Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, or C:DDA, is an open source post-apocalyptic turn-based survival RPG that challenges players to not only survive, but battle a wide range of zombies and other terrifying creatures that threaten their lives. Newcomers are recommended to play the most recent stable release - 0.G - Gaiman
Fork of C:DDA with emphasis on combat, gameplay balance, and QoL
Multiplayer rewrite by /u/stolencatkarma
Cataclysm: DDA SSH server by /u/r7st
Hi, I'm a quarter of a year late but I'd like to contribute.
Melee: National guard bayonet
Secondary: Service Pistol with FMJ rounds
Aux1: a drop leg pouch filled to bursting with caltrops
Aux2: a radio modded noise emitter & RC control
grenades: Acid Bombs
Most of these can be sourced from zombies except the auxilliaries. The caltrops used to be stupid easy to make, but require welding now. The electronics require a bit of electrical know-how and some lucky (but not exceedingly rare) drops.
Interesting setup
I can imagine you have to rely on movement a lot to get enemies into a favouarable position or just outright avoid combat with things that are too much?
Do you avoid combat with with the higher level monsters, relying on distraction to get where you need to and fallback on the caltrops when you need to escape a bad situations?
Definitely a different style of play
Honestly I just abuse the fact that nobody can see too well in the dark. I walk into crowds with the knife out, avoiding combat as much as possible to plant a 2x2 array of caltrops in a busy location, drop the noisemaker, and run away. Once out of the way, I use the RC control to activate the noisemaker, luring the zombos onto the caltrops. Only the armored and trap-avoid enemies can withstand this technique, which is what the acid bombs and FMJ are for. Hulks are a cakewalk with this setup, but migos and necromancers are my biggest problems.
Fair enough,
I have seen an npc "event" happen that made good use of the blade traps with a loud speaker. Was quite funny to watch the zombies being blendered as they they swarmed the speaker.
Molotovs can be a great answer to a lot of your other problems, especially when trying to clear a new area with a "burner" house.
That hulk that spawns raptors must be a pain to deal with your setup I can imagine?
oh fuck, i haven't even seen that, but it sounds llke a nightmare. Raptors suck, but they're manageable one-by-one. I always groan when I see a pupating zombie trail, because its a dice roll whether or not I can dispatch it before it pops. Having it linked up to a hulk sounds like a "dynamite bomb" kind of problem. Weirdly enough, it got a lot harder to make those since I last played, too...
I actually tried out molotovs on a few occasions, but found they're generally more trouble than they were worth - acid works slower, but cleans up quicker too. No risk of hurting precious loot, either. But damn if it didn't get good results.
That particular Hulk loses a little health to pop out raptors, but it regens the damage back, it is a bit faster than a kevlar hulk but a bit weaker than a normal one, still can cause problems if I cannot focus on killing it as it regens the health back.
Pretty much yeah, usually a automatic rifle can deal with it, but unless it can be killed quckly it just constantly spawns the raptors like a screen for its advance.
Grenades are another great option as the shrapnel rips things apart if it is close, with I think it ignoring armour if i recall, bombs are trickier to use as it is a lot heavier, although i recall it was fun dropping off a barrel bomb at a fungus nest once.
Usually a trip to a mine for raw materials and a few lab runs should get materials last I played.
I seems I pick my molotov targets carefully, as I have safely clear a small town of all its dangerous foes by luring a large group into a building and lreaving behind a tactical "molotov" in it, setting it on fire and the resulting noise drew the rest of the town to the barbeque. But true, unless used underground Molotov's can be very dangerous.
Speaking of fire, I have escaped a frog mother's grasp in the early game by lighting a nearby bush with a zippo lighter before as it has a chance to run away in fear of the flame.
Only thing I don't like about carrying acid, is running into the acid blood and acid immune enemies, but otherwise yes the acid does do damage as I know I like to keep acid spewers alive to thin out the enemies by getting them between the acid and myself and especially with it keeping the goods intact is a bonus over the wild nature of the flame. Bonus for getting yourself acid immune boots and or gear and really using acid to its potential
Honestly, I have probably gotten most of my kills from slings. I really like slinging in real life and it is fun and very practical to use them in CDDA. The staff sling does more damage, but a regular sling takes up basically no inventory space, if you decide you need to use it, just harvest some ammo nearby and you are set.
Most of the time I don't really pick huge fights, so any old M4A1 I find is usually more than enough firepower unless I am totally way in over my head.
I've heard that with enough throwing skill you can destroy a turret with only a stone. Is it true?
Slings are really good early game and, probably more if one commits to making the fancier ammo I am guessing?
It doesn't fatigue oneself too much either. I assume once you settle you make some pebble pouches for ammo and refill on the fly?
I use slings more for throwing practice, placing a target on the ground, drop a sling nearby and some pebbles on the ground.
I suppose the sling staff is there if you want to take out more heavily armoured targets with the grenade attachment.
Also silent if I recall too
That is also true, the M4A1 is a solid baseline rifle in regards to ammo and availability.
Thank you for the perspective, I enjoy reading how other people approach the game. I can only assume having less stuff bogging you down with a sling gives you a lot more options in regards to kiting and equipment options?
Well for one in comparison to most people I rarely play to the end game, so my play style is probably vastly underpowered for the kind of fights you are thinking about. I most play sky islands at this point and I enjoy the beginning part of CDDA far more because the gameplay loop feels tense. Once I have a clear reality bubble, my motivation just fall through the floor which is pretty frustrating but that is the way my brain works. It’s like in Minecraft I rarely ever make fancy armor since I enjoy the fun of having to stay on my toes from basic enemies being able to kill me, taking that away that with nice armor just kills the fun for me.
In Sky Islands I usually end up carrying an m4, handgun, holstered knife or police baton and a sling.
The thing about a sling is yeah I don’t need to plan on going out and doing low intensity battle with zombies. I can bring all my “oh shit” stuff and when I am in a situation where I can comfortably pick off zombies with the sling I just pull it out and get some rocks. Thus all my weight carrying can be directed at carrying extremely lethal things.
That is fair, play the game the way that brings you the most enjoyment and I can respect that
I think because I have run into deaths caused by not having the right tool for the job I have gotten an OCD habit to insure I have something to overcome the things that has killed me before. I suppose it is a mindset of the thing killed me, so how can I prevent that from happening.
Where, I can assume, you find more enjoyment with the moment to moment gameplay at the point where the game is not too hard or too easy. I guess engaging with the systems actively and that thrill of still dying at any point
I think I understand, the world feels a lot more exciting in that sweet spot where you are not too strong but still need to explore the "unknown" to get to a point of relative comfort
Yeah exactly, I have ADHD and I am constantly having to chase after my attention/focus.
Honestly I hate it, it makes my life miserable and chaotic, but in video game terms the way it impacts me is I need that constant stimulation from the game being in a sweet spot to keep me engaged. Games that lose sight of that core gameplay loop in favor of motivating players mostly with larger goals, completionism or quests just immediately lose me, I am like a heavy muscle car on ice I just spin around uselessly lol.
The weird thing is I will play anything from adrenaline pumping competitive shooters and action games to complex strategy games that require a bunch of learning, it more has to do with the core gameplay loop continuously offering me interesting choices and not dragging me through deserts of lots of little executive function tasks that don’t really matter than it does the game being packed with lots of what you might stereotypically think of as stimulation (action, explosions).
…which is why I like to give Sky Islands a shout out whenever I can because it “fixes” the game for me (not that the game needed fixing).
Understandable, that core gameplay loop needs to hook its claws with something that provides a kind of stimulation - like how I would try make a narrative that I need to do something, and until I get that thing done I can remain engaged, but without that narrative I sort of just sit and wonder what to do and lose interest.
Had a quick look at the sky islands, seems to condense that narrative idea into having a base, and then the game will drop one onto some place in the game world with a timer and they need to loot and kill and carry back what ever they have on them.
I can see where the appeal is where there is a need to balance gear with encumberance, while at the same time the game is giving you random locations to engage and test one's ability within a set timeframe
So it condenses the CCDA experience from looking for interesting stuff once you are set up, to giving scenarios to engage with limited scope and cuts out all the busy work of traveling for hours being murderhobo/truck driving goods relocation specialist
It also makes it so dying is part of the gameplay loop instead of the end of a run, you can still absolutely get shut down by dying too much and losing too much essential gear to field successful runs or stick it out on the island long enough to heal enough (especially once you get past the first couple of runs). It gives incentive to loot duplicates of gear (and I love hoarding) and there is also the need to throw your cards on the table and commit to risky choices reach the portal back home in time where it is too easy in the normal game for me to just slink around aimlessly avoiding conflict and picking up loot from easy locations.
Additionally it makes you realize how evil rivers are.
Seems like a tighter condensed package that cuts back some of the fat and is more focused the gameplay loops and less on survival.
Sounds interesting, like minecraft with an extraction shooter-type twist
You'd probably hate the big labs, ( it forced me to consider making a foldable electric scooter carrier to transport from one entrance to the next in my quest to grab what I find interesting and not spend game days dragging things to be partioned into random piles to be deposited back to home base)
All I recall from my water rides in ampibious vehicle is that it is teaming with frogs, dragonflies and sharks
It isn’t the creatures in the river that kill you necessarily though they certainly will. It is the geography of rivers that kills you since each run you spawn somewhere different and have another random place you have to get to in order to take the portal home. Finding lots of road maps and expanding the road network of your map can definitely get you lucky break if you happen to have to cross those areas to reach the portal but otherwise you are charging across unknown landscapes.
When there are no easy crossings in sight rivers are wonderful questions. Do you commit to crossing now, dump a bunch of gear so you can stay afloat and potentially destroy useful gear in the process or worse get murdered in the water? Do you keep wandering along the riverbank trying to find an easier crossing while the clock ticks down? Do you try to brute force your way through the town and cross the bridge through the inevitable horde?
Yeah I don’t think I will really ever get to the labs and do a full run, best case scenario it would leave me with a bunch of cleanup and I definitely would end up just getting totally stuck in the mud of all the little decisions about what gear to hoard and how to methodically move it out. I’m not hating on that stuff as gameplay it’s just I literally can’t concentrate on it for very long before I lose my desire to play and then my hyperfocus runs off like an annoying little child to something else hahaha
Aah, okay, died to rivers so long ago I forgot. I ended up believing swimming naked is the best although I guess there is the bouyancy problem if you need to return quickly but then you need to dump stuff, but read that your character never returns to the same spot, so risk/reward of deciding whether dropping loot to get to portal quickly or taking a chance there might be an alternative path that risks losing everything anyway when you get overwhelmed because your character is still on a timer.
So ultimately there is always that constant calculation deciding if you really need this loot or if what you have is worth the risk that you can take everything you have but can lose it all on a bad decision.
Most labs are samely, but there are a few labs that are -at least I find- interesting by the enviromental story-telling and it is probably the most combat dense areas in regards to the danger to reward.
I at least have to be vigilant I don't walk into a "portal room", a zombie army ( which are usually higher tiered) of what ever weird stuff the lab was used for
Yeah, there is just too much stuff in them, I have to really up my loot hoarding tendencies and have to force myself to take note of interesting stuff, only take low weight items or items I would need for crafting. Still doesn't stop me from dragging 1000 unit loot piles outside to the entrance of a lab for later loot runs.
Essentially sky islands seems to me the equavalent to me running labs, but you are restricted a lot more to one loot run and have to consider taking stuff and resolving yourself to returning with even less if condition calls for it because if the decision is not made you can end up returning with nothing and not being able to return to collect it as that location will not be visited again.
I haven't played really that far into the endgame, is the M4A1/5.56 ammunition effective into the late game?
Also, for specific weapon recommendations it seems like the submachine gun that uses 9mm but has a longer ranger than most pistols is a really good option since 9mm is so prolific and lighter to carry.
Do you carry noise makers? I have been meaning to try to genuinely figure out how to use them more effectively.
Also when moving through a medium threat area where a fight isn't likely right this second but will eventually happen and you need your hands free for some reason, how do you carry your main weapon? (M4A1 or M14 EBR in this case) Do you carry it slung on your shoulder or on a point sling or something else?
Well sort of, it becomes more a matter of ammo effieciency and if you run into the regenerator enemies one needs to have either good weapon skill, alpha damage or be able to hit it quicker than it regens.
In the labs you can run into things like 3 varieties of hulks at the same time, so kelvar( fire damage really good against them), normal and one I cannot recall the name , but births raptors
There is also the military tiers zombies ( they are fairly well protected against bullets) and some of them are quite nasty if you are unfamiliar with what they can do.
5.56mm is a good base line weapon to judge how dangerous something is, can handle the less armoured enemies pretty well and should be able to harm armoured with FMJ rounds although for the heavily armoured ones it is either high caliber, bash or explosives to do the damage quick enough.
9mm can work decently well against the less armoured enemies, but it might not do enough without having autopsy proficiency to get the weakpoint crits in. It might struggle a bit with the soldier zombies and will bounce off the kelvar tier ones though.
Big advantage of guns is how quickly it can stack bleeding, so an SMG with skill would probably work well with a hit and run approach to wear down an enemy.
I personally try to favour melee and use guns as a "panic" button of sorts if I need to kill high priority targets. Having something anti-armour helps a lot and melee is the "cheapest" option in regards to maintainence and reliability.
Noise makers can be pretty useful, I have seen a funny sight in the game world where an active speaker spewing loud messages, I could read the combat log before I saw it, with blade traps and the zombies just walked to their doom as the blades cut them up from the I assume momentum of trying to get to the sound.
I learnt the building demolition trick from narrowingly having a building miss my character when an electric zombie blew out the walls of an apartment when it interacted with the propane tanks.
But to the point, a molotov in a building makes a lot of noise when the building collapses and zombies path to the noise source and die to the fire.
There is a definitive answer, but I try to guess that the sound value seen on guns is like a radius, the lower calibers are usually quieter than the higher calibers of course. The 5.56 when fired feels like about a full zoomed out square and a bit radius as I taken a military base by sniping with a m4a1 and would draw agro from about that far out.
I guess from the idea of if I could hear it in real life, then I mentally model that in best guess idea of if I use something then I should expect a certain amount and the zombies will converge of the source of the sound it hear - so if use a grenade in a city I haven't cleared then I expect a lot of movement towards the point of explosion and get far away before I could get overwhelmed.
In a lab situation, I have had "oh shit" moments where the zombies are fairly closely packed and shooting a gun leads to a swarm. Found the best way to handle it is the fall back to a choke point and molotov or 2 the choke point, and fight off the wave and try and kill them before they make it through the fire.
In regards to weapon carry, I prefer the point sling on the front, I have had moments where the gun gets damaged with the shoulder sling modification and it does increase the gun profile- I suppose it is part of the payoff of being a universal attachment. Also the encumberance- from last I played- is better when it is connected onto the single point sling. It is more a means for maintainence and encumberance cutting to reduce penalities where I can.
There is also the more tactical stuff like the rigs and harnesses and they are good as it distributes the weight better and provide a lot of useful pockets however it is a bit of a balancing act with both the layering and the durability of it, as it feels like clothing on top of your armour.
Which is why I settle on the sling, gets hit a lot less.
If you are going for a more ranged character though, I would probably recommended the survivor distributed rigging with a survivor harness. Minor encumberance penalties if you align it right but you get a good setup for holding a weapon with a couple of clips and olds and ends in the pockets.
Could also go for a Molle setup, and slap on the type of pouches you want and use something like a harness or an appropriate loadbearing vest with sling, doesn't feel as good and heavier and less versatile compared to the survivor setup but the parts should be easier to make or pick in loot.
If the gun is too big, there is also the double rifle bag one can use for the higher profile or a heavily modded 2-handed gun.
Another option is to use a type of military backpack, and clip the gun onto the bag, things I dislike about the bag is the chance the weapon flies off and the encumberance getting too high if I cannot manage the looting. Could always drop the bag of course, however I prefer having things secured and in arms reach at all times when I engage in combat.
yo great conversation, I am having a lot of fun reading this!
What do you think of long two handed melee weapons like pikes?
Yeah, thanks, I have played a lot and it is enjoyable sharing the knowledge that I learnt.
2-handed weapons are strong, probably easiest way to overcome armour thresholds and have the potential to out dps enemies on the damage per single hit scale.
Pikes are strong with their kiting potential as you can hit enemies 3 blocks away - can kill Kevlar Hulks safely with it, it is a bit slow for general combat as you can get rushed and feels very ungainly when enemies are in your face.
Zweihanders are pretty fun to use as it is has a 2-square range, sweep and knockback
Nodachis are one of the stronger weapons in class and shine best with the appropriate martial art
Lucerne hammer is also good as it is a blunt weapon/ pierce with a 2-square range so it one of the more versatile weapons that is hard for a lot of enemies to resist. Really shines with its martial art.
Steel spears are surprisingly strong, not the best but is a decent baseline weapon
Ironshod quarterstaff and the powered quarterstaff also decent, but feel durabilty takes a hit when in thick combat, probably because of it blocking damage
Naginatas are fun to use, feels like a katana with range, feels stronger but not as durable than katana
War Flails also pretty good on alphas strike, but on the slow end of melee and becomes whether the risk is worth it
As strong as the 2-hander weapons are they are heavier on stamina use, slower to hit and can potentially struggle when swarmed unless you have the right martial art to mitigate some of the damage when it has a ranged attack and if one of your arms get injured then the weapon gets dropped.
This is great information because I would never exhaustively try every one of these weapons, I bet other people will find it useful too.
In your opinion how is the general weapon "balance" and fun in the current state of CDDA? (I put balance in quotes because I don't mean the weapons have to be perfectly balanced like a multiplayer game).
It is fair it think, there are weapons that just work better or feel better. I think of it as like a tier of weapon that are good for a specific purpose.
I have used a punch dagger to good effect, risky if your character is not melee focused, but performs better than I thought as it has great action economy.
Hatchet is no slouch for early game either
From the weapon I have seen but haven't used I can see them being useful, feel more comfortable with what I know from experience that suits my playstyle.
Martial arts are also a great tool to make weapons useful and even unarmed can be fun - for example throwing a zombie off a building with a judo throw
I think since I found the monomolecuIar blade cbm like to rely on that and that does base 28 damage and it can kill a lot of things in the game when skilled - even able to kill Frogmothers when suffieciently skilled in melee.
So I like to think of the base damage as a soft guage for threshold
Like less than 20:
Early game, "soft" targets ( low or no armour), great action economy or has some sort of "gimmick" like archery does 10 times more damage on a critical hit.
20 to 30:
Mid game, solid damage and should be able to hurt most enemies, with the right type of levels, skills and martial art( in case of melee) could be able to scale into late game if the correct damage type is applied
30 - 50:
Late game, barring the really strong enemies should be able to quickly take down most enemies, targeting weakness can be lethal damage
50 + :
That is the role of specialization, can get some really powerful stuff like high explosives, .50 caliber, rockets, heavy sledgehammer
If you can hit something in these damage ranges only the strongest stuff will not be pulped on death however the stuff if usually difficult to hit.
Also is in the tier of destroying things like walls and terrain.
Conditional tier :
Just placing here for stuff that is unusual but is really strong for what it specialises in
Insecticide spray is strong against wasps and dermatiks with an added bonus the chemicals cannot be dodged
Flashbangs disorientate ( blind status) things with eyes
Fire is strong to most things and some mutants and animals are scared of it
Emp ( situational) and electricity stuns = free hits
Acid is almost like a less destructive fire, but has more things immune to it
Within that idea, that I admit there are weapons stronger than others but overall considering how many weapons there are I think the weapon balance is good all things considered.
If I recall grenades also ignore armour and like a shotgun do damage per fragment so it can do a lot of damage.
I just remembered if you ever find a slime pit, it is a great place to test noise as the slimes hear a lot better than it sees and because of its huge numbers it is looks almost like a graph when it moves towards sound
I just get a bike, skateboard, or small vehicle such as a modified golf cart, a pike or knife spear (if it takes too long I get a normal fire hardened stick), a light armor such as riot armor and kevlar vest, and optionally sojutsu (by asking for it to the guard as reward for 100 cigs). It's quite funny seeing how you can ride a bike while twisting your torso 180° to attack with a 2 meter long stick. You'll hardly ever be hit, but it's quite stamina draining, so taking breaks is mandatory, and bat zombies, fart zombies, and flesh raptors can kinda screw the strat but by the time they become annoying you should have enough combat skills and tools to deal with them easily.
I think rollerskates/rollerblades can also used as well although you are restricted to the road otherwise you are stuck out of luck. Skateboard I am always worried of face planting at the worst times and avoid using it.
I cannot imagine dueling with a vehicle because it bothers me if the parts are not up in good condition ( OCD tendency as I will travel and only source perfect conditioned scrap) and even drive cars with a few good pieces back to base to dismantle and reforge if necessary.
I do see the appeal of kiting the enemies with your range advantage though and as you said runs the risk of having to adjust if you run into early game higher level mobs.
I can imagine creating a small 1 tile vehicle for jousting could also be something that can shore up the stamina draining, but be sure to install a seat belt so your character doesn't get dragged off the vehicle by an enemy with displacement - maybe a motorized shopping cart?
As long as you are strategic about it, you should be fine, just get off-road wheels, raid during day, and drop the heaviest bag you carry.
Some advantages I neglected to mention are that there is almost always a way to escape as long as you have a somewhat decent acceleration and you can see around 20 tiles, with 3 tiles per turn you can fairly easily outpace z predators and maybe garghouls (just take into account their jump, stay out of range), it's very cheap resource-wise, and terrain almost doesn't affect you, you can drive by acid, cobweb (not tested yet but it'd bet yes), or sticky surfaces from pupaz.
Many annoying enemies like dermatiks, mi-gos, z horses, hulks and husks are totally foiled with this strat as long as you learn your acceleration and the enemy's speed and do not have available boardable tiles on your vehicle. You can also do this with another NPC on a 2-seat vehicle, preferrably using 3 tile reach, it'll take more managing but will be far easier nonetheless.
Also, I usually make a foldable 2-tile bike with a small electric motor and storage battery for a fallback (all my vehicles are electric) and in case I need to take it across forests, if I find a skateboard I use it for tunnels, such as those with lab entrances or those pesky caves with lava in the way, and use the rest for the somehow non-craftable skateboard deck, which counts as frame, seat and muscle motor at the same time (though not as efficient as pedals)
I personally like to raid during the day as well when I explore a new place to know where the danger is, at night time there is most chances for things to go wrong but great if one has scouted a path for a point of interest - one can avoid a lot of combat and make use of silent weapons better if one something like night vision or nv goggles.
I think webs are most easily dealt with a light if one is able, early hulks and pupa are annoying, yeah.
Yeah, properly managed NPCs can be a very useful I agree, best use of pikes is with them in a passenger seat - less chance for them to impale your character.
Also agree on some form of mechanical transport, makes those surprises so much more manageable yes
Electric is the best for all the benefits, but found a small combustion engine is "good enough" until one gets the there though and the added benefit is one can put a small alternator and only worry about carrying some gas.
I am not brave enough to play near lava - I always try to come prepared for those caves and lab entrances I really like to prep, have had some horror story visits, most probably because I spend all my time crafting.
But that is good information for long stretches one finds in subway tunnels once it is cleared
"webs are most easily dealt with a light"? As in light them up with a lighter or what?
Mines are a waste of time, most of my visits are for some minerals rather than for artifacts, those enemies during portal storms are a better source of artifacts, plus the NRE recorder is great for getting some quick bucks (you can get 105 hub coins for weathering an entire portal storm, which translates to 5000 credits with the hub or around 3500 with other traders)
As far as my experience goes, bring some pipe bombs and turrets won't be that much of a problem. With labs the problem are those annoying electric plants that respawn infinitely, and maybe a bad combo of zombies such as smokers plus necromancer. Also grenade hacks, if you see those dispatch drones chuck a pipe bomb and don't look back.
I am thinking of spider webs, and I usually just light with a lighter or an electric lighter eventually and run, webbed status as in being webbed, I hope and pray I got enough distance to not be swarmed or that my armour holds out
Mines can have some weird stuff, can find low level artifacts, nothing special and there is that "special" mine but yeah, most are only good for getting resources by mining - I agree
The hub01 hoody onesie( can't remember the name but the one you can wear around your waist), last time I played, is I believe insulated, that or grind for a faraday suit - the electro-plant bugs are so much easier with it.
Smokers are annoying yeah, I always make sure to wear gas mask to not be stuck without stamina in the middle of combat - died too many times to that. I hate the necromancer masters the most - can make some bs situations.
I really lean heavy into melee and the bio-operators and hulks I focus with guns - pipe bombs are really strong though, I am just too cheap to use them unless it is something really dangerous and I got nothing else - also I enjoy doing autopsies (leans in with using melee). I am mad enough to rush drones to with a quick weapon to stop them using their abilities so I can break them down for parts. I only get nervous when I see Shogoths, I seldom carry stuff heavy enough to deal with them quickly and just avoid them
Unless you're caught off-guard, spiders aren't much of a problem (in fact, they can be a nice food source, and spider mutations are very good). Just fish them out one by one, since they're very aggressive, they will spread out in some time (especially in swamps), and fire can be very annoying to deal with, I only use fire early game and when dealing with the electric plants, they die almost instantly by it and are afraid of it, deterring them from attacking. Or just chuck a molotov, as long as the mini-nuclear reactors aren't damaged it should be fine.
You don't seem troubled by grenade hacks, do you simply deal with them that way? It's a russian roulette, they're very fast and if you fail to break them, their detonation can deal 120 ish damage to all body parts even with a decent armor, plus bleeding, and if you have hollow bones you'll be toast.
The elec dicapacitance, protective lenses, and filtration system bions are quite good, the former now should actually be direclty better than a gas mask as it gives the same environmental protection for no encumberance, and does not consume bion power or mask cartridges, only some bion slots. It's also nice not having to equip, reload, and activate it each time you find some gas.
And yes, shogs are a no-no.
Spiders can be annoying if one doesn't have antivenom or bionics to help clear out the venom, although the samples are a positive to try work around their nests.
I hate those tunnel spiders that hide under ground and catalysm forbid if you land up in one of their nests.
I enjoy using fire, great way to scare off a frog mother if they are chasing you, but usually I don't mind burning a forest down to get rid of their nests if it is in my way also is my go to way to control fungus and reach the towers.
Oh and to use as a means to quickly make a dent in city zombie population in new cities by using a disposable burner home after I looted it to flush them out if I need to.
Swamps I am always careful with as there might be sinkholes and it are usually swarming with amalgams as there is a lot of combat that happens in there.
I had a horrible first experience with the plant bugs ( it always damages the torso when they attack) so finding any form of insulation is good first step for me as I saw the difference and I just shoot them now, they aren't that well armoured against bullets if I recall- a solid m4a1 rifle should handle them and as you said using a molotov if it gets too much is also a solid plan.
It seems the hacks have to arm the grenade before dropping it, so I focus on killing them before it has a chance to complete, they are nimble but are fragile, I have had the blade ones give me bit more of a challenge by comparision but by the time I do labs and military raiding my melee skills are usually decently skilled (like minimum 6) to hit consistently. I do not think I have had a drone drop a grenade on me before though, so it is probably just my personal bias. My melee style is more on one hand, quick weapons ( with sufficient skill I try to aim for sub 90 action costs, but usually sub 100 is acceptable for me) and have a martial arts related weapon. I do panic a bit if I see the mininuke hacks, but I try to kill the drones before it gets to that as well.
If one wants to get fancy, there is the emp bionic and it shuts down any threat from robotic foes.
Yeah, the bionics provide a ton of freedom in builds when I can get it, I usually bite and the bullet and endure it until I can get the bionics though, but indeed, that selection of bionics with maybe the hearing dampener as well and a lot of things are not nearly as deadly as it help prevent those nasty status effect
Indeed, shogs are built differently, they require a specialist loadout to overcome that 50hp per turn regen, and it is tricky overcoming that consistently without using something like a .50 machine gun or a rocket launcher( which is a chore to level up).
Grenades and bombs are risky (although maybe a radio controlled bomb truck could work) as it can just eat it and melee is a question of whether the timestop bioinic can hold out long enough for you too burst down 400hp in time but the thing has 10 melee skill or if one has a melee build that can push past the 50 damage dpt (damage per turn, which I average at 100 action cost per turn) and not miss and avoid being crippled.
I read good things about a laser rifle but have yet to have used one so I cannot provide confirmation on that.