Melee Weapons
General#
Melee weapons are the fallback when the ammunition runs dry, and early in a round they are usually all anyone has. They cost nothing to swing, they are by far the most common weapon roll in an ordinary loot chest, and every one of them can be crafted.
The trade is durability. Every hit on a zombie wears the weapon down and it breaks for good when it runs out. Melee weapons cannot be repaired.
The Weapons#
| Weapon | Damage | Durability | Crafted From | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katana | 6 | 25 | 1 Stick, 3 Blades | 500 |
| Kitchen Knife | 5 | 20 | 1 Stick, 1 Blade | 100 |
| Blade | 4 | 20 | 4 Scrap Metal | |
| Nail Bat | 3 | 15 | 2 Sticks, 1 Scrap Metal | 50 |
The Blade is both a weapon in its own right and the ingredient for the two better ones, so there is a real decision in whether to swing it or save it.
Barricades#
Melee weapons do no damage to barricades at all. Cutting a way through a boarded-up door is a job for guns and grenades. The upside is that swinging at blocks costs no durability, so only real hits count against the weapon.
Hunger#
Carrying a melee weapon drains hunger while it is held, and humans start each round already low. The Lightweight upgrade cuts that drain by up to 30 percent.
Upgrades#
The Katana, Kitchen Knife and Nail Bat each have a three-line upgrade tree. The Blade has none.
| Upgrade | Tiers | At Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Sharpened | 3 | 30 percent more damage |
| Reinforced | 3 | Up to 30 extra durability |
| Lightweight | 3 | 30 percent less hunger drain |
Reinforced more than doubles a Katana's lifespan, which matters more than it looks: a broken melee weapon is gone permanently.
Where They Come From#
Melee weapons dominate the weapon pool in ordinary chests: a chest that rolls a weapon hands over a melee weapon about 70 percent of the time. The higher chest tiers invert this, so by the time you are opening Legendary chests a Katana is competing with assault rifles rather than beating them out.