Overview
Just a guide to aid newcomers, and other players about things and mechanics they should know about.
Things to know.
Alright, you got this game, its free, and it looks like a cool zombie game. You start up the game and begin to look for a server. You load up a server and on the loading screen is the controls. You skim through and you think you got this game by the neck. “Its gonna be easy man, no sweat.” You say to yourself. But , as you play, you realize you can’t find any weapons, the zombies are relentless, and you split off from your group in hopes to find something of use. You begin picking up random items and look through them. You find a nice rifle or shotgun, and begin to unload your bullets and shells down onto the wandering crowd. But you run out of ammo, and you begin to freak out. You have nothing but empty guns, and items you have no clue how to use. You are grabbed, and you don’t know how to get your attacker off you. He holds you still, letting the horde completely destroy you. You stare at the screen wondering what you did wrong.
Okay, so that jumble of text above was my first time playing. I had massive trouble finding out what I had to do and how to act upon my situation. Thankfully, after a while, I began to pick up tips and tricks from veteran players and put them into the guide you see infront of you.
We will begin the addressing how you should feel entering this game
1.) You aren’t the hero, you’re just here to survive. If you rush in thinking the zombies are pathetic corpses with the mindset of a cannible dog, you’re practically asking to be eaten.
2.) Other players are more likely willing to help if you ask. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Use your mic, or type to them in chat.
3.) This ain’t Left 4 Dead, you won’t find an assault rifle just around the corner right next to a pile of ammo. It is difficult to find a good weapon in the game, but they ARE there. Just be mindful of the items around you. You shouldn’t horde all the items just so only you will survive. One man with a gun isn’t that effective compared to 3-4 men with guns.
4.) Help someone down the line. If you see a friend with a gun, and you know what ammo it takes, find and give them the ammo. If you can’t use it, its useless.
5.) Its a zombie game, so aim for the head. Certain servers only let headshots kill zombies. Melee and guns MUST hit the head for effective damage.
6.) Guns have bullets, melee doesn’t. don’t waste ammo on a single zombie.
7.) A mic is useful, but typing still works.
8.) Don’t be a jerk to other players, they are trying to cooperate with you, not fight over the M16A4 you both found.
9.) Be logical, no one wants to see someone who thinks they can kill an entire horde of Shamblers with just one mag of a MAC-10.
10.) Stick together, you don’t wanna die alone pathetically.
Types of players.
Be aware of the types of players in this game. These aren’t titles to rely on, just a way to catagorize them.
-Newcomers: Simply new players who most likely need help with the game. Expect them to die quickly, but if you help them out, they will eventually become useful soldiers.
You can find out if they are new if they:
*Tell you they are new.
*They don’t know how to shove, check ammo, or charge melee attacks.
*They spray more ammo then a hose shoots water
*They ignore/struggle players pleas for help (Because they don’t know how)
*They take too much time looting items
*They hold up in positions ineffective to the gamemode
*Struggle with melee, aim, or objectives
*Reluctant to give away items
Faker: Acts like a massive tryhard without knowledge of the game, or a massive sense of pride.
You can tell they are a faker if they:
*Have the same qualities as a newcomer
*Have an overall rude attitude
-Experienced: They know the basics, and maybe know some secrets about your current map. They have the potential to help you win the map. But, they do have minor flaws that can be fatal if not handled correctly.
You can tell if they are experienced if they:
*Know what ammo to take
*Decent with melee, guns, and objectives
*Exposes certain secrets on some maps
*Help a fellow survivor when asked
*Explains certain controls to help newcomers
*They still use a bit too much ammo
*Their melee skill is slightly flawed (Ex. grabbed by a zombie while using melee)
*Maybe a bit reluctant when giving items
Tryhard: These are the people who focus a bit too much in the game, they basiclly backseat the game telling you what to do, but he knows what to do, and sometimes they are more polite about it. Also, they can be extremely helpful if they tell you some tips and tricks. But be careful, there are the bad ones. You can find them anywhere, and can be easily identified.
-Veteran: They know alot about the game, they can most likely speedrun the map being played. They help the team alot, throw advice to players extremely useful for their current situation. They can save your life if you hang out with them. They know most, if not all about the game and play accordingly. Easily identified by their skill in the game. You’ll know one when you see one.
-Lone Wolf: This guy is good, but he prefers to be alone. He tends to seperate alot from the group and barely helps the rest of the players unless it helps their current situation. They maybe Experienced, or a Veteran. but he is a bit more selfish, and may leave you if you can’t help them.
These people are plentiful and very upon themselves. They all exist, and we all have started off as a newcomer. But with training and time, you’ll become skilled and begin to enjoy the game easier.
Types of Zombies.
Heres a couple of zombie types in the game. Besides, a zombie game with out some form of variation? 1/10 man.
-Shamblers: These zombies are slow and easy to outrun, but too many will overwhelm you, and your back will eventually reach a corner. Other than that, they are pretty straightforward. They walk toward you and like most zombies, will grab you or strike you. Just aim for the head, or deploy the Nike defense. Run.
*Side Note* Apperently, you can actually run past zombies if their back is toward your path, so running past a narrow group of zombies can be a bit easier. Keep in mind they will turn randomly. But they can’t grab you with their backs turned.
-Crawlers: Slightly slower and weaker then most other zombies. But they are annoying. Even without legs, they can still grab you. It also can be hard to see them. A quick swipe of a melee weapon will easily dispatch the crawler.
-Runners: (Protip: Moving in a zig-zag form will make the Runner unable to catch up to you.)
-Average: Just like a regular zombie, except it can’t be outrun as easily. They can easily kill you if you aren’t prepared. And more than one are hard to deal with. Guns are encouraged unless its just one. Also, if you die in anyway while infected, your dead body will reanimate into a runner.
-Burning: They were once shamblers, or even Runners. But when they are on fire, they deal much more damage then average. But they will die over time. So you can kill them now, or run and hope.
-Children: They are small, and sometimes hard to hit. It’s easy to kill them, but they still hurt. Thankfully, they cannot grab you.
*SUB-TYPE: Military zombie (I call them Turtles for somereason)*
All the zombies mentioned above can also spawn as a Military variant. Which is harder to kill usually. Only exceptions are Children and Crawler zombies.
Useful Game Mechanics.
Obscure game mechanics (From simple to complicated)
Shove (Default: V) This is a staple of survival, this allows you to shove zombies away, giving you time to react upon your situation. Whether its take em down, or run away, shoving is important to survive the game.
**Protip: Attacking enemies with melee is a skill all players need. But if you mix both Shove and Strikes well, Melee can become a golf course, and the zombies are the golf balls.
Unloading (Default: U) You found this .357 Rifle, and you already have a revolver. You feel like taking the revolver because it takes up less room. But theres ammo in the rifle. Normally, you’d spend the rounds or leave it. But dropping your revolver, picking up the rifle, unload it, drop it again and picking back up your revolver saves room for you to keep running. Plus, you just earned yourself 15 more rounds… Just make sure you hide the empty gun. People can pick them up only to get killed because its out of rounds.
Barracading: (Default: B) When holding a hammer in a survival map. You tend to find a bunch of boards and hammers. These should be used to hold up the safe zones and… well, you know what barracades do. But you should make sure that barracades tend to block entry for both players and zombies, and crawlers can crawl under some barracades. You should make enough room to be able to crouch jump (Jump + Duck, for the really new guys) over the barracades. Also, keep in mind almost all hammers have one magically appearing board in them, and technically they have ammo, so make sure you got an extra board or thirty.
Red X’s: In maps, Red X’s signify a secret, or interactable that can range from minor supplies, to walls filled with guns and ammo.
“Deadeye”: Pistols are given a unique advantage. When standing still with the ironsights of a pistol for 3 seconds activates “Deadeye.” “Deadeye” changes your vision to a red-tint and Increases both the Damage and knockback chance for one shot. This one shot will have a high chance to kill in a single headshot, and if they survive, get knocked back. This is useful to conserve ammo. But, “Deadeye” will deactivate and restart the internal timer if you: Take a shot, Move in anyway, or stop aiming down your sights. Deadeye allows you to kill zombies with weak pistols in one shot. 22. Ruger, M9 Berreta, and Glock 18, requires at least 2 shots to the head to kill a normal zombie. But “Deadeye” changes it to one. Be aware that if you need to be far from the zombie so he won’t reach you before you can squeeze a shot. (Literal calculations, 200% Damage and Knockback chance)
**Protip: The .357 Revolver can penetrate zombies heads to hit other zombies. This combined with “Deadeye” Allows you to get 2, 3 even 5 kills with a single bullet. Just line ’em up and shoot ’em down.
Crouch-resting: Stamina is important for survival. It is the only way you can swing, shove, or run when needed. Stamina recovers when you are not running or attacking with melee. Crouching increases the recovery rate of stamina that can be well utilized.
Blunts and Blades: Knockback is important for melee, it allows time for an extra hit on a zombie, or smack another. Chance differs for both types. Blunt weapons have a higher chance to knockback zombies upon hit, while bladed weapons have a smaller chance. (Ex. Baseball bat has a higher chance to knockback a zombie then your Machete.)
FUBAR and Sledgehammer: These are the two melee weapons that do not need a charged attack to kill a zombie. They both can one shot the zombie if struck in the head, but both are slow and expend alot of stamina. Combine crouch-resting and these weapons to devestate the number of walking dead.
The Bow: Now, this is the only ranged weapon with retrivible ammo. Your arrows stick to most of the things it hits, including zombies, and you can still pick it up of them. Also, if you draw your Bow but change your mind mid-way for some reason. You can stop drawing it by holding right-click. It won’t expend your arrow, and you can still use it. Be aware that the bow’s sights is sort of strange at first, but you’ll most likely usually use the Green Marker to shoot arrows into, or through some heads. And yes, it does have a chance to penetrate zombies.
Throwing: It is actually useless, but fun to do. If you hold the Drop Key (Default: G). You can throw most items. Throwing items at zombies can knock them back.
Compass (Default: C): These is your only map in the game, it will lead you to your objective and show you what zones to keep safe.
Suicide (Default: K *With gun in hands*) Suicide is not really recommended to do unless if you are infected AND you warn other players. Infection takes time, so suicide only as a last resort. You don’t want your zombie to be the deaths of your friends.
Inventory Weight/Speed: Items in your inventory effects your speed when walking and running. Carrying little to no items can allow you to out run even Runners. Full inventory will make you run slower then a tank.
Gas cans and other traps: So, you notice theres some gas cans you can pick up. Obviously they explode when damaged (Because you know… Its a source game). You can utilize these cans to set clusters of zombies on fire. But keep in mind, they may run at you for that. Also, theres a bunch of hidden interactables in maps that allow the activation of traps and secrets. Usually signified by Red X’s, but some aren’t. So spam the hell out of that Use key!
Infection: Ok, you got bit. You already broke zombie survival rule number 1. Now you see some veins appearing on your screen. But don’t worry, you found some pills that can help treat you. But thats the keyword. Treat. Pills do not cure you. You’re still infected, and you have a couple minutes till your symptoms come back. The only “Cure” is Gene Therapy. Gene Therapy will cure you, BUT you have a chance to go blind for 30 seconds. Also, Gene therapy makes you immune to the infection.
Last words.
Feel free to throw in some feedback. I may forget some things, so try to remind me in the comments.
Remember, there’s no more room in hell. But it doesn’t mean you can fill it with their rotting flesh. Keep surviving, and don’t get bit. I’ll see you in the next map.