A treatise on the first 10 rounds

[aegisknight]

The first ten rounds of any map in zombies go basically the same, no matter how many people you are playing with. This is why its so boring; the game doesn't even really get going until round 11 or so.

They are also the rounds that most players have the least problem with, a guide on the subject seems almost passe. This is not a strategy to survive. Nobody here needs that. This is an attempt to help my fellow players to thrive, to demonstrate they are a cut above the rest before the horses even leave the gate.

These are not a set of rules, but a set of suggestions I have developed over my years of playing. Feel free to add your input, disregard points as you see fit, and personalize to your individual flair. These rounds are so ho-hum that lord knows they need as much style as they can get.

With that in mind, lets begin.

The current "gold standard" I have seen suggested over and over is to fire exactly 6 shots into a zombie at round 1, then knife him as he comes through the window to collect his tasty, tasty powerup. At round 2, 8 shots and a knife. Repeat for round 3. Hold up some windows, knife, collect some power-ups, eventually open a door, grab an SMG, and proceed to power.

And that is all well and good, but you won't end up spectacularly rich, and it is rather dull. So how can we maximize our points-per-zombie beyond this strategy?

Round One

Forget 6 shots to the chest and knife. You are throwing points away. While it is rather pathetic, the m1911 does have piercing power. Line up 2 zombies before considering the trigger.

To line up zombies, it requires an understanding of window mechanics. Kino der Toten has diverse windows, so I will use this as an example. Lining up is easy near the street window and under the stairs, where each zombie has a long path to walk before approaching, not so with the dark window or the top of the stairs.

So with every window, there are 3 spots for zombies to walk up. These three don't line up, so for round 1 just let them build up at the window, then let them walk in, fire 4 shots into the closest when they are lined up, and knife him.

If you get 3 zombies in a row, and fire very close, the single bullet will hit all three, netting you 30 points where you would normally have only gotten 10. After 4 shots, knife the first zombie and fire 2 into the second (assuming there is one behind him). Then knife him and the third. If you don't get a lineup, don't fire. Then repair exactly 4 barriers before the round is over (most applicable if you're in 4 player).

So with math, you have 4 shots x 30 points (120), 2 shots x 20 points (40), and 3 stabs at 130 points (390). 550 points from 3 zombies, with 34 shots left. Using the 6 shot method, you have 18 shots at 10 points each (180) and three stabs (390), netting 570 points. 20 point boost is nice, but at the cost of 18 shots compared to 6. Even using the "old" strategy from here on out, you're at a loss of 120 points.

Round 2

Shorter description for this one, so much easier. Just do the same as round 1, but with 8 shots followed by 4 shots, then knifing.

The Math: You will get 4 or 5 zombies on average, so 8 shots x 30 points (240) + 3 sets of 4 shots at 20 points (3 x 4 x 20 = 240) and 4 stabs for 130 (520) is 1000 points. 4 zombies at 8 shots each with the other method yields 320, plus 4 stabs (520) is 840, combined for both rounds is 1550 (a 450 point boost for just 1 additional zombie), compared with just 1360 for the other method. Comparing bullets, my method has now consumed 26, while the other method has consumed 54. Since you only get 40 to start, its actual yield is even lower, while my method still has 14 rounds left to use as you see fit.

Point totals: 500 + 1550 = 2050. Not bad to finish off round 2.

Round 3

You see the method of the madness for the math involved and its advantages, so at round 3 things change. Assuming a max ammo, nuke, or insta-kill was dropped in a previous round, you can continue using the pistol to rack up point advantages over your peers (with good luck, I was once able to have juggernog and the bowie knife by the end of round 4 by carefully using every shot, and very lucky powerup drops), or you can make your first move.

The safest option is to cooperate with a financially disadvantaged teammate to buy two doors (he gets the first, which is cheaper, you the second, because you're a nice guy) and picking up a mid-ranged SMG. If you go this route, simply aim for the head and skip to Round 5.

The higher point yield comes from the second option, which is picking up the M14. One shot from the M14 works out to roughly 5 pistol shots when fired from the same range we have been discussing. So basically pick this up, and use it the same as you would a pistol. You will be skipping the SMG entirely, or else this is a waste. At round 3, fire 2 shots into the chest with a line-up, then slash. One additional shot for the next, then 2, then 1, down the row, followed by slashes. It is with this method that your point total will start to significantly soar above the previous method, and random players will wonder how the hell you have double their points so quickly.

Round 4

M14 only:

Now its 3 shots, followed by 2, then 3 again, with slashes on each. More points, more fun.

If you're still in the spawn room, now is when you should consider moving to the next area or two.

Rounds 5-8

At round 5, it is 4 shots with the M-14 followed by a slash for maximum points. However, trying to line up may jeopardize your survival, so I would no longer recommend it to intermediate players, and experts don't really need the point buffer. If you do feel the need to line up, you may as well go for headshots.

During these rounds your objective is to turn on the power as soon as possible. There is no advantage, on ANY map, to not doing so. Gas crawlers may be annoying, but it takes more hits to down you than a runner, and they're slower to boot. For rounds 5-8, there are again 2 paths, one for safety and one for point buffers.

Safety: turn on the power and buy juggernog immediately. Aim for head shots with whichever gun you happen to have chosen for maximum points, the M14 still has the advantage of being fairly good with this, and ammo conservation. The SMG is good for staying alive in either case during these early rounds.

Points: Pick up the Bowie Knife or Sickle, go to town. Not only does it yield much more points per kill than any gun through round 10 (paying for itself if purchased at the beginning of round 8 or before), it is useful in removing crawlers through the 20's, and dealing with dogs/monkeys their first few spawns. For added effect, fire a few rounds of whatever gun you are holding into the zombie before slashing for a few more points.

The bowie is useful in this fashion through round 15, just a few shots into a zombie and a slash yields serious dividends.

Rounds 7-9

Aim for the head with your SMG, or slash with your stabber. Two acceptable paths for these rounds:

1. Using your points to buy doors approaching PaP, or

2. Using your points to buy perks

I personally prefer perks, but if you're a Mustang and Sally player you'll want to Pack a Punch those bad boys as soon as possible. Excellent for long term survival, having them in your hands makes life much easier all around.

Round 10

If you chose the max points route, now you will want to pick up some sort of SMG so you can fire one or two shots before stabbing. Continue picking up perks and opening doors to your destinations chosen during round 7/9.

Note on the Box: Don't hit it. Just don't. There is no reason to bother with it until after round 10, doing so just means you're wasting time you could have been using laying the ground work for a great game to pick up a weapon that is either a waste of very precious points, or seriously over-powered for the resistance you will be facing this early. There is no advantage to hitting the box this early.

Map Variances

Things change depending on maps, so here we go.

Nacht Der Untoten

This guide is useless to you, good luck.

Verruckt

The M-14 route is not effective. I have not tested this seriously with either of the semi automatic rifles available, do so at your own risk. However, the powerful MP-40 and Thompson are easier accessed, so the safety route is preferred. Organize with your teammates to decide who is turning on the power, do not waste the other party's points unless you are opening to get to a perk you wish to acquire right away. Hitting the box is acceptable after acquiring juggernog, since the difficulty is much higher than other maps.

Shi no Numa

Ditto with the M-14 problem as Verruckt, open either door to acquire the Thompson right away (whichever way you chose is not important). Finding juggernog is a priority, so attempt to coordinate door openings to find it as soon as possible. Comm Room and Fishing Hut survival requires some skill but not too much, so hit the box at your own risk after acquiring juggernog.

Der Reise

Same M-14 problem, plus an additional door to reach an acceptable submachine gun compared to the previous maps. Team cooperation is necessary, but the acquisition of juggernog is simpler than some other maps, so that kind of evens out. Getting the Bowie Knife is less rewarding than Black Ops maps, but still worth it if your team agrees opening the back door early is acceptable.

Kino Der Toten

Simplest, all recommendations apply. Best approached from MP-40 room. From the MP-40 room to purchase the Bowie Knife is precisely 5500 points, 5000 even for juggernog. Plan accordingly.

FIVE

M-14 is highly recommended for survival in addition to points in the fairly early rounds. Don't be fooled by the 6 entrance points; zombies will only actually attempt to breach 4 of them until a door is opened (this remains true through round 5 at least, I have never had a coherent enough team to test beyond) so covering windows is simple.

After going down the first elevator, you are again presented with a catwalk with exactly 4 windows, plus 2 wall SMG's to choose from (always choose the MP5k). It is not a bad idea to stay here with good teammates through round 8 or 9, then cooperating to turn on the power and retrieve juggernog before assuming your other strategies.

Dead Ops Arcade

Get juggernog as soon as possible, knifing at any round is a bit tricky here. Try to aim for the head.

Ascension

The usefulness of the M-14 is increased due to spaciousness. Since even random teammates will be willing to try to get to the box early, the extra price to get to the sickle generally still pays off. Either way, do not open the Juggernog door from the spawn room, since this destroys two very popular train spots.

Another important factor in this map is that acquiring perks early is a recipe of just losing them to monkeys, or at the very least losing the free perk early on (sacrificing a minimum of 1.5k points). Hitting the box early is possible but not really necessary either; the best bet is to just build a point bumper until round 15 or so, then leave a crawler, pick up perks, and spam the box to take on the monkeys to defend your new gains (for the early rounds, you can get away with covering some perks with claymores).

Call of the Dead

The usefulness of the M-14 is diminished, so hurrying towards the MP-40 is a better bet. From there, either turn on the power and get juggernog right away, or (if your teammates don't mind the door) open the bottom of the lighthouse and get the Sickle. Despite the distance needed to run, the doors are inexpensive.

Shangri-La

Too chaotic for the M-14 method, I recommend whole-heartedly the AK-74u, then picking up the bowie knife straight away. The Bowie Knife's use as a survival mechanism in the early rounds seems to have gone up signification in addition to its point bonus. I would say it is just as safe as Juggernog, so picking it up is a no-brainer, even before your muscle juice.

Moon

Knife like Jack the Ripper on No Man's Land (assume the American zombies are Victorian-era London prostitutes), then dash to the teleporter. Leave the spawn room immediately and buy the M-14, utilizing the described method completely en lieu of the pistol (which you probably discharged in NML anyway). Sharing windows never works well, so just grab real estate in the great out-doors. Rush to the Bowie Knife as quickly as possible, hack doors open to get back to NML and grab your nog. Requires annoying amounts of group patience and participation.

If Juggernog is there when you spawn, DO NOT try to get it. Your teammates will just get mad at you, and the game will be over before it begins. Instead just teleport twice as soon as possible, giving as much caution as possible. The advantage is that you don't need to wait for everyone to have 2500 to make the first teleportation, and everyone is more likely to have the required points the next time you want to go for it. You're in better position if Speed Cola is present, since you can just get there straight away. In no map is it more important to DO NOT HIT THE BOX early.

Atlantis

Utilize the methods described above, replacing M-14 with MG34. Keep in mind that the Trident is in the dark corner behind the Neptune statue, not really very close to Jugg so you have to choose wisely. However, it is very effective against the Spawn of Chultlu every 5 rounds, and splitting up the teams to go both ways doesn't really hurt you too much thanks to the pneumatic tubes

[MegaAfroMan]

Dead Ops Arcade

Get juggernog as soon as possible, knifing at any round is a bit tricky here. Try to aim for the head.

..............................................................................

Atlantis

Utilize the methods described above, replacing M-14 with MG34. Keep in mind that the Trident is in the dark corner behind the Neptune statue, not really very close to Jugg so you have to choose wisely. However, it is very effective against the Spawn of Chultlu every 5 rounds, and splitting up the teams to go both ways doesn't really hurt you too much thanks to the pneumatic tubes

I always, ALWAYS, get double hit when trying to knife in dead ops.....

As for Atlantis, I recommend going to the palace ASAP myself, I love the piranha trap! Other wise I suppose I usually try for jug right away, I will have to try the trident some time. Those Spawn of Chultlu are ridiculous! I think they are almost as annoying as the thief in FIVE. Except en masse!

Great guide by the way! I think it is good to have these rounds mapped out for maximum efficiency, as these rounds are what can make or break some games. I usually just knife forever, until round 4 or so. I have found using a hand position similar to the "O.K." sign with your index finger curled over the controller to hold X [or square] while the thumb knifes and you constantly horizontally T-bag the window by moving close and then back over and over can effectively hold a window almost indefinitely (without jug double hits are sometimes unavoidable) but I do like what I see about the M14. I used to go for the Olympia as a new player, then I worked the m14 for a long time, now I "graduated" to M1911 and combat knife, but I may just consider looking back into the power of the M14 again.

[xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

There are third problems that I have with this guide. The first is that if you are trying to get as many points as possible, why buy the m14, it's a waste of 500 points. The pistol is usable until round 6, by which time you should buy a submachine gun such as the mp5k or the mp-40. Now shoot each zombie the same number of times as the round and then knife. You can do this for a good while, at least until round 12 or 13. By this time you will have at least 15,000 points. Also on round one I shoot zombies 8 times in the legs, and round three 15 shots to the chest.

The other problem is that I recommend going for the bowie knife on Dead Ops. The extra power is awesome. Then I suggest buying quick revive so when you are dead you revive in half the time. Maybe even more important than Quick Revive, however, is speed cola. The reload times on Dead Ops can really be killer, so you'll want to have this for sure. Finally, if you really want to get far, you need to pack-a-punch the teddy bear. It costs 1,000,000 points but it is basically invinciblity for you.

The third problem is that in Atlantis, you need to activate the volcano trap. Not only will it kill the zombies but it will make new rocks which block the zombies and it will open up some new rooms. Like the other day I was playing there, and the volcano opened up a secret room, and guess who was in there- that's right Poseiden. He gave me the bubblebeamer which is better than any other gun ever. He also granted me with a new perk, called Aqua Avenger. This allowed me to be able to do twice the damage with all water guns, swim twice as fast, and gives you 5000 points each round.

[Zkreym]

Atlantis? That isn't a map is it?

[MegaAfroMan]

Nope. That does not mean we can not dream and have fun with it. Notice also the comments on knifing in Dead Ops and Perks in Dead ops. It is nice to joke around and have fun sometimes. Everything not referencing Atlantis and Dead Ops is actual information however.

[MixMasterNut]

Atlantis

Utilize the methods described above, replacing M-14 with MG34. Keep in mind that the Trident is in the dark corner behind the Neptune statue, not really very close to Jugg so you have to choose wisely. However, it is very effective against the Spawn of Chultlu every 5 rounds, and splitting up the teams to go both ways doesn't really hurt you too much thanks to the pneumatic tubes

Questions: Which side of the map do you like to spawn on? The sunken ship route has one less door you have to buy, but the temples tunnels by the mystery box/treasure chest has more room to run around in. And which rooms do you drain water from after turning the power on? Also, have you seen who is on the portrait behind the hanging seaweed? ;)

[xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

Well I usually just turn half the power on. That way the rooms stay full of water and I can still buy my perks, like gillypop, which allows you to breathe underwater. See what happens then is you go into the rooms full of water and swim up to the top. Up there is a secret grotto that reveals so much about the Chultlu, neptune, and other legendary figures. See what happens when you drain the water from that room you can no longer access the grotto up top, leaving you clueless about the story. Also, if you upgrade the trident in the Pack a Fin Slap machine, you get the Neptune's Triple Trident. Instead of just having 3 prongs on the end, there are 3 prongs that each have 3 prongs on it, giving you a total of 9 prongs for the mathematically challenged here. Used correctly it can take out the Chultlu in one clean jab. Those are just my tips for being better at Atlantis.

[aegisknight]

The first is that if you are trying to get as many points as possible, why buy the m14, it's a waste of 500 points.

Buying the M14 is on the assumption that you're out of pistol ammo. Since you can use the x shots plus knife option, it pays for itself in about 10 kills.

The pistol is usable until round 6, by which time you should buy a submachine gun such as the mp5k or the mp-40. Now shoot each zombie the same number of times as the round and then knife. You can do this for a good while, at least until round 12 or 13. By this time you will have at least 15,000 points.

Purchasing the submachine gun costs 500 points more than the M14 with no tangible benefit in terms of point gain using your described method. By the time you would want to pick up an SMG using the maximum points route, you should already have purchased the sickle or bowie knife.

I don't cover past round 10, but using the "special" knife, you can use any SMG (or box weapon if you decide to skip the SMG entirely, as I often do) with your described weapon through round 16 or so, netting an additional 5-6k over neglecting it.

Also on round one I shoot zombies 8 times in the legs, and round three 15 shots to the chest.

I outlined the flaws of this approach earlier in my guide. Your 8 shots to the leg cannot be "stacked" by shooting as many zombies at once as you can with fewer shots to the chest, by round 3 you would likely be out of ammo anyway.

Check "The Math" section at the bottom of my explanations of rounds 1, 2, and 3 to see the exact rationale for avoiding your described method. While it does yield more points in round 1, it runs into the same problems in rounds 2 and 3 as the described "old" method.

I'll have to try out your Atlantis suggestions, but those seem more of an approach for rounds 15-20 than 1-10.

I'm also making a couple revisions to the guide regarding the map differences.

[xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

Purchasing the submachine gun costs 500 points more than the M14 with no tangible benefit in terms of point gain using your described method. By the time you would want to pick up an SMG using the maximum points route, you should already have purchased the sickle or bowie knife.

I don't cover past round 10, but using the "special" knife, you can use any SMG (or box weapon if you decide to skip the SMG entirely, as I often do) with your described weapon through round 16 or so, netting an additional 5-6k over neglecting it.

The point is that if you buy the m14 you will later be having to buy a gun over that. It is also weaker than the smgs so if you are in a situation where you need power then you are in trouble. If you get an smg as your first gun you won't need to buy the bowie knife, or an m14 and a second gun. So lets do the math. You buy the m14 to get some points, which costs 500. You will then need to buy the bowie knife, an extra 3000. And then sooner or later you will need to get rid of your m14 for something else, which costs a minimum of 950, unless you want to use that until round 15 waiting to get a fire sale.

So you will spend at least 4450 on weapons using your method. Using my method, while you may get slightly less points for the one round where you would buy the m14, you don't need to buy anything else. My method costs 1000 and yours costs 4450. Do the math there is no way that you will outscore me by 3500 in 2 rounds using the m14 while I knife. Plus most of the time you get a max ammo, rendering the m14 an even bigger waste of money. So unless you plan on losing at round 10, the smg is the way to go.

I outlined the flaws of this approach earlier in my guide. Your 8 shots to the leg cannot be "stacked" by shooting as many zombies at once as you can with fewer shots to the chest, by round 3 you would likely be out of ammo anyway.

Check "The Math" section at the bottom of my explanations of rounds 1, 2, and 3 to see the exact rationale for avoiding your described method.

Actually that is incorrect; I have stacked 8 shots on round 1 many many times and I can tell you it works. Stack 8 shots throught the first zombie, 4 through the second, and 3 into the third. Add in the 3 knives and you get a total of 710 points. Is that worth it? Hell yeah it is. Not only does it give you more points it increases the likelyhood of you getting a max ammo, almost ensuring a max ammo by round 3. By round 3 you will likely have ammo. Put 15 shots through the first, 8 in the second, and 8 in the third. That is mass points right there. To go further, on round 4 you put 20 shots into the first one, 12 in the second, and 12 in the third. If you are really extra lucky you will get another max ammo for round 5. On round 5 put 3 clips into the first zombie, and 2 into the next 2. You won't be able to finish this round with ammos so knife for the rest. I can guaruntee that this gives more points than buying the m14

[aegisknight]

The point is that if you buy the m14 you will later be having to buy a gun over that. It is also weaker than the smgs so if you are in a situation where you need power then you are in trouble.

The only map where I have had a power problem that early is FIVE, which is a bit different for a number of reasons. You might have to buy a gun over that, but like I said, it pays for itself almost immediately.

If you get an smg as your first gun you won't need to buy the bowie knife, or an m14 and a second gun. So lets do the math. You buy the m14 to get some points, which costs 500. You will then need to buy the bowie knife, an extra 3000. And then sooner or later you will need to get rid of your m14 for something else, which costs a minimum of 950, unless you want to use that until round 15 waiting to get a fire sale.

So you will spend at least 4450 on weapons using your method. Using my method, while you may get slightly less points for the one round where you would buy the m14, you don't need to buy anything else. My method costs 1000 and yours costs 4450. Do the math there is no way that you will outscore me by 3500 in 2 rounds using the m14 while I knife. Plus most of the time you get a max ammo, rendering the m14 an even bigger waste of money. So unless you plan on losing at round 10, the smg is the way to go.

Lets try the math again. The M-14 costs 500 less than an SMG, so a 500 point benefit right off the bat. While with the SMG you can use your described method for 2 or 3 rounds after round 8, it is not sustainable in the mid-term (through round 15 or so). So for 2 or 3 rounds you will be getting a net bonus of points, but afterwards you just can't continue to shoot bullets equal to rounds into each zombie, then knife.

At round 10 you're looking at 10 shots per zombie, plus a knife, which costs not only time (several more seconds than a simple knife, plus reload times), but ammo as well. At round 10 you're looking at 10 shots per zombie; at best you're going to get 20 kills in this fashion before you need to buy ammo again. So you're dropping 500 points every 20 kills or less, adding up fast. Then consider that time wise, you cannot be knifing every zombie you shoot, with a net loss of at least 1/3 of zombies to bullets fired rather than knives. By round 15, a player good at the knife-shot combo will have killed less than 5% accidentally with bullets, 95 with successful slashes. Your loss rate goes up to about half.

Between rounds 7 and 15 in a 4 player game there will be a total of 826 zombies spawned. It can be assumed that you will get 1/4 of them, or 207 (although I have always had more than my fair share when using the knife, since you simply go through each zombie faster, moving onto the next at a higher rate). If we look at the rate of loss, you have 100 zombies giving sub-optimal points, about 2/3 points per those zombies. My method gives about 10 at 2/3. At an average of 150 points per zombie at max, I've got about 30k compared to your 25k.

Your argument about points is hurt more by the fact that you're going to have to buy ammo 3 or 4 times, costing between 1500 and 2k for the same amount of time. So while you will have to switch out the M14 at some point, its a wash because you already had to spend twice the value of your gun on ammo for it, with no increase in points. Even if you get some max ammos, you're going to have to be spending on ammo at least twice, since your method just gobbles up a massive ton of ammo.

[aegisknight]

Actually that is incorrect; I have stacked 8 shots on round 1 many many times and I can tell you it works. Stack 8 shots throught the first zombie, 4 through the second, and 3 into the third. Add in the 3 knives and you get a total of 710 points. Is that worth it? Hell yeah it is. Not only does it give you more points it increases the likelyhood of you getting a max ammo, almost ensuring a max ammo by round 3. By round 3 you will likely have ammo. Put 15 shots through the first, 8 in the second, and 8 in the third. That is mass points right there. To go further, on round 4 you put 20 shots into the first one, 12 in the second, and 12 in the third. If you are really extra lucky you will get another max ammo for round 5. On round 5 put 3 clips into the first zombie, and 2 into the next 2. You won't be able to finish this round with ammos so knife for the rest. I can guaruntee that this gives more points than buying the m14

You can stack a couple in the legs, but not as many and not as easily. And it takes more time. the 3 in the third is again wasting ammo and therefore points.

You elevate your chance of a perk drop yes, but it is just as likely a nuke or double points as max ammo. Even if it is max ammo, the points gained from your method isn't especially manageable in the long term, especially if you're choosing to move quickly. If you are playing with randoms, its impossible.

[xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

Yeah but the thing is, you will be getting max ammos pretty often in the early rounds, along with boss rounds which have free ammo. Plus, buying ammo a couple times still doesn't add up to all the money you spent on the sickle. Furthermore, with the sickle you have a high chance of going down since you are going to be feeling pretty safe with your one-knife kill weapon. That could possibly cause you to lose the game or a bunch of money. It doesn't always come down to pure math either, there are other factors. If you are going soley for points, an smg is always the way to go.

I mean after round 10, what else gets better points? Nothing does. If you have an M14 and insist on not buying an smg that means you will be hitting the box. Guess what that means? You will likely have to buy it multiple times to get a decent weapon, rendering all that work you did to get points useless. Then what happens when you run out of ammo in that gun? You have to buy a new one which is still more expensive. And Actually, you can still shoot 13 bullets into a zombie on round 13 and then knife them. The exponential difference is so small at this point that zombies going from round 9 to round 10 actually have a bigger increase in health than going from round 10 to 11. Like I said, for max points go with an smg.

Okay whatever then don't shoot that third zombie directly. Every gun that shoots bullets will hit 3 zombies, no matter where you shoot them, be it the legs or the head or chest. And how are the points that I make not manageable in the long term? It isn't possible to get more points in the beginning than the method I use. What gets more points, the colt or the m14? Duh the colt, that's why there is no need to buy the m14.

[aegisknight]

Yeah but the thing is, you will be getting max ammos pretty often in the early rounds, along with boss rounds which have free ammo. Plus, buying ammo a couple times still doesn't add up to all the money you spent on the sickle.

The money spent on ammo adds up to the gun you buy to replace the M-14, not the sickle. The sickle is bought with the extra points you get from using it through round 15.

Furthermore, with the sickle you have a high chance of going down since you are going to be feeling pretty safe with your one-knife kill weapon. That could possibly cause you to lose the game or a bunch of money. It doesn't always come down to pure math either, there are other factors. If you are going soley for points, an smg is always the way to go.

True, you can go down more often, but thats what juggernog is for. I have gone down maybe twice in about 150 games due to slashing with 'nog, which are odds I'm pretty happy with.

And you're right, there is more to it than math. The main component I've noticed between myself and my teammates when I get the knife or sickle is that my kill rate goes up to almost twice theirs once I buy it, simply because I can kill more faster. I usually get around 1/3 of the kills between rounds 7 and 16 during a 4 player game just because I can run around and knife everything I see much faster than anyone can shoot carefully to maximize points.

Now, with all that said, I am revising my statements both in light of what you are saying and with what I've experienced in all my games. Buying the M-14 route is more effective on Ascension and Moon, all other maps I personally do buy the MP40 or AK-74u. However, I do continue to purchase the special knives on all maps, except Der Reise. I believe I was thinking mainly of my Ascension behaviors when writing the guide, so that puts the main section, and Ascension footnote, in need of some revision.

[xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

That's funny because I was thinking of Ascension as well. I usually buy the Mp5k and hold off the area near the turret while everyone else watches somewhere else. I get about half of all the kills and only need to buy ammo every couple rounds. By round 7 I have at least 10000 points, sometimes more if we get lucky with 2x.

[aegisknight]

then I suppose the differences would depend on teammates. Ascension is a weird map to consider because its so easy, maintaining the distance and getting the kills with slashes on either weapon is abnormally simple.

[xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

Yeah but on Atlantis I always go for the trident first. The length of that baby makes it nearly impossible for you to get hit, meaning it's awesome. And I usually do buy the water rifle right off the bat as well, seeing as it is so cheap yet effective.

[aegisknight]

well I didn't even think that needed mentioning

[Ehjookayted]

Zombie strategy is pure opinion, isn't it? Every player has their own unique style, an amalgam of different strategies and methods they've picked up over the months. This is just a different take; while I may not be open to some of the things here, the content is very good. I do see and agree with Fatal's points though.

Still, good work, Aegis, very good work. [brains]

[Chopper]

Good debate going back and forth here which I do like to see.

Aegis, I agree with most of what you are saying.

My personal issue with this, which I have experienced before as a counter argument way back nearly a year ago is that actually pulling this off is extremely difficult. With friends it's ok, with randoms almost impossible. The easiest window by far is the one under the stairs. All of what you say can be accomplished there. The problem lies mainly with the other 2 downstairs windows....they get busy fast on round 3 and letting all the zombies out at this point is very dangerous. The 2 players here can easily get mixed up with each others zombies.

My personal opinion on all this is now quite simple - whilst I point hoard like a fiend I've discovered it's not necessary. Sure, you may all be 3000 points better of on round 10, but really if you are going to be playing to say round 30 is it really going to make a difference?

[MysteryMachineX]

Pffft, Atlantis is easy. Just shoot all three golden pillars three times with a sniper, spin around two times, and stab all of your teammates and then you can buy the Ray Gun off the wall for 10 points. But you have to have the Easter Egg Achievements for CotD, Shangri-La, and Moon!