Shredder (attachment)

[GuardianReaper0]

We currently have the fireman axe, woodcutter, etc mods that increase damage to blocks at the cost of damage to enemies. What I’d like to suggest is a mod that reduces block damage and increases damage to enemies.

Especially for the case of axes and chainsaws, these are iconic weapons in the zombie genre, but have been forced into a tool only kind of capacity in this game.

FUNCTION of the attachment could be something like 50% of the block damage value is removed but added on to the entity damage. 
(Cannot be used in conjunction with attachments that increase block damage). 
 

This could keep items like axes and chainsaws relevant as weapons, without making the too strong as all purpose tools. (Min-Maxers may try to take advantage in some way, but ultimately it helps the game overall.)

Additionally, it could be applied to other weapons as well, helping to bolster melee damages across the board while removing block damage, which can be helpful if you find yourself fighting in a loot room. 
 

Granted, Sledgehammers would see a considerable buff out of this, but honestly I don’t see that as much of an issue, as most of late game melee becomes far less effective.

 

[Suxar]

Especially for the case of axes and chainsaws, these are iconic weapons in the zombie genre, but have been forced into a tool only kind of capacity in this game.

There was a quest with axes before. You had to kill 6 lumberjacks with a fire axe. So the axe is still a weapon, although not a very good one.

But increasing the chainsaw's damage to zombies would be nice.

as most of late game melee becomes far less effective.

I wouldn't say it's less effective. When the weapon's skills are pumped up, it's very effective due to the chances of dismemberment.

 

[GuardianReaper0]

There was a quest with axes before. You had to kill 6 lumberjacks with a fire axe. So the axe is still a weapon, although not a very good one.

But increasing the chainsaw's damage to zombies would be nice.

I wouldn't say it's less effective. When the weapon's skills are pumped up, it's very effective due to the chances of dismemberment.

Late game, especially against glowing (which eventually is pretty much all of them) even with a high dismemberment chance, it often takes a lot to get through them. 
 

I’ve had experience mostly with baton and machete, both of which function pretty decent until about day 42. After that, they really don’t seem to do enough. Firearms are really the only route after that. Which is why I’d like to see this added. 
 

It would definitely help in the early and mid game, as well as keep melee relevant for much longer. 

 

[BFT2020]

I’ve had experience mostly with baton and machete, both of which function pretty decent until about day 42. After that, they really don’t seem to do enough. Firearms are really the only route after that. Which is why I’d like to see this added. 

Not true, you can still use melee after Day 42.  I went Agility build with handguns and knives.  Did a Tier 5 with Feral sense on in the Wasteland.  Used the handgun to cripple the zombies (there is a Pistol Pete book that increases cripple chance when shot in the leg) and then used the machete to finish them off.  It worked on ferals and radiated zombies

 

[Riamus]

What difficulty level are you on?  Insane difficulty would be very hard to do in melee at high tier.  But on default difficulty (or lower), it's going to be much easier.  And it will just vary in difficulty depending on the difficulty you choose between those.  If you are going to use melee, you need to understand how the weapon works.  Melee in this game isn't really about just going into nose to nose and swinging like in some other games.  It takes an understanding of how best to use your weapon.  Knives (including machete) gain a lot from being used with stealth, for example.  You can do a lot more with them if you're using stealth than you can without, though they can still be effective.  And from the little I've used them, the dismember chance is high enough that if you're only doing headshots with a Q6 machete, you're going to instantly kill zombies very often by cutting off their head (or part of it).  Still not my weapon of choice, but many people use them and like them, even in tier 5/6 quests.

I use spear and will do most tier 5 and 6 quests without guns.  There are a few that have parts with a high enough concentration of zombies in a small space where I need to swap to a gun to clear things out a little, but mostly I just use spear.  Even in the large prison, I used only spears for everything except the very end of the POI when playing solo.  The final open area by the outer wall was a bit crazy and the loot room was also a bit much.  But everything else wasn't an issue.  What usually causes me trouble are the spider zombies because I have to change my aim to hit them since they are on the ground.  When all the zombies are standing, it is easier to keep doing only headshots.  But if I have to keep aiming down for spiders, it lets the zombies close on me more easily and that's usually when I start getting hit more.

 

[GuardianReaper0]

With stealth you can run any MISSION with ease. What I am referring to is large droves of enemies, without stealth. Horde night for example. Being able to hold down a hallway or fortified position to some degree would be fun IMO.

Especially if chainsaws were viable.

As far as machete dismemberment goes, it works great until ferals and glowers become common, then it becomes quite infrequent. 

 

[AidenwithAnAxe]

And let's not let The Fun Pimps go "Everything but the axe! You can put this on literally anything but the axe!"

 

[Riamus]

With stealth you can run any MISSION with ease. What I am referring to is large droves of enemies, without stealth. Horde night for example. Being able to hold down a hallway or fortified position to some degree would be fun IMO.

Especially if chainsaws were viable.

As far as machete dismemberment goes, it works great until ferals and glowers become common, then it becomes quite infrequent. 

Well, it is very possible to do a melee base.  There are things you need to do to avoid being overwhelmed, but people do make cases all the time.  I've done them myself, though I got bored of it because it ends up just standing in one place spamming attack rather than needing to aim.  Granted, you can set your ranged base up so you don't have to aim as well, but I don't. 

Anyhow, someone who uses machetes late game or even in horde night can comment on it.  I just know I've seen people comment here in the past, but I didn't use them, so I don't have direct experience.  I can say that spears work great, even during horde night, though again, I normally don't use them in horde night because I like aiming at moving zombies.  But I can take on a lot of zombies at once with a spear as long as I can keep them in front of me and I don't have to deal with spiders disrupting my attacks.

 

[Suxar]

Late game, especially against glowing (which eventually is pretty much all of them) even with a high dismemberment chance, it often takes a lot to get through them. 

I don't remember the day of the game, it's hard to track on the server. But the level was somewhere around 170-200. The difficulty level was either maximum or 1 lower. I cleared the weapons factory with a club without any problems. Almost all the zombies were glowing.

You seem to be playing the wrong way. Melee weapons are pretty serious weapons. Of course, there are problems with crowds, but you can retreat a little.

 

[GuardianReaper0]

I don't remember the day of the game, it's hard to track on the server. But the level was somewhere around 170-200. The difficulty level was either maximum or 1 lower. I cleared the weapons factory with a club without any problems. Almost all the zombies were glowing.

You seem to be playing the wrong way. Melee weapons are pretty serious weapons. Of course, there are problems with crowds, but you can retreat a little.

That’s once you hit a super high level though. Plus, no idea what your settings are.

 

[Riamus]

That’s once you hit a super high level though. Plus, no idea what your settings are.

Not really.  Melee works very well.  Really, the only time you might run into trouble is either poorly using perks (not putting perks into weapon skills by the time you reach high tier POI), trying to just tank your way through a melee fight like you might do in other games, or use 300% XP, which will level your game stage faster than you'll likely be able to keep up with for equipment, or you don't stick to headshots and power attacks (limiting power attacks to the initial attack if you don't have a weapon/book/perk that will refill stamina).

You should be able to max out your weapon perks and get all, or almost all, books related to your weapon and have a Tier 3 Quality 6 weapon and Q6 armor by the time you're doing any serious high tier POI and zombies.  At that point, it doesn't really matter your level.  If you're struggling, try a different melee weapon that might suit you better or adjust how you fight.  As long as you can keep zombies in front of you and you leave yourself room to back up and an escape route in case things get to be too much, melee works really well.  If you're in the open where they can surround you in large numbers, then you need to lead them to somewhere where you can force them to stay in front of you, like a doorway or hallway.  Do that and it isn't too hard.