Killing zombies with weapons in Die2Nite
How do weapons work in Die2Nite? I'm interested in the game mechanics, the manual is a bit terse on that point.
- Do you need APs to kill zombies with them?
- How many zombies can you kill with one?
- How do weapons differ from each other?
- Which weapons are effective, and which should I ignore?
- What are the risks of attacking zombies with weapons?
Solution 1:
Do you need APs to kill zombies with them? No. Caveat: There are town-based weapons that require AP to fire out of the town,but personal weapons are fired at no AP cost.
How many zombies can you kill with one? It varies; some 1 only, some more than one. I think there is a random element with some weapons.
How do weapons differ from each other? I think each have a probability of a successful attack, a probability of failing/breaking and a quasi-random element of damage (i.e. you may kill more or less Zs with similar attacks)
Which weapons are effective, and which should I ignore? The $64k question. The most devastating weapons costs more in terms of resources - resources that may be better used elsewhere. In my limited experienced, the weapons are fairly well-balanced - I haven't discovered a preferred weapon yet.
What are the risks of attacking zombies with weapons? There is a very serious risk that one or more zombies will get hurt! In reality, you won't used weapons until as a last resort when you are trapped. I've never been injured while attacking with a weapon, but I imagine it is possible with certain weapons, but unlike hand-to-hand, I suspect the probability is very low.
Solution 2:
I wish I had a complete answer, but by far the most efficient way to do some hardcore zombie cleansing is:
- liberal amounts of water pistols (three shots each, maximum), and
- the Plumbing epic project, under Foundations, that allows us to refill water based weapons for free.
We're killing an average of 80 zombies per day since we built plumbing, all for practically free :)
This is our map in day 12. Refreshingly zombie free.
Before that the most powerful use of water based weapons may be the water bomb: a plastic bag filled with water with Semtex strapped onto it — costly, but useful when clearing out buildings (~6 kills per bomb).