Baseball bat needs a buff?

[chickenmcfuggits 49]

Just started playing again and it seems the zombies are much more dangerous than last time, I'm having a harder time knocking them out, circle strafing them and they seem to take more hits, are faster (player full sprint aparently) and to my delight (and grief) they can now walk up stairs. One of the early weapons I usually always equip until I find an axe is baseball bats, they have served me well in the past to the point I actually thought about keeping it around even if I found an axe just because well... bludgeoning faces, cool factor and axes are just too common because they have no equivalent, no matter how rare you make them in the game everyone with more than a hour old character will always have one.

 

So I started playing and immediately died a few times to players which is fine, then on my third run I came across a baseball bat. I've been beating and beating on these zombies with my bat but got they just don't seem to go down, its almost as if its the same strength as just bare fists. I would think a baseball bat would be a superb zed basing, skull fracturing weapon just as logic would dictate and as is in most zombie lore that feature baseball bats, you would think it shouldn't take more than a couple good bonks on the cap to down a zombie.

 

So, do baseball bats need a buff? I sure hope they don't remain the way they are, they are in fact one of the more semi-common melee weapons in the game but lets face it... in DayZ starting out is usually the hardest part, and giving new spawns a tiny bit better chance against at least the zeds wouldn't be game breaking.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Chzy

[saamohod 45]

Baseball bats are pretty useless. Not only you need to keep "kissing" distance to be able to reach and hit someone, but they deal miniscule amount of damage too.

[chickenmcfuggits 49]

Baseball bats are pretty useless. Not only you need to keep "kissing" distance to be able to reach and hit someone, but they deal miniscule amount of damage too.

 

They used to be a fairly decent melee weapon not too long ago, and yea it does seem like you have to be pretty close for a melee weapon that should have a good amount of reach to it.

[xalienax 621]

Most mele weapons need a good buff. Large heavy objects like the pipe-wrench should KO zed and people fairly reliably.

[chickenmcfuggits 49]

Yea, this is true now that I think of it. There are many melee weapons in the game that don't live up to the damage they would realistically cause. Since melee is such a big part of the game and whenever you aggro a zed it becomes pretty much something you have to do, I think melee combat could use buff all in itself. I mean I like that there is a sense of some danger to zombies, but I don't see a zombie as something that should be difficult to handle and so damn persistent (go around a corner and change direction should throw em off) and fast (at least when compared to player speed) as it is in the game right now, that's just me though.

 

What would be cool is if you could cause damage to zombies similar to how you can fracture bones in the player and whatnot. For example: Break their arm with a baseball bat or pipe wrench and maybe they attack a little slower, break their leg (or cut these appendages off with something) and it slows them down enough you can run away, or even just use a long shovel or pitchfork to hold them outside of their melee attack range from you. What if you could jab a pitchfork into them, then hold them at bay with them stuck on the end of the pitchfork, that would be useful sometimes.

 

Either way, I hope baseball bats get a buff otherwise I can't really play a motorcycle helmet baseball bat psycho, because motorcycle helmets and baseball bats go together like peas and carrots... that's reason enough to give it a buff.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Chzy

[DURRHUNTER 597]

the baseball bat needs a nail. literally a nail.

[Jex 1104]

So you want BIS to "buff" your "baseball bat" huh? :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

 

hehehe :P

[Death By Crowbar 1213]

You'd expect the baseball bat would have a good knock down and knock out potential, especially with that "swing for the fences" motion it has. I view it only as being useful to annoy people - hit them a few times, doesn't do much, but is safe and intimidating if they're cuffed if you're not trying to kill them.

[Ultimoses 110]

They should change the animation or polish it or something, when they have time for it, and increase its range.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Ultimoose

[Avant-Garde 229]

I would not say melee weapons need a buff, its to early for that. The problems are in the tracer system that is obvioulsy not done. They will have to remake many of the melee animations in beta so the it gets good.

 

Melee should be balanced only when they manage to match the tracers with the animations, so the tracer system actualy is used for something because now its useless. Lol its so bad it gives a bad name to this mechanic, but I believe Bohemia that the end product will have gud melee.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Avant-Garde

[Whyherro123 2283]

ALL melee weapons should be buffed. Using a melee weapon should be difficult, but if you manage to connect, whatever you hit should die, or have broken bones/internal bleeding/serious stab wounds at the least.

 

It is pitiful how weak certain weapons like hammers, knives, wrenches, etc are. If I hit you in the shoulder with a carpenters hammer, it should be broken at the least. If I stab you in the gut with a kitchen knife, you should have severe internal bleeding, which some rags would not fix. If I crack you in the chest with a giant monkey wrench, there go your ribs.....get the picture? Alongside this, there should be a developed "pain and shock" mechanic, where you fall unconcious/get dizzy ( severely blurred screen), throw up (lose a lot of water), etc, because it is realistic. Right now, characters can tank 20+ slashes from a machete or a knife with little to no problems, besides a grey-scale screen and slight blurryness. (Really, bladed weapons should stab, rather than slash.)

 

However, with this increased (realistic) damage, there should also be an added sense of inertia and momentum, especially with the larger weapons, like axes, monkey wrenches, lengths of pipe (hypothetical). Right now, larger weapons swing way too damn fast, and way too easy. Axes, monkey wrenches, etc are very unbalanced, with a lot of weight located towards the "business end", making recovering from a swing, even one that connects, difficult and time consuming. Two-handed weapons should be an all-out shock weapon, slow to swing and recover, but if you connect, they are gonna feel it. Thusly, two-handed weapons would be better off suited for ambushes, or single targets, as it might take too long to recover from even a successful swing to deal with the other Infected coming up behind you.

 

On the other hand, light one-handed weapons, like knives, small wrenches, carpenters hammers, etc, should be a lot faster to swing and recover from, but not so "all out" with regards to damage. Now, I am not saying that getting hit/hitting something with a hammer or a knife wouldn't kill, far from it, but just not so devastatingly "balls-out" compared to a melee weapon. For example, a sledgehammer to the ribs would crush the ribs, deflate the lung, and probably damage the spine (not to mention internal bleeding), while a carpenters hammer to the same location would break the ribs and cause internal bleeding. However, that carpenters hammer would be ready to swing again almost immediately, while you would have to overcome the swing of the sledge before you can swing it again.

 

Also, literally everything that can be done to players, should be able to be done to zombies. Broken limbs, concussions, bleeding out, handcuffing, etc

[BadAsh (DayZ) 1513]

They used to be a fairly decent melee weapon not too long ago, and yea it does seem like you have to be pretty close for a melee weapon that should have a good amount of reach to it.

Indeed. Sadly the adventures of the Green Avenger would never have been possible with the current nerfbat:

[jacksparrows 31]

I knocked out a guy out with a baseball bat...once. He was a relatively new fresh spawn, had a sledge hammer, and couldn't play for shit. He faked friendly after we killed a zombie, I go to bandage and out comes his sledge. Fortunately I canceled the action in time to get away and pull out my trusty but nearly useless baseball bat. 

 

About 5 to 6 solid connects later, he drops while trying to escape. It was a major WTF moment considering I hit his unprotected head several times and he just shrugged it off. A buff is indeed needed. 

 

IRL if I swing even the shittiest of baseball bats and connect with your head, you're probably going to die or at least fall into a coma.

[SMoss 2101]

At this point in time the melee system has not been finalized. The process of balancing the melee weapons will most likely be an ongoing task that the guys will be working on later in development.

[Death By Crowbar 1213]

thanks for the official word on it!  :beans:

[acdc_bag 32]

Baseball bats along with 90% of the melee weapons are horribly broken and useless.  Why are we slashing with knives?  Why can't you literally cave someone's skull in with a baseball bat,  sledgehammer, or shovel?  I'm sorry but if someone swings a shovel at you, and hits you just about anywhere and with any amount of force, it's going to fuck you up.  Even if you got grazed on the arm or leg, it's going to rattle your senses a bit.  Getting hit in the chest, legs, head, arms, etc, with any of the aforementioned? Certain death or broken limbs.

 

Show me one person that can take a fucking sledgehammer to the arm swung with two hands, and be ready to keep shooting and running around.  Melee is the stupidest part of this game right now, so fucking broken.

[acdc_bag 32]

At this point in time the melee system has not been finalized. The process of balancing the melee weapons will most likely be an ongoing task that the guys will be working on later in development.

 

Definitely makes sense that the most dangerous and highest risk of combat rewards you with the worst results and worst chance to actually do any damage.  That's a great development call!!

[SMoss 2101]

Definitely makes sense that the most dangerous and highest risk of combat rewards you with the worst results and worst chance to actually do any damage.  That's a great development call!!

 

As mentioned, the melee system is not finalized. Please feel free to follow future updates of the game for changes to the melee combat system :)

[Whyherro123 2283]

What I find interesting, and confusing, is that we can find baseball bats in a country (or, more accurately, part of a country) where there are no baseball fields. 

[pillock 850]

What I find interesting, and confusing, is that we can find baseball bats in a country (or, more accurately, part of a country) where there are no baseball fields. 

 

Baseball bats are pretty common in non-baseball playing countries, I think. The hockey sticks are more puzzling though!

[Whyherro123 2283]

Baseball bats are pretty common in non-baseball playing countries, I think. The hockey sticks are more puzzling though!

You might know more, but.......why? As far as I have searched, there aren'y any baseball fields in Chernarus.

 

There are, however, a decent amount of soccer fields, however.

[pillock 850]

You might know more, but.......why? As far as I have searched, there aren'y any baseball fields in Chernarus.

 

There are, however, a decent amount of soccer fields, however.

 

Footballs don't make very good melee weapons.

 

People in Britain have baseball bats just to hit a ball around with their mates in the park. Maybe some keep them as home defence weapons? I don't know, really, but they're not that unusual here. But people very rarely have hockey sticks lying about unless they actually play competitive hockey. And these are ice-hockey sticks, aren't they? I haven't found the Chernarus ice rink yet.

[SMoss 2101]

It's not Chernarus of course, but Accolyte was kind enough to invite me to a game at the baseball stadium in Prague this summer. I'm sure that there'll be some bats lying around just waiting to be scavenged here in central and eastern europe.

[hekp 223]

so.. any chance of giving us the ball & catchers glove?

[chickenmcfuggits 49]

At this point in time the melee system has not been finalized. The process of balancing the melee weapons will most likely be an ongoing task that the guys will be working on later in development.

 

Thanks for the official reply and the awesome game, yea I realize that its alpha and all I just wanted to give a little feedback so my beloved baseball bat (and melee weapons in general) doesn't fall by the wayside. :)

Edited January 11, 2015 by Chzy