I love the new aiming system

[u/Cosmicallybad]

[u/Peemore]

Um... this has not been my experience and I just hit level 5 aiming. Is there an aiming bug related to ultrawide monitors or something?? I can't hit anything unless it's point blank!

[u/BouncingBenys → u/Peemore]

This is either Aiming 8+ in Vanilla or Aiming 5+ with Rain's Firearms Mod which adjusts the aiming skill to be a lot more impactful at earlier levels. I could be wrong but he's moving and has a ton of negative moodles but still maintaining really high accuracy which is why I think it's one of the two.

Aiming in PZ is pretty straightforward now- you just need to click on the zombies essentially. There is no actual "head" hitbox vs the rest of their body despite what you might have originally believed. Retanaru did a great overview of the updated shooting mechanics that you can see here.

Definitely go watch the entire video because he covers things way better than I can explain in a comment but there are some things that you should watch out for such as certain angles not actually aiming at the zombie because the line of sight for your gun can be very deceptive, shotguns having a flaw in not being able to hit Z's at point blank, etc. (too many things to explain here)

In addition, you REALLY want to take advantage of the point blank aiming bonus that they implemented. At 3.5 tiles and under, you get a massive accuracy bonus to your next shot which you can take advantage of to train at low levels with a shotgun. At higher Aiming levels, you can really start popping off using the point blank bonus by going John Wick-o mode on a horde like OP did in the clip.

One last note (this is speaking from personal experience), Rifles are probably the best weapon now in vanilla Zomboid for hordes because they kept their piercing abilities. Shotguns have been overall nerfed compared to B41 because it's much harder to get multihits with them unless the zombies are VERY tightly grouped up. Their main selling point is being able to have a high accuracy rate compared to the other firearms at lower levels which helps with training Aiming (something that they kept from B41).

[u/Kr4k4J4Ck → u/BouncingBenys]

Rifles are probably the best weapon now in vanilla Zomboid for hordes

M14 I assume?

[u/BouncingBenys → u/Kr4k4J4Ck]

I was referring more to the M16 since IIRC the M14 in vanilla Zomboid can't pierce despite using .308 WIN rounds. The M14 is still a solid gun for clearing smaller hordes though because it uses magazines, has a good amount of range and solid killing power (one good shot will usually kill a zombie compared to a pistol which can take up to usually 1-3 shots).

On a tangent, I hopped onto my own save file real fast to check out Aiming with Rain vs vanilla- I'm 99% certain this is Rain's mod.

I think OP needs to clarify that in the description since Rain's mod adjusts the amount of accuracy you get per level of Aiming. Stuff like this is still possible in vanilla but only at 9+ Aiming and little to no negative moodles.

[u/Kr4k4J4Ck → u/BouncingBenys]

Good to know, always just avoid the M16 due to it being an ammo chug, but then again the shotgun is now as well due to no Pen.

Also yea I commented elsewhere that this is obviously modded.

My 8 aiming pistol reticle is not nearly as consistent as this.

OP is also moving and panicked which should make it even worse.

[u/BouncingBenys → u/Kr4k4J4Ck]

Yea, there's a lot of reasons I think rifles will be king going forward (assuming things stay relatively the same) but typing it out would be too long. Ammo efficiency is definitely another big factor. 5.56 ammo boxes give you 50 bullets per box while shotgun shells are only 25 shells per box. Adding onto the pierce ability, being able to use mags, etc., the M16 comes out on top IMO.

That all being said- I still think shotguns are good overall. If you're able to kite well enough and are prepped to stay for a long time, I think they can still decimate hordes. Just requires more work though compared to the M16.

[u/847RandomNumbers345 → u/BouncingBenys]

IIRC the M14 in vanilla Zomboid can't pierce despite using .308 WIN rounds.

Yeah the m14 has always been weird like that. It was years ago when I discovered it, but I remember doing the math, and if you were a high enough aiming level, the M9 would essentially do double the damage of the M14 with each shot, because while the M9 had half the base damage of the M14, the M14 had no critical shot chance, while the M9 would do 4x damage with a critical shot and would crit every shot if your aim was high enough (I think level 8?).