Is the game only about level-grinding now?

[Tounces]

So, I last played a couple years ago or so, during Alpha 18.   Had around 240-ish hours into the game at that point.   Recently started up again(new save of course because no other choice anyway).

And I'm noticing that the stuff I am finding as I loot essentially anywhere - is all low-tier stuff.   I'm up to level 25 now, and still only finding Pipe-style guns.

Now, obviously this is artificially restricted - but what exactly IS artificially restricting it?   Is it level?   Skill level?   Attribute level?  Can I only find things after I can make them myself, thus defeating the purpose of even looking for stuff at all?  

I love all the new added POIs and a lot of other changes, but this change really kills the game for me since it ruins the exploration element.  It seems to no longer matter where I explore because the loot I find is all the same.  It feels like they added a bunch of POI's that look different but are effectively all the same.

[ElDudorino]

Loot stage. It goes up as you level and also gets both flat and multiplier bonuses based on biome. Like when you first start the forest is loot stage 1, desert is like 27, snow is like 78, and wasteland is 105. The numbers are for sure wrong but basically the forest is the worst place to be for loot.

 

You'll find more guns in places like gun stores or police stations, though purses also often have handguns.

 

But yeah, PoIs are a bit funny now, they basically all have guaranteed loot rooms so it can make them a little samey. Still, for certain gear you will find more in specific places. Tools in the tool store, books at the book store, etc.

And if you want absurd loot, do trader quests. They're not restricted by loot stage and at tier 4/5 the rewards are crazy overpowered.

[Tounces]

Okay so it's not simply level but entire biomes.   That's....really weird, but apparently I have to find a wasteland then.

[ElDudorino]

Yeah, the wasteland gives great loot but it's balanced by the much more powerful spawns and tougher travel. Night in particular is crazy because if you make noise you can create an all-night horde, basically a harder version of a blood moon.

 

Snow also gives pretty great loot but it's not balanced by anything. It has the best visibility, most food, second-most loot, and basically no downsides. It's kinda easy mode.

 

I mean, you will see mountain lions and bears a lot, but just don't run up to them with a wooden club.

[Tounces]

I mean, inside forest cities I've had basements with like 20-25 zombies packed together, so it's hard to imagine wasteland being much worse than that.

[ElDudorino]

PoI sleeper volumes will be the same but the spawns will have some important differences. The wasteland has harder zombies outside, like a lot of zombie bears and zombie dogs. But the other thing is that the respawn rate specifically at night is set to something like 2 seconds, versus several minutes in the forest. So in the forest you can clear an area as loudly as you want and it'll just empty out. But in the wasteland, by the time you kill the last zombie spawned the first few will have respawned and zeroed in on your position, which creates a never-ending zombie loop unless you hide. So you could be fighting potentially hundreds of zombies overnight as they charge you nonstop, and they'll be harder zombies than what you find during a blood moon.

 

It's honestly kind of awesome but it is dangerous if you're not prepared for it. One of the few dangers in a20, really.

Edited August 6, 2022 by ElDudorino (see edit history)

[meganoth]

3 hours ago, Tounces said:

I mean, inside forest cities I've had basements with like 20-25 zombies packed together, so it's hard to imagine wasteland being much worse than that.

 

In an old alpha or now? Unless it is a tier5 I don't see how that many could be in a basement in forest

 

[Ray Garraty]

On 8/6/2022 at 6:09 PM, Tounces said:

this change really kills the game for me since it ruins the exploration element.

Quite the opposite, if you would've been able to find Auto Shotgun lvl 6 on the 1st day, that would've ruined your exploration experience.

Why risk exploring tougher biomes and high-tier POIs if you already have all top-tiered gear by day 7?

 

On 8/6/2022 at 6:09 PM, Tounces said:

no longer matter where I explore because the loot I find is all the same

Try high-tier POI in Wasteland. They contain much better loot

Edited August 8, 2022 by Ray Garraty (see edit history)

[playlessNamer]

My solution is to always play with 2 skillpoints per level instead of one. Feels like you are premium in free2play game and just reduces the grind. For every nessesary perk you skill you can use another one on funstuff like agillty tree.

When i played last time around a year ago i found myself just leveling, leveling, level... i never wanna come to the point again when "leveling" is my actual gamesense. This has to happen nearby automatically.

Edited August 8, 2022 by playlessNamer (see edit history)

[Orclover]

On 8/6/2022 at 4:18 PM, Tounces said:

I mean, inside forest cities I've had basements with like 20-25 zombies packed together, so it's hard to imagine wasteland being much worse than that.

 

 

Night time in the wasteland at any stage will be a bit different than the forest.  Especially when the heat goes up a bit due to activity.

[Jason Tamosiunis]

what im finding and hearing is more people turn off the zombies after a certain point and just build as that is infinite fun the zombie aspect kinda dies off after the 10th horde