Stealth and avoiding combat | Enemies Dying Light Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Dying Light is not a game, in which hiding and avoiding direct combat is a good tactic for less stressful surviving till the end of the adventure. Of course, you can choose such gameplay style and utilize the fact that most of enemies are slow and stupid, but you will lose a lot of the game. It is especially worth mentioning that using weapons increase your Strength (one of your character perks) and unlock new abilities (more about them can be found in the Character development chapter), thanks to which your character becomes stronger. Furthermore, some killed enemies leave behind precious items (like rare melee weapon) or they guard access to areas with rare treasures. For that reasons, it is recommended to use stealth only in two circumstances:
- When you're maximally weakened - you have no health packs left. Unnecessary confrontations may lead your character to the brink of death and in consequence make you lose some Survival Rank points after he die too early.
- When you travel through the world during night. Infected that patrol the city streets after the twilight are very challenging and dangerous, but even regular zombies become stronger then. Until your character becomes stronger and is equipped with better weapons, you shouldn't get into unnecessary fights.
One of the easiest ways to avoid combat and sneak behind enemy backs is to use building roofs and high ledges. Another advantage of utilizing such gameplay style is that thanks to high agility of your character staying away from the ground doesn't necessary have to slow him down, it can make getting to certain points even quicker.
Important note - Some elite types of infected (like night hunters) are lurking on the roofs and other high spots. You must keep that in mind and watch out for them when exploring harder to get places, otherwise you can be unpleasantly surprised. If you find yourself in dangerous situation, you can try to throw your enemy from the platform he occupies. Falling from great altitude can kill him or severely wound him.
As mentioned before, staying in hiding during night is highly recommended, because presence of stronger and more cautious enemies can kill you easily. Avoid lighting the road with flashlight, it is a quick way to be found. A solution to the problem of limited visibility during night is using Night Vision Booster, which temporary changes the way your character sees and he doesn't have so much trouble with navigation (more about boosters can be found in the Crafting chapter of this guide). Since boosters worn out quickly, you should have at least ten of them with you at any time, created during the day (finding the needed herbals might be very hard during the night).
Except for Night Vision Booster, you must depend on the Survivor Sense as well, which is available from the beginning of the game. During the day that sense can be use for scanning the neighborhood in search for interactive items, during the night it gains additional attribute. Activating the sense highlights stronger enemies that can be found nearby. It is extremely useful in avoiding getting into their sight. As usually, you can depend on the mini-map, where localization of the enemies and their sight radius is marked.
Caution - If you're sneaking during night, observe the eye icon that can show on the screen near an enemy. If the icon is filling, it means that enemy has spotted silhouette of your character and is trying to track you down. In that case, hide behind some cover as fast as possible or move away from the enemy.
You can avoid detection and unneeded combat by successfully distracting your enemies. It is worth mentioning that it works only on the infected since living enemies can't be cheated with such primitive tricks. The easiest way to disorientate your enemies is using the firecrackers. They can be found very easily and are often given to you, so you can use them regularly. Interesting thing is, firecrackers can trick not only the regular infected, but their more developed types like hunters as well.
Caution - firecrackers can be used not only to drag enemies to other places (to make a safe passage for yourself or get access to guarded building), but as a trap as well. After zombies gather around the cracker, you can throw them a grenade or Molotov cocktail.
A slightly more complex way of acting than throwing firecrackers around is activating light traps constructed from lamps that emit UV light. Traps can be connected to electricity during the day and then used at night (you can remotely activate them when near). They have another advantage - they can be used to eliminate enemies, since infected have lower resistance to UV rays. So, after activating the trap you can use the fact that monsters are temporarily helpless and kill them easier.