Zombie Death advanced tips: scrap, upgrades and wave 10

To win Zombie Death, spend your scrap on a few strong defenses in the right places instead of many weak ones. Block the ways in with free furniture first, build turrets where the orange spots glow, and upgrade before the big waves. This page uses real numbers from the game to help you plan. New to the game? Read tips for new survivors first.

How to spend your first 150 scrap

You start with 150 scrap. Here are three good starts:

Wave 1 has only 12 slow walkers from two places, so one turret near the busiest side is plenty. Before you spend scrap on barricades, move the free furniture into the gaps. All costs are on barricades, turrets and spike traps.

Free walls first

The six pieces of furniture each have 360 health, which is 50% more than a new barricade. Moving them costs nothing. So:

1. Look at the orange spots in the break.
2. Push a counter, cupboard or table in front of the window or door on that side.
3. Spend scrap only on the gaps the furniture can't cover.

Remember that broken doors and windows stay broken until a new game. A barricade or a piece of furniture is the only way to close them again. See the rest stop.

Upgrade or build more?

Building a new turret costs 75. Upgrading one costs 60 (to level 2) and then 90 (to level 3). Here is what you get:

A level 3 turret does more than twice the damage of a level 1 turret, and reaches further. But two level 1 turrets can guard two different ways in. A good rule: build one turret per side where zombies come in, then upgrade the ones that see the most action. You can have up to 24 things, so space is rarely the problem: scrap is.

Barricades: upgrade the ones the big ones hit

A big one breaks a new barricade with two slams. An upgraded barricade takes 4 slams at level 2, and 6 at level 3. Walkers only do 20 damage a second, so a new barricade is fine against them. Upgrade the barricades on the side where the big ones come in, and leave the rest at level 1.

Spike traps: put them where zombies bunch up

A trap hits every zombie close by each time it goes off, not just one. Put traps:

• just outside a barricade, where zombies stand still to bash it,
• in a doorway where zombies squeeze through,
• in front of a turret, so slowed zombies stay in its range longer.

A level 1 trap needs Fix and refill after 6 uses. From level 2 it sets itself again 4 seconds after its last use, so it keeps working on its own through a long wave.

Keep scrap for Fix and refill

In the later waves, your defenses get hit hard. Keep at least 40 to 60 scrap after building, so you can fix and refill two or three things in the next break. A turret with no bullets does nothing, and fixing it costs only 20.

How to hold big ones

• They come first. The big ones are the first zombies of every wave. Be ready at their side before you press Start next wave.
• Hit them twice over. Have a turret and your pistol both hit them. In wave 9, a big one has 555 health: about 17 pistol hits.
• Make them walk. They are very slow (0.9 metres per second). Walk back as they come, and keep shooting.
• A barricade stops them for a while. While they slam it, your turret keeps shooting.

Where to stand in waves 8 to 10

From wave 3 zombies come in from four places. In the big waves:

• Stand in or near the opening between the two rooms. From there you can reach both rooms quickly.
• Face the side where the big ones come in, and let your turrets watch the other sides.
• Keep an eye on the zombie count at the top left. When it gets low, look for the last few zombies outside.

After the win: how far can you go?

After wave 10 the waves go on forever, and each one has 4 more zombies. Every zombie keeps getting tougher too: by wave 11 a walker needs 7 pistol hits. Upgraded turrets and traps that set themselves again matter more and more. There is no end: see how far you can get. Wave numbers are on the waves page.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

See also

• Barricades, turrets and spike traps: all numbers by level.
• Zombies: speeds, bites and health.
• All 10 waves: what comes in each wave.
• Glossary.
• More action: the Caribbean Corsairs guide.
• Play Zombie Death.

• About Zombie Death
• All game guides