2y ago

Survive the zombie apocalypse

211 comments

Flashlight - to find my shotgun in the dark.
Shotgun - Im going to cobain me out of this shit
- 2 picks gang!
  Machete & motorbike.
- Don’t forget the video camera to film it, then you can pick one item of your choice to be your loot drop for finding the set piece you just made in a left4dead level.

Katana - because katana
First aid kit - for accidental cuts from katana
Flashlight - to see how much I'm bleeding
Two-man tent - place to swing katana in a way that will end up cutting me

Zombie outbreak and owning a jeep? Now you got two problems!
- And both problems are connected to the jeep?

LOL, imagine thinking a motorcycle or jeep would do you any damn good (especially after the gas you can siphon from abandoned cars has gone bad), when what you really need is a bicycle. Bikepackers and touring cyclists will be the kings of the apocalypse.
- The Jeep will break down before running out of gas anyways
- I'd still say the Jeep is better shelter than the tent, though not as portable.
- There are diesel Kawasaki KLR motorcycles that will run on literally anything, not that they’re very fast but they would at least preserve your stamina for when you need it.
  They’re also extremely robust and simple to repair.
- Assuming best case scenario (a new jeep is shat into my driveway with a full tank of gas) I think the jeep is a MASSIVE boon. It increases movement ability and hauling capacity, and can be used to clear many obstacles you'd otherwise have to go around. Is its life finite? Yes, but it'll give you that leg up at the start of the situation that may very well set you up for success long term.
  
  and can be used to clear many obstacles you'd otherwise have to go around.
  I'm having trouble imagining any obstacle a Jeep could clear that a mountain bike couldn't, but no trouble at all imagining the opposite.

Water purifier - clean water is essential
Fire Axe - for fire wood collection as well as wood based structures for shelter and defense. Also it is a decent weapon that takes relatively little skill to effectively wield.
German Shepard - loyal and lethal companionship, living thinking alarm bell, will instinctively assist in protection/attacking, could be trained to track game. Will gladly accept food scraps, the bones and flesh of my enemies, and pets as payment for services rendered.
Body armor - reduces risk of infection through scratches to body as well as mild protection against various weapons. Also an added insulative thermal layer for the cold. Body plate can be replaced with old thinkpads as needed
- I'd argue that NVGs would be better than body armor, assuming that the batteries last. Being able to see at times when humans and zombies cant is extremely valuable. Nighttime is tough without working lights.
  
  Modern nvgs aren't battery powered the way we think any more. They last a while
  
  The problem with NVG and all the battery operated stuff is that once it runs out its useless unless you have a means to replace them through looting replacable batteries or recharging lithiums with an offgrid power system and the electrical knowledge to make sure you dont cook them in case of a jerry rigged system. It might be really useful for a good couple hours of operation but after that it becomes dead weight you spend calories or fuel hauling around with the faint hope of maybe being able to recharge it again sometime in the future

Almost nobody picks the katana. Even the people who pick it mocking the sword!
I can't really blame them because they didn't give you the option to pick the complete set for the katana to shine. If you use it with fedora you can teleport behind the zombies and kill them!
Nobody knows that the katana has this hidden skill bonus if you use it with fedora because this hidden mechanic only passed to the few chosen people in the secret society hidden under the house that people like to call "the basement"
- I considered the katana since they're great for cutting exposed areas but honestly I'd rather just sharpen a long stick
  
  If we're going on "brain damage to kill" rules you're going to need to clean sweep their head off or find a way to the brain. As cool as it is, that's a big ask for something designed for one swift body shot. I'd look for the spear since it's the most effective peasant weapon and be real, we're all about peasant skilled.
- Man, the katana would be a great pick if there wasn't two better melee options that'll outlast the katana and offer more utility.

4 video cameras. I shall trade for all the above with the only source of amateur pornography.
- I'll pick the dog and we can team up
  
  It'll be the internet 2.0

Is the German Shepard a rescue? Anyway that and the camcorder. I'm making cute dog videos
- Username checks out

Four chain saws
come at me bro
- Two for the hands and one for the head?
  
  One for both heads

Gas will expire eventually and you could just hotwire one of the many abandoned cars anyways, if the roads aren't blocked by said cars. Bullets will run out unless you find a gun shop, in which case you get guns anyways. Water purifying is easy enough to do without a machine.
My picks would be German Shepherd, Axe, First Aid, and Radio.
There's a reason we domesticated dogs, they are useful in so many different ways like hunting, defense, and security (and companionship). Especially German Shepherds, you can see the damage they do when used by police.
Axes are survivalist 101 and some are practically multi tools despite being simple.
First Aid because infections, zombie or not, are the real killers throughout history.
The radio's more of a gamble, but it's your best chance to find a new settlement, monke strong together and all that. Also you can maybe stay informed on what's happening in other parts of the country. (And it lets me flex my Amateur Radio License).
- I think I'd take the night vision goggles over the radio. You're much more likely to find a radio. Situational awareness at night will be a huge survival factor.

Water purifier: you need water to live. Otherwise you'll die in 3 days.
Jeep: While not the most reliable, they can go off-road and can also be a source of shelter in lieu of a house or tent.
AK: Extremely reliable and easy to service. 7.62 ammo can be harder to come by depending on where you live, but regardless, the AK is a solid weapon.
Fire Axe: Good for chopping down trees, cracking heads or breaking down doors. The practicality is what makes it the better option
- I chose similarly but changed somethings for longevity.
  I subbed out the jeep for body armor. The jeep will run out of gas eventually, who knows how long the apocalypse will last for. Body armor will be last near indefinitely. Also would swap out the ak for a machete. Ammo will probably be hoarded by others so will be a difficult find.
  Fire axe is a great utility tool, once it becomes dull, it'll be a good blunt weapon. Machete will not be as good but if you learn how to sharpen or find a whetstone, they'll last you as long as you need.
  
  Most body armor is good for 1 strike. Kevlar thread break, ceramic breaks, and you really don't want to use dented armor, best case it's a weak point, worst case is pushing in your chest cavity preventing you from breathing. Any body armor that is remotely mobile is effectively one time use. Now admitted (normally) used body armor can still provide some protection and can be better than nothing (except in situations where the damage impacts you, ie the plate metal being dented and pushing into your chest). And some can be repaired or replaced with the right materials and tools, but those are heavy, and take space
- Going with all but the water purifier. Fresh water is too easy to come by where I live. We have pristine wild rivers here, and it rains a lot. I'd be living in the forest anyway if this happened.
  So I'm going with AK, Jeep, body armor, and Axe.
- I chose the same top 3. Torn on the 4th between fire ax, first aid, or flash light.

Body armor, first aid kit, machete, water purifier.
If you choose anything that requires fuel or electricity/batteries you're fucked.
- Good luck on foot, brah. I'll be taking the jeep and hose-sucking fuel where needed. Provides shelter, warmth, storage.
  
  He's right, unless you study up on making biodiesel. Then you have the upper hand in the argument, as a diesel Jeep can be run on biodiesel. Rendering those fatty zombie corpses to fuel should be a functional disposal method.
- I'm swapping the first-aid kit for the crossbow, but spot on for the rest. Body armor is rare and definitely raises your odds of survival in the short term after the initial spread. A machete is the ultimate all-purpose blade, good for defense as well as butchering, breeching, and it is easily maintained. And the water purifier is a no-brainer. Waterborn diseases are a real problem in any situation where public utilities become inaccessible and clean drinking water grows scarce.
  Assuming that I am obviously able to expand my kit as I survive, the ranged weapon that uses easily craftable ammo would be ideal. A first aid kit could be cobbled together over the course of a few days of persistent scavenging. No promises on the crossbow, they are far less common than bandaids, gauze, sterilization solutions, and splints. Really the thing that would likely be the hardest to source is the suture needle that you should have in there.
  I always loved 10k in Z-Nation for using the wrist rocket slingshot because that is truly the king ranged weapon for a survival scenario. Lightweight, ammo that is infinite and easily accessible, and lethal out to ranges that matter. Not to mention that they are very easy to maintain and repair.
  All that said, I would likely accumulate the aforementioned electricity/fuel items as I am familiar with the production of biofuels and can build some alternative generators (wind, methane, solar concentrators) for electricity once I have somewhere secure. Methane in particular has always been attractive to me for survival scenarios because anaerobic decomposition is a great way of dealing with biowaste and what is left over ends up making really good fertilizer. Just need a couple of propane tanks, some steel, and a car battery to rig as a welder and you can turn one into a digestor and the other into storage, then get a couple 2 cycle lawnmower engines and some AC motors and you can get a power supply running. At least enough to run some incandescent bulbs. Need a voltage regulator for more complex electronics to keep the line clean, but that is a different conversation.
  
  I picked the same you did, but I don't know that I'd consider useable arrows easily craftable. Maybe if you had something pre-made for shafts?
- What’s the body armor for? Zombies will bite you on the neck.
  
  I don't have a PhD in zombiology but zombies will bite you wherever they can. Depending on what kind of zombies we're talking about a bite alone might turn you or not. So body armor could be useful for some kinds of zombies and utterly useless for others.
  
  It's good for general protection too. It can soften blows from other humans or just accidental injury while scavenging dilapidated buildings. What we consider to be minor bumps and scrapes now can be life threatening when you have inadequate medical supplies, malnutrition, sleep deprived, no sanitation, etc.
- A motorcycle could get you out of the city/infected zone pretty fast though. Not a bad choice.
  
  True and all the road will be blocked with traffic, so you can lane split with the motorcycle.
  Problem is you’re sleeping in the open air unless you grab the tent. Also can’t really build a collection of supplies.
- Eh, batteries aren't hard to charge as long as it's a small item like a flashlight.

Camera, motorcycle, ak-47, radio
I call this loadout "twitch streamer of the apocalypse"

Which four will I be least likely to kill myself by tripping over in the night?
- Difficult to trip over the tent if you're in it
  
  If anyone could manage it, I could.

My beloved crowbar didnt even make the list :(
- Are you from Boston by any chance?
- Well, it's not called "unforseen cosequences: Gordon Freeman is working overtime."

Armor, provided it comes with a helmet & is bite-/scratch-resistant
Doggo, because sensing danger is important & loneliness would almost be a bigger killer than zombies,
Machete, as a tool & method of defense
Water purifier, provided it doesn't require an outlet of some kind
- And then scavenge around a city, getting an axe, a flashlight, a first aid kit, a bicycle (not motorbike because fuel), a survival kit (matches/flint, compass, etc.) and some survival guidebooks such as general survival guide or foraging guide. Now you're all set for making a shelter in the woods and staying away from everything, making occasional trips to the city for supplies. Maybe you'll even manage to make a kinda comfy home up a tree or something.
  
  Forgot about the first aid kit. Good point. In this new world, antibiotics and even basic sterilization supplies would be more valuable than gold.

Depends where you live. A lot of this stuff can be acquired afterwards.
As an Aussie, firearms are very hard to come across. Also, I've never fired a gun before, so I would pick the shotgun because I know my terrible aim would be mitigated somewhat.
Water purifier. Duh.
Fire axe. Utility + weapon.
Tent. I live close to nature, so my game plan is to stock up on nonperishables and go camp for as long as I can, and hope that the zombies have thinned out by the time I need to start scavaging
- Bad luck, the shotgun is full of slugs :/
  
  Damn, snails would have been better, since they have shells

Water purifier because I need water!!!!!
first aid kit because not having a first aid kit is a very stupid idea
flashlight because I will need to find my way through the many empty building and shit
machete because it is quite useful as both a tool and weapon

How much ammo does each gun have
- asking the correct questions. No ammo means that the guns are useless.

I’d take the Jeep, two man tent, German Shepard, and CB radio. Might as well go on a roadtrip and treat the zombie outbreak like one long vacation.

Shotgun, ak-47, pistol, katana. I don't want to live long term in a zombie apocalypse, just need the firepower for a bit of fun before I go. After I run out of ammo for the shotgun and the AK, I use the pistol to kill myself - the katana is just in case I get caught short at close range

Flashlight, machete, first aid, water purifier.
Vehicles require fuel, and weapons require ammo. I dont know why I'd need a gas mask either.
- I think it depends on the nature of the plague, is the zombie contagion airborne to some extent? If yes, I think I'd take the gas mask over the first aid kit.
  
  If the zombie plague is airborne, fuck it. Give me a barrel of bourbon and and a couple pounds of weed. That's guaranteed to last me the rest of my life.

Dog, car, motorcycle, radio. Zombie apocalypses ain't shit, I live in America. One dude is gonna bite someone and get turned into pink mist by every nearby CCW dude. Those would all be cool to have when we start rebuilding in a week
- You lot couldn't even handle wearing masks, some dipshit is gonna tout zombeism as a natural cure
- The best way to survive a disaster is to have someone else deal with it

First Aid Kit - Zombies are dangerous but so are infections from minor cuts and lacerations. Gotta prep for the unexpected.
Machete - Most effective and common sense weapon as all the others require some level of skill or maintenance and only the machete would be good at making pointy sticks for improvised spears.
NVGs - Something people forget about is that when the power goes out you're going to be looting some dark ass buildings even during the daytime. Stock up some batteries or a charger and looting just got so much simpler. Plus, if you hear a bump in the night, you can go looking for it without letting the neighborhood know where you are, like with a flashlight.
Water purifier - You can go approximately 3 days without water and the pipes stop working when the electricity does. That river and lake isn't safe to drink, neither is the rainwater, and do you really want to whip out your firekit and draw attention just for sippy sips?
Boring picks but I think these are the biggest bang for your buck. Everything else will take so much just to maintain that it isn't worth it. Including doggo.
- Why not the fire axe? I don't think it would be that difficult to swing. Granted, it would be much heavier than a machete, but long term the axe is gonna last longer and dull slower.
  
  Fire Axe requires you to be pretty dead on with every swing. You miss or misalign the edge coming down and it bounces off their skull. They feel nothing and now you've got to lift up that axe for another swing. You'll tire yourself out pretty quickly but if the edge lasts long enough I suppose it could be used to make spears as well. Spears, even just makeshift ones from sticks, are light and if you miss it's almost effortless to get another go at it.
  
  Also might come in handy as a tool in more ways than the machete. Open doors, smash windows, chop firewood and you'd probably still manage to sharpen some sticks with it. As a weapon I do not think that a machete is easier to use without any training.
- See, light and water I can make/clean myself. I'd replace them with one of the firearms to counter other humans and maybe the dog for danger detection.
  
  Ah but see, a firearm requires cleaning, oil, and ammunition. The suppressed sidearm will lure in your neighborhood while anything unsuppressed is going to call everything within 8 blocks right to you. Dog is a mouth to feed, mess to clean, and is also loud unless you've trained them very, very well. Making light isn't hard but everyone can see light - including zombies. NVGs are just for you. Water you can clean yourself but I assume you mean boiling which would need a fire.. and everyone can see the light and smoke.
- On the other hand one supermarket probably has enougth packed water for years
  
  Which has a shelf life.
  My partner worked at a water bottling station and they kept a "dead archive" of production for quality control: dark, cool room, away from machinery and chemicals.
  Archived samples were cleared after 5 years. Out of curiosity, they decided to try the water before emptying the bottles and it was foul. Blamed on too long storage time.
  When the plant shut down, the archive was fully cleared and samples older than 6 months were drinkable but not pleasant to, older than a year tasted bad.
  Water does not stock well and even worse when exposed to sun light.
  
  Absolutely the last place you'd ever want to be. Everyone loots stores, it's safer to loot locally first. Best case scenario everything is cleaned out. Worst case, you find other people. Or other "people".

Fast zombies or slow zombies?

Pistol.
End of list.

No bicycle?

Chainsaw Body armour Mask Shotgun
doomguy

Jeep: unparalleled utility. It'll die eventually, fuel is finite, but it'll let me establish.
Shotgun: need a weapon, and while not the strategically beat weapon, I have an image to maintain.
Water purifier: water.
Machete: backup weapon, infinitely useful tool, more rugged than the katana.
I think this combination gives me a good shot at establishing a base of operations, securing the area, and settling for long-term. Between the jeep and the machete, most obstacles can be overcome, and scavenging is easier and quicker. Strategically, the crossbow is probably the best weapon just due to the reusability of the ammunition, but it's not infinite and what you gain in that, you lose in ease of use, which is paramount in a stressful situation. Opting purely for usefulness, the pistol (assuming subsonic rounds and as quiet as possible) probably offers the best balance between reliability and forgivingness, but I like shotguns.
Water purifier is a pretty easy one. Gotta have water, and while most of that will come from rain or scavenging, there will inevitably be periods of literal draught. Finally, the machete. A knife, a backup weapon, a crowbar. Good for clearing small-medium vegetation. Honestly, the uses are limitless, perhaps second only to the jeep.
Honorable mentions:
Dog. If it's pre-trained, top tier. If you have to train it, mid at best plus another mouth to feed.
Any other firearm: mostly preference, each has pros and cons
Body armor: depending on the zombies, top tier (walking dead style, feral gonna bite you zombies) or reeeally not useful (anything spread by spores, fumes, fluids, etc.)
Gas mask: invert the body armor.
Motorcycle: quicker, less utility than Jeep. I wouldn't say it's the worst pick
Everything else is either marginal utility at best (cb radio, NV goggles) or easy enough to scavenge (flashlight, first aid supplies, tent, honestly everything else on the list.)
- Bro, it's a zombie apocalypse, you can just walk outside and steal any car you feel like
  
  It says outbreak, not apocalypse. They'll still expect you to come in to work.
  
  You will still need keys or a really old car that you can actually turn on with wires

... and maybe three other items of s-mart

Why AK-47? 7.62 × 39 mm would be kinda hard to loot for this audience.
- Curious what you mean, as 7.62x39 is about as common where I am as any other caliber.
  
  I'm basing my assumption off of C:DDA, which plays in New England and there it apparently is fucking rare.

I would opt for the crossbow, machete and axe then use those to commendeer better equipment. Specifically that choice of weapons because axe is useful for chopping trees, machete is a weapon that doesn't require ammo and it's a lot easier to make crossbow arrows than bullets. Also take the night vision goggles in the off chance they're the super high tech kind and not the ir lighting based kind because you'll never just "find" one of those otherwise. Then use that stuff to basically steal everything on this list and more.

Body armor - protection against bites Crossbow - silent weapon, semi unlimited ammo, hunting Machete - good weapon/tool Fire axe - for looting abandoned buildings/emergency escapes.
Then I'd head off into the woods and start building a tree house.
Parachute cord should really be on the list, though.

dog x4, ez

Project Zomboid players be like: where's the crowbar?
But if I had to choose, the body armor, machete, fire axe, and the mighty katana.
PS: in my current PZ playthrough, 3 months and 5k kills in, and just found my very first katana. (lowest loot setting, highest zombie pop).
- Yeah I'll just take:
  Fire axe, fire axe, duffel bag, lock pick
  
  I thought the fire axe was a lock pick?

So many questions like is the bullets in the gun and gasoline in jeep and batteries in flashlight? Also if yes are there any sources for more consumables?
- I mean it's irl so whatever you think you can get

Purifier, Jeep, NVG's, magically silent pistol. If pistol is just realistically suppressed, I'll take the machete.
Water hard, gotta get around to loot, gotta see to loot, gotta be able to wack Z's without too much ruckus.
This post brought to you by too much dayz.

Since you can easily scavange most of these things you only need the hard to find stuff, and stuff that will help you scavange. So body armor and the ak to keep you alive. Axe to help get into places for supplies. Jeep to haul your shit. Drive down to dicks and load up on the rest.
Long term you need a spear and knife for weapons. A horse and cart for hauling shit. Dog for guard duty. And ways to get water and food.

Tent, water purifier, machete, first aid kit

Uh. I already have all of this stuff except the dog. What do I win?
Is it a dog? I hope I win the dog.
- You lose it all except 3 items. But you do get the dog.

Idk about you guys, but you are legally required to have a first aid kit in your car where live, so there are plenty to salvage same is for water, there are tons of water bottles, that don't go bad in the supermarket and your water purifier is gonna break at some point, so you'll have to move to alcohol anyway.
- I live in Florida and I'm pretty sure they consider first aid part of the woke agenda.
  
  I live in a small town in Florida, can confirm

Probably the handgun, body armor, jeep, and flashlight. On the first few days the jeep will offer mobility and storage, while the flashlight is necessary for maximizing the search for gear. Handgun and body armor to give you an advantage over your fellow survivors. Then acquire a boat, food, containers, and other resources and become a pirate. I might consider a fire axe or crow bar necessary if everything wasn't glass doors and easily breakable locks.

I'm fine with three! Tent, Flashlight and Camera. That way I'll have the easiest way out by being the sidecharacter who gets murdered during the exposition before it all goes to shit.

How many goodboyes can I pick?

I wanna know what kind of zombies I'll be dealing with. Slow shamblers? Fast runners? Intelligent undead?
- Jimmy Buffet fans.
  
  Unfortunately, copious amounts of alcohol isn't in the selectable item pool, so I might as well take one of the guns to mercy kill myself so as not to suffer too long.
  
  The worst kind of Zombie.

Jeep, body armour, radio, handgun

Katana, machete, axe, and body armor so I don't kill myself with all these implements of cutting and hacking.

crossbow, axe, dog, ak47
The crossbow can be used indefinitely for hunting, the axe can be used for nearly everything, the dog is useful for hunting and protection, the ak47 is an emergency tool. There's going to be less zombies and gas in the wilderness. Why are binoculars, bicycles, and horses not on this list?

Fire axe, german Shepard, first aid kit, crossbow

Flashlight, water purifier, respirator, and rifle (I assume with required things like ammo).
Nobody said how this plague spreads, for all we know it's in the water or Airborne. Flashlight for scavenging and because it's far more important to know if that's a pile of scrap or a Zombie than it is to stay super stealthy. And Rifle gets you everything else you need.

Katana - quiet, and meant as a weapon against humans
Night vision goggles - can take advantage of the cover of night
Water purifier - greatly simplifies one human necessity
Body armor - will put it on whenever there's a risk
None of these are common household items, whereas some of the items on the list are, and thus, scavenged easily enough.

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