Can't even beat 100%

[SMG-Scorpion]

I've played hundreds of times. The map is always out of whack. Surrounded by VoD's (literally right next to me; open on all sides with rando hordes in the way of resources; no trees/grass/water/minerals; or tight space with 2~3 openings easy to def but extremely limited resources and the next possible expansion spot has VoD right on top of it. I got sick and tired of keep playing like that, so I tried restarting the game until I get a decent enough map but it always ends up with one of the forementioned situations w/o exception. What am I doing wrong?

[Andrewbh2003]

are you playing on lowlands? if so thats the norm for that map

also dont be scared

100% = hard

300% = very hard

"Normal" is like 50% so do not be afraid of lowering the difficulty

as for what you are doing "wrong" without a more detailed description of your style of play il just go over some general mistakes people make

1- not knowing how to deal with vods early

by far a big killer a "Near" VOD can actually be a "good" thing if you can take it down early as it gives loads of resources when destroyed that can enable your econ to skyrocket

rush balistas and slowly push forward and use rangers to kite infected in to balistas

2- make the most use out of space, i could go in to more detail but wanna keep this more digestible but if life gives you lemons make a lemonade, if TAB gives you a cramped building quarter make every single tile of space count, this is something you will continualy improve on as you play more there is always room for optimization

3- noise

in case you do not know there is a noise mechanic in this game

TLDR: a gun from a sniper produces considerably more noise than a bow from a ranger, and be aware that this also applies to VODS and more so than ever "mutants" can be literally game-ending if you pull one early

one of the reasons why balistas are so good for early VODS is not only cause they are relatively cheap its also that they are the most "Noise-effective" unit in the game

while a balista makes more noise per shot than a ranger "5 noise balista vs 1 noise ranger" a balista has AOE and can 1-shot all non-specials

so from a "noise per damage" ratio the balista is the most silent damage source in the game

3 balistas "2 even" can kill a VOD even on nightmare pretty easily if you understand noise and effective kiting with rangers

[QWEEDDY2]

Yes. new easy map is not easy - too much lack of resources and free space. But at same time, maybe easy to defend? Nah, forced to expand to some normal stone and iron (more that 2 block-sized) - and your colony be on opened area now. When horde arrive. HQ always hided in so much tiny place where almost no place to tents. And even stone source can be right next to HQ - but only two-block (+2 stone mining only not matter who you place mining mill).

It very fru-u-u map and very fru-u-u game mode. Campaign way more balanced.
Thats way i suggest to play campaign as skirmish - with cheating research tree. Of course beat it normally too.

[red255]

https://youtu.be/jQrCEtutXtM


basically use ballista and kite with a ranger until you get clear

[SMG-Scorpion]

Day 93, @ 3887. Lots of space, minerals, trees. No grass. All grass patches were near edges of the map, constantly ran outta food.

[QWEEDDY2]

Yes - another problem, now for every 6 maps, - a lot of resources at the edge. Most problem with Oil - it only fixed count of sources and some of them cannot be protected or even cannot be constructed!
And almost same for every other resources.

[SMG-Scorpion]

There's always something vital to your expansion & progress that sit on the outer edges of the map, every single time. You can't kite hordes, not after the 5th wave it's impossible to kite from there on. You have to stonewall off every opening and put guns behind. But this problem with how resources are generated and positioned literally cripple my ability to progress with adequate speed and to defend effectively.

[SMG-Scorpion]

Just did another. Open on all sides, one tiny group of +7 blocks trees. Next to water, some grass, stone. VoD right next to me, massive hordes sitting on iron and trees were outside of those walls of hordes. While kiting 1 group, another huge group piled on me from an opposite side. Whole game lasted 6 minutes.

[MyUrp1]

OK, I'm confused. Peaceful Lowlands at Low Population / 100 days is 85%. At Medium Population / 100 days it's 120%. What settings are you using to get 100% ?

[MyUrp1]

Also, what is your definition of "right next to you"? I started a game at 120%, and I couldn't even find a zombie within 20 squares of my base, let alone a VoD.

I tried again just to make sure that wasn't a fluke; on attempt #2 I found a VoD at 23 squares out -- close, but manageable. Just don't expand in that direction (at ALL). Put everything on the other side of your command center.

As for the relative shortage of stone/iron, as long as you can find enough stone to build a soldiers center you're good. All you need for the first 30 days are rangers and wooden stakes. (Wood Workshop will get you the stakes). You can worry about stone and iron later once you have a large enough ranger force to expand with.

[SMG-Scorpion]

Frozen Highlands, Low Pop, 100 days = 100%

When I say "right next to me" I mean exactly that, literally right next to me. Using 1 ranger with 1 block of wall and the noise of zombie hitting it + ranger killing it is enough to attract horde from the VoD. I think the problem is I'm grouping my hunting party. I can't micro for sheet in this game.

[MyUrp1]

So here's what I see when I start a frozen wasteland game:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2589678609

Plenty of wood, plenty of stone, not many zombies, even a nice iron pile...

Is your install hacked/cursed/otherwise broken?

[SMG-Scorpion]

I have had starts like that, but not enough grass, no gold. Everything else is around the edges of the map, and I'd always have at least 1 VoD literally right next to me. It's funny cos I just had a run like that. 1 ranger + single wooden post defending against 1 zombie unleashed the VoD hordes on my base.

And no, I don't even use mods.

[MyUrp1]

If you have forest, hunters cottages will give you plenty of food to start with, you don't need grass until later.

Lookout towers will tell you if there's a VoD near where you want to plant a farm when you find grassland.

And you don't need gold at all, that's what tents/cottages/stone houses are for.

[SMG-Scorpion]

Uninstalled and deleted. It's a complete fking waste of time.

[MyUrp1]

Did you consider trying a previous scenario (Lowlands, moors) at a harder difficulty level?