First Post..Beginner..Some Questions

General Discussion
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Hi guys.

Just joined these forums today, just started playing the game last week.

Really enjoying it! As an OCD explorer / looter, I love stealthing around to new locations and grabbing everything I see.

Combat…scares me.

I usually avoid or just run from gunfire to get to where I need to go and loot, die if necessary, run back, repeat.

My main weapon of choice when I am actually required or have A good opportunity to kill things is a hunting rifle (Moisier, Messier, something like that) with a 4X-8X scope. I have become quite good at sniping ticks and seekers (bugs and dogs, as I call them) by shooting their explosive barrel weak points from afar.

However, I have never been able to put a dent in a Hunter (giant scary tall two legged mechs) and certainly not in any of the Tanks I saw attacking a location in the one multiplayer game I joined to see what MP was like.

What are the weak points on Hunters?

Will I find more powerful weapons?

I currently have that hunting rifle, two different pistols, Old Betta (Shotgun), an assault rifle, and an SmG.

Also, am I hurting myself by playing too slowly and spending too much time exploring?

I sm currently just doing the missions given at the Vessian Bunker War Board, but I have explored almost every location up to that naval base on the west side of the island that Vessian is on. I know I have a loooooong way to go.

As well, I am wondering how you are supposed to level up a second character to Specialization point when every new character you make starts in the world / progress of your original first character.

Is there no way to start a new game with a new character? Am I missing something?

Thanks very much in advance for any info.

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Shoot the vented areas by the head or the fuel tank behind. If you can’t destroy these parts, shoot the weapons. You will find better weapons, especially up north, but the machines are ever more deadly. Exploration is key, as you can find better and more items if you explore well enough. For some reason, you can’t get have a game per character. There are ways to tinker in the game code so you can have new games, but that might corrupt your data.

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Thank you! They’re soooo intimidating!

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I suggest going through the game at a quicker pace. Creeping around in the bushes doesn’t get you any experience. Don’t be afraid to go into combat. Mastering the combat in this game is a reward in itself. Last time I played, I had a huge battle with 2 tanks, 2 harvesters, and 15-20 hunters who kept spawning in. Think I got almost 9000 xp in a single chunk. Real fun! :smile:

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What was the turning point in the game that made you go from hiding to fighting?

What if I waste all my ammo and don’t kill anything?

@NJR87

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If you have Spotting Intel skill (lvl1) unlocked and you come across machine blueprint (all machines have them, except one), then you can use your binoculars in Tech View to actually see the internal machine components, which many of them are weakpoints.

Hunter in Tech View (spoiler alert) click here to view

Depending on where you aim, you’ll see different components and their health status displayed:

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For quick tip; if you hit the machine, look at the sparks you’re getting from the hit;

  • small yellow sparks - hitting the frame (least amount of damage)
  • big yellow sparks - hitting the armor plating (moderate damage and usually covers for weakpoint behind it)
  • big blue sparks - hitting the weakpoint (biggest amount of damage)

So, aim for parts where you see blue sparks. Once blue spars stop, the component is destroyed and move to the next area where you can see more blue sparks.

Yes.

Not at all.
When i 1st played GZ, i mainly moved along crouching, while constantly scouting ahead and planning my attacks. Sure, it took a lot of time to advance in game but i preferred that way. It took me 117 gameplay hours to finish all vanilla main missions.

Combat gives you XP. Or you can join MP to get mission XP when playing with other people. That’s how i leveled my 2nd, 3rd and 4th char to max level. :slightly_smiling_face:

Not an easy way. To start anew, you’d need to delete your current save from game files.

And i suggest you to respect other players and their gameplay style. Not all players use “run & gun” tactics. Some of us actually love “sneak & snipe” tactics.

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@Aesyle

Thank you so much for the kind, informative, and detailed reply!

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The turning point in the game for me going from hiding to fighting was when I got myself to the farmlands and south coast. I got much better weapons and felt strong enough to fight them face to face rather than quick potshots from afar.
Ammo is never a waste, if you miss try again, until eventually you find a rhythm.
Keep going you will get there in the end! And make sure to play your own style!

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@Aesyle How does making a suggestion make me disrespectful? It was never my intention to criticize his playstyle.
I think most people start out slow and careful in this game, including myself, and I think that’s how the game wants you to start out as well. But this game has at least one, if not several moments where you can feel the scales tipping in your favour, and you feel ready to bring the fight back to the machines. I personally think that you can speed up that process by grabbing the bull by the horns, so to speak. Facing a hunter head-on with all you got is a good way to find out it’s weaknesses. Sure you may loose, but then you can just try again. I like to vary my own playstyle, both run and gun, and sneaking and sniping is really fun. I just wanted to say that if you find the machines scary, and you put most of your effort into avoiding them completely, leveling your character is gonna be a very slow process.
Hope that’s a better explanation of what I really meant, and I hope you enjoy the game, @FilthyLittleGodPS4 :blush:

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My best advice is to turn off the ingame music and listen for audio cues. It’s even better with headphones. The good thing about sneaking and being stealthy is that you will often get the drop on the Machines. They do make sounds when they are idle, and when they are moving.

Even the Tank can engage in “Silent Running” mode and just lurk in place in near silence, hoping you’re careless enough to stumble into his line of sight.

The ability to recognise a Hunter patrol in the Mountain Region by the distant whirring of their servo’s as they walk, or the low-pitched howling noises that they make is invaluable. You’re able to prepare for a fight, set out traps and so forth.

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Is there not a mode you can turn off only the music so that the natural sounds like wind or rattling of branches or the wooshing of the sea and of curse the sounds of the robots stay resident? I like to hear my own music duricng the gameplaying

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The turning point was when I got 3* weapons and I got those in the South Coast and Mountains. Worried about Ammo? Get Salvage 1 if you need ammo. If that doesn’t work, get Salvage 2.

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You can turn off music only in audio settings.

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Do the poison gas Tanks cause robots to get stunned / slow?

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I haven’t tried, but I do not think so, since robots are immune to poison gas. However, EMPs do stun them! Here are some links:




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Thanks Alicia, i will try. Normally i play with earpods and over that the Headphones for my own music.:smiley::metal::+1:

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That implies there are human enemies…I was wondering about that.

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Further reading about it here: Giftgas! (poisonous gas cannister)

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There are no human enemies, yet. It’s something I’d imagine would actually happen in a situation like this; that there are some groups of survivors who turn on the rest out of desperation for supplies, like bandits. But not yet; the focus is on fighting machines. While I would enjoy human enemies, it’s good that they focused solely on the machines; that way, they were able to make the machines into great and enjoyable enemies! That said, it’s in my headcanon that my character has fought against humans as well.

There are friendly human NPCs in one of the DLCs, though!

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You will find NPCs at the Björntunet Hotel in the Winecellar :crazy_face: There is Benny and Anita Sjögren and Elsa Kohrsandi.

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