stealth looter build

a quick setup for stealth looter builds

a more passive setup meaning less fighting more looting

stealth looting overview

It is exactly as it sounds. Stealth looter is a build for maxing looting speed and inventory as well as sneaking while doing very little combat outside of taking out key zombies that can get in the way. Mostly child zombies and any zombies near a loot spot

pros:
-extremely fast looting
-really large inventory capacity pool to be able to loot an entire building
-little to no zombie alerts even in comer and sons and palehaven city archieves
-massive loot stockpiling for other characters
-very low maintenance for said build

cons:
-very slow leveling up
-little to no boss battles only outside of supporting
-small instances of infected battles outside of clearing key targets
-glass cannon can easily be overwhelmed if not doing everything correctly

skill selection

As usual for any character build you got 10 skills (lvl 50 lvl 5 max any skill) +2 extra at lvl 5 and lvl 10 prestiges. So what should you choose?

1 - 5 will be speed perks almost always for any build

1. sprinter = makes running around easier

2. jogg = makes walking faster

3. stealth = makes sneaking faster and easier to be less detected

4. looter = makes looting much faster and gives a small % chance to find better loot

5. kick = gives a small boost to jogg and sprinter as well as massive kick buffs which will be important later on

These will be your bread and butter for a while. They'll help do missions faster and run from point A to point B as well as loot and push back zombies.

6. lockpick = makes lockpicking a small % chance to unlock a locked key door without needing a key. Also a small buff to loot quantity

7. Marksman = this will be your ultimate pick off skill for any ranged weapon. Useful later on.

8. Survivor = While it may seem detrimental never get high on your own supply. In this case 1 jar of peanut butter and 1 OJ can last you much longer and that will be important in loot runs. Also to be able to sell food and drinks without needing to consume them.

9. Trucker = while it'd be a very dumb ass move to choose this on literally any other character build outside of when open world started, here it is useful. Save on gas and inc. storage slots which will be important for storing any needed loot you wanna keep for later

10. Mule = extra storage slots in your person self explanitory

Prestige +5 11. Lead magnet = this gives you some extra inventory space but the important thing is it increases your ammo % find and yield find for ammo meaning you find more ammo units each time you find ammo.

prestige +5 11. Apothecary = finally got the spelling right lol. Side notes aside this will be good for finding health items, giving a bit more potency for meds, and the actual use will be the extra inventory slots.

You can interchange marksman for fast learner (to lvl up faster especially with stealth looting) or damage vs infected. This is mostly due to again looting not killing and marksman not helping melee but still a good stat to consider picking for skill lvl up.

prestige skills and trucker / survivor as well. Lead magnet and apothecary give extra slots reducing need for %inventory capacity items. Plus having extra ammo find helps on other characters. It depends if you wanna go around looting for trucker or else you can push it till the very end. Survivor works better early on to save on consuming foods / drinks and instead to craft / selling them.

The rest are set in stone though

sub work around: money making looter

same setup only swapping out trucker fast learner and / or marksman for apocrathary and lead magnet first in the initial lvling up (at the end tbh to get the most bang for buck as lower levels won't give much extra items to sell vs lvl 50 where you unlock everything)

-lead magnet = find more ammo faster and find more of it. Also slight inventory boost. During events (without %find ammo quantity) you'll get a massive boost in funds. Best to sell .45, .40, 10 gauge, 12 gauge, and 7.62mm rifle as it's the ammo types most people use in bulk at once for boss fights due to dps.

-apocrathary = helps find more meds easily. Also helps save on meds with slight med boost for health and inventory space. Morphine and nerotonin are the best since they give the most health, can stack in 3, and nerotonin removes all debuffs (cept panic)



what you'll also wanna focus on is:
-orangizer and parts = orange juice and energy drinks as well as the orangizer itself.
-survivor stew and parts = especially lower level items you cannot find or most people never bother to loot for: baked beans, tinned soup, and water.


of course keep a few of your ammo type for your main and meds / other items.

Of course this is only for maximizing cash flow so imo just sell everything

fast learner consider taking it

being able to lvl up faster helps especially without this one setup mostly for looting means you won't be doing much zombie killing, boss hunting, nor purple zones. At most as a support.

The bonus being that this setup is GREAT for missions and quests that don't involve killing stuff. So stuff like:
-bring items (pre setup before you leave or just stick to turning them in afterwards for bonus xp)
-find person
-find person (dead) =silently taking out the mission quest zombie(s) and looting fast get in get out
-blood samples = same as above only more efficiently since it's not just 1 time but several
-escape stalker missions = honestly if you're going for these i'd suggest taking a pair of running shoes and pants. That or just pop a stimulant and orangizer for the sweet 25% movement speed buff to get from the area you're at back to the outpost or just run around a building avoiding it.


another thing lvling up fast can do is gain rare enhancers, elite enhancers, and just as important dyes.

rare enhancers can really get good / great gear from normal or superior rarity items. same with elite which are better chances to get a better setup for gear vs RNG stats, stat lvls, and item level.

dyes are also mega important. People don't really check the colors of clothing to see if they match. But
you can craft stuff with them. Most notably camo covers that require (besides x3 cloths and x1 sewing needles) a green dye, brown dye, and black dye. And 50k cash. They can be useful for your loot runs OR sell for almost double profit (minus taxes about 50% more profit gain)

How to level up

Now you may think it's all fun and games but the massive downside to stealth looter builds are the super duper slow xp build up. There are some ways to lvl up and by pass it a bit:

-main xp will be from missions / quests. Especially fetch quests will be extremely important as you can get in loot and get out relatively quickly. Plus extra inventory space means you can carry extra stuff to turn in i.e. meds and quest items like champagne or foi grass. Though the better way will be to just talk to all npcs and fetch all items. Then wait to get back to the outpost and turn them in with ingesting and putting on any xp buffs / exp gear.

-PZs can yield some xp if done in groups.

-same for boss fights. You can be the doorstop and help clear any zombies using stealth to clear a boss room with minimal effort for your hunting buddies.

-solo best to avoid boss fights and PZs with few exceptions. Mostly being lower level pzs and boss fights you can win at least 10-20 levels lower

-BOOKS!!!! believe it or not looting much faster and equipping certain items for % find book chance can yield very high amount of books/magazines/newspapers/any papers. They take up literally no space in your backpack which is a huge HUGE bonus. This means you can hoarde them until you turn in any quests / missions.

-outpost attacks can be done but best to do dalbow only or stick to haverbrook at higher levels and maybe avoid greywood entirely.

stealth: Your bread

Stealth will be your bread for stealth looter build. Stealth means several things:

1. crouching = default key ctrl or press c to enable toggle to not have to hold down the ctrl key and toggle C to stand up again. Crouching yields better sneak benefits. The downside being you cannot fire a gun or use a weapon in stealth mode. Also speed is a factor as you go slower without sneak speed stats.

2. footstep noise = this can be reduced by sneaking or with -%footstep noise reduction items. It is imperative to note that firing a weapon or sprinting will immediately nullify footstep silencing items

3. visibility = 2 types: sneak visibility and visibility (normal). Sneak visibility is visibility when sneaking. This is when crouching and crouching default is easier to hide from zombies than standing up. Regular visibility is how far you need to be for zombies to see you standing up normally. The higher the % visibility on both the closer you can get to zombies without them noticing you. Coupled with footstep noise you can get closer and closer and not alert any nearby zombies

4. sneak speed = how fast you sneak when crouching. Sneak speed doesn't affect footstep noise nor visibility. Having higher sneak speed is important if you wanna get through a room faster without alerting zombies safely by crouching.

5. noise reduction = a stat on both weapons (not melee default silent) and both hands and headwear. Having a higher noise reduction means you can fire a gun or use a chainsaw without alerting the hoarde within a certain distance. Outside not really good vs indoors where it's important. You can increase noise reduction on weapons with gun silencers muzzles and on chainsaws with chainsaw mufflers.

6. Surprise damage = a damage stat on any damage from any damage source be it gun, melee, chainsaw, or kicking. Having a high stealth with some surprise damage can inc. damage on 1st hit before alerting the zombie attacking. But also not alerting the rest. Once any zombie is alerted surprise damage is nullified. Which is why it's not so important after the 1st hit landed.

7. range takedowns = probably the best way to stealth is silent takedowns. Via guns with silencers and %noise reduction items. Also stealth take downs with melee to incap zombies at least so they'll stay down unless noise is made or you keep hitting them.

Looting: and your butter

Obviously

looting has some factors to determine your loot run:

1. loot speed = self explanatory! Having high loot speed means you loot faster and have less danger the less time you spend in an area. This is especially true on boss fights where once they drop you need to loot fast before the endless influx of zombies overwhelm you

2. inventory capacity = inventory capacity increases your slots on your person. The higher % inventory capacity the more items you can take with you. You can also inc. it via gold membership which costs money but increases all your character's inventory capacity by 50%

3. lockpick chance = the % chance you can unlock a locked key requiring door. Having capped at 50% i believe you really do not need any lockpick items once you max lockpicking. I could be wrong though hard to keep track of when they move the max %'s on skills.

4. % chance = % chance means % chance of finding whatever item you have on. From clothing to guns meds upgrades etc. It can also affect rarity from superior to uniques.

Weapons of choice

Below is a tier list of best weapons to use vs worst weapons for stealth looting. Again though it should be only used for either self defense or picking off key targets in the way:

1. Melee = honestly THE best. No ammo or fuel requirements and are free stats on the go. They are also 100% silent meaning you can hit a zombie and not alert any zombies depending on how high your stealth stats are. Also 1 hit is usually all it takes to kill a downed zombie or down an unsuspecting zombie.

2. Rifles = the 2nd best weapon to use. In terms of range they're super useful for picking off key targets. They're also super accurate meaning you can aim and headshot zombies easily.

3. Assault Rifles = the 3rd best weapon to use. Like rifles but they are a bit less powerful. But they can keep the same accuracy and range. Usually with some damage stats 1-3 is all it takes. They also use the same ammo pool of rifle rounds as rifles.

4. Pistols = Neutral weapon. They're not very strong but 200 round capacity means you can do a lot with 1 stack and decent damage stats. Useful incase a few zombies try to rush you.

5. Shotguns = 3rd worst weapon to use but still useful incase zombies get too close. 1 slug to the brain is enough to end most zombies. Though loud a silencer can lower noise. Having 40 slugs isn't really a downside when 1-2 is enough to kill most zombies especially 10 gauge.

6. Smgs = 2nd worst weapon to use for looting stealthily. They are low damage and require stats to be useful. Best situation is when rushed by several zombies which shouldn't happen with a decent silence build. Still with a silencer can gun down zombies but the downside is they can require a lot of pistol ammo which can take up space in inventory.

7. Chainsaws = THE WORST WEAPON to use!!!! Honestly requiring to get super close to zombies and being very loud default without chainsaw mufflers and high %noise reduction makes them less optimal. Also they're very low value in damage and rely more on dps. Plus they need fuel which takes up room for items in loot runs.

buildings to loot and loot pool

Buildings can vary based on what type of loot you find there.

1. PDs = police departments are best for looting ammo as they default have a higher % ammo find chance

2. Hospitals and med centers or psych wards = have a better chance to spawn medical items.

3. Mechanic or factories = have a higher chance to spawn fuel and car parts.

4. Food diners and restaurants = have a higher chance to spawn food and drinks

These 4 will usually have higher % chance of finding loot based on the themes. Everything else not on the list will be miscellaneous including outdoors.

outdoors = 1-2 loot spots usually per every building block. They can have more but once you loot 1 and the other nearby disappears means they shared the same loot pool.

standalone households or homes = those high on brick singular standing out houses. They usually contain 1 locked room 3 floors and sometimes 1 boss room. Decent for quick loots

Apartments = usually the ones found behind single door food places or the red brick buildings with 2 doors on each side. The apartments have many many rooms and hallways but it can be easy to get lost in due to having many doors that lead to hallways that lead to doors/hallways that lead to more hallways or doors.

Hotels = apartments but lobbies are usually bigger instead of longer as are the rooms at times. A little more organized

Standalone cabins = outskirts or undeveloped areas between cities. Like the standalone houses / households they have 3 floors with 1 locked room and sometimes a boss room.

Mansions / Manors = those tall castle looking structures the large dark splotches on a map. Yup that's them. They are imo the better of all of them due to being big and an upgraded version of cabins / standalone houses / households. Though a risk is they can have more mutant bosses spawn in rooms and in the hallways. Aside from that they tend to have anywhere from 3-5 locked rooms which are perfect for looting.

attachments to choose

soft soles = inc movement speed and sneak speed at the cost of 1% damage inc which can be nullified with any type of feet shoes boots etc.

Hobnailed soles = cleats basically. Makes kicks more powerful stun longer at the cost of kick cooldown. Very useful more than soft soles for feet to be able to kick back enemies longer

camoflague coverage = can be crafted via a book for 50k or bought for about 49k in market. It adds 15% sneak and normal visibility reduction at the cost of 5% burn damage. Though the 5% burn damage doesn't do much since you're mostly going to be sneaking around zombies a lot anyways.

utility pouches= from extra pockets webbed pouches to seeker and scavenger pouches. They grant more inventory space but also scavenger pouches add a small loot speed

silencers = your bread and butter for guns. They add 15% to 50% noise reduction. They're useful for silent pick offs of key targets.


most any other upgrades or attachments are really null since they're more for fighting instead of sneaking and looting.

weapon / clothing stats to focus on

1st tier: must haves

-damage vs infected, kick / knockback / stun duration / distance, surprise damage, inventory capacity, search speed

infected damage to make up for lack of damage. Especially surprise damage can at least down zombies even if they don't kill them having them on the floor not moving helps. Inventory capacity is another big one. Being able to loot fast and easier will have a need for more inventory space to carry stuff. Search speed is indispensible as faster you can get in get out the less risk of zombies coming in the door or being alerted to your presence (especially stalkers!!!). Stunning helps to keep zombies off you.

2nd tier: to consider: speed buffs: movement speed, jogg speed, sprint speed, sneak speed and invisibility / sneak stats

Speed helps you get form A to B faster. But also from building to building especially sneak speed. Invisibility / sneak stats are good to keep a low profile.

3rd tier to consider: Headshot / bodyshot damage hydration / energy stats, and %find X specific stats

Again you wanna just down if possible zombies. Not kill. Mostly to save on ammo and time. % find specific item stats are 50/50 the way RNG is in game and on what building you are looting. But they can be useful. Hydration and energy stats can be useful but there is enough food / drinks and with survivor you can survive a long time anyhow. But again trying to maximize profits and crafting stuff helps to not get high on your own supply.

4th tier to consider: Lockpick, accuracy stats

Again less killing more stealth looting. Lockpick gets p much maxed with lockpick but needs a little bit more. Plus you're looting easier to find keys normally unless a boss is blocking a loot spot. Plus saves time going in and out finding the keys.

Standard strategy

Basically the point of stealth looter is get in get out.

Just taking out any zombies that get in your way. Not even! Just downing or incapping any zombies between you and the loot spots or puzzle boxes.

setup:
1. silenced weapon = rifle works best due to their high damage range and incredible accuracy. Pistol and shotgun work but shotguns are better for clearing rather than incapping. Pistols are a 50/50. Would avoid chainsaws, smgs, and ARs due to their high stat needs and overall got the bases covered with the other 3 weapon choices.

should focus on: headshot damage, noise reduction, maximum accuracy / minimum accuracy + aim speed, or inventory capacity

2. Melee weapon = stat stick but also to silently kill or down zombies.

should focus on: body damage, surprise damage, inventory capacity, sneak speed, -%visibility / sneak visibility, seach speed

head = search speed, damage vs infected, headshot / bodyshot, surprise damage, noise reduction, or lockpick

hands = search speed, damage vs infected, headshot / bodyshot, surprise damage, noise reduction, or lockpick

body / armor = inventory capacity, -% visibility / sneak visibility, any energy or hydration buffs

legs = sprint buffs, sneak speed, inventory capacity, or kick knockback / stun duration / distance

feet = sprint buffs, sneak speed, -%footstep noise, or kick knockback / stun duration / distance


strategy is simple get from point A to point B without having to waste as much ammo, alert as many zombies, or have to even kill them.

the faster the search speed and movement speeds the easier and faster you can get in get out and loot areas.

sneak speed is super useful as it allows you to move around zombies faster and if many are blocking the route to a loot spot you can just sneak fast around them.

Get to the loot spots involves strategy. Taking out key zombies that can block your path.

You can do this easily but sneak killing with a high enough damage and a melee especially surprise damage. With decent sneak you can kill about 2 zombies before alerting any nearby. With decent noise reduction you can shoot / pick off a zombie from a range without alerting the others.

Best bet is:
-kill kid zombies
-kill skinny females
-try to down fat males / female zombies
-try to kill any tentacle or debuff (flies, burning, tentacle) zombies to avoid being debuffed and contact damage with a melee or from a ranged

with the setup provided for skills you can have a good amount of inventory space even capping at 300% easily (80 slots). This will leave your weapons and head / hands to be your main source for damage.