Guides & Tutorials
Contents |
[edit] Survivor Tips 101
• Spawn and take some cover. Analyze the environment around you, try to find an high place to spot other players. Carefully plan a route to the nearest loot point. Before looting, make sure you have thoroughly studied and checked the area out, it is recommended that you keep to the trees and cliff-sides as they offer more protection for your character and you are less likely to be seen by fellow players and zombies.
• Do not use the flash light all the time! Especially at night, it will almost certainly give your position away to bandits who are studying the area in the tree lines or darkness. Be sure to only use your torch in desperate situations and inside buildings to find loot. Remember, the flash light does not offer high damage against players, so you will usually have no option but to run away.
• Try to avoid contact by carefully listening to zombie noises or player discussions that are taking place around your proximity, be sure to keep your weapon at hand, and do not be afraid to use it on players who seem to be acting weirdly or cautiously around you. Never let another player lure you out of the safe zone into the games wilderness, they are most likely trying to leave you stranded or steal your items by killing you.
• Do not trust EVERYONE you see! Be careful around the other survivors, they might be keeping an eye on your gear and what you have. If you're walking around with another player, keep your gear to a minimum and carry only one useful around and leave the rest unequipped.
• Do not reveal where you have found rare or useful items in global or proximity chats. Players will slowly begin to hunt you down in groups and steal your belongings.
• If you can't pick up an item (because it's in a truck trailer for e.g) ask somebody to give you a leg up : Jump on a car, your companion is next to the car, jump on his shoulders. Say 1, 2, 3 and run in the same direction, and now, your are a tall man that can pick up thoose items.
[edit] Looting
Looting (the act of finding gear and taking it) is essential part of survival in The War Z. You should always check the locations with the highest yield and avoid the ones filled with zombies and only poor loot. An ideal looting place (or route) should have only a few, preferably none, zombies and higher tier gear. A brief warning about looting if you see alot of good loot drops, (Guns, Food, Water exc.) don't thinks its your lucky day and go marching in, because most of the time it'e either a trap or a bandit is waiting for you to come get close enough for him to kill you. If you are going for it just be weary of your surroundings.
There are several sites throughout the map which contain valuable loot:
For more on Looting and Survival Tactics see:
[edit] Stealth
Clothing: Many players don't think much about this key aspect in surviving in The War Z. For example, when players are doing their character creation they don't stop to think "Is this bright Red Shirt or bright Orange Vest going to make me standout more?". The answer is yes! It will! In many cases that is not a good thing, zombies don't care what you wear. Their Sight and Sound meters wont be affected by the colors you wear. The one thing it does make a difference for is PvPers or Bandits. If they see someone running in the city with a bright Red shirt, odds are they are going to use you as target practice and kill you. Your best bet is to wear darker clothing or Camouflage.
Most characters have dark clothing, but if your going for all camouflage the best character would have to be Rebel Without A Cause. He is the only character they give you access to Camouflage Pants and Camouflage Jacket.
Sprinting:
Next Example, When in a larger city or town such as Campos City or Boulder City it is not the best idea to sprint through the streets or even around the outskirts of the area. Sprinting will attract multiple zombies onto you and the death of you if not armed properly. When you sprint, zombies sight radius grows and you are greatly easier seen. When in cities or towns it is best to never sprint, always keep the steady jog, or crouching.
The only time you should sprint in these areas is if you already have multiple zombies on you, or you are going to be killed by another player.
Third Person View: Third Person View is not all to great when it comes to combat, but when it comes to being aware of your area it is the key to survival. You can peak around corners without being seen, and also peak over walls or fences to see if there is something on the other side. This could make the difference between life and death in both PvP and PvE situations. (You can transition from First Person View to Third Person View using the "C" key)
Melee: Always keep a melee weapon handy, in most situations you'll use a hammer more than a pistol. Firing off a gun will attract unwanted attention from not only the infected, but also bandits. If you only have a couple infected to take out make sure to use a melee weapon to keep quiet. Hammers and Hatchets are both great melee weapons.
[edit] Meeting Other Players
Sometimes meeting other players within the game can be very fun and can sometimes be useful when fighting against a swarm of zombies. However, meeting other players will mostly result in being killed if they have the weapons, and they may even be in groups. Many people will claim to be friendly within the game, and even bandits will claim to be too, so be wary. You could run into anyone unexpectedly anywhere in the world, so be prepared and keep a look out.
