SCUM is a video game players turn to if they want to learn what their body needs to be healthy. Wrong! SCUM is a game players should turn to if they're looking for an epic survivalist adventure game that will take them to highs and lows they could never have imagined.
Out of all the survival games, it's the only one that provides complete information about a selected character's metabolism, vitamins, and nutrition values. This information is vital to game survival and adds to the survivalist experience.
Updated August 10th, 2022 by Jason Collins: In SCUM, the entry bar is quite high, and the skill ceiling? Heavenly. As expected, one would need hundreds of hours to grasp the game's mechanics and a few hundred more to brag about making something out of that knowledge. If players aren't careful, much could pass them by while they try to avoid giant robots and kill vicious zombies. That's why this article is going to delve into some must-know SCUM tips so that players can not only survive but also enjoy themselves.
14 Trust No One
Anyone coming from another survival game into the unforgiving maw of SCUM ought to be familiar with this rule. Absolutely anyone and everyone can and will betray in a survival game. Human decency can only go so far in the face of limited resources and a lack of laws.
That's why in SCUM, the best method of staying alive in multiplayer sessions is to shoot or kill on sight. Even ill-equipped players can employ subtle and manipulative social tactics to rob unfortunate players of their gear or precious loot.
13 Pick Survival, Engineering, and Demolition
Hopefully, a player hasn't made a character yet before reading this because, chances are, the wrong stats and skill picks have been chosen. The three most beneficial skills to develop in SCUM are Survival, Engineering, and Demolition.
Survival must be high as this ensures that the character is never a sitting duck, even without modern weapons. Engineering is alright at medium because it lets players experience more of the game's content. Meanwhile, Demolition is awesome for having the skills necessary to craft some excellent traps. Traps that will likely save a life a time or two.
12 Make Tools Out Of Your Starting Clothes
Unlike other survival games, SCUM doesn't set players out in the open without supplies. Everyone gets a set of prison clothing. Yet, removing them immediately is best because the bright orange color sends a pretty clear and loud message to other more experienced players. This message being that a player is newly spawned and likely without reliable supplies. In other words, easy pickings.
However, players will be pleased to know that they can make something out of these prison clothes; they can be turned into a basic bag. That's assuming players have a knife. This is easy enough to craft with two stones. As for the clothing, players should be able to rob the downed zombies or puppets of their rotting attire. They're not even close to Salvation Army blessings, but they're better camouflage at least.
11 Loot Respawns After 30 Minutes
Now on to the game's fun part, the looting. Looting in SCUM feels like being a kid at a toy store, except mommy's not watching, and baggy pockets look mighty spacious. Loot is precious in SCUM, and moving from loot point to loot point can be a huge time suck.
It turns out you might not have to do this since loot containers replenish on their own after 30 minutes. That's assuming the admin set the settings to default. That also means players can set up an HQ, secret stash, or an outpost near an area with good loot and make a stockpile that can outlast an apocalypse or two.
10 Farm Fame Fast With Tree-Cutting, Sentries, And Headshots
Fame is another precious resource in SCUM that allows players to respawn easier after an unfortunate death. That tends to happen more often than players think, no matter how careful they are, with all the bugs and glitches in the game.
That's why accumulating lots of Fame is the key to resiliency in SCUM, and in order to be famous, a player needs to either shoot some Sentry Bots or puppet heads. These accumulate Fame the fastest. Another method, however, is deforestation, but that takes too much energy and time though it's a lot safer than other methods.
9 Animals Can Also Bleed Out
SCUM loves to abide by the rules of reality as much as possible. This is evident enough in its highly accurate health system; such rules also apply to the NPCs, even the animals which can be hunted. Just as the player characters can bleed and even leave trails of blood, so can the animals.
This is why hunting down animals can be made easier in SCUM. Players don't even need guns to do it. They can impale a deer with a wooden spear. Even as the animal runs away, players can still track them while they bleed, leading to easy hunts and food security.
8 Waste Can Give Away A Players Position
Regarding tracking and hunting victims, player characters are also not exempt from this. Besides leaving behind markings such as blood or unused items, the player's excrement can also be used to track them.
That's why strategic and tactical pooping in SCUM is a must. That is, choosing the most hidden places to eject one's "baggage." Even doing it in the middle of some bushes can increase one's chances of survival. However, this only applies in multiplayer sessions.
7 Avoid Using Guns
A player can consider themselves rich or well-off in SCUM once they've found their first gun. It might be tempting to go gung-ho over any puppet or other players encountered, but that's ill-advised. Gunshots attract not only more puppets but also other players.
Moreover, ammunition is rare in SCUM and often has to be crafted since stocks are limited spawns. So, using guns can be more trouble than it's worth, which is why sticking to melee weapons is better for most enemies.
6 Avoid Swimming
Swimming is also an excellent sub-skill to develop in SCUM and mainly relies on a character's physiology, but like shooting guns, it has more disadvantages than benefits. For one, swimming players are easier to spot.
Another point is that most of the time, players carry bags that weigh a lot. Swimming with these bags on can quickly end in disaster once the items get soaked and the overall player weight increases. If players don't sink, their items will be soaked and weigh more, consuming more stamina and slowing them down. That's why it's usually best to avoid large bodies of water.
5 Don't Miss An Opportunity To Shoot Drones For Fame
Since SCUM is a game that revolves around earning Fame, players must capitalize on the opportunities to earn fame points when they arise. One of the best opportunities players have to earn Fame easily is by shooting the irritating but easy-to-defeat drones. Even though loot isn't earned, Fame is, and that's good enough.
4 Consider Crafting Wooden Spears
They might not seem like a beneficial weapon, but spears are easy to craft and can do some severe damage in a pinch. After creating a stone knife with stones, a freshly spawned player can use the stone knife to cut down a bush and find a wooden stick.
With the wooden stick, all a player must do is head over to the crafting menu and create a spear. Surprisingly, this spear can one-shot most enemies, and two can be carried on a player back in holsters without tiring out a player too much. Nice!
3 Make Sure To Craft A Shelter And Storage Boxes
As with most survivalist games, death is always knocking at a player's door, and the same can be said for SCUM. When a player dies in-game, they can lose the items they have been keeping on the floor when they die. That's why one of the things that players need to do is to craft a shelter and storage boxes.
A shelter can be respawned by using fame points, and possessions can be kept in the storage boxes at a shelter. However, it should be noted that it can take quite a lot of time and numerous game hours to farm for the materials needed, but it's worth it.
2 How To Survive Against Zombies And Puppets
Usually, fighting against zombies and puppets in SCUM is not that challenging if a player is only faced with a few at a time. The best tactic to employ when facing off against a small group is to take each zombie or puppet out one by one using a stealth weapon. It might be tempting to use a gun, but this will draw unnecessary attention to a player's location and bring more danger.
Players who face a large crowd of zombies or puppets should try to creep around them using stealth tactics. Additionally, if a player is busy looting and comes across zombies or puppets, they should move from building to building with closed doors as they won't be able to open a door and gain access to attack them.
1 How To Survive Against Mechs
Unfortunately, mechs are the robot beings that kill players easily in SCUM. Mechs usually frequent high loot areas. So, the best way for a player to survive against them is to avoid these areas if they don't have the right skills equipped or weapons to go up against them.
If a player still wants to loot an area where mechs are circling, they can survive by keeping them out of direct sight and running from cover to cover when they aren't looking. If a player is spotted, they will be shot down after an initial warning is emitted.
SCUM is available on PC.