Project Zomboid Melee Weapons Guide! A Beginner's Guide To Choosing A Weapon In Project Zomboid!

[@Whazzar]

The execution animation with knifes can only be executed when there are no zombies in a certain radius around you

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Yeah, shoulda mentioned that! Similar to spears in that regard. Basically just keeps you from getting monched.

[@TheMitu97]

As someone who uses knifes a lot, knife execution seems to not work as long as there is more than one zombie aggro'ed on you, even if it's really far away, which can be really annoying. You can sometimes do a stab kill from behind if there is one zombie aggro'ed on you as long as the one you're trying to kill doesn't see you. But two or more zombies disables knife stabs completely. Spears are a bit more forgiving in that regard, their execution only checks for zombies around, meaning you can have a lot zombies chasing you, but as long as they're spread out, you can one-shot each of them.

[@amcoops]

I find knife execution works 100% of the time when you wait for the zombie to lean in for a bite, risky but flawless when you have the knack.

[@TheMitu97]

@@amcoops It is indeed a good strategy, which works best with higher nimble skill. Wait for a zombie to miss a bite, then finish it off with jaw stab.

[@sarunasjadzgevicius3633]

that are on you. If you have 3 zombies around you that havent seen you, you can still do an execution

[@ZDninja]

Crowbars have always been my favorite, plus never know when you might need it to pick up some flooring or break into a boarded up building

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Hell yeah. Becomes even more useful with the Better Lockpicking mod!

[@feero9680]

Just carry a hammer to unbarricade them lmao

[@KrullKama]

@@MrAtomicDuck it’s even better with more traits mod, Gordanite, long blunt specialty, and hardy means that I don’t really get winded swinging for the fences

[@SodapopKevin]

While the damage is only average the durability is insane, a crowbar will last you ages which means you need to spend less weight on a back up weapons. The fact that it's also a multi-use tool is just gravy on top.

[@Lavenderlore1043]

I think the Fisherman occupation should have a plus to spears. Spear fishing is common in many parts of the world, and I've spear fished myself, and I can tell you when it hits the mark, it's insanely effective.

[@ZetaPrime9699]

Since the game is set in Kentucky, I doubt most American fishermen would have direct experience of spearfishing

[@lancecanada4032]

@@ZetaPrime9699 are americans stupid? lol

[@k3x7z]

I would like to crit sea bass in my free time yes

[@apierce4565]

​@@ZetaPrime9699its the most basic kind of fishing, and a common wilderness survival tactic. in a rural area like kentucky? itd be not super common sure, but itd be known

[@forward4703]

​@@ZetaPrime9699you'd be surprised how many experienced fisherman would dabble in spearfishing if just for fun

[@morgansmith1529]

Tip: Crafted spear durability scales with your Carpentry perk, so better Carpentry = Better Spears!

[@radscorpion8]

WHAT that's amazing!! The spear durability seems low in general that is great to hear

[@ShacolateClown]

does maintance work with it aswell? i had 7 carpentery and my spears would only last 4-5 hits :/ carpentry 7 maintance 2 so not sure if that takes a role in it aswell

[@theLemonize]

​@@ShacolateClownits max at carp 4 which is when all the spears you craft have full durabilty. For maintance, its really important to have at least 4-5 before using it. That can easily double the uses of the speaar

[@duende29]

No mention of weapon weight. Weight translates directly to how much endurance each swing costs. So swinging an Axe (3.0) costs 3 times more endurance than swinging a Hammer (1.0) or twice than a Shovel (1.5). Hitting the Moderately Exerted moodle imposes 50% damage reduction, forcing a retreat, therefore lighter weapons let you stay longer in fights. Stabbing Short Blades also got a endurance cost reduction on top of being light which makes it extremely hard to get exerted when using them. Heavy Weapons like the Wood Axe got endurance cost augmentation, making them cost even more to swing than what their weight would suggest.

[@MTKRAILROAD]

Wow, I've been using the wood axe a lot as it was what I had and getting pushed back a lot. I should start using my crowbars and baseball bats

[@everinghall8622]

​@@MTKRAILROAD screwdriver, hobo build op

[@GetAssista]

Knives are insane if you have some weapon and nimble skill points. No other weapon lets you kill 30-50 zeds wthout breaking a sweat. Except firearms, but we dont talk about firearms

[@uhtred7860]

@@GetAssista Ive just started playing, found a cop car with a shotgun and a pistol in the back, SCORE! started blazing away in the middle Muldraugh.....it cost me dearly. Lesson learn't.

[@TheCerealkiller148]

the best option you have if you use a machete is to attach it to a spear. You cannot repair machetes, BUT if you attach it to a spear, use it until its low condition, and then take it off and attach it to a fresh crafted spear, it'll have good condition again. edit: wtf happened in the replies

[@phattran4200]

You can repair machete

[@rafitohornero3850]

We can repair machete. In the new update version.

[@Hijkaq]

@@rafitohornero3850 should prob check when the comment was made lmao

[@araknas3981]

@@Hijkaq Doesn't really matter, because there are people watching the video today and tomorrow as well. Just reading the original comment, they would be getting information that's no longer relevant.

[@fargoth391]

@@Hijkaq should prob get your brain checked lmao

[@Sotanaht01]

You should mention the Wood Axe. Like the sledgehammer, it's NOT recommended for fighting. However, that's something of a blessing in disguise because it means you can set aside any Wood Axes you find for the sole purpose of chopping wood, and they are damn good at it, leaving all other axes for zombie killing. A single Wood Axe WITHOUT repairs will likely be enough for all but the most ambitious mega-projects or extreme long-term survival, you can fell huge swathes of forest without even spending a quarter of the durability, and that's with basically no skill in Maintenance. The crafted Stone Axe might also deserve a mention. It's significantly more durable than a crafted spear (while it only has 5 durability, it only loses durability 20% of the time, vs 50% for a spear), a bit less damaging but far easier to craft than anything but the basic sharp stick. Not a first choice, but a good option if you ever run out of real axes. Also on the subject of spears, you really should mention how crafted spears break. If a spear with machete (for example) breaks, the Machete itself also breaks. The spear will also inherit the machetes durability percentage (while still keeping the lower max durability of a crafted spear), so you can't even use this system to get some life out of a nearly broken weapon. The result is that you should absolutely never make a spear with machete, as it's a horrible waste of a much more valuable weapon. Stick to common weapons like bread knifes, screwdrivers etc if you are going to use crafted spears, or just stick to the base sharpened stick.

[@dapper3607]

"The result is that you should absolutely never make a spear with machete, as it's a horrible waste of a much more valuable weapon." This is wrong. You can use a machete with a spear indefinitely as long as you have enough duct tape and wood glue to repair the spear. Repairing the spear with machete on will also repair the machete. Even though the machete cannot be normally repaired with things like wood glue. There are diminishing returns on repairs on items. Second, third repair won't be as effective as the first repair. This can be solved by reclaiming the machete from the spear. Then reattaching it the spear again. Keep in mind the spear must NOT be broken when doing this or else the machete will appear as broken. Recrafting the spear counts the weapon as never repaired, and thus you can infinitely repair a machete spear as long as you have duct tape and wood glue without diminishing returns. Machete spears also have much better durability than hunting knife spears for example. Personally i would rank the machete spear as the best weapon in the game. As it swipes really quickly, deals loads of damage, has the longest range of any weapon and crits very often. Zombies are usually killed in 1-2 hits with it. Ofc it's a type of weapon you use sparingly for large groups of zombies. Keep in mind the trick with reattaching the machete to the spear also works to reset repair count on the machete as well. Which can be useful if you are not using spears.

[@Mediocre_Mentality]

@@dapper3607 Critical info. Thanks.

[@governmentghost01]

You can repair machetes

[@Purpliscolor]

On a mp server and been running with a spear with machete for almost my entire time there, with the spear levels that thing clears hordes easily and can be used forever with enough tape and glue

[@yeeaabooii9135]

​@Purpliscolor there is a mod that increases the durability of spears also if you don't have it.

[@michalh.4188]

i need too mention that Spears can stab (if Its wire fence) zombies on the other side So if you wanna grind spear somewhere Safe this Is an option

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Holy shit I did not know this

[@TheMitu97]

Knifes can do that as well, it is useful in some areas where zombies cannot pathfind to your position

[@DIVAD291]

You can grind a lot of weapons safely by using the fact that zombies can't go over water but you can hit them across it. You need to find those half tiles(triangular ones) and build a floor next to it so that one corner connects with land but all the sides are just touching water. kinda like this if that makes sense: [] [] /][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][\ You can even loot them safely by grabbing their corpses across the water. The main problem is that they don't path towards you which you can solve by going to the 2nd floor but it's kind of a pain to do.

[@michalh.4188]

@@DIVAD291 hey thats acctually pretty usefull thanks for sharing it as i did with the spear can Attack zombies over the wire fence method

[@alecu5885]

choosing? bro i play with what i find

[@nwreop]

😂

[@danktrain6572]

Nah u gotta choose wisely lol, if u can that is

[@SirCagalasGG]

Me too bro, I like to play with long blunt but I found an axe and clear 3 warehouses that had 3 more axes and no crowbars lol

[@adriannepaulino5671]

Lol true especially if you play sandbox with melee being rare

[@danktrain6572]

@@SirCagalasGG same here, played crowbar till the maintenance skill is high enough, then switched to the immense amount of axes i aquired through the months

[@Allicrocogator]

Thank you for the well-organized information! I'm new to the game and I'm learning as much as I can. This channel is great!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Glad to help! Good luck out there.

[@justanotherguy1122]

Oh, make sure to soak in as much info as possible. Here's a tip: You can sterilize bandages in hot water, simply boil water using an oven or campfire, and put the bandages inside. The bandages will be sterilized, preventing infection and making them heal faster.

[@justanotherguy1122]

@WingOfRedemption You talking to me?

[@cassu6]

I know that finding information and the meta is so important these days, but honestly if you’re new you should just take it at your own pace and learn on your own. So much more rewarding

[@justanotherguy1122]

@@cassu6 Alright, fair enough, but not everyone plays that way. Some people like getting tips online before starting, while others prefer learning as they go.

[@nickhelmer]

one additional advantage to the pickaxe over the regular axe is that the pickaxe can't be used as a tool to chop trees, so it is exclusively a weapon and you don't have to worry about ruining your tools to a lesser extent this applies to the hand axe too, as it can be a tree chopper in a pinch, but it is so much less effective than the regular axe that it is also less of a concern

[@quinnlee-miller9792]

Handaxes with Lumberjack may as well be a wood chipper; they’re easy enough to find and don’t use as much stamina as the big bois, and survival axes can be found regularly on zeds. I like to use both at higher ranks depending on where i go

[@Eighthplanetglass]

I go for the crowbar in vanilla, but I do love that salvaged crowbar. It is so fast!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Ah the Scrap Weapons mod!

[@epicboomshine6595]

At first I kind of dismissed the crowbar, since it was slow and exhausting, but when you get adjusted to how it works and a few long blunt levels, it can really carry you for a long while. One trait mod I play even buffs them, with a trait called Gordonite, buffing all crowbars with extra damage, speed, and durability.

[@siluss]

I actually usually build around crowbars with more traits, with just 3 long blunt levels i can absolutely annihilate zombies in just 2-3 hits, and because of gordonite it swings faster so those 2 hits are even faster ​@@epicboomshine6595

[@TVX-SabersPlus]

So I've been playing for about 8 months now, and I often enjoy watching your videos if I have any questions about how the game works. Keep up the work you make good content!

[@darkninjacorporation]

I’ve been using crowbars for non-themed survivors (police, firemen, etc). Ever since I was a kid and I read Max Brooks’ Zombie Survival Guide (my absolute favorite book back then) which had a whole chapter speaking on which melee weapons would be most effective in a zombie apocalypse and coming to the conclusion that a Crowbar is the best choice for all-around utility, zombie killing, and durability. Seeing this translate perfectly to Zomboid makes me immensely happy, I definitely believe the developers must have enjoyed the ZSG as much as I did, and I feel that carrying it is like a tribute or reference to the book.

[@WilliamTheMovieFan]

I think the spear with screwdriver attached is a pretty good upgrade to the basic spear. You can find screwdrivers everywhere and it gives great minimum damage and has one of the longest ranges of other attached items. It gives a little better durability and does more damage to doors. Only the machete is better and the screwdriver attachment is the screwdriver is the same or better than the knife attachment in some ways. Personally I like the machete and knife as hand weapons and there are tons of screwdrivers out there!

[@koalatux5949]

Be careful when using short blades. Sometimes you character will decide to "execute" a zombie as you are fighting a hoard and your character will get stuck in the execute animation usually resulting in your death.

[@vili4594]

In build 41 the game checks for zeds nearby, and if the game sees zeds, it will not roll for a jawstab

[@koalatux5949]

@@vili4594 Yessir, but it is not guaranteed. Its happened to me a handful of times. They have hotfixed the game a ton in the last 4 months so It could be fixed by now.

[@vili4594]

@@koalatux5949 oh I agree, the game's check used to be somtimes incorrect in the past, and I might or might not be salty about my death cuz of that

[@Noronen13777]

Haven't had that but you can lose a knife in a zombie.

[@eduardotrillaud696]

Nice video, as it's usual from you! Couple of notes I can add, from my game experience. I'm playing latest stable version (41.71): -Maybe is my Maintenance level or maybe I'm not being aware of how much zombies I've killed with it, but I find the Garden fork has not that good Durability (to make things further complex, Durability is two things in this game). -I've found Bats more often in zombie corpses than wardrobes. -Bats and Crowbars don't have the same Durability. When they get damaged they do suffer the same damage, but the Damage chance (the possibility of getting damaged) is quite higher for the Bat than the Crowbar. -Axes (fire, lumber and hand ones) are quite common, one good place (for both axes and any weapons) are Survivor houses (those you can find barricaded from the outside). Not only good for splitting logs and zed's heads, also for doors - even those Warehouse steel curtains - more than Crowbars. -Spears can one-shot not only on the Impale animation, but the Bashing too. Long Blunt is King, but I'm starting to make friends with the Nightstick and the Hand axe, due to that sweet ability to carry a bag in the back and another in the offhand. Spears are OP, but without some levels in Maintenance they get broken fast. As regards Blade, I've only found of any use the Cleaver and the Machete, even the Hunting knife I just don't get to master it good enough to kill in two stabs, maybe I'm more like the Barbarian style LOL

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Thanks dude! Yeah I chose to omit the durability chance stat from this to keep it simple for people, but maybe I shoulda mentioned it. Good notes! :)

[@eduardotrillaud696]

@@MrAtomicDuck I know Durability is quite a complicated matter, but it's important too, cause it's the diference of the weapon breaking in your hands or not. Also, I use the Def's Long term survival, which allows you to retrieve the axe heads, making new handles, and reinforcing the Bat with Duct tape, giving you an almost new Bat from a heavily worn one, at the cost of 3 Duct tape

[@huntersuper98]

@@MrAtomicDuck The only issue is that this will heavily confuse new players and likely get them killed while playing. When you say something like the crowbar and bat having the same durability while technically true it's not really the case in practice. Some players are gonna pick up a crowbar, use it for awhile see it lasts a long time and try and do the same with a bat. Also mentioning things like making a spiked bat while increasing it's damage also lowers it's effective durability are important things to mention.

[@Water-rg7gp]

there are a few types of players that use a few types of weapons, i personally use whatever is most readily available at the time so ill usually end up fighting with pans early game and using axes and crowbars into the late game

[@daxidol1447]

Don't forget to change your player shout to "Stop resisting!" if you're using the nightstick.

[@Elite02k]

😂😂🤣🤣

[@ralcogaming7674]

For riot it's "get back" which I take as a challenge of how fast I can yell it.

[@WrenchInThePlan]

I think it should be noted that hunting and kitchen knives seem to start appearing impaled in zombies after about 10 or so days have passed (I think after the world starts, not a survivor’s life). Screwdrivers, scissors, butter knives, and other weak weapons appear from the start.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

It's random, not related to how much time has passed.

[@timothykarlsson3126]

@@MrAtomicDuck Actually, some time does have to pass, this goes for many weapons such as katana and crowbars. If you look up the weapon on wiki you can see how many days need to pass before they can start appearing stabbed into zombies. Though, for the hunting knife it just says "after some time has passed". The crowbar however is 10 days while the katana is 60 days.

[@Tuck213]

Certainly happy to hear which classes give xp bonuses to these weapons. I've never build a character around a weapon type before but I think it would be very fun to cut down zombies with a high level in axes.

[@hypotheticalsinglewoody]

Great vid! I would suggest having the video show an example of what you’re saying. Ie with the knife execution.

[@Jinars.]

I personally use the basic spear. It's extremely cheap to make (chipped stone + plank/tree branch) and has a good crit chance and I carry around 12 of them when going looting because they break easily and you quickly get rid of their weight. I prefer to save the duct tape for repairing axes, knives, cars etc.

[@Kitkat-986]

Adding a screwdriver is a nice upgrade, they're reasonably common. Just hit a warehouse and load up with like 10 rolls of duct tape and you won't have to worry about it for a while.

[@KnownNiche1999]

3:40 Crowbars have a lot more durability than baseball bats

[@kingofbengland]

Interesting to find out about the pickaxe, I'll have to see if I've found one and give it a go. I do wonder though if, when an update rolls out, zombies can respawn in areas I'm pretty sure I've previously cleared, a while back, in a world where I've turned their normal respawning off. I suspect yes, but can't find much about it and I've been reminded to turn off auto updates.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Zombies won't respawn if you've turned that off, but it won't stop them moving around. Likely just filled in the gaps whilst you were gone :)

[@RageyRage82]

I keep saving your videos to my playlist for PZ tutorials. Incredibly useful I formation! I am a new player since this new year, so any bit of knowledge is useful. Thanks!

[@robertcassidy9220]

I think there's an important omission here. You say that baseball bat and crowbar have the same durability. Sorta. Both have a max durability of 15, but what is almost always overlooked (because it's not prominent on the wiki) is the ConditionLowerChanceOneIn value, which governs the die roll that determines when durability drops. The crowbar has a ConditionLowerChanceOneIn value of 70, which is by far the highest in the game. But the baseball bat is 20. So, that 15 durability for a crowbar means an average of 1050 hits before a full quality one breaks, while for the baseball bat, it's only 300. As your skills goes up so does the ConditionLowerChanceOneIn value, so at L10 maintenance and L10 long blunt, you get ConditionLowerChanceOneIn value of 84 for the crowbar, and ConditionLowerChanceOneIn of 34 for the baseball bat. The other benefit to crowbar is that maintenance only levels when your weapon *doesn't* take damage, which means that crowbar levels maintenance faster than any other weapon in the game. This is particularly beneficial if you start with crowbar and transition later to weapons that are more likely to lose durability like katana/machete and to guns, because the higher maintenance pays a lot of benefits to those rarer weapons. Crowbar may be the only weapon in the game that can produce drops off of zombies faster than the crowbar degrades at a high enough skill/maintenance, essentially making it a renewable resource. Hunting knives may as well if you game the critical hit chances. So if you keep an eye on the weapons stuck in zombies and are reasonably good with looting, you should always gain crowbars. You'll probably need to find 2-3 of them up front until you level up enough (roughly L6), so hit up a warehouse as soon as possible.

[@aloneguy8527]

i think game's code says guns durability and chance to lose condition is only affected by firearm skill and maintenance doesn't do anything to them ; i could be wrong tho

[@Mediocre_Mentality]

So helpful. Thank you.

[@oneman2768]

In both my solo and multiplayer runs I like to keep a knife on my belt at all times so I can tear up some clothing and as a last resort weapon. It's mostly last resort because doing the knife instant kill animation sometimes has a chance of despawning the corpse immediately after stab, which is really inconvenient if your knife happens to get stuck in the corpse when it decides to despawn. I lost like 3 hunting knives on the same day during one of my sessions.

[@knightshousegames]

My favorite loadout right now is running Axe on back, Nightstick and knife on belt Axe as main wig splitter, Nightstick for if I find someone with gear I want, knife for sneeki breeki. I learned the hard way about relying on a single weapon loadout when I got knocked over in a fight and dropped my only weapon and had to run for it until I could grab a pan or something from my backpack to fight my way back to my axe. That was when I realized belt attaching one handed weapons was worth it. I always take carpenter, brawler, and fast learner, since I am totally melee focused and never use guns. I've sadly never found any of the legendary long blades. But I wish there was european swords as choices, and not just the overrated Katana. I want to bust out a longsword and end some zombies rightly.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Always good to have multiple options!

[@SimplyJustRed]

They'd have to add a pummel unscrewing mechanic for those swords for you to truly end your opponents rightly.

[@jesusgarza9772]

If it was the 90s and a zombie apocalypse broke out, it already be uncommon to find a katana that is likely to cut well. But Dojos are a thing and some 90s weebs might have some. But a longsword? Shit, we didn't even use those state-side when they were effective. You MIGHT find ONE in a museum that is good enough to cut. But you gotta remember Katanas and cutlasses have always been better in unarmored combat due to their slicing nature. It'd be worse at fighting zombies is what im saying and more rare to find

[@gazalpreetsingh4547]

I've had luck with the 'lucky' trait. Just yesterday I hit a barricaded gas station and found 2 machetes and a bunch of other goodies.

[@MonkeyPower55]

I find shovels to be the best over all melee weapon in the game. They are easy to find, durable, do good damage, and has the range of a spear without being as fragile or locking you in place with the spears kill animation.

[@johnx140]

Yorick approves of this.

[@Kitkat-986]

I love my spears, but they aren't ideal against large hordes. For that, I use guns, machetes and axes if I can find them, baseball bats and crowbars if I can't.

[@officer_friendly_]

Charles

[@raiyiar]

lots of useful information in an easily accessible format! nice :)

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Glad it was helpful!

[@didelphidae5228]

As realistically the best melee option in a zombie scenario, I hope spears get more love in the future instead of just being glass cannons.

[@NoobtuberFan]

spears being the best weapon in the game by far: o_0

[@mee091000]

@@NoobtuberFan They aren't though lol

[@mee091000]

Eh... I know that there a crowd of weapon enthusiasts out there that practically worship spears. But this is a hard nah from me. A spear would definitely not be the best weapon in a Zombie Apocalypse. It's large and somewhat clunky. I don't like using that word because of how often it is overused these days. But compared to something like a knife, katana, nightstick, and etc. it honestly is. Regardless you cannot use a spear in all situations. It would only be effective at killing one Zombie at a time. While also only being able to dispatch Zombies in a singular way. By stabbing them in the head. But every Zombie you encounter will not have an unprotected enough head. Odds are your Wooden Spear is not even going to make it through a plastic helmet. You will not be able to remove the spear from one Zombie head to next fast enough in every situation. You could not use the weapon outside of midrange combat. Etc. Attaching a Machete to a Wooden Spear in real life. Would resort in an objectively worse weapon against Zombies than it was prior to putting it on. A Machete is a tool for slicing not stabbing. The reason that it is so good at slicing is because you can put your entire arm into the swing. If you were to attach that to wooden stick it's not going to be effective like a Naginata. You would lose far more cutting power than if you were to just swing it with your arms. And you'd use more stamina.

[@Jedi_Vigilante]

@@mee091000 From a game point of view, spears are not that great. From a realistic point of view, spears would be one of the best weapons in nearly any situation. Spears are generally fairly light for their length, meaning you aren't carrying a ton of extra weight around with you constantly just to have the advantage of reach. Spears can also double for a lot of other purposes, like a long lever, a staff to fight closer in, even as a walking stick. Two of them can also be used to create a makeshift stretcher. They wouldn't be much help in a close environment like a hallway or a room with a lot of furniture, but that is true of anything arm length or more. Spears are one of the easiest weapons to learn how to use effectively, and there is a lot of room to grow. There is a reason that spears were the weapon of choice in medieval times when equipping militia. Cheap to make, easy to train, effective in combat. Finally, another reason spears would be effective is their reach allows situations like safe-range stabbings. Say you are on top of a car roof, or a low balcony, or some other altitude advantage. Using something like a machete in that situation is still pretty dangerous. Stabbing downward over and over with a spear not so much. Like I said, spears probably aren't the best from a game mechanics perspective, as they'd need a lot more programming to serve all of those purposes. Also, if games were accurate about the difference in difficulty of use between spears and swords, swords would never be fun, so that won't work. Still, it would be nice to see them get a little buff to make them worthwhile. When their main use is as an xp farm, the balance is clearly a little off.

[@mee091000]

@@Jedi_Vigilante Even outside of mechanics spears are not as effective as you think. You are not being backed up by like 20-30 dudes in plate armor against other humans that can be killed or crippled with a single stab. You are probably out of shape with a cheap wooden stick and have not killed anything with a spear in your life. Let a human being. Up against the living dead or infected. Lol I don't care what you that stick is capable of. It isn't and I have VERY high doubts that would even be able to utilize half it's potential.

[@pokedude104]

I found going into a new save with debug mode and just trying out all the different weapons to practice is a good way to learn if you're not up to putting a long surviving character at risk.

[@kahlzun]

How do you get debug Mode?

[@flashpunk7333]

​@@kahlzun in the game shortcut properties type "-debug" at the end of the target box

[@pphg5625]

Been playing PZ for a while now but I still learned some useful stuff from this thank you MrAtomicDuck 👍

[@paxton_wulgus]

Crowbar is goated, largely because of how common they are. Pickaxe is great damage while still being somewhat common. Machete is fantastic damage but very rare. Nightstick is a good backup weapon.

[@negan2128]

i love the nightstick so much

[@MrAtomicDuck]

My man got it all planned out!

[@eduardotrillaud696]

@@negan2128 quite common, hits hard, doesn't break easily, and lets you carry a bag in your offhand

[@PlasmaticMink]

They should add scabbards to the game so you can have a sword at your hip, they have holsters for guns which is basically the same thing. It would also give you a reason to wear a single gun holster over a double, because you might want a scabbard in that slot.

[@kahlzun]

Yeah but how often will you realistically find a scabbard in 90s Kentucky?

[@PlasmaticMink]

@@kahlzun Don't need to find one if you can make it

[@galloviking4766]

Spears have always been my favorite (one shot and ease of making), but I've started to appreciate the high durability of crowbars.

[@everinghall8622]

Give a short blade build a serious try. The low end drain makes overweight/underweight builds a breeze. Low weight and can kill lone zombies easily, seems to have good ground attacks too, but it could be my imagination. Of course short blunt is still #1

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

Cheers for the mod lists. I have decided to sail the seas of moddingness.

[@josephphelps5213]

Good video. I'm just starting out and this is immediately helpful information.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

My pleasure!

[@Oroberus]

The best allround strategy is actually using different loadouts/setups, depending on what you're going out to do If you're just out to clear a block or the surroundings of a poi, take a bunch of spears and a back up long. As you're just there to make dead corpses, available carry weight doesn't matter If you're out to clear and loot a POI, take a long blunt (preferably the crowbar due to it's high durability) and a backup short sharp (for sneaky backstabs)

[@ndpndntvar]

great stuff dude, earned a sub, donor. Love this kind of stuff on youtube, reminds me of the old days.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Awesome, thank you! Glad to be of service.

[@cichoriumintybus4637]

You can also craft a single handed axe, which means, the handaxe being the sole option is actually not true. Your points while you talked about spears basically applies to those as well.

[@notsofrenow8740]

That's wrong. The stone axe must be held in two hands for its full power.

[@regicidalnut]

Butter knife is best knife and I'll accept no arguments

[@cannedcream]

Minor thing, but baseball bats can also be pretty reliably found in bars, as well.

[@ChromeSalt]

you can find the pickaxe fairly often in roadwork areas and accidents.

[@artemtolstobrov236]

Thank you very much! You are great man!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Glad it helped!

[@BobbyTheBrogod]

It’s nice to get a couple levels in short blunt. Can’t tell you how many times my main weapon breaks and my trusty hammer saves the day!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Hell yeah, and it's usually something you have on your person too!

[@everinghall8622]

Plus short pipes, pans, such are all over the place.

[@gorgeouszan]

I played this game for 6 months before I realized Hammers make pretty good weapons XD I viewed them as such an essential tool for the entirety of the game that my sole train of thought was I need to find a hammer to use for building/disassembling and that's it. Nevermind that Hammers are pretty plentiful, you're going to find at least one in virtually every garage in the game and you only need the one for crafting.

[@ThePrinceOfSpace413]

May be mistaken on this is I'm still new, but I was told by veteran players that Spears are actually connected to your carpentry as opposed to maintenance skill when it comes to condition

[@jacobiehartie4602]

Been rocking the night stick and machetes in my latest run

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Nightstick OP! The choice of true chads

[@Nukinator]

the real breadwinner of Lumberjacks axes is that you can just start getting that juicy maintenance going early on by crafting an ass ton of stone axes until you find a fireaxe. Handaxes become a night time weapon while the other hand is reserved best for a flashlight. if you plan to power level maintenance and just can't find an Axe or Wood Axe to start, 20 stone axes, a dream, and maintenance grind makes it all complete. also easy foraging xp; you needed those chipped stones and tree branches anyway. doesn't hurt you in the long run to have all these hand made ready to dispose tool/weapons.

[@mrnuckle9584]

for the machete one, i was once in maldrough where i found a house full of dead bodies and a person who looked like jason from friday the 13th. He had a hokey mask and a machete. Was fully vanilla. Who else found jason?

[@milramas]

I have also found him a few times, great Easter egg

[@ForgedDaily]

The music in the beggining is very cool B)

and dont forget when you turn the bat into a nailed bat, you can use 1 nail to repair it meaning even tho you barely repair it, a box of nails can fully repair the bat MULTIPLE times.

[@cosmicslop1272]

Great info. Thanks

[@MrAtomicDuck]

You bet!

[@paprika1716]

Nice new intro. I like it.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Just some new music, nothing else new really :) Like to switch the music up once in a while

[@_skud]

Thanks for the guide

[@MrAtomicDuck]

No problem!

[@grimmy47925]

This video has many beneficial info, but I have to point out the false info about short blades. Stab-type short blade does NOT crit like other weapon. As a short blade user myself, I can guarantee that. Because I've killed thousands of zeds with my hunting blades, and they all died to 3 to 4 stabs. Despite having 50% crit rate, hunting knife never crits. So why blades have critical rate, you might ask? Crit rate for blades is actually chance of frontal execution, aka "Jawstab" Meaning higher the rates, you are more likely to jawstab zombie in close quarater combat. Which brings up another mechanism of short blades. Short blades are the only weapon type that can attack at its minimum range.While other weapon will force you to shove zombie away at min range, blades can keep stabing as long as no other zombie notice you. So in order for short blades to crit, you have to get really close, make it a 1 on 1 combat, and pray to RNG god for you to Jawstab. It's always instant kill tho🗡

[@rebull8262]

Knife players survive while spear players thrive, I laugh at you with my instant kills and crits that CAN happen with hordes

[@dumb214]

@@rebull8262 spear is a knife just on a stick

[@michaelmorelli7569]

Lumberjack is probably the best class in project for offensive capabilities since they buffed Axeman. I play without multi-hit and I can kill a horde relatively quickly due to the sheer swing speed. Makes combat safer on new characters since you don't have to rely on nimble so heavily.

[@cameronsmith1339]

Personally I'm a big fan of going out with either 2 hand axes or 2 nightsticks on my belt, just a very easy and useful weapon. Hammers are also good, because you can bash a zombie's brains in then build a shed.

[@regicidalnut]

This one really... hits home

[@MrAtomicDuck]

I hate you Regi

[@psychopeda23]

3:25 A BAseball Bat with Nails is not considered a blunt weapon by the game anymore. This means the Nails make it a sharp Weapon that damages Clothing . . . a lot of thin red lines to be crossed accidentially in this game . . . i llove it

[@Sketch_EM]

the fire axe is my go to

[@axolotl482]

in my current save, I found a survivor with a spiked baseball bat almost immediately, then the first damage I took was a bite and then I respawned two times and the two times I respawned I was across the entire town

[@toyfreaks]

Jason Voorhees has been my go-to guy for machetes!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Lol!

[@TheSixthJR]

Crowbar or spear as main weapon, handaxe for breaching and wood and hunting knife as last resort weapon that I normally keep in my bag.

[@migjordanpayawal7856]

Garden forks are my weapons of choice. Love my garden forks

[@MrAtomicDuck]

I respect it.

[@KameradVonTurnip]

Pity no mentioning of the Shovels. They make great Long Blunt weapons, and have more reach than the baseball bat. They're excellent in the fact they're not as durable and often plentiful, I find them more often than baseball bats, so you can similar to lead pipes you can help train maintenance by using shovels before switching to priceless crowbars and baseball bats.

[@Dann-qp2uw]

Newbies: Push. Swing. Push. Swing. Push swing. Do this till your learn when to swing twice or push twice. You will quickly learn to be able to take out a pack of a dozen zeds without sweating. Also Try to stick with one weapon type. Level 3/4 are both massive boosts in chance to one shot zeds.

[@brylythhighlights4335]

The umbrella is honestly worth using if you find it, lots of free kills.

[@Althairs]

I have scrap weapons mod, they are perfect for spears. There are 2 spears that you can make with metalworking skill. I use wooden spears for early game and after I level up my metalworking to level 2 I create "Scrap Spear". It is a metal spear and has better durability and higher damage. After reaching level 4 metalworking I create "Salvaged Spear" which is better than all of them. It feels like a good game progression and rewarding to have metalworking.

[@1Flyffer1]

crowbar best long blunt, not the highest damage but still respectable. Super durable, a single crowbar will pretty much last you the entire game. The only thing it does poorly is train maintenance since the condition only goes down once about every 3000 hits.

[@wendybirb1721]

I can use this video to finally become a master of the blade.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

I can hear the unmistakable "Shwa shwa shwa" of a blade swinging already. Yes I made that sound out loud.

[@pamluh]

I think, if possible, it would be nice to use the brushtools to create small gas stops along the long highways in the game. Not just for function but also for aesthetics too I guess. Bit weird driving long stretches of roads with nothing.

[@hunterhallengren6509]

Have you ever driven anywhere?

[@tnh723]

my fave early weapon is the Crowbar. its so durable and could last me an entire night of bashing. lowish damage but to hell and back dependable

[@ReinEngel]

I feel naked without a hand axe on my belt.

[@ksailor71]

Very useful 👏🏻🤗

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bossmeep6467]

3:25 i think i remember reading about if you put nails on baseball bat it could damage the clothing ?

[@MrAtomicDuck]

I believe that's correct, when nails are added it damages clothes

[@ItsTrixksNstxff]

Love how you tea bagged the zombie lol

[@ramboturkey1926]

you forgot stone weapons. also don't worry to much about using axes to cut trees because you can find logs foraging

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Eh, Stone weapons were never something I've used. By the time they're able to hold up in a fight thanks to increased maintenance skills, you've usually found something better.

[@ramboturkey1926]

@@MrAtomicDuck true but they are are on par with the basic spear minus the hammer

[@MrAtomicDuck]

@@ramboturkey1926 Yeah, true. The difference for me is spears are so hard to get unless you make them.

[@au_chocolate]

I personally love the fire axe, even if the pickaxe is better, there's just something about hacking away at zombies with a fire axr

[@dokidokiduckie]

I've been really enjoying Axes recently because of their ability to farm maintenence early and their proximity to good stats. The Fire Officer occupation giving +1 Fitness and Strength helps mitigate their high endurance cost and when you get levels going you start to 1-shot most zombies you encounter if you stack enough strength and axe skill. Fire axes are really easy and consistent to find early, so you just pick 1 up and power level maintenence for free, making it way easier to level other melee skills in the future. It's been working out excellently for me, trivializing huge hordes even a day or two into a new character.

[@omgxd1732]

Dont forget that carpentry level ALSO determines the durability of spears

[@Laireso]

Don't make the baseball bat with spikes until you repaired the regular bat 1x or 2x. The spike version deals more damage, but it's durability degrades quicker so overall it's the less desirable version of the two and should only be made if you aren't willing to spend more woodglue on repairing the normal version. Sledgehammer is more than decent weapon if you have literally nothing else and has very nice durability considering every swing with a decent combat build is a one-swing kill. Better than frying pans, rolling pins, plungers etc. that you sometimes have to rely on especially in Ridiculously rare loot setting. Wood axe would have been similar especially for Lumberjack, but if you enjoy building and play on modded loot setting, you'd be best off saving this one for cutting wood, sledgehammer doesn't lose durability in regular use so wasting durability on it is truly irrelevant.

[@QasGG06]

Hey bruh, doesn't spear scales well with carpentry skill? Nice vid btw! very helpful

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Don't believe spears relate to carpentry in any way, the durability bases on the maintenance skill :) Thanks!

[@huntersuper98]

@@MrAtomicDuck It's starting condition is based on carpentry level. It's the same with stone weapons so the higher carpentry the longer a spear/stone weapon will last. It doesn't effect the durability post crafting though.

[@briantriplett2455]

My main issue with this game is the fact that some blunt weapons should be a 1 shot and basically unbreakable. I have an eatwing hammer that’s fullly made of steel I could smash skulls with it until the end of time and a skull bone nor any other bone would effect it. Also my point being is zombies being slightly deteriorating a claw hammer swung with the claw part will smash straight into your brain. It doesn’t matter if you know how to swing it. And if you think about it the way a zombie shambles at you in PZ you’d have to be extremely un athletic to miss a skull.

[@Indigo-ir1lt]

Such a rad game

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Agreed

[@guitarsnstrings4things677]

I actually end up using umbrellas whenever I find them just to get a bit of xp into Spears and Maintenance

[@boneythelynx8884]

Machetes for me all day, but train short blunt and carry a night stick to free up my back when I want to take a shotgun or rifle out.

[@Lololelechoa]

I mean if it is a begginer's video you should probably mention the extent to where some of those items are rare. In about 200 hours of play I saw a total of 2 katanas and 1 machete. And that axes come in one handed and two handed variations, making the skill, with the traits, probably the best one in the game, or atleast the most versatile. Also fun fact, spears can hit through high wire fences, making them VERY useful in some situations.

[@DeNiruable]

If you survive long enough or play months later playthrough you'll find katanas on zeds quite often. Found a hell lot of machetes of my nomad run in barricaded homes. These weapons are quite rare in the beginning of the game but after a while pretty common

[@Silly2smart]

I love spears, but long blunt rule the game. The 100's of Baseball bats are the clincher.

[@ghostban3743]

Hunting Knife or Machete on a spear isnt a spear, its a Gleve. But nice vid lad

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Glaive? I don't believe there's a glaive skill in the game. Still goes on spear skill.

[@ghostban3743]

@@MrAtomicDuck Yeah true.

[@Lineproof]

The shovel actually does damage clothing. Rakes too I think.

[@DubstopherWubson13]

I found the pickaxe at the fire station on my very first play through. shit was amazing

[@memeoverlord-pz5ns]

3:40 Crowbar is 20% chance and 2.5x crit, you mistook it for chainsaw, which doesn't exist in game.

[@newfolder999]

I always go for crowbar with 1 machete as my second weapon in my backpack when i go out from base for looting.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Crowbar is a real good one. Especially if you use the Better Lockpicking mod

[@newfolder999]

@@MrAtomicDuck Yes sir i did use Better Lockpicking mod for my current solo play.

[@MrRandomnumbergenerator]

Great video, great game

[@ianmoore2850]

I wish there was the option to maintain ur tools like u would irl

[@Lineproof]

Entertaining video.