Indestructible Juggernauts

[krmtdfr9]

Some Idiot decided it would be a good Ideal to include these things in an update. Now even on level ONE they show up in every rescue type mission, to kill the survivalist you went to save, and then kill your character as well. It happened twice so early in the game that it was just me and Lily. So start new game. I think this was the same Idiot that thought building three workshops instead of two was a good ideal. How do I get my old game back? this one sucks. Thanks Idiot for your input.

[WillieSea]

They are a pain in the beginning but they are certainly not indestructible. Shooting them in the head with a decent caliber weapon does them in quick.

[Irimex]

I usually just ignore the "hunt a juggernaut" missions when they pop up simply to avoid the AI controlled member getting itself killed. I've yet to have a character outright die as a result of ignoring one of those missions; they may get hurt or suffer a morale penalty but I much prefer that over feeling like I just got cheated out of a community member I actually liked. Actually had it happen once on a non hunting style mission where someone was stuck away from home and needed a ride back. I pulled up to the area and it just so happened a juggernaut was standing right outside the door of the little shed they were hiding in. My little AI buddy decided it'd be a good idea to come barging out of the shed and melee the thing with a frying pan and immediately got put into the down but not out state after a single smack from the juggernaut... which proceeded to walk over and tear them in half before I could unload enough ammo into it to stop the instakill animation.

As WillieSea said once you have a decent caliber weapon they're not that big of a deal, and you can also stun them and leave them vulnerable to damage by leading their charge into a wall or other object and smacking them in melee while they're stunned. I don't find them all that intimidating while running around solo but just don't trust the AI enough to not get itself killed on the random occurring missions.

[WillieSea]

Shooting the Jug in the head can stun it too. So if it has one of your followers in its grips, shoot it in the head. Or use that opportunity to use a good damage dealing melee weapon on it.

[Irimex]

Oh that's good to know, thanks! Never knew or at least never noticed it. Whenever I'm out alone I usually just use the charge stun method to melee them down, so the only time I would ever really shoot at them would be when I was in a panic trying to stop them from killing one of the AIs.

[Saerimner]

I always avoid the juggs if possible. They show up in Besieged missions then I use molotovs, some headshots and then let it stun itself for melee kills.

Also remember to use gas bottles/containers and tanks that are spread around everywhere. Lure the Jugg close to the container and shoot it.

[Korvan]

Yeah, forget about melee'ing them. You or anyone else with you will die first. I think 4 to 5 shots with a shotty took one down for me. Some of the assault rifles will take one down in a sec or less. If I have a vehicle with some damage, I'll ram him til it's on fire then leave it with him to blow him up.

[Shelt]

Keep distance from jugg.

Always make sure u got a gun with sound suppressor on it.

Head shot it and throw a fire bomb on it.

Watch yer spacial awareness around it coz of other zombies ganging you.

Never ram a jugg with an auto unless u dont mind losing the wheels completely. But u can knock one down for a minute like this and melee it a little. Last resort though.

If a Jugg grabs an AI teamate, you can melee quite a few times on it.

Make sure you got snacks to eat always when fighting jugg.

[Sven]

Originally posted by Shelt:

Always make sure u got a gun with sound suppressor on it.

Head shot it and throw a fire bomb on it.

If a Jugg grabs an AI teamate, you can melee quite a few times on it.

A few notes on this...

1.

You do NOT need supressors on firearms with a level 2 noise rating!
Those are quiet enough to not spawn new zombies. You only need to supress firearms with a noise rating of level 4 and 5 (there are no levels 1 and 3). I feel like this should be a PSA or something, because people tend to suppress "quiet" firearms.
A suppressor attached to most .22, 9mm, .357 caliber weapons is a wasted supressor, but always do check the noise rating; there's a .22 cal. "survival rifle" with a level 5 noise rating, for example, but it's also the only one. Yes, even the Snub Special revolver has a level 2 noise rating, so you can fire it without worrying about spawning new zeds, and at maximum durability and a decent punch for its caliber, it's my go-to gun for disposing of my excess stock of .22 long rifle rounds.
So, to summarize:
2/5 on the noise scale = No need to suppress.
4/5 and 5/5 on the noise scale = Suppress it for the love of all that is holy.

2.

Headshots are what deals damage yes, but ideally you'd do this with 7.62mm rounds, 5.56mm, or at worst .45. .40 cal rounds work decently too if fired out of the right weapon, such as a UMP40 SMG. Emptying a mag or two of .22 rounds from an Mk. 3 Target pistol isn't going to do much to save your friend in that situaton.
I definitely recommend equipping all survivors you intend to keep with good weapons, both melee and ranged (ideally "Assault rifle" class weapons chambered in 7.62mm) with SINGLE FIRE MODE to conserve ammo (always treat these weapons as single action rifles and your life gets a million times easier); you can always craft more ammo if you feel a certain type is being used up as a result. Any AK variety or similar can kill a juggernaut in half a mag, with wiggle room for missed shots, and since the mags are 30 rounds each, they line up perfectly with homemade supressors that last 30 rounds, which beats having an odd number that doesn't line up with any suppressor type (10, 30, or 50 shots).
If you've got a powerhouse and an Mk. 15 rifle, then by all means, do enjoy suppressed armor penetrating .50 cal shots. But for anyone else, I'd recommend rifles chambered in 7.62mm or 5.56mm. A 7.62mm round is a one-shot kill on ferals btw, if you're close enough (the game's draw distance unfortunately nullifies bullet damage if the target is too far away).

Fireboms, and Wilkerson Private Reserve bottles, do basically nothing to juggernauts (I mean they do, but not enough). 2-3 petrol bombs is where it's at, or ideally, 2 chemical incendiaries. That way you can get away with firing your rifle sparsely, but I tend to focus throwable incendiaries on staving off ferals rather than taking down juggernauts. Only petrol bombs and above can take down ferals in one go, but even petrol bombs can fail in my experience, resulting in the feral getting up again. To make sure, if you need to direct your attention elsewhere and the feral is just annoying you on the side, then shoot it while it's rolling around on the ground after being hit with an incendiary.

If you like big explosions, and want to have some fun with those, and, to quote the great Wayne with funny commentary but an incredibly infuriating playstyle: "make a fatty go boom", then two flame fougasses will kill a juggernaut as well. An artillery barrage will also kill one if you have those (if you have a character that can call them in, it's wise to stock up on markers in your supply locker - ideally those from Royell Vincent, since those are way more powerful than the ones you get from Erik Tan/Diane Montressor).

3.

From a certain level onwards (I forgot which exact level), juggernaut grabs kill, meaning that trying to free the grabbed survivor is futile. I got back into the game after a long break the other day (last played June 5th), and I'm on level 24 right now, and juggernaut grabs have been lethal for a few levels. Naturally, I stay away from all juggernaut zed hunt missions, and prefer to never take anyone out with me unless I have to (enclave missions). Yesterday I failed a besieged mission because the enclave had set up shop in the barn right outside Spencers Mill (not the one by the McReady farmhouse, but the other one), and a juggernaut spawned inside, grabbed one of the enclave members, and I failed the mission. The other two enclave members ran off and I haven't seen them since; they never appear in the enclave barn anymore. I've got a similarly glitched enclave in Marshal, leaving me with only one "working" enclave at this moment. Sucks, because it makes it harder to accumulate fame now, but what can you do about abandonware?

Point is, freeing a grabbed survivor works if you stun the juggernaut, yes, but only up until a certain level, and I feel this is important to keep in mind. No need to worry for the first close to 20 levels or something, however. The grabbed survivor's health level may also affect the outcome of the attack.

Sorry for the wall of text, btw. I guess I had way too much to say, and got a bit derailed here and there.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Sven:

Sorry for the wall of text, btw. I guess I had way too much to say, and got a bit derailed here and there.

we have an expert here

[Sven]

Originally posted by Max Caulfield:

we have an expert here

Nah, I just love this game, and like sharing my knowledge or being helpful whenever I can. I've learned a lot, both from others and by myself, over my ~1200+ hours in Trumbull Valley, so if I can help others too by sharing what I know, then I'd like to do so. Basically giving back to the community, so to speak; some new players (or even old) out there might read the pointers I posted above and learn something new they didn't know.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Sven:

~1200+ hours in Trumbull Valley

in what

[Shelt]

I use a suppressor on every gun I can b/c its easy to make them or find them from CLEO drops. The really good ones that give you 50 shots I find 5 at a time. I play campaign and not breakdown b/c I dont care about the game being super hard and coming on here and trying to flex about it.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Shelt:

I use a suppressor on every gun I can b/c its easy to make them or find them from CLEO drops. The really good ones that give you 50 shots I find 5 at a time. I play campaign and not breakdown b/c I dont care about the game being super hard and coming on here and trying to flex about it.

someone is salty

[Shelt]

someone is also a troll

[Alex]

Originally posted by Shelt:

someone is also a troll

then stop being one