PC Best tools for the task

[Damian]

How do the steel shovel, steel pickaxe and auger compare ? Do they all do the same thing ? What is best for looting the stuff on pallets ?, i.e. wood, cement, clay, fertilizer, paper etc. Are the steel knuckles just as good as the machete for harvesting animals ? Which is best for melee, sledgehammer, club or axe ?

 

[SpecialKay]

use shovel on pallets. Club and knife are popular now. sledge is good, but more stamina

 

[pApA^LeGBa]

Shovel is for clay, sand and such. Pickaxe for stone and metal. The Auger is faster than the pickaxe and can also do clay and sand, but also generates heat faster when harvesting stone and metal so screamers come faster.

Steel knuckles do give you the same harvest as a machete. The boxes for paper and scrap polymer are best done with the fire/steel axe.

For melee it´s meanwhile really a matter of taste. On paper the sledgehammer does the most damage and has the group knockdown, but it´s also slow and needs a lot of stamina. Clubs don´t do that much damage but are faster and use less stamina. Knives and machetes have the bleeding going for them. I do prefer spears since A21 for their incredible reach.

Even the stun baton isn´t useless anymore. I just started trying it and so far i am not dissapointed.

 

[Riamus]

How do the steel shovel, steel pickaxe and auger compare ? Do they all do the same thing ? What is best for looting the stuff on pallets ?, i.e. wood, cement, clay, fertilizer, paper etc. Are the steel knuckles just as good as the machete for harvesting animals ? Which is best for melee, sledgehammer, club or axe ?

Think about what you are trying to loot.  If it is something you would shovel (even if it is on a palette), then a shovel or auger is best, with the auger being faster unless you can one shot the stuff with the shovel.

If it is something hard that needs to be broken, then the pickaxe is our auger is best, with the auger being faster unless you can one shot it.  In general, if you want to carry fewer tools, carry an auger instead of shovel and pickaxe.  Just make sure you have fuel or it won't help you any.

If it is something you would chop or cut, then the axe is best.

If you are cutting up animals, a bladed weapon is best, including the steel knuckles since they are technically bladed weapons.

For weapons, choose what you like best rather than being it on what others prefer.  There are pros and cons to all of them.  Speed and stamina usage are big considerations for melee.  If you are fine with slow powerful attacks that use up stamina a lot, go for the sledgehammer but if you prefer quick attacks that do less damage but can be done repeatedly with little stamina costs compared to other weapons, try knuckles.  For something in between those, try the various weapons to see what you like best.  Everyone has different preferences there and there isn't a "best" weapon for everyone.  For ranged, you can consider whether you want power with a lot of reloading or fast shots with less power.  You can also look at range and whether or not you want a silent attack.  It is all really up to your own preferences.

 

[Damian]

Think about what you are trying to loot.  If it is something you would shovel (even if it is on a palette), then a shovel or auger is best, with the auger being faster unless you can one shot the stuff with the shovel.

If it is something hard that needs to be broken, then the pickaxe is our auger is best, with the auger being faster unless you can one shot it.  In general, if you want to carry fewer tools, carry an auger instead of shovel and pickaxe.  Just make sure you have fuel or it won't help you any.

If it is something you would chop or cut, then the axe is best.

If you are cutting up animals, a bladed weapon is best, including the steel knuckles since they are technically bladed weapons.

For weapons, choose what you like best rather than being it on what others prefer.  There are pros and cons to all of them.  Speed and stamina usage are big considerations for melee.  If you are fine with slow powerful attacks that use up stamina a lot, go for the sledgehammer but if you prefer quick attacks that do less damage but can be done repeatedly with little stamina costs compared to other weapons, try knuckles.  For something in between those, try the various weapons to see what you like best.  Everyone has different preferences there and there isn't a "best" weapon for everyone.  For ranged, you can consider whether you want power with a lot of reloading or fast shots with less power.  You can also look at range and whether or not you want a silent attack.  It is all really up to your own preferences.

I use a mod for stamina as it's my biggest complaint for the game. You run for a bit and then you are too tired to defend yourself ? Oh Hell no. Zombies trying to eat you alive and you have to rest for 2 seconds after every slash, swing or spear thrust. It's like TFP never heard of adrenaline. When I was in the U.S. Army doing advanced Infantry training they would push us until the point of collapse and when we went down they would scream in our face until we got back up, so we got back up immediately, and that was when there weren't any zombies trying to eat us. Stamina should be doubled at the very least or introduce amphetamines into the game. Militaries all over the world have been using them since World War 2. I don't mean meth, I mean medications. We already have painkillers and antibiotics. Those painkillers aren't aspirin. The current stamina buffs aren't nearly enough.

 

[unholyjoe]

well we do have all those candies and various drinks that will buff you in various aspects for almost every occasion and there are perks when applied in certain configurations that will help with stamina... hell i have even found (cant remember where) those running shoes that give you 20+ to stam regen.

the game is about making decisions to adapt and over come the game. some will be wrong and some will be right.

so for me stam is only a problem when running until i can make or find the fittings to reduce stam drain with armor and mods to put in/on my weapons.

usually my struggles are over in a few quick days of starting a new game.

 

[Riamus]

I use a mod for stamina as it's my biggest complaint for the game. You run for a bit and then you are too tired to defend yourself ? Oh Hell no. Zombies trying to eat you alive and you have to rest for 2 seconds after every slash, swing or spear thrust. It's like TFP never heard of adrenaline. When I was in the U.S. Army doing advanced Infantry training they would push us until the point of collapse and when we went down they would scream in our face until we got back up, so we got back up immediately, and that was when there weren't any zombies trying to eat us. Stamina should be doubled at the very least or introduce amphetamines into the game. Militaries all over the world have been using them since World War 2. I don't mean meth, I mean medications. We already have painkillers and antibiotics. Those painkillers aren't aspirin. The current stamina buffs aren't nearly enough.

Stamina is just something to be managed, imo.  I stick to first tier weapons until I have enough stamina regen to handle better without running out too quickly.  Sure, I run out but I know how to handle those situations and only rarely does it land me in trouble.  I also don't run to a fight or at least stop running a little before to recover stamina.  You're usually not running in a POI enough to matter and in the wilderness, zombies are usually spaced out enough that there is no reason to be surprised by an attack most of the time so you can manage your running and stamina before a fight.  You also have the steroids that give a very good boost to stamina regen and run speed and are great early game before you have stamina.  By mid game, stamina shouldn't even be a problem.  I use spears and in A20 and now in A21, by the time I started using steel spears, I could mostly attack non stop without running out of stamina and in A20 I didn't even use sex rex.  It was all just normal stamina regen.  In A21, I use power attacks and so I do use more stamina.  But with the perks, that is also mostly mitigated by mid game.

 

[fragtzack]

Even the stun baton isn´t useless anymore. I just started trying it and so far i am not dissapointed.

 Totally agree. Currently level 5 baton skill + level 5 physician skill(which has baton perks). Seems OP to me. A sledge turret for backup, omg so easy with heavy armor.