the spot you were at when they spawned. I've had them spawn and bum rush there without me being detected. Killed a few to get them to spawn so I could find the spawn point, then killed them 1-2 at a time so only 1-2 would spawn near me and I could kill them relatively safely and loot each. And yes, it /was/ the 7th day horde, I opened the console and confirmed it.

Anyways, those are /my/ tips for surviving the nomad lifestyle. Anything else would be things I don't think I'd have to tell you. It all depends on how you prefer to play.

[Omar]

In a Nomad lifestyle, mobility is your friend.
Hide chests, mark down their co-ordinates and what is in them.
Forget fire arms, stealth will also keep you alive on the road.

Wood you can get from any biome when you need it including desert, same for stone.

Crossbow has be the weapon of choice, raid nests and pick up stones, add wood for unlimited ammo. Repair with sticks.

Any animals you kill will have to be cooked and eaten on the spot so you don`t attract zombies, again stone for a fire, stick to cook on and wood to burn.

Unless you find the iron tools, the stone axe will be your tool of choice. easily replaced.
Otherwise you will need a supply of pipes for iron strips to repair the iron tools.

Water will be your biggest need.
This can be collected and boiled in tin cans, a pot will help you boil water in jars and golden rod can be picked up along your travels.

Most slots will be taken up with food tins, jars, tin cans, ammo, wood, stones, feathers.

Spare slots can be used to carry coffee, glass and perhaps a jar mold and pipes.

Revised: Two splints and anti biotics.

[Ketobi]

Funny how many different approaches there are for a nomadic lifestyle. I do it the other way round as Omar. I go ONLY for guns and everything else i take from other players, their bases or pick it up on the way. I never place chests and keep all i need in my inventory.

(P.S.: This only works great with a loot abundance of 100%+)

[SherlockHole]

Originally posted by wigglez14:

I know that setting up a base of operations is pretty important, but the game can get a little stale if you stay put and don't explore. That said, I'm wanting some advice on how to actually survive on the road, and how to manage inventory (what to take/leave so backpack doesn't fill up all the way).

In a nomadic style, don't carry anything that smells. Find a place to camp out each day before night hits. Carry only gun parts for guns you are interested in actually using, if you're carrying scrap at all, make sure to scrap everything as soon as you get it. Even, then, guns aren't the best choice for a nomad, due to not having the time to set up an ammo factory, so make every shot count. BUT, the heatmap doesn't affect you if you're already gone after havnig fired the shots.

From my experience, it's this and what Omar said:

Originally posted by Omar:

In a Nomad lifestyle, mobility is your friend.
Hide chests, mark down their co-ordinates and what is in them.
Forget fire arms, stealth will also keep you alive on the road.

Wood you can get from any biome when you need it including desert, same for stone.

Crossbow has be the weapon of choice, raid nests and pick up stones, add wood for unlimited ammo. Repair with sticks.

Any animals you kill will have to be cooked and eaten on the spot so you don`t attract zombies, again stone for a fire, stick to cook on and wood to burn.

Unless you find the iron tools, the stone axe will be your tool of choice. easily replaced.
Otherwise you will need a supply of pipes for iron strips to repair the iron tools.

Water will be your biggest need.
This can be collected and boiled in tin cans, a pot will help you boil water in jars and golden rod can be picked up along your travels.

Most slots will be taken up with food tins, jars, tin cans, ammo, wood, stones, feathers.

Spare slots can be used to carry coffee, glass and perhaps a jar mold and pipes.

Revised: Two splints and anti biotics.

That keeps you alive when you're alone.

[SuperAmoeba69]

Thanks for all of the helpful advice.

I've decided I'm going to play on warrior to start out, 150% loot abundance but no respawn, air drops every 3 days, no running zombies (I have never felt zombies should/could run), and everything else will most likely stay default. I'll probably not play on random gen, but I'll think about it if the standard map gets boring.

Maybe the nomadic lifestyle will suit me, if not, I'll just hunker down in a big prefab and live out my lonely days amongst the living dead.