Scavenging

Scavenging is the primary method of obtaining whatever goodies you want after the cataclysm. It may be a basic gameplay mechanic, but it's the basis for survival and can be very challenging. This guide shows how to get in, get the stuff you need, and get out.

Where to scavenge

The city is where most players might consider first for scavenging. However, don't let all that loot lure you in too soon in your play; the city is the epicenter of the zombie hordes. If you don't have a plan or the equipment to defend yourself or break and enter, you will end up seriously injured or dead.

The countryside also has places to scavenge. Scavenging here can train your skills and provide enough resources for you to prepare to venture into the city.

Important items

• A crowbar is a quintessential scavenger's tool. This will help you pry those pesky doors and windows open, making much less noise than simply breaking them. Do be warned that prying a window has a chance to break the glass instead of opening it. It's also a decent melee option, just beware of electric enemies.
• A makeshift lockpick or locksmith kit is essential for gun stores, as each is used to pick the lock on the metal door. These can also pick bar doors in places like the prison or the necropolis sewer. Also provides a quiet, if time consuming, way to enter any locked door. If you're using makeshift lockpicks, bring multiple, as they break very frequently with low skill.
• A firearm. If scavenging, you are not exactly focused on combat, but if a dangerous monster corners you, having a gun to kill it and escape may just save your bacon. Just remember to book it; noise attracts death.
• A hacksaw can be used to saw through bars and bar doors, they are essential for getting into some banks to get to the terminal behind them, and can also be used to saw the bars off gun store windows to get inside that way.
• A melee weapon for quietly killing zombies. Machete is a good one due to its light weight, low volume, and decent butchering quality.
• A butchering tool for butchering corpses (if you're not pulping them) and if you're not bringing a machete. Butcher knife should suffice.
• A gas mask is very useful. Some houses may be infested with bloated zombies. Their toxic gas can linger for quite some time in buildings. smoker zombies can also be found in basements, especially well stocked ones, alongside survivor zombies. If you inhale the smoke and get attacked by them, you'll die coughing and sputtering, your stamina drained.

The first scrounge

No matter where you start, there is always a set of important items you should get before you settle into wherever you're going to stay. If you don't have any storage clothing , craft a bindle first, if you don't have a knife, craft one, break a oven, locker or display rack with a rock and use the chunks of steel or scrap metal, disassemble some long string and use it with the rock to craft a makeshift knife, after crafting the knife, butcher the sheet from the curtain, and use the rags and stick to make the bindle. If you find or craft a sewing item, you should also take apart some curtains and craft a pouch.

Now you have some storage, check your inventory. Do you have a firestarting tool? If not, you may want to search houses, dumpsters, bins or maybe some zombies for lighters, matchbooks and refillable lighters. You can craft an electric firestarter that uses batteries later.

Next up, find a cooking tool such as a pot, you can find these without much trouble in houses on the edge of the cities on top of ovens or in cupboards. Searching a couple kitchens should net you a pot of some kind.

Next, find a water container, you need one before you set off to find a base, if it has a drink in it, the better. Plastic bottles with drinks can easily be found in fridges. If you want to move more water at once, try dumping out a gallon jug from a kitchen or bathroom and filling it with water to purify.

Though not overly important before settling in a base, you may want to find an infection treatment, such as disinfectant to prevent deep wounds from turning into infections, or antibiotics to clear the infection itself. Getting bit and being unable to treat it before you settle in is certain death.

Now you have got all this stuff, don't get greedy yet. You ought to get out of the city and find a safe place to settle as your home base.

Funnels are useful as they allow you to collect rainwater but they're heavily hamstringed by the fact that they require rains to collect water, especially if you don't have several of them. Consider living near a body of water be it lake, river or even a swamp. Or just hoard water - 100L drums last for very long time.

Tips for scavenging

• Scavenging should not be the considered the same as truly clearing the city, scavenging should first be done either in the wilderness or the edges of the city first, and even there, scavenging should be done stealthily to avoid losing your spoils or your life.
• Travel light, only carry what you truly need to defend yourself and save space for loot, and to lower your encumbrance.
• Night raiding is very useful for going deeper into the city earlier in order to get to a certain building you really want to scavenge, see that guide on how to make the use of this strategy.

Scavenging for food and drink

Now you've settled in, you are ready for some food to cook, in earlier seasons, you are best off gathering and eating fresh fruits and vegetables, any canned food you find is best saved for winter, when no fresh fruits and vegetables can be found. A good strategy is to eat what is going to expire first, and save longer lasting foods for later.

Foraging in underbrushes in forests will give you wild vegetables, though these don't provide much calories, they are a valuable source of a little bit of nutrition and survival skill.

Come summer you are able to gather fruits in forests, and sometimes in towns. Plums, apricots, berries and various other foods all become available once the weather warms. These are surprisingly calorie dense, consider preserving some for the future.

Places to gather canned foods, alcohol, and ingredients for more complex food recipes include houses restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, pizza parlours, and fast food restaurants. Grocery stores should be raided before too many days pass, as they provide fruits and vegetables that will quickly rot.

Don't be afraid to eat on the go! It doesn't take long for you to scarf down what you find. You can save some space in your pack by using the space in your stomach!

Scavenging for medicine

Next on the survival priorities is medicine, you can find medicine in pharmacies, doctor's offices, bathrooms in houses, and sometimes basements and hospitals.

Houses are the simplest places to start gathering medicine, simply look in the bathroom, do check the sink and toilets, because they may hide the medicine inside if you don't go right next to them.

Pharmacies are simple enough, the door is usually unlocked, but sometimes you may need to either enter the counter via the back entrance or the door next to the counter, this can trigger the alarm, so watch out for the eyebots that are summoned or any zombies that are investigating the noise. Basic medicines such as Aspirin can be found in the aisles out front, while stronger medicines and antibiotics can be found behind the counter.

Some pharmacies may not have a shutter on the counter, while these pharmacies are easier, there may be less meds found on the shelf.

Scavenging for guns and ammo

This is where your scavenging task will have a significant jump in difficulty. Guns and ammo are difficult to obtain in the early game, and most buildings that are liable to contain them are typically deeper in the city, where the larger hordes await you. However, firearms are essential for fighting off the ever evolving zombie hordes.

Gun stores are the most obvious place to visit, but you will need a lockpick to enter their pesky metal doors. Otherwise, try a hacksaw to saw off the metal bars on the windows. Beware the eyebots that will come flying in when the alarm goes off, as well as zombies attracted to the noise.

Rarely, guns and ammo can be found on standard zombie corpses and in bedroom end tables.

Certain zombies, such as zombie cops or zombie soldiers, can carry firearms.

Some houses can also contain a wealth of firearms and ammo in their basements, but beware: these basements may contain deadlier types of zombies than usual. Smoker zombies and survivor zombies are commonly found in these basements, so bring a gas mask and some good armor.

Some vehicles, such as police cars, armored cars, SWAT vans, and security vans, can also contain firearms.

Depending on your strength, you may need to prioritise certain firearms over others; if you are low strength, you may want to grab handguns, if you are higher strength, you may want to grab heavier weapons like shotguns and rifles.

As of 0.F (Frank), rifles cannot be stored in most backpacks, so you may want to bring some shoulder straps to carry any rifles back.

Even if you don't predominantly use them due to strength issues, you may still want to obtain bigger guns for either if you do manage to increase your strength and carry capacity, or for any NPCs you recruit.