April Digest #5

SurrounDead

ANZAC Day. Nothing unusual about tonight's session. Had a laugh when I saw that Jingles posted his SurrounDead playthrough the other night. He had killed off his character by somehow activating the supposed dud nuclear bomb. Really Jingles? Hilarious but most probable.

Been almost a month since my last expedition in the valley. Didn't quite make it to the Port to clear the zombies and kill off the Infestation there along with the Zombie bosses as I kept getting sidetracked along the way. But I did pick up a flatbed ute. 

Comes with a glitch however: the vehicle lights look on as the image shows. At night though when you hit "L" the car lights do switch on. And it's a lot lighter in weight than the usual Utility vehicle I use for zooming around the valley. Can dump the yellow car and just the flatbed to go shopping. 

Hear there's a heavily modified Utility which is an upgrade from your standard Utility but it's a rare spawn so not worth pursuing; if I come across it, I will grab it. Otherwise, I will continue to trot along with the vehicles I do have.

Priority has therefore been house keeping at the base. And prioritising the weapons arsenal. Deciding to get rid of the M249 because it wastes ammo faster than I can scavenge or buy. Going instead to focus on more higher powered rifles instead. I will use the XM250 instead: same rounds but bigger mag.

There are several gun stores whose location I know of (either accidentally discovered or consciously sought out) so I will raid those for now. Sell off any surplus to the traders. Build up the cash reserve.

The grenader launcher that fires the 40mm round is a rare item. I suspect it will be found with military compounds/bases and/or secret locations. It would make a handy addition to the current weapon loadout my character carries. 

Loading out each of the vehicles in my car pool. Storing everything in either Duffel or Coyote backpacks (storage space). Any leftover room in vehicle storage can be for useful/valuable items scavenged. I make sure to have extra fuel, repair kits, spare water, a food container filled with food supplies and water, a crowbar, a hatchet/axe, a pick, a tent, and a sleeping bag (for when you get caught out in the open at night - which does happen quite easily if exploring). 

Inventory on my character. I always take the best kit I can scavenge or buy. So, hard helmet and night vision mandatory with spare batteries. Respirator - military grade plus spare radiation filters. Of course, take loads and loads of radiation pills in your obligatory medical kit bag (more storage space).

I also take a small day bag for storage when out scavenging. I also have a lunch box packed to capacity with food and water. 

I prefer the tactical hatchet because its tree felling and melee brawler are doubly useful. I tried the katana but didn't warm to it. I rarely use the modified Glock with its 60-round magazine, instead utilising the rifle or LMG instead to deal with long-range foes.

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Today was another session full of distractions and side-trackings. Acquired three more vehicles. Maybe I should set up as a vehicle recovery trader, just like Walshy down at the bridge. Today's haul included a white golf cart not far from West Grove on the road to the port, a red jeep at Chester Lake, and the white RV with blue striping as I was returning from taking on an Infestation in a church in the far north.

The recently acquired RV allows me to sleep inside without needing a sleeping bag and/or tent shelter. Still keeping an eye out for that modified ute vehicle. 

Standing atop a vehicle is a posture I've adopted for 360 defence from zombies.

New thing discovered in this session as seen in the above two images. Whenever a creature is killed a white loot bag now appears at the spot of the kill. Discovered this is bonus meat that also goes with the normal cuts from the creature you've just killed. 

Tried to repair the roof of my base but the game does not make it that easy or straightforward like placing a tarp down or nailing temporary roof sheeting. It does not allow for horizontal alignment at sloping angles, as with a roof. It permits roof construction in modula form only which is at a set angle anyway. Nor does the game cater for other construction materials aside from wood which can be naturally sourced. So gib boards, sheet metal, terracotta roof tiles, and so on is perhaps outside the scope of this game.

Ran into the ice cream van clown-masked trader (third time only since playing this game) just as night was falling as I was returning to base towing the RV. Scored a few high-end items from him including a horde beacon which draws out waves of zombies. Apparently these carry better loot, so the wiki informs me. So it should be a fun time next time.

In the past I've been using grenades to force zombies to congregate. Then I toss more grenades and applied burst fire to finish off the job. Sometimes I change up by tossing a molotov, or three but it's messy and only useful in confined space as with bunkers and rooms.

The XM250 is an improvement on the M249. But I think that's because I've put better attachments on it as opposed to the other LMG. Semi and full auto that exhibit less recoil especially when firing three round bursts. Body shots preferable to head shots with this weapon on burst fire. Head shots work best when using single shot. 

Currently toting the Guardian rifle as my primary weapon, supported by the XM250. Swapped over from the Colonel's Revenge because the Guardian fires a 7.62 round as opposed to the Colonel's 5.56.

Remembered to check my skill level in this session and discovered I'm maxxed out on the skill tree. Still had plenty leftover skill points after I maxxed out. Wondering if there's scope for adding more opportunities for skill branching out, as with wanting to become a trader like Walshy or the Ice Cream van vendor which would be an interesting development within a multi-player game situation. 

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Monday's session saw me obtain a couple more vehicles - the ambulance and another truck (smaller than the big rig). Still on the hunt for that armoured utility but then learned it can be bought from Walshy for $20,000. The ice cream vendor trader also sells the grenade launcher for 40 credits. So been busy acquiring the required currency.

Ran into loads more bandits than usual. One lot I encountered just south of Walshy, on the other side of the bridge. Once I took them out (eventually), I investigated the vehicle they must have ambushed. It was a military supply truck. If you don't quit out of the game, you can always return to the truck daily to collect respawned loot. Handy to know. 

The Guardian handled itself well against the bandits. Found a Mosin Nagant. Historical bolt action rifle that's effective up to 100m. Does better damage than many of the weapons I have in my arsenal. But it has a 5 round mag which means it won't be as effective as those other weapons. But got one so going to test it out. 

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Went to the Airfield in today's session (Tuesday). Managed to take down to two Boss Zombies who were fortunately in the same spot - General Romez and The Bodyguard. Took out both from the airfield control tower using the Guardian rifle. 

The airfield occupies a large area. Today I was pressed for time so my priority was as much loot to sell for credit. Luck was on my side today for I managed to obtain enough credits (needed just 3 to make the 40 needed). As a result, I was able to buy the M249 Grenade launcher. Again I got lucky because the Ice Cream vendor trader had the launcher for sale. Earlier in the day when I first ran into him, it was not displayed. Figured, and hoped, it would be there when I returned later in the day. And it was so.

Intend to revisit in future sessions and properly hoover search to find more loot. Maybe discover some unique and valuable ones. Today I was in a hurry so just grabbed both weapons and ammo.

As per yesterday, more encounters with bandits. Fortunately for me, they're just three-four man bands. Yet to run into the large groups. Not been able to discover their base camps. 

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World of Warships

The Firepower X sequential bundle is interesting event. I don't mind paying for something when you also get freebies. And the resources and credits are always welcome. Pay for four bundles and grab the remaining twelve for free. Fair enough deal. BTW, I have all the Tier X ships being offered except for the submarine. Not too concern if it drops or not; all I'm really after are the resources - the Free XP, Elite Cmdr XP, credits, and coal.

Otherwise it was pleasant grinding session today (ANZAC Day). Leipzig had its day in the sun today performing really well. Graf Spee, not so much but that's fine; she has her good days too. The Kamikaze twins perform as per usual to expectations which is always decent to good. And it's always a relaxing day when you take the Okhotnik out for a jaunt.

In one of the grinds, someone was lauding his red camouflaged Warspite and then blasting (good-naturedly of course) about censoring Gilbert and Sullivan in chat. 

I personally don't mind G&S; I saw a totally enjoyable performance of Mikado at Sydney Opera House long ago. 

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Today (Sunday) was your typical rough grind. Rough as in making silly mistakes like poor decisions and positioning. It happens some days and varies in intensity and duration. That's WOWS for me. 

As a brawling cruiser, the Prins van Oranje sucks big time. She is potent in some regards but suffers from being quite sluggish in both movement and maneouvrability. She needs to be played to her strength which seems to be mid range. It fares better when there's room to manoeuvre so hiding behind an island might be perilous if caught in a crossfire. Use cover when needed but hang back; let the destroyers and others do their job first before throwing your hat into the fight circle. 

Same approach applies when playing the Graf Spee. As a brawler, conditions have to be ideal for her to be a top ranked brawler. But when does that happen in-game? Not often. Not consistently enough. Historically she's a pocket battleship so she straddles that gap between cruiser and battleship. She responds sluggishly so anticipation is your best ally when playing her in any brawling situation. Leipzig, by comparison, is a light cruiser and therefore more agile being more responsive to your keypad commands than the Graf Spee. 

Played to score the usual daily trio of coal crates and then upskilled two more commanders thanks to the Elite Commander XP windfall from the Firepower X sequential bundles. Just the last crate bundle left to acquire.

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Monday's grind was short and sweet. Played my Kitakaze captain on Kamikaze to grind AND to acquire the daily coal crates. He's on 20 points. Could easily have spent Free XP to elevate him to 21 points but have been saving Free XP for the Research Bureau exchange. 

Bought the last Firepower X sequential bundle (4 crates) and was happy to receive resources windfall. Overall I thought this package was good value and would not hesitate if something similar was foisted upon us again.

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Tuesday was a short sweet single ship session. Stayed long enough to grab the daily coal loot plus event pass bonus rewards.

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