PC best way to exploit screamers spawning zombies?

[AidenwithAnAxe]

I likely need like 20 campfires all going at the same time, but does anyone know the *best* way to truly take advantage of this? would trapping a screamer be a good idea? i would appreciate your ideas/contributions! :3

 

[Suxar]

Of course, you can call with fires, or you can put up about 100 candles.

Burning barrels have stopped giving off heat now. 40 of them are worth it and there are no screamers.

 

[8_Hussars]

I likely need like 20 campfires all going at the same time, but does anyone know the *best* way to truly take advantage of this? would trapping a screamer be a good idea? i would appreciate your ideas/contributions! :3

1) Try active heat generation.  Pulsing an auger or using the shot gun.

2) Don't kill the screamers just the hordes.  IIRC they have a 3 scream limit so you should be able to get a cycle going.

 

[zztong]

I likely need like 20 campfires all going at the same time, but does anyone know the *best* way to truly take advantage of this?

That sounds about right. I used to play on a server where we used campfires for this. They were placed right out front of the horde base. You can get an impressive number of zombies by attracting screamers and letting them scream. I've not tried this in V1.x but I assume it works the same way.

IIRC they have a 3 scream limit so you should be able to get a cycle going.

Is it 3 or 2? I forget. Either way, after they've screamed a few times you can kill them.

 

[theFlu]

Turning on a campfire produces 5 heat, you need 25 for a spawn event. As the heat decays, you'll need 6 fires to instantly pass 25. Toggle them on/off. That only has a 25% chance of actually giving you screamers, if not it goes on cooldown; additional heat sources don't help.

If you can be bothered, check with dm heat display (F8 twice) how far you need to travel to get out of the CD area, and set another 6 fires there. Repeat around the original and lure the zeds into a central fighting position.

 

[warmer]

Torches are the easiest way to exploit this. Cheap and give you plenty of light. 24 torches is all you need and it doesn't takes more wood. I had an old base in A20 that had 24 torches. It was a nearly CONSTANT stream of screamers then. Maybe 2min between them, good for xp farming for sure.

 

[8_Hussars]

Torches are the easiest way to exploit this. Cheap and give you plenty of light. 24 torches is all you need and it doesn't takes more wood. I had an old base in A20 that had 24 torches. It was a nearly CONSTANT stream of screamers then. Maybe 2min between them, good for xp farming for sure.

Torches work too. (Reportedly 0.5 heat per real world minute on 60 minute days)

Keep in mind that there is a cool down period.  The actual cool down time is debated (20 minutes or so?) and there are two screamer checks.  There is a 25% chance to spawn a pair of screamers at 25 heat level.  Failing that there is 100% chance to spawn screamers at 100 heat level.

(Starting the auger 100 times should instantly spawn screamer if a player gets past the 25% check.  With an auger RPM of 300, it should allow a player to spawn 3 screamers per min, notwithstanding the debated cool down period.)

 

[warmer]

Torches work too. (Reportedly 0.5 heat per real world minute on 60 minute days)

Keep in mind that there is a cool down period.  The actual cool down time is debated (20 minutes or so?) and there are two screamer checks.  There is a 25% chance to spawn a pair of screamers at 25 heat level.  Failing that there is 100% chance to spawn screamers at 100 heat level.

(Starting the auger 100 times should instantly spawn screamer if a player gets past the 25% check.  With an auger RPM of 300, it should allow a player to spawn 3 screamers per min, notwithstanding the debated cool down period.)

Why would you waste gas on this, my method has zero ongoing maintenance cost. Once they start, they never stop

 

[8_Hussars]

Why would you waste gas on this, my method has zero ongoing maintenance cost. Once they start, they never stop

Because the OP asked...
 

but does anyone know the *best* way to truly take advantage of this? would trapping a screamer be a good idea? i would appreciate your ideas/contributions! :3

Using the auger is faster and more controllable?   At the point a player is screamer farming; fuel should not be a problem.  I am not saying what is/is not the best way.  Just contributing to the discussion...

 

[warmer]

Because the OP asked...
 

Using the auger is faster and more controllable?   At the point a player is screamer farming; fuel should not be a problem.  I am not saying what is/is not the best way.  Just contributing to the discussion...

Auger is late game. Torches are lvl 1 tools. That is why I think an auger is a bad example. Not every player can do that at any point in the game. Not to mention the crafting requirements for gas are locked behind progress. Torches are a low tech immediate solution with zero upkeep. You just pull them off the wall when you are done and store them in a chest. Easy peezy

 

[Suxar]

Torches are the easiest way to exploit this.

Or candles. In principle, torches and candles give approximately the same result.

 

[ElCabong]

All you need to do is to start your campfire and put enough fuel in it to run 10 minutes and then start your forge with enough for it to run 10 minutes and within about six you're going to get a screamer. Leave them on while you're dealing with that one and you'll get more.

 

[warmer]

Last game I played I was doing a little testing. I had 2 dew collectors, a forge running/campfire cooking for 2 game hours while I upgraded my base and no screamers.  I was purposely waiting to see if they showed up and I got none. game stage 18 at the time in Forest biome. 

I also use zero light sources. This is the only thing I believe I am doing differently than most people dealing with them. 

I have modified the spawn rate 3x so you would think this would make them come easier, instead of not at all.

Does game stage influence the trigger for them?