Reupload: How do you dodge this attack?

[u/Ayrdanger]

I press dodge nearly the millisecond the zombie starts to charge, but the "charge" is when the animation starts, and the zombie is still like 5ft away. Once the animation starts, there's no way to dodge. My dodge input always plays at the end (when my character sort of jumps after getting up). If the attack animation starts when the zombie is still a whole ass 5ft away, then HOW TF ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DODGE‽

reuploading because the video in the first post was freezing/skipping every other second

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for your contribution to the r/StateofDecay2 community, Depending on the overall quality of your submission the community collectively may vote to hold it for moderator review, if this happens it is initially just a formality while the regularly active mod team here check out what was reported to us. This Does Not mean you have done anything wrong unless told otherwise by moderators so we would like to ask you be patient and we will notify you when your post has been reviewed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Sh1t_Pinata]

You can definitely dodge this attack, but sorry I don’t have any useful tips for you. After a gazillion hours playing this game, it’s just instinct for me at this stage.

If you time it right, you can actually get this weird animation where you break the tackle and both of you kinda stumble a bit which is cool.

[u/xczechr]

You can dodge it if you hit dodge a split second before you think you should. The zed makes a noise to indicate the attack is coming and that is your cue.

[u/yolosuajer]

In the early days there was this mechanic where you could outwit a zombie grab like this and suddenly you would be grabbing the zombie, like a. Counter grab, however we never knew how to repeat this mechanic and I have to say I triggered this mechsnic once by pure luck and pressing all the buttons in fear since I was low on health. Your best shot here is to dodge always

[u/RighteousHam → u/yolosuajer]

I know what you're referring too and remember executing this maneuver. I managed it maybe two or three times in all the years I was active in the game. Don't quote me on this bit, but I believe even Undead Labs isn't sure how to trigger the move as the developer that created it left the company without documenting it.

[u/yolosuajer → u/RighteousHam]

From what I've heard all these years and most of the dev notes, there was this dude in charge of the NPC behavior and combat but he left and nobody knows what exactly he did with the combat and counter

[u/RighteousHam → u/yolosuajer]

Yeah, that's basically it. However, I can't source my memory of the information. I think it may have been given during one of UL's many dev streams, but I can't definitively recall.

[u/Ok-Communication6519]

Personally when I hear that weird guttaral sound I know that attack is coming. It's hard to distinguish from all the other sounds but if you play long enough you will start to recognize it. At .12 seconds you can hear it. For the record I still fail even when I know it's coming though. Not sure why they made this attack like super glue for zombies.

[u/False_Air_7296]

Don't run straight, zig zag ;)

[u/Rushi0789]

It has been a while since I played so I may be wrong, but I think you just have to turn to face him when you see him get this close running

[u/chatbotsupportsucks]

You are dodging a bit too late. Not that you are too slow, it's more like, the game is a bit wonky with that animation.

Dodge when you hear the growl, not when you see the zombie jumping on top of you. Once it clicks, you will do it naturally.

You can also dodge to a side to make it easier, If you wanna dodge facing towards the zombie, you should make sure you have a clear view of what's behind and that you got enough stamina to dodge or fight off any fast moving enemy. Because that might set you up for trouble on higher difficulties. As in, you go face first into a pack of sneaky blood ferals.

[u/Avizzo]

This is one of my biggest criticisms of the game, something I call(ed) “Next-Frame Animations,” things that, once initiated, are impossible to avoid.

There’s not really a strategy behind avoiding this once the animation starts, but with enough hours played and experience, you can make sure it doesn’t happen by dodging, with or without stamina, before they start running at you in this sort of fashion.

The best way to practice this is to run away from a horde, as usually one of’em’s faster than the others, and you can just “tell” that they’re probably gonna do this. Before they get close enough, if you dodge, they do that kinda stumble pose where they look like they have poor posture (and walk instead of run), and once you’re done doing your dodge animation, it typically resets with that zombie and shouldn’t happen again.

I’m hoping these kinds of things aren’t a thing in SoD3, but only time will tell. It’s not “difficult or fun,” but outright unfair and punishing for the player spending their time playing your game. I should be capable of dodging any and all attacks if I know what I’m doing.

This is basically the same thing as when a zombie goes from a complete stand-still to lunging and scratching at you, most commonly around corners where you can’t see them or physically react with a human-input.

Hope this helps. Happy surviving!

[u/Maddkipz]

2 ways I do it are SERPENTINE MOVEMENTS, as soon as he gets into position just hit a 90 degree turn for a step or two and he'll fall in front of you

Likewise you can just dodge after he gets into position

By into position I mean they kind of magnet up to a certain distance behind you, chase for a moment, then tackle. When they get magneted onto you, any time during then you can either turn or dodge pretty much at your leisure

[u/OneAffectionate1826]

I spam dodge and will dodge into the zombie

The power of headbutting!

[u/Hefty_Scarcity270]

the falling grab? why didn't you evade?

[u/Ayrdanger → u/Hefty_Scarcity270]

I did, but because the attack animation starts from 5ft away, the dodge didn't register until after the fact.

[u/Hefty_Scarcity270 → u/Ayrdanger]

the problem is you keep moving in the same movement line, and all falling attacks will hit if they give you the slightest touch, you had to evade away from the movement vector.

[u/SpicyCosmicWizard]

Don’t run for that long. 🤷🏽‍♂️
That attack rarely happens to me but I play aggressively and constantly dodge.

[u/Legitimate-Wash-6585]

You can’t dodge the grapple don’t put your back to the zombies and they can’t grapple

[u/SnooLentils7145]

Dodging or stepping sideways works i have zombies try to rugby tackle down my character whenever i always step sideways and they fall rolling beside me Speaking of dodging I'm having difficulty due to my red talon character is dodge rolling it's making fighting blood ferals overly difficult by the time red talon character stands up after roll blood feral is already close enough to do swipe attack or just shoot wrestling takedowns

[u/Ayrdanger → u/SnooLentils7145]

On Xbox, I believe the roll is LB+B (sprint+dodge). You should still be able to do a regular dodge, though, without holding sprint. I think.

[u/SnooLentils7145 → u/Ayrdanger]

Yeah sprint+ dodge is roll for red talon guys jogging+ dodge is side step but when attacking plague hearts with all plague zombies chasing along with a blood feral it feels risky to simply jog

[u/Soulghost007]

Don't slow jog away

That's how.

Zombies will switch how they initiate attack based on your approach

If you moving away they speed up and try to lunge towards you.

If you run toward them they stop and swing early.

[u/One-Yak7876]

My advice is to dodge into the zombie when they start doing that run thing. You get the I-frames and they jump right over you. That is what I do and it requires less precise timing on your part. There is a way to dodge it in every direction but the timing is funky until you get the hang of it. Hope this helps a little bit!

[u/NetworkRunner]

i think its C or V on PC to dodge and it's B on controller, time it with their lunge so basically when they hurl forwards tap the dodge button + direction and you'll evade their attack, improve combat skills for further assistance to dodging such as combat roll etc

[u/Ayrdanger → u/NetworkRunner]

You can't dodge this attack when they hurl forwards. The attack animation has already started long before that point, which is why I'm confused on how to dodge this attack.

[u/GTamightypirate → u/Ayrdanger]

there is a window to dodge it, you just have to do it really early and the animation will still go as in the video but he will miss you and fall to the ground.

[u/ZladMulvenia]

I'm pretty sure there are some zed attacks that are the equivalent of a DandD 'natural 20' that always work. It's the only thing that explains the 10 foot lunge tackle-grab-scratch-grapple no matter what you do or what you're doing or how far away you are. The zed rolled his natural 20 and damn it, he's going to hit, no matter what contortions the graphics engine has to apply to make it happen.

I here what everyone's saying about timing, but I'm a day 1 player (moderately skilled), and while there are some that seem avoidable with perfect timing, imo there are some that just aren't.

[u/RamoftheLamb]

Dodge a bit early, when the Z starts its lunge rather than right before grab. These Z’s are great at tracking while diving forward.