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TODO: Rewrite Player's Reactions and Grinding EXP sections.

Aggro, or aggression, is how the infected in an area behave in response to a survivor. Aggro is one of the most commonly heard terms in Dead Frontier. It refers to the amount of attention the zombies in the Inner City give you.

Overview[]

Aggro2 Horde

An aggro spike during a loot run.

Across the community, uses of the term "aggro" can be roughly categorized into 3 types:

Hearing Range Aggro[]

All firearms and Chainsaws also generate "noise" that will attract zombie on-screen, causing them to progress 1 step in the zombie behavior chart (Calm -> Disturbed -> Enraged). The chance of creating "noise" corresponds to how "loud" the weapons are: Melee Weapons are completely silent, Pistols/Rifles infrequently generate "noise", Chainsaws/Machine Guns have a higher chance, and Shotguns/Explosives are guaranteed (100% chance) to do so.

Event Aggro[]

Event aggro refers to the state of constant aggro in certain block. While event aggro is on, it is completely impossible to "kill off" the aggro and return to a quiet state, regardless of what you do.

  • All bosses from the Orange zone onward, and all holiday bosses regardless of zone, will be accompanied by an endless amount of event aggro that lasts until the boss cycle ends. Certain Missions will also be met with event aggro in the respective mission block, and Outpost Attacks enforce event aggro around the outpost blocks for their duration.
  • Event aggro only exists outdoors; any building inside the block with event aggro is safe.

Aggro Spikes[]

Aggro spikes is phenomenon in which the game switches to high aggro state for a short amount of time. Unlike with event aggro, aggro spikes can actually be fought back, and will fade on its own with enough perseverance and effort from the player.

  • While event aggro is tied to certain blocks and thus will try to harm all players equally, aggro spikes are tied to players and zombies spawned by it will prioritize the targeted player over others. Thus, players nearing one that is targeted by an Aggro Spike can choose to flee without fear of being "infected" by the aggro spike itself.
  • Upon an aggro spike, a counter of 150 zombies is started, which can be depleted through killing zombies or rapidly entering/exiting area. Once it is depleted, the aggro spike is terminated and the game ceases to spawn any new zombie, and there will also be a short amount of time afterwards that prevents any new aggro spike from being started.
  • Sirens also share this counter, and would add 3 zombies to the counter in addition to alerting all nearby zombies upon screaming.
  • Personal Outpost Attacks (POAs) happens in the form of an aggro spike, and thus can be disposed like any other aggro spike.
  • Two types of aggro spikes exist:
    • "Natural" aggro spikes are those that are generated randomly as you venture in the Inner City, regardless of which weapon you use. There are no guarantee on when or where it may appear - an aggro spike may randomly happen even if you just entered for a few minute, or might not happen even after you have played for an hour.
    • "Artificial" aggro spike are those that are generated due to usage of certain weapon types. The chance of it happening can be seen below:
Aggro Spike Chance Weapon Types
High Chance Shotguns
Low Chance Rifle-caliber Machine Guns, Explosives
Zero Chance Melee Weapons, Chainsaws,

Pistols, Rifles, Sub-Machine Guns

Effects[]

Hearing Range Aggro[]

Each attack from a firearm or a Chainsaw has a small chance to generate hearing range aggro, causing all zombies on screen to move up one stage in the zombie behavior state chart, which goes as follows:

Calm (endless wandering) -> Disturbed (slow chase) -> Enraged (quick sprint)

  • For example, if there's a zombie that is slowing you in the Disturbed state and another zombie wandering in the Calm state and the roll for hearing range aggro succeeds, the first one shifts into Enrage mode and the second one shifts into Disturbed state. Another successful roll does nothing to the first one, but also causes the second one to switch into Enraged state.

Event Aggro/Aggro Spike[]

Event aggro and aggro spike will rapidly attempt to spawn zombies in the area around the afflicted player. Foes spawned in this fashion are always of the Enraged state, and will start charging forward as soon as possible.

  • When indoors, aggro spike favors spawning zombies at building entrances and stairs. Thus, if you stand near those locations, zombies will primarily spawn from those entrances' direction instead of from all sides.

Player's Reactions[]

Player reactions vary, because there are those who want aggro so that they can gain EXP (grinders), and those who don't because their goal is to find things to get money or items (looters).

Aggro on a loot run or a scouting mission is undesirable, as it obviously makes it more difficult to search bodies, cars, etc. Using loud weapons, such as Shotguns, Machine Guns, Chainsaws, or Explosives, will cause aggro and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Causing aggro on a loot run is sometimes met with disgust by other players. It is advisable to loot in Single Player, because other people in the party may start to use firearms, and thus attract more aggro.

A few select players will want aggro, whether for gaining EXP, or just for a good fight. For these types of gamer, an idiot proof equation has emerged:

Players + Noisy Weapons = Aggro = Zombies

Weapons + Skill + Zombies = EXP

What Should I do?[]

Players as said may vary in their reactions but there are ways to overcome aggro spikes. First, it depends on what do you decide to do. You can either run away from it or hold your ground. If decide to run away always watch out for your energy in other words don`t run like you can run forever. If you are in a building, get out immediately (unless barricaded). You may need to run at least 4 blocks away to completely be freed from the aggro and you may return if you decide to. If you don`t think you can survive an aggro spike then it is best to run as there is no reason for you to stay and die. Simply going back and forth between 2 blocks also works to get rid of the aggro spike.

If you decide to hold your ground, then you may to be ready for it as aggro may last up for sometime and you will need to annihilate all of them. More may spawn as you hold your ground. DO NOT panic in an aggro spike and do not enter buildings. They may follow you in and you may end up being flocked by them in small spaces. Stay focused and kill as many possible without injuring yourself. Don`t rush but keep a steady pace. All weapons may be used and even melee can be effective, a bit slow tho. Avoid combat in close quarters, for example alleys or parking lots. Also be wary of cars, truck and buses on the streets as not all of them can be passed on all sides. Some wrecks are positioned in a way that there is a small gap between them, some of these gaps can be passed through, others will get you stuck. And also be ammo conscious and waste too much of it. Accuracy is always good.

Grinding EXP[]

Aggro

OA at Doggs Stockade

Should a player choose to level or grind in a high aggro scenario/environment, he or she must keep a few important things in mind in order to be successful.

Solo Aggro/Team Aggro - This is important, as an aggro situation differs drastically from when you are on your own and from that when you are together with one or more players. For example, In Solo Aggro, the most ideal situation is when you are fighting a horde of zombies from one direction. It is easy to side step or run even in tight areas, especially if the zombies are relatively slower than you. However in an aggro situation where there are 2 or more players, there are instances that each player has his/her own group of zombies chasing him/her. This can be risky at tight areas as there are moments when zombies following one player suddenly shifts attention to another player, catching him or her off guard.

Watch your Energy - Since the number of fast moving zombies increase in high aggro, chances are you will expend more of your energy in running . So conservation of energy is the most important thing of all. Once you deplete your energy, it will be more difficult to avoid attacks, especially at cases where exceptionally faster zombies are swarming from multiple directions.

Fight what you can kill - Though not impossible, it is cumbersome to eliminate a boss or a continuous horde of

SHDW Grind Aggro

A group of players encountering significant aggro while boss hunting.

zombies if you are not properly equipped, built, and skilled. It is always wise to fight within the scope of your capability and resources. It would also be best to be in a zone that corresponds to the player's level.

Note : If you want to kill a boss, but want to ignore the other zombies, either take the boss to a lonely place or keep on moving. (With the changes of the infected's AI it's difficult to get the boss alone. The best way I've found is to run the blocks with the boss. Occasionally a zombie or two will run from behind, so be careful.)

Look out for others - Some like aggro, some don't. Always be considerate of those who don't. When you want to induce aggro, make sure you do it in situation where others won't be caught off guard and put at risk.

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