Zombie Hunter University, Fairview

Why attend Zombie Hunter University? There have been several guides to help survivors meet the challenges of the Dead Frontier. What more is there to learn?

ZHU offers lessons, guides and tutorials on the Theory of Scientific Minimalism - an approach found nowhere else, and one that is guaranteed to assist students learning to survive in Dead Frontier's zombie-infested city of Fairview.

WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC MINIMALISM?

The School of Scientific Minimalism answers the questions: What is the bare minimum needed to survive on the streets of Fairview? What are the cheapest weapons necessary for survival in any situation, and how can students optimize those weapons? 

Students will not need expert skills to succeed with the weapons and builds recommended here (experts who wanted to show off their talent could probably succeed with even weaker weapons and builds).

Instead of focusing on a final goal, when a build is perfected, with all the best weapons, this guide offers a path toward a goal. Whereas other guides and forum advice tend to be written from the point of view of advanced survivors, eyeing an End Game strategy in the Black Zones or the Wastelands, where maximum firepower is needed to take on Flaming Black Titans that can kill with a single hit, this guide takes a step-by-step approach to each outpost: what is needed at Nastya’s Holdout is much less than what is needed at Secronom Bunker.

Let’s look at some examples, comparing the effectiveness of different weapons depending upon the type of zombie one is attempting to kill.

Imagine being in Nastya’s Holdout, where the only targets are Normal Zombies (Male, Female, Fat Male, Fat Female) . A 35-proficiency Crowbar is more powerful than a 20-proficiency Iron Pipe, but the Crowbar will not kill Normal Zombies any faster than the Iron Pipe. Both weapons will one-hit-kill those targets at a rate of one per second (assuming a Critical Hit). So upgrading from an Iron Pipe to a Crowbar yields no advantage in that case.

On the other hand, the 50-proficiency Kris knife will one-hit-kill those Normal Zombies but at the slightly faster rate of one every three-quarters of a second (again assuming a Critical Hit). So against Normal Zombies, the Kris has the advantage over the Crowbar and the Iron Pipe.

Or consider the 60-proficiency Trench Knife and the 80-proficiency Sabre. Both would take two hits to kill an Irradiated Male Zombie or a Burned Male Zombie, but the Trench Knife would do it more efficiently because it strikes faster. So if a student were in a Green Zone where the most dangerous zombie is an Irradiated Male, it would be better to use the Trench Knife instead of the more expensive Sabre.

When we analyze the game in this fashion, we occasionally find that more powerful weapons are unnecessary luxuries for a particular location and task. Students may eventually need those items when exploring the more dangerous areas of Fairview, but students should hold off purchasing them until necessary.

For example, before Fairview expanded to include the Secronom Bunker, with its new, more dangerous zombies, I used an “Assault Build” with an Alpha Bull revolver (100 proficiency), an AK 47 assault rifle (80 proficiency), and an HK 69 grenade launcher (40 proficiency) near Fort Pastor (at that time the “last” outpost, closest to the lucrative but dangerous “End Zone” looting areas). I was able to loot the End Zone with the Alpha Bull, grind with the HK 69, and defend myself from aggro with the AK 47. Though I had only one “Elite” (i.e., level 100) weapon, I could complete almost all the Fort Pastor missions and kill most bosses. There was little need for anything more; the limitations of the build became apparent only when I came up against swarms of fast-moving spiders and tendrils or when I tried to hunt the most dangerous bosses (e.g., Flaming Giant Spiders). Only when I wanted to attempt those tasks did I switch to a Heavy Machine Gun.

Now, I would think twice before venturing into the Secronom Bunker area with my old assault build today, but even in the present version of Dead Frontier, the build retains its usefulness in many areas, such as the Orange Zones around Precinct 13 and Fort Pastor, allowing students to use inexpensive weapons while looting and grinding, saving money and raising stats and weapons proficiencies for the heavy duty gear that will be needed when moving on to Secronom Bunker and eventually the Wastelands.

Although End Game survivors (level 100 and beyond) may have fixed builds, which are tweaked here and there, for beginning students a build is a work-in-progress, changing rapidly from one level to the next. Though it’s nice to look ahead to owning three 120-Proficiency weapons, reaching for those weapons too soon can ruin a student financially. If even a student could afford to buy them, using them cost a fortune on ammo, possibly leading to bankruptcy. And for what? In the less dangerous neighborhoods of Fairview, that firepower is unnecessary.

Of course, what is necessary is not necessarily what is desired. Students who enjoy the sound of rapid gunfire and grenades should, by all means, follow their dreams. However, for students who are trying to work their way up through Dead Frontier gradually, this guide will explain what is needed.

Further Reading:

• The Scientific-Minimalist Guide to Builds
• The Scientific-Minimalist Guide to Missions
• The Scientific Minimalist Guide to Boss Hunting

Recommended Courses:

• Dead Frontier 101
• Survival 190: Nastya's Holdout
• Survival 290: Dogg's Stockade
• Survival 390: Precinct 13
• Survival 490: Fort Pastor

Video Tutorials & Lectures:

• Dead Frontier Weapons
• Dead Frontier Missions
• Dead Frontier Boss Hunting