Killing zombies

Guide created using an unknown version of Cataclysm DDA.
The information present here might not apply to the current version of CDDA.

Killing zombies (and other entities hostile or otherwise) is an important aspect of the game. Pounding on zombies with your fist is a great way to lose another character (unless you have Martial arts or high Unarmed). Unfortunately, every method comes either with some risk or expenditure of resources. Zombies can be killed in various ways. This article will outline some methods.

Burn them

One of the easiest way to kill a zombie is to KILL IT WITH FIRE. First, acquire some two by fours by smashing furniture, and throw them in a line. Set it ablaze using a lighter or matches. Now, watch the zombie walk through the fire and get burned or at least heavily damaged. Once said zombie is dead, you can loot it and set the remaining clothes on fire. More zombies getting burned means more zombies to burn. This can be a safe way to kill regular zombies. Plus, burned zombies, when they revive, usually turn into Scorched zombies, which could prevent some annoying specials. Scorched zombies explode into smoke on death, so put some mouth protection on like a Gas mask.

It is however important to note: fire spreads, destroys items and can cause buildings to collapse if the walls are burned down. Therefore, when lighting a fire you must be careful. You can use Lighting a fire in a Fireplace, Brazier or other fire containing structure prevents it from spreading. The fire may also destroy any useful items the zombies may be carrying. You can look at the surroundings with (x) to see if they are described as flammable. If you don't care, have away you firebug!

Burn them in a building

You can also lure a horde of zombies into following you and set a whole house on fire. To prepare, you might want to Unload some gasoline around the place to ensure the whole thing gets burned quickly. This might also work for other buildings. You can get creative with gas stations and be a real pyromaniac. Watching the world burn is a fun pastime.

Of course, the fire will likely destroy the building. If you've time to scout ahead, loot the building before hand of anything useful. The fire may spread to other buildings if they touch. Always commit arson responsibly.

Smash it!

Getting a good melee weapon is easy in the early game. However, its important to know different weapons deal different damage: bashing, cutting and piercing. You can get a pipe for bashing damage pretty quickly by Smashing a locker. After that's done, you can go outside and pick up a rock. With this, you can craft a crowbar by pressing &. Cutting weapons like machetes are rare, but if you manage to find a blade, you can then make some makeshift-weapons using duct tape and blade. A crude sword can be more easily made using some scrap metal and a 2-by-sword at Fabrication-2. Stabbing and Piercing weapons can be even more easily made. To make a makeshift knife, get a rag or some duct tapes. Craft a spike using scrap or chunks of steel. Then craft the makeshift knife. The recipe for the knife spear is given below (see "Poke-a-Zombie" section).

To kill a zombie, you simply just walk into it. Your character will now attack the zombie with their weapon. You will also automatically melee nearby enemies with Tab. For higher damage and a higher chance of hitting the thing, you will want to have a high melee skill. Progression in the bashing, Cutting, and Piercing weapons skills will also help. You can progress these skills through reading Books or practice (through combat).

Poke a zombie

What?! Yes, poke it! The pointy stick can be useful as a makeshift weapon for poking zombies. Smash apart a bench, and enter the crafting menu (&), then find the recipe for 'Pointy Stick'. They can also make effective throwing weapons at close range, but make sure you have plenty of them. The knife spear is even better for early-game fighting. The knife spear takes some time and skills to make, but is entirely doable for early survivors. It requires Survival-1, so before starting, make sure to raise it (it can be easily increased early by Butchering corpses or Foraging).

Begin by finding a heavy stick and smashing apart a window. A window will also provide you with string and a sheet. Cut the sheet into rags. You must then make a spike for the tip. Pick up a rock from outside and smash a locker or two to gain 9 scrap metal or 3 chunk of steel. Use the rock as your improvised hammer to crank out a twisted metal spike. Once you have obtained all four components, you can then fashion a knife spear. Later, you can craft Javelins, and better spears are more dependable. However, this one will keep you protected in your early days. Using the knife spear will also raise your Piercing/Stabbing skill; thus, you can upgrade to Knives or Spears at will, which are mostly better than cutting weapons if used against unarmored enemies. Twenty-eight pierce will sure as hell poke the hell out of it! With 'poke,' I actually mean Pierce. Be wary of weapons getting stuck.

What makes the pointy stick so effective is its reach attack property. This allows you to fire it at enemies no more than two tiles away. Some weapons have a long reach property that lets you fire them at enemies within 3 tiles. Other weapons have this property, and are usually spears or whips. By attacking an enemy with it, then moving back when they get closer you can kill enemies with very little hassle. There is a danger of fast enemies closing the distance and attacking in the time it takes you to attack, but most zombies are quite slow. Remember you can look at zombies to see how fast they are compared to you.

Drive them flat!

Finding a working car with just a tiny amount of gas could just save your life! Having a bottle of gasoline with you while wandering the city is actually recommended, for most cars have just a tiny amount of gas left. Just Examine some cars you find, and you're bound to find one with a working engine.

To run a car needs: a working engine, enough wheels (usually four unless its a motorbike or bike of some kind), controls (pedals for bikes), a seat in the control tile, a battery with enough charge to start the engine, a way to bypass security (some cars have their security systems destroyed, you will need high electronics and mechanics to bypass it otherwise.) and fuel (most cars are gasoline, some are diesel and some electric. Electric cars only need battery charge.) If this is too much, stand on the controls, press ^. The engine may fail to start, so try a few times. If it starts, try moving. If nothing has gone wrong, congratulations you found a working car!

Get in the car and take control with ^. The game will tell you if you're in the right position. Accelerate with the movement keys. For more information, see the car controls article. To kill the zombie, just bump into it. Driving faster will make sure that the zombie is pulped, guaranteeing that it will not get up the next day. Killing zombies using vehicles is probably one of the most efficient elimination methods.

Archery101: Throwing with Extra Steps.

Bows and crossbows are the quietest ranged weapons in the game and use the Archery skill. There is also a chance, depending on how well made the bolts/arrows are to be able to recover them after use. Crossbows deal more damage and tend to have better armor piercing, but take much longer to reload. In bows the action of (f)iring and (r)eloading is done in the same action and is faster than a crossbow. The bow drains stamina as long as you're aiming. Crossbows are better against armoured enemies or enemies you can kill or weaken considerably in one shot. You can always bring multiple crossbows! Bows are useful in more general situations, although the stamina drain needs to be managed.

A third option exists: slingshots! You can craft this very easily by (s)mashing a fridge to get a hose, than acquire some planks and a knife. Slingshots use pebbles, which you can craft from stones. It's weak but the ammo is easily found. The ammo does not have a chance of being recovered. I mean, if you're shooting tiny pebbles how are you going to find it afterwards?

Guns: Throwing Metal REALLY Fast.

Guns are loud and powerful, but use valuable ammunition. Most enemies in the game can hear you make noise, and will come to wreck your day if they hear you. Guns come in many flavors: pistols are small and easy to carry. SMGs tend to use the same ammo as pistols but are more accurate and may have auto fire. Rifles are more powerful and accurate, but are huge. Shotguns will obliterate anything stupid enough to get close, but are big. Just remember: against armored enemies each individual pellet will have its damage reduced by their armor. Switch to slugs for armored pests.