Previously published on my forums - Anyone with tips or corrections please let me know!!
Okay I think I've played long enough to start a small beginner guide, I may publish this over at Kano's forums too and see if any of the more experienced players have details to add or correct. From the look of it, unlike MW, ZS is primarily a fighting game. If you're an energy type player that doesn't enjoy PvP you probably won't like this game as much so be aware of that fact.
Stats
The game is not all that different from Mafia Wars you have the same basic stats that do essentially the same thing, one major difference is Health matters here, a lot! So I'll explain the stats first.
Attack - Obvious, requires one skill point.
Defense - Obvious, requires one skill point.
Health - This is a very useful stat for two reasons, first it seems to be tied into the attack formula, it is definitely tied into the Boss attack formula. It makes a substantial difference in your damage output, do NOT ignore it. Second healing gets expensive quickly and money is a little tougher (although still not hard) to come by in this game than most so the more health the more attacks, hence the more money between heals. 1 skill point adds 10 health.
Energy - Jobs here are called Outbreaks where you kill zombies at a certain location. Outbreaks cost energy. More on Outbreaks later.
Stamina - This, in my opinion, is the key stat in this game done correctly a character can almost level at will with fighting alone. I am almost at level 100 and am still able to do this. Stamina is used in regular PvP fighting and in Boss fighting, it is CRITICAL to your success in the game! Requires 2 skill points per stamina
Stat Allocation
This is obviously personal preference but the formula I am finding works for me is pretty simple. Since you get 5 skill points per level and various other skill points for achievements (skill points are not purchasable and the admin says they won't be!) you want to focus on an even build. I generally add 1 attack/def and either health or energy per level leaving 2 pts for 1 stamina. Alternating Health and Energy every other level. Then when I get bonus points I up anything I need, ie more attack, or energy because of Outbreak usage etc.
Outbreaks
Outbreaks are basically jobs. They require energy and they pay a static dollar and experience amount per Outbreak. You complete Outbreaks by killing a certain number of zombies. This part is variable the number of zombies you kill per Outbreak will change on a variable basis and seemingly by the strength of your character. This is how the game balances, a very weak character will require more Outbreaks to finish a level, finishing an Outbreak level (there is only 1 per) gives you an achievement, bonus skill points and in some cases unlocks a boss fight. Outbreaks also have random drops of items (more on items later). These actually drop pretty frequently but other than destructive items they are honestly not that much to worry about other than "shiny collectible" value. ALL Outbreaks will require certain gear and ALL gear requires upkeep fees! One outbreak per country will unlock that countries Boss fight, you must beat that Boss to continue to the next country. You do not need to do all the outbreaks in a country, nor do you need to do them in order. You can lower the amount of Energy required per Outbreak with Squad Contracts, more on those later.
Fighting - PvP
Okay this is a touch more involved than many FB gamers will be used to, the basic premise of pick someone on the list and attack them is the same. When you start there is a list of players, their current health, their Squad total and an attack button,at level 80 they add a Stamina drop down allowing you to use up to 10 stamina in a single attack. This is NOT multiple attacks, each stamina added gives you an attack boost from 3% to 27% so if there is that person you just HAVE to beat you generally can with this feature. Personally I don't use it I feel if you beat someone this way it's just asking to have your ass handed to you since they can probably thump you anyways.
All the stats and your gear as well as the size and STRENGTH of your squad, yes your squad IS more than warm bodies here, come into play fighting. There is a ton to look at and there are fight details that I will explain to the best of my abilities.
Critical Hit Bonus Attack - Okay, not really sure what affects this but be warned it IS random. However, and I cannot stress this enough, it is NOT MW crits. A seriously weaker player will NEVER beat you on a crit, however fighting someone very close (seems within 5% fight strength) will result in the odd loss or in some cases the odd win that is random. I am okay personally with this since a close fight sometimes does come down to luck.
Personal Attack Strength - This is your attack stat alone with no modifiers, you see if you are higher, you do not see your opponents actual Defense score.
3 armed Units - This is your personal gear. It will show what weapon, gear and vehicle you are using and it's current level (items are upgradeable, more later)
Total Attack boost - Hired Squad boost (not sure), Contract boost is your Squad contracts (more later), Vaccine boost is based on Vaccines published by your Squad that temporarily boost your attack, Stamina boost (available at level 80).
Top Squad Strength - I said earlier that your Squad are not just warm bodies, their stats MATTER and they matter a lot. This is the total of your Top Squads attack strength if you have no Squad or they are all energy... you're screwed! More on Top Squad later, but you should know that there is a maximum of 20 so no adding thousands of "friends"
Weapons, Gear Units, Vehicles, Destructives - These items are your Squads fighting items (different for att/def and game controlled) and the level of these items. Items are available from the UN (item shop), free gifting, Outbreak drops and Boss fight drops. The game will choose the best item you have and insert it until you have enough to arm your Top Squad. See Upgrading Items later for more details. Early on (maybe forever) one place you will almost always be weaker is Gear Units, most gear has next to no attack and a fair amount of defense so fighting an equal Squad would mean say pitting 16 - 2 attack Gear Units against 16 - 14 defense Gear Units, however it does seem that the attacker almost always has the advantage in weapon for the same reason. Destructive units are not purchasable at the moment and they ARE consumable!
Fighting Experience is variable and not just random either. Fight someone near your strength and win and the payoff is much greater than beating on the weaker players. This is CRITICAL to leveling strategies. You can be a bully but you'll level very slow, show some guts and take on people that might just beat you and you'll reap the rewards! Great way to handle bullying and it makes fighting a lot more fun.
Items and Item Upgrades
There are 4 categories of items. Weapons, Gear Units, Vehicles and Destructives. The Destructives are consumable and you lose one per fight. All items are able to be upgraded and this is very important to the game. Each item can be upgraded 4 times. Below are the levels and their additional stats:
Level 2: +2 Attack / +2 Defense
Level 3: +5 Attack / +5 Defense
Level 4: +9 Attack / +9 Defense
Upgrades cost parts (available through gifting and boss fights at the moment), money and takes time (sometimes up to a day.)
Points of note about upgrading.
1. You upgrade an item not a single item. Meaning upgrade 1 Barrett M-95 you upgrade ALL Barrett M-95's that you own. Adding more later will add more of the same level you own. This comes into play with strategy, if you unlock stronger weapons you can buy one and start upgrading immediately!
2. Upgrading Destructives, the game keeps track even though you use them. Upgrade a glass roof panel to level 3, then use it in a fight, the next glass roof panel that drops for you will be a level 3. You must however have one in inventory to upgrade, so keep your eye out for these drops.
Upgrading items costs parts as I said, these parts become pretty rare so don't upgrade everything, each upgrade takes more parts too, keep that in mind. I personally only upgrade my items (or buy new ones) when there is a substantial increase in stats to be had.
Properties
Properties give your hourly income and this is very important particularly early on. This is what your upkeep is based off of and you are not allowed to have a negative hourly income. If you haven't enough income to cover the upkeep of an item it won't allow you to buy it regardless of the amount of cash on hand or in the vault that you have! Properties are able to be upgraded just as items are. Currency is NOT per country so I suggest not spending many property upgrade parts early on, once you reach Spain you'll be fine cash wise anyways for most items you want to have in your inventory.
Also with upkeep being so critical it's important to unload any items you don't need anymore. Having 15 of an item you upgraded for your Squad and 15 of a new item that replaces it will cost you money per hour you shouldn't be spending!
To be continued.
Last edited: Jul 28, 2010
