Zombie Bait/Lure

[iBane 381]

Zombie Bait - craftable item.  

 

Deployment: Throw it on the ground and zeds in the area will aggro to it and be occupied for a short length of time (say 1-2 minutes).  

 

Purpose/Uses:

• Provide a zombie distraction method that can be used as a stealth mechanic in high-zed population areas for looting
• Allow a player to distract zombies while they move into and out of a confined area or tight building like a barracks  
• Allow solo players & small teams who don't want the noise of shooting zeds to move through an area quietly  
• Allow players to deal with zeds in sniper zones without making their presence as obvious as running in the open  
• Give the player an alternative to very slow stealth movement in a dangerous, high-traffic area like an airfield, where steal+speed is usually the best option
• Assumes zeds are optimized/in-game in greater numbers and are dangerous

 

Possible Recipe:  

• Rotted animal meat or uninfected human flesh combined with blood, and/or rotten fish, and/or a plant extract "scent" 
• Assumes hunting/fishing and gutting/cleaning are implemented and/or plant harvesting
• Assumes there is a "crafting" method/process to rot meat or a game mechanic implemented for organic loot like meat to age and rot and a way to gather animal/human blood or plant extract 
• I would prefer the blood be separate from the medical blood bag or at lease have an alternative related to hunting/fishing

 

Trade-offs/Balance:

• If the lure/bait isn't stored in a "protector case" or similar air-tight vessel zombies in 15-20m proximity can detect players from the odor of the bait even if they are out of sight (through walls, around corners, etc)
• Zeds not in immediate proximity are alerted by zeds consuming bait (visual similar to seeing player) and investigate: chance of turning a small group of zeds into a dangerous larger group/horde 
• If player throws multiple baits in an area with more than one zed, the zeds will consume each bait simultaneously so the effect cannot be stacked simply by throwing multiple lures at one time  
• If bait is thrown into an area not-reachable by zombies they will lose interest after a period of time - say 2-3 minutes; (avoids exploit and rewards shrewdness)
• Aggro'd zeds eating bait are naturally a visible indicator of another player in the area
• Consider making human-flesh lures more effective than animal (zeds detect from father away and distracts them somewhat longer)

Just an idea for future content.  Not a "do this now or else" bambi rant ;)

 

Cheers

[charliepow 100]

Yeah I'd love to see some stuff like this in the game. As well as throwing items making noise and attracting Zeds, or at least making some of them curious as to what it was.

 

I also think that Zeds should consume dead players bodies. So like, you kill someone or someone dies, and you have to loot their body quickly before Zeds start eating it/ruining gear. After a while, the body would start to smell and attract zombies, which would use the same mechanics as the "bait" suggestion.

 

Something like that would create a loot sink and would be great for the in-game economy.

[terminal_boy 860]

Smoke grenades used to be zombie bait in the Mod.

 

Killed a number of players this way rack in the day.

[byrgesen 1341]

Smoke grenades used to be zombie bait in the Mod.

 

Killed a number of players this way rack in the day.

 

Dont forget whiskey bottles, empty cans and flares ;)

Pretty much anything you could throw, would make a noise and attract them to it.

 

Would rather want that then the system described by OP.