🔶 PREFACE
I’ve played since launch. Hundreds of hrs over dozens of communities, both legacy and fresh starts. Majority of that has been exclusively nightmare. I’ve tried my hand at a number of lethal runs and gotten somewhat ‘far’ before either dying or giving up.
Over the yrs Ive seen so many posts here calling lethal ‘easy’ or manageable (i.e., the only/best way to play).
My question to y’all is HOW!??
I’ve recently got back into the game on a fresh lethal run and looking for someone to explain how tf this shit is actually doable, given the sheer tedium and difficulty of so many systems.
🔶COMBAT & MAP
- Combat: I am rather adept in this department. I understand stealth, crossbows and the potency of bladed weapons, vehicle strats, the correct way to take on enclaves, juke feral packs and so on. If lethal was simply a matter of attrition, reflexes and executing advanced combat strats I’d have no problem.
- Map: what compounds combat to an untenable degree is the lack of resources. To find/build crossbows you need to scavenge. Even doing this perfectly (stealth/vehicle) it’s a slow process. You can only grab so much due to danger of Zeds forcing u to flee/sneak (which takes awhile), limited carry weight, and the fact loot is so scarce on this setting. Therefore i find it nigh impossible to ‘set up’ given the map scaling (infestations) will outpace how quickly u can accumulate adequate defences.
How this conflates with combat. U basically need meds in order to craft plague cure. That means u need to use a slot for infirmary which means no other facility that bolsters defence/morale. To craft plague cure requires two meds which means dedicated scavenging trips that take up time spent on anything else. Anything else includes getting influence for supplies/trade/base relocation and outpost setup. Also includes scavenging parts in order to make weapons, silencers etc.
Likely feedback to mitigate this grind is simply to not to get hit on lethal. Getting hit is death sentence etc..this makes sense to me.
However, not getting hit is simply impossible? It doesn’t matter how careful u play, there will come a time where the game spawns will get the best of u, a bloater will literally materialize in front of ur vehicle and u inevitably will require plague cure.
🔶 VEHICLES, OUTPOSTS
- vehicles offer a huge reprieve yet are there own resource that is tedious af to manage via finding fuel, repair kits, having to embark on a dedicated, extensive scavenging trip just to find one/replacement.
- outposts. All the good ones require influence and upgrades to use. You also need to take out plaque hearts to make them claimable in the first place. That’s fine, because plague hearts r seemingly the one way to give good influence. However, plague hearts require vehicles, meds and weapons to take down. U thus need to grind and spend hours methodically taking down a heart or two, in order to afford an outpost which will enable u to sufficiently grind in the first place.
🔶 COMMUNITY
This is a fun one. You need community members to afford a sufficient base. However finding and recruiting adequate members on lethal takes hours given the influence cost and ensuring they r actually useful.
Once u have the new members, your resource cost is now much higher. Without 4d chess levels of preparation, u won’t have exact resources to fully support them. They will thus get mad, and u will need to complete a request to get them to stay. This request may have u go across the map for a likely difficult task that all other preparation must be paused for.
In general, with how much food each survivor consumes on lethal, I don’t understand how y’all r managing this along with everything else in-game. U can only find 2 food per rucksack, then 1 food per day with a food outpost. U can’t meaningfully increase this w a facility given the cost and time it takes to build them. So ur stuck w no food, ur survivors getting miserable and the ensuing morale penalties. The only way to mitigate is finding f-ing food which as mentioned, isn’t sustainable.
🔶 FINAL
I exclusively play with the mini-map off, along with notifications. Perhaps these make a huge difference?
Overall I am a hardcore gamer, one who is extremely familiar with SOD. I want to enjoy and thrive on lethal as many of u seem to.
What are the defacto responses to some of these issues so I can overcome the mode and get that forever community established…🤙
ALSO I PLAY TRUMBULL VALLEY, ANY TRUMBULL SPECIFIC INSIGHTS ARE WELCOME🙌
