To start off, I would like to make a little confession. I have played this little survival game for almost 250 hours now. Therefore, I feel I am in the position to share a few tips and tricks to make sure you newbies out there have a better fighting chance in the unforgiving and brutish world of Unturned.
Tip #1: Avoid the big guys if you aren't armed.
If all you have are garden tools, you'd better leave the big zombies alone. They are very fast and take around 25 head shots with a proper rifle. If you can't avoid them, you can try to jump on a high wall in a military base or a container in a city and club the zombie to death, while he can't get to you. I would also advise throwing a smoke grenade so nobody picks you off in the 3 mins you'll spend hacking away at the mega-zombie.
Tip #2: Know how to access your menus
Tab toggles your inventory, skill tree, crafting options and map - all these are crucial for making the best of the game. There are two items you can find to help you get your whereabouts - a simple chart map or a GPS with your current location marked. Next to the map there is a list of players. People are listed according to when they started the session, so the list is a good way to approximate how high up the food chain you are!
Tip #3: Toggle 3rd Person View
In most servers, you can use H to toggle 3rd person view. Even though it's kind of cheating, I would recommend using it to peek around corners and obstacles without risking being spotted. When you have a good view of your enemy, simply switch to 1st person, stand up, and blow the other player away -- no questions asked.
Tip #4: Jump into the middle of things
Being in the right place at the right time will get you a long way in terms of guns and equipment - it only took me a few minutes to level up from a butcher's hatchet to a decent arsenal. All I had to do was find an existing gunfight and be merciless.
Tip #5: Scope things out
A pair of binoculars, a piece of tape, and LVL 1 on your crafting skill will let you craft a makeshift scope for your rifle. This is an easy enough tasks and gives you the technical edge you need. Alternately, you can get more advanced scopes from ranger towers, smaller military bases, and mega-zombies.
Tip #6: Don't worry about building
Building a house or some safes is not advised, as it takes a long time to gather the resources and you will get raided before the sawdust settles.
Tip #7: Don't let bugs distract you
If you see a pair of antlers running around the lake, be not afraid. It is not an enemy masking as Rudolph, it is just a lagged out deer. Be aware that Unturned is known to be laggy. Don't let sights like this divide your attention.
Tip #8: Hoard clothing, but forgo the hat.
Any piece of clothing you find should be gathered. If it's better than the clothing you have - wear it. If not - rip it to cloth and make some bandages for your inevitable health shortages. If you have a silly hat, such as the one in the screenshot, think long and hard about whether you want to sacrifice your own head to a bullet for the sake of fashion
The bottom line is -- unless its a helmet, headwear gives no additional benefit. But it greatly increases the risk of you being spotted. The only justification I can see for wearing a hat is having that 2 extra cloth without taking up inventory space.
Tip #9: Using Steam groups makes partying easier
If you and your friends join a Steam group, you can easily see each other's names and locations in-game. In addition, you can't hurt each other. It then becomes especially easy to gather your team with a car.
Tip #10: Be a Tarantino character
If you get a car in a server with 3rd person view, close the windows with sandbags and become the fearless driver from Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.
Outro
I hope you found some useful tips here and put them to good use. If you have strategies to share, be sure to do so in the comments. Enjoy yourselves and don't trust anyone who approaches you with an axe, even if they say "friendly, friendly".
Published: Oct 15, 2015 03:51 am