Melee weapons ?

[Det. Dave Starsky]

^

I saw a video on yt of this game, I saw the player with a knife..
Is it a good melee weapon, also is there any other melee weapons ?

Thanks

[obet]

hi, I prefer axe for melee

[Det. Dave Starsky]

Oh, cool..

Is it a 1 hit kill ?

[johnknightt]

the anvil at the farm, or bandit camp, or you make 1 yourself, can craft a sort of machete(best melee damage)

invite danny and go hunting
mm forgot machette don't text

[Daggoth]

The combat knife is good as you can crouch, come up behind an enemy and hit F to stealth kill instead of having to fight. From what I have read the Axe is the go-to weapon and I can kill an infected in 2-3 hits (if at least one is a head shot; 2). From reading it seems the machete is the preferred melee weapon and the "American Eagle" curved blade is the best one. Have not tested yet to be sure but the Combat knife stealth kill on infected is a thing I have done successfully.

[Shrinkshooter]

Given what I've seen so far from other players:

The combat knife can stealth kill infected and bandits.

Axe isn't very good as a weapon, it's fine, but compared to others not great, even though it should be

Machete can stealth kill bandits, but not infected, though it does kill them in 2 hits every time, it's probably the best to use in outright combat.

I think anything else is less effective. Unrelated note: the knife and machete aren't just good for killing infected, you can get unlimited bark for tinder off trees by smacking them. I thought that was a cool detail.

[Gunther Kruger]

Melee wise i only use the spear over the chicken fence for farming, i shoot everything else :)

[Geauxboy]

Originally posted by Gunther Kruger:

Melee wise i only use the spear over the chicken fence for farming, i shoot everything else :)

Yup. The only melee I use for fighting is the pokie pokie stick. The rest only get me killed.

[Gunther Kruger]

Originally posted by Geauxboy:

Originally posted by Gunther Kruger:

Melee wise i only use the spear over the chicken fence for farming, i shoot everything else :)

Yup. The only melee I use for fighting is the pokie pokie stick. The rest only get me killed.

Yea i cant do stealth kills either lolz

[Vathek1]

Originally posted by Shrinkshooter:

Given what I've seen so far from other players:

The combat knife can stealth kill infected and bandits.

Axe isn't very good as a weapon, it's fine, but compared to others not great, even though it should be

Machete can stealth kill bandits, but not infected, though it does kill them in 2 hits every time, it's probably the best to use in outright combat.

I think anything else is less effective. Unrelated note: the knife and machete aren't just good for killing infected, you can get unlimited bark for tinder off trees by smacking them. I thought that was a cool detail.

The bark you can get is limited by the durability of your knife/machete. Using the knife to skin bark off trees will reduce its durability very fast, so hopefully you have some spares. The machete stands up to this type of use a bit better but will again need to be repaired or replaced.

The machete works decently when paired with a shield, but if you really want to kill things in melee, just poke them to death with a wooden spear from behind a chicken fence or from somewhere they can't reach you.

Or better yet, make a bow and kill them with wooden practice arrows, which are a two-hit kill on infected and bandits even with body/limb shots (one headshot will put down humanoid targets). The bow is hard enough to aim that it is best used from closer range to guarantee the hit and to avoid wasting arrows.

As for the axe being a poor melee weapon, that's one of the few things in the game that makes some sense. Battle axes (including tomahawks) have rather different blade profiles from wood-cutting axes and splitting mauls.

[Diveyoc]

I was experimenting yesterday with the sledge hammer. Things happen so fast but it seemed like it was good for 1 hit kills on infected. Not sure if these were head shots or not, or if it's just straight up 1 shot 1 kill.

Problem is the timing because the swing is a bit slow. But it's very satisfying to clobber them with it.

[Shrinkshooter]

Originally posted by Vathek1:

The bark you can get is limited by the durability of your knife/machete.

Right but there are plenty of those lying around. Find a crappy knife with like 35% durability and you'll be set on tinder for a long time.

just poke them to death with a wooden spear from behind a chicken fence or from somewhere they can't reach you.

I care more about what's the most useful in actual combat. Poking them from a defensive position isn't something you can just pull off immediately no matter where you are. If you want to embark out into the night or into the mist, you need a way of fighting on the fly. I haven't seen many combat variations but one that I have seen work semi-reliably is chucking a spear at an infected running at you, then slash with machete and it dies when it gets close. Problem there is something apparently it hits you and does damage as it's ragdolling to the ground.

Or better yet, make a bow and kill them with wooden practice arrows, which are a two-hit kill on infected and bandits even with body/limb shots (one headshot will put down humanoid targets).

What, really? The hell man, I thought practice arrows were crap. Doesn't the game say that they do almost no damage or something? Is that an oversight?

wood-cutting axes and splitting mauls.

If this game were real life I wouldn't even consider a maul unless it was my only option, might as well try swinging a sledgehammer, that'd be a pretty bad combat choice unless you're dealing with classic zombies.

[Diveyoc]

Regarding the bow or arrows in particular. I've had just as much success rate with the cheap arrows against infected as the broad tip arrows. Cheap arrows are 2 body hit kills. But head shots are 1 shot per kill on the infected, even with the cheap arrows. I do have the long bow as well. I even 1 shot killed a bear with a cheap arrow a few days ago. Must have been a head shot.

[Vathek1]

Originally posted by Shrinkshooter:

I care more about what's the most useful in actual combat. Poking them from a defensive position isn't something you can just pull off immediately no matter where you are. If you want to embark out into the night or into the mist, you need a way of fighting on the fly. I haven't seen many combat variations but one that I have seen work semi-reliably is chucking a spear at an infected running at you, then slash with machete and it dies when it gets close. Problem there is something apparently it hits you and does damage as it's ragdolling to the ground.

You raise a good point, although the way I tend to play usually does involve avoiding the infected (or anything unfriendly) unless I can engage it from a defensive position. As you can guess, I don't tend to travel around at night and I prefer to spend Mist events crafting matches or hunting infected from a "shark cage" of chicken fencing :D.

What, really? The hell man, I thought practice arrows were crap. Doesn't the game say that they do almost no damage or something? Is that an oversight?

The hunting arrows/broadheads have one advantage--they will kill bandits in a single hit anywhere on the body (if shot from the longbow. Don't make the smaller bow; it's a waste of materials and time.) Against all other targets I haven't noticed any difference in damage output, and considering that the hunting arrows take more time and materials to make (getting feathers for fletching can be a bit tedious) you should save them for bandit raids. You can find sticks everywhere, and you don't even need a knife in your inventory to whittle them into additional arrows.

In short, I think it might be a bit of an (old) oversight in the game text.

If this game were real life I wouldn't even consider a maul unless it was my only option, might as well try swinging a sledgehammer, that'd be a pretty bad combat choice unless you're dealing with classic zombies.

If this game were real life I'd make myself some armour out of car tyres. Zombies/infected still have human physiology, and the human jaw can't generate enough bite force to even leave permanent dimples in the rubber of an automotive tyre. Our teeth aren't sharp enough to split that rubber either.

If you want a more refined option... and if zombies ever turn out to be real (with all the new viruses popping up these days, who knows?) invest in a sharksuit. If they can protect you against a mako or tiger shark, they'd be even more effective against the flat teeth of an undead, formerly intelligent primate :P

[Shrinkshooter]

Originally posted by Vathek1:

they will kill bandits in a single hit anywhere on the body

I discovered that spears, which are easily craftable and one can be made within like your first 10-20 minutes playing, kill bandits instantly no matter where they hit. I got pretty good at throwing spears from distance while hunting deer, so impaling bandits from midrange is easy.

In addition it causes noise, so at least one bandit will rush over to check out the corpse, and he too can get spiked. Then if you get noticed in any way, fall back to a firearm. I've noticed that it takes absolute eons to craft bows because the guts dry up slower than an ocean.