What is the point of burning bodies?

[Profile Name™]

I'm early in the game. At the very beginning of Chapter 3. It's my first playthrough. Is there a point in burning bodies, and how do I know which bodies I should burn and which ones I can just leave alone? I am only able to find so many matches in the game, and I don't think that I have enough matches for bodies. I know you can burn multiple bodies at once. I know you can use a torch to burn a body. But I still don't think there is a way to burn every single body in the game unless I spent an enormous amount of time trying to push, kick, or melee bodies across an area to stack them up and burn them all at once.

[Stan]

There really is no point burning everybody and by trials and erorrs can be know whitch body to burn and whitch not. Basicly there is only couble reason to burn body, by doing it you can set up near by enemys on fire, you can instantly kill enemy if you can get them on theyr back or knees, and to make sure that the enemy (that you haven't shoot before) is not getting up when you run around.

[Stan]

Originally posted by CNN is Fake News:

Thanks for expanding on what the other guy said.

1.) Is the point of burning bodies to get loot? Like sometimes burned bodies drop green gel or ammo or something? Or is it to prevent the bodies from respawning into some sort of stalker monster that will try to kill me?

2.) Also, when I do the choke point thing and try to force monsters to run through a fire of burning corpses, will the fire damage them?

3.) Should I increase the number of matches that I can hold, or should I use that green gel for something like ammo capacity or medkit capacity?

4.) Should I only burn bodies I find, or should I burn the corpses of monsters I kill too?

1. Double no. Dead bodies don't get up anymore and will disappear normaly even if you don't burn them. + burning bodies don't drop anything, only enemies that you have killed can drop sometihng.

2. I would say no because they don't catch on fire if they run over a burning body, at least i don't think so.

3. I would say couble times because matches can be really usefull from time to time and its cheap to upgrade.

4. Depending a situation, i would say only bodies that you find and if there is multiable enemys then kill one of them, go next to it, lure others near and throw a match.

[Stan]

If you shoot the enemy it can drop something and it won't come back to alive, if you stomp the enemy and it dies it won't come back to alive.

If there is a corpse on the floor and it gets up it can drop sometihing, if it won't get up no matter how much you are walking or running right next to it it won't get up.

In either way enemys that you have killed can drop something and they won't respawn. Enemys that wasen't alive the begin with don't drop anything and they won't respawn.

Burning a dead body won't drop anything extra no matter was it alive or not.


As for choke points i really don't know but for me enemys need to be either on theyr backs or knees or dead in order to set them on fire, if there is others right next to that what i'm setting on fire then they catch on fire. If i burn corpse and let enemys run over that they won't get burn.

Why matches are usefull? Because with a match you can have a chance to kill multitable enemys just one move like a trap for them, or kill enemys that can only kill by fire, or kill immediately enemy that would require tons of ammunation in order to kill it.

In short tearm: It is for save ammo for better use, just like sneak kills, axes and traps.

[Stan]

This video shows its best how matches works. (not mine) and minor spoiler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n6d7D1cEUg

[BlackWater]

You can torch hay bales, and enemies that brush up against them are also burned, enemies caught in bear traps can be burned, knock a cluster of enemies to the ground and burn them all with 1 match, an Electro bolt really helps with this as well.

[Fampai]

Originally posted by CNN is Fake News:

Another question. Are there ever any hidden objects inside of hay stacks? Like will burning them give me a chance of finding some loot? And if there is hidden loot in some haystacks, is there a way to get the loot out by pushing the hay stacks instead of burning them?

Yes hay stacks have loot. I think you have to burn them to get in there real good for loot.

I'm almost finished the game and at this point (Ch 14) I'm just burning bodies for fun. Matches were not very useful throughout the game aside from when a shotgun blast to the face of a fattie wouldn't finish ...it... off, so you torch his body before he can get back up. In very few instances have I laid a successful "match trap" where multiple bodies burn, maybe in tight quarters.

Oh btw I juuuust found out that crows drop loot. The whole game I didn't shoot them because they're clever birds but I finally did just to see what happens and the crow dropped a grenade lol.

[stonersunshine]

There are already great answers here but I wanted to try to get across that matches are really good if used well. It's better to think of using matches as an attack you can do that instantly kills anything in a small area in front of you. That's all it does but that's very useful. The problem is that you need a catalyst to trigger your powerful move. With that in mind here are some ways to set up a match attack.

Any enemy that has been tripped or knocked to the ground can be lit on fire. Shooting an enemy in the legs with the pistol will knock an enemy to the ground. Running enemies are easily tripped by a leg shot and this includes fat enemies. A close range shotgun blast can knock entire groups to the ground. Harpoon bolts will knock enemies to the ground too. Enemies on the ground can flail around and hit you so be careful and stand back a bit when you burn them, they can also get back up so be quick.

If you go from never using matches to only using them to trip and then burn enemies that's a move that will save you a lot of ammo in the long run and make fights much easier but it's just the tip of the ice burg.

Non-boss enemies electrified by an electric bolt can be burned, it's a good idea to let a group bunch up and then burn them all.

Corpses set up a match attack. Corpses are a good match starter because they won't move and ruin your ability to burn an incoming enemy. Create a corpse by killing an enemy and then use the dead body to kill another enemy. Even dead crows can be used to burn other enemies.

Timing is important, enemies must be nearby the moment that match hits the ground or they won't burn. Aiming is important too, try to keep things you want to burn directly in front of you as the area of effect is quite small. You can miss with matches and burn nothing but you really have to try.

You are vulnerable during the match burning animation so be careful. A good way to ensure your safety is to bait an attack from an enemy while they are near a corpse, when their attack finishes they take enough time to recover that you can burn them in peace. You could also simply shoot everyone to the ground then nobody could threaten you. In tight hallways it's very easy to trip enemies up with pistol leg shots so that they all pile up in the one spot ready to be burned with one match.

Because burning is an instant death to most enemies it cancels their attack, meaning an enemy's attack will not hurt you. This makes matches a defensive tool if used skillfully. As an instant death attack they are often the quickest way to clear a room of enemies.

Matches can be rare at times so upgrading stock to 7 or 10 is a good idea, it's cheap too. Don't just set about burning everything because you can, most enemies knocked to the ground can be easily finished off with a pistol headshot or two just as well as a match. That now dead enemy you didn't burn can be used to burn other enemies.

Oil, hay bales and barrels catch fire and burn anything that touches them. Regular burning bodies don't spread fire.

Bosses and sub-bosses don't tend to instantly die but they are stunned and damaged by matches allowing you to get some free hits in.

Burning dead enemies you've found is the least of their uses, if you get good at using matches they are arguably your most powerful weapon. It's a deep mechanic with a huge amount of use during gameplay and that's hard to tutorialize easily in a game but they did give a tool tip on their use when you picked them up. Dead enemies are dead and don't need burned or stomped, they go limp and never get back up. There aren't enough fake dead enemies for it to matter if you waste a match on them, some still living do move though.

[stonersunshine]

That's a complicated question and it depends on how you knock them down, upgrades etc. With a pistol leg shot? No, the match or follow up headshots are your best option. It's also a bit pointless to worry, reaching full pistol ammo is easy as the ammo is everywhere. It's the other ammo that's precious, if all you use is pistol ammo in a fight consider it a win. So long as you used it effeciently. Oh and the shotgun is not a boss killing weapon, use it for regular enemy types too.

What you might be interested in doing is punching/kicking/stomping a zombie then headshotting it. Any zombie that's melee'd is an easy target as it recoils and they also get crit shot more often than a non melee'd zombie. Crit shot is when in one shot a zombie's head explodes causing instant death, melee boosts the likelyhood of that happening. Two things worth knowing are that a zombie will counter melee with it's own unstoppable melee and also that the zombie's long grabbing attack where they chase you around, arms outstretched, cannot be stopped by your punch either. An enemy's counter punch is a great time to step back and shoot them in the face.

Stomp or kick do nearly 1 damage. Zombies have 6 health, as the game progesses that goes up to 9 health. You can't stomp fast enough to kill off a pistol shot. There is also a rule that no zombie can survive more than 3 headshots, that makes the pistol consistent all game long.

Pistol does 1 damage, shotgun 2, harpoon 3, explosive bolt 6. That's unupgraded.
Weapon headshots do double damage however so early on, or for the entire game if you upgrade it, a shotgun headshot will floor a zombie and you could risk getting in some stomps to finish the zombie off. The thing is that can be unsafe so I'd still say to use the pistol.

It gets more muddy when you involve upgrades so I hope those numbers and details help you work out how you want to play. Most people wouldn't upgrade melee but upgraded it can be used the way you want at certain times, it's tricky though and there are far better upgrades.

[BlackWater]

Originally posted by CNN is Fake News:

Thanks BlackWater. That adds a lot of hype. I look forward to trying those things. Thanks for the helpful information!

Also, look for red barrels and purplish pools of liquid on the ground, these can be shot/burned as well. One of the most usefull upgrades in my opinion is a maxed out Agony crossbow harppon bolt, just saying. Its work getting him to play, but sometimes you can get chainsaw boy to kill his own for you, thats always good for laughs. And about the hay bales, save your matches and use a torch, its not used up to set hay bale aflame, only when you hit an enemy.

[Neko_Escrotis]

xis

[BlackWater]

Originally posted by CNN is Fake News:

You guys said that if you burn hay bales, you can get loot. You were right.

I have a question though. The hay bales I was talking about usually had three stacks of hay.

But I noticed just one stack of hay inside carts. Can those give loot too if you burn them?


ALSO:

I just want to say that this game never grabbed my attention. And then when I finally bought it, I felt a bet underwhelmed in Chapter 2. But now I am really excited about it. I just started Chapter 4, and I'm starting to think this could end up being one of my favorite games.

if memory serves, loot isn't in the hey thats in carts, but I could be wrong, theres more loot the easier the difficulty, OH! have you been keeping an eye out for statues? these can be busted for something that you REALLY SHOULD be collecting, along with map fragments...when in a new area/vision from the safe haven, EXPLORE thouroughly, as some of these can not be returned to, and you will miss map fragments.

[Vanlynn]

If you kill enemies with a stealth kill or a headshot you don't need to burn their boddies, but if a bunch of zombies are following you, you can kill one and set him on fire and they'll walk through it and catch fire. also theres little tiny angel statues about you can destroy and get stuff from them

[E.P.D. Gaffney]

I was excited to add onto this but I think the answers here are sufficient. So I'm just going to say, I love this game. I'm replaying it now. The combat is probably the best I've ever experienced. Doing a no-upgrade run right now. Availing myself of bottle-headshots in situations I never thought were possible. A game with mechanics that gradually just unlock themselves as you get more experience is a game worth cherishing.

[Dinghy_Dog]

The fact that the 2nd game removed matches and then included dumb AI and OP stealth takedowns makes my stomach turn :/

(I know this is a necro, but I couldn't resist)

[Fampai]

Originally posted by Dinghy_Dog:

The fact that the 2nd game removed matches and then included dumb AI and OP stealth takedowns makes my stomach turn :/

(I know this is a necro, but I couldn't resist)

Good to know. I was regretting not buying it during the sale. The first one is good enough, especially with DLCs. I can end the chapter there.