Necrotech Security Zones

Survivor Tactics

The information on this page or section discusses a survivor strategy.

Necrotech Security Zones (or NSZs) are areas where the concentration of Necrotech facilities allows for easier revivification of dedicated survivor characters and, in turn, easier defense of the area. This strategy turns conventional wisdom on its head by emphasizing the primacy of Necrotechs and revives in the long-term advancement of survivors over traditional gameplay that has placed heavy emphasis on holding Malls.

The Concept

Traditionally, survivors have centered their operations around the Malls in UrbanDead (and to a lesser extent, Police Departments). The high number of players that gather at Malls and the ease of finding weapons, ammunition and First-Aid Kits has instilled a sense of security in these locations. However, experience generally tells us that these strongholds crumble at the appearance of a large zombie horde. These buildings are eventually drained and ransacked largely through attrition.

The most notable exceptions to this course of action has come through prolonged sieges (even involving survivor victory) at Caiger Mall, Giddings Mall, Stickling Mall and the Blackmore Building. The advocates of Necrotech-based security argue that these successes were largely based on the ease of which nearby Necrotech Buildings enabled efficient revive operations that helped to counter zombie attrition. This is best exemplified by the fact that all three of those malls have a Necrotech Building in an adjoining square, and with Blackmore the key building was a Necrotech itself.

If the concept of Necrotech-based security is to be drawn out, the ideal situation is for survivors to secure themselves in areas where there are high concentrations of Necrotech Buildings to help provide a constant supply of Necrotech syringes and to set up efficient revive operations to counter zombie attrition tactics. This is aided by setting up these areas of defense near malls to help supply secondary resources (Weapons, FAKs and Generators).

Critique of the Survivor Security Zone

Many of the principles applied by the Necrotech Security Zone are those used by advocates of the Survivor Security Zone. However, the SSZ can be viewed as fatally flawed due to its assumption that malls are the most vital buildings for survivor defense. An examination of the SSZ reveals that in between the four malls of the zone (the most heavily trafficked area of the zone), there are only three Necrotech facilities. If these Necrotechs are disrupted, then survivors must turn to the periphery of the SSZ to secure syringes and revives, this denies the SSZ the mobility between malls needed for the concept to work, or forces zone defenders who choose to defend the core area to face the same attrition that any other mall defender must face -- as demonstrated by the success of the Mall Tour '07.

Necrotech Zones

As illustrated on the map above, there are four areas where such a zone could be set up. They are outlined below with the central Necrotech Building and the adjoining Mall used to identify the zone.

Latrobe / Caiger

The site of some of Malton's historic battles, the Caiger Mall area has six Necrotech Buildings with a centrally located mall providing support. In addition, the zone can be easily expanded to include two more Necrotechs if survivors have successfully secured the area.

Hawksley / Stickling

In the past four months two memorable sieges have taken place at Stickling Mall. The reason it held out so long against Shacknews and the Mall Tour was largely because of its proximity to Necrotech facilities. There are five Necrotech Buildings in the same free running lane with the Mall at the end of it. Additionally, three more Necrotechs could be added to the zone if the area is generally secured.

Carlyle / Treweeke

While Treweeke Mall does not have as colorful a history as the two malls adjoining the zones described above, it has five Necrotech Buildings in a concentrated area just north of the Mall. All of the buildings have free running access to the mall as well.

Lodder / Buckley

The Buckley Mall area tends to be neglected due to its isolation on the map of Malton. However, it's centrally located between four nearby Necrotech Buildings which are all accessible through free running lanes. There is also another additional Necrotech Building that could be added to the area once it's secure.

The Ideal Defense Setup

The point of this exercise is to set up an ideal defense situation for these zones. Current survivor behavior is mall-centric and deeply entrenched, so such an ideal may be very difficult -- if not impossible -- to achieve, but is well worth striving for.

In order for this strategy to work, it requires a variety of tactics be used. These tactics may seem contradictory on face value, but make sense within the context of the zone. But the Necrotech Security Zones would be best defended through an intelligent balance of concentration, distribution and mobility. It may be broken down as such:

• At times when the threat of zombies is low, there would ideally be about 50 survivors occupying each Necrotech within an NSZ. This concentration would allow a Necrotech to withstand all but the largest and most sudden zombie assaults.
• Each Necrotech would have its own revive point. A high quantity of revive points would distribute the load between the Necrotechs and make it much more difficult for zombies to disrupt revive operations across an entire NSZ. If these revive points are efficiently run, it would greatly increase the amount of zombies needed to break survivor resistance through attrition.
• When zombies have massed to lay siege on a particular Necrotech, the other Necrotechs in the zone (assuming the ideal 50 occupants per building) would move about 25 survivors into the sieged NT. This would provide a highly concentrated defense on the sieged NT while maintaining a significant presence to hold the remaining NT's in case there is a need to fall back.
• If defeat is at the sieged Necrotech is imminent, survivors can fall back on the remaining Necrotechs which -- if their revive operations are functioning properly -- would allow for a quick recovery and a resumed defense at the zombies' next target. Not to mention strengthening the said NT about to be sieged.
• Malls are a secondary concern. There will always be enough survivors who cluster in malls to provide a limited defense against a zombie horde. If zombies lay siege to a mall, survivors should not reduce their numbers at the nearby Necrotech facilities, but instead provide quick and efficient revives for the survivors defending the mall.

The Ideal Defenders

Again, this relies on survivors breaking deeply entrenched habits. However, even in a limited capacity more intelligent defenders can greatly increase the life of a NSZ during a siege and allow for a much quicker recovery.

• Every survivor (including dedicated zombie hunters) should carry Necrotech syringes. If every survivor carried 3-5 syringes (hardly an encumberance) and dedicated one or two days each week to reviving other survivors and replenishing their needle supply, it would have a tremendous impact upon a zombie horde's ability to drain the local population. This combined with the dedicated revivers who are already toiling in Malton would greatly increase the number of zombies needed to successfully siege a NSZ.
• Every survivor should also carry a DNA scanner and scan all the zombies they're about to revive. There needs to be much greater awareness and intelligence used in deciding who gets revived (ex. someone with "Ridleybank Resistance Front: Gore Corps" in their profile) If a survivor encounters a rotter clogging a revive point, they should not hesitate to deliver a headshot (even if they're a dedicated reviver). While this may strike many as a waste of AP, it necessary to run a clean and efficient revive operation and is the only time it acceptable to shoot a zombie that is outside a building.
• Unless there is a massive Red Rum-style assault looming, survivors should ignore PKers. If there is an efficient revive operation set up, the impact of PKers would be limited. Running around and hunting down PKers is just a waste of AP better used to fight zombie attrition tactics.

Conclusion

In the past two months zombies have been far ahead of survivors on understanding the importance of revives and Necrotech in the game. This has lead to seemingly unstoppable zombie hordes spreading across Malton as survivors desperately hold onto Malls, letting zombies starve the population and overwhelm a small number of dedicated revivers. If survivors shifted their own emphasis, protected Necrotechs and spread the burden of handing out revives across a much greater population, zombie attrition tactics would be much less effective. The survivors they killed would be standing in the same spot the next day.

It may take a lot to set up these zones as the zombies have gotten a head start on the survivors, but the benefits of successfully implementing a NSZ would greatly outweigh any cost.