For those who like to live dangerously.
If you're a fan of zombie survival games, you've probably heard a thing or two about Project Zomboid in the last few years. Even though it's been in development for over ten years, it continues to be popular due to the reintroduction of multiplayer.
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Even though the game also has firearms, they will usually lead to your untimely death due to the noise, so melee weapons will usually be your main zombie disposal tools. But figuring out which of them is the best when starting out is easier said than done, especially since there are a lot of them. So let's have a look at some of the best melee weapons that Project Zomboid has on offer.
One of the easiest weapons to find in Zomboid, the Metal Bar — or its brethren the Lead Pipe and the Metal Pipe — are the most basic short blunt weapons in the game. There is an abundance of them in most industrial areas, warehouses, and garages.
A nice trick is the fact that certain destructible parts of the environment, such as fences or gates, will yield a few bars or pipes when destroyed. If you're sorely lacking a melee weapon then getting some zombies to take down a fence will fix your problem.
A police officer's main melee weapon, nightsticks are a pretty good find in the world of Project Zomboid. They can be dropped by zombie policemen, or found inside their patrol cars and police stations.
The best part about the nightstick is the fact that it loses durability a lot more slowly than many of the other short blunt weapons. While the damage isn't exactly amazing, and it lacks range, it makes up for it with fast swings and a small amount of knockback.
The one weapon that lets you channel your inner MC. The simple hammer comes in multiple varieties, such as a regular hammer, ball-peen hammer, and even a wooden mallet. You should clearly stay away from the wooden mallet since the others have slightly better stats, although not by a lot.
Hammers have a pretty short range, with decent damage output. What makes them a solid addition to any arsenal is the fact that they are literally everywhere. Most decently-sized houses will have one inside their garage or a closet, so finding one should never be an issue. On top of their combat utilities, hammers are an important part of crafting certain items and carpentry, so always make sure you always have one strapped to your belt.
The most common long blunt weapon that you can find, the crowbar is an excellent weapon, as well as a utility tool that fulfills plenty of important roles. It can be used to remove barricades, or remove floors and windows in order to place them somewhere else.
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As far as combat stats go, the crowbar has above average damage and range, but a rather slow swing speed. The most important quality is its durability, as it is one of the most sturdy weapons available in the game. You can find plenty of them in most warehouses, hardware stores and garages, and sometimes you will even find them impaled in zombies.
Even though there are various other types of short-blade weapons in the game, the hunting knife is by far the strongest option. You can find a lot of them in most gun stores, but your best source for this weapon will be dead zombies. Zombies that roam around gun stores or more rural areas will have an increased chance of having one on them.
This weapon lacks range, but has decent damage with a very fast swing. It also has a special attack wherein you instakill your target with a quick stab to the head, with a random chance of happening. Keep in mind that there is a small chance that after an instakill attack your knife might be lodged into your target, forcing you to pick it back up again.
The baseball bat is an iconic weapon for most zombie games, and Project Zomboid is no different. You can find them in sports stores and in most safehouses that you come across. There's a literal mother lode of them inside the Louisville Slugger Factory, located on the eastern bank of Louisville.
Clearly the best long blunt weapon in the game, the baseball bat has excellent damage and range with a good swing speed. As an added bonus, you can turn any bat into a spiked bat with a common crafting recipe that requires five nails. The only downside is that a spiked bat will lose durability a lot faster than a normal one.
An ideal weapon for dealing with hordes, axes are some of the strongest long-blade weapons in the game, with multiple variants at your disposal. You can get your hands on a fire axe, a handaxe, and a wood axe, and there is also the option of crafting your own stone axe with one tree branch and a stone. All axes in the game can also be used to tear down doors and cut trees for basic resources, such as planks and tree branches.
Axes have amazing damage and range with a mediocre swing speed. They lose durability pretty slowly, except for the stone axe. This variant should only be used for cutting trees, since losing one during combat could spell the end for your character.
Coming out on top of our list we have the machete, the best short-bladed weapon that you can get in the game. They can be found in most hardware and gun stores, even though the drop rate is very low. Machetes can also be used for cutting trees, but you should probably hold on to them for actual combat.
The machete has the biggest damage out of all the short weapons, being able to one-shot most zombies with a few levels in short blades. Despite the fact that they are very rare, in later stages of the game you should never leave your base without one strapped to your belt.
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Aradoaei Cristian Laurentiu is a list writer at Thegamer. An experienced content writer that is trying his hand at the gaming niche, a niche that has been a very important part of his life. Mostly focused on playing roguelikes and simulation games in the past few years, with a lot of experience with FPS games from his adolescence when he tried his hand at professional play.