This week starts a series in which we start looking at some of the pros and cons of the many different kinds of melee and ranged weapons in Dead State. We’ve covered the basics of melee and ranged before here:
http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php/topic,1094.0.htmlToday, we’re going to cover a very basic weapon from the “knives” category of weapons. Here’s a look at the kitchen knife:
As you can see, it’s a pretty common knife, not really designed for combat. That’s reflected in its skills. But before we talk about its stats, let’s take a look at the basics pros and cons of knives in the game.
Pros-Bladed weapons, which means that every attack they do has some chance to cause bleeding.
-Lighter, quicker weapons, giving all knives some chance to counter an enemy’s attack.
-All knives are one-handed weapons, which means there is no penalty to switch to them from other one-handed weapons.
-Good critical chance.
-AP cost for basic attack is on the lower side.
Cons-Knives do less damage than most other types of weapons.
-Despite higher crit rate, critical hit multiplier is low.
-Better models of knives are harder to find.
-Knives do significantly less damage to zombies than humans.
This may be a lot of new info and jargon, so let’s flesh out a few of these concepts. First off, let me explain two of these status modifiers.
Bleeding – Weapons with this stat modifier have a chance to cause bleeding when attacking (note: Only humans can bleed!) The bleeding status causes a small amount of damage per turn for several rounds unless medical attention is received.
Counter – Weapons with a counter ability have a chance to automatically initiate a basic attack when directly attacked by an enemy.
Critical Chance – Chance for a critical multiplier to be applied to damage dealt. The higher this number, the more likely the weapon will critical.
Critical Multiplier – The amount damage is changed when an attack is critical. The higher this number, the higher the damage dealt when an attack is critical.
Now let’s look at the Kitchen Knife’s stats:
Hands: 1 (Can keep another object in second hand)
Range: 1 (Must be standing next to target)
Type: Slashing (Counts as Slashing damage, not good VS armor with high Slashing Resistance)
Stat Chance: Counter 40%, Bleeding 20% (Good counter chance, decent chance to cause bleeding)
Noise: 2 (Extremely quiet weapon)
Strength: 1 (Strength required to wield effectively, this one is one of the lightest)
ZDamage: 40% (It only does 40% of normal damage against zombies, so not good for undead)
Critical Hit Chance: 10% (Pretty high chance for criticals)
Critical Multiplier: 2 (But only does double damage)
Weight: 1 (Very light)
Break: 5% (Low chance to break)
Let’s look at Break for a sec. Weapons designed for punishment or combat won’t break. The kitchen knife is an “improvised” weapon, therefore, it has a chance to break. Basically – carry a spare weapon or look for a better knife if you’re using this. Broken items cannot be repaired.
On to Attacks – here’s what you can do with the kitchen knife in a fight.
Basic Attack – The default attack
AP Cost: 3 (Really quick weapon – a fast character could attack multiple times per round)
Damage: 3-10 (Not very high damage, range of damage makes it unreliable as a damage dealer)
Slash – A vicious slash.
AP Cost: 5
Damage: 1-7
Modifier: +40% chance to cause Bleeding (Bleeding is almost a guarantee)
Flurry – A series of quick strikes (think Norman Bates in Psycho)
AP Cost: 7
Damage: 3-10 (3 attacks in a row)
Modifier: Accuracy -30% (Not very accurate)
Plunge – Destroys the weapon but aims to do as much damage as possible.
AP Cost: 6
Damage: 10
Modifier: Critical 100%, Bleeding 100%, Break 100%
Every weapon has special attacks that are unique to that weapon/class of weapons. Using special attacks wisely can give you a tactical edge in combat – they’re not necessarily more damage. Special attacks are used to cause status, trip or push back enemies, and even disarm enemies. Melee weapons excel at special attacks and causing statuses, so if you’re a melee guy, get to know the strengths and disadvantages of your weapons.
As we continue showing off weapons, their strategic uses will make more sense. Any questions about the knife or combat that don't appear in our FAQ or original post, feel free to post below.
RPG
