Zombies

**Zombies** are the one of the Ark's biggest threats, the once human citizens of roam the Ark continent in the thousands. They have an insatiable hunger for human flesh and will not hesitate to kill.

The Zombies are inspired by the Max Brooks (author of "World War Z"; "Zombie Survival Guide"). Many of the game's mechanics are inspired by such books.

## Zombie Mechanics

### Spawning

In the beginning of the game, Zombies heavily populate the west side of the continent and thin out from there throughout the town as the meta-game plays its role to spread the zombie population around. However, the west side will usually have a considerable amount more zombies than the east side. Around the outskirts of town (farms, lumber mills), only small pockets of zombies will spawn naturally.

The vast wilderness around the Ark is more or less considered a "safe zone" from zombies, as they never spawn in this part of the map, and they will rarely move here. However, the player will find much less in terms of supplies and housing, encouraging the player to live a rudimentary, survivalist lifestyle.

### Movement and Horde Behaviour

Horde Movement

The default zombies in the game are traditional shamblers, but newly turned zombies shamble a lot faster, almost at about an alive human's walking speed (about 1.5m/s). Zombies are attracted to noise, bright light (particularly from a flashlight or fire), and the sight of humans.

Zombies will prioritize their pathfinding needs. The sight of human flesh will always be first priority- both the flesh of the player or an NPC. Then, they will prioritize any noise they may hear, regardless of whether that noise is man-made or not.

With the introduction of a wandering mechanic in 0.2.0r RC2.9.9.11, zombies will occasionally move around without hearing anything. Whereas before hordes were idle, now they will wander about, breaking windows and doors that happen to be in the way. When it is raining, zombies will wander even more.

At times, helicopters flying overhead, or gunshots fired in the distance will attract and move hordes of zombies. This is zombies reacting to the metagame so that the zombies will migrate around the map. The metagame is in charge of creating zombie movement patterns around the map, to properly distribute them and create balanced gameplay.

### Combat and Damage

Zombies fight by coming up close to the player and then extends its arms. Damages from zombies can result in three ways: bites, scratches, and "punches". Bites are the rarest but have a 100% chance to infect you, so you obviously want to be careful so you can avoid getting a festering bite. Scratches are quite frequent, but they only have 7% chance to infect you, but they are still very dangerous even so. "Punches" are just wounds that do not break through the skin and having the thick-skinned perk can help you turn the more dangerous bites and scratches into less dangerous "punches". Punches do not have a chance of infection, and when you hover over the status bar of the body part, it will only say "slight damage", without anything underneath. Unlike bites and scratches, "punches" do not require bandaging or first aid of any kind, just some time to heal and some minor pain that can be dealt with by utilizing pain killers.

When attacking a survivor, a zombie will grab that survivor and will hinder the survivor's movements. While it is possible to shake off a single- or even a few uncoordinated zombies, zombies in large numbers will prevent movement- and escape- altogether, dooming the survivor while he or she gets eaten alive.

Zombies are also able to deal damage to doors and player-made walls. Although they deal relatively little damage, they can deal a good amount of damage if left alone for a long time or if in larger groups. Zombies banging on doors will attract other zombies, and it will convince them to bang on doors/windows or just mill around until something happens (if there are already too many zombies banging). Fortunately, there is a small chance NPCs and players can dissuade the zombies by staying absolutely silent for a good amount of time, but that is not reliable. A single zombie can destroy an un-barricaded window in seconds.

Zombies have very quiet footsteps. Therefore, a survivor always has to be on guard for zombies. However, they tend to moan and alert the prey of their presence. Furthermore, they tend to make a lot of noise while moving, because they carelessly reveal their positions by doing noisy things such as brushing against trees or thumping on doors and windows. These noises are good to look out for.

### Crawlers

Occasionally, zombies may be turned upside, on its stomach or on its back, and may approach a survivor or a source of noise- by crawling. Sometimes, after a zombie is knocked down, instead of getting up, it can decide to crawl around. Other times, a crawler might just "play dead" by lying down and may emerge when it hears a noise or some prey.

This type of zombie moves extremely slowly, at about a fifth of the speed the standing zombie may move at. Therefore, when a crawler is in a horde, it will usually crawl behind and separate from the rest of the horde. However, because it moves slowly, it makes little noise. Although it may moan every now and then, its method of movement makes little noise and its slow speed makes it harder to hear- even if it were to make a lot of noise to reach its target. Furthermore, this type of zombie can be submerged by tall objects such as crops; survivors should be cautious when exploring unsecured/obscured territories. A crawler does NOT get knocked back when hit by a non-fatal blow, but it's attack speed is very slow. However, a crawler is NOT capable of sieging a structure's window, but they are able to siege a door.

One weakness is that it has trouble turning around. Unlike the regular zombie, a crawler has to push its entire body 180 degrees to turn around. A survivor can manipulate this by going behind the rotating zombie and finishing it off quickly provided there is adequate time to do so.

### Infection

Humans, the player and the NPCs, who get too close to zombies may be bitten, scratched, or otherwise injured. Bites guarantee infection, but there is only a 7% of infection when scratched.

As of Alpha 29, the following formula is used to calculate scratch chance:

*scratch Chance = 100 - (75 + melee Défense)*

The melee Défense variable is dependent on the user's guard skill for the weapon type they are currently wielding.

* Level 1 = -2
* Level 2 = 0
* Level 3 = +2
* Level 4 = +5
* Level 5 = +7

If the character has the thin-skinned trait, they have a 15 percent chance of being scratched. There is always a 25 percent chance of being bitten.

## Loot

After a zombie is killed, its corpse will become a container. Usually, the clothes that are worn on the zombies are the only loot. However, occasionally, useless items such as wallets and wedding rings can spawn on certain corpses. Even more uncommonly, useful items such as weapons, nails, and cigarettes can spawn on a zombie's corpse. It should also be noted that axes, pistols, 9mm ammunition, and some medical supplies have been found on zombies before. A zombie's corpse has a capacity of 8.

## Types

### Shamblers

Shamblers are rather easy to kill individually but become faster and tougher once in large numbers. Fighting these alone or in groups of 2-10 aren't too big a problem. More than that and it gets tricky. A good headshot will bring one down in short order, and even a handful of body shots will manage to drop one if you hit the torso. Extremity hits do next to nothing to these swarming freaks.

### Hounds

Next we have Hellhounds which are pretty obviously the canid variant after wild dogs consumed dead flesh upon the collapse of society. Basically, Shamblers but much faster due to quadrupedal gait. With these what you need to watch out for is your legs and throat. One of these gets hold of you, Gunna be a nightmare to get away. A pack? You had better have backup if you want to see tomorrow.

### Juggernauts

Juggernauts are the dude-bros of the Horde. These guys take stupid punishment before going down but are thankfully slow because of mass acceleration. Strong enough to barge through a wooden barricade with little effort and dumb enough to attack a mirror for an hour.

### Vipers

Vipers are basically the ambush predators of the Horde. These guys use long arms to grab onto targets and pull them in, but due to their skinny mass they are largely nonlethal unless they get a good bite going. What makes them dangerous is the inconvenience they represent to a careless survivor if you aren't checking your corners.

### Banshee

Banshees are a big priority to kill when alone because as the name implies they can still scream bloody murder. Zombies are typically drawn to loud noises so these can be a BIG problem if they notice a survivor or group. Arguably the most fragile type of Infected, a good whack with a melee weapon will kill one. Small pistols work fantastically too!

### Reflux

Meet the Reflux. These mug-ugly things are a ticking time bomb and a threat even to Zombies nearby. They hold a highly caustic variant of Human stomach acid within their torsos. The only thing separating these creatures and everything within ten feet from disintegration via acid is a thin membrane of skin and mucous. Well, luckily those two materials aren't exactly bulletproof...

### Misters

These freakshows are called Misters. Basically, their entire existence is dedicated to spreading the disease through haemoglobin contact. Their cardiopulmonary systems are essentially mush inside, so they quickly become vaguely human-shaped super soakers that expel blood at high speeds to cover survivors in highly-infectious gore. Luckily, for the virus to actively do anything to you, it has to enter your body. Ingestion, eye sockets, open wounds, stuff like that. Other than that, they go down easily as Shamblers. Take aim and avoid the splash zone!

### Devourers

These monstrosities are called Devourers. Avoid at ALL costs whenever possible. Basically amalgamations of flesh that have come as a result of predation on other Zombies until they have become mutated monstrosities, Devourers are the rarest type of Special zombie (because they can only merge with other Specials). These horrors need high-powered weapons to even slow down. Killing one requires nothing less than grenades or rockets. If one of these things catches you in its grip, you had better hope a buddy nearby has a chainsaw; because if you can't get out immediately, your buddy's gun might be better served to prevent you from feeling what comes next

### Enforcers

Enforcers are a recent addition to the Horde. These guys are absolute beasts when it comes to durability. Enforcers are terrifying not for their durability or even their aggression. What makes an Enforcer a problem is that they are typically armed. Batons dangling from wrists, pistols trapped in gloved grips, and even the occasional rifle/SMG/shotgun caught in rigor mortis. Fortunately, the ones with riot shields are mostly just inconvenient. Avoid their grapple attack, because it is unlikely you will be skipping away unscathed when they get too close.

### Ravagers

With skin hardened into the toughness of raw leather from months in the baking heat. These Shamblers have toughened up to survive the dangers that is hunting their prey and the demands of the crumbling world. Avoid dull and blunt melee weapons as these will simply bounce off their leathery skin, opt for a quick headshot or a very sharp tool to bring the Ravager down. Ravagers truly must be the next step in the viruses evolution.