The War Z Survival Tips

The War Z Survival Tips by shadowthetank

Hello fellow bandits and survivors alike, follow these simple rules and you may just make it through the zombie apocalypse with a nice hefty sack of loot and great experiences.

Note: This guide will be updated periodically to keep the information relevant and useful.

Basics

Welcome to Colorado, a piece of land ravished by the zombie apocalypse and littered with notes from those of the not so distant past (who may now just as well try to eat you) providing all those who enter with both weapons and knowledge but this is the harshest of environments that will require a large amount of skill and expertise to traverse successfully. These basics are those of which you may wish to follow if you plan on surviving…

*Do not trust anyone: Just because someone says friendly or asks for help, doesn’t quite mean they intend on being your best friend forever, they’re more likely to shoot you and take you for all you’re worth than waste their time and resources to keep you alive. This is not true for all survivors but better safe than sorry

*Flashlights should be used only in an emergency: It’s nice to have a melee weapon when you first spawn but the light given off from the flashlight does several things that will significantly shorten your lifespan. It will 1, give away your position to those with malicious intent. 2, Show you have little for means of self defense since most everything in Colorado at the moment can easily overtake a flashlight. And 3, will paint you as a not so smart player to those around you who may even help you driving away their possible but still unlikely help. If you keep this equipped keep it put away unless a zombie is dangerously close to making you it’s next meal and you have no other option.

*Move slowly and plan your moves: sprinting towards a known weapon spawn to get there as soon as possible may seem all fine and dandy but you will easily give away your position to others and by not first surveying the are may run into the arms of a very hungry member of the formerly living or even into the weapon of another player who is looking for a quick leg up.

*The environment is your friend: If a large number of zombies find their way to your back and you have no escape you have many options to escape with your life and more importantly your loot without even firing a bullet. Find a car, APC, or another elevated position to jump to and gather your bearings or even find a mail station and hop the counter to escape the horde and give yourself the time to get to a safer location.

*Be wary of traps: If you see a light at night from a flare or chem light or even find a good bit of loot that seems out of place you would be wise to avoid your exploration instinct and instead move away from the area for it is generally a trap set by a clever mind looking to lure the unsuspecting to an early death in loo of their loots.

*Melee weapons are optimal in zombie situations: Quiet, stealthy, and leaving no light that may be seen while firing a gun, any melee weapon aside from your flashlight would be best in use against the un-dead. Simply go into first person view via the C button or whatever your preference of button is and go to town on cracking skulls.

*Your view creates a major advantage: While traversing the rough area of Colorado you want to generally stay in third person for the ease of view in a large proximity as well as the advantage of spying around corners and over objects in order to get a leg up by means of gathering information on your surroundings. First person view is still useful though in combat situations and a true camera master will seamlessly switch between third and first person views during a fight (usually with bandits) to get the most out of the benefits from the different camera views.

*Nighttime isn’t as scary as it seems: Night may seem scary but if you pay attention to your surroundings it can be your best friend. Zombies have a shorter range before engagement during these hours and other players (nigh those with NVG’s) will not be able to spot you as efficiently. Going into an area to loot at night while having a melee weapon in case of any accidental zombie run ins can provide amazing result so long as attention is paid closely to the surrounding environment and for other players.

*Meds are very useful: Some players don’t bother getting medical supplies but there is a great use for them when in a PvP situation. The 3 most common Meds I find are Antibiotics, bandages, and pain killers. Keeping all 3 on your “hot bar” at all times will make you much harder to kill by a gun toting bandit. This is because if they get a single shot on you from a distance while either escaping or fighting back you may use your bandages/pain killers to heal roughly a fifth of your health or antibiotics to heal nearly all of it at once. I can’t count how many times this tactic has allowed me to run away or even take out bandits who got the drop on me making me nearly invincible so long as I watched my health and had a supply of meds. Keep them close.

Getting By Undetected

One of the biggest mistakes made by the newer and even the older players is being detected by other players while scavenging. This generally leads to death and gives away any element of stealth and or surprise you may have had when you first entered the area. Moving in and out as quietly as possible will get you much further than going in guns blazing.

*Proximity chat must be avoided: Too many times have players entered towns just to yell out “any friendlies?” in proximity chat causing those in the town to immediately be put on guard and if there were a bandit there, to know that another victim is within reach. Proximity chat should be avoided unless within a safe zone.

*Watch your step: Forums have been flooded lately with complaints of death while traveling between towns for no reason. The majority of these can be explained by the current damage system in place for fall damage which seems to be not traveling over a certain spot but instead how fast you move down a area. What looks like a small downward slope may actually be a death trap that will kill you if ran over. The counter to this is to move slowly over these spots and never sprint over them. The following video is one I made after the update of 12/12/12 showing this theory in action. (Note: I cannot yet post links in threads so I will post the video either below or edit the main post when able to)

*Travel Safely: Anyone can run down the middle of a road in a town, but then again anyone can be a bandits next victim. The point here is to move unseen by anyone else who may be near you. To do this, while in towns, take the long way whenever possible. Most people go for weapon spawns and generally ignore the back alleys and run down houses giving you a safer path to your goal. The path less traveled becomes key here.

*Never approach a safe zone directly: Bandits love safe zones, they can pop out, kill you, loot you, and pop back in. How do you remedy this? Take a different approach. Much like while traversing towns and cities, taking the longer way to approach a safe zone form the side will exponentially increase your chance of making it to the safe zone safely as well as cutting back on the chances of being spotted on your way there.

Looting and where to loot

Many places are renowned for their loot drops and rare weapon spawns. These same places are likely to be infested by bandits and survivors all trying to get their hands on these weapons and if you are caught in the middle, life will be short and anything but sweet. Knowing whether an area is safe to loot and how to loot it can mean the difference between a great haul and a pre-mature death.

*Look for warning signs: Gunfire, lack of zombies, random loot where it shouldn’t be, and lack of loot are all signs of other players interacting with an area and are dead giveaways to choosing if you should stay or move on. If there is little loot in 2 consecutive buildings chances are the area has been swept (or is in the process of being) clean by survivors or bandits who want what you want, loot. Finding loot out of place or hearing gunfire or dead giveaways of bandit activity for bandits loving to lure people in with their shots and also leave behind scraps from their victims that they find useless, if this is the case, it is suggested to leave immediately unless looking for a fight. Lastly, be sure to check proximity chat for angered victims for they are the most useful source of information while they curse out their aggressor, you gain a chance to leave undetected.

*Establish loot routes: It is important to establish loot routes through cities that touch every area you wish to check for gear and food as efficiently and quickly as possible in order to avoid contact with bandits and move out before new-comers move in looking for loot or even for you.

*Stealth is your friend: If you find an awesome gun or some first aid supplies, hide before playing with your inventory. Any stationary target in the open is easy prey to other players and zombies alike and will lead to a untimely death that will only benefit your killer.

*Conga lines are like arrows: A conga line is a term for a line of zombies leading out of a town left by a fleeing survivor, this usually means that either they left in a hurry while startled or had looted the area and decided to move on quickly in order to find their next are of loot. The line points to the direction of exit and is a dead giveaway of player interference with the area. Pay close attention to this detail, especially when trying to track or avoid other players.

Decide What is More Fun for You

Some players enjoy playing alone, others in groups, it’s all of course up to you and each has pros and cos alike that also affect your play-style.

*In a group…: While in a group you gain a lot of security, strength in numbers. But beware, all and any stealth abilities are lost to you and you’re group can easily be taken on by a similar or larger sized force or even by a single player who is crafty enough to pick you off, tread lightly. Also, loot is shared and food/water quickly becomes an issue if not properly prepared to move out in numbers.

*Alone…: While alone you are stealthier, quicker, and get all the loot for yourself, perfect right? Aside from missing the company of your friends and gaining experiences to share together at a later time, you become much more vulnerable to groups of bandits and single bandits alike who can take you down if not careful.

Surviving the Games Style

A last note from this guide is how to survive the game itself. What does this mean? Any and all loot you obtain, be prepared to lose. Many factors from terrain, to zombies, to bandits all have the ability to take whatever you have and make it theirs. No loot is truly yours until safely in your global inventory which is only accessible from a safe zone. Be patient and don’t take things too seriously and most importantly have fun and you will succeed. Get emotional about every piece of gear you lose, and you will lose the game.

Please note this is generally made for newer players and draws upon my own experience thus far in The Warz Thanks for your attention and please feel free to add more and I will edit the post for future reference.

More Survival Tips by Infelix13

Here are the best tips for surviving in the warz in my opinion.

-Always make sure to have ample amounts of food and water. Generally your hunger and thirst bar will drain quite quickly and when it gets down to the bottom you will begin to lose health (so technically indirectly you can also eat/drink medical supplies like bandages and antibiotics). Not having food and water will cause a swift and quite painful death.

-When attacking zombies with a melee weapon, always strike them in the head. If you hit their body they will lose no health, only head shots can kill zombies. If you only have a melee weapon try to take on the zombies one at a time by “agro”ing them (make them chase you) one at a time. This will greatly increase your chances of survival when faced with zombies using melee weapons.

-Making friends in the war z is also essential to success. If you have a friend you know in real life these are the best people to group with as you know they are quite trustworthy. It is also highly recommended to group with players in game. Practically all players in the Warz are friendly. Only about 5% are bandits so it is to your advantage to group in game. I would highly recommend going to a safe zone and asking for friendlies to group with in the proximity chat. I have had great success doing this and we have plundered towns as well as taken down bandits together, even as practically complete strangers. The more people in your group, the more likely you as an individual will survive.

-Guns are rare, and you should always utilize them properly when you find them in game. You need to find guns and ammo in order for them to keep using them, so make your shots count! Guns are most useful for killing zombies in the war z, because it makes it easier to loot buildings for even more guns and ammo, so make sure to kill any zombies you see. Don’t forget to shoot them in the head! I would recommend not having guns to defend yourself with PvP as encountering a bandit is quite rare, but it is helpful if you happen to be fired upon by a fellow player. Since about 95% of the player base is friendly, it is rare to have a player fire upon another fellow player. If you find a rare gun of any kind (any sort of sniper rifle especially) the best course of action is to bring it back to the safe zone, only to store it there and never use it again, as this is the only sure fire way you will not lose your gun.

-This brings me to my next point. Hopefully you know this by now, but you lose all of your items on death. This makes for a tense atmosphere in game, especially around zombies, the most dangerous force in the war z by far. Be extremely careful around zombies, because you don’t want to lose all of your items!!! If you see another player you don’t know, it is recommended to run towards them right away. Also, while running toward said player, be sure to keep your best weapon out (if it is a gun, show that. if it is a melee weapon, have it out). This helps the other player to access your current situation to know weather a zombie filled loot area can be taken on, or if you guys are under-equipped. Remember, making friends is the best way to survive in the warz!

More Tips by SavageSteps

I’ve been helping a couple people in game, so I thought I’d make this.

Loot:
If you are looking for guns and are new, here are some good places to check:
Norad
Camp Splinter
Frosty Pines
Ranger Station
Boulder City
Secret Military tents (don’t ask I won’t tell)

Other places:
Any military vehicles i.e. humvees, cop cars, helicopters, etc.
Normal cars, on occasion you might find a gun. Flatbed trucks have higher weapon spawn rates
Houses
Super Markets

At all these areas tread with caution, high chance of hostile players,
honestly don’t even try to friend in this area it is highly unlikely that you’ll befriend someone.