Wanted: Dead – 6 Combat Tips

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• Party Members

• Selective Fire

• Secondary Weapons Are Crucial

• Use The Chainsaw Wisely

• Parrying, Countering, And Evading

• Combos And When To Do Them

Wanted: Dead has you assume the role of Stone, a member of the Elite Police Unit known as the Zombie Squad, set in a cyberpunk version of Hong Kong. Stone wields everything from a Katana to an Assault Rifle and has access to a Sidearm and a variety of other secondary weapons, ranging from a Shotgun to an SMG.

While you have a lot to work with at your disposal, there will be moments when you will need to rely on some aspects of the combat system rather than others, which can make for hectic moments. Overall, having a solid strategy in place for specific encounters will make you emerge victorious on the other side.

Party Members

As part of the Zombie Unit, you will have other members of the team join in on Missions with you throughout the story, allowing you to use their expertise to your advantage. However, you cannot choose who will tag alongside you, which is unfortunate as some of them have excellent abilities that are incredibly useful in combat. Sometimes you will have all three additional members, and other times, you will only have one, so it's crucial to understand what all three are capable of.

• Cortez: When in your party, he will occasionally grab hold of an enemy and keep them in place, allowing you to land several uncontested attacks.
• Herzog: Provides additional fire with his Sniper Rifle, dealing significant damage on the target, allowing you to dispatch them quickly.
• Doc: Revives you back to full health when your HP Gauge is depleted, giving you a second chance to clear the area or defeat the boss. (can only be revived once per Checkpoint)

Fortunately, this doesn't entirely end here, as you can upgrade your teammate's Buddy Skills via the Utility Skill Tree with accumulated Skill Points (SP). You can find what all of them can do in the table below!

Party Member Skills

Selective Fire

In addition to Stone's Katana, her Rifle is one of the most crucial aspects of the combat system, allowing you to tear through certain enemies with the right Attachments and build. However, one thing you may not know about the weapons in Wanted: Dead is that most automatic weapons have selective fire, allowing you to toggle between fully automatic and single fire.

This means you can take complete advantage of builds with a high Accuracy Stat, as the overall recoil will be lessened and more manageable. It will also allow you to dispatch targets at a greater distance much more effectively and preserve ammunition that will be crucial in the later portions of a Mission.

To switch the firing type of your weapon, press 'Up' on the D-Pad or 'B' on the Keyboard. For more information on Weapon Builds in Wanted: Dead, follow this link to see some of the best!

Secondary Weapons Are Crucial

Speaking of the importance of weapons in Wanted: Dead, aside from your Katana, Primary Rifle, and Taker Sidearm, you will also be able to pick up a Secondary Weapon, which can be any from an LMG to an SMG to a Shotgun. While all can be handy in their own right, you should note that some thrive in most situations more than others.

• LMG: Excellent for taking most ranges, fast rate of fire with high Stopping Power, and decent Armor Piercing. One of the best Secondary Weapons you can have, especially in the later sections of the game.
• Shotgun: Packs a potent and devastating punch but lacks range and accuracy. However, if you can consistently land shots at point-blank range, nothing quite matches its damage.
• SMG: Super high rate of fire with low accuracy and overall damage. But, thanks to its high Stopping Power Stat, it will tear through un-armored enemies like nothing, making it excellent from early to mid-game.

Additionally, upon killing enemies, you will likely see glowing weapons on the ground beneath them. Some will glow Yellow, while others will glow Green. This indicates the ammo you will receive when passing over it. Yellow is for your Primary Weapon, and Green is for your Secondary Weapon. This is crucial as it allows you to quickly discern if you need it, allowing you to weigh the risk of running out of cover to snag it.

Use The Chainsaw Wisely

Remaining on the topic of additional weapons, you will encounter several "Beavertooth" Chainsaws throughout your playthrough. While it may be tempting to pick it up instantly and cut through the standard mobs of enemies, you should leave it alone until the area's Mini-Boss joins the fight because nine times out of ten, you will encounter a Ninja or Heavily Armored enemy and can use it to eliminate them swiftly.

The Chainsaw will one-hit Ninjas and the Heavily Armored units with the chaingun, making it the best way to deal with them. However, if you use the Chainsaw on other enemies, there's a good chance you can get overwhelmed and killed. And, if Doc is on the field, it will disappear whenever you're revived, making it too risky to use until the Mini-Boss shows up. So, as a general rule of thumb, if you see a Chainsaw, it's off-limits until the big guns – or swords – show up!

Parrying, Countering, And Evading

One of the most crucial options at your disposal in Wanted: Dead is part of the Defense Skill Tree, as it enables you to take full advantage of the Parry, Counter, and Evade systems in the game. While many Skills in every Skill Tree are worth obtaining, expanding your Parry and Evade windows will significantly help you, especially as you get closer to the late game.

Most of your boss encounters toward the end of the game are melee-based and are more or less immune to bullets, meaning you will have to get up close and personal with them and use your Katana to best them. As a result, your Defensive Skills will need to be touched up and used to their fullest to give yourself a fighting chance. You can learn more about Defense Skills, which ones to obtain, and why they're so crucial by following this link!

Combos And When To Do Them

Lastly, let's cover the two types of Combos in Wanted: Dead and when you should perform them. Realistically, you want to do the Standard Combo (X > X > X Xbox Controller) any chance you get, but only when you cannot get interrupted by other enemies or if the enemy you are facing is a Boss or Mini-Boss. For these enemies, you will need to wait for the best opportunity to strike and carry out your Combo. This can either be done by Parrying their attack, Countering their attacks, or waiting for them to whiff a large attack with a long recovery.

With the Handgun Combo (Y>X>X>X Xbox Controller), however, you should only use this on enemies that can get briefly stunned by the initial shot, as you are guaranteed to land the whole Combo. But, if you have a Taker Handgun build with high Armor Piercing, you can use this Combo pretty effectively on Heavily Armored enemies as well, but we wouldn't recommend doing it without the proper build.

Finally, with the Offense Skill Tree, you can extend both the Standard and Handgun Combos, allowing you to deal even more damage with your Combos, making them much more useful than before. Additionally, for the Standard Combo, we recommend kicking it off with a Sliding or Dashing Strike, as you will deal significant damage even before you begin your Combo. Both of those actions place most enemies in a brief stun window. You can find out the best Offense Skills by following this link to our guide on Skills!

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