@@iguanac6466 eh swordsplay is better imo, powerhouse and close combat drags the zombie to the ground before the kill, swordsplay just grabs and kills. About half a second or more difference which is very critical especially in thick mobs. Or maybe its just me but i think there is a delay.
I think the key to getting the most out of the various weapon types is to build your loadouts in such a way that weaknesses are compensated for. If you're going Swordplay on a character, get Sharpshooter and bring a shotgun. Use the blade for miscellaneous zombies and the shotgun for hordes and hairy moments. If you're going Striking, get Gunslinger and bring a pistol, SMG, or assault rifle. Use the bonk device for groups and the gun for priority targets. It's also worth pointing out that the weight values of the various weapon types complement each other when paired like this. Shotguns are pretty heavy, but blades are usually light, and blunt weapons are heavy as well, but pistols and automatics are usually light.
I think since last updates we get more and more close combat survivors (before it was a rare skill) and as I always loved it I mainly takt it when I can. I also like the blade one for the standing zombie kill.
This is one of those games I never thought would have so many details in its mechanics and alterations in gameplay. There really is a depth below the surface of "kill the zombies this way or this way"
Powerhouse allows to dropkick with CQC (and other weapons as long as it's not a Heavy one). Biggest thing? Dropkicks open up Ferals to execution. And Powerhouse also gives you a general stamina cost reduction on attacks which stacks with CQC innate reduction. Pair these reductions with Dodge into Execution and you will be able to easily deal with larger hordes of non-Blood Plague zeds.
bladed, all day, every day! i'd rather kill something in 1 shot, than spend time and stamina on the target. get good enough with your sworddancing, horde are not a problem. as long as you got enough stamina
A lot of people likes blades, but they're very inconsistent. The level of the player's skill (and I play every day on Nightmare Zone) is not going to help you against big zombie attacks where as striking will plow through any number of zombies. Blades are great when they're hitting their lethal strike in 1-2 hits, but then they're terrible when you aren't getting them. This will happen even when you are using the highest quality blades in the game like the Bastard of Belleau Woods or the CLEO heavy blade.
@@GitGudFox it kills rly quickly tho and I always run out of stamina on striking btw I've watched this before just returning Edit idk if this is a massive effect but I'm on pc so it's prob a bit less sluggish and more pc is more monuveralble so doge more effective
@@teddyfield2164 No one is denying that it kills quickly. you are missing Git Gud Fox's point completely. When going against a horde, being able to kills a single target in a few shots won't be as efficient as being able to make 1 swing that hits multiple targets in one go.
@@angrysocialjusticewarrior you get it... Literally just ran into that situation earlier today... had a blade weapon amd a shit load of zombies... had to rely too often on dodging... with striking i got into the same huge horde problem but not even maxed out managed to spam the knock down swing and stun or knock down multiple zeds...
Been playing since Christmas and never knew about the feral stun with the blunt weapons. I mainly use the Cleo long blade but after you showed that, I might have a new favorite weapon category lol thanks
I was initially doubtful of whether or not this would be a good video subject, but I've found that there's always a few little details here and there that people didn't know about.
Tbh I Ferals were the worst enemies in the game for me, for so long, till I got gunplay. That snapshot made them an absolute joke, so I never even knew about stunning them, or melee takedown, for so long. My only three options were run away, 3v1 smack down, or headshot.
I just dash away after they lung and miss before popping them in the head. Lot easier, since they dodged like Ninjas in the first game (course the strafe ground finish combo was what i did there). Man, I played this way to much back when.
The stealth build. Marathon/Backpacking (Your choice either free stamina or more stamina) Stealth. (Or you could switch out for something else if you're capable of stealth) Close combat. (Because no need to carry a melee that adds weight) Gunslinger (For the aimbot) 5th skill whatever.
Driving for the ultimate stealth build. It makes your car quieter which means you can disemark at a location, and fewer, possibly none, zombies will be chasing after your car.
On lethal zone Marathon Stealth Close combat And Gunslinging. Although you lose 2 slots an Ultralight backpack And a light crossbow. Most threats are easy to deal with. I generally only shoot ferrals and boaters in lethal. Ferrals are worse than juggernauts in lethal. The stealth run with marathon is a really good combo. Run in stealth killing hordes.... If it goes wrong run out... As you run your stamina will replenish. Hide...rinse repeat. Knowing that your weapon won't break in a fight and having limited parts to repair anything... The only other threat I shoot is Hostile enclaves but then I tend to attract a whole horde of Zombies to them and watch the show from afar....
@@miketovey7815 ferals are worse then any zombie lol. In sod1 they would kill u so fast. And they are annoying asf because of their armor plate on their head
Wow! What a wealth here! I use the apocalypse bat. But, when I level, I try to go with any health bump. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your testing. Great video. And a happy New year to you and yours!
Happy New Year to you! I mainly used melee in SoD1, so it sort of carried over into SoD2. There are actually several executions from SoD1 I really miss including the "Mario Stomp." We'll get to see it when I get around to the SoD1 playthrough.
Something to point out about the zombie dexterity over obstacles:. On dreadzone difficulty and above they rarely trip and fall after climbing, I have used the same tactic on normal mode to regain stamina and get some cheap executions, doesn't work so well on harder difficulties. This game makes some pretty subtle changes to the mechanics
I finally got to try the Close combat and I love it,it looks super cool shanking zombies and ferals,if it wasn't for this video never would've given it a chance,I think at least one character should have this skills, thanks also Gitgoodfox,these videos are making my SOD2 experience 10x better,I also finally got to move to the Bridge fort I love it but eventually had to move to L&k storage and it going great only complaint is Bridge fort has the best location
The good news about the melee skills is that they're pretty similar in value. The closer you get to Lethal Zone, the better close combat becomes, but the skills are all fairly balanced in the fighting category.
Love your vids! Honestly i thought i was the only person who used knives as a primary melee weapon. Once you have the eternal guard big groups are easy or you can trim down zombies to a manageable number
Yes, the advisory about CQC's limitations about crowds of enemies will mainly be useful to brand new players... and as well as to experienced players who are trying it for the first time, so that their expectations aren't misplaced.
I used one originally, but I switched to the grasscutter for the better ease of use. The stamina usage is noticeably better on it while only having a bit worse durability.
I always use either a shovel for durability or the Red Talon sword since it's light and average plus pair it with discipline and it won't break easily.
"Especially when you get them on the ground, and you just start stabbing their face!" Umm... you okay, bro? Need a hug? We're here, if you need to talk... and if we can't help, I know these peeps in white coats. They'll take the best care of you. :D :P
My favorite stat combo is marathon stealth and close combat So when you stealth run at light encumbrance, it is free and fast to kill and the dash and grab works quickly. Also no weapon durability! And stun locking ferals makes this pretty effective
Fighting 2 Ferals with a knive and survive... im very happy that i started playing this after they added higher difficulties. :) A survival game without a real threat sounds boring to me.
It was standard zone, so they're not hitting as hard as they could be, and I'm also less injury prone on standard zone. It can also be done on Nightmare Zone, but I'd have to do a lot more dodging.
These are the tips I wish I knew when I started playing SoD2 but I guess it's fun in it's own way learning all this. It was cool to learn the over the shoulder toss.
@@GitGudFox Appreciate the tips man. Also, odd there's not many SoD2 youtubers. The game is super fun. I've already put 90 plus hours in the game the whole I've been playing it. I couldnt believe how quickly the hours racked up.
The game isn't popular enough. Creators need viewers to make a living off of the platform. Some people make content just as a hobby, but since they have to work for a living, they can't dedicate as many hours to content creation as a full time creator.
You forgot the jumping knee attack from cqc and combining it with powerhouse let you grab execute from any angle close quarters has a running jumping knee attack most people dont know about you can use on hordes if there's no fences
I usually choose close quarters, then run with no primary melee weapon equipped. When you do this and you set the characters skills up just right, running will not take stamina and dodging will barely take anything too. This allows you to mulch your way through a horde using the quick button kills and come out at the end with no damaged weapons and barely any damage taken. It takes a while to get used to the tactic for doing it, but it's my primary tactic that I've used and I'm currently on a Nightmare world with 0 survivor deaths in day 22.
I love swordplay most, rtx extermination blade, rebar blade or trench tool are my go to bladed weapons. High durability and decent lethality. One thing you can do with swordplay actually, is directing your strikes, so you won't give the zoms time to hit you. ;) If you see zed behind you trying to grab you by balls, press S and the attack will be swung to the enemy behind you. Idk, maybe back then you weren't able to, but right now in nightmare zone, i can literally dance with z's easily and they're not able to land any attacks on me. :D But nice vid mate!
i find the swordplay to be pretty good if youre in a choke point like a doorway since you can just keep on executing without interruptions unless a zombie attacks behind you but you can still dodge so youre pretty safe
Blunt weapons with moderate lethality are superb. You don't need to bother with executions and they'll just lawnmower regular zombies. And they knock helmets off armored zombies well enough. Eg apocalypse bat is probably the best blunt weapon
I have to admit I like swordplay the most. It is JUST.SO.SATISFYING to watch limbs come off lol. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. I also like the little flourishes you can do. Looks so badass.
The key to melee combat is getting the zombies on the ground. The best thing about swordplay is the zombies cannot get back up. Blunt weapons and close combat have some quicker executions. But if you want to simplify fighting, you pick the endurance skill. Throw the zombies on the floor, and stomp them to death/crouch and stab.
You can do that a lot quicker with striking. 1 special attack from endurance knocks down 1 zomibe. 1 special attack from striking knocks down all of the zombies in front of you.
You also don't get the bonus lethality from swordplay, the standing execution from close combat, or the enhanced impact from striking. You do get more health and injury resistance with endurance, but it's overkill on Standard Zone, and offense is more important than defense in Nightmare Zone.
For blunt/edged weapons, once you get the Striking/Swordplay skill, the only stat that really matters is weight. The same for goes for edged weapons. The reason for that is, you're very rarely going to need to do the basic attack anymore. That CLEO Mace or whatever... you give that to the NOOBS in your colony... the experts get Noodlers and Metal Bats. For Heavy weapons, the other stats matter.
Weight only matters if your character has marathon. It plays little role anywhere else. Blunt weapons make extensive use of knockdown and ease of use which allows for 1-hit knockdowns on regular attacks and reduced consumption of stamina for executions. Bladed weapons make use of lethality and ease of use.
CQC is really useful when you add Marathon and Discipline to the mix, because the free sprint buff is amazing for medium distance supply runs, where discipline and CQC always have you packing light.
Coming back to this vid cause I noticed acrobatics and close combat is pretty good and satisfying. If you dont have a melee equipped, the running jump attack insures that you knock down most enemies with a flying kick which is pretty cool too.
+Git Gud Fox wow! I literally had zero clue about close quarters! Here I am thinking the knives were simply either for stealth, or for backup when the main weapons break and here you go talking about some "close quarters?" This is actually a good revelation! I'm working on a Warlord run, and I'm training up my leader to be good at stealth, quick with a pistol and this "close quarters" really opens up a new gameplay avenues. Thanks, now I have to find a respec manual or te6o
Also, Ironicly I'd say Swordplay Masters, are actually Terrible for those quests where someone wants you to hack off limbs. A sword master could go into a horse, n only take 3 arms, with the rest being instant decapitations. But swordplay Is good for marathon players, since low weight is good for them (but clearly CQC is even better for marathon runners then)
They updated melee weapons... years after this video was made. Now they're all relatively balanced. I would say Striking is probably a bit better slightly.
man, for me striking for sure, i just love playing with a baseball bat and pushing my enemies like kids, i can play with a horde if i want, i end up with a feral in just a few quick hits, the juggernaut doesn't even touch me hehe, this is amazing!
Striking is really useful in lethal zone where you can easily get surroundend by many zombies, in fact you can't start a fight with a single zee without him shouting and causing an uproar that attracts 20 more of them.
I recommend Echo-2 Mamba because it’s silent, good ease of use, and light and since it’s silent it can stealth kill juggernauts by slicing its back and crouching
It also has the best Impact of all bladed weapons (its impact even outperform most blunt weapons), making it great for taking down a feral 1v1 or even juggernaut 1v1, while still maintaining very good Lethal stat.
I like combining Close Combat, Marathon, and Discipline. Curb stomp and then run around to let your stamina recharge, as long as you are lightly encumbered. Rinse and repeat
Another bonus to cqc is you save weight by not having a primary weapon and it gives you another slot to pick something up(as long as it's a melee weapon)
I suppose this was made before powerhouse and heavy weapons were a thing. Heavy weapons+powerhouse beat striking with a mace any day. Though my personal fav is powerhouse+close combat. Pretty op really.
The redesign on striking makes it a lot better than powerhouse with any other weapon unless you're specifically killing plague hearts. The grand slam always knocks zombies down, with a single skill, and now the new smart execution system ensures you will get the extremely fast blunt golfclub swing on every execution as long as 2+ zombies are near eachother. It basically obsoleted the old meta of powerhouse/closecombat. You can also do standing execution spam with swordplay because of smart executions as well.
I use both, because I recruited someone early with 3 points in swordplay and a unique[?] weapon. all of the points you mention were evident but I was having so much fun I didnt really notice that it was more finesse than the button mashing club, I just noticed that it was more amusing. I am going to be boring and say that I will use SP chars for things like "eviction" missions or plague hearts. both involve dealing with smaller numbers. the edge [hah!] in plague hearts being that I want to end the strays who happen to ignore my noise maker before the noise maker stops confusing the rest of them. if I have to go rescue a survivor I try to go with blunt for the reasons you mentioned. more often than not the human is in the middle of a crowd when I get there and clearing them away is more important than killing them fast. guess I put more thought into this stuff than I realised.
So did I. I was originally unsure if I wanted to cover this subject, but when I began to use the weapons in isolation without other weaponry to support it, I still wound up learning some things I didn't know before... and I figure if I learn something, someone else will learn something.
CQC is definitely my favorite one to use against zombies. Sadly in online play it suffers really badly during lag, making it almost useless. Like the grabs and throws stop working properly, and zombies start dealing damage to you simply because you're close.
12:19 my gameplay lol. You can also use curbs by the road for killing Jugg while he is climbing across it. Also CLEO Greathammer is the only one melee weapon you can kill blood plague juggernaut with 10-15 hits...
Helpful vid. Cleared up what ease of use is for me (thought it was speed). I hate striking because its so slow but now I know it stuns ferals thats a game changer. In NM I wonder how it will do against feral packs. Im constantly dying to those given im low on ammo.
I personally prefer swordplay because its leg sweep can make an entire horde not a threat very quickly. It makes clearing buildings with a few zombies very easy. I also really like close combat for characters I design for stealth. It just makes sense for that build.
All of the weapons can be good. Swordplay's weakness is that swords are very fragile with few exceptions, and they're probability based with their kills except when using executions. They're also the worst of the melee weapons again ferals. Even with the leg sweep, swordplay is still not as effective as blunt when dealing with huge quantities of zomies nor will it clear through zombies in an emergency such as trying to save an NPC covered in zombies like blunt weapons can.
@@GitGudFox I agree that bladed are fragile, though I try to avoid melee with ferals. I prefer to just get the headshot off on them. My play style also typically has me avoiding hordes of more than about 8, or using the crossbow repeater from a distance.
That's also how I play. Sometimes, especially in Nightmare Zone, the game decides to dump a heap of stuff on you. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." As they say.
Discipline helps the sword last longer for the wits specialization and some people hero traits help out(difficult to find) but it's still breaks fast or may e I'm just killing so much zombies.
Just now getting into this game and love it so far. Not a complaint against it or anything but it would make more sense if bladed weapons swept throught crowds and blunt attacked singularly but did more stun and knockback damage to make up for it. I'd still want a sweep through upgrade for blunt though.
as of update 26 i’d say swordplay is much easier to use against hordes as you do fast executions all the time when it’s maxed, strikings still kind of the same becos you’d usually knocked them down before executing
I had been staying away from close combat due to fear of the unknown. Thanks to your video I'll retrain my marathon runner that I dislike to try it out. (just in case he gets wrecked by ferals)
Blades every time, but this is the first I’ve heard of the weekend trader?! Only just started playing through SOD2 again though to ease lockdown boredom and have completely fallen in love with it again
Acrobatocs + Cqc = a lot of fun, well for me. Flying strike is a guaranteed knocked without a melee weapon. You can be stabby mc. stabberson or quick kill mc. quickerson. It's just fun as hell! I wouldn't recommend it on anything above dread zone though...
I'm a Striking guy myself, but I try to avoid CLEO weapons b/c I don't want to play Daybreak. that said, the CLEO mace was the only CLEO weapon, melee or ranged, that I ever spent Prestige points on for my base game. my favorite blunt weapons are currently the Metal Bat, the Halligan Tool, and the Crow's Beak. Metal Bat has really high Ease of Use and surprisingly high Lethality for a blunt weapon, Halligan Tool has high Ease of Use and good Durability, and Crow's Beak (along with the Deck Destroyer, which I also like) is the blunt weapon with the highest Lethality I am aware of.
I use a lot of the DLC blunt weapons like apocalypse bat and CLEO mace. The crow's beak is also one I like. It's sort of a hybrid between a blunt and a blade.
Unlike one-handed weapons, unlockable skills for heavy weapons will not be unlocked from the Fighting core skills, but rather from the Cardio core skills. So you can have these skills and some moves for heavy weapons at the same time. To get it, your cardio specialization has to be Powerhouse. It's nothing too fancy. The skill allows you to execute standing enemies while you have a heavy weapon equipped... it will pull the enemy onto the floor and stomp on their face. That's pretty much it. There is also a "power hit" by holding the melee weapon, it will charge up your weapon and hit an enemy (it is actually weak, with very poor accuracy, while being slow)... very underwhelming.
I prefer sword, but CQC+PH is an incredibly close 2nd. Knees+quick executions are great against hordes (zeds can't knock you out of either animation and the animations are fast), stun lock on ferals, fast+quick attacks on juggs. The only thing I like better about swordplay are the quick standing executions.
Always like the blunt weapons best. Especially at the start when you make a new community with no stats. They knock down groups much faster than trying to go in bladed. Even if it doesn’t kill them the knocking down buys time. Always best choice imo.
Swordplay is probably the weakest overall. Slicing zombies legs off is a weaker strategy that just killing them in 1 hit which the other styles can do, or can down and kill multiple zombies at once. It's not something you will see the very high skill players do much.
I use the sea of thieves sword (I don’t know the actual name but it has a skull with green eyes on it) and it’s amazing. It’s not as fast as the grass cutter but it seriously packs a punch and it’s pretty easy to get and you don’t need rng (you get it from the broker) I’ve been using it for months and it hasn’t broken or even gotten low durability once. It’s great for hordes cause I just spam the execution and I have never gotten interrupted while doing it probably cause of how fast it is. Definitely recommend
the swordplay and acrobatics combo is kinda effective when you want to hack zombies with a sword quickly and efficiently. but it has a decent standard for durability as well as fighting ferals with it as it is mentioned in the video.
I don't know about that now. If I wanted to hack zombies efficiently with a sword, I'd just mash the attack button or use the standing execution. The leaping slash wouldn't make the experience more efficient.
I always find the heavy weapons to just never bring enough value for their weight. There are so many lighter weapons that have deadlier stats like the Grasscutter.
I like the karambit myself. It has a nice wicked curve like an eagle's talon. I've notice a few Undertale fans sifting in periodically. There's someone with a Sans avatar, a Asriel account, and someone with a Chara avatar too.
I usually prefer bladed weapons when I HAVE to use melee with the CLEO Battle Axe being my favorite. But when up against hordes I prefer to just fire lots of bullets into the crowd and pop as many skulls as I can. And of course use Weapon Handling to negate the accelerated wear and tear on the SMG/AR when using a suppressor.
I find it's hard to use a gun when they're already on top of you. You have to dodge away or run away for a while to create space, and that assumes that it doesn't bring even more zombies in as you run away (on Nightmare Zone at least). If there are just a ton of zombies, I typically toss a firebomb to clear them.
It used to be one of the best bladed weapons until Undead Labs introduced the bounty broker and obsoleted it with other weapon that have the same but better stats averages.
I love close combat I always try and have at least two survivors with that skill that's one of the best things about this game the variety of things you can do I have my shooters my tanks my sneaky scavengers my slicers I always try and have a good mix of everything to deal with any situation
I love swordplay cause of the standing executions , looks amazing!
Standing Execution is pretty handy.
Even better with powerhouse. On PC I just tap Z and it grabs and executes the nearest zombie without even having to face them.
u get it with close combat, too
@@iguanac6466 eh swordsplay is better imo, powerhouse and close combat drags the zombie to the ground before the kill, swordsplay just grabs and kills. About half a second or more difference which is very critical especially in thick mobs. Or maybe its just me but i think there is a delay.
@@a.syching678 Agree...about the only thing I like about CC are the fast ground executions.
I think the key to getting the most out of the various weapon types is to build your loadouts in such a way that weaknesses are compensated for. If you're going Swordplay on a character, get Sharpshooter and bring a shotgun. Use the blade for miscellaneous zombies and the shotgun for hordes and hairy moments. If you're going Striking, get Gunslinger and bring a pistol, SMG, or assault rifle. Use the bonk device for groups and the gun for priority targets.
It's also worth pointing out that the weight values of the various weapon types complement each other when paired like this. Shotguns are pretty heavy, but blades are usually light, and blunt weapons are heavy as well, but pistols and automatics are usually light.
Agreed but I go for highest magazines and on sidearms too
I guess I'm the only person who only uses the best wepon in the game.
The "rusty screwdriver"
It is useful when you need to screw zombies over.
I think since last updates we get more and more close combat survivors (before it was a rare skill) and as I always loved it I mainly takt it when I can. I also like the blade one for the standing zombie kill.
I still prefer close combat.
@@GitGudFox *Ba-dum-Tchh*
SCREW YOU 😂😂😂
This is one of those games I never thought would have so many details in its mechanics and alterations in gameplay. There really is a depth below the surface of "kill the zombies this way or this way"
It's all about the combinations. Swordplay and powerhouse cranks out one hit kills. Acrobatics and close combat (my fav) let's you jump kick.
I tend to combine close combat with powerhouse.
@@GitGudFox I feel like close combat and powerhouse are two complete opposites.
TonyNite OPPOSITES i tell ya
@@joshualewis8145 remember Powerhouse can drop kick so Maybe it’s good with cqc?
Powerhouse allows to dropkick with CQC (and other weapons as long as it's not a Heavy one). Biggest thing? Dropkicks open up Ferals to execution. And Powerhouse also gives you a general stamina cost reduction on attacks which stacks with CQC innate reduction. Pair these reductions with Dodge into Execution and you will be able to easily deal with larger hordes of non-Blood Plague zeds.
I miss heavy weapons :( running in to a horde with a shovel was great!
2H weapons were my favorite in SoD1. I'm not happy that they weren't included in SoD2.
And the two handed axe! ☹️
can you not get a shovel in sod2? or is it just not the same as the first game
jared not the same as the first game. The only two handed weapons are blunt based, and the shovel, while dope, is bladed, so it’s one handed.
Well this aged well
bladed, all day, every day! i'd rather kill something in 1 shot, than spend time and stamina on the target.
get good enough with your sworddancing, horde are not a problem. as long as you got enough stamina
A lot of people likes blades, but they're very inconsistent. The level of the player's skill (and I play every day on Nightmare Zone) is not going to help you against big zombie attacks where as striking will plow through any number of zombies.
Blades are great when they're hitting their lethal strike in 1-2 hits, but then they're terrible when you aren't getting them. This will happen even when you are using the highest quality blades in the game like the Bastard of Belleau Woods or the CLEO heavy blade.
@@GitGudFox it kills rly quickly tho and I always run out of stamina on striking btw I've watched this before just returning
Edit idk if this is a massive effect but I'm on pc so it's prob a bit less sluggish and more pc is more monuveralble so doge more effective
@@teddyfield2164 No one is denying that it kills quickly. you are missing Git Gud Fox's point completely.
When going against a horde, being able to kills a single target in a few shots won't be as efficient as being able to make 1 swing that hits multiple targets in one go.
@@angrysocialjusticewarrior you get it... Literally just ran into that situation earlier today... had a blade weapon amd a shit load of zombies... had to rely too often on dodging...
with striking i got into the same huge horde problem but not even maxed out managed to spam the knock down swing and stun or knock down multiple zeds...
I choose bladed cause usually I slim the herd down then attack
Been playing since Christmas and never knew about the feral stun with the blunt weapons. I mainly use the Cleo long blade but after you showed that, I might have a new favorite weapon category lol thanks
I was initially doubtful of whether or not this would be a good video subject, but I've found that there's always a few little details here and there that people didn't know about.
Tbh I Ferals were the worst enemies in the game for me, for so long, till I got gunplay. That snapshot made them an absolute joke, so I never even knew about stunning them, or melee takedown, for so long. My only three options were run away, 3v1 smack down, or headshot.
I just dash away after they lung and miss before popping them in the head. Lot easier, since they dodged like Ninjas in the first game (course the strafe ground finish combo was what i did there).
Man, I played this way to much back when.
The stealth build.
Marathon/Backpacking (Your choice either free stamina or more stamina)
Stealth. (Or you could switch out for something else if you're capable of stealth)
Close combat. (Because no need to carry a melee that adds weight)
Gunslinger (For the aimbot)
5th skill whatever.
Driving for the ultimate stealth build. It makes your car quieter which means you can disemark at a location, and fewer, possibly none, zombies will be chasing after your car.
Why no acrobatics ? Those others are terrible perks.
@@I3arett Acrobatics sucks
On lethal zone
Marathon
Stealth
Close combat
And Gunslinging.
Although you lose 2 slots an Ultralight backpack
And a light crossbow.
Most threats are easy to deal with.
I generally only shoot ferrals and boaters in lethal.
Ferrals are worse than juggernauts in lethal.
The stealth run with marathon is a really good combo.
Run in stealth killing hordes.... If it goes wrong run out... As you run your stamina will replenish.
Hide...rinse repeat.
Knowing that your weapon won't break in a fight and having limited parts to repair anything...
The only other threat I shoot is Hostile enclaves but then I tend to attract a whole horde of Zombies to them and watch the show from afar....
@@miketovey7815 ferals are worse then any zombie lol. In sod1 they would kill u so fast. And they are annoying asf because of their armor plate on their head
These videos are so amazingly helpful I wish I found this channel when I first got the game lol but keep up the great work!
Wish the TH-cam algorithm would throw me a bone and recommend my guides to people more.
@@GitGudFox it just did. I picked up this game recently and I had no idea close combat is so different when it comes to the weapon type.
Wow! What a wealth here! I use the apocalypse bat. But, when I level, I try to go with any health bump. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your testing. Great video. And a happy New year to you and yours!
Happy New Year to you! I mainly used melee in SoD1, so it sort of carried over into SoD2. There are actually several executions from SoD1 I really miss including the "Mario Stomp." We'll get to see it when I get around to the SoD1 playthrough.
Something to point out about the zombie dexterity over obstacles:. On dreadzone difficulty and above they rarely trip and fall after climbing, I have used the same tactic on normal mode to regain stamina and get some cheap executions, doesn't work so well on harder difficulties. This game makes some pretty subtle changes to the mechanics
It should still work. It just depends on the height they fall from. There are certain heights they can fall from without tripping.
This was incredibly helpful! Especially the CQC info. OMG! That curb-stomp move at 11:40
I was hesitant to try CQC until I made this video, so I wind up learning as much as I teach.
I finally got to try the Close combat and I love it,it looks super cool shanking zombies and ferals,if it wasn't for this video never would've given it a chance,I think at least one character should have this skills, thanks also Gitgoodfox,these videos are making my SOD2 experience 10x better,I also finally got to move to the Bridge fort I love it but eventually had to move to L&k storage and it going great only complaint is Bridge fort has the best location
It's a lot of fun to use. It isn't super great against crowds of zombies, but every weapon has to have a weakness.
Thank you for explaining the respec books, I couldn't find a single vid on it, I mainly try to go endurance on all characters
The can sometimes be a pain to get. I'm trying to get more of them this weekend.
Appreciate your thorough analysis…you break this game down to a science 😯
Been playing state of decay 2 since 2015!! It's amazing x
That's a pretty long time!
Thank you for these videos. You are one of my favorite channels.
I'm honored you'd say that! I try to make content worth watching from a viewer's perspective.
Swordplay, if you know the moves. you can be very lethal.
The good news about the melee skills is that they're pretty similar in value. The closer you get to Lethal Zone, the better close combat becomes, but the skills are all fairly balanced in the fighting category.
I use both blades and blunt with different characters. Blunt to clear infestations and blades to loot. Great videos sir.
Those axes you can get from Cash Beaumont are great new bladed weapons.
Love your vids! Honestly i thought i was the only person who used knives as a primary melee weapon. Once you have the eternal guard big groups are easy or you can trim down zombies to a manageable number
Yes, the advisory about CQC's limitations about crowds of enemies will mainly be useful to brand new players... and as well as to experienced players who are trying it for the first time, so that their expectations aren't misplaced.
Great video Fox, glad I watched it because it's got me pumped to switch over to close combat!
Close Combat can be a bit awkward to use until you get it to 7-stars, but it's really good when you max it out.
Close Combat is by far my favorite the grab executions are OP!
Your videos are so thorough and well thought out. Always superb, well done!
I probably need to redo this one since heavy weapons are a thing now.
You should try the rebar blade best sword overall. Really durable
I used one originally, but I switched to the grasscutter for the better ease of use. The stamina usage is noticeably better on it while only having a bit worse durability.
I always use either a shovel for durability or the Red Talon sword since it's light and average plus pair it with discipline and it won't break easily.
@@edrodriguez3215 a shovel for swordplay??? I will try it but I like the daybreak long blade the best. Most it takes is three hits to kill
rocklakebarber that is not what I remember
aaron Ramirez He means the trench tool
Plus CQC you save weight/inventory slot! There for getting those benefits too
That is another perk!
"Especially when you get them on the ground, and you just start stabbing their face!"
Umm... you okay, bro? Need a hug? We're here, if you need to talk... and if we can't help, I know these peeps in white coats. They'll take the best care of you.
:D :P
Lol
LMAOOOOOO!
It's called being human.
Violence is in human nature. After all, this is literally a game about killing stuff.
I never knew close combat was this good, I thought it was terrible because i never looked at the added kill power of it thank you
It's kind of awkward to use until you max it out to 7-stars.
Thank you for a helpful breakdown of the skills. This was EXACTLY what I was looking for.
Thanks buddy i took a year off playing this game and needed a refresher class haha this was a perfect video!
Weapon balance is a bit different since they added smart executions. Pretty much all of them are solid now.
My favorite stat combo is marathon stealth and close combat
So when you stealth run at light encumbrance, it is free and fast to kill and the dash and grab works quickly. Also no weapon durability! And stun locking ferals makes this pretty effective
I 100% agree with your choices, I like to blend blend them with other skills as well... like acrobatics and cqc.
I love this channel and this game
appreciate the vids! still needed years later
Fighting 2 Ferals with a knive and survive... im very happy that i started playing this after they added higher difficulties. :) A survival game without a real threat sounds boring to me.
It was standard zone, so they're not hitting as hard as they could be, and I'm also less injury prone on standard zone. It can also be done on Nightmare Zone, but I'd have to do a lot more dodging.
Black Coffee Ferals are weak tho
@@ic4192 maybe alone yes but in pack i cant say they are weak
@@ic4192 ever fought blood ferals
Now try to fight a pack Of ferals con lethal with knife :P
Good second to cleo mace is the transmission mace. It also has dismember.
These are the tips I wish I knew when I started playing SoD2 but I guess it's fun in it's own way learning all this. It was cool to learn the over the shoulder toss.
I too had to learn them. I learned from scratch as there were no real content creators for SoD2 originally.
@@GitGudFox Appreciate the tips man. Also, odd there's not many SoD2 youtubers. The game is super fun. I've already put 90 plus hours in the game the whole I've been playing it. I couldnt believe how quickly the hours racked up.
The game isn't popular enough. Creators need viewers to make a living off of the platform. Some people make content just as a hobby, but since they have to work for a living, they can't dedicate as many hours to content creation as a full time creator.
Fox: awman look at all these unique mele weapons!
Me: g u n
You forgot the jumping knee attack from cqc and combining it with powerhouse let you grab execute from any angle close quarters has a running jumping knee attack most people dont know about you can use on hordes if there's no fences
I didn't know about the flying knee at the time of the video's creation.
Flying strike is not from CQC. It's from Acrobatics, a cardio skill.
But indeed there are benefits from combining various core skills together.
Swordplay only! Just for the execution and the cool zombie part flying while in combat
Survivor: I’m really surprised on how good we’re doing
Fox getting mauled by ferals: OH YEAH?
I usually choose close quarters, then run with no primary melee weapon equipped. When you do this and you set the characters skills up just right, running will not take stamina and dodging will barely take anything too. This allows you to mulch your way through a horde using the quick button kills and come out at the end with no damaged weapons and barely any damage taken. It takes a while to get used to the tactic for doing it, but it's my primary tactic that I've used and I'm currently on a Nightmare world with 0 survivor deaths in day 22.
I love swordplay most, rtx extermination blade, rebar blade or trench tool are my go to bladed weapons. High durability and decent lethality. One thing you can do with swordplay actually, is directing your strikes, so you won't give the zoms time to hit you. ;) If you see zed behind you trying to grab you by balls, press S and the attack will be swung to the enemy behind you. Idk, maybe back then you weren't able to, but right now in nightmare zone, i can literally dance with z's easily and they're not able to land any attacks on me. :D But nice vid mate!
i find the swordplay to be pretty good if youre in a choke point like a doorway since you can just keep on executing without interruptions unless a zombie attacks behind you but you can still dodge so youre pretty safe
Blunt weapons with moderate lethality are superb. You don't need to bother with executions and they'll just lawnmower regular zombies. And they knock helmets off armored zombies well enough. Eg apocalypse bat is probably the best blunt weapon
I wouldn't go that far. I have used the apocalypse bat since day 1, and while it is effective, it most definitely will not mow zombies down.
I have to admit I like swordplay the most. It is JUST.SO.SATISFYING to watch limbs come off lol. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. I also like the little flourishes you can do. Looks so badass.
I don't know if you played SoD1, but that game had my favorite weapon skill: giant 2 handed weapons. I am kind of grumpy it didn't make it into SoD2.
@@GitGudFox yeah, I was revisiting SoD1 a week ago when I saw there was a sequel lol.
The key to melee combat is getting the zombies on the ground. The best thing about swordplay is the zombies cannot get back up. Blunt weapons and close combat have some quicker executions. But if you want to simplify fighting, you pick the endurance skill. Throw the zombies on the floor, and stomp them to death/crouch and stab.
You can do that a lot quicker with striking. 1 special attack from endurance knocks down 1 zomibe. 1 special attack from striking knocks down all of the zombies in front of you.
You also don't get the bonus lethality from swordplay, the standing execution from close combat, or the enhanced impact from striking. You do get more health and injury resistance with endurance, but it's overkill on Standard Zone, and offense is more important than defense in Nightmare Zone.
For blunt/edged weapons, once you get the Striking/Swordplay skill, the only stat that really matters is weight. The same for goes for edged weapons. The reason for that is, you're very rarely going to need to do the basic attack anymore. That CLEO Mace or whatever... you give that to the NOOBS in your colony... the experts get Noodlers and Metal Bats. For Heavy weapons, the other stats matter.
Weight only matters if your character has marathon. It plays little role anywhere else.
Blunt weapons make extensive use of knockdown and ease of use which allows for 1-hit knockdowns on regular attacks and reduced consumption of stamina for executions.
Bladed weapons make use of lethality and ease of use.
The enigmatic axe has the best all around stats for any weapon in the game. Good for Amy specialization
CQC is really useful when you add Marathon and Discipline to the mix, because the free sprint buff is amazing for medium distance supply runs, where discipline and CQC always have you packing light.
I'd probably swap out discipline for stealth in that setup.
Coming back to this vid cause I noticed acrobatics and close combat is pretty good and satisfying. If you dont have a melee equipped, the running jump attack insures that you knock down most enemies with a flying kick which is pretty cool too.
It's a skill I think is fun but little else.
CQC also has a unique sweeping kick from behind that instantly knocks a zed down and you can curb stomp them.
True, you could also have grabbed them and stabbed their head though.
+Git Gud Fox wow! I literally had zero clue about close quarters! Here I am thinking the knives were simply either for stealth, or for backup when the main weapons break and here you go talking about some "close quarters?"
This is actually a good revelation! I'm working on a Warlord run, and I'm training up my leader to be good at stealth, quick with a pistol and this "close quarters" really opens up a new gameplay avenues. Thanks, now I have to find a respec manual or te6o
Close Combat is awkward to use before it's maxed out, but it's really good when you unlock the execution.
Also, Ironicly I'd say Swordplay Masters, are actually Terrible for those quests where someone wants you to hack off limbs. A sword master could go into a horse, n only take 3 arms, with the rest being instant decapitations.
But swordplay Is good for marathon players, since low weight is good for them (but clearly CQC is even better for marathon runners then)
You might be able to adjust that by focusing on using bladed weapons with a low lethality stat and a high dismemberment stat.
Striking is really fun in my opinion the grand slam against hordes is pretty useful and it gives you a chance to run
They updated melee weapons... years after this video was made. Now they're all relatively balanced.
I would say Striking is probably a bit better slightly.
man, for me striking for sure, i just love playing with a baseball bat and pushing my enemies like kids, i can play with a horde if i want, i end up with a feral in just a few quick hits, the juggernaut doesn't even touch me hehe, this is amazing!
I love close combat this is reaaally fun to play thanks for the video very good information
Striking is really useful in lethal zone where you can easily get surroundend by many zombies, in fact you can't start a fight with a single zee without him shouting and causing an uproar that attracts 20 more of them.
I recommend Echo-2 Mamba because it’s silent, good ease of use, and light and since it’s silent it can stealth kill juggernauts by slicing its back and crouching
It also has the best Impact of all bladed weapons (its impact even outperform most blunt weapons), making it great for taking down a feral 1v1 or even juggernaut 1v1, while still maintaining very good Lethal stat.
@@tungnse Yup
Good trick with bladed against hordes is funnel them and bounce your hits between the closest ones
I like combining Close Combat, Marathon, and Discipline. Curb stomp and then run around to let your stamina recharge, as long as you are lightly encumbered. Rinse and repeat
I'm not a huge fan of discipline since I started the Nightmare Zone. It's hard to take it over stealth, scouting, and resourcefulness.
"I just really enjoy stabbing the shit out of zombies" - Amen brother
Another bonus to cqc is you save weight by not having a primary weapon and it gives you another slot to pick something up(as long as it's a melee weapon)
It's very good with marathon, in particular, since marathon wants you to be in light carry.
I suppose this was made before powerhouse and heavy weapons were a thing. Heavy weapons+powerhouse beat striking with a mace any day. Though my personal fav is powerhouse+close combat. Pretty op really.
The redesign on striking makes it a lot better than powerhouse with any other weapon unless you're specifically killing plague hearts. The grand slam always knocks zombies down, with a single skill, and now the new smart execution system ensures you will get the extremely fast blunt golfclub swing on every execution as long as 2+ zombies are near eachother.
It basically obsoleted the old meta of powerhouse/closecombat.
You can also do standing execution spam with swordplay because of smart executions as well.
I use both, because I recruited someone early with 3 points in swordplay and a unique[?] weapon. all of the points you mention were evident but I was having so much fun I didnt really notice that it was more finesse than the button mashing club, I just noticed that it was more amusing.
I am going to be boring and say that I will use SP chars for things like "eviction" missions or plague hearts. both involve dealing with smaller numbers. the edge [hah!] in plague hearts being that I want to end the strays who happen to ignore my noise maker before the noise maker stops confusing the rest of them.
if I have to go rescue a survivor I try to go with blunt for the reasons you mentioned. more often than not the human is in the middle of a crowd when I get there and clearing them away is more important than killing them fast.
guess I put more thought into this stuff than I realised.
So did I. I was originally unsure if I wanted to cover this subject, but when I began to use the weapons in isolation without other weaponry to support it, I still wound up learning some things I didn't know before... and I figure if I learn something, someone else will learn something.
CQC is definitely my favorite one to use against zombies.
Sadly in online play it suffers really badly during lag, making it almost useless.
Like the grabs and throws stop working properly, and zombies start dealing damage to you simply because you're close.
Co-op is one of the most disappointing faults of SoD2 unfortunately.
Close Combat with Acrobatics dodging then doing the quick executions is so satisfying
Close Combat + Marathon is the way to go
12:19 my gameplay lol. You can also use curbs by the road for killing Jugg while he is climbing across it. Also CLEO Greathammer is the only one melee weapon you can kill blood plague juggernaut with 10-15 hits...
I have never tried it against jugs outside of the Daybreak mode.
Helpful vid. Cleared up what ease of use is for me (thought it was speed).
I hate striking because its so slow but now I know it stuns ferals thats a game changer. In NM I wonder how it will do against feral packs. Im constantly dying to those given im low on ammo.
The real question is the difference between impact and knockdown? Without descriptions, they sound like the same thing.
I personally prefer swordplay because its leg sweep can make an entire horde not a threat very quickly. It makes clearing buildings with a few zombies very easy. I also really like close combat for characters I design for stealth. It just makes sense for that build.
All of the weapons can be good. Swordplay's weakness is that swords are very fragile with few exceptions, and they're probability based with their kills except when using executions. They're also the worst of the melee weapons again ferals. Even with the leg sweep, swordplay is still not as effective as blunt when dealing with huge quantities of zomies nor will it clear through zombies in an emergency such as trying to save an NPC covered in zombies like blunt weapons can.
@@GitGudFox I agree that bladed are fragile, though I try to avoid melee with ferals. I prefer to just get the headshot off on them. My play style also typically has me avoiding hordes of more than about 8, or using the crossbow repeater from a distance.
That's also how I play. Sometimes, especially in Nightmare Zone, the game decides to dump a heap of stuff on you. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." As they say.
Discipline helps the sword last longer for the wits specialization and some people hero traits help out(difficult to find) but it's still breaks fast or may e I'm just killing so much zombies.
Just now getting into this game and love it so far. Not a complaint against it or anything but it would make more sense if bladed weapons swept throught crowds and blunt attacked singularly but did more stun and knockback damage to make up for it. I'd still want a sweep through upgrade for blunt though.
as of update 26 i’d say swordplay is much easier to use against hordes as you do fast executions all the time when it’s maxed, strikings still kind of the same becos you’d usually knocked them down before executing
I had been staying away from close combat due to fear of the unknown. Thanks to your video I'll retrain my marathon runner that I dislike to try it out. (just in case he gets wrecked by ferals)
I always have at least 1-2 CQC guys because I love the flying knee/ninja kick move. Plus they’re great if you have stealth and marathon.
Blades every time, but this is the first I’ve heard of the weekend trader?! Only just started playing through SOD2 again though to ease lockdown boredom and have completely fallen in love with it again
CQC is REALLY helpful in early Nightmare Mode when you're stuggling for parts.
Acrobatocs + Cqc = a lot of fun, well for me. Flying strike is a guaranteed knocked without a melee weapon. You can be stabby mc. stabberson or quick kill mc. quickerson. It's just fun as hell! I wouldn't recommend it on anything above dread zone though...
I'm a Striking guy myself, but I try to avoid CLEO weapons b/c I don't want to play Daybreak. that said, the CLEO mace was the only CLEO weapon, melee or ranged, that I ever spent Prestige points on for my base game. my favorite blunt weapons are currently the Metal Bat, the Halligan Tool, and the Crow's Beak. Metal Bat has really high Ease of Use and surprisingly high Lethality for a blunt weapon, Halligan Tool has high Ease of Use and good Durability, and Crow's Beak (along with the Deck Destroyer, which I also like) is the blunt weapon with the highest Lethality I am aware of.
I use a lot of the DLC blunt weapons like apocalypse bat and CLEO mace. The crow's beak is also one I like. It's sort of a hybrid between a blunt and a blade.
I like striking cause it goes well with powerhouse cardio.
going to main a close combat bunny rabbit now
It's pretty fun if you can get the hang of the weapon's pacing.
Will you do a updated video on Heavy weapons? I haven't seen the skill yet but you see anything?
same question
Unlike one-handed weapons, unlockable skills for heavy weapons will not be unlocked from the Fighting core skills, but rather from the Cardio core skills. So you can have these skills and some moves for heavy weapons at the same time.
To get it, your cardio specialization has to be Powerhouse. It's nothing too fancy. The skill allows you to execute standing enemies while you have a heavy weapon equipped... it will pull the enemy onto the floor and stomp on their face. That's pretty much it.
There is also a "power hit" by holding the melee weapon, it will charge up your weapon and hit an enemy (it is actually weak, with very poor accuracy, while being slow)... very underwhelming.
powerhouse + close combat is great
I have not tried it yet.
I prefer sword, but CQC+PH is an incredibly close 2nd. Knees+quick executions are great against hordes (zeds can't knock you out of either animation and the animations are fast), stun lock on ferals, fast+quick attacks on juggs. The only thing I like better about swordplay are the quick standing executions.
Deffo might try blunts now :)
Slow paced in small numbers but plows through large numbers of zombies. I feel safe using it even in Nightmare Zone.
Always like the blunt weapons best. Especially at the start when you make a new community with no stats. They knock down groups much faster than trying to go in bladed. Even if it doesn’t kill them the knocking down buys time. Always best choice imo.
Swordplay is the best hands down for lethal.
A zombie without legs is neutralized, which is one less zombie the game can respawn.
Swordplay is probably the weakest overall. Slicing zombies legs off is a weaker strategy that just killing them in 1 hit which the other styles can do, or can down and kill multiple zombies at once.
It's not something you will see the very high skill players do much.
No .Dodge. Shove. ScrewDriver Execute is the best.
No stamina needed.
Close Combat, good for fast executions from ground/behind (moderate execution speed when standing front) and fast attacks
I use the sea of thieves sword (I don’t know the actual name but it has a skull with green eyes on it) and it’s amazing. It’s not as fast as the grass cutter but it seriously packs a punch and it’s pretty easy to get and you don’t need rng (you get it from the broker) I’ve been using it for months and it hasn’t broken or even gotten low durability once. It’s great for hordes cause I just spam the execution and I have never gotten interrupted while doing it probably cause of how fast it is. Definitely recommend
the swordplay and acrobatics combo is kinda effective when you want to hack zombies with a sword quickly and efficiently. but it has a decent standard for durability as well as fighting ferals with it as it is mentioned in the video.
I don't know about that now. If I wanted to hack zombies efficiently with a sword, I'd just mash the attack button or use the standing execution. The leaping slash wouldn't make the experience more efficient.
ok
I basically just save the heavier weapons for the survivors with the most stamina. The rest tends to work itself out.
I always find the heavy weapons to just never bring enough value for their weight. There are so many lighter weapons that have deadlier stats like the Grasscutter.
I love heavy melee weapon skill. You can do finisher when zom are standing and infront of you.
Heavy weapons are good against plague hearts if you have Powerhouse.
I got a CQC person and I found a karambit, never looked back.
I like the karambit myself. It has a nice wicked curve like an eagle's talon. I've notice a few Undertale fans sifting in periodically. There's someone with a Sans avatar, a Asriel account, and someone with a Chara avatar too.
I usually prefer bladed weapons when I HAVE to use melee with the CLEO Battle Axe being my favorite. But when up against hordes I prefer to just fire lots of bullets into the crowd and pop as many skulls as I can. And of course use Weapon Handling to negate the accelerated wear and tear on the SMG/AR when using a suppressor.
I find it's hard to use a gun when they're already on top of you. You have to dodge away or run away for a while to create space, and that assumes that it doesn't bring even more zombies in as you run away (on Nightmare Zone at least). If there are just a ton of zombies, I typically toss a firebomb to clear them.
I prefer blades, particularly the “rebar blade”
Just looks awesome.
It used to be one of the best bladed weapons until Undead Labs introduced the bounty broker and obsoleted it with other weapon that have the same but better stats averages.
@@GitGudFox I’d never really acknowledged the statistical side before, cheers mate.
I use blunt weapons (Apocalypse Bat) but I mainly go for executions, so Close Kombat all the way.
That was my main weapon for a pretty long time.
I love close combat I always try and have at least two survivors with that skill that's one of the best things about this game the variety of things you can do I have my shooters my tanks my sneaky scavengers my slicers I always try and have a good mix of everything to deal with any situation
Blade Leg sweeps matched with gunslinger and a bottle of stimulants is op af
Can be very good especially against armored zombies.
Oh yeah cutting thier legs off then stomping them with A button after you kill the rest. LOVE ITT
Cqc is my favorite. I typically have no problems take hordes out
Wouldn't advice it especially in Nightmare zone to fight hordes in CQC. It can be done, but it takes way more effort than the other weapon skills.
@@GitGudFox I havnt tried nightmare yet. Thanks for the advice.
14:58 flexing that 100 day survival marker in the middle of a knife fight with 2 feral. I see you FOX!!
The spatula from the independence pack is op