Guides:AP Efficiency

Okay, you want to make the best use of your APs. Keep in mind that this guide is not written for the purpose of survival or winning fights- you should read some other guides if you want that. This is only for making the most of your UD potential.

Typical Uses of AP

Think about where it goes and which ones are most important to you.

• Movement
• Killing stuff
• Standing up after death

Survivors:

• Using FAKs
• Scanning/Reviving
• Dumping Bodies
• Gathering Supplies
• Scouting
• Barricading
• Repairing Ruins
• Graffiti/Cleaning Graffiti
• Generators/Radio Transmitters

Zombies:

• Feeding on Corpses (Zombies)
• Destroying Barricades
• Defiling Graffiti

(Moderately) Obvious Ways to Save AP

First things first.

Diagonal movement is king.- The reasons for this are fairly simple. You combine both one north/south and one east/west movement into one AP, rather than split it into two APs, as would happen if you moved cardinally (non-diagonally).
Move diagonally as much as possible to shorten the path to your destination. Even if your destination is in a straight up/down/left/right, zigzagging your way to it is just as efficient as moving in a straight line, AND you get the slight bonus of seeing slightly more area when moving diagonally.

Know where you are going- If you are not very familiar with your destination, whether another building or another suburb, always check a suburb map, whether it be the Map on this wiki or another independently hosted suburb map. You might be surprised how often people waste traveling APs by going in the wrong direction.

Reserve some AP for Opportunities.- If you have the ability to check on your character multiple times a day, you can reserve some of your APs until an emergency which requires your AP comes up (i.e. zombie break-in, so that you can kill survivors/zombies). That way, you won't be out of luck if an emergency happens. If no such emergency happens at the end of the day, then find the next best thing to do and blow your reserved APs on that.

OR

Do all your "errands" in one journey.- Try to do your day's activities in one shot, if you are sure no emergencies that require AP budgeting will come up. Making two trips to a TRP in spends more APs moving than one. Spend less time moving to the target and more time actually doing your job.

Know where the good lootings are at. - It seems like common sense, but it's all too easy to ignore. Weigh your options. What shape is the target in? How far away is it? Is it lit? What are the search rates compared to other buildings? Find out the search rates of each building, and gather as much information on the state of nearby TRPs from this wiki, your group (if any), radio reports, etc.

OR

Know where the good bra!nz are at. - Similar to above, but for zombie players. Which buildings are still up? Which buildings are more vulnerable to attack? Where are the harman hidey-holes at? Use Scent Death, if you have it, to figure out where the horde is at. Listen to feeding groans, especially recent ones, and consider investigating flares if they are nearby. And again, use the wiki, group reports, eavesdropped radio reports, etc.

Talk is not cheap. - You can fit 256 characters into each AP of talking, and roughly 50 APs into each AP of spraying graffiti or broadcasting. Make the most of that space- spending more AP than necessary talking isn't going to do any good.

Join a Recruitment. - Metagaming can save you a ton of AP in various ways. Division of labor, sharing battlefield intelligence, breaking through sieges with coordinated raids, providing meatshields for yourself, etc, there will always be strength in numbers.

Dirt Nap after getting revived- Because those 3 APs you have left after you stand up aren't going to do you much good. Wait until you can make the full journey to safety.

Not As Obvious

Use the Contacts list- The Contacts list can save you AP in one of two ways. The first way is skipping DNA scanning- if you have friends or enemies on your contacts, you can figure out which zombies need what without needing to waste an AP scanning (or without guessing, if you can't use an extractor). The second way is highlighting your friends/enemies so that you won't accidentally miss the chance to help/murder them if you stumble across them.

Hide Smarter, Not Harder-

Sacrificial Free Running-

Prioritize your targets in a fight-

Avoid Trenchie scum-

Be smart in real-time battles-

FAK only when necessary-

Gypping others out of AP

Sometimes, you can make the best use of your AP by screwing your enemies over so their AP doesn't matter so much.

Barricade Strafing rocks -

Combat revive intelligently -

Bite people like hell -

Why bother dumping? -

Break their needles! -