SCUM is one of the most advanced, hard to play, online survival games out there. It forces you to micromanage what you eat, drink, and do in order to prevent your character from dying within the opening minutes.
The game is built around being prepared. Having the knowledge of what to do in the hundreds of situations that you could come up against is necessary for your survival. Make sure to take the time to learn everything about the game before jumping into an online match.
To help you get started, we’ve created a few quick tips on what you should do when you first load into the game, to give yourself a chance at becoming a renown inmate.
Use single player to get used to the game
Let’s face it, everyone in SCUM is going to be out to kill one another. You’ll rarely find another player who wants to have a friendly chat.
Single player, therefore, is the ideal situation to get used to the game’s controls, scout out the world, and understand how everything works before you thrust yourself into one of the many online servers.
Craft basic items
Crafting is one of the core mechanics in SCUM and is needed to survive some of the later portions of the game.
You’ll want to make some basic equipment to get started, using stones that you can easily find on the ground, for example. You can only carry a small amount of items, however, so make sure you go out and find some clothes for extra pockets in nearby towns.
Two stones can be combined together to make a basic stone knife. This knife can then cut shrubs to give you the materials needed to make more basic gear.
For instance, you can use your knife to get long sticks, found in bushes, to make a spear. Or you can cut up clothing to make a backpack using rag stripes and improvised rope.
The more you progress, you’ll be able to find more items to craft better survival tools in the future.
Prioritize your searching
Every house in the world won’t have something in it. Granted, some houses do hide interesting loot, but not always.
You’ll want to prioritize buildings such as pharmacies, police stations, schools, and military bases that are bound to have better loot and have something useful for the early game.
You’ll also want to try to take down zombies once you have a decent weapon in order to take their clothes away from them. This will provide you with more item slots, giving you the space to carry around more items that you find on your searches.
For a comprehensive list of looting spots, check out our guide to find the best places to look.
