Survival

The Dead Linger Survival Guide
While the game itself is still in alpha, it still can offer a challenge to new survivors who may feel a bit confused on where to start once they spawn into the massive world. You pop up in this world, surrounded by the un-dead, alone, scared, confused, naked.. Err.. I mean.. Forget that part. The sounds of the zombies fill the air, and if there were the ability to smell, the air would contain the scent of rotting flesh as the un-dead close in on you. So naturally you run. What do you do after you run though? Where do you go, what should you be looking for, and most of all how are you going to survive? Well that is what this guide is for, and with the help of the wonderful TDL community we can keep this guide clean, organized, and up to date.

Introduction
You wake up, confused and alone. There are un-dead everywhere and you have no idea how you've gotten here. You have nothing but the clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet. I would say hair on your head, except you've sold your hair to a crazy old woman in exchange for your backpack with a broken zipper, rendering it useless until you find another one. You feel a bit hazy, but things are starting to come back to you now. You start moving around and having a look at the environment. Until of course you notice that zombie coming straight at you. I think its time to leave, let's get moving. Run to the nearest house or building and get inside as quickly as you can. Once inside we will begin the search to complete task numero uno. Find a weapon.

Step Zero: Aim for the head
Zombies are unstoppable until the brain is destroyed. No matter what weapon you use, make sure you aim for the head!

Step One: Get Ready For Battle Toads
In The Dead Linger your number one priority should be to find a weapon, preferably a melee weapon. Let's face it, I am not trying to put you down or anything but you're not exactly the Rocky Balboa type, and even good ol' Rocky would prefer a weapon for dealing with these un-dead bastards. Zombies in The Dead Linger don't look like much, but up close and personal they don't really have the best people skills. So search the houses until you find a suitable melee weapon, but beware you are still not safe as zombies will break windows and climb through them as well as pound on the door until it breaks down. Also, it would be nice to have a gun and all, and if you find one with some ammo, take it! However, be forewarned that firing a gun will kill your foe quickly, but will also attract more zombies than you have ammo. So preferably you're going to want a weapon such as a baseball bat, or maybe a pipe wrench. If you're fortunate enough you may find yourself a sledgehammer, or better; a katana. These are the rarer items of the bunch though so for now, grab the first melee weapon you come across, something is better than nothing. The Dead Linger allows for the player to carry/equip two weapons at any given time (no I am not talking about dual wielding, as that feature is currently not in place). You can equip one weapon, then press either the 1 or 2 key, to switch to your second equip slot. I recommend storing a firearm here or maybe a second melee weapon if you prefer. Not only is it good to be able to quickly switch between two weapons using 1 and 2, but it also leaves an additional slot open in your inventory for something else. (Further analysis of melee weapons currently in The Dead Linger can be found here: List of weapons)

Step Two: Grab Some Chow & A Bag
Now that you've found yourself a weapon, it's time to grab a little chow before heading out into the big bad world. The Dead Linger features a hunger bar, located in the player inventory. When your hunger reaches 0 you begin to starve, and eventually if you do not eat you will starve to death. So ransack every kitchen in every house for food. I recommend eating the first few pieces of food you come across until your hunger bar is completely full. After that store some food in your inventory for later. If you haven't found a backpack yet, your inventory space is going to be quite limited, so the only things you will be able to carry the most of is food. So fill 'er up and head out further into the world, weapon at the ready. Speaking of limited inventory space, you're going to want to find a bag next. Don't even worry about doing anything other than changing out your weapons for better ones, eating food when you need to, and finding a bag to store items in. Your storage capabilities are one of the most important aspects to the game. So get your butt out there and find yourself a bag, despite their rarity. Bags are hard to find, but they are so worth it! Find one ASAP.

Step Three: Live The American Dream
Getting into the market for a house was a real pain in the butt and very expensive. Until now! Prices are at an all time low, in fact they're in the negatives, meaning the government has to pay you to live there! If you're looking to buy a house, now's your chance. Now that we have a couple weapons, and some food to hold us over for awhile, you should immediately start looking for a place to start stashing your goods. There are a few ways you can do this. If you're not picky and don't mind beating zombies senseless, then any old house will do, preferably a two story that allows for a little breathing room when the zombies get inside, notice the use of the word when not if. Another good place to stash your goods would be the rooftop of a Swerts Grocery store, guaranteed to remain zombie free, as well as very easy to spot from a distance. You could also get yourself way out into the country and settle down on a nice farm, complete with house, barn, silo, and some crops. However I would look less at stashing goods at a farm because most of the time, the nearest houses are at least a 15 to 20 minute run in any direction. Especially when you're running around with no back pack, making loot runs becomes long, tedious and annoying. If you like the idea of being secluded, you can also find yourself a nice cabin in the woods. I personally haven't settled down there much, however I would imagine they are quite ideal for one to two people. You will have plenty of wood around you to cut down and use. You can even create yourself a fence if you want to make it even harder for the zombies to get inside. One of the more ideal locations to settle yourself at, and great for large groups, would be an office building. Office buildings are very large, have many rooms, are 4 stories high, and have multiple ways out for quick escapes. Beware though, it's going to take a small group of survivors to clear it out of any pesky zombies. Another perk to office buildings is that they are located in towns, surrounded by houses and grocery stores. It's an ideal location for constant loot runs. The most ideal location though, as far as protection goes, would be a prison. It offers an extremely generous amount of protection and has very strong doors that will take awhile to bust down. Another great thing about prisons though, is the amount of doors and pathing the zombies need to go through to get to you. By the time you get inside, all the doors shut and barricaded, the zombies will have lost interest and given up. So, as a fellow survivor, I recommend finding a prison and setting up shop. Normally you will find a prison in the north to northeast, although it is pretty hard to say. Anyhow, start heading that direction and make any pit stops you need to along the way. Beware of the zombies as well, don't get caught with your pants down. Also, be sure to make a note of the buildings location (X & Y coordinates located at the top right of the screen).

Step Four: Reduce, Reuse, Reinforce
The Dead Linger offers the incredibly useful ability of free-form barricading. Currently, the only materials available for free-form barricading are sheets of plywood, and 2x4's of a few different lengths. Much more are to come, and hopefully soon, however we must make good use of what we have to work with. Once you find a suitable location to use as your "home-base", you should examine the different areas of entry. Now of course, the only floor you will need to worry about reinforcing the most is going to be the ground floor. Take a tour of the building and examine every point of entry, to find out which are the most vulnerable to attack, and make a note of them. Hopefully, you've taken the wise instruction given so far and you have a bag. Head out to first search for the tools you're going to need. The main ones would be a fireaxe or hatchet, both of them cut wood so either will do. You are also going to need a regular hammer, so keep an eye out for one of those as well. Also, another tool you may want to keep in mind would be a sledgehammer. While it is not necessary for barricading a building, it is used to pound posts into grass or dirt, to build on open ground. Once you've found the proper tools, you should gather some wood. You can find plywood and posts/boards by either cutting any and all trees, cutting down telephone poles, or by searching in garages or backyards. I don't care where you find the wood, just find some. After you have collected some wood, you're going to need to carry it back to your chosen building. It is best to do this in groups, as it can become a bit tedious on your own, especially if the wood is a fair distance from your base. Each piece of wood needs to be carried one by one, back to the base. The only piece of wood that can be stored in your inventory, is the smaller 2x4 which can also be used as a weapon. Anyhow, once you have a decent amount of materials, it is time to get started. Reinforce the most vulnerable entry locations in the building first. In my opinion that would be all windows on the ground floor. Zombies love to come through the windows, so you should make sure you barricade those first. I wouldn't recommend using the plywood sheets on the windows though, as you still want to be able to check your surroundings before venturing outdoors. At this point though, have at it, reinforce and barricade what you will. Your safety is in your own hands now, so barricade until you feel safe.

Step Five: Let's Go Shopping
Alright, so once you've found a nice suitable place to stash your goods, and you've reinforced it to ensure maximum safety. It is time to get out there and really prepare for the days to come. This is pretty straightforward however there are some simple tips you should follow. During a loot run, whether you've found one or not, always keep an eye out for backpacks. You never know when your inventory might not save correctly and you lose your pack. It may not seem logical to store multiple items of the same type, however it doesn't hurt. As I said, you never know when your inventory might get lost and you will have lost your gear, so always try and grab any and all weapons you can, despite how many you already have stashed. When you decide to get off for a bit, always go back to your stash and drop anything you have on you into the pile as a precaution. When you come back everything will still be there and you won't have risked losing some of the more rare items. One more thing, when heading out, take a look at what direction you are running in. If you go a long way from your base, you don't want to be left guessing which way will get you to the proper grid coordinates. It's much safer to know that you ran Northeast for 10 minutes, so all you need to do to go back is run Southwest. (For a more in depth Survival Tactics guide for scavenging and looting, visit: Survival Tactics)

Conclusion
Well survivors, that is all the information that can be provided for now, more in depth guides and lists can be found on this wiki about weapon types, survival tactics, gameplay mechanics, building types, controls, etc. so don't be shy! Learn all you can now while it is still simple! Thank you for reading and I hope that this simple guide will aid in basic survival and a basic order of operations. As time goes on and the game progresses, this guide will be much more fleshed out and filled with all sorts of information on how to survive in the world of The Dead Linger, and with the help of the community, this can potentially be a "one stop shop" for new players.

Linger on survivors, there is still hope; it can be found here.