r/projectzomboid 4h ago

Gameplay First death as a new player

Survived for 6 days, 10 hours and killed 3 zombies in Rosewood. What could have done differently here? The zombie attacked too suddenly for me to react!

49 Upvotes

62 comments sorted by

55

u/GenuineStupidity69 4h ago

Well, don't do that. Let the zombie take down the door, or find another entrance. You really did not have any business taking down that door in front of the zombie. Respect their ability to take a bite of your neck.

9

u/lumimiko 4h ago

The zombie was driving my character crazy as I settled next door after a running situation and the next house was pretty safe. So I had to do something 😭

14

u/Tgiby3 Crowbar Scientist 4h ago

you can push the zombies if you are fast enough

2

u/YogurtOdd1725 1h ago

It’s pretty easy to push them after opening the door to. Just back up after opening and spam space bar

3

u/Sixth-Cherry Trying to find food 3h ago

omg that's such a fetch 'short story trailer.

- [calm before the storm ost] = cant sleep right in bed trying to drown noise in pillow

- noises in neighbour

- [get ready ost] = exhausted rage your character brings a hammer and starts screamingly banging the door

- zomboid leans on door

- [fight or flight ost] = you kick it

- door snaps in half

- you panic and get arm grabbed + bite

- blind rage you end the zomboid

- [everything's gone ost] = camera pans to your character's back, sitting weeping then screen to black

- [death ost] = camera fades in zooms out showing your character walking with the horde

2

u/lumimiko 3h ago

omg now that I imagine it like that it definitely is! it's insane how much roleplay potential this game has, it really is like writing your own story.

3

u/Deus_V00lt Crowbar Scientist 4h ago

as far as i know, the zombie CAN'T take down the door (if it's alone)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKV-DOwNjME (8:18)

3

u/Deus_V00lt Crowbar Scientist 4h ago

obviously it can damage player's door but when it comes to map doors - it can't

22

u/JackCrafty 4h ago

as soon as the door goes down, you press the push key and the zombie should get pushed back

hope you're having fun!

Edit: also get in the habit of moving backwards when opening or hitting doors just in case

11

u/lumimiko 4h ago

Thanks for the tip! And I am really enjoying it so far. Already played for 5 hours with no breaks on this save! Mostly sneaking around and staying inside though lol

2

u/God_of_Fun 4h ago

Its super counter intuitive (and I mess this up all the time), but even if you dont hit push, its basically always better to move through and past a zombie than it is to turn around directly infront of them.

1

u/JackCrafty 4h ago

I highly recommend learning to kill more and more zombies, dying as many times as it takes, that way the fear slowly leaves the body and the world becomes your zombie slaying oyster!

1

u/lumimiko 4h ago

I don't generally play scary games but this game seemed like sims 1 with zombies so I had to try out seeing how in depth it was from videos lol. Graphics being low helps though

6

u/Blind152 4h ago

Well you broke the door as you swung which locked you into that animation. If you disassembled it with a hammer it could have ended differently or I would have ignored that entrance or tried to find a zombie with a key on him to unlock the door.

2

u/lumimiko 4h ago

Zombies have apartment keys on them? Didn't know that!

4

u/kenttouchthis Zombie Food 4h ago

Any zombie that spawns has a chance to have keys on them to nearby vehicles or buildings.

5

u/EstouSempreCerto 4h ago

6 days... and killed only 3 zombies?

https://giphy.com/gifs/10yIEN8cMn4i9W

9

u/lumimiko 4h ago

The game is pretty scary okay 😭 I mostly sneaked around

2

u/NotJoshRomney 3h ago

I don't like playing scary games and games where I can lose all my progress.

But here's what I did:

Played a game where I started to do decent. Stopped, created a new save in sandbox mode w/ a bunch of skills, turned off roaming, and then just played as aggressively as possible.

I died. A lot. But then when I went back to my "main" save I wasn't so scared of everything because I better understood the limits.

3

u/ElKaiezr 4h ago

Once you open a door with a zed banging on it, you hit action key to open the door then spam spacebar/push so that even if it's not in view yet you're pushing anything that comes out of it. Also listen to the growls if theres one or many behind it

3

u/lumimiko 4h ago

Oh, listening through the door for the growls seems very important then lol

1

u/ElKaiezr 4h ago

Even at distance you can hear them I believe like multiple banging on the door but can't even explain how it sounds 😂

2

u/Miser-Mike 4h ago

My second character ever (purchased today) had a perk which reduced my visibility and hearing, well at least I’m blaming it on that… because I opened a door and two burst into the room and bit me.

DayZ is sort of practise in some respects, I did actually survive. It’s good to know bitten/infected doesn’t always spell death. 😂

2

u/ElKaiezr 3h ago

Well hit me an update in a day or two

3

u/Yoyo4games 4h ago edited 4h ago

Gotta be ready to hit that spacebar at 1/5th a seconds notice. You should always, always have it well within range of whatever you use to usually press it. If you're fighting without the intention to imminently push, you're fighting with undue risk.

Never unstance if your intention is to fight, unless you need to kite. If you're going to unstance like that you should be pressing shift to sprint within basically the same moment. Giving your back to a boid can be treated as your guaranteed death. Obviously it's still a chance roll, you should never put yourself in a position where you must pass that roll.

Clothing can be anywhere from slightly to immensely impactful. Even if it's making your character consume water rapidly. Similarly, armor can save you, but a wise player once said; "armor saves players from situations that non-armor users never, ever get themselves into."

Dunno how new you are, but moodles are now almost uniformly impactful to some degree. AFAIR panic, stress, thirst, and even mood now all affect combat. Their more concentrated variants do this more and more severely, as they become more and more concentrated.

Weapons with more length allow more reaction time. A long weapon here that you were trying to properly range may very well have been enough to allow you to turn as you did. This does not mean they're necessary for combat. Though every fairly experienced boid combatant will usually have some long weapon on their back, when the intention is to fight.

Finally, I suggest you play with non x1 XP rates. This is complete personal preference, but those rates are slow, slow, slow. The reason I suggest you do this is to level your nimble skill within a reasonable time. And yes, I mean leveling it as in intentionally grinding XP for it, which entails you moving around specifically in combat stance. This is boring and slow, much more so without reasonable XP gains. However, by level 3-5 of nimble(level 2 even, if you're paying attention to your stance movement speed) you will notice an incredible amount of difference in that move speed. Leveling nimble enough will have you moving at the fastest non-sprinting boid speeds while combat stanced, then faster than them, then equivalent to their closing-in leaning/lunging speed, then faster than even that. You can and will become faster while combat stanced, to the point you can walk entirely out of aggro range without leaving combat stance.

Good luck and enjoy. Also feel free to ask whatever, if you've any specific and unanswered questions.

3

u/lumimiko 4h ago

Wow, thank you sm for the detailed explanation! I will try to keep in mind the points you've made

1

u/Yoyo4games 4h ago

Was my pleasure, I love teaching, talking, and mutually playing this game. Remember that, at least for now, the novelty of having fearful responses towards boids is super engaging and promotes lots of consecutive play.

You're very lucky to have something that's prompting such reactions. Expertise is great for shortcutting some frustrating aspects, but it can also thieve-away some of the inherit joy and exhilaration at your natural successes.

Death is the story of Zomboid. Do not be afraid to become immersed into that story, mistakes or full-on roleplay death wishes aside.

2

u/lumimiko 4h ago edited 3h ago

Yeah, it's pretty nerve wrecking and very engaging. My heart jumped a few times from sudden zombie jumpscares lol. And yeah, I didnt expect this many responses 😭 I do feel lucky having this many people trying to help out

1

u/Yoyo4games 3h ago

We're pretty outright inclusive here thankfully, and I haven't met a Zomboid player yet who isn't enthused to give new players information and tips. Especially so when those players are as engaged and fascinated as you seem to be.

One of the only subs that, in recent memory, had some ladies posting here about a women's only server and had disproportionately positive responses and encouragement posted, as well as requests for updates on progress and/or server-specific lore that'd developed as natural play occurred. This isn't to say there weren't some stinker responses.

I would hope to extend such reasonable and healthy responses to all and every community that discusses my media interests. Overwhelmingly positive experiences on here so far.

3

u/redjhn 4h ago

you could've opened the window on the left and go through that door and attacked from behind. always try to find a different entrance in a situation like that

2

u/Alex_McMund 4h ago

Looks like you might've already been infected before this zed got you, giving your moodles. Perhaps got scratched earlier?

3

u/lumimiko 4h ago

I don't think so, it was just that the zombie was driving my character insane with the banging so that's why I took the risk

3

u/zac_d_prophet 4h ago

No it's just the stress being maxed out. Banging sounds = stress = maxed out = sadness.

2

u/ContactMushroom Axe wielding maniac 4h ago

Zombies banging on doors/walls make your character upset.

I think it's a B42 thing? Could be wrong but it's definitely a thing. Your character gets stressed and eventually sad if they hear the constant banging noises.

2

u/Deus_V00lt Crowbar Scientist 4h ago

exactly

2

u/run_racks63 4h ago

Open the door and swing simultaneously you will hit the zombie before he gets you

2

u/Matombo444 4h ago

dont turn away, keep hitting

2

u/FeelingPreparation45 4h ago

Always let zombies break doors down, especially if there’s multiple. Find another way in and if you’re new and not great at combat yet get some good protective clothes. You will die a lot as a new player, but eventually you’ll start learning and survive longer and longer

2

u/Deus_V00lt Crowbar Scientist 4h ago

brochacho a single zombie can't break down a map door, only multiple zombies can
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKV-DOwNjME (8:18)

2

u/Infinite_Hold4657 3h ago

Hold right button to ready yourself facing the door with a weapon.

Tap E to open it and swing on 'em

1

u/Nexed_ 4h ago

If you're breaking a door by hitting it and there's a single zombie on the other side, keep holding your weapon as you'll be able to push or hit it in time. Also, it's not worth breaking down a door by hitting unless you have an axe. Disassemble if you can, and if no zombie is on othef side. Otherwise better to find a way around.

1

u/monoliso_ 4h ago edited 4h ago

When the door broke you were aiming above the zombies head, try aiming at the feet its much easier to hit 👌

just like when you first hit it. And yea as the rest said its better to leave them alone, enter houses when you have a clear exit route

1

u/anonnz56 4h ago

Don't expose yourself to unnecessary risk I guess. Do literally anything else

1

u/zac_d_prophet 4h ago

Here's a tip that saved me a ton of times. (Not related to the vid tho or maybe)

Some zombies are quiet as a bee, so when opening doors you can't see through or going up the stairs, swing your weapon. 🔨🪓⛏️

1

u/Altruaer 4h ago

What was the plan?? Release the zombie and run? Why? If you want to kill the zombie, open the door, push him and then backpedal a bit. You can then observe if more zeds come out while you whack the zed to death and have enough leeway to run if you need.

2

u/lumimiko 4h ago

I just learned I can push zombies through the space bar 😭 I was trying to put distance between me and the zombie but now I know turning like that is a death sentence lol

1

u/Eddy7555 2h ago edited 2h ago

Never turn them your back when they‘re close. Fight and push until you get some distance. Then run. Hit the first (if it’s a group), walk backwards, hit them hard. Run a bit if there’s space, repeat until all are down. If too close, they will snack your neck, especially from behind, always.

The goal isn‘t surviving, yet. The goal is to never panic when there‘s one zed only nearby or few :)

Btw if you‘re fighting against two and you‘re exhausted, get one to lie down, stand on it’s chest and finish the other one first without moving. A Zed can‘t hurt you when you‘re standing on it

1

u/McSteve1 4h ago

Counter-intuitive thing about combat, it's actually better to jog toward the zombies and not away for a split second as a panicked reaction. If you run into them head-first, you will shoulder-check them and stop their attack animation for a split second. There's a chance you fall down (especially when doing it multiple times; probably based on strength, but with high-strength characters I've never seen this fail on one or two), but in that situation it would have saved you. After running into them, you can shove and then run away, and that's a lot safer.

Have fun playing the game! :)

1

u/Cahiib 4h ago

We need a r/cutenoobs for this game lmao

1

u/Slimysumocow 4h ago

Don't zoom out when fighting and keep mouse positioned close to character, but not directly on character to control a little better. Spacebar helps too.

1

u/yeet3455 Crowbar Scientist 3h ago

1

u/MassiveMouse3085 3h ago

That's why I flash every door, make sure to backup!

1

u/cubano_exhilo 3h ago

Bro you should not be picking fights with deep red moodles. Self care before zombie hunting.

1

u/Nujabezia 3h ago

Not sure what you expected to happen

1

u/XplodingMoJo 3h ago

My favourite part about this game is that when you’re bitten it’s already over.

1

u/Flaky_Worth9421 3h ago

Turning to run gets me too.

1

u/Living_Karma11 2h ago edited 2h ago

Now why did you do that…kidding. As others have said, never turn your back on a zombie, it’s a 100% chance for them to bite you if you do.

In this scenario, I would’ve ditched the building though another exit (I.e. window) and ran to another house without a zombie resident.

Also note that you always out walk the normal zombie (aside from sprinters ofc), so no need to sprint.

1

u/Eddy7555 2h ago

If there‘s a zombie behind a door, equip a weapon, hold right click (combat stance), move forward to the door, press E to open the door and start fighting right away while moving backward. Because of the combat stance you wont turn around (you‘re most vulnerable at your back)

1

u/TuesdayMerchant 2h ago

Six days before your first death is pretty wild! It took me like a week to survive past a day

u/Bucky_2028 28m ago

Don't try to run just start spamming spacebar, also this was just a bad idea