A frying pan, a crowbar or the big old sledge hammer, they all have one thing in common: they are melee weapons. Everyone spawns with one, but what to do with it? In other words: melee weapons, useless or great weapons to fight the horde with?
Zombie Panic! Source has around 14 melee weapons, but the fact that you all swing ‘em, doesn’t mean that they are all very effective. There are a few things that decide how a melee weapon ’swings’:
- the amount of damage it deals;
- the wielding speed;
- the weight, and last but not least;
- the reach.
This might make you think: so what is more important?
What to carry at a certain moment
First of all: there isn’t one general rule. A very fast wielding melee weapon can seem very lethal, but doesn’t always have to be as effective as you might think. The same goes for weapons that deal great amounts of damage, they are not all as effective as some others.
You should keep in mind: fast wielding weapons are generally light weighted weapons that deal small amounts of damage, on the other side: slow wielding weapons are generally heavy, but deal great amounts of damage.
Slow or fast
So what should you do? Carry that fast wielding weapon, or the slow wielding one? This greatly depends on what else you are carrying at that moment. For instance: when you carry a rifle with some extra ammo with you, it is probably not smart to carry a very heavy melee weapon.
First of all, because you won’t need one. Most of the times, the rifle will deal enough damage on its own. So you’ll notice that a melee weapon that deals small amounts of damage is good enough to finish off a zombie.
Secondly, a rifle is already a very heavy weapon that slows you down, when you decide to carry a, let’s say, sledge hammer, you’ll be even more slow. And being awfully slow in ZP:S can be lethal. Therefor: carry a melee weapon that doesn’t weight a whole lot. Like a wooden plank, which weights absolutely nothing.
When you carry a light gun
On the other hand, when you only carry a pistol, or some other light weapon, it can be handy to have a heavy melee weapon. A sledge hammer generally works very well with a pistol. Especially because this hammer deals 75 damage per hit.
Hint – when you carry a shotgun
Keep in mind that it is essential to be as fast as possible when you carry a shotgun. Therefor: don’t carry a heavy melee weapon. Actually, don’t carry one at all. And if you really do want to carry a melee weapon, you should go with the very lightest ones. For instance: the wooden plank which weights nothing.
Your preferation
But paying attention to what you are carrying is one thing, a second thing is what you personally prefer. Basicly it works like this:
- Light weapons deal small amounts of damage and wield very fast. If you prefer to simply bash a zombie very fast, this is your weapon to go with. Also, if you are very good in circle straving a zombie, a light melee weapon works very well too.
- Heavy weapons deal great amounts of damage, but wield very slowly. If you are good at punching and then backing off, this is your weapon to go with.
Action info – circle straving
Circle straving is a great tactic to kill zombies with. The principle is simple: you go close combat with the zombie when you carry a light melee weapon and keep walking around him. The zombie will find it hard to keep up with you and actually manage to hit you. Like this, your capable of killing a zombie rather fast and smooth, without taking too much damage yourself.
If you want to know how much damage a melee weapon deals, how fast it is or how much it weights, you can go here, to our melee weapon page. There you can find all the detailed information.
This was episode 5 of ‘Tip of the week‘. In this section, you’ll be given a handy trick in Zombie Panic, to help you get better at the game
