Guides:So You Want To Be A Scout?

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So You Want To Be A Scout?

So you chose to be a scout on your first day out. This is wonderful news! But did you notice how hard it is to gain XP? You only start out with binoculars, a flare gun, and the free-running skill! Oh the humanity! You can try to punch a zombie, but you miss all the time! Well, this guide was set up so you, the lvl 1 scout, can get XP fast, learn how to use your skills to the fullest, and most importantly, SURVIVE!

Starting Equipment and Skills

Free Running

I will keep this brief. Free running allows you to hop from building to building (with exceptions) without ever having to drop to the street. This will save you one AP, give you complete cover from all threats outside, and allow you to access buildings that are barricaded so high that access from the street is impossible. This makes free running an essential skill in the game. Please note that if you free run into a ruined building, you will fall to street level, and possibly injure yourself. Don't worry, you can enter the ruined building and free run into another building if you wish.

Binoculars

This will allow you to see a 3x3 view of a block in any direction. You can only do this is Hotels, Motels, and Towers though.

Flare Gun

A fairly useless (in my opinion) piece of equipment. It can be used to attract other humans, and zombies, when fired into the air, so if you do this, and you know that there are lots of zombies nearby, run from that location. Also can be used in combat, has a 2.5% base accuracy, 15% with basic firearms training, and does 15 damage. If a zombie is "fuel soaked", meaning the zombie was hit with a fuel can, and you hit the fuel soaked zombie with the flare gun, you will do 30 damage instead of 15.

Gaining XP

There are many ways to gain XP. You can attack a zombie, or heal someone, or revivify someone, or (if you die and become a zombie) break things! This section will tell you how to effectively earn XP in anyway possible.

Attacking

When you attack a zombie, you gain XP based on how much damage you deal. A fire axe deals 3 damage, so if you hit a zombie with a fire axe, you get 3 XP. When you kill a zombie, you get a bonus 10 XP, in addition to the XP from how much damage you dealt.

There's 2 fundamental weapon types in the game: melee weapons, and range weapons (guns). A scouts favorite weapon should be a melee weapon. A gun requires ammo. You need to spend AP searching for ammo inside police departments, fort armories, and mall gun shops. This takes a lot of AP, AP you could be using for more productive things. The suggested melee weapon is a knife, as it's base hit percentile is 20%, and does 2 damage. 1 out of 5 hits will hit, and you will receive 2 XP per hit. A survivor with Hand to Hand combat will get a 35% hit chance with a knife, and with knife combat, that becomes a 50% hit chance. Until you get Basic Firearms Training, Pistol Training, and Advanced Pistol training, the knife is your best weapon.

Healing

Healing is a fast and easy way to get loads of XP fast, and my suggested method. Healing someone with a First Aid Kit will heal them by 5 HP, and get you 5 XP. Please note that you do not earn XP when you heal yourself.

In order to heal someone, they must have under 50 HP, or under 60 HP if they have Body Building, and you must have a first aid kit. You can find FAKs in hospitals, normally barricaded way too high to be accessed from the street, but you're a scout, you have free running!!! Max out your encumbrance with FAKs (they encumber you by 2% each) and find survivors asking to be healed. If you just started and did not waste your flare gun, you can carry 44 of them. This will take about a day or two, three if you're unlucky, to get that many, but it is worth it. Do the math. 44*5= 220 XP.

Revivification

This is not something a beginner can do. You need to gather 300 XP, and get Necrotech Employment, as well as Lab Assistant. You also need to search for revivification syringes, and a DNA extractor so you can tell if someone has brain rot (makes it harder to DNA scan and impossible to revivify without NecroNet Access) or not. Revivifying someone costs 10 AP, 11 AP if you DNA scan them. But for DNA scanning you get 4 XP, and revivifying gets you 10 XP.

If You Die And Become A Zombie

Do not despair! This is a wonderful opportunity. You can claw at someone for 2 damage, and have a 25% chance of doing so. Also, going into a building with decor and machinery inside will allow to break them, and get 1 XP for each thing you break. Take your time as a zombie, grab a bite to eat, make sure it wasn't your friend, and head over to a cemetery if you want to be revivified! Or just keep breaking things.

Survival

Basic Survival Skills

1. Carry about 2-3 FAKs with you at all times. Some zombie bites can be infectious, and an infection will hurt you for one HP for each action you do. Using a FAK will cure an infection.
2. Stay out of the street when you're low on AP
3. Try to stay out of hotspots, like malls, police departments, hospitals, forts, and necrotech buildings.
4. If you're outnumbered by even one zombie, make a run for it, and fast. Get into a building, probably ruined if there are mobs around, and free run into a low priority building, or make your way out of the suburb, especially if there are multiple mobs.

Join A Group

Joining a group has many benefits, like ready revivification, and people willing and ready to help you. Groups WILL vary in size and available aid, as well as what they are (such as a PK group only goes after other survivors, and a Pro-Survivor group helps survivors) and how they function. Find the right group for you, and remember, have fun!