The purpose of the movement section of the field manual is to familiarize survivors with some effective strategies to avoid detection and minimize the risk of danger. There are 2 ends of the movement spectrum, speed and stealth.
The human eye and brain have evolved to very effectively recognize and track movement. This survival mechanism of recognizing and tracking movement can be used to your advantage and if ignored may be used for your enemy’s advantage.
The faster you move and the more you stand out against your environment, the higher the chance of your movement being detected. The faster you move, the less awareness you will have about your environment as well. As you move, you will naturally want to watch the “easy to scan” areas such as open spaces. Try to avoid this instinct and instead focus on the “hard to scan” areas such as bushes, windows, doors, and other cluttered, covered areas. Your peripheral vision has a higher chance of detecting movement in the easy to scan areas while watching hard to scan areas. If you only watch easy to scan areas, your peripheral vision will easily miss movement in the harder to scan areas.
Squads on the move should always move at a tactical speed unless otherwise specified by the squad leader. Tactical speed is designed so that squad members require the least amount of time to react and respond to a given situation.
Squad members moving at a tactical speed should:
Solo movement speed and style will be determined mostly by your personal preference and environment.
Before entering an urban environment, identify key resources that should be visited. Also plan a route from cover to cover that you will take to reach your objective. Make sure you plan your general escape vector as well before entering the environment. Keep your primary weapon in hand, but not raised.
Close doors as you enter and leave buildings to prevent being tracked and also alert you if another survivor is entering the building. Exit buildings from the same entrance in which you entered to prevent being surprised by infected or other survivors.
Speed – Dash from cover to cover until your objective is reached. Pause at each cover location to quickly assess your environment then proceed to the next cover. As you pause behind cover, check behind you to make sure that you have not drawn the attention of other survivors or infected. You will likely draw the maximum amount of attention from both survivors and infected as you move quickly. Minimize distractions from your objective so you can get in and get out.
Stealth – Take a long look and try to survey the environment from at least 2 vantage points before entering. Identify objectives that may have a high probability of survivor activity, such as police stations. Survey the perimeter of the area one last time before approaching to try to spot incoming survivors. Approach cover to cover at a medium speed and be prepared to go prone or dash for cover if you see any other survivors. Approach buildings from alleys, backyards, and narrow gaps. Flank around back rather than going through main streets.
Squad – Communicate to the squad before entering buildings with a brief description of the building. Also communicate when going up or down floors when clearing buildings.
Open space provides minimal cover and can be both a severe vulnerability as well as a blessing. Large open spaces can create a comfortable buffer of space between you and potential hostiles. The greater the distance to cover, the lower the chance that a sniper will actually be able to shoot and hit you.
Open space around military zones and airfields should be avoided at all costs. If a military zone or airfield is your objective, it is well worth your time to take a wide path around and approach from cover.
Speed – Cross large open spaces at a medium speed. Running at full speed may be your first instinct, but if you draw fire, you will be tired and will take longer to steady your aim for any return fire if you need to engage an enemy behind you. Once you are far enough from cover, you can switch to a full sprint. Always move in an unpredictable pattern when crossing open space alone. Zig-zag, stop and go, jog then sprint, etc. Whether you cross at full speed or medium speed, you will be spotted if there is a survivor looking.
Stealth – Avoid open space at all costs. If you must cross an open space, “low and slow” is the name of the game. Crouch or crawl through low lying trenches and valleys in the terrain to avoid silhouetting against your background. If you can, take the longer path around open space using trees, buildings, and whatever cover you can to avoid detection. Stop often and check for snipers in likely cover such as hills or tall buildings. Be prepared to break stealth should you be detected by hostiles.
Squad – Stay several meters apart from other squad members. Try to avoid the instinct of scanning for activity in all directions if in a squad, stick to scanning your designated sector. Be prepared to identify potential hostile positions should the squad take fire.
Roads generally link points of interest together and have a higher chance of coming across survivors. They also have a higher chance of vehicle activity.
Listen for vehicles and watch for movement both on the road and adjacent to the road. Experienced survivors will follow roads from a distance using woods and buildings as cover.
Speed – Try to use a map to identify paths that may shorten the distance to your objective. It is faster to cut across a curve in the road and travel through the woods or open space rather than follow the road exactly.
Stealth – Avoid roads at all costs as they are potential ambush routes. Treat roads as open space and travel at least 50 meters to the side of the road through cover such as buildings or forest. If following the road, keep the road visible but at a distance.
Squad – For speed, stagger the road on each side with squad members. For stealth, the entire squad should pass the road at least 50 meters to the side through cover.
The forest can be a comforting sign as it generally has less infected and survivor activity. However, you should still be alert for predatory animals. If you encounter hostiles and predators, you may have plenty of cover and concealment to escape, but it is best to avoid encounters in the woods if you are not prepared as you will not have much chance of having buildings to search for supplies or encountering friendly survivors if you need help.
Speed – Determine the direction you wish to travel and try to maintain orientation while running through the forest. Use distant trees or landmark features as guides while you are running through the woods to keep a straight path. Avoid steep hills so that you can travel as fast as you can without getting slowed down by terrain.
Stealth – Travel between sets of thicker trees and woodlands to break line of sight with any pursuers. Stop often and listen for sounds of activity. Try to keep track of buildings with doors as you travel in case you need to escape from a predator attack.
Squad – Travel as if in an urban environment. Determine if predators will be killed or avoided before encountering them.
Squads moving with unknown or hostile contact should use a method of movement called “bounding overwatch” or “leapfrog”. This maneuver can be performed while advancing or retreating. The basics of this movement are as follows: