Piñata

Trans-Mortal Tactics

The information on this page or section discusses tactics that can be applied if you find yourself on the wrong side after getting killed or being revivified.

Zombie Tactics

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

A fresh Piñata is created

A 'Piñata' is the term coined for a building which is barricaded up to Extremely Heavily Barricaded, but is also ruined. (These buildings can also be known as an EHB Ruin.) Because the building is ruined, survivors are unable to free-run inside. In addition, the EHB barricades prevent entry from street level. To gain entry to the building the barricades must be reduced to Very Strongly Barricaded. For survivors using a fireaxe or crowbar this takes around 35 AP. The tactic is particularly disruptive when used at free running 'choke points', forcing longer detours or spans of time spent out in the street.

Often, a lone zombie can be found standing inside like the prize of a piñata, hence the term.

Process

To be created, all that is required is a zombie (with the ransack skill) in a building barricaded to EHB. To get there, a player can parachute, be PKed, or just stay as zombie in a building that a survivor has barricaded after zombies have entered. It must be noted that for a building to be ruined, there cannot be any standing survivors present.

However, it is actually possible to end up with a piñata containing survivors - although it requires at least two players working together with this aim specifically in mind. This tricky operation has been demonstrated by the Maltonian Inquisition, as shown here.

Additional

The first recorded Piñata was created on 23rd September 2007. (iWitness.)

The first recorded wide-scale Piñatas were Red Rum's activities in Pimbank during late September/ early October '07, culminating in all of Tynte Mall's entry points being closed down. Examples: Piñata at Retallick entry point, Piñata at Lasder entry point

As a larger scale zombie tactic the utilisation of Piñatas is called Cade and ruin.

Counters

The only way to fix a Pinata under normal circumstances is to bring down the barricades to Very Strongly Barricaded so that survivors can enter, evict any zombies inside, and repair it. Since survivors must use more AP against barricades than zombies, it is a good idea for life cultists and dead survivors awaiting revives to smash pinata barricades to VSB for others to repair later.

Also, malls that do not have all corners properly barricaded and ruined are not pinatas, as it is possible to enter the mall from outside and then moving within the mall to repair all corners, as mall mechanics allow survivors to enter even ruined mall squares from another mall square.

iWitness

http://urbandead.info/iwrecords2/01-03-10_0300hrs_PUBLIC/IN_26-47_ruinedcaded_2cd-bb7-f5f.html - posted with permission of Scheherazade