Early game tips and tricks for newbies and veterans alike

[Brian9824]

When crafting items in the forge or workbench if you keep the crafting window open while crafting you will get xp for them. So you can get a better source of xp by say crafting iron arrow heads and then melting them down after.

 

If you also queue up a batch of crafting in your inventory before doing so you will get twice as much xp letting you level very quickly.

[sinda]

we found out recently that crafting cloth fragments from cotton increases that blasted tailoring skill, with the change to farming even a haphazard cotton plantation is pretty easy.

 

also when looting if there's lockers about, don't destroy or scrap all the clothes, (assuming not in a rush) scrap 1 to gain cloth, repair the next, scrap, repair, etc. it's slow progress, but it IS progress.

[Umbario]

I'm formulating an idea; gathering information about the various skills as they work now; which are easiest to raise either through normal use or modest 'grinding' and which are hardest to raise even through devoted grinding. Beyond that they should probably also be rated for usefulness.

 

May need to take this to another thread but help me get started here please:

 

In my opinion then...

 

QUICK SKILLS

 

Athletics

Contstruction Tools

Gun Smithing

Mining Tools

Misc. Crafting

Weapon Smithing

 

 

SLOW SKILLS

Armors (Smithing, Heavy, Light)

Leatherworking

Science

Tool Smithing

Scavenging?

 

 

atletics over 60 are a pain.

tool smitting is one of the easiest...craft stone axes

sience...cook shale in the campfire with window open might take an hour for lvl100.

[Shivan78]

This is going to be a bit beefy, so I hope the spoiler tags work to cut down on size.

 

Base Construction.

 

If you can't find a prefab/poi, start in the traditional manner with wood then upgrade to cobblestone. It's cheap, plentiful and fairly tough. If you build a wall around your base, use wood frames to hop up and over your wall, be sure to pick them up so zeds can't use them. Wherever you can go, they can to with a reasonable limit. Yes, they can glitch over 1 block gaps.

 

 

Base Defense.

 

Four rows of wooden spikes all around is good. Some will tell a players three, but it's better to error on the side of caution. After you get your spikes out. Place wood frames at the edge of the spikes. Upgrade them two times. Then dig a trench three blocks down in front of the wood blocks and put wood log spikes there. This will make the zombies fall and crawl on the wood log spikes while trying to crawl out and over the wood blocks. Since they won't be able to, they'll spend more time shuffling around, breaking the wood blocks and still take damage on the wood log spikes.

 

 

Base Security (Up close and personal)

 

Spider zombies love to climb. Put a row of blocks or iron bars on the outside walls of your base. When they climb up, they'll hit their head on them and stop them from getting on top. You'll want to go about six blocks high, as zombies can now stand on top of each other. You can go five high, but if you get a bloated walker, a cop or a feral, they'll be able to get in your face and tag you.

 

 

Base Defense/Harassment.

 

If you've watched Saving Private Ryan or have seen images of occupied beaches in WW2, you'll see log and metal stacked into a pyramid shape then wrapped in barbed wire scattered all over the beach. These were made to stop vehicles and stop infantry from grouping up and pushing. You can do something similar by placing three wood blocks down, then one on top, making an upside down T. Then put wood spikes all around and on top of the blocks. Don't make walls of them, it allows zeds to gather up and push. Just scatter them around enough to keep hordes broken up. It allows you to pick them off. You want to do this in any large open areas around your base. This gives you time to get into position for better defense.

 

 

Defending Your Wall.

 

If or when zombies get to your wall, you can put wood spikes facing out as long as there's a dirt block underneath. For some reason this works really well against dogs and crawlers. They like to ram head on into a wall and getting a face full of spikes is never fun for them. Murder holes are fun. I'm sure anyone reading this knows what they are, but if not, a murder hole is a hole in the wall for you to shoot through, but zombies can't get back at you. Iron bars work great, but I've started to notice people using small concrete pillars. Don't know the effectiveness of it yet, will get back when I'm able to try it. Also make them fight uphill. Moving uphill will sometimes make zeds turn and look for a path of least resistance. If you make them do that over spikes, it's the more better.

 

 

Dealing With Hordes.

 

Spread out hordes. This is vital. Use trenches, the obstacles I've mentioned, and everything you can think of to keep hordes from massing up in front of your base. When you have a wall of standard walkers beating on your wall or base, cops become even more dangerous as they won't melee and instead spew from range, making them untouchable cannons that will rip your base to shreds in a few minutes. You can mess with landmines/claymores, but then you have to remake them and fill in holes. That's time needed for scavenging and making weapons.

 

 

Falling Back.

 

There's no shame in running. It is a viable combat tactic. And if you do disagree with it, just say you're advancing in another direction. Always have a back up base. It doesn't have to be the greatest, but just something you can take shelter in until morning if you do have to run. Keep it a good distance away from a horde if you do get over-run and make sure it's stocked with enough supplies to help you get back on your feet. Remember, never put all your eggs in one basket.

 

 

General Stuff.

 

To get good weapons early in game, make arrows. Before you make your first bow, search around for nests then make about 100+ arrows. Then when you make your bow, bone shiv and club, they won't be crappy. Play every day as if it were you're last. Because it might be. If you break a stone axe, gather the materials to make a new one, even if you don't need to. This will get you into the habit of gathering and reduce the chances of getting in a pinch at night because you're out of materials. And it saves you from dying if there are zombies out. (if you play with zombies on run.)

 

[Balkoth]

SLOW SKILLS

Armors (Smithing, Heavy, Light)

Leatherworking

Science

Tool Smithing

Scavenging?

 

I would not rate Science or Tool Smithing as slow. Science can be maxed very quickly by making gas from shale. Tool Smithing often hits 100 before Weapon Smithing for me or damn close.

 

I sort of hesitate to put Scavenging in with slow - it's really that it's so advantageous to get it up to a high level for its own sake and for Quality Joe perks. No matter how much 'natural' scavenging you do it seems like it comes pretty slowly. Myself, I make it a priority to put points into so I can start finding better look faster.

 

With regard to the information upthread about how by earning skills you gain XP and how by purchasing the skills you only gain the skill benefit and are robbing yourself of the XP - what would you say of the SLOW skills are so worth having that it's more acceptable to buy skill points (or gain skill by reading schematics)?

 

Scavenging Like you said, the benefit is massive and it's way too slow. Plus, the only way to level it means you don't get its benefit for the stuff you loot.

 

I buy it up to 90/100 and QJ 3/3.

 

And do you feel like I do (am starting to feel) that if a skill already gets QUICK gains through normal play and/or modest amounts of grinding one is advised NOT to read schematics for additional times just for the skill point - denying self the XP from the normal gain.

 

Indeed. Hell, I don't read schematics for the "fast" category unless I find the schematic at low skill, am maxed on the skill, or REALLY need the schematic right then and there.

[Zor_The_Cruel]

Balkoth, without the anvil trick, tool smithing is super slow. So i can see it classified either way. I never read schematics that i already know anymore. (Peach, you dont need to keep a spreadsheet of schematics you know anymore, just click on the schematic in your inventory and it will say "Known" now if you already know it. Really nice quality of life improvement, by the way, to have that. Thanks TFP!) Paper is too dang valuable to waste on any skill ups, in my opinion. Late game, with plenty of paper in reserve, i would consider reading the heavy armor schematics just for the +1 skill gain there. If you are vigilant about killing and skinning all game you find, then even that isnt needed.(leather is the only limiting resource on crafting iron armor.) Plus i find that even without the survivor perk for hunger, if i kill and skin all game i find, i dont need a farm *at all*. Plenty of bacon and eggs and grilled meat to last forever.

 

I agree with Balkoth that Tailoring (light armor) is fast now that crafting cloth fragments from cotton counts for skill ups. I disagree on science though. The only fast way for science is a whole separate mine in high desert for getting shale,(and sometimes i cant even find a desert in RNG world) that's a huge side-track to take for one skill to improve quickly. You dont need shale with how much gas you get from breaking down cars now.(plus finding gas barrels at gas stations and car dealer POI's) If you are on a well populated multiplayer server, I could see shale mining being needed though. I almost exclusively play SP though. I wait on making my first minibike until after i am at 100 misc crafting, which gives me time to find a good engine and battery too, so my minibike always has really excellent gas efficiency. I end up with more gas than i know what to do with due to my scavenging habits and bike quality

 

Shivan78, good base building basics there. I would also note that the choice to use upgraded log spikes means a LARGE scrap iron investment + repairs. I am an especially big believer in the fall back strategy. Always have a backup base. I tend to slowly fan out across a RNG map, making full bases and outposts for looting drop-off or overnight stops. I especially like making the bases in various kinds of biomes, so that i can also switch bases just for a change of pace and scenery. Wasteland vs forest vs desert vs snow makes for really big variances in gameplay feel.

[Balkoth]

Balkoth, without the anvil trick, tool smithing is super slow.

 

Not really. Just spam Stone Shovels and shift click them into secure chests, then smash the chests. Main advantage of the anvil trick is being able to craft something else (like Heavy Armor/Gunpowder) while also using the anvils.

 

Late game, with plenty of paper in reserve, i would consider reading the heavy armor schematics just for the +1 skill gain there.

 

I wouldn't. That's when you get the most XP and when the quality difference matters the least. 65 skill is 500 quality or something similar. Is getting 3ish more quality worth losing that chunk of XP?

 

I agree with Balkoth that Tailoring (light armor) is fast now that crafting cloth fragments from cotton counts for skill ups.

 

Technically, that wasn't me.

 

I disagree on science though. The only fast way for science is a whole separate mine in high desert for getting shale,(and sometimes i cant even find a desert in RNG world) that's a huge side-track to take for one skill to improve quickly.

 

What's the benefit of higher science exactly?

 

It's a source of XP that you can tap later on in the game to keep leveling. Why worry about it early on?

[Argotto]

To me, the current leveling system seems very counter-intuitive. I just don't see why reading books shouldn't add to your total xp pool... the incentive instead is to refrain from using a feature meant to ease the burden of grinding, but in reality can make it worse.

[Balkoth]

I totally agree, Argotto. Hell, it punishes you for reading it in the first place, let alone multiple times.

[Mr_PeaCH]

Shivan, THANK YOU for your fine post. That was the very definition of 'for newbies and veterans alike'. I particularly liked the tactics on breaking up the horde and keeping them from massing up.

 

Also your thoughts on keeping a backup base to regroup at. To that last, what I like to do in the early weeks when I find my first, second, third town and before I've settled on a permanent base (if indeed I even do) is have 3 different bases near each other; each with at least minor fortifications and improvements.

 

One is the place I try to be six nights of the week. This is where I keep my forges, campfires and my stockpiles of loot. This also will be where I'll be when I generate Screamers so I plan accordingly. I'll typically choose a POI like the various 2 and 3 story brick buildings or the new one - the yard with the chain link fence all around and the four antennae/towers built from trussing? I make myself at least two ways out in case of emergency.

 

The second is where I keep my bedroll. I stopped making the mistake of keeping the bedroll in the same place as I'm spending most of my time. Depending on the rules I'm playing by I stock it with some necessities and niceties for respawning to help with reclaiming the backpack. (If I've decided on Ironman rules I skip it altogether. :-) )

 

The third is where i plan to be on the seventh night. This is the one I improve to the best defense possible given my technology and time, the one I put spikes down around, etc. My ideal horde defense base POI is the Police Station. By bricking up the stairs and 'lipping' the interior space to keep Spiders out and placing two or more entrance/exits at some of the windows (ledges and ladders) it's fairly impregnable for the first two or three weeks. And if you're on the move and have just gotten to a new town it can be set up with a minimum of material and time. When I have more time I put spikes down in the central lobby, etc. Oh, and stock up on pipebombs.

[Mr_PeaCH]

Turning back to the sub-topic of schematics, skills, XP and grinding...

 

I appreciate all the feedback here. I'm going to improve on the whole idea and start a new thread. I think the skills will need to be categorized not only by FAST / SLOW natural gains (and I stress natural as w/o grinding as in crafting things you won't use)... not only Fast and Slow but in a ranking of overall usefulness (i.e. 'how useful IS it to have high Science?).

 

Along with this I really hope to flesh out the ideas upthread about XP gain and the breakpoint level of 97/101. Try to navigate a path and a plan that helps players choose what skills (and related, which perks) benefit what playstyles and if you want to grind where you should expend your efforts. And if you don't want to grind what skills you can best expect to raise AND gain XP with through normal game play exertions.

 

I keep saying in various threads that 'I'm not a min/max sort of guy' but I do get a kick out of being efficient and not wasting efforts. Sort of like 'I don't need to be the most powerful the quickest; but I want to ensure that I am not missing out on something good either'.

[Balkoth]

Sort of like 'I don't need to be the most powerful the quickest; but I want to ensure that I am not missing out on something good either'.

 

Exactly.

[Janna3921]

I am bumping this as I am working on a thread in the Questions section titled tips for new players. Although some of this is from earlier updates, alpha 13 and maybe earlier, it can be a help.

 

I don't know which ones concern PC or console but will try to test what I can when my son plays on his console and I play on my PC. I was hunting for info on the respawning of loot and found this thread.

[Ld-airgrafix]

Best early game tips, never throw/scrap your empty tin cans until you have a cooking pot. You can boil water without a cooking pot using cans.

Plains are a great source of food, cactuses are everywhere.

Scrap any grey weapon parts, grey weapons are useless and by the time you find a book or a schematic to assemble one, your bow might already be blue or green level.