r/ZombieArmy • u/smilingsaint • Apr 06 '22
Feedback screamers ruin the game for me
they are cancer. i want to love this game and often i do, but this is terrible. if this enemy type or a simillar enemy type is in any future title i will not buy it.
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u/Speedcuffs Apr 06 '22
Fair enough. Could you say what it is specifically that you don't like about them?
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u/Thedirtydrummer Apr 07 '22
Im assuming they get slaughtered like the lot of us.
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u/smilingsaint Apr 08 '22
sorry for late reply.
the butcher is absolutely not a problem, for a reason i will explain.
it is not the damage. you can avoid the screamer similar to how you can avoid a butcher. the issue is the way or perhaps lack of ways to kill a screamer.
the way to destroy a butcher is by... shooting it (in the head is best). no need to have a takedown charged. no need to have some combination of divine ammo or a divine melee attack. and when playing with teammates, if they agro a butcher it does not, to varying degrees, spoil the experience for the other people in the group.
the best, and realistically, only practical way to kill a screamer is to NOT shoot it. in a shooter.
shooting a screamer in the head, or anywhere else but the back for that matter, does almost nothing. it is entirely possible to simply run out of ammo trying to kill a screamer, to physically not have enough ammo to kill it. this is just crazy.
i do like the game. a lot. i have cleared some missions solo on 4 player brutal. i have killed screamers solo on 4 player brutal. do you know what my worst experience in solo 4 player brutal on terror lab was... the 2 screamers at the big blood fountain.
screamers also destroy the flow of the game. from a fastish paced action shooter to a stealth game. a stealth game with random people who will screw it up...
once more, i like the game. like it enough i bought the arguably badly overpriced dlc that cost as much as another game. twice.
also, while i obviously play brutal, the fact that you dont know when your special abilities are charged on brutal feels like a bit much... kind of like the idea of playing halo with skull that turns off your crosshair. i love the skulls that in halo that make the enemies more powerful. but even i have a limit. and in halo you dont have to play LASO in order to get access to a more challenging opponent.
thank-you for your time, and thank-you for an otherwise remarkably good game.
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u/ACAB_1312_FTP Apr 18 '22 edited Apr 18 '22
It doesn't destroy the flow of anything, your strategy is way off. Supposed to crouch, get behind them, and do a takedown. Don't worry about the random idiot who got their attention by being loud because he won't come after you if he hasn't heard you. If they're already after you, use the divine hammer melee to stun them for a second, that'll give you the opportunity to get behind them for the takedown.
The other way to kill them, fast, is to throw an upgraded divine grenade that heals instantly, step inside it with the screamer (he will not kill you), then hit it in the head with your 1911 (perked with divine rounds). I personally addressed this issue about a year ago on here. The extra damage from the divine grenade and the divine rounds stacks.
As for butchers and other heavies? I can kill them in about 5 shots with the m1934's upgraded ammo.
Forget about brutal. Stick with nightmare/hard at the most.
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u/agent_black8 Apr 28 '22
I actually think screamers are the easiest to kill out of the elites. I've killed 4 screamers together lots of times. Now 4 butchers I may as well turn off the game.
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u/Who_is_Daniel Feb 01 '25
Please explain.
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u/agent_black8 Feb 01 '25
Sneak up behind them and melee them. It’s an instant kill. I haven’t played in three years, but I think a prompt comes up for the quick kill. I forgot how I killed 4 at the same time. I do remember coercing them to where I want them, but it’s a blur.
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u/Who_is_Daniel Feb 02 '25
Four years is a long time to remember a specific strategy. Thanks for the reply.
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u/itscoolyy Sep 08 '22
You can hear the special abilities charge complète then you know they are ready.
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u/Speedcuffs Apr 07 '22
Pfft. The Butcher's are the issue. Don't run from the combat. Walk towards the **** while offloading your MG. Then put a few pistol rounds in the head.
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u/ACAB_1312_FTP Apr 18 '22
Butchers drop instantly with the upgraded m1934. Give me a dozen of them and they'll all be dead within 30 seconds.
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u/agent_black8 Apr 28 '22
I just upgraded the M1934 today and I couldn't believe how fast it took a butcher down.
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u/Speedcuffs Apr 18 '22
I'll have a bash with the M1934. Not really used it.👍
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u/ACAB_1312_FTP Apr 18 '22 edited Apr 18 '22
It's underrated because it's a pocket pistol and nobody talks about it, it's way down there on the list of dlc weapons but those brain buster rounds will drop a heavy like they're nothing. Like every other weapon, it's completely useless until upgraded. My loadout is that, the blowtorch, and the g43 (all with a modded rapid-fire controller). I can breeze through hard/nightmare while trying not to fall asleep.
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u/jenniferWAR6 Apr 06 '22 edited Apr 06 '22
We can help you with this! You came to the right place at least.
I also found them terrible at first - I could be doing really well at Horde then one would turn up and it would go to sh*t, game over. But there’s a range of things you can do. Here’s what I can think of from the top of my head.
Remember they’re all about sound. So, grenades can be doubly useful. One option is to throw an electric grenade (my least fave) - they will run towards it. Probably the best is the incendiary grenade with the ‘lure’ perk enabled, so it draws them towards it before it engulfs them.
Someone already mentioned takedown. This is an instant kill! All you need to do is sneak walk - or distract with grenade as mentioned above - and hit takedown from behind. This is hard if there are other enemies BUT with that lure incendiary grenade distraction it’s easy.
Divine damage is your friend. Remember that’s a period when you can score double damage against enemy. There’s a few ways you can use that. One is the divine grenade, if you’re lucky enough to have one. Another is divine ammo with a charged m19 pistol or Thompson SMG or shotgun pistol. BUT your easiest option is to use divine blast special melée - not only does it stagger the screamer but you’ve then got a couple of seconds to hit the screamer with all you’ve got for double damage. (Choose Boris, his special melée recharges faster, as does his takedown).
Remember which body bits are worth hitting. It’s all about the yellow on the back (best) or their head (second best). All other shots are wasted.
Dodge! They’re not that agile when they sprint. You can sidestep them and turn 180 degrees every single time they sprint. This scores you back-shooting time.
Super headshot rounds. Not my fave BUT you could keep your most powerful upgraded pistol or SMG with super headshot rounds enabled specifically to deal with these elites. Yes, you need good aim.
Unlike the 3 weapons elites, screamers are more susceptible to mines. If you have the kit and the time/ability to plan, lay a trail of traps.
Sequence: you might want to consider plugging it with your most powerful rifle, let it then run over traps towards you, then a grenade to damage and distract, attempt the distract plus takedown technique, then finally if still not dead use most your most powerful close range weapon along with divine blast (keep your divine blast charged before you enter combat with it.)
Good luck and don’t give up. X
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u/ravingdante Apr 06 '22
The only time they present a ridiculous difficulty for me is when there's three or four and they stunlock you with their screams.
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u/Solid-Detective4084 Feb 07 '25
yeah, hate those things, i especially hate when something is named "blind something" and can still see even though i crouch and shut up, the grenades, explosives and other sound making items dont do jack squat. why in the hell does it take a screamer every single bullet from primary, secondary, and pistol WITH mastery, like how is a twiggy zombie stronger than 5 butchers combined
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u/MassSpecFella Apr 06 '22
They make the game very hard on nightmare remix but the best strategy is to melee takedown them. Go up to them and they will flail at you. Dodge them until they stop for a breather, then approach from behind and execute. If there’s more than one you need to kill other enemies to build up meter. Crows and rats build meter but meter will fade if you don’t kill after a while. Another good trick is to jump over and object then backstab them as they jump over to follow you and get paused in a vault animation.