Finding Your Comfort Zone

[perfectlemonade]

Finding Your Comfort Zone: The Balance Between Taking Risks and Being Conservative

Greetings, Codz! I bring to you today a relatively concise observation on a problem we often come across in almost every game: taking the conservative path, or the risky path. While you may not know it, situations arise every round where you must make a decision that will depend on your willingness to take risks. The quicker you recognize these situations and make that split-second decision that could mean the difference between life and death, ammo and no ammo, the better off you’ll be. I’m not saying to choose the risky path every time, but I’m not saying you should play like you’re scared either. There’s a balance that every good player has found. A balance between recklessness and timidity. And in this balance, you will find greatness, the greatness that is held within each and every one of us, just waiting to be unlocked.

Being Risky

We risk things everyday. We really do. Be it walking across a street, sipping coffee in a $400 suit, or only bringing one pencil to a standardized final exam, risks are an unavoidable part of life. And Zombies is no exception. The entire game revolves around your confidence—and ability—to take and survive risks. Risks will almost always result in an immediate reward, mainly drops but also a new weapon, a much needed perk, a downed teammate, and everything in between. However, risks also come with danger, in some cases extreme danger. Going after a max ammo, the Thundergun you just pulled from the box, the teammate bleeding out, can often times lead to your unfortunate death. So while taking risks can lead to benefit, you must also be wary over the dangers that come with risk taking.

No matter how deterred you are from being consumed by greed, human compassion, even necessity for ammo and perks, you will, eventually, be forced to take a risk at one time or another. It is simply unavoidable. You may tell yourself that you’re going to play it safe this game, that you won’t risk it all for a few extra kills, but the time will come when you must take a risk. And when that time comes, it is up to you to recognize these instances and make the right decision. When you find yourself making the right decisions almost every time, you know that you’ve reached the Big Leagues.

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what exactly these risks are, and how you should go about reacting to these risks, but that is something only you can decide when the moment comes. I can list off the risks, tell you what I would do, but in reality, it is your risk to take. You could, in theory, dismiss every possible scenario that could result in a risk as unnecessary, just another way to die. But while conservatism in some cases is indeed needed at times, it is not a good way to play (I will get into this later) and will not give you the results you desire.

Taking blatant risks at obtaining everything you see, turning greedy, selfish, even arrogant, however, is equally unsatisfying as playing with complete and total fear. So that is why we must look at both sides of the spectrum, which leads me to the other side of this entire argument: conservatism.

Being Conservative

Conservatism, as I’ve already explained some, is the exact opposite of being risky: cowering in fear at every possible gamble you see. Okay, so perhaps ‘cowering’ isn’t exactly the right word, but I think I get my point across. A conservative player is not willing to go out on a limb, put his life (and the game) on the line for a Max Ammo that is flickering away, a downed teammate whose life is slipping into white.

However, as I’ve already said, you cannot simply play an entire game being fully conservative or fully risky. It is simply not possible. And if you do somehow pull it off, you will not survive for long. Playing conservative results in virtually no benefit for the player. Your game will become stale very, very fast, which will lead your mind off to other places, to the beach, to school, to work, to places that will get you killed. Once you lose your focus, it is only a matter of time before you find yourself making a mistake that will cost you a down, and that is last thing you want, especially in a solo game.

So in order to avoid these issues and to further advance your game, you must experiment with varying levels of reckless bravado and cowardice. This is a difficult thing to determine at times, when you are being risky or conservative. Granted, most of the time, it is quite obvious even to yourself and other players by just taking a quick peak at the in game leaderboards, but there are some instances where you make unconscious decisions and just go with ‘it’. It can be quite troublesome at times, but a good measure, for a beginner player at least, is this: if you are doing everything right, if you have done your homework, if you have a strategy in mind, and you are still going down, the problem might be you are either being too risky or too conservative. And the point of this entire thread is to help you find the center road between riskiness and conservatism. We’re almost to that point of really delving into what you can do to find that center road and how to know when you’ve found it, but before you do, you need to know what kind of risks you’ll be facing when you play zombies. So let’s take a look at some of these risks, shall we?

Situations

Max Ammo (And All Drops in General)

What it is- A floating, green box that will refill all of your ammunition, this powerup is widely hailed as the best drop in the whole game. This is a game changer and a lifesaver. A blessing from Sam.

Risks Involved- Like all drops, Max Ammo’s can spawn in poor, unsafe locations on the map due to Nukes, making them very difficult to get. In co op especially, you will often find yourself unable to get to a Max Ammo, or forcing your way through incredibly small gaps that you normally wouldn’t even dare to think about taking. You begin to rely on Max Ammo’s in later rounds, giving you a sort of survival instinct that is sometimes dangerous (and sometimes incredibly beneficial). You will find yourself going out on a limb to recycle your Wunder Weapon in later rounds, which I can tell you from personal experience, can lead to death as you will be kiting in areas that simply are not meant to be kited.

What I do- If you have ammo in reserve, blast it all away until you only have one clip left or the drop itself is blinking. This should lead to a nice gap opening up in the zombies, making picking up the drop a piece of cake. In the rare occasion that this does not happen, throw out your secondary grenades, which will undoubtedly allow you to pick up the Max Ammo.

Reviving

What it is- A teammate goes down, slapped one too many times by a mass of undead hot on their tail. You, being the noble, chivalric warrior of the group, decide to go out on a limb and save your pal.

Risks Involved- Well, for one, you usually have to go out of your usual kiting/camping spot to retrieve your fallen comrade. This will force you to dodge multiple zombies that are now headed straight for you—something that can be difficult for even the most advanced players. Moreover, you are often left vulnerable while actually reviving your teammate (though there is a way to combat this, which I will get into later)

What I do- When your teammate goes down, you have a short while to pick him up until he bleeds out. In most scenarios, you have more than enough time to gather up his zombies in the safety of your kiting spot. Then, sprint for your friend and revive him. However, this does not always work, and this is where things can get dicey. In this case, you will usually have to either a) throw out a secondary grenade to free up some space, use a power weapon to clear a hole, or c) dodge like hell. The balance, even when you have an additional pressure such as you have a very limited amount of time until your teammate dies, between just randomly sprinting up stairs and sharp corners where undead could be waiting for you and methodically making your way to the downed player is key to extending the game. I’ll post a video by none other than our valued member Tom852 showing us an additional revive tip: one that can be the difference, no matter if you have found your comfort zone yet or not.

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Midround Box Hits

What It Is- Usually only encountered on rounds 50+, the midround box hit is the ‘recycling’ of a Wunder Weapon because you are out of ammo and can be, undoubtedly, one of the most dangerous things in all of Zombies. With a full spawn already in the map, they aren’t really too incredibly bad (you’d be surprised at the spaces in which you can kite). No, what really kills you are the zombies that respawn and can block of your path, with absolutely nowhere to go and nothing to protect yourself with.

Risks Involved- Like I’ve already said, it’s incredibly dangerous to hit the box midround past the 50’s. You will be running out of ammo constantly, and must be incredibly sharp to avoid getting trapped. If there’s ever been a thing to hold me personally back on high rounds, it’s this.

What I do- Well, there’s not much to do in this situation. If you’re on a map with a plethora of traps available, by all means use those instead of going for a new Wunder Weapon. However, on maps without traps like Call of the Dead, Shangri La, or Nacht, you have to just go for it. There’s not much you can do to avoid getting trapped when doing this. Just pray and try to stay quick on your feet. Good luck.

There are countless other situations where you’ll need to either be conservative or risky, but these three are the ones that stick out to me. But before you’re even ready to truly tackle these on like a pro, you’ll need to find that balance, the comfort zone. So how do you do this? Well, let’s see.

Finding the Balance

Well, this thread is starting to wrap up, so I think it’s about time that we actually discuss what this thread is about: finding your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is the yin-yang of Zombies, the ebb and flow of tides, the sun and the moon. You’ve got to know when to do borderline stupid, greedy things, and when to retreat. So how do you find this? Well, for one, you experiment. I’ve already gotten into this quite a bit. You’ve got to think outside of the box when finding your comfort zone, put yourself in situations that really judge your skillset. Sure, some of these things you’ll find in most every game, but in order to really find that niche where you feel comfortable in your own shoes, you’ve got to go deeper than just reviving and dodging to pick up drops. You’ve got to go other places.

You’ve got to go to No Man’s Land.

I’m not a particularly good No Man’s Land player—my record is only 255—but in my month or so of playing, I can tell you that I have found my comfort zone. Undoubtedly. I have found when to dash through gaps and when to back off or cutback. I have found when to shoot, and when to do another lap to prevent not getting trapped by a zombie just a wee bit slower than all the rest. If you play No Man’s Land—if you really invest time in it and dedicate yourself to getting better—while also working on surviving the aforementioned scenarios, you will have found your comfort zone in no time. I guarantee it.

Well, that’s about it. I’ll finish with some general tips. This has been my first thread in a while—I’ve been busy, but I have something else in the works with another user on the site. Hope to get that out relatively soon. Thanks for reading!

General Tips

-Learn the art of the screenshake, sprint jump, and drag out

-Mess around with the sensitivity and button layout

-Try new perks

-Check around the site and the internet as a whole for other tips and tricks that will help you become a better player

-perfect

[Tom852]

Nice Work!

[Superhands]

As usual, very well written interesting thread [brains]

I've really found my niche with the sprint-jumping lately, you see me using it a lot in my NML WR videos. I tend to get hit less and it also minimises the risk of getting stuck.

[MysteryMachineX]

I think this is an interesting type of guide. However, I feel you have an unfair bias of risk over conservatism. I had expected a 50/50 take, and you yourself say that you need a mix, but you seem to favor 70/30, which I don't really think does conservatism justice. Don't get me wrong though, it is a good guide :)

[perfectlemonade]

I think this is an interesting type of guide. However, I feel you have an unfair bias of risk over conservatism. I had expected a 50/50 take, and you yourself say that you need a mix, but you seem to favor 70/30, which I don't really think does conservatism justice. Don't get me wrong though, it is a good guide

Kind sir, I have listened to everything you have ever told me what was wrong in my guides, and I have written them all down. Once I get 8 or 9 done, I'm writing a thread just for you. This is all in good fun.

-perfect

[Mr. Jay]

Nicely written.

I find myself playing more like I'm immortal at times, which is completely opposite from me as a person.

I have been very impressed with your work, stay thirsty my friend.

[Ehjookayted]

You never really cease to amaze me, Andrew. I do like taking risks more because I think that in order to innovate and become a great player, you need to risk yourself.

You deserve a +1. I'll give you some when I'm back on a computer.

Great work.

Ehj~

[way2g00d]

Nice work Lemonade.

[5and5]

I finally got around to reading this. =P

Great work it was a good read.

[Tom852]

I should take this guide to my heart, cause I always take too much risk, as it seems. I think I have not managed to do a coop game without a down in Round 1-5 the last week ;)

[Superhands]

I should take this guide to my heart, cause I always take too much risk, as it seems. I think I have not managed to do a coop game without a down in Round 1-5 the last week

Sometimes same for me - sometimes I'm really on the ball, other times I'm just like, "Screw it, I'm just gonna mess around this game". Like in our Moon game the other day, the Astro is right next to you when you go down from a double slap. I revive knowing I'll be grabbed by the Astro, he then teleports me to exactly where I just was and I get slapped with a red screen. Then I get revived and grabbed again as soon as I get up, with crawlers slapping me as I'm grabbed, so 2 downs before round 5.

The day before we played COTD, I was feeling up for it and had a really good game right up until the end, when for somereason I went to pull out the M&S while reviving and it pulled out the FAL instead, even though I had the M&S in hand as I started reviving :roll: Then by the time we started playing Riese I'd just lost the will :lol: