Community highlights

Community Highlights

Curated player takeaways: top strategies, popular builds, perk picks, farming, drops, and mechanics clarifications.

BeginnerCommunity

Weapon meta

Top picks
  • • Plasma Laser: legendary; base ~5k, damage doubles per enemy hit (no limit). Must line up zombies. Clip Size is king; Gun Damage ~25 is enough.
  • • Chainsaw: epic; best melee. Scales with melee damage only; swing/fire rate do NOT help. Still meta after nerf.
  • • Best combo: Plasma Laser + Chainsaw (Laser for waves, Chainsaw for single targets/ammo-free DPS).
  • • Scientist build: Plasma Laser + Chainsaw. Upgrade melee or health early, max Chainsaw when available.
  • • Plasma Shotgun: strong with stars and ammo buffs; some players disappointed at high waves.
  • • Gatling Laser often rated below Plasma Laser/Shotgun.
Upgrade advice
  • • Plasma Laser often fine at 1★; upgrades mainly help late bosses.
  • • Chainsaw to 3–5★ is highly recommended; still strong even at low stars.
  • • Clip Size is the key upgrade for Plasma Laser; gun damage past ~25 has diminishing returns.
  • • Destruction damage affects flamethrower/grenade/boomer mine, not Plasma Laser.
Mechanic: Plasma Laser damage doubles per enemy hit; gather mobs, then fire.

Classes, perks & rerolls

Popular picks (Current Meta Dec 2024)
  • • Juggernaut: nerfed but still strong; tanky; fire/radiation resistance; great for Chainsaw builds. Best class for tanking.
  • • Scientist: very versatile, can avoid damage instead of tanking. Best with Plasma Laser + Chainsaw. Lure groups zombies perfectly.
  • • Wastelander: +50% ammo, +1 slot, Lv3 double-upgrade perk (has hardcap but still OP); strong for plasma weapons.
  • • Boxer: current meta pick (community recommended).
  • • Warrior: Lv1 perk is best (~50% melee boost); rest less valuable. Get Warrior Lv1 perk as bonus for Scientist Chainsaw builds.
Perk & reroll notes
  • • Bonus perk is RNG; reroll until desired. For Scientist, get Warrior Lv1 perk (adds ~200 damage to Chainsaw).
  • • Wastelander double-upgrade perk is highly valued but has hardcap; melee perk gives ~50% base melee.
  • • Scientist lure: lasts up to ~15s at Lv3, can throw two; excellent for grouping zombies for Plasma Laser.
  • • Warrior Lv1 melee = ~50% bonus per community report. Best perk, rest less valuable.
  • • If struggling to survive with Scientist, get any Juggernaut perk for tankiness.
  • • Early game: Warrior or Soldier first, then save for Juggernaut.

Recommended build paths

Beginner route
  • • Buy Chainsaw early; upgrade to 3★ then 5★ when possible.
  • • Save for Plasma Laser; keep Chainsaw as ammo-free backup.
  • • Starter perks: Movement / Melee Damage; avoid swing/fire-rate for chainsaw (no benefit).
Mid/Late-game
  • • Loadout template: Plasma Laser ★1–2 + Chainsaw ★3–5 + (optional) Plasma Shotgun/Musket.
  • • Reset if no good drops by wave 40–50; RNG heavily affects plasma availability.
  • • Don’t over-upgrade non-core guns; fewer purchases = better drop odds.

Keys, chests & farming

Chest drops
  • • 1–4★ chests: Rusty, Wooden, Metal, Survivor, Pristine keys (very low relic chance).
  • • 5★ chests: Survivor, Pristine, Safehouse, Relic keys.
  • • Wave 50+ can drop relic keys; higher stars = better odds.
RNG & legendaries
  • • Mystery box legendary chance ~2.5% per roll; specific legendary ~0.83%.
  • • Reports of “no legendary to wave 80” tied to new box system RNG.

Mechanics & scaling

  • • Plasma Laser: Base ~5k, damage doubles per enemy hit (no limit). Must line up zombies. Fire rate and charge time don't scale with perks. Clip Size is the key upgrade.
  • • Chainsaw: Melee-damage only; widely agreed swing/fire-rate buffs don't matter. Still meta after nerf. Scales only with melee damage.
  • • Weapon Stars: 0.5 to 5 stars = 3.5x damage increase (tested on Crowbar: 113→125→165→210→294→375).
  • • Skill scaling: Community reports diminishing returns past ~+25; above ~70 can go negative (may be patched later). Clip Size scales linearly to 100.
  • • All stats except Clip Size: Have diminishing returns (melee damage, swing speed, fire rate).
  • • Destruction damage: Benefits flamethrower/grenade launcher/boomer mine; not Plasma Laser.
  • • Duplicates → auto-upgrade: Was removed in a recent update (loading-tip outdated).

Pain points & balance

  • • Chainsaw considered overtuned; Plasma Laser extremely RNG-gated.
  • • Mystery box “gacha” feel; legendaries rare even past wave 80.
  • • Boomer class weak (single mine, low proc, long CD).
  • • Some report skill scaling bug (levels >40/70 lose efficiency).
  • • Holiday/event cadence and RNG frustrations voiced; no direct fixes yet.
Want more detail?
Check Tactical & Advanced for full builds and strategies.
Tactical GuideAdvanced Guide