Do not underestimate the value of a good shot! (spoilers)

[zenstrata]

There are some spoilers in this post, I should warn of that first.

I see a lot of people making a big mistake and choosing Doug over Carly. I believe most people do not understand how much practice and time goes into becoming highly proficient with a firearm. You can't just learn overnight, or even over a few weeks, how to fire that quickly and with the amazing degree of accuracy while under stress like Carly can.

From personal experience - It takes many thousands of rounds and hundreds of hours of practice to become that good with a firearm. Now realize what situation you are in. Do you really expect to come upon caches of perhaps a few hundred thousand rounds of ammunition to practice with? And when are you going to spend the hundreds of hours of range time it would take to get proficient enough to get snap headshots reliably while under stressful situations like Carly can?

Also consider how often are you going to run into places with working electricity and the type of equipment which Doug is skilled in. Do you expect to see that sort of thing often? How much will it save your life? Now consider how often an expert pistol shooter will be useful and how many times that will save your life.

During the course of the first episode Carly saved the main characters life and several other party members Twice! And Carly was useful 4 times if you count the pillow and the scene near the end where she's holding off the horde. So she can't put a battery in straight, does that really matter in the world you are now in? Now lets tally up Doug's usefulness - Once, maybe as a distraction. Oh, and to be fair, he was able to lean up against a barricade for a few seconds. And now that the power is out wide-scale, his usefulness will go down tremendously.

As for his skill with electricity in general, I would trust Lily for that. A good mechanic has a much better grasp of general repair work and electrical systems than any computer nerd I have ever met.

So in order of usefulness Carly/Lily are right at the top going purely by known skill sets.

[Rasher]

Guns are overrated. They are loud, attract the wrong kind of attention, and the bullets will run out. Give me a good old fashioned bow any day. Arrows are easy to make.

I like Carley, and I feel like Lee owes her. I tend to go for the people that saved Lee, but she wasn't that great a shot. Most of her kills were at close range. I'd love to meet a sniper like Andrea or a hunter with traps.

As for Lily, I'm sure she is a great mechanic but do you trust her? I also think Lily might be a better shot than Carley. I assume that anyone who works at an airforce base has gone through basic training?

[zenstrata]

oh certainly the bow and arrow option is great. But currently there is no one with that skill in the group. And that is fairly difficult to learn also. With firearms, even though it is loud, it is still a very useful skill in the current state of the world in the game. And as for how easy it is to hit moving things, even at close range, while under stress - I suggest you try it.

A good test is to sprint 50 yards or so, then without pausing to rest, pull out your pistol and try to hit a moving object the size of a head which is between 3 and 10 yards away. The sprinting will simulate what you will be dealing with in terms of adrenalin and increased heart rate that fighting for your life will give you. Hitting your target while in this condition is a LOT harder than you think.

Also, if you side with Lily's dad she opens up to you in subsequent conversations which seem to indicate that she is a reliable caring individual.

One other thing, firearms is a perishable skill. If you do not practice regularly it degrades over time. So even if someone went through basic training if they have not maintained that skill, they will not be as proficient as someone who had.

[Im_The_Foreman]

The main use of guns in this world is to make noise alerting hundreds of zombies in the region to come get you. That's why there's whole neighborhoods with no survivors even in communities in gun loving Georgia.

[zenstrata]

sounds like silencers and subsonic ammo is the way to go =)

[divisionten]

Originally Posted by zenstrata

sounds like silencers and subsonic ammo is the way to go =)

Silencers reduce the sound of a gun, but hardly silence them.

Bow and arrow is way better (plus, a layperson can actually fletch if they have a dowel rod, a knife, and bird feathers or plastic bits).

Personally, I'd go with incendiaries or yo-yos. (Before you knock the idea of a yo-yo, they can be made from a rock as a retrievable quiet projectile. Despite popular myth, they were not originally designed as weapons, however.)

[der_ketzer]

Sorry. That woman doesn't even know how to use batteries and a radio. She needs to go.

[zenstrata]

because batteries and radios will be oh so useful in the world :P

[eblocksonian]

Originally Posted by zenstrata

because batteries and radios will be oh so useful in the world :P

Doug would useful in cities, where stealth and knowledge of electronics is required (no noisy guns and tons of potential spots for such electronics), but considering it is safer to be in less populated areas, which generally have less such electronics, Carly's skill is more useful. That being said, guns will need to go. I hope she learns how to shoot something else...

[zenstrata]

Please explain how would Doug's electronics skill will be useful in cities when the power is out. Because honestly I can't think of many situations where that would come in handy at all.

Also anyone can be stealthy. When Carly comes with you to the motel to help rescue Glenn, she is quite stealthy there. Certainly you may not always want to use a firearm. But it is very nice to have the option in an emergency.

[Woodsyblue]

When I played through the game the statistics at the end said that over 70% of people chose Carly over Doug. Honestly I think they both have their strengths and weaknesses, I don't think choosing either over the other should be considered a "mistake", but I suppose we won't know until the season is finished.

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by zenstrata

From personal experience - It takes many thousands of rounds and hundreds of hours of practice to become that good with a firearm.

Of all the games that Comrade Pants didn't buy and all the threads that he didn't post in...

Originally Posted by der_ketzer

Sorry. That woman doesn't even know how to use batteries and a radio. She needs to go.

...and isn't it a cruel strike of fate that you can't decide?

[der_ketzer]

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

...and isn't it a cruel strike of fate that you can't decide?

no. I don't care too much.

[jonjst]

Carley wouldnt of been able to save those lifes if it werent for Doug. He saved her life without a gun while she saves lifes with a gun so if she loses that is she really that effective? Also she is prone to panicking and not thinking clearly as shown by not even being able to fix a radio while Doug remains calm throughout and doesnt make stupid mistakes. And when it comes to Dougs skills he may not be able to shoot a gun for all we know but he is able to save lifes without one and the tech skills can also be handy along with all the emotional support he is able to provide. So any points about repaying Carly for saving lifes you have to remember she wouldnt of been able to if it werent for Doug.

[Gman5852]

Originally Posted by zenstrata

There are some spoilers in this post, I should warn of that first.

I see a lot of people making a big mistake and choosing Doug over Carly. I believe most people do not understand how much practice and time goes into becoming highly proficient with a firearm. You can't just learn overnight, or even over a few weeks, how to fire that quickly and with the amazing degree of accuracy while under stress like Carly can.

From personal experience - It takes many thousands of rounds and hundreds of hours of practice to become that good with a firearm. Now realize what situation you are in. Do you really expect to come upon caches of perhaps a few hundred thousand rounds of ammunition to practice with? And when are you going to spend the hundreds of hours of range time it would take to get proficient enough to get snap headshots reliably while under stressful situations like Carly can?

Also consider how often are you going to run into places with working electricity and the type of equipment which Doug is skilled in. Do you expect to see that sort of thing often? How much will it save your life? Now consider how often an expert pistol shooter will be useful and how many times that will save your life.

During the course of the first episode Carly saved the main characters life and several other party members Twice! And Carly was useful 4 times if you count the pillow and the scene near the end where she's holding off the horde. So she can't put a battery in straight, does that really matter in the world you are now in? Now lets tally up Doug's usefulness - Once, maybe as a distraction. Oh, and to be fair, he was able to lean up against a barricade for a few seconds. And now that the power is out wide-scale, his usefulness will go down tremendously.

As for his skill with electricity in general, I would trust Lily for that. A good mechanic has a much better grasp of general repair work and electrical systems than any computer nerd I have ever met.

So in order of usefulness Carly/Lily are right at the top going purely by known skill sets.

Ok. I had a long post about each individual point and why you are wrong, but it didn't save so I'll just brush it over really fast.

• Carley never was a "Crack Shot" she shot a zombie at 5 feet away and nearly killed everyone FOR shooting said zombie.
• Guns are NOT the answer in Walking Dead. I good melee weapon is though. Lee can do that
• Carley never saved Lee's life. She saved Ducks and the bathroom zombie was nearly taken care of by Lee.
• Doug proved his usefulness as a distraction AND a good lookout. Carley proved her uselessness by completely wasting ammo. Putting said ammo in her purse and leaving the purse

To sum things up. Carley is not a crack shot, and Telltale need to stop deleting my long posts

[Xirsche]

Originally Posted by Gman5852

Ok. I had a long post about each individual point and why you are wrong, but it didn't save so I'll just brush it over really fast.

• Carley never was a "Crack Shot" she shot a zombie at 5 feet away and nearly killed everyone FOR shooting said zombie.
• Guns are NOT the answer in Walking Dead. I good melee weapon is though. Lee can do that
• Carley never saved Lee's life. She saved Ducks and the bathroom zombie was nearly taken care of by Lee.
• Doug proved his usefulness as a distraction AND a good lookout. Carley proved her uselessness by completely wasting ammo. Putting said ammo in her purse and leaving the purse

To sum things up. Carley is not a crack shot, and Telltale need to stop deleting my long posts

1. 5 feet or not, a gun in an emergency when it comes to saving survivors is not a bad thing..the noise it brought wouldn't have mattered anyway, because it was Kenny's yelling that already brought attention to them. That, and a gun saves time with a well-placed headshot than just rushing up and tackling the zombie(s) and risking getting bitten.

2. Carly very well saved Lee's life on MY game. I didn't mash the X button fast enough to completely connect the 2 arrows, so she shot the toilet-dwelling zombie for me. And Duck's life or not, she still saved a life.

3. I'm sure she'd rather keep her ammo in her purse, where it can't be stolen from her, much more by the careless Duck who might be a little TOO curious with it. Also, if she knew zombies would full-on assault the doors and entrances like they did, she would've kept her purse more within reach. I know I would've.

[NeonBlade]

Haha, what is actually hilarious is that those that have saved Doug are in the extreme minority. I myself saved him, but as the game goes on, and more people are exposed the number will continue to dwindle in the player set that chose to save Doug. Carley is actually pushed to the forefront of most players mind, also it is mostly human male wiring to save a female, and those players cannot be blamed, the few who did choose Doug did so out rational thought more than emotions.

[toothiersnow]

Originally Posted by NeonBlade

Haha, what is actually hilarious is that those that have saved Doug are in the extreme minority. I myself saved him, but as the game goes on, and more people are exposed the number will continue to dwindle in the player set that chose to save Doug. Carley is actually pushed to the forefront of most players mind, also it is mostly human male wiring to save a female, and those players cannot be blamed, the few who did choose Doug did so out rational thought more than emotions.

not sure that saving an obese man who can programme a tv remote in a situation were tvs are obsolete and technology is very rare is "rational", especially as my "rational" thought made me choose the thick woman so i could let her die when the gun is in my posession...

[Woder]

I chose Carly because she's a woman. Women and children first! I bet Doug would've wanted the same

[Lachi]

Carly nows the story of lee, so she needs to go...