Guides:AP Efficiency
You want to make the best use of your AP. Here's a quick, easy guide on how to.
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 about for making the most of your 48 AP a day.
Less-worthy uses of AP
Some uses of AP, such a movement, combat and healing infections, are vital to most players. Other uses of AP are less useful and might be cut down on if they are not particularly important.
Survivors can put lower priority on:
- Setting up/repairing Radio Transmitters
- Retuning Radios
- Using Mobile Phones
- Graffiti
- Broadcasting
- Cleaning Bloodstains
- barricading unimportant buildings past HB
Zombies can put lower priority on:
- Defiling Graffiti
- Feeding on Corpses
- Speech
Basic General Tips
First things first.
Diagonal movement is better - Simply put, you combine both one north/south and one east/west movement into one AP, rather than split it into two AP, 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 line, diagonal movement is just as fast as cardinal movement 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 it's another building or another suburb, always check a suburb map, whether it be the Map on this wiki or something else. You might be surprised how often people waste traveling AP by going in the wrong direction. Do the obvious thing- get directions.
Reserve some AP for Opportunities.- If you have the ability to check on your character multiple times a day, you should reserve some of your AP until an emergency which requires your AP comes up (i.e. zombie break-in, so 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 AP on that.
OR
Do all your "errands" in one journey.- Try to do your day's activities in one shot, if you aren't going to wait for an emergency (i.e. you are in a safe suburb stocking up). Making two trips to a target in spends more AP moving than one. Spend less time moving to the target and more time actually getting things done.
Know where the good lootings is. - 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. - 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 and feeding groans, if you have it, to figure out where the horde is at. And again, use the wiki, group reports, eavesdropped radio reports, etc.
Nothing to do? Find something to do. - This should be a no-brainer, but it seems many cowards uneducated survivors flock to perfectly safe suburbs to lounge around rather than to do something actually stimulating/worthy. If you find you are stocked up and healthy, and your suburb is getting boring, use the wiki Map or Current Events page to find somewhere where you can get some action.
Join a Group. - A group can save you a ton of AP in various ways. Division of labor, sharing intel, breaking through sieges with coordinated strike teams, providing rescues, etc, there will always be strength in numbers.
Advanced General Tips
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.
Prioritize your targets- Be careful of what you are attacking or helping. Is that survivor you're clawing/healing actually a PKer/GKer/death cultist, and how does that change your priorities? Would your zombie AP be better served killing the generators or nomming that survivor?
Be smart in real-time battles - Know that real time battles sometimes aren't worth the trouble. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages in preparation for such a situation. It's up to you what your priorities are in such a situation, but always consider running away. And if you are a survivor indoors and your opponent is active, dump the body immediately to avoid retaliation and retreat to safety.
Use the DSS_Satellite_Phone app - Just like a mobile phone item, except it takes zero AP to call with it and it's always available regardless of your situation. Hint hint.
Survivors
Avoid unnecessary zombie-killing - Unless you have a rotter clogging a revive point or really need some XP, never kill zombies outdoors, because they will take piddling AP damage while you waste tons of AP/ammo on them.
If you disagree with me on this, because teh zombies everywhere, especially the ones outside, have to be killed at all costs, then you are a badass, with your badass trenchcoat and all. In that case, you should sleep outside the barricades every day, because you are so badass no zombie will attack you in fear of your elite katanas and uzis.
Immediately barricade for unthreatening break-ins - If there are 1 or 2 zombies breaking into a building that has a lot of survivors who are generally in good shape, you can just barricade to cut off zombie reinforcements and let the other survivors take care of it.
Barricade only within reason - Your AP becomes less and less efficient as the barricades get higher. If you want to maximize the effect of every AP spent barricading, VSB++ should be the farthest you go. In a safe suburb, you can rely on other survivors to barricade from VSB++ to EHB for you. In a not-so-safe suburb, you are usually better off covering more buildings to VSB than a few to EHB. So, unless a building is of significant importance to you, don't barricade past VSB++.
Dirt Nap after getting revived- Because those 3 AP 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 before standing up.
Talk is not cheap. - You can fit 256 characters into each AP of talking, and roughly 50 characters into each AP of spraying graffiti or broadcasting. Make the most of that space- spending more AP than necessary talking isn't any good.
Search for syringes instead of manufacturing them - It takes, on average, 14 AP to find a syringe in a lit NT building, compared to 20 AP to manufacture the same syringe. Manufacturing is more or less obsoleted by searching.
Consider damaging Free Running- To move from a Building A to a Ruin B, you have two options. Either leave Building A, move to outside Ruin B, then enter Ruin B (takes 3 AP), or just move to Building B directly, fall outside of the building, and then enter building B (2 AP). The latter option, free running directly, saves 1 AP but comes at the risk of losing 5 HP while you are at it. Weigh your options.
Avoid unnecessary FAKing- If you are in a safe suburb and are not at risk of getting PKed, you can get away with letting others take care of your HP for you, because a FAK-happy someone will eventually come along and FAK you all night long from behind so you don't have to do it yourself. Plus, it gives low-level players a chance to rack up XP by healing you.
Avoid unnecessary corpse-dumping - Most of the time, when killing a zombie or PKer, you should dump the body so it doesn't rise again and attack people inside or ruin the building. However, if you don't care about the people inside (say, you're a PKer or they're all PKers) or you don't care about the building, don't waste that AP dumping.
Use binoculars - Using binoculars within a ruin/tall building shows you how many zombies are outside with one click, so you don't to spend the AP walking outside and back in to scout zombie numbers. If you use it outside, it is also useful for instantly determining the state and position of Malls, Forts and Hospitals within 7 blocks.
Cleaning bloodstains or defiled graffiti is a last priority - (Currently, cleaning defiled graffiti takes no AP, but that may change in the future) As mentioned above, there is no place for hypochondria in the zombie apocalypse. Removing bloodstains and graffiti defiling is pretty damn useless on the grand scale of things.
Constantly take note of VSB buildings along the way as you travel outdoors to a destination, to save on AP searching for an EP after you are done.
Combat Reviving - Combat reviving is risky, as you may end up pissing off and creating a death cultist when sticking the wrong zombie. However, if done on a non-rotter, you save AP quickly, as syringes dispose of a zombie in 10 AP rather than the 20-50 you'd normally spend axing/shooting the zombie.
Maintain and use Revive Points - Very important. RPs near Necrotech Buildings save you the hassle of wandering around to find zombies to revive and makes it much easier to scan zombies. Many have maintain entry points nearby to make it AP-easy on both revivers and new revivees to get back to cover. Most importantly though, better-coordinated and -focused revives through an RP means that zombies turn back into survivors faster and thus have access to their AP as a survivor earlier and more often.
Suicide-Revive - If you don't mind the dying part, it's a very efficient way to go on a long reviving spree. Just be sure to pack enough needles beforehand.
Avoid Scouting Safehouses - Although it theoretically saves AP and improves search rates, there are too many conditions required to get your invested AP back- you must remain near the building, not die, and keep the building from being ruined. Unfortunately, this all rarely happens outside of a safe suburb, in which case you'll get what you want anyway. Don't bother.
Zombies
Avoid the trenchie scum in safe suburbs- Trenchies usually hang around safe suburbs and annoy zombies outside with constant headshots or combat revives. Therefore, if you are in a safe (for survivors) suburb, either get out of there or hang out in the same square as other zombies to decrease the chance that you'll be the one to lose a few AP to a trenchcoater.
Feeding drag instead of killing- If you want some near-dead survivors in a building out of the way quickly, drag them outside then come back in. It takes 2 AP instead of the 3-10 AP you'd spend finishing them off AND it donates the kill XP you'd get to other zombies, including low-level ones.
Claw, then feeding drag in dark buildings - Take those survivors out of their protective dark buildings to the great outdoors where it is easier to take them down. Finish them off or leave them for the other zombies.
Parachute whenever possible- If you find yourself suddenly revived but infected one day, death-cultist parachute to save the time you'd normally spend breaking down barricades.
Suicide efficiently. - If you find yourself revived and want to return to zombie-dom, you have three choices on how to die- make yourself such a nuisance other survivors have to put you down, jump out of a tall building or just walk over to some zombies and let your brazzaz take care of your breathingitis. For the purposes of saving AP, the third option takes the least AP unless you are in a very zombie-lacking suburb, in which case the second one will have to do. Also consider getting Brain Rot to prevent revives in the first place.
Claw for Grasp, Bite for Threes - It is slightly more efficient than just clawing away.
Avoid groaning if you can kill all the survivors inside. - Common sense and common courtesy- don't spend AP attracting your brethren to where there isn't food.
Speech is optional.- Whereas survivors benefit by informing comrades of things such as zombie-break-ins and who needs revives, zombies can usually let feeding groans and Scent Death do all the communication for them.
Be careful with Bellowing - Bellowing takes 10 AP and carries extremely far, attracting more zombies than usual, especially in an area with few other feeding groans to compete with it. The skill is useful, as you attract more buddies to gangbang harmanz, but it's a double-edged sword, since you also draw away zombies from the rest of the suburb, possibly giving the survivors a break. Ask yourself if the 10 AP is worth it.
Dark Buildings are your friend - Why? Because it's much harder to kill a zombie in the dark- a lot of people won't even bother with you. Combat reviving takes a bit more AP, too. Plus, dead bodies can't be dumped until the place is lit, so you usually can skip having to re-enter the building after standing up. So, in a lit dark building, save 10 AP or so for killing the generator.
However you use your AP...
You may believe that your actions, how you use your individual 48 AP a day, whether selfish or selfless, has only a small, local effect. But these are the effects that make Malton spin. When you kill, you don't think you're changing Malton. But imagine if everyone suddenly stopped killing. We'd have a very different city... Everyone has a tiny slice of power over Malton. Use yours for life, or use it for death. Just don't waste it on yourself. Have fun. --Penguinpyro 14:11, 21 April 2011 (BST)
