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Note: this page covers the Standalone version of DayZ; for information on the Mod, see Mod:Zed.
A Zombie (also known as 'Zeds', 'Walkers', 'Crawlers') is an infected human. Little is known about the infection that has devastated most of the world's population but a few survivors; except that upon becoming infected, the victims become highly aggressive, attempting to attack any uninfected human they find. The Zombies are NPCs in DayZ Standalone, and can be found roaming all across Chernarus.
Characteristics
The Infection appears to cause loss of personality, fluent speech and complex thought, accompanied by a massive increase in violent aggression. The infected can still see and hear, and will attack any uninfected human who has attracted their attention through noise, movement, or displaying bright lights at night. Due to a lack of higher brain function, they are incapable of picking up objects, operating simple mechanisms such as door handles or climbing ladders.
When passive and unstimulated, Zombies will roam around aimlessly (occasionally varying their walking direction and field of vision). Once they are alerted to a Survivor's presence, they will become aggressive and actively start chasing them (this is usually referred to as "aggro"). In this state they make angry noises as they advance towards the spot where they last saw or heard their prey, until their target is either dead or lost. Once within range they will attack in the form of frenzied physical blows and kicks. (They also appear to feed on dead Survivors.)
Although they have varying levels of speed and physical capability, most Zombies can move as fast as a healthy Survivor and they do not appear to get tired * as of .55 they do tire rather easily -- presumably due to the Infection. They lack normal human biological requirements such as the need to sleep, and are able to survive exposed to the elements in conditions that a non-Infected human wouldn't. However, they are still susceptible to conventional injuries.
Zombies will also attack animals, who in turn will flee from them. This can lead to a zombie chasing a deer or a cow for long distances.
Types and Variants
There are different types of Zombies, including Walkers and Crawlers; and while they have a variety of appearances in their clothing and gender, they all behave in approximately the same fashion. Zombies have sometimes some loot on them. Military zombies will maybe have military loot.
Zombie Types
- Walkers will sprint towards their prey and flail at them. They attack quickly and can deal catastrophic amounts of damage if not dealt with.
- Crawlers are simply walkers with broken legs. They may fall when their legs are broken, but they will still crawl and attack.
Notable Variants
- Civilian infected are the most common type. They are found all across Chernarus, wandering about cities and towns aimlessly. You will occasionally see them elsewhere as well; anywhere a human would go.
- Military infected will be seen mostly around military installations, recognizable by their military uniforms; their camouflaged clothing, headgear, and military-grade equipment such as vests.
Tactics and tips
When a zombie detects a player, they will chase after them relentlessly but will soon grow tired and run slower, and eventually lose interest . Becoming trapped by zombies in a small area is possible, and loud weapons can easily exacerbate a zombie problem. Zombies do little damage initially, but can cause bleeding, broken bones, pain, or knock you into unconsciousness. Their strength lies in their damage over time, stamina, and tendency to attack at inconvenient times in large numbers.
Avoiding Combat
There are a few ways to get away when the odds of a zombie fight are not in your favor:
- Break away from their line of sight – breaking a zombie's line of sight will cause them to slowly wander around the player's last known location for a few minutes. The line of sight can be broken by running around corners, through buildings, and through evergreen trees. Care must be taken to not regain the attention of a zombie with unnecessary sound or movement.
- Get them to attack another Survivor – either maliciously or with their assistance. Zombies can make a great distraction when turned against other players who may mean to do you harm, but you could also have a friend or travel companion purposely gain a zombie's attention to increase your odds of escape.
- Knock them unconscious – punching zombies in the head will knock them out for a short period of time, giving you an opportunity to get away safely.
- Get off the ground – If a pick up truck is close by or an abandoned Military Ambulance, get in the back. Zombies can not climb into them. Then either shoot them or use a melee weapon to remain stealthy.
- Squat in a low shed – Zombies also can not crouch. Get into the back of a low shed and they can not hit you. Then either shoot them or use a melee weapon to remain stealth.
- Hold up in a building - If you can enter a building and shut all the entrances quick enough, you will be safe from them. They can't open doors, so will attempt to get as close to you as possible. If you're next to a window, they will stand on the other side for easy dispatching. Melee weapons which are swung can be tricky to connect. The pitchfork is ideal for these situations as it is thrust straight forward with a long reach. Even though they can sense your location inside, they will lose interest over time and return to wandering. Please note: A future update is implementing zombie animations for breaking down doors. You are safe inside, for now.
Combat
- When fighting zombies, it is advised that players stick to melee weapons such as the Hunting Knife or Brass Knuckles, for several reasons. First of all, it will conserve ammunition to be used for other purposes. More importantly however, it will avoid attracting the attention of other zombies nearby who have not yet set their sights on you. A melee strike or a punch to the head can knock out the zombie for a short period of time, allowing you to safely finish it off. Certain weapons are more effective than others, and their effectiveness could change as the game develops. Currently, powerful bladed weapons (knives) are most ideal against zombies due to their accuracy in attack. Using electroshock weapons (which require batteries in order to stun), and blunt weapons which can knock zombies to the ground, will both take more time but make it possible to escape incapacitated zombies without killing them and possibly leaving them to harass other players in the area. As of the 0.55 patch, melee damage is not measured in overall damage, but accuracy to the head. One-handed weapons such as knives are very effective against zombies for their accuracy. The Brass Knuckles are very powerful as well, being able to kill an infected in one hit when used properly.
- Zombie attack animations are slow to reset (with infected maneuvers being slow in general). Sidestepping around them and attacking after they miss an attack can be a very safe combat strategy in melee. If there is no room to maneuver, aiming for their head and swinging the weapon just before collision with a charging zombie can take them out quickly, sometimes without damage taken by the player.
- Zombies have less of a chance to notice you if you are behind their field of vision, making it easy to sneak up behind them and hit them in the head. Care must be taken not to make noise when doing this.
- A good tactic if one is chasing you is to run in a circle. This does two things. 1. It tires him/her out for easier dispatch. 2. You stand less of a chance of having other Zombie's getting involved by staying in one small area rather than running down a street attracting more trouble.
Mechanics
- AI\Pathfinding - Zombies are spawned by the server and every client receives their position from the server. Once Zombies are alerted to your presence and actively start chasing you, your client takes over their pathfinding; this is sent to the server and relayed to other players. This is performed to ease the AI pathfinding load on the server. Because of this mechanic Zombies can often lag, even at low latencies to the server.
- Zombies have about 4400 health. This is in contrast to a Survivor who has 5000 health when they are in their best condition.
- Due to issues with the client becoming desynced with the server for a number of different reasons, it is possible that your player's hitbox may be somewhere other than where you look like you are. Typically, your hitbox will get stuck at a doorway or somewhere similar. Zombies are attracted to your hitbox and will attack it rather than your player model because they think that is where you are; unfortunately they will still hurt you because they are doing damage to your hitbox, even if you're across the room or in a different building even. This can lead to the confusing notion that players are being attacked by "invisible" zombies when in reality their hitbox is just stuck somewhere other than their current location. The only fix is to go back through the doorway or wherever your hitbox is stuck to "reset" its position.
- There are currently about 300 zombies per server at any given time. The development team has expressed an interest in upping that count to as many as 2000 per server once they are confident in the behavior and mechanics of the infected.
References & Notes
- It should be noted that rather than being classic "Romero" undead/supernatural zombies who move slowly and require a shot to the head to kill, DayZ zombies are more akin to the "infected" in such newer zombie pieces as 28 Days Later; able to be killed by normal physical means other than magic headshots, able to run, and not able to rise after death, carrying a highly transmittable virus similar to rabies.
- Zombies are still in on-going development, and being in the early stages of the DayZ Standalone development, many features and functionality have been disabled as part of the testing process. Zombies may be buggy, lack functionality, or have odd behavior.