Template:See Also There are two factions in Zombie Panic: Source; the living, and the undead. The undead are the re-animated corpses of survivors who have perished during their struggle against the zombie horde, and now hunger for the flesh of their former comrades.
Should you find yourself suddenly unable (or lack of need) to breathe, feel pain, or resist eating flesh after a run-in with a zombie, it should become apparent that you have become one. Zombies have one goal; destroying the survivors, which results in the creation of more zombies.
NOTE: All pictures featured in this article were created with the use of Garry's Mod, so images do not reflect actual gameplay.
Knowing Your Abilities[]
Though zombies lack the ability to use firearms, think critically, run, and use complex motor functions, they make up for these lack of ablities with their newly acquired, undead abilities. They should be recognized before waging war on the humans, as they will aid you greatly. These abilities found after death give them some advantages over the living, ultimately levelling the playing field. These abilities include:
Regenerating Health[]
Although zombies no longer have a pulse or functional cells to control their body, for reasons unknown they seem to regenerate somehow, which in turn prolongs their ability to shamble and harass the living. The ability to recover from their wounds allows them to continue attacking over a prolonged period of time, with the zombie seeming unscathed with every encounter regardless of the wounds they had taken from previous battles with the humans. Zombies will regenerate their health after not being damaged for a small amount of time, and then the regenerating process will begin to accelerate greatly.
Zombie Vision[]
While the humans use their flashlights to allow them to see in the dark, zombies are not able to carry these light sources.
Instead, zombies rely on their animalistic vision for hunting prey in the darkness. There are two modes of zombie vision: one of which greatly brightens any nearby light sources to the zombie, and one which illuminates a small radius around the zombie, allowing them to observe things too far from a light source. With zombie vision active, the survivors will be viewed in hues of red, and if infected, green. This will make the humans stand out against dark backdrops, allowing the zombie to spot them easily so it can continue to hunt.
Lunging and Berserk Mode[]
One of the main advantages the humans have over the undead is their speed and agility. While zombies struggle to keep up with fleeing prey, they do hold some reserve power which fuels them to push themselves harder, despite the rigor mortis-gripping the fibers of their body tightly. A lunge at the correct time can allow a zombie to catch up to a survivor any time, but take heed, as this ability has limited uses. Should the zombie's reserve energy be depleted, they will no longer be able to lunge. If a zombie successfully takes down a survivor with all their reserve energy in storage, they can go berserk, which will grant them a massive speed boost for a few seconds when chasing the survivors.
Infecting (Carrier Exclusive)[]
It is a well-known fact that the undead are able to infect the living, as this is how their ranks grow to truly fearful numbers in such a short amount of time. Though most of the time the humans who are attacked will only become zombified and re-animate if they are killed during an attack, there is a chance that a survivor can become infected during a battle against the mighty carrier. The infected survivor will appear in a hue of green to zombies, and the survivor will have approximately 60 seconds before they find themselves struggling to think straight, perform simple functions, and ultimately turn while still living. Survivors who have turned will drop all of their supplies and have a craving for the flesh of their comrades. Allowing an infected survivor in an area can destroy human safe zones as the survivors will suddenly have to deal with the newly infected within their own territory.
Carrier Roar (Carrier Exclusive)[]
One more advantage the survivors have over the infected is their ability to formulate complicated attacks and procedures, something zombies tend to only do if by accident. To make up for this lack of adequate and efficient communication, the Carrier has the ability to reveal his position to the other zombies, which serves as a signal to meet at his location. When the carrier roars, he will don an orange, glowing, aura around his body, which can be seen by all zombies regardless of their position of the map. The Carrier roar will also make all fallen zombies respawn in a position near him while active. The roar will slowly use the reserve energy that is used for lunging when left on.
Stalking[]
When a zombie is faced against their former comrades, one thing that should be noted is that humans have the advantage of ranged attacks, thanks to their guns. Unfortunately for the zombies, they can no longer use any weapons aside from their own claws. To avoid being blown to pieces of necrotic flesh by lead in a vain attempt to kill the survivors, it is much more effective to stalk the survivors from the darkness, lurking in the shadows and staying out of sight until the moment is right. It is recommended to stalk while hiding from a position it would be easy to execute an ambush, such as behind wreckage.
Ambush[]
When humans are faced with the problem of dealing with the undead, their first thoughts may be gather supplies or find a nice place to hold out. Both of these options may be undesired for the zombie horde. However, there is a way to use this craving for weapons and safety against them, and that would be by setting up an ambush position. No human has the time to search every nook and cranny while on the run from their fallen comrades, so it is best to use this to your advantage. If a human makes a careless mistake, it is expected that the price to pay for their mistake would be to surrender their pulse and acquire a taste for the living. Help remind them there is a reason to fear the unknown.
Numbers[]
Though zombies are not as agile, fast, or of equal intelligence as their human counterparts, what they do have that the living fear is numbers. When a human is killed, they join the ranks of the undead, and will hunger for the flesh of the living. Although the humans will be well-armed and have plenty of ammunition, their supplies will begin to dwindle when trying to cope with a long siege of the undead. The zombies may get killed, but they will respawn, and they will continue to respawn until their life counter reaches zero (Survival Mode only). Depleting the life counter however, is no easy task, and the humans cannot hide forever.
Persistence[]
It is common knowledge that zombies have a tendency to get blasted to pieces by their gun-wielding, agile, breathing lunches. A zombie will never survive an encounter against several well-armed human beings, but this is not a big issue, as zombies will continue to respawn either indefinitely, or until their life counter reaches zero (Survival Mode only). Human must fear for their lives, zombies don't have to, and it is what enables them to continue to shamble after their prey, unfazed. No wounds dismay them, and because their only desire is to feast upon the living, no price is too heavy to pay. The humans will never have enough bullets to defend themselves from the endless siege.
Dealing with Barricades[]
What the survivors will often try to do when faced with a mob of undead on the prowl is hole up in a nice, "safe" location. They will barricade the entrances to their safe zone in an attempt to stop the horde. However, these barricades serve as only a minor inconvenience to the relentless horde. Charging a barricade will get a zombie killed if humans are guarding it, there is no way to deny this. However, they will never have enough supplies to deal with the constant barraging of claws on their doors. They will run out of ammunition, medical supplies, and things to use to block the entrances. What the zombies will not run out of, is patience, time, and hunger.