Dos and Donts

DO

Read the Town Forums

The town forums are the single most important part of the game. Most of the game happens through the town forums. Die2Nite is about working together and building an organised community. Solo play will get you killed (or shunned) every single time. The town forums are where construction projects, building upgrades and expeditions are discussed and is where you go to ask for help if you become trapped.

Contribute to the Town Forums

If you are unsure about something you should ask on the town forums. The more experienced players would much rather answer even a stupid question than to have you waste resources (which inclues ). You should use the town forums to let other players know what you are up to. Your fellow citizens will thank you for contributing and the town will have a better chance of delaying certain doom. The things active players like most are having others post on the forums. You will also earn distinctions by posting in the town forums.

There are specific threads setup for construction, workshop material conversion, town upgrades, and the bank. You should try and ensure that the relevant discussions are happening in each, as the top posts of these forums are viewed on the relevant page. When viewing the bank you will see the top few posts from the dedicated Bank thread, so don't clutter these with chat - start a different topic for that.

Communication is one of the keys to a successful town. Common posts on the forums include noting why an important object was removed from The Bank, discussions on what to construct and upgrade next, a request for someone to volunteer to close the gate, and messages of distress when one is trapped in the World Beyond.

Read the Wiki

You don‘t have to know everything, just where to find out. Whenever you are not sure what to do with an item, just look it up here:

http://www.die2nitewiki.com

If something is not accurate, update it. If you click all kinds of buttons just to see what happens, the other players won't like it, because it actually hurts the town. Then again...your reading this here on the Die2NiteWiki right now, so. Keep it up!

Update the External Map

The most useful tool in the whole game is Rulesy's external map application:

http://die2nite.gamerz.org.uk/mymap/

It enables you to mark all the items, buildings, and other useful things you've found out in the World Beyond in one useful spot. It also contains other helpful information, such as construction buildings and a viewer of the bank, which cannot normally be seen while you're outside. It takes less than two seconds to click the "update current zone" button whenever you pass through a zone, and it helps everyone else in town plan their scavenging and building so much. This is a necessity - not an option.

Build the Workshop First on Day 1

The Workshop is the most important building in the game. It allows you to convert useless materials into useful materials. Without it your town will not last long. It is important that this is one of the first buildings constructed so that resources are not wasted on other projects which may leave you unable to complete the workshop.

There is a much more important reason to build the Workshop first: the number of zombies in the attack will increase rapidly each day. If the Workshop is not one of your first buildings - ideally on day one - you will not be able to catch up, because you will be forced to invest all your AP and resources in the towns defense later and at the same time you will not have enough materials to build upgrades for other buildings.

The other important buildings that should be built on the first day are the Watchtower and the Searchtower. The Portal Lock is a good option if all of these are finished. It's very cheap to build and prevents people from opening the gates just before the attack - but it should be lower priority than other buildings.

Vote for the Search Tower if it is built on Day 1

The most important items in the game are Defence items and these can only be found in non-depleted zones which means you need the Searchtower to replenish depleted zones. The Searchtower should be voted to be upgraded as soon as it is built.

On Day 1 save your upgrade vote until as close as possible to the attack. If you cannot be online just before the attack then you probably shouldn't vote at all on day 1. It is important to save your vote until there is no possibility of the Search Tower being built on the day. Voting for another project just means it will require an extra vote on the Search Tower to have it upgraded.

Upgrade your House to a Tent If Your Town Will Only Last a Short Time

• In towns with a low expected survival time tents are an important defence. However, if your town looks promising and you are expecting to last at least a week, don't upgrade, you can use the for something else.

Distant regions

The map is clear in the first few days and most of the town should be out scavenging. The amount of Defence items brought back and the organisation of the town builders will make tent building very wasteful in a distant region. Residents should not upgrade to a tent, but heroes can if they're planning on building something useful (like a drug lab, kitchen, or siesta time).

Standard towns

Upgrading your House to a Tent costs two but doesn't consume any materials. Tents form the core of the Day 1 defences. It will provide you with 1 defence and the town with 0.5 defence. If every citizen built a Tent the town would gain 20 defence (0.5×40).

Each town has a base defense of 5 and if every citizen upgraded to a tent the town will have a defense of 25. The largest zombie attack seen on day 1 (stats recorded since 17 Jan 2011) is 29 which means the town only need to find 2 Defence items in order to survive the night.

Put Defence items in the Bank

Defence items provide the town with 2 defense each (more with Defensive Focus) if they are stored in The Bank. If stored in your House they only add 1 to your personal defense and 0.5 to the towns defenses.

The only time such items would be useful in your house is if the town will be overrun with zombies - but it won't be if you have enough defense, which you get from putting these items in the bank. You will likely be shunned if you are caught hoarding defensive objects.

You should in fact, put all items except your initial food and water in the bank. Most items are useless on their own - they only become important when given to the town.

Plan your Expeditions

Calculate the cost of of the route you will take before stepping into the World Beyond. Remember that for every you use heading away from town you will need one to get back to town. This will prevent you from getting stuck outside without food or water. Even if the other citizens forgive such as mistake, they may not have the to help you.

If you are Infected you may also find yourself abandoned as the cost to rescue you, when you have a 50% chance of dying that night anyway, may outweigh the benefits of the rescue.

Use and Update Map Markers

These tell the rest of the town if an area is depleted or has items to be picked up. The most important marker is the 'depleted zone' marker as it stops others from wasting AP in going to a zone which is already depleted. Only use other markers if the zone is also not depleted.

If you get into trouble use the Call for Help marker and make a post on the forums. Don't forget to change the marker back to the relevant state when you have been resecued and before you leave the zone.

If you want to note that a zone contains items to be picked up, use the external map located at [1]. This is an excellent resource and allows you to mark items left as well as zombie counts for each zone. This makes expeditions and rescues far easier and safer. It also allows you to see other citizens in the World Beyond, items The Bank and the construction yard (except for the progress of construction) while you are not in town.

Remember to authorise external applciations in the settings tab of your Soul page for the map to work.

Autosearch when scavenging outside

If you stay in the one zone after your initial search you will autosearch every 2 hours and potentially find more resources without spending any additional . This saves and prevents you from wandering too far and getting trapped. Auto-search works even when you're not online, so it's very useful to log on before you leave in the morning, spend the day at school or work autosearching, and head back to town when you get back, before the attack. Auto-searching does work in depleted zones, but you will only find scrap, so it's much better to move to an undepleted zone.

Return to town before the midnight attack

Always plan to return to town at least 30 minutes prior to the midnight attack. This will allow your town's gatekeeper to shut the gates at 20 minutes prior to the attack and not have to wait until the last minute. If the Portal Lock has been built no one will not be able to open the gates in the last 20 minutes, and you will be trapped outside.

If you know you won't be able to get back to town before the attack because of real-life commitments, head back to town before you log off, or don't go outside at all. It's better to stay safe in town than to die outside out of carelessness.

This also allows your town to organize a gatekeeper if one has not been selected. If you have any left when you return to town, there is less than 20 minutes until the attack and there is no-one left outside, close the gate yourself instead of waiting for the gatekeeper.

Ask before repairing an incomplete item

If you want to combine items to build something with them, you should consult with the other players as the town might need those objects for another more important reason.

Repairing the Shopping Trolley uses a Copper Pipe which is needed for many water buildings starting with the Pump. Building the Chainsaw may use the Engine that was needed for Faucet as well as a Handful of nuts and bolts which are required for the majority of defences and always in short supply. The Battery Launcher Mk. II may use the only Electronic component needed for the Searchtower.

It's best to ask before building, always give the town time to respond and never build before you have received a response.

Scan the Watchtower Every Day

It helps estimate the number of zombies that will be attacking that night and doesn't cost any .

It takes 24 citizens to get the best estimate from the Watchtower and it's important so you will know how much more defence you will need for the nightly attack. Once you have an estimate and have enough defence to hold back the nightly attack your town can concentrate on helpful or longer term projects such the Water Purifier, Vegetable Plot, Defensive Focus or even Faucet.

Ask for help

If you get stuck in the world beyond, ask for a rescue, give details of how many zombies are in your zone and if you need anymore . Mark your zone with a call for help on the map. When creating the thread designate it a call for help, your location will be given automatically at the upper right of the post.

DON'T

Don't Build a Shack

Until the community decides to allow it. There are important buildings that need the first Twisted Plank.

Don't Vote for a Project

Unless you know what you are doing. A single vote will do the trick and the more experienced players will take care of this.

Don't Stay Outside past 22:40

Most towns will close and lock the gates before then and if a portal lock has been built the gates cannot be re-opened.

Don't Panic!

Trapped in a zone with zombies? Ask for help on the forums if you are trapped outside.

Don't Flee from Zombies

Unless it is almost dusk! You will get Wounded which leads to Infected. Both are hard to cure because the Bandage and Paracetoid 7g needed to heal you are rare.

Don't Use Drugs

Unless it is life or death and the gate is an hour or less than closing. You may get saved. If you use drugs, there is a very high likelihood that you will become addicted and drain our precious medical supplies every day or DIE.

Don't Eat or Drink when you have more than 0

They fill you back up to 6, and good foods put you at 7, but if you're at 0 or 5, you'll still only go up to 6. You should be getting 18AP every day this way. If you have the option of eating or drinking first, always eat first. Drinking water should be the last "AP refill" of the day.

Don't Eat The Meaty Bone

There is a 50% chance that you could become INFECTED. You could let a hero "cook" a Meaty Bone so its safe to eat, or you could use a Meaty Bone to build a "Lure". (Lure is a Temporary Defense)

Don't Enter Unexplored Tiles

Don't enter unexplored tiles unless you are one of the first few to venture outside for the day.

If there are undepleted zones, stay there and autosearch. Remember to log in and go back to town before the gate closes. YOU WILL GET LOST AND DRAIN OUR RESOURCES in rescue attempts if you decide to waste your AP running around the desert when there are open, safe, and plump squares for salvaging.

Don't Open or Close the Gate unless you Volunteered on the Town Forums to be a Gatekeeper

If it's a new day, feel free to open the gate if you're the first one out the door.

Don't Run Off Too Far Now

When scavenging, try to stay at least "six" zones around town, unless you're doing a expedition with multiple people, or if it's the first day when there's barely any zombies around.

Why six? The maximum AP limit is six. So if a citizen is coming to save you, he only needs to being one food/drink to get back. And if you wanted to go scavenge in a specific spot and you got stuck, and the citizen that is coming to save you "wants" to scavenge with you. He only needs to bring one food/drink, so that his/her rucksack isn't clogged, and has room to scavenge.

Or, if you don't have any AP to get back into town, then yes. The same concept applies with the clogging and the citizen coming to save you. He'll have to bring food/drink/drug in his rucksack to save you, and also have some for itself to get back.

You don't have to stay six zones around town of course. But thinking of conversion, and how many items from the bank it takes to get you and your rescuer to get back - it's recommended.

Don't Try to Use Heroic Actions as a Resident

The magical teleport won't save you unless you're a Hero.

Don't Fight Zombies Without a Weapon

Unless you are extremely lucky, you will never land a hit and waste .

At the end of the day if you are still trapped with zombies and no hope of rescue it is now better to spend all your on camping improvements and hide overnight. Punching would most likely use all your and have a much lower chance of success than camping.

Don't Use the 'EMS'

It will wound you and you will eventually die. This should only be used in an extreme emergency and then firstly by a citizen who is already infected, or by a citizen with a bandage after the town has been given a chance to approve its use.

Construct Temporary Defenses

Temporary Defenses give relatively good defense, but they are "Temporary" and only last one night. They can often waste planks, iron, and other resources that could be used to make more useful, permanent defenses.

You should only build Temporary Defenses when there seems to be no other option. These can possibly save your life in the event of a large spike in zombie numbers, but try not to rely on them unless you have no choice.

Sometimes you may have spare at the end of the day. If there's nothing else to build, or you just have that 1 left, its ok to spend on Temporary Defenses, but DON'T finish it! If you construct it when there is no need too, you have wasted resources that the town could have used for something else - but it's okay to leave it at halfway finished if there's nothing else.

=Don't go Camping

Camping gives you the possibility to survive outside - but it also gives you the possibility to die. If the town has enough defenses to survive that night, there is no reason for you to be camping outside and risking your life.

The bonus given for camping is very small and barely affects your searching. You will not start magically pulling rare items out of the desert. Your chances of finding something are almost normal, and it's not worth risking your life for that.

The only times you should be camping are when:

• The town cannot get enough defense to meet the attack. In this case, you should check your survival with the survival calculator and choose whichever option (camping or staying in town) gives you a better chance.
• You're stuck outside in a zone full of zombies or with not enough AP to get back to town. Make sure nobody can rescue you. If they can't, search for a tomb, upgrade your hiding spot, and then hide for the night. You may not have the best chances, but it's better than nothing.