R3DD3R's +18KM Scout Guide.

Hi, r3dd3r here! You might recognize me from the Die2Nite official World Forums where I am one of the Oracles, or maybe from a town we played in together (there have been many!). This is my guide for Scouts, geared especially for those players planning long range expeditions (18 km or more from town). However, I hope Scouts of all kinds can find some useful tips and advice in this guide.

To start out, a quick disclaimer: I am at the end of the hero unlock tree, with over 400 Hero days. This puts me in a very lucky position, compared to most heroes, as far as unlockable perks are concerned. Don't worry though! As long as you have unlocked up to Second Wind (151 days or more), you are thoroughly capable of following every piece of this guide.

Note - Cheat Death (211 days) and Pro Camper (301 days) are a bonus.

This guide assumes you have both of these perks, but once you read it through, you'll easily see how to modify it to suit your trip and get home safe.

It should also go without saying, but you will need to go scout, as the adjacent zombie numbers help you track buildings in the World Beyond. And after all--this is a scout guide!

Common Questions

* Why bother Scouting out so far? Aren't towns better off having you do other things?

I would say no, it's all about timing your expeditions so that they benefit the town most.

Metacoalitions should be able to use their scouts well enough in any town to get the best use out of them. However, for the solo Scouts or small groups of Scouts playing Random or Jump towns this information may help.

* Why go out so far on day 1?

Well let's face it--if you are in a random town, it's very unlikely that you will end up on the Season ranking, so in most cases, being too cautious will just be a little bit too boring.

* Why go out at all?

Somewhere out there are Architect's Chests, even the super rare Sealed Architect's Chests! There are buildings beyond 18 km that will add Expert Expeditions distinctions to your soul, if interacted with (i.e. explored). Even better, if camped, these buildings will also grant blueprints the town could otherwise not obtain until the point that they would be useless to the town. Again, speaking primarily about random towns, the only other way to obtain these blueprints without Scouts camping them early on would be around the time of the town's death. In almost any case, obtaining blueprints without Scouts camping these distant buildings would require multiple players using multiple weapons and boosters to attempt it, especially any later than Day 1.

*So now I'm a Scout. What can I do?

Go as far out as you can for Fame, Adventure, Blueprints and Distinctions!

Anyone can camp the buildings close to town, but not everyone can get out as far as 18 km, or more, if they're not a scout. No other class could reasonably attempt it Day 1.

If you are unlucky enough that the town fails around Day 3-6, at least you'll have gotten a good trip out of it... and hopefully some Extreme Expedition points!

And, if the town lives till Day 10-16+, you will have returned with blueprints often rare and often not otherwise retrieved!

* Okay, how do I do this?

Well, here's the real meat of the guide!

Day 1

Open an external map application and find the options button; set a 18km radius to be highlighted (red works well).

Now you'll know your possible destinations. Plan a path as close to the edge of the largest section of highlighted area on the map (this depends entirely on the random factor of town placement).

Next, head out along the 0/* or */0 line toward your targeted area.

If you see evidence of buildings off of your planned course while you're heading out, ignore them -- or post the locations of these suspected buildings on the forums for others to find.

Proper AP management is crucial! You don't want to go off-course if can be helped, unless you are heading to a building that would not take up extra AP to reach e.g. you would go from 0/-7 to 1/-7 and find a building and continue down the 1/x line as you had planed to go from 0/-18 to 1/-18 at a later part of your travels.

You should end the day Refreshed! (drinking water, and not thirsty)

Day 1 AP Usage Order

First, use your base AP. (6AP)

Second, use Second Wind, (6AP) -OR- a drug. (6AP/8AP)

DON'T use food AP second, as you may be lucky enough to scavenge 7AP food later!

Third, use any Food you have. (6AP/7AP)

Fourth, use Water. (6AP).

Even if you use base 6 AP+ Twinoid 8 AP + 7 AP food, you will still only have stepped 21 AP by the time that you will need to use water. Using water will refresh you and prevent any thirst statuses for Day 1.

This situation is the ideal one, and you won't get it often.

Following the above order of AP item use, it's possible to get from 24AP to 27AP out and camp or 23AP to 26AP out and tomb. This is often far enough out in the World Beyond to have found a building within the 18+ km zone, or at least one on the edge of the 18km zone.

Zone upgrades are not often needed at this distance, and as their class bonus, Scouts can negate a fair chunk of zombies (around 12, from testing). This bonus will let you camp without the worrying number of zombies penalty, particularly on Day 1 when zombie populations are the lowest.

Didn't find a building? No sweat! Once you are this far out, you don't need a building to camp! Normal zones should provide "limited, but tempting chances," and with 2-3 AP spent upgrading and/or 1 AP for tombing you can get yourself to decent chances.

Day 2

If you found another food item while scavenging on the way out to your campsite and want to play it safe, just go 10AP further out.

Another option, especially for those Scouts that aren't lucky enough to find food on their way out, is to Seeker a water ration and go 12-18 AP out into the unknown, in search of buildings.

Try not to end the day thirsty.

Day 3

If you have the Thirsty status, remember only to walk 10 AP maximum!

If you aren't Thirsty yet, try not to become Thirsty if you can at all help it. If you have food available, eat it and Seeker a water ration if you haven't done so already to go 18 AP further today.

If you are Thirsty, use Cheat Death. This will lock your thirst status over night so if you are thirsty you will wake thirsty even without the refreshed status not dehydrated.

Day 4

If you are Thirsty, get ready to return to the 11 km area to prepare for a Heroic Return. Move yourself to within 10 AP if you have food, or 6 AP if you do not have food. Alternatively, head to an Abandoned Well on the map if there is one.

-OR-

If you are Thirsty, and didn't use Cheat Death on Day 3, use Cheat Death now and only move up to 10AP in the direction of the 11 km distance from town line.

Day 5

If you are Thirsty, and have not done so already, get ready to return to 11km range by moving yourself to within 10 AP if you have food, or 6 APif you don't.

If you are Dehydrated it's time to go to town move back into 11km range and use Heroic Return.

If you're not Thirsty, have found at least one item that provides a camping bonus, and you have unlocked Pro Camper, good on you! Stay out one or two more nights if you'd like, but don't push your luck! Your town wants all of your cool stuff!

Useful Items

Here are some items that you might find particularly useful if you scavenge them up, including some items that you might normally leave on the ground.

Manbag - Ultra-Rucksack - Utility belt and to a lesser extent Shopping Trolley

Ness-Quick Weedkiller is a great AP saver to carry along in case a building needs to be cleared.

Remember that you can only obtain blueprints from buildings that have been "uncovered" (cleared of debris). Don't camp on uncleared buildings unless you have no choice or you plan to camp at least one more night there after you clear it the next day!

Rusty Chain - Serrated Knife - Any heavy item you can kill a zombie with.

Plastic Bag (1-2) + Flash Powder (1-2) + Duct Tape (1-2) Try to build up at least 1 of each so you can build Flash Grenade

A Pre War Camera is good if you have one, but it's possible to have all 3 attempts fail if you're unlucky.

If you are Lucky you can get a Flash Grenade in your shrewd citizens stash thanks to Resourcefulness.

Thanks for reading my guide! I hope this info helps all Scouts, both new and old alike! See you out there in the World Beyond... and try not to get eaten! Also, be sure to check out the two browser extensions that can be installed for Firefox and Chrome. They will help you, and your fellow citizens!