Draco's Guide to Zombie Survival

Draco122 · #1 11-26-2008, 01:10 AM

A guide that explains the in's and outs of surviving Zombies in Zombie Panic Source, please be Advised, there will be alot of text.

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The Basic's of Survival

Trying to survive the sometimes endless waves of undead can be tricky so it's worth knowing how to survive in a situation like this. There are three basic rules I follow, Watch your Back, stay together and Stay focused, if you can do all three of these things then you'll have a chance at surviving for a long time.

Player Types

I'd like to think that there is three types of player out there, each keeping to their own preffered playstyle. These are:

Civilian - Your average joe, someone who is either not too good at the game or just your basic player looking for fun. They can vary in playstyle, ranging from working with a team or just working on their own. Nothing too special about these poeple.

Soldier - Also called a Rambo on occasion, these people are often the one's who carry the biggest weapons or alot of weapons and often rushing into the thick of it, sometimes it's best to avoid these players rather than follow them but on occassion they may just stick to a team, if thats the case don't leave him/hef behind. Remember he's got all the weapons and Ammo, keep him alive or take his guns when he dies. It's better if he's close you when he dies rather than far away.

Griefers - Also known as Ammo Whore's,, someone who hogs the ammo, who doesn't even have the weapon the ammo is needed for etc, spams the mic or annoy's other players like blocking a passage. These people are best delt with a swift kick or a Ban, as they can hamper your progress both as an individual and as a team.

Moving

A stratergy favored by most people. There is only one rule, Keep on the Move. Always. It's simple really, just keep on the move to avoid being found and make it harder for the Zombies to both get you and find you, this works both alone and in groups especially on maps that are confusing, large or have alot of places you can go to. Moving also helps in that Ammunition and Health are always nearby but this can backfire in the late stages of a map.

Barricading

This tactic is to stay put and barricade any entrances (or exits) with random crap in the room your in. This allows you to stay in a single point, defending from zombies while remaining relatively safe from harm. This is most recommended to be done in groups as you can cover more exits and more guns at the hand. There are two disadvantages of course, ammunition and exits. Unless the room is filled with it, your going to either have to leave or resort to desperate measures such as sending out search parties or using melee weapons to defend yourself and unless you don't have an exit plan it's either going to get messy.

The best objects are large objects IF it's possible to move them into a good position, things like shelves, beds and file cabinets all work really well, smaller items such as crates can be destroyed but can slow an advancing horde and make it easier taking them out. Just make sure you can move it and remember, holster your weapon (default "H") and push or shove an object into position to make it easier on yourself and others and harder for zombies to get you.

Try to avoid large open entrances/exits, there usually too difficult to barricade, look for small narrow doorways, grates or even holes. Beware of windows and barricade or prepare for them accordingly. Also make sure you have a guy guarding you, because there's no more embarrsing than finishing the "perfect" barricade only to get raped from behind.

Panicking

Something I rarely use but has managed to save my skin a couple of times. Panicking is the last resort, you should only use it when you absoulutly have to. It's basically this, you drop all your guns and ammo with the exception of your currently equipped weapon and run for dear life. I'd recommend using it only when your swarmed with more than 2 zombies, why 2? because even you can even outrun or outgun two zombies if your carefull enough. Other times you should use "panic" is when your low on health and need an extra burst of speed to get away from a zombie, don't just use it out of spite as sometimes when you panic you'll lose everything including your life, only use it when you have to or just to live a little longer.

Hiding

Not something often done but it can help if you hide in a corner for a while. It's true that after a while a Zombie will find you but it's better to lay low for a little bit and then move on, it can save your life. Try to find places zombies won't look for you or places very rarely visited and hide their for a little bit, either on your own or in a small group. Find places Zombies wouldn't expect to find you in. Even the most obivious place is a good one.

A Greedy Survivor is a Dead Survivor

This is what usually happens to Greedy survivors who whore ammunition and weapons, they die! plain and simple from being picked off by Zombies because they're so slow and easy to kill by groups of Zombies. Always make sure to distrupt and share your ammunition amongest the team, if you don't have ammunition for a particular gun, throw it down in a group of survivors they may just thank you for it.

Take a breather

Every once in a while you should take a breather, most of the time you'll find yourself running low or completely out of stamina and become fatigued to a slow crawl. Stop for a moment to recover or use the Walk key (alt by default).

DON'T TAKE AMMO IF YOU DON'T NEED IT!

I can't stress this enough, something that you all should be aware of, don't take any ammo if you don't need it, unless your hunting ammo for the team in a survival gametype don't take it if you don't need it. Countless times have I seen survivor's take rifle and magnum ammo when they don't even a rifle or a magnum. Most of time, people who do this don't find a weapon their looking for, then die from a zombie ambush, then hamper the teams progress by separating them from precious ammo. Take only what you need!

Weapons

Now we get to the good bits, the weapons!

Weapons come in a variety of types, groups and catergories and are all different in operation. This will explain what the weapon is, how effective it is against the Zombies and general which is a good and bad weapon to use but really it's best to go with what you like rather than what you need as sometimes what your good at using can save you.

Below is an explanation of the Catergories of weapons you'll encounter:

Melee Weapons

Appearing in three different types of size ranging in from lightest to Heaviest in terms of weight. Melee weapons are usually concieved as the last resort and they usually are but sometimes they can be used as an effective primary weapon if your good enough with them. The range of weight usually depicts how much damage they can do but sometimes that can change.

Pistols

Pistols are your standard weapon you'll encounter and one of the most used weapons available. Handgun ammo is extremly plentiful in most maps and sometimes they pack some power with some decent aiming. Their accurate, generally have low recoil and have good sized magazines but are mostly offset with poor stopping power. The only exclusion of the Power is the Magnum which trades in power for rate of fire and higher recoil, not to mention a limited 6 shot clip but has deadly accurate shots and ability to 1-hit kill enemies.

Shotguns

Shotguns are your defensive weapon, their not good at offensive means but they can be used as such in an emergency. Shotguns pack a punch but are mostly useful at close to medium range due to the spray of lead shot they fire with each pull of the trigger. Shotguns also have to "Pump" after each shot which makes them difficult weapons to use quickly and are mostly recommended for 1-2 zombies at a time. Shotgun's and Shotgun Ammunition is generally quite heavy which disaudes many users from it because it rapidly slows you down.

Automatic's

Automatic's are exactly what they sound like, Automatic weaponry. This mostly comprises sub-machine Guns and Assault rifles. They usually have large sized magazines of 30 rounds and are capable of fully automatic fire, which is both a good and bad thing. Automatic's are also one of the other heavier weapon choices but are usually more liked over the shotguns.

Explosives

Generally these are weapons that make big booms and a big mess. Explosives are often tricky to use but yield devasting results when done correctly. Explosive's do the largest possible damage at the expense of people having to know when to use them.

Next Up Weapons in Detail...

Draco122 · #2 11-26-2008, 01:10 AM

Weapon's Continued...

Melee Weapons

As said before melee weapons are considered a last resort, they can sometimes be a good primary IF your good enough with them in the early stages but later after Zombies get a few more members in ranks, it should be primary reserved as a last resort or a finisher.

Below is each catorgory of Melee weapon.

Light

Plank - Semi weak but with a fast attack rate, best to discard at the closest point for a better melee weapon.

Keyboard - Punishable weapon for joining late, is the weakest melee by far with a semi-decent attack rate. Discard as soon as possible.

Wrench - Has some decent knockback power and damage but poor attack rate and small range. One of the light weapons that does the most damage.

Pan - Fairly good damage with some knockback power and range. Second light weapon doing the most damage.

Pot - Less damage than pan but a little bit heavier, slower attack rate and less range.

Hammer - Regular hammer, average damage and poor range but has little knockback power and decent attack rate.

Light Crowbar - Fast Attack speed and decent range but little knockback and power.

Golf Club - Fairly weak with limited range but fairly good knockback and decent attack rate.

Machete - Good damage and attack rate with semi-good range but semi-poor knockback.

Medium

Axe - Good damage and Attack rate with okay range, poor knockback however.

Medium Crowbar - Slightly slower than Light Crowbar with less range but more power

Tire Iron - Extremely slow attack rate with good damage and knockback

Shovel - Good damage with a decent decent range but with average knockback power and speed.

Heavy

Chair - Good damage and range with decent knockback but poor attack rate.

Heavy Crowbar - Much less range and attack than other crowbars, does the most damage and knockback however.

Sledgehammer - Heaviest damage weapon of the Heavy melee catorgory, slow attack rate with semi-decent range and heavy knockback power.

Pistols

Your starting weapon, the majority of the time you'll be using pistols and some may think they are useless. They are not useless at all! All pistol's weigh the same, do the same damage, have the exact same recoil and accuracy the only difference is usually in magazine size. However, the only exception to this rule is the Revolver.

Glock 17 / 18C - Both of these pistols are the same, there's no difference between the two. They both have a 17 round magazine, the same recoil and samge accuracy. There good pistols to use and many players prefer them, due to the large magazine.

USP - Only difference from the Glock's, is a 15 round magazine, not much else.

PPK - Given as a Punishing weapon for joining late, alongside the Keyboard. It isn't the weakest pistol, it does the same damage as the rest but the only let down is the smaller mag of 7 bullets, I personally prefer it as a backup should I be carrying another sidearm such as the Revolver.

Revolver - Also known as the Magnum and Magnum Revolver. This six shooter revolver is one powerful weapon, capable of killing a normal zombie in a single headshot. It's slow to fire and reload but the damage more than makes up for this.

Shotgun's

Shotguns are primarily your defensive weapons, they should be used more often than not to protect objectives and barricade points from zombies as they have perhaps the largest knockback per shot but are poor at range. Ammunition and the weapon's themselves are rather heavy and drain stamina rather quickly which makes them better for this role.

Super Shorty - The lightest shotgun available and for good reason. It only carries 3 shots! Not only that, it's got a large spread, bigger than the Remmy's. It does the same damage providing all the pellets it fires hit and is good for survivors looking to still keep on the move.

Remmy 870 - Perhaps the best shotgun for defense, it carries the most rounds, 6 in total. Only downside is it's heavy, alot. You'll often find yourself slowing down alot, so take care when using this weapon. You'll also find, unlike the Super Shorty it will often take a while to do a full reload, always make sure to reload whenever possible so you don't get caught short reloading in a middle of a battle.

Automatic's

Automatic's are your fast firing guns, they use up alot of ammunition quickly and can do alot of damage in a short space of time. They also do some decent knockback when fired full auto. Rifle's are often the most sought out weapon, due to the rapid fire nature and common availability of ammunition on some maps. All three automatic's carry 30 rounds each. The best way to use automatic's is fire in short controlled bursts or single shots.

MP5 - Strange to find a Sub-Machine gun that fires rifle bullets? Well, regardless the Mp5 is the weakest of the Automatic's but with better accuracy, low recoil and is lightweight. You'll only lose control after 11 or so bullets when fired automatic. The MP5 is also most common on maps, appearing more often than the AK or M4. Reloading also takes a fair bit of time with Automatic's.

M4A1 - A middle man of Assault rifles, added in the 1.4 Patch. The M4A1 has modest recoil and accuracy and decent damage. You'll lose control after 8 or so shots when fired fully automatic. The M4 however is the heaviest of Automatic weapon's when coupled with a single magazine worth of ammunition and like the MP5 it takes some time to reload.

AK47 - The AK47, labeled as the most reliable gun in the world and it's true here if you know what your doing. The Ak has the worst recoil of the Automatic's and horrid accuracy when fired fully automatic, you'll lose control after only firing 5 or so shots. The AK however is quite powerful and will kill most zombies in only a burst or two. As pointed out by "KilroyNZ", the AK also has the Longest Reload and Draw Time.

Explosives

Explosive's are the hardest weapons to use, why? Well, there's only two and both need good timing and reactions to use. They also have large blast zones, so they can do alot of damage quickly to zombies and YOU if your too close.

HE Grenades - I don't call them frags, because they don't send out shrapnel when they explode. Grenades are tricky little buggers to use, when thrown they have 5 seconds before they blow and not's after they hit the floor it's after they leave your hand. Most people prefer to lob grenades into dark rooms where a Zombie might be hiding or use it as a suicide device as one last attempt to take down a group of zombies, ready to rape the person's arse. I personally use it to flush out zombies or use it kill or soften up Zombies, ready for something like a handgun or melee weapon.

IED - Now the IED is also a tricky weapon to use as it uses a remote detonator, in this case the Phone (default "I"). Simply place the device in a location you wish and when a Zombie nears, detonate with the secondary attack key (mouse2 by default). It's best to use this in Objective maps that require you to guard something or wait around for something like an elevator or complete a hacking sequence. Make sure you stand back a bit, the explosion raduis is quite large and is recommended to use on large groups of zombies. The IED was added in the 1.4 Patch.

Equipment

Whilte not weapons per say, they are critical to Survival and always worth looking out for them, whether for yourself or your team mates.

Pill Bottles - Pill Bottles are small white bottles of painkillers. I've found some Servers that have the Painkillers heal 20-25% HP, but thanks to "Ghostloveszps", default is 15% HP .

First Aid Kit - First Aid Kits, are large white boxes containing medical supplies. They heal 45% on pickup.

Body Armor - Body Armor protects the user from attacks and lowers damage by 10-15%. Each Body Armor pickup, gives 50 body armor points.