Spear is OP even back in medieval age, It's easy to use even for militia/peasant, a good weapon for formation, good weapon to take down 1 expensive 10 years hard trained soldier with only few peasant
A good weapon for formation fights where you're backed up by friends and relying on your army's other elements to route the enemy while you hold them in place. Realistically with a lone survivor fighting a horde, it'd be pretty awful lol. Something you could cleave through zombies with like a longblade is much better than having to retrieve a thrusted weapon each strike.
Another thing to mention: the further you physically are from a zombie, the safer you are. Aka why using guns is "safest" and pose the least risk for bite, using a spear buts you further away from a zombie, meaning if you screw up you have time to correct. Try making big screw ups with a knife against a horde. You will be dead
That's why you focus on not making big screw ups. Had to tango with 100+ zeds at the hospital parking before LV in a multiplayer server(attacking the ones in the parking lot drew the many others to me). Had nothing but nightsticks and bats, and the cars helped break them out of chase mode. Yeah I had to retreat to recover stamina a few times, but training zeds is fun after the many days I put into CoD BlackOps 2. Gotta keep your head in the game, always check your six, and know when to retreat. 👍
Am I the only one who has found the knife to be the most reliable when clearing out a horde? Save for a gun and a ton of ammo of course. I swear I've never messed up a horde engagement with a knife.
@Orjahlian I can't agree you more. High lvl short blades and basically tireless zombie grinding machine. I strike fast enough that I can retain full backpaddle speed while mow zeds one by one. Hunting knifes FTW
The absolute pain of the animation locking stab is the closest we get to the spear being balanced Correction: maybe people attempting to spread misinformation on the spear's mechanics are its balancing mechanic lmao Keep people confused so they can get killed over it As for the modding suggestion, once you open the doors to modding, there's little that matters. Sure, I could make the spear that much more reliable by removing the animation, but at that point, why not make all the other melee weapons reliably and/or regularly one-shot zombies too? At what point is the line drawn?
Yes, and experienced spear users always mind their angles. 15 degrees between two zombies approaching at the same distance is safe. Outside of it is pushing your luck, and it's better to reposition to keep them in line.
@@WilliamTheMovieFan wrong wrong wrong. The animation happens regardless of movement, moving around can take you out of the "sweet spot" distance for the animation to play, but it happens ragradless of strafing, backpedalling or advancing.
The more I know about the mechanics in this game the more I'm impressed it's not a total mess at first sight. So many of the mechanics in this game seem like complete spaghetti programming inconsistent with every step, like the 'jaw stab' working completely different than 'spear stab' despite being so similar at first sight.
"Why are spears so powerful?" That's just real life canon. Turns out physics hasn't changed one iota since cavemen discovered the pointed stick. Pointed stick is still the best melee weapon.
@@Sus_pumpkin 1. make small pointy stick fly 2. make pointy stick explote 3. make big pointy stick explode 4. make big pointy stick do big explode einstein made best stick
Note that the spear attack speed bonus is a glitch that removes its recovery time in between swings. You can get a similar effect with any weapon using shove-canceling (swing, shove immediately at the end of the swing animation, then cancel the shove before it plays by immediately attacking with the weapon again). Spears however somehow get this effect for free, but only when you hit a zombie; it's recovery time is much higher when swinging at air.
It's definitely more complex than that. Spear attack speed is not constant, it's as if the more you hit the faster you hit. It might have something to do with crits (I think crits increase attack speed). Also gaining levels in spears gives them much more attack speed than with other weapons. It's weird. High fit also seems to affect them more (10 fit is best for spears) and penalties like wearing a leather jacket seem to hurt spears more. But it's also hard to measure and hard to understand. I don't know why spears are way faster than other weapons, I only know that they are, and that attack speed is way more valuable to them.
It's more accurately described as a advanced skill combat skill, then a glitch 😉. This game as a ton of great little things that make melee combat really engaging. Similar to State of Decay 2 and Fight N Rage.
More tips(haha get it) from a spear enjoyer If you have 10 fitness and are in an normal weight group(not over/underweight) provided you are not at the drowsey moodle, you can actually swing forever without getting tier 1 endurance moodle. Once you go drowsey/get into a bad weight group/are overencumbered you will need to descend back to the realm of reality and rest eventually. Edit:So ok, I just did some spear fighting in 16x louisville on a old save. They must of changed the endurance usage in a shadow nerf to directly target 10 fit spears users so that *Eventually* you tire out. It took 73 swings from a spear to go from 100% to the tier 1 exertion moodle, 67/73 swings were one shot's with the spear. In the beginning of the game just use the one shot spear animation if your low on strength. Its 9 times out of 10 more efficent to just pack multiple spears in your trunk than spent 10 hits to kill something. You can fit a crafted spear into a fanny pack with organized, no this does not make any sense. Sometimes I randomly come across old wooden spears instead of the new crafted spears. I'm pretty sure they come from the robber meta events in car crashes/the stores. The old wooden spears weight 1.3 instead of 1.7 but you can't use them in crafting recipes. Other than that they are identical. They're just cool to have lying around. You can put a near broken machete on a spear to be able to repair it with wood glue which is more efficent than the adhesive tape/duct tape. If you remove the machete, it'll reset the machetes repair stacks. Kind of in exploit terriotory but I won't judge. Put a crate on a chainlink fence, the zombies path to it and you can stab them through the fence with the spear for 0 risk. You can figure out when your character is going to do that special crit by the swinging animation, the character will take a wider/faster swing than normal. If you run britas weapon pack, you can toggle the garden fork as a throwable weapon, throw it into a zombie, kill it, then take the spear back as a throwing weapon to reset the repair stacks. Its useful considering if you have lucky and max carpendry you will restore 60-75% of the weapons health. Still kind of in exploit terriotory but like I said, I don't judge. Its anecdotal evidence but I swear the stop to kill spear animation goes off way less if you are holding two directional keys, at least in my experince. I think the character stopping to swing might also have something to do with how many zombies are within a cone, I had one situation where I was being chased by 5 zombies besides the massive horde behind them but there was only one directly infront of me and the other 4 were about 3/4's a tile to the sides but same distance to the character, character really stopped to kill that one.
I have found if you start stabbing right before they are in range you can get the stab animation often. I can do it more than half the time. I see people get the one hit with knives but I just can't seem to 😂
If forever means killing 40 zombies before being exerted. But 40 zombies is really not a lot with high pop. That's pretty much a small group of zombies that you will dispatch in 20 seconds with spears. 20 seconds and you are already exerted. If you want forever stamina, you need to go for hunting knives, not spears. Early on, if a zombie is solo, I prefer push and floor attack. A bit more consistent than trying to proc a thrust. Thrusts always happen regardless of your movement. Holding 2 keys doesn't make it happen less in my experience. If a zombie is alone, you're likely to do a thrust, if the zombie has another close to it, you won't do a thrust, that's it.
I've been making spears to level carpentry, so figured I may as well use them. They're good at killing, but durability and weight mean I'm always keeping another weapon as a backup. I just can't be grabbing backups from my bag while getting chased halway through horde clearing. Too much risk, so a short blunt on the hip is a must. And every time I go out zombie hunting, I end up dropping even more spears than I break just to make room for loot.
Absolutely agree on that short blunt. I'm in 3 months and 14 days so far. I have to carry spears in the backpack, but always have a trusty night stick on my belt. That night stick has been with me from the beginning and got me out of a lot of jams once the spears break.
But with Burger Flipper (add Hunter) you take like 10 knives and go on killing spree against a horde of infinite amount of zeds! Dont forget to loot spare knifes from a bodies :P And yeah i dub on THE Burger Flipper! Best starting occupation (even if Police Officer is worse then it by a 0.001 points in my scale)
Burger Flipper is actually really strong if you have the patience. The short blade movespeed bonus makes them confoundingly safer than the other melee weapons, contrary to how the reduced range seems. You don't stay still and the zombies can't finish their animations. You also particularly don't need Fitness to stay safe when tussling with the undead, since there isn't exertion build-up with knives.
@@Retanaru And Barbs feel more tanky than warriors. I swear Lazael needed healing more often than me, even when she was armored and armed properly throughout the game.
@@2dheethbar But barbarians are more tanky than fighters, its intended D&D. They get more hp than any other class and can resist damage while raging. Fighters are ok tanks, but they rely on not getting hit (by using heavy armor, which barbarians are at a disadvantage when using) rather than shrugging off the damage
@@DSFernyes, fighters are your line troops, they can take the brunt of an attack, but they aren’t able to last long under heavy damage, barbarians are your heavy/shock troops, they get in tank damage and reak havoc, and distract the enemy while your more squishy people deal the heavy damage.
You can force a stab everytime by just getting slightly out of the zombies range. Just take a few steps back, go into combat stance, and attack sooner than you otherwise would. It's not random at all. Also keep in mind if there are multiple zombies close to each other, even if you get the range right it will do a slash instead of a stab, so it's important to space out the zombies if you are trying to stab.
Your videos are always a breath of fresh air. I am glad you include even obscure mechanics (bugs?) like pushing retaining the one hit kill property for a short time (I've also definitely had it just do damage/stun a zombie without killing them, no clue how that happens) and the animation lock protection. I only wish you mentioned that the OHK animation happens regardless of movement, which is a startlingly common misconception that is already breeding even in comments here.
Im still a short blunt advocate. I can hold a flashlight to fight at night, not damage zombie clothing if I like what they're wearing, and also most of my weapons have dual purposes like ripping boards off of stash houses, repairing vehicles, plumbing rain catchers, and so on. Short blunt kings and queens rise up.
I just realised a major drawback of this game, and a possible way to nerf spears (at least the crafted ones)- in a 'realistic' zombie survival game, where the devs nerfed firearms so heavily, somehow no one on the team researched how real melee weapon works. A potential and lethal problem with spears, and a lot of other melee weapons in this game, is that they can and will get stuck in your targets. Bat or nightstick? Sure, they are fine. A hefty woodaxe? Unlikely to get stuck in flesh or bone. Spears made out of non-specialised lumber by hand though, they WILL get stuck more often than you might like. A short blade stabbing or cutting from the front is also prone to be stuck. This is a huge problem on the battlefield, and in a zombie survival scenario. That's why better equipped soldiers carried sidearms like swords, in case their main weapon becomes unable to be retrieved. I am not pushing for the spear to be nerfed in damage or range, but shoddy wood spears should have a chance to be stuck in a zombie per attack, especially lethal attacks. It is still viable facing a small number of zombies, as it should be. This will make lone spearmen think twice before engaging a horde, as it should be. Carrying extra ones still helps, but not as much, as it should be. And the animation - spears are strictly stabbing weapons, especially if you do not attach anything to its tip. The default animations is frankly quite comical, you might cause a nasty wound like that, but zombies do not feel pain. Shorten the stab animation, and make it the default one for realism. Or, with the new crafting system coming in 42, craft your own halberd by fixing an axehead under it, glaive by turning the tip into a blade ect. Cure the shaft with oil to make it durable. There are information all over the internet, but the devs don't like doing research apparently.
Idk how you survive 50(player?) hours without standardly being wary of your flank in combat. The only build that can safely attack while zeds are behind you is the short blade with their movement speed not slowing during attack animations. Even then, why allow zombies behind your neck knowingly. If they're outside of keen hearing range, you'll be safe to move out anyways.
I have 300hours and have used spears throughout. never once have spears gotten me killed in any way shape or form. only my own mistakes, like when I'm fighting 50 or so zombies (which then does not allow the animation to occur) and I got grabbed by a flanking zombie.
good thing to know when using spears in the early game is its faster to equip it to your back and press 1 than it is to just equip in both hands, great for when it inevitably breaks after just a few zombies
Honestly I've gotten the 1 shot animation when fighting multiple zombies at once. It's the primary reason I don't use spears that often. I got enough holes in my clothing from using spears. hehe
I'm convinced the devs do not play their game/understand how their game mechanics work. Changing a weapon from being 1.5 weight to 3.7 is absolutely ridiculous. It instantly makes that weapon as useless as a sledgehammer for combat. I mean wtf were they thinking.
@@NatTardis Yeah, the justification was that a machete has a weight of 2 and spear 1.7 so both togther have to weight 3.7 for realism... Sometimes it's better to make things less "realistic" for gameplay purposes. I don't think they put too much thought into it. I thought weight was suppost to be an abstract number that shows how cumbersome an item is and a spear shouldn't get much harder to wield when you attach a knife to it.
@@Vyleea Yup people complained a bit about that so they changed it, but without much forethought, apparently. But that's a recurring theme in Zomboid, what with the general lack of balance in almost every part of the game. We can only hope they are aware of these problems and will address them at some point.
Hunting knives spears have always been my go to, especially with the attachment update. It's the perfect balance of high damage and durability with reasonable weight, only beaten by the garden fork. Also hunting knives are plentiful while machetes are somewhat rare and most people would prefer a machete as a stand alone weapon over a hunting knife.
Another thing not mentioned is MULTI-HIT. because of the range of spears, you might kill 4-5 zombies with crit. it only works if you have melee mutli hit, but it can skew the calc even more into spears. with modded spears from salvage, road signs, or just welded metal rods, it becomes the best weapon in game.
You guarantee craft them at max durability once you hit carp 3. Below that you can make them with a little less. Otherwise no effect like spear skill or maintenence
Just started playing with Project Zomboid after forgetting it existed nearly a decade ago. Spears became my go to weapon due to their longer range. Didn't know that they are meta weapons. At first I hated them due to the low durability almost getting me killed. But after a certain incident that I ran out of ammo, all my weapons broken and I only have 4 looted spears and a gardening fork I found, I survived a horde of at least 100 zombies after a night of repeated running and stabbing.
Spears are awesome, but I've also started to realize that knives/Short Blade are HIGHLY underrated. After watching Pr1vateLime do CDDA in Louisville last year, he was able to take literal hordes out with screwdrivers and kitchen/hunting knives, without tiring. Whenever they were about to break, he'd just find extras on the corpses he created.
A good spot for extra knives early on is any trailer park, the zombies there can have full hp hunting knives on them, along with beef jerky and meat sticks which are great to keep around when you want to lose weight.
I used to think the same about spears, until I started playing with random zombies. 1% runners is all it takes to make the spear the worst weapon in the game. You have a lone zombie in front, do the instakill mechanic, but oh no, a sprinter you haven't seen is comming from a mile away and got your neck from the side because the animation takes a long time.... Not to mention I was able to play wtih 7% sprinters in the end of that playthrough. Yeah, spears are THE BEST weapon in the game.... without runners.
But it depends though. You can easily get caught like that with any other weapon. You can't interrupt a swing once you've started it. And spears are still faster than other weapons, so they can help you kill sprinters faster, which sometimes is a must if you don't want to kite them to a fence/wait until one trips.
@@NatTardis Nah, no way. The insta-kill spear specific animation is by far the longest animation in the game where you get stuck in place without being able to do anything. No other weapon has that. If you have sprinters, using a spear is suicide.
@@zoso9391 The speed of the thrust depends on the speed of your swings, so: no leather jacket, no garden fork (just crafted spears), 10 fitness, high spear skill (which granted is gonna start low). It's surprisingly fast when you have everything stacked. Thrust is amazing vs just 1 sprinter and *any* weapon will be super risky vs 2, but with some distance between the 2 sprinters, spears will consistently (if you have the timing down) one-shot the first one for an animation which duration can be predicted. Not a bad deal imo. For 3 sprinters close-ish to each other I would run to a fence.
Spears forever mod is really good and also exstra trait mod has a spare trait. The mod also allows you to attach knives to your spear. There’s also an anime mod that allows you to buy clothing with money, it also has some melee weapons and 2 of them are spears that you can buy with money add from wallets and credit card
Axe main here. Spear stunlock mechanic killed me too many times. I knew that sometimes that failsafe against animation with multiple zeds doesn't work, but only thanks to your video I now know exactly why. And it makes spears no go for me, as with other weapons being somewhat surrounded is not a problem as long as you can kill everything fast enough. But in the same situation you can never be safe from spear stunlock.
1: I'm net positive for axes in my vanilla apocalypse playthroughs, so the "I can make spears so easily" benefit is moot. 2: Not having to spend a significant portion of my playtime hunting down planks is a massive benefit. Tying both points 1 and 2 together, it takes me less net time to loot a firehouse or warehouse for a few starter axes than the ridiculous amount of time throughout an entire spear playthrough disassembling furniture to create more spears. 3: Not having to be constantly weighed down with tons of spears is a massive benefit. More time killing and looting, less time running back and forth. 4: The "works great while exhausted" benefit is can be accurately reworded to "works great if you played incorrectly". Project Zomboid rewards caution and diligence and severely punishes needless risk; don't get exhausted in the first place. Also, with a high fitness/axe character you can kill tons and tons of zombies before ever getting to that first exhausting moodle; the amount of zombies you can kill before becoming exhausted is probably more than you'd ever need to in any normal situation. Also, once you reach it you still one shot zombies frequently if your axe skill is high enough. 5: I swear the one shot stab animation has almost gotten me killed even in the current build. Even with zombies obnoxiously close by I've had the animation trigger. This alone kills spears for me. I don't do playthroughs for a week of in game time to kill a thousand zombies. I do playthroughs where my characters tend to last at least several months and get kill counts easily into the tens of thousands. Constant chancing from animations like this are how you die. Zomboid is a game that rewards those whoa re diligent and don't take needless risks. Axes have no such risk.
The main reason to use spears is if you want to kill stuff fast. Like, really fast. But for that you need to pay the spear tax. Rip inventory space, spend your time cutting bushes and trees, and super slow to level. It's all a matter of playstyle. Inventory space is not necessary for survival, for example. Arguably killing speed will be more useful for survival. But that also depends on zombie population. So in the end play with what works for you with your settings.
1. everything is abundant on apocalypse 2. planks are literally everywhere 3. as you use up your spears, you gain more room for loot 4. you're still objectively worse at killing a large amounts of zombies than other weapon types 5. skill issue
@@mikerotch42069 "everything is abundant on apocalypse" A knock against spears supposed benefit of being easy to acquire; so is everything else. "planks are literally everywhere" Meaningless when axes, crowbars, etc are so prevelant. " as you use up your spears, you gain more room for loot" Which is objectively worse than having that room for loot the entire time. "you're still objectively worse at killing a large amounts of zombies than other weapon types" A good axe character could probably kill... I'm guessing at least 100 zombies before reaching that first moodle all in one go. If I needed to kill more in one sitting than that I could just use a machete which, just like spears, can be swung essentially forever without tiring. It also doesn't take up half my backpack. "skill issue" It's objectively not a skill issue in the same way that not taking keen hearing to save trait points isn't a real world benefit for 'more skilled' players. You as a human being are the weak link in the chain; any perks or other benefits in the game that can help prevent human error will keep your character alive longer. Here's a question for you; how consistently do you get your characters to survive a year? How consistently do you get your characters past the 25,000 kill count mark? I almost never die anymore in the game; can you say that while actually making real progress like 1 year and tens of thousands of kills virtually every time you try? Somewhere, sometime you're probably going to make a little mistake with spears and your run ends.
@@bewawolf19 It's a discussion about the meta of a game everyone here is presumably and avid player of. No one is bragging to anyone else; it's a discussion about the objective merits of one playstyle vs. another.
I used to be an Axe main for the longest time until one day I stumbled upon Spears. Completely rebuilt my default character loadout and have never regretted it.
or... instead of leveling maintenance for several in-game months... jack a car, drive to louisville and grab 10 combat knives at most that lasts you the entire early game by the point you level up maintenance to where spears can be utilized, you already have ∞ molotovs molotovs are the only thing that matters during mid or late game because the zombies respawn so rapidly you can basically just drop every single other weapon down the trash once the ramping starts there's no need to craft 10s of spears to clear hordes and watch your durability/fatigue, if you can just throw 1 molotov completely redundant
So skip the whole gameplay loop? You don't even need molotovs, just a campfire will do but doing burns is just lame. Or just go where there are no zombies. Congratulations you won, I guess? You can clear a town by doing patrol routes to prevent/minimize respawns in already cleared areas.
But with molotovs you burn every place you visit. Unless you play MP and you have a vehicle with a siren and throw molotovs just for the explosion (which can kill 50 zombies per molotov lol).
Spears were my #1 too, BUT this stupid animation lock 4:23 got me killed several times. I was sick of it and switched to axes (lumberjack, strong+fit trait). It should NOT happen when there is a group of zombies. But it does unfortunately when I kite a group backwards and the rest catches up. There is a mod though who removes it completely: "Disable Spear Stab" Once you have high axe and maintainance skills stone axes with 0.36 equipped weight (compared to 0.51 wooden spear ) let you attack forever and oneshot them. Plus they have a way better minimal range. Never looked back...
I use to think they were op but they nerfed the fitness with weight 1.2 to 1.7 I think knifes are probably the best there harder to level but you can kill 500+ zombies with hunting knifes 5+ skill without reaching moderate exhustation really amazing for 16x pop
I have realized that you can farm nimble XP. All alone you can go into aim mode and rapidly hit different variations of WSA and D. Works in most conditions. I have also found if you start stabbing right before the zombie is in range, the stab animation will be triggered.
The spear stab has an extra bit of range. You can see it in debug mode with aim cone turned on. Doesn't guarantee the one shot from a crit though, but its very quickly going to happen more often than not.
I don't know how to feel about this channel. From one side I really like the insights and getting to know how the game ticks better. But on the other hand this kind of knowledge inevitably turns a game into a minmax experience where it feels like I'm trying to get the most efficient gameplay at the cost of immersion and fun. Can't help it 😂 I don't remember where I heard it but there is a quote that goes something like "given the opportunity, a player will optimize the fun out of a game" and at least for me I feel like this is the kind of information where ignorance is truly a bliss
I always tend to start a run with baseball bat and swap to spears once I've got some carpentry and a little maintenance. If I play multiplayer, none of my friends are willing to go the spear route due to the tedium of constantly producing more even after having killed several thousand zombies. They truly are incredible as long as you use them properly. Occasionally, it's pretty scary when you get a weirdly timed one shot animation with other zombies too close for comfort, though.
Spears are goated IF AND ONLY IF fast shamblers are the fastest zombies. Their need to have 2 zombies in their view cone (to prevent the lock in stab animation) makes dealing with flanking sprinters potentially lethal
The spear also has one of if not the best reaches in the melee category. The easiest way not to get hurt in a fight is to be somewhere you can hit them without getting hit back. Especally in a game like project zomboid where a single hit can mean death depending on settings and what happens.
yep, Thats why pickaxes and shovels/garden hoes are so good. They have crazy range and still hit hard. Attack speed is a bit low but range >>>> attack speed, so whatever.
Spear is not that bad early levels, you just have to be swift in swaping them. Usually the strat is to make 3-4 spears and hold them in inventory while going for a fight. Also would be cool to see an analysis on attached on spears.
thoughts on burger flipper occupation for a cheap point in maintenance? Handy is quite expensive and carpentry bonus isnt that big of a deal, easy to level and fast with vhs/life and living
The time I got bitten by zombie B because I was animation-locked killing zombie A, I put down my spear and never picked another up. Axes and machetes for life.
@@IschmarVI Shouldn't count with zombies just following you in a straight line. Very open, willing to just get stabbed swiftly and cleanly. They should fix this soon!
I have to say, the spear animation has gotten me killed at least twice, when my character did it literally the frame a zombie appeared in my vision behind me, giving me an unavoidable bite. This is the sole reason I play with crowbars now. I’d rather have a 0% chance to die without control that a 1% chance, because I’m just that unlucky
The only thing I do not like about zomboid, and keeps me from using spears until mid game, is they damage clothes. I usually play start in winter and depraved, so having whole clothes is important. lol wish there was a target box system, or low-mid-hi
My main problem with spears is they are essentially OP and unbalanced which us against the ethos of PZ. There is little reason to use anything else and in a game that is all about struggle and tough trade offs this doesnt make sense.
I used to be a spear main until I used a machete on a long term survivor that had around 8+ maintenance. He could one shot zombies without having to rely on the long, finicky spear one shot animation. This one shot strength was tied to my wakefulness though. during the first half of the day when he was the strongest / most awake it was one shots, then two or more after that. I only tended to use my machetes during those strong hours, as that maximized their usage. But it was easy to play around. Any time I needed to get some serious killing done I slept on it and got to work in the morning. Only using my machetes while I had one shot strength made sure they lasted for hundreds of zombies each, even before repairs. Just for fun, and to challenge the insane strength I was feeling with my machetes I went to the warehouse in muldraugh and let off a few shotgun blasts to pull in the horde. I put a machete on my back, one in each hand, then dropped my backpack and got to work. That is the only character I've ever had that could handle the huge numbers that a shotgun brings in, without resorting to fire. It was an absolute bloodbath.. Wooden spears and garden forks are still amazing, and I use them frequently. But machetes will forever onward be my weapon of choice on a long term character when some real killing needs to be done.
it IS kinda fitting tho, especially considering 2 things, spears are by far t he best weapon in reality during the middle ages, and there have been a few arguments and discussions about the spear being the best weapon to use during a zombo apo, and 2, zomboids realism of COURSE using a melee weapont that can swing, create space, and just pop heads would be the best weapon in the game... i think the balancing issue is more the fact that spears and knifes are the only weapons that have instakill crits... which is odd considering splashnig a head with a maul/bat or just cutting it off should be in hte game too
Hey retanaru, I have been thinking if undewear provide some kind of insulation, been playing CDDA for a while and notice that the cold have been removed while at home when using underwear, if not, cold doesn't seem to remove
I found a garden fork in a Survivor barricaded house decided to hold onto it cause I heard it was a meta weapon When I was raiding a hospital realized I forgot to put it back at base and it was still in the car that I brought with me And they weren’t wrong being able to almost guarantee one hit a zombie and still have respectable durability is pretty powerful very good weapon 10 out of 10 stars
for anyone that has a problem with spears at the start and no durability a good tip is to make more spears than you think you would use when going on a scouting trip i normally carry 5 or 4 in my backpack after im done on my trip 2 or three of those spears have broken and i just put them on the bodies of the dead zomboids
spears are great, but you hit the nail with "not the best weapon for you" cause the spear's insta kill animation has gotten me killed so many times lol. had to drop spears and become an axe gang member. also i really like having the hand axe option for axes so i can have a bag on my back and bag in my offhand for super looting.
mom grandpa is still arguing over spears
Love your vids man
Spear is OP even back in medieval age,
It's easy to use even for militia/peasant, a good weapon for formation, good weapon to take down 1 expensive 10 years hard trained soldier with only few peasant
There is reason why it is called the kings of weapons.
папич перелогинься
That’s also why crossbows and guns work so well, how do you shoot a crossbow? Load, point it at your target, fire. It’s even easier with a gun.
@@hax0r4 ахахахахахаха
A good weapon for formation fights where you're backed up by friends and relying on your army's other elements to route the enemy while you hold them in place.
Realistically with a lone survivor fighting a horde, it'd be pretty awful lol. Something you could cleave through zombies with like a longblade is much better than having to retrieve a thrusted weapon each strike.
Another thing to mention: the further you physically are from a zombie, the safer you are. Aka why using guns is "safest" and pose the least risk for bite, using a spear buts you further away from a zombie, meaning if you screw up you have time to correct. Try making big screw ups with a knife against a horde. You will be dead
That's why you focus on not making big screw ups. Had to tango with 100+ zeds at the hospital parking before LV in a multiplayer server(attacking the ones in the parking lot drew the many others to me). Had nothing but nightsticks and bats, and the cars helped break them out of chase mode. Yeah I had to retreat to recover stamina a few times, but training zeds is fun after the many days I put into CoD BlackOps 2. Gotta keep your head in the game, always check your six, and know when to retreat. 👍
@@2dheethbarthat’s a good way to look at any form of combat, your main goal in the moment it to live to fight another day.
Am I the only one who has found the knife to be the most reliable when clearing out a horde? Save for a gun and a ton of ammo of course. I swear I've never messed up a horde engagement with a knife.
@Orjahlian I can't agree you more. High lvl short blades and basically tireless zombie grinding machine. I strike fast enough that I can retain full backpaddle speed while mow zeds one by one. Hunting knifes FTW
Hell yeah Retanaru called me awesome
The absolute pain of the animation locking stab is the closest we get to the spear being balanced
Correction: maybe people attempting to spread misinformation on the spear's mechanics are its balancing mechanic lmao
Keep people confused so they can get killed over it
As for the modding suggestion, once you open the doors to modding, there's little that matters. Sure, I could make the spear that much more reliable by removing the animation, but at that point, why not make all the other melee weapons reliably and/or regularly one-shot zombies too? At what point is the line drawn?
Yes, and experienced spear users always mind their angles. 15 degrees between two zombies approaching at the same distance is safe. Outside of it is pushing your luck, and it's better to reposition to keep them in line.
I don’t think the animation locks if you move while attacking. I think it only happens when you are standing still and attacking.
@@WilliamTheMovieFanthis is true
Those who lack discipline are doomed to animation lock deaths. With great power comes great responsibility.
@@WilliamTheMovieFan wrong wrong wrong. The animation happens regardless of movement, moving around can take you out of the "sweet spot" distance for the animation to play, but it happens ragradless of strafing, backpedalling or advancing.
The more I know about the mechanics in this game the more I'm impressed it's not a total mess at first sight. So many of the mechanics in this game seem like complete spaghetti programming inconsistent with every step, like the 'jaw stab' working completely different than 'spear stab' despite being so similar at first sight.
"Why are spears so powerful?"
That's just real life canon. Turns out physics hasn't changed one iota since cavemen discovered the pointed stick. Pointed stick is still the best melee weapon.
Stick with metal pointy best stick
Until faster to reload guns were made spears were still somewhat viable
@@Sus_pumpkin a gun with a bayonet is just a really heavy spear
@@gabriel300010 Guns shoot small spears.
@@Sus_pumpkin 1. make small pointy stick fly
2. make pointy stick explote
3. make big pointy stick explode
4. make big pointy stick do big explode
einstein made best stick
Note that the spear attack speed bonus is a glitch that removes its recovery time in between swings. You can get a similar effect with any weapon using shove-canceling (swing, shove immediately at the end of the swing animation, then cancel the shove before it plays by immediately attacking with the weapon again). Spears however somehow get this effect for free, but only when you hit a zombie; it's recovery time is much higher when swinging at air.
It's definitely more complex than that. Spear attack speed is not constant, it's as if the more you hit the faster you hit. It might have something to do with crits (I think crits increase attack speed).
Also gaining levels in spears gives them much more attack speed than with other weapons. It's weird. High fit also seems to affect them more (10 fit is best for spears) and penalties like wearing a leather jacket seem to hurt spears more.
But it's also hard to measure and hard to understand. I don't know why spears are way faster than other weapons, I only know that they are, and that attack speed is way more valuable to them.
It's more accurately described as a advanced skill combat skill, then a glitch 😉. This game as a ton of great little things that make melee combat really engaging. Similar to State of Decay 2 and Fight N Rage.
Attack speed changes are more valuable for spears because it applies to the entire swing due to the missing swing delay.
Well even in real life it's alot faster and less energy to atab with a spear than swing with an axe
Spear make my ooga booga brain happy
More tips(haha get it) from a spear enjoyer
If you have 10 fitness and are in an normal weight group(not over/underweight) provided you are not at the drowsey moodle, you can actually swing forever without getting tier 1 endurance moodle. Once you go drowsey/get into a bad weight group/are overencumbered you will need to descend back to the realm of reality and rest eventually. Edit:So ok, I just did some spear fighting in 16x louisville on a old save. They must of changed the endurance usage in a shadow nerf to directly target 10 fit spears users so that *Eventually* you tire out. It took 73 swings from a spear to go from 100% to the tier 1 exertion moodle, 67/73 swings were one shot's with the spear.
In the beginning of the game just use the one shot spear animation if your low on strength. Its 9 times out of 10 more efficent to just pack multiple spears in your trunk than spent 10 hits to kill something.
You can fit a crafted spear into a fanny pack with organized, no this does not make any sense.
Sometimes I randomly come across old wooden spears instead of the new crafted spears. I'm pretty sure they come from the robber meta events in car crashes/the stores. The old wooden spears weight 1.3 instead of 1.7 but you can't use them in crafting recipes. Other than that they are identical. They're just cool to have lying around.
You can put a near broken machete on a spear to be able to repair it with wood glue which is more efficent than the adhesive tape/duct tape. If you remove the machete, it'll reset the machetes repair stacks. Kind of in exploit terriotory but I won't judge.
Put a crate on a chainlink fence, the zombies path to it and you can stab them through the fence with the spear for 0 risk.
You can figure out when your character is going to do that special crit by the swinging animation, the character will take a wider/faster swing than normal.
If you run britas weapon pack, you can toggle the garden fork as a throwable weapon, throw it into a zombie, kill it, then take the spear back as a throwing weapon to reset the repair stacks. Its useful considering if you have lucky and max carpendry you will restore 60-75% of the weapons health. Still kind of in exploit terriotory but like I said, I don't judge.
Its anecdotal evidence but I swear the stop to kill spear animation goes off way less if you are holding two directional keys, at least in my experince. I think the character stopping to swing might also have something to do with how many zombies are within a cone, I had one situation where I was being chased by 5 zombies besides the massive horde behind them but there was only one directly infront of me and the other 4 were about 3/4's a tile to the sides but same distance to the character, character really stopped to kill that one.
What button do you press to throw the spear? It says the "melee hotkey button" but I don't have any idea what that is.
@@Mr-Money01 the left/right brackets. Melee hotkey toggled between ranged/melee in comparable weapons
I have found if you start stabbing right before they are in range you can get the stab animation often. I can do it more than half the time. I see people get the one hit with knives but I just can't seem to 😂
If forever means killing 40 zombies before being exerted. But 40 zombies is really not a lot with high pop. That's pretty much a small group of zombies that you will dispatch in 20 seconds with spears. 20 seconds and you are already exerted.
If you want forever stamina, you need to go for hunting knives, not spears.
Early on, if a zombie is solo, I prefer push and floor attack. A bit more consistent than trying to proc a thrust.
Thrusts always happen regardless of your movement. Holding 2 keys doesn't make it happen less in my experience. If a zombie is alone, you're likely to do a thrust, if the zombie has another close to it, you won't do a thrust, that's it.
@@AImpatientManwait you can throw stuff?
I've been making spears to level carpentry, so figured I may as well use them.
They're good at killing, but durability and weight mean I'm always keeping another weapon as a backup. I just can't be grabbing backups from my bag while getting chased halway through horde clearing. Too much risk, so a short blunt on the hip is a must.
And every time I go out zombie hunting, I end up dropping even more spears than I break just to make room for loot.
Absolutely agree on that short blunt. I'm in 3 months and 14 days so far. I have to carry spears in the backpack, but always have a trusty night stick on my belt. That night stick has been with me from the beginning and got me out of a lot of jams once the spears break.
Just bring 1 to level maintence and save your real primary.
Honestly, I don't see why you can't grab backups, unless you're playing sprinters. There is plenty of time if you're managing the horde well.
One on your back, one in your hands, a couple in your bag.
Spears are the sole reason why my favorite occupation is viable to play. The Burger Flipper.
But with Burger Flipper (add Hunter) you take like 10 knives and go on killing spree against a horde of infinite amount of zeds! Dont forget to loot spare knifes from a bodies :P
And yeah i dub on THE Burger Flipper! Best starting occupation (even if Police Officer is worse then it by a 0.001 points in my scale)
Burger Flipper is actually really strong if you have the patience. The short blade movespeed bonus makes them confoundingly safer than the other melee weapons, contrary to how the reduced range seems. You don't stay still and the zombies can't finish their animations. You also particularly don't need Fitness to stay safe when tussling with the undead, since there isn't exertion build-up with knives.
Always so succinct and informative. Truly the best zomboid content creator
True
The Baldur's Gate music is great for project zomboid content!
Wouldn't mind some in-depth technical analysis of Baldur's Gate mechanics ;D
The builds people make for that game boggle my mind. 100 hours to finish it and the only thing I knew was monk is stronk.
@@Retanaru And Barbs feel more tanky than warriors. I swear Lazael needed healing more often than me, even when she was armored and armed properly throughout the game.
@@2dheethbar But barbarians are more tanky than fighters, its intended D&D. They get more hp than any other class and can resist damage while raging. Fighters are ok tanks, but they rely on not getting hit (by using heavy armor, which barbarians are at a disadvantage when using) rather than shrugging off the damage
@@DSFernyes, fighters are your line troops, they can take the brunt of an attack, but they aren’t able to last long under heavy damage, barbarians are your heavy/shock troops, they get in tank damage and reak havoc, and distract the enemy while your more squishy people deal the heavy damage.
You can force a stab everytime by just getting slightly out of the zombies range. Just take a few steps back, go into combat stance, and attack sooner than you otherwise would. It's not random at all. Also keep in mind if there are multiple zombies close to each other, even if you get the range right it will do a slash instead of a stab, so it's important to space out the zombies if you are trying to stab.
Your videos are always a breath of fresh air. I am glad you include even obscure mechanics (bugs?) like pushing retaining the one hit kill property for a short time (I've also definitely had it just do damage/stun a zombie without killing them, no clue how that happens) and the animation lock protection.
I only wish you mentioned that the OHK animation happens regardless of movement, which is a startlingly common misconception that is already breeding even in comments here.
Im still a short blunt advocate. I can hold a flashlight to fight at night, not damage zombie clothing if I like what they're wearing, and also most of my weapons have dual purposes like ripping boards off of stash houses, repairing vehicles, plumbing rain catchers, and so on. Short blunt kings and queens rise up.
Spears are so disgustingly satisfying, i hope they hold up in B42
I just realised a major drawback of this game, and a possible way to nerf spears (at least the crafted ones)- in a 'realistic' zombie survival game, where the devs nerfed firearms so heavily, somehow no one on the team researched how real melee weapon works.
A potential and lethal problem with spears, and a lot of other melee weapons in this game, is that they can and will get stuck in your targets. Bat or nightstick? Sure, they are fine. A hefty woodaxe? Unlikely to get stuck in flesh or bone. Spears made out of non-specialised lumber by hand though, they WILL get stuck more often than you might like. A short blade stabbing or cutting from the front is also prone to be stuck. This is a huge problem on the battlefield, and in a zombie survival scenario. That's why better equipped soldiers carried sidearms like swords, in case their main weapon becomes unable to be retrieved. I am not pushing for the spear to be nerfed in damage or range, but shoddy wood spears should have a chance to be stuck in a zombie per attack, especially lethal attacks. It is still viable facing a small number of zombies, as it should be. This will make lone spearmen think twice before engaging a horde, as it should be. Carrying extra ones still helps, but not as much, as it should be.
And the animation - spears are strictly stabbing weapons, especially if you do not attach anything to its tip. The default animations is frankly quite comical, you might cause a nasty wound like that, but zombies do not feel pain. Shorten the stab animation, and make it the default one for realism. Or, with the new crafting system coming in 42, craft your own halberd by fixing an axehead under it, glaive by turning the tip into a blade ect. Cure the shaft with oil to make it durable. There are information all over the internet, but the devs don't like doing research apparently.
Excellent explanations as always. I don't usually use spears often, but I am convinced. I'd like to try being a spear main.
imagine loosing your 50 hour playtime full stats character because you used a spear and you got locked in a killing animation
Idk how you survive 50(player?) hours without standardly being wary of your flank in combat. The only build that can safely attack while zeds are behind you is the short blade with their movement speed not slowing during attack animations. Even then, why allow zombies behind your neck knowingly. If they're outside of keen hearing range, you'll be safe to move out anyways.
@@dddmemaybe shit happens
skill issue unfortunately
I’d probably cry like a bitch I’m not even kidding
I have 300hours and have used spears throughout. never once have spears gotten me killed in any way shape or form. only my own mistakes, like when I'm fighting 50 or so zombies (which then does not allow the animation to occur) and I got grabbed by a flanking zombie.
good thing to know when using spears in the early game is its faster to equip it to your back and press 1 than it is to just equip in both hands, great for when it inevitably breaks after just a few zombies
the spear is the weapon that conquered nations the pike is the upgrade of the spear
And the crowbar is the king of the weapons.
Honestly I've gotten the 1 shot animation when fighting multiple zombies at once. It's the primary reason I don't use spears that often. I got enough holes in my clothing from using spears. hehe
Don't ever do the sprint charge, it has a chance to bug out and make you unable to attack until you land another spear charge.
The nerf of spears with weapon attachment still hurt though. They became far too heavy.
I'm convinced the devs do not play their game/understand how their game mechanics work. Changing a weapon from being 1.5 weight to 3.7 is absolutely ridiculous. It instantly makes that weapon as useless as a sledgehammer for combat.
I mean wtf were they thinking.
@@NatTardis Yeah, the justification was that a machete has a weight of 2 and spear 1.7 so both togther have to weight 3.7 for realism...
Sometimes it's better to make things less "realistic" for gameplay purposes. I don't think they put too much thought into it. I thought weight was suppost to be an abstract number that shows how cumbersome an item is and a spear shouldn't get much harder to wield when you attach a knife to it.
@@Vyleea Yup people complained a bit about that so they changed it, but without much forethought, apparently. But that's a recurring theme in Zomboid, what with the general lack of balance in almost every part of the game. We can only hope they are aware of these problems and will address them at some point.
@@NatTardis theyll balance it in the next build coming this 2027
Hunting knives spears have always been my go to, especially with the attachment update. It's the perfect balance of high damage and durability with reasonable weight, only beaten by the garden fork.
Also hunting knives are plentiful while machetes are somewhat rare and most people would prefer a machete as a stand alone weapon over a hunting knife.
Another thing not mentioned is MULTI-HIT.
because of the range of spears, you might kill 4-5 zombies with crit.
it only works if you have melee mutli hit, but it can skew the calc even more into spears.
with modded spears from salvage, road signs, or just welded metal rods, it becomes the best weapon in game.
Crazy. I was listen to the bg3 ost paused it then opened your video thinking it was still playing
I died three times to the animation locking and I refuse to use spears anymore even pitchforks are a danger alert for me
I thought carpentry improved the durability of spears?
You guarantee craft them at max durability once you hit carp 3. Below that you can make them with a little less. Otherwise no effect like spear skill or maintenence
All im hearing is that axe + lumberjack is easier to use and does more damage per swing when in a group
Damn, this makes me wanna replay zomboid again lmao
Ngl kinda wish I had more people to play with since all my friends irl ain’t really into the game
I never knew there was a Bob & Kate event in build 41.
Big 2011 throwback.
I have seen the house on the project zomboid map but idk what the significance is.. streamers?
@@sgtjohnson49Abandonned main story for Project Zomboid
Bob and his wounded wife Kate
@@toster41 ahhh the main menu couple I've stared at for 100+ hours, I remember the story mode gameplay from earlier builds. Ty!
The developers are going to bring Bob and Kate back eventually.
I have a question.
Strength influences killing with criticals?
It is necessary to have strength 10 or with strength 5 it kills
Thaaaaaanks
Can't tell exactly what you are referring to at 2:00 maybe highlight the chart as you talk.
Its just eye candy while talking. Without spending a few minutes discussing every other weapon it's kinda pointless to look at the spears stats alone.
@@Retanaru oh :) perfect then
Just started playing with Project Zomboid after forgetting it existed nearly a decade ago. Spears became my go to weapon due to their longer range. Didn't know that they are meta weapons.
At first I hated them due to the low durability almost getting me killed. But after a certain incident that I ran out of ammo, all my weapons broken and I only have 4 looted spears and a gardening fork I found, I survived a horde of at least 100 zombies after a night of repeated running and stabbing.
Hi Retanaru huge fan - I was wondering if I play sprinters do you recommend getting nimble?
Spears are awesome, but I've also started to realize that knives/Short Blade are HIGHLY underrated. After watching Pr1vateLime do CDDA in Louisville last year, he was able to take literal hordes out with screwdrivers and kitchen/hunting knives, without tiring.
Whenever they were about to break, he'd just find extras on the corpses he created.
A good spot for extra knives early on is any trailer park, the zombies there can have full hp hunting knives on them, along with beef jerky and meat sticks which are great to keep around when you want to lose weight.
Spears are literally some of the best melee weapons IRL as well
Countless times, people forget just how historically significant the spear is
1:57 okay I got instant anxiety the moment that popup appeared and I couldn't see the zombie :D
I used to think the same about spears, until I started playing with random zombies. 1% runners is all it takes to make the spear the worst weapon in the game. You have a lone zombie in front, do the instakill mechanic, but oh no, a sprinter you haven't seen is comming from a mile away and got your neck from the side because the animation takes a long time.... Not to mention I was able to play wtih 7% sprinters in the end of that playthrough.
Yeah, spears are THE BEST weapon in the game.... without runners.
But it depends though. You can easily get caught like that with any other weapon. You can't interrupt a swing once you've started it.
And spears are still faster than other weapons, so they can help you kill sprinters faster, which sometimes is a must if you don't want to kite them to a fence/wait until one trips.
@@NatTardis Lumberjack gives you 5% faster axe swing speed.
@@NatTardis Nah, no way. The insta-kill spear specific animation is by far the longest animation in the game where you get stuck in place without being able to do anything. No other weapon has that. If you have sprinters, using a spear is suicide.
@@whoknows8223 That's not enough to counterbalance spears' like 50-100% faster swing speed (unsure of the actual number, it's just way faster)
@@zoso9391 The speed of the thrust depends on the speed of your swings, so: no leather jacket, no garden fork (just crafted spears), 10 fitness, high spear skill (which granted is gonna start low). It's surprisingly fast when you have everything stacked. Thrust is amazing vs just 1 sprinter and *any* weapon will be super risky vs 2, but with some distance between the 2 sprinters, spears will consistently (if you have the timing down) one-shot the first one for an animation which duration can be predicted. Not a bad deal imo. For 3 sprinters close-ish to each other I would run to a fence.
1:08 see this is a case in which it would help a ton to have some sort of outline to highlight that zombie behind the wall, like what is that???
i lagged thru a stop sign, if your wondering what car it was the 94 ford tarus by ki5 but im pretty sure it should be doable with other cars
Spears forever mod is really good and also exstra trait mod has a spare trait. The mod also allows you to attach knives to your spear. There’s also an anime mod that allows you to buy clothing with money, it also has some melee weapons and 2 of them are spears that you can buy with money add from wallets and credit card
Nice, you got the kate and baldspot event!
Axe main here.
Spear stunlock mechanic killed me too many times. I knew that sometimes that failsafe against animation with multiple zeds doesn't work, but only thanks to your video I now know exactly why. And it makes spears no go for me, as with other weapons being somewhat surrounded is not a problem as long as you can kill everything fast enough. But in the same situation you can never be safe from spear stunlock.
1: I'm net positive for axes in my vanilla apocalypse playthroughs, so the "I can make spears so easily" benefit is moot.
2: Not having to spend a significant portion of my playtime hunting down planks is a massive benefit. Tying both points 1 and 2 together, it takes me less net time to loot a firehouse or warehouse for a few starter axes than the ridiculous amount of time throughout an entire spear playthrough disassembling furniture to create more spears.
3: Not having to be constantly weighed down with tons of spears is a massive benefit. More time killing and looting, less time running back and forth.
4: The "works great while exhausted" benefit is can be accurately reworded to "works great if you played incorrectly". Project Zomboid rewards caution and diligence and severely punishes needless risk; don't get exhausted in the first place. Also, with a high fitness/axe character you can kill tons and tons of zombies before ever getting to that first exhausting moodle; the amount of zombies you can kill before becoming exhausted is probably more than you'd ever need to in any normal situation. Also, once you reach it you still one shot zombies frequently if your axe skill is high enough.
5: I swear the one shot stab animation has almost gotten me killed even in the current build. Even with zombies obnoxiously close by I've had the animation trigger. This alone kills spears for me. I don't do playthroughs for a week of in game time to kill a thousand zombies. I do playthroughs where my characters tend to last at least several months and get kill counts easily into the tens of thousands. Constant chancing from animations like this are how you die. Zomboid is a game that rewards those whoa re diligent and don't take needless risks. Axes have no such risk.
The main reason to use spears is if you want to kill stuff fast. Like, really fast.
But for that you need to pay the spear tax. Rip inventory space, spend your time cutting bushes and trees, and super slow to level.
It's all a matter of playstyle. Inventory space is not necessary for survival, for example. Arguably killing speed will be more useful for survival. But that also depends on zombie population. So in the end play with what works for you with your settings.
1. everything is abundant on apocalypse
2. planks are literally everywhere
3. as you use up your spears, you gain more room for loot
4. you're still objectively worse at killing a large amounts of zombies than other weapon types
5. skill issue
@@mikerotch42069 "everything is abundant on apocalypse"
A knock against spears supposed benefit of being easy to acquire; so is everything else.
"planks are literally everywhere"
Meaningless when axes, crowbars, etc are so prevelant.
" as you use up your spears, you gain more room for loot"
Which is objectively worse than having that room for loot the entire time.
"you're still objectively worse at killing a large amounts of zombies than other weapon types"
A good axe character could probably kill... I'm guessing at least 100 zombies before reaching that first moodle all in one go. If I needed to kill more in one sitting than that I could just use a machete which, just like spears, can be swung essentially forever without tiring. It also doesn't take up half my backpack.
"skill issue"
It's objectively not a skill issue in the same way that not taking keen hearing to save trait points isn't a real world benefit for 'more skilled' players. You as a human being are the weak link in the chain; any perks or other benefits in the game that can help prevent human error will keep your character alive longer.
Here's a question for you; how consistently do you get your characters to survive a year? How consistently do you get your characters past the 25,000 kill count mark? I almost never die anymore in the game; can you say that while actually making real progress like 1 year and tens of thousands of kills virtually every time you try? Somewhere, sometime you're probably going to make a little mistake with spears and your run ends.
@@LawlessNate No offense, but saying you invested enough time into a game to click on 25k zambies isn't exactly as impressive as you think it is.
@@bewawolf19 It's a discussion about the meta of a game everyone here is presumably and avid player of. No one is bragging to anyone else; it's a discussion about the objective merits of one playstyle vs. another.
I thought im going insane but the background music was actualy from Baldur's Gate 3
I kinda needed being told I'm awesome at 7am on a monday, going into another fulfilling work day.
Died 1month25days tonight because of 4:23. Thank you for teaching me its cause of my vision cone triggering stab attacks
I used to be an Axe main for the longest time until one day I stumbled upon Spears. Completely rebuilt my default character loadout and have never regretted it.
or... instead of leveling maintenance for several in-game months...
jack a car, drive to louisville and grab 10 combat knives at most
that lasts you the entire early game
by the point you level up maintenance to where spears can be utilized, you already have ∞ molotovs
molotovs are the only thing that matters during mid or late game because the zombies respawn so rapidly
you can basically just drop every single other weapon down the trash once the ramping starts
there's no need to craft 10s of spears to clear hordes and watch your durability/fatigue, if you can just throw 1 molotov
completely redundant
So skip the whole gameplay loop?
You don't even need molotovs, just a campfire will do but doing burns is just lame.
Or just go where there are no zombies. Congratulations you won, I guess?
You can clear a town by doing patrol routes to prevent/minimize respawns in already cleared areas.
But with molotovs you burn every place you visit. Unless you play MP and you have a vehicle with a siren and throw molotovs just for the explosion (which can kill 50 zombies per molotov lol).
molotovs are cheesing and don't increase your kill count so what's even the point
Navigating the animation lock takes a lot of practice. Therefore, a lot more risk is being weighed against the reward.
Spears were my #1 too, BUT this stupid animation lock 4:23 got me killed several times. I was sick of it and switched to axes (lumberjack, strong+fit trait).
It should NOT happen when there is a group of zombies. But it does unfortunately when I kite a group backwards and the rest catches up.
There is a mod though who removes it completely: "Disable Spear Stab"
Once you have high axe and maintainance skills stone axes with 0.36 equipped weight (compared to 0.51 wooden spear ) let you attack forever and oneshot them.
Plus they have a way better minimal range.
Never looked back...
I use to think they were op but they nerfed the fitness with weight 1.2 to 1.7 I think knifes are probably the best there harder to level but you can kill 500+ zombies with hunting knifes 5+ skill without reaching moderate exhustation really amazing for 16x pop
If they ever added stabbing spears through gaps in fences and barricades then the Knox event would be on borrowed time
I have realized that you can farm nimble XP. All alone you can go into aim mode and rapidly hit different variations of WSA and D. Works in most conditions. I have also found if you start stabbing right before the zombie is in range, the stab animation will be triggered.
The spear stab has an extra bit of range. You can see it in debug mode with aim cone turned on. Doesn't guarantee the one shot from a crit though, but its very quickly going to happen more often than not.
dude i thought you sounded so weird in this video, then i realized my video speed was set to .90x like 2 videos later
I don't know how to feel about this channel. From one side I really like the insights and getting to know how the game ticks better. But on the other hand this kind of knowledge inevitably turns a game into a minmax experience where it feels like I'm trying to get the most efficient gameplay at the cost of immersion and fun. Can't help it 😂
I don't remember where I heard it but there is a quote that goes something like "given the opportunity, a player will optimize the fun out of a game" and at least for me I feel like this is the kind of information where ignorance is truly a bliss
I always tend to start a run with baseball bat and swap to spears once I've got some carpentry and a little maintenance. If I play multiplayer, none of my friends are willing to go the spear route due to the tedium of constantly producing more even after having killed several thousand zombies. They truly are incredible as long as you use them properly. Occasionally, it's pretty scary when you get a weirdly timed one shot animation with other zombies too close for comfort, though.
Spears are goated IF AND ONLY IF fast shamblers are the fastest zombies. Their need to have 2 zombies in their view cone (to prevent the lock in stab animation) makes dealing with flanking sprinters potentially lethal
The spear also has one of if not the best reaches in the melee category. The easiest way not to get hurt in a fight is to be somewhere you can hit them without getting hit back.
Especally in a game like project zomboid where a single hit can mean death depending on settings and what happens.
yep, Thats why pickaxes and shovels/garden hoes are so good. They have crazy range and still hit hard. Attack speed is a bit low but range >>>> attack speed, so whatever.
if i had the option between a katana and two garden forks im choosing garden forks
Spear is not that bad early levels, you just have to be swift in swaping them.
Usually the strat is to make 3-4 spears and hold them in inventory while going for a fight.
Also would be cool to see an analysis on attached on spears.
Honestly the whole meta weapon thing has never caught on with me I heckin love killing a horde with a plunger and saucepan.
Everyone has their own favorite weapon in Zomboid, it's up to personal preference
thoughts on burger flipper occupation for a cheap point in maintenance? Handy is quite expensive and carpentry bonus isnt that big of a deal, easy to level and fast with vhs/life and living
The time I got bitten by zombie B because I was animation-locked killing zombie A, I put down my spear and never picked another up. Axes and machetes for life.
Cool. Waiting for basements so I can make a spear wielding mole man.
I discovered how useful spears were, didnt know there was a garden fork though
BABE WAKE UP RETANARU UPLOAD A NEW VID
Remember, hunting knives are terrible which was funniest thing I heard today😂
I still think it looks silly that the player slaps the zomboids with the spear most of the time instead of stabbing.
spear slapping has historically been a thing. But yeah ... its definitely too much slapping and too little poking :V
@@IschmarVI Shouldn't count with zombies just following you in a straight line. Very open, willing to just get stabbed swiftly and cleanly. They should fix this soon!
I have to say, the spear animation has gotten me killed at least twice, when my character did it literally the frame a zombie appeared in my vision behind me, giving me an unavoidable bite. This is the sole reason I play with crowbars now. I’d rather have a 0% chance to die without control that a 1% chance, because I’m just that unlucky
I like the BG3 music playing in the background😅
The only thing I do not like about zomboid, and keeps me from using spears until mid game, is they damage clothes.
I usually play start in winter and depraved, so having whole clothes is important. lol
wish there was a target box system, or low-mid-hi
My main problem with spears is they are essentially OP and unbalanced which us against the ethos of PZ. There is little reason to use anything else and in a game that is all about struggle and tough trade offs this doesnt make sense.
Tbh spears are OP in real life too
I used to be a spear main until I used a machete on a long term survivor that had around 8+ maintenance. He could one shot zombies without having to rely on the long, finicky spear one shot animation. This one shot strength was tied to my wakefulness though. during the first half of the day when he was the strongest / most awake it was one shots, then two or more after that. I only tended to use my machetes during those strong hours, as that maximized their usage. But it was easy to play around. Any time I needed to get some serious killing done I slept on it and got to work in the morning. Only using my machetes while I had one shot strength made sure they lasted for hundreds of zombies each, even before repairs.
Just for fun, and to challenge the insane strength I was feeling with my machetes I went to the warehouse in muldraugh and let off a few shotgun blasts to pull in the horde. I put a machete on my back, one in each hand, then dropped my backpack and got to work. That is the only character I've ever had that could handle the huge numbers that a shotgun brings in, without resorting to fire. It was an absolute bloodbath..
Wooden spears and garden forks are still amazing, and I use them frequently. But machetes will forever onward be my weapon of choice on a long term character when some real killing needs to be done.
can't wait for blacksmithing to put the spear back on top where it belongs
Long as that animation lock happens I am not using spears. It has gotten me a very small number of times, but even 1 was too many.
it IS kinda fitting tho, especially considering 2 things, spears are by far t he best weapon in reality during the middle ages, and there have been a few arguments and discussions about the spear being the best weapon to use during a zombo apo, and 2, zomboids realism
of COURSE using a melee weapont that can swing, create space, and just pop heads would be the best weapon in the game...
i think the balancing issue is more the fact that spears and knifes are the only weapons that have instakill crits... which is odd considering splashnig a head with a maul/bat or just cutting it off should be in hte game too
I personally always go with short blunt or axe because i need a free hand because i always carry two backpacks
I don't like being locked into an animation when i don't want to, but all the benefits make them very appealing
Stayed for the music! Not really, but it made the video better!
Hey retanaru, I have been thinking if undewear provide some kind of insulation, been playing CDDA for a while and notice that the cold have been removed while at home when using underwear, if not, cold doesn't seem to remove
I found a garden fork in a Survivor barricaded house decided to hold onto it cause I heard it was a meta weapon
When I was raiding a hospital realized I forgot to put it back at base and it was still in the car that I brought with me
And they weren’t wrong being able to almost guarantee one hit a zombie and still have respectable durability
is pretty powerful very good weapon 10 out of 10 stars
I like this guy rambling
At the end of the world.
There was one thing to rely on.
Pointy long stick kill good.
for anyone that has a problem with spears at the start and no durability a good tip is to make more spears than you think you would use when going on a scouting trip i normally carry 5 or 4 in my backpack after im done on my trip 2 or three of those spears have broken and i just put them on the bodies of the dead zomboids
Counterpoint: Stone axes are the better weapon compared to spears.
counter-counterpoint: spiked bats are the weapons of a true goat.
I appreciate the info. What’s the mod called that shows the health of the zombies, by the way?
its called combat text
Thanks for calling me awesome!
spears are great, but you hit the nail with "not the best weapon for you" cause the spear's insta kill animation has gotten me killed so many times lol. had to drop spears and become an axe gang member. also i really like having the hand axe option for axes so i can have a bag on my back and bag in my offhand for super looting.
what's with the dragon halberd from osrs?
I love spear but have you guys ever been a passive 10/10 lumberjack with a fire axe? got damn
i caught 63cm fish with my beatiful spear-hunting knife.
all I'm hearing is to level spears in your off time no matter what you like classing into
Scrap weapons mod has the spear I like the most, just it costs a wrench each.
Me when half of the street is full of dead bodies and broken spears (mostly broken spears)
Spear goes brrr
I usually drop the broken spears into random zombie corpses so that they despawn together. I don't like my streets littered with spears
Isn't there a good crafting mod so you can do customized spears?