If you are underprepared in SCUM, you will see the grim reaper. A level 3 or 4 NPC can easily one-shot your character. The game here forces you to equip decent armor to negate the quick damage dealing. While there are few problems around the NPCs in SCUM, we will dive into the topic later in the article, but here are the best way to deal with NPCs in Scum 1.0.
Dealing with NPCs in SCUM 1.0
Suddenly, the world doesn’t feel empty anymore, since it will be crawling with NPCs. They can be a gift, if you have the proper equipment, or misery, if you don’t. But once you kill an NPC, you will get to loot their body for high-quality armor and weapons. They carry a risk but a tremendous reward at the end. Here are some of the tips that help you survive against them:
Crafting a Good Armor
Crafting Material Required: x4 Skin, x5 Metal Scrap, x7 bolts, x5 cutting tool, x2 sewing kit.
The only way you can survive is by wearing decent armor. We highly recommend crafting basic bulletproof armor almost right away after you find the materials. They will drastically help your defense against bullets; instead of dying from one shot, your armor will be able to absorb a few shots. The idea here is to get a good amount of time to hit the NPCs with a melee weapon. Even if the NPC catches you from a distance, you can still manage to close the gap and hit him with the melee weapon.
Loot the NPCs
Once you’ve taken down the NPC, loot the armor, and gun off his dead corpse. The chances of getting the gun or armor will be low, but there is a chance you might get the equipment worn by the NPC. Massively impacting the gear grinding in the game.
Heal Up Before Dealing with NPCs
You can always heal up with some bandages, while you can use rags, but bandages come with an antiseptic effect, which stops infection. The option for healing includes painkillers; they are instant, and they will give you protection for 5 minutes. Painkillers are always a better option after you get shot; instead of limping to run away, take the painkillers and wait a while.
Note: Wait before heading out in the combat after popping a painkiller. Look at the painkiller effect, only move once it reaches 100%.
Repair your Armor
Taking hits from a gun will damage your armor; repair it with Sewing kits. Any armor looted from NPCs will have medium to low durability; you can repair the armor for more protection.
Take Cover in Bush or Behind Trees
Always hide in the bush for a stealthier approach; the NPCs will not be able to spot you as long as you hide in the bush. But if you open fire at them, they will notice your presence. If you are at a distance from the NPC and they are shooting at you, use trees or walls as cover to cover from the upcoming bullets. Once they are near your location, hit them with your melee weapon and loot them.
Turn Off NPCs
If you find them too difficult, then you can set them low by heading to Server Settings> World Category> and choosing the Max Allowed NPCs. Here you can also set the difficulty level to make it a bit easier.
Bug Alert: One of the major problems people have with the NPCs is their spawn timing; they will spawn right on top of you. The only thing you can do is to hide in nearby trees. It is a bug; hopefully, it gets fixed in the next patch.
