Sledge Series?

[SxR]

Why doesn't Sledge Hammers have a volume series?

 

I think every weapon style in the game has a series, all except Sledge Hammers.

 

There's Clubs, Fists, Knives (I assume also Machetes), Bats, Pistols, Shotguns, Rifles, Machineguns, Spears, etc.. all have books.

 

So what's the deal, Pimps? :f

[Sjustus548]

That's the main reason I choose not to use them.  The bonuses from the full bat series makes using clubs so much better than sledgehammers.  

[Vampirenostra]

by far clubs are the ultimate melee for the moment. spears lack dmg, knives and machetes suck as hell, hammers are way to slow, axes are not meant as weapons at all so the only logical choice is clubs.

And lets see where we can get with different damage types in terms of our zombie world if it was real:

Blunt: very moderate choice as initial intention of these weapons is ease of crafting regarding the damage itself -> body blow would cause almost no damage to a zed, head hit can be destructive, with a heavy blow and precise aiming -> so not that reliable to take down zeds.

Piercing: Hell no thanx! The only advantage is its reach, so the only manner could be somehow effective is if used in a formation and as always aimed to the head.

Cutting: all sorts of blades meant for cutting -> thin sharp edge -> very formidable for same reasons as blunt, but you can not stab it hard enough and cause severe damage to a zed, gets dull really fast if you hit bones etc, decapitation only possible on a disabled zed.

Slash/Chop: Weapon of choice as it is more heavy towards to blade tip so you can get as much weight on impact, decapitation or dismemberment -> pice of cake! Just keep swinging and you're fine with it. Any axe would do fine, heavy swords like zweihander or a messer would do best. Same would be for machete as it bears the same concept of damage and initial purpose -> chop it down! We could also add here some sorts of polearms such as bardiche, glaive, voulge would have impressive effect on zeds due to their reach and destructive power.

[Rince]

I just started using the sledgies in my current game. Pretty fun!

 

Having a book series for them would be sweet!

[BFT2020]

On 10/13/2020 at 5:52 AM, Vampirenostra said:

by far clubs are the ultimate melee for the moment. spears lack dmg, knives and machetes suck as hell, hammers are way to slow, axes are not meant as weapons at all so the only logical choice is clubs.

Been playing with knives in my last several playthroughs and I got to say I love them as a melee weapon.  I have also used clubs and sledges and they have been effective too.

 

The thing is how you approach the melee weapons will depend on how effective they are.  You can't use the knives like you use the clubs and sledges.  You are not going to knock them down so you can't stand toe to toe with the zombies.  They can stumble and recover but they won't drop down on the ground for free hits.

 

What I typically do with knives is cut and run (let the bleed effect cause additional damage).  Even with groups of zombies, I hit as many different zombies as I can while staying away from them which makes it fun as they drop dead from the bleed damage and thin the ranks.  Right now, my zombie minimum speed is jog so it will be interesting to see if this will still work if speed is increased in the future.

[Vampirenostra]

3 minutes ago, BFT2020 said:

Been playing with knives in my last several playthroughs and I got to say I love them as a melee weapon.  I have also used clubs and sledges and they have been effective too.

 

The thing is how you approach the melee weapons will depend on how effective they are.  You can't use the knives like you use the clubs and sledges.  You are not going to knock them down so you can't stand toe to toe with the zombies.  They can stumble and recover but they won't drop down on the ground for free hits.

 

What I typically do with knives is cut and run (let the bleed effect cause additional damage).  Even with groups of zombies, I hit as many different zombies as I can while staying away from them which makes it fun as they drop dead from the bleed damage and thin the ranks.  Right now, my zombie minimum speed is jog so it will be interesting to see if this will still work if speed is increased in the future.

what do you do at night and blood moon when they "run"?

[BFT2020]

16 minutes ago, Vampirenostra said:

what do you do at night and blood moon when they "run"?

I design my base so they can't run very far.  My current playthrough I am using the small post office as my horde base since it is close to my home base and I haven't used it before.  I got the rear door walled off and the steps knocked out but opened up the front door so it was the preferred route to me.  Inside I build steps going up and a walkway where the zombies can come towards me (always giving them a "path" to me).  Then I use hatches and Iron bars to create spots were they have to destroy those before they can continue on the path.  At that point, I use a combination of molotovs, the knife, and bow to damage kill them (current build is primary agility), with blunderbusses as backup should I need them.  This current playthrough I am only 6 days in but I got the bloodmoon horde set at 5 days and max zombies, warrior difficulty (previous playthrough I was at 42 days with the knife.  Eventually I couldn't use the knife as effectively during the bloodmoon but that was the same case with the club - too many zombies to kill, resorted to guns).

 

I don't go out at night typically as I use the time to organize my home base, update my horde base, prepare for the next day.  Eventually I am going to do a playthrough where the default speed is running at all time so I will see how effective the knife can be when I don't have preplanned defenses to counter any weaknesses of my weapons.

[Danidas]

With Clubs and Sledges the goal is to knock the zombies down and out of the way so that you can push forward.

 

Now with Blades the goal is kite the zombies by inflecting bleed to both drain their health over time but to also slow down their moments.

 

Both excel at killing zombies but are different play styles with one favoring direct confrontation and the other favoring fleeing.

 

Now as for a book series for Sledges it would probably end up as a mix of breaking blocks and whacking zombies.

[Vampirenostra]

Ufff I switch to guns for BM soonest possible, pity that marksman type rifles are useless for BMs. So I always go for shotguns, and I keep with clubs for missions and etc. with a shotgun as a backup of course))) And I also tend to have several blunderbusses for the first BMs as they are freaking devastation, but really slow on reload. Also made a few attempts with spears, but again -> no sense of them for BMs, very low dmg and no knockdown, bleeding out takes too long, sledges are fine with dmg, but really low swing speed and consume a whole lot of stamina to swing.

[Sjustus548]

On 10/13/2020 at 2:52 AM, Vampirenostra said:

by far clubs are the ultimate melee for the moment.

I find the knuckles to be the ultimate melee weapon currently.  They have great damage and are amazing at debuffing the zombies.  Plus throwing back a few beers and jumping off the wall during horde night is a blast lol.

[Danidas]

1 minute ago, Vampirenostra said:

Ufff I switch to guns for BM soonest possible, pity that marksman type rifles are useless for BMs. So I always go for shotguns, and I keep with clubs for missions and etc. with a shotgun as a backup of course))) And I also tend to have several blunderbusses for the first BMs as they are freaking devastation, but really slow on reload. Also made a few attempts with spears, but again -> no sense of them for BMs, very low dmg and no knockdown, bleeding out takes too long, sledges are fine with dmg, but really low swing speed and consume a whole lot of stamina to swing.

Spears are awesome for horde night as they have the longest reach of melee weapons but are killed by their terrible power attack. Since who wants to loss their main melee weapon mid fight only to have the zombie return it to you while mauling your face off. 

 

[Vampirenostra]

51 minutes ago, Sjustus548 said:

I find the knuckles to be the ultimate melee weapon currently.  They have great damage and are amazing at debuffing the zombies.  Plus throwing back a few beers and jumping off the wall during horde night is a blast lol.

Got to try. those

[FranticDan]

2 hours ago, BFT2020 said:

I design my base so they can't run very far.  My current playthrough I am using the small post office as my horde base since it is close to my home base and I haven't used it before.  I got the rear door walled off and the steps knocked out but opened up the front door so it was the preferred route to me.  Inside I build steps going up and a walkway where the zombies can come towards me (always giving them a "path" to me).  Then I use hatches and Iron bars to create spots were they have to destroy those before they can continue on the path.  At that point, I use a combination of molotovs, the knife, and bow to damage kill them (current build is primary agility), with blunderbusses as backup should I need them.  This current playthrough I am only 6 days in but I got the bloodmoon horde set at 5 days and max zombies, warrior difficulty (previous playthrough I was at 42 days with the knife.  Eventually I couldn't use the knife as effectively during the bloodmoon but that was the same case with the club - too many zombies to kill, resorted to guns).

 

I don't go out at night typically as I use the time to organize my home base, update my horde base, prepare for the next day.  Eventually I am going to do a playthrough where the default speed is running at all time so I will see how effective the knife can be when I don't have preplanned defenses to counter any weaknesses of my weapons.

I've been playing a knife build on survivalist/run during the day. Power attacks to the face make them stagger. My first 4 points always go into agility and 2 ranks of deep cuts. I wish the hunting knife had a bigger jump in stats compared to the bone knife, I usually skip and go to the machete.

Maxed out deep cuts and rad remover mod can make quick work of the radiated bikers, the scariest zombie in the game. (Deep cuts also slows them down by up to 20%)

[pApA^LeGBa]

The Machete is really nice. The Club is still way more powerfull. The books allow you to never run out of stamina and the damage is higher. I could just see this at stalliondens POI, the one with like 100 Z´s in the basement. Buddy was running around clubbing nonstop, needed less hits per zombie (both at level 4 with our weaponskills, Sexy T-rex and  and maxed Rule 1 cardio) while i needed to pull out the pistol every few zombies because i ran out of stamina.

 

Either the club needs a nerf or the knifes a buff or a book series. Until that i am going clubs and only spending one point in deep cuts at the start. The bleeding helps a lot in the first few days.

[Danidas]

1 hour ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

The Machete is really nice. The Club is still way more powerfull. The books allow you to never run out of stamina and the damage is higher. I could just see this at stalliondens POI, the one with like 100 Z´s in the basement. Buddy was running around clubbing nonstop, needed less hits per zombie (both at level 4 with our weaponskills, Sexy T-rex and  and maxed Rule 1 cardio) while i needed to pull out the pistol every few zombies because i ran out of stamina.

 

Either the club needs a nerf or the knifes a buff or a book series. Until that i am going clubs and only spending one point in deep cuts at the start. The bleeding helps a lot in the first few days.

It's Sexy T-rex that is OP since it not only vastly reduces the stamina cost of each swing but the real overpowerness comes from returning stamina for each kill that starts at rank 2 of 4(strength 3). Where Agility's equivalent Furry of Blows needs rank 3 of 3 and 7 Agility to start returning stamina for kills.

 

Edit - On top of that with 7 of 7 Batter Up the Home Run perk refills your stamina fully for each power attack killing blow.

[pApA^LeGBa]

@Danidas Sexy T-Rex is fine as it counts for every melee weapon/tool and you need it anyways for mining and strenght for cooking while flurry of blows is exclusivly for bladed weapons and has no other use. The real problem is Pummel Pete also giving you extra stamina and the HomeRun refill.

[Danidas]

1 hour ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

@Danidas Sexy T-Rex is fine as it counts for every melee weapon/tool and you need it anyways for mining and strenght for cooking while flurry of blows is exclusivly for bladed weapons and has no other use. The real problem is Pummel Pete also giving you extra stamina and the HomeRun refill.

Just checked and Pummel Pete has no impact on stamina as it only increases damage, chance to knock down, damage to knocked down enemies, and damage after successive hits. So it is a combo of being able to more easily get Sexy T-Rex and the HomeRun refill that gets easier to trigger the higher your Pummel Pete is due to the damage buffs.

 

Also I am looking at it from the stand point of pure attribute build balance with as few to no points as possible in other attributes.

[pApA^LeGBa]

@Danidas Eh well, confused that a bit there. I totally forgot about the extra 100% damage with Pummel Pete for consecutive hits tough. Another things making clubs even stronger. 

 

Point is that Clubs are OP and everything else sucks compared to them. A machete is easily as deadly as a baseball bat in RL. The skills and books are unbalanced af.

 

For playing attribute builds, that´s totally on you and not the games fault. It´s a suboptimal play style tbh.

[Danidas]

Speaking of OP try out the Stun Baton with Tech Junkie 6 to buff the charge chance to 25% and 50% for power attacks. Sure the melee damage is terrible but being able to not only perma stun enemies but also fry them with the impressive electrical damage over time is quite powerful. As it makes it trivial to face tank just about everything as you become a untouchable electrical god watching everything fry to death around you including your GPU trying to process all the particle effects.

 

As for pure attribute builds I fully agree that they are very suboptimal but form a balance point of view it makes sense to look at what perks are easiest to max out for each weapon. Since those perks will have the most impact from early to end game.

[Sjustus548]

5 hours ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

@Danidas Sexy T-Rex is fine as it counts for every melee weapon/tool and you need it anyways for mining and strenght for cooking while flurry of blows is exclusivly for bladed weapons and has no other use. The real problem is Pummel Pete also giving you extra stamina and the HomeRun refill.

Flurry of Blows is great.  It applies to clubs, brawling, knives, machetes, and stun batons.  Increasing attack speed by 25% for those weapons and recharging 30 stamina per kill is awesome.  The 30 stamina recharge does lose a little bit of it's effectiveness when you get all the Batter Up! books when using clubs.  

[Rince]

I want my Sledgey books!

 

More chances to explode limbs.

More damage when hitting several zombies at the same time.

Some damage resistence with each hit.

More chances to send the flying around! I love when they fly around! The other day I hit a vulture with a power attack and was like in the cartoons, it become a star in the sky (almost)!