Zombie Fortress

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"Ooohhhh, run, run, I'm coming for you!". Click to listen — The Heavy on being a zombie.

”

Zombie Fortress is a SourceMod plugin and unofficial game mode for Team Fortress 2. There are two opposing teams: the Survivors (RED), and the Zombies (BLU) who wish to eat the Survivors. The Survivors need to complete their objective, which can vary depending on the game mode. When a Survivor is killed, they are converted into a Zombie. When no Survivors remain, the Zombies win.

Survivors and Zombies can only select certain classes. The Survivors can choose the Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Engineer, Medic and Sniper classes. They are armed with regular weapons and several perk choices for improved effectiveness against the Zombies. The Zombies can only choose the Scout, Heavy and Spy classes (which are only equipped with their melee weapons), some special items (such as Bonk and Sandvich), a choice of perks, and the ability to use taunt kills.

Objectives

On most maps the goal is to survive until the timer runs out. On certain maps however, specific objectives also need to be achieved in order for the Survivors to win. Some of these possible objectives are:

• Defense: Where the Survivors have to stop the Zombies from capturing one or two control points while staying alive.
• Capture: Where the Survivors have to capture all points while staying alive.
• Survival: Where Survivors must hold out for a certain amount of time.
• Capture the Flag: Where the Survivors must travel around the level and grab intelligence briefcases from various places in the level and return each case to the center point.

Strategy

• Not all servers use the perk system, the perk tidbits are there for people who play on perk using servers.

Survivor Strategy

• All: Survivors should stick together so that the cluster is more difficult to kill, and, on control point maps, to increase the speed at which points cap. In addition, some Survivor perks affect nearby teammates, letting a cluster receive boosts in attack, defense and Crit-chance.

• Soldier: In the Mod the Soldier is the best ally for a Medic in attacking situations, due to the Heavy being a Zombie-only class. He is also the best class against hordes due to his rockets' explosion radius (especially when he fires a crocket), and his ability to use either the Buff Banner or Battalions Backup to provide either Mini-Crits or a Crit-negating defense boost. In addition, like the Demoman he can increase capture speed using the Pain Train. In Zombie Fortress a Soldier will most likely use the Tantrum perk, the 100% Crits can be useful if dealing with a horde.

• Pyro: The Pyro is highly limited in this mod due to the fact that Flamethrower ammunition is restricted to 125 rather than the usual 200. The Pyro is useful against large hordes due to his airblast and afterburn, however the Pyro uses up 1/5th of his ammo every time he airblasts, so the Pyro has to be selective about how often the ability is used, the Pyro's survivability has increased since the Degreaser and Powerjack have been released. The Pyro is also useful for extinguishing survivors that have been set on fire by Combustible zombies.

• Demoman: The Demoman is the best ally for a Medic in defensive situations due to his ability to lay sticky traps over entrances. A Demoman is also deadly in melee fights, especially if he gets a few heads with his Eyelander. In addition, on cp maps he can help increase the cap speed by using the Pain Train. on cp maps. A Demoman will oft use the Juggernaut perk, it's ability to make the user resistant to explosives allows the Demoman to trick Zombies into attacking him while he stands in a carpet of sticky bombs.

• Engineer: The Engineer is the most defensive class of the Mod but can be useful when attacking by using the Gunslinger. The Engineer's buildings are also changed in the name of balance. The Sentry Gun starts with half ammo and cannot be repaired, the Dispenser is unable to heal or dispense health or ammo but is used as a blockade, while the Teleporter works the same way. The Engineer also cannot upgrade his buildings. An Engineer will often use the sadistic perk, the increased health and critical chance can prove useful when attacked by a horde.

• Medic: The Medic is an extremely useful asset in the Mod. His overheal does not decay, his Syringe Gun and Crusader's Crossbow do not need to be reloaded and his health regenerates. However the Medic should constantly watch his primary ammo so he does not run out and leave himself vulnerable. A Medic will often use the Charismatic Perk to increase his allies threat to the zombies. The Medic can also use The Amputator taunt to heal a group of survivors without the need to use his Medi Gun.

• Sniper: On open maps, the Sniper is extremely useful due to his long range of fire. In smaller maps, however, the Sniper may have to resort to using his Huntsman to deal with close-range threats. His ability to give teammates Mini-Crits by using Jarate and the Sydney Sleeper can come in handy when dealing with hordes. The Sniper's SMG does not need to be reloaded, although care should be taken not to run out of ammo in a critical situation. Snipers using both the Bushwacka and Jarate can defend themselves against most zombies with the Bushwacka's Crit attribute. Using the Razorback while sniping is also a viable option since Spies will most often aim for Snipers.

Zombie Strategy

• Scout: In the mod, the Scout maintains his speed and double jump. The Scout excels at distracting Sentry Guns and ambushing lone Survivors due to the ability to use The Sandman, Bonk! Atomic Punch, and Crit-a-Cola. A Scout in Zombie Fortress will oft use the thieving perk, which can create havoc among survivors in maps with limited ammo packs.

• Heavy: The Heavy in the mod functions much the same as he does in regular gameplay. The Heavy excels at picking off stragglers in a Survivor group and then attacking the bulk of the Survivors using his Showdown taunt kill and the Crits from the K.G.B.. A skilled Heavy player in Zombie Fortress will often use the cocoon perk, once fully evolved the Heavy can kill every class in one hit unless they have extreme overheal from the Sadistic perk.

• Spy: The Spy still remains a large threat in the mod due to retention of his Cloak (the maximum Cloak he can have is 80%) and backstab, but is unable to disguise, unless he uses Your Eternal Reward, which then makes him an extremely deadly, and unexpected, threat to survivors. A Spy in Zombie Fortress will often use the magnetic perk so they can disable Sentry Guns while cloaked with the Cloak and Dagger.

Perks

Perks are special abilities that both Survivors and Zombies can use. They can change health, defense, attack, speed and introduce new gameplay mechanics (some perks stack upon each other when used by several players e.g. inspirational + inspirational = Doubled effect of the radios or Sick+ Sick = More damage done from the piles of vomit).

• Server administrators may disable certain perks (for balance issues or other possible reasons), or may even run Zombie Fortress without perks altogether.

Survivor Perks
Perk	Description
Angelic	Lower gravity at lower health points.
Athletic	Faster speed at all times.
Brothers	+Att +Def and +Ammo/10s from nearby survivors of the same class.
Charismatic	+Att +Def to nearby survivors, permanent +Crit to you.
Cowardly	-Att, when hit you gain a large amount of speed temporarily. Possible glitch prevents backstabs while perk is off cooldown.
Heroic	+Att +Def when outnumbered, +100% Crit when last survivor alive.
Inspirational	Place radio by calling for Medic. Radio adds +Att +Crit -Def for nearby survivors.
Juggernaut	No self or fall damage, -Speed +Att + Def.
Medieval	You are restricted to melee only. +Att +Def.
Relentless	+HP upon killing a zombie.
Resourceful	+Ammo and metal upon killing a zombie.
Sadistic	+Att +Def +Crit +Health (Caps at 500 health) when a survivor dies. Bonuses semi-permanent, go down roughly 1 per minute.
Selfless	Massive damage to nearby zombies upon death, most likely kills all nearby zombies.
Stash	Only placeable when no nearby survivors, place by calling for Medic. After waiting 30s you can pick it up. +Att +Large HP Overheal and full ammo and metal upon pickup.
Stir-crazy	Gives +Att +Def when moving. Greater distance = better bonuses. When you stop moving, bonuses go down.
Survivalist	More HP and +Def when picking up health packs, +Att and more ammo when picking up ammo boxes. Call for Medic to place proximity mine.
Tantrum	When you call for Medic you get 15s of 100% Crit. When it is on cooldown you have -Speed for 30s.
Traitor	You have -100% Crit. Zombies nearby get added Crit. You poison the last survivor, but if lucky he can live through it.
Turtle	+Def -Speed -Att, prevent 4 backstabs.
Wise	Bonuses are permanent. +Att on kill or Assist.
Zenlike	+5hp/s when crouched and not moving.

Zombie Perks
Perk	Description
Alpha	+Def when survivor is killed by you, and up to 4 survivors become your minions and can be summoned at any time to you. Nearby zombies get +perk bonuses and when you are near survivors, the greater the number near you the higher you get +Att and +Crit
Cocoon	When you start evolving by calling for Medic, you get -200Def and -200Speed. This evolves faster the more survivors you are near, and eventually, goes through to have +50Speed +150Att +100Crit.
Combustible	Explode when killed, ignite survivors when hitting them, explosion upon death damage survivors, -Def.
Follower	You spawn on a random Heavy. Temporary +Att
Horrifying	Survivors -Att -Def - Speed when you hit them. -Att when near them as well.
Hunter	Call for Medic to place a spawn mark. If there are survivors near when you spawn, the point is destroyed. +Def +Speed temporarily on spawn.
Leap	Jump incredibly far by calling for Medic. Scouts have higher jump and reduced cooldown. -Att -Def
Magnetic	Disable nearby Sentry Guns and proximity mines.
Marked	You mark a random survivor. Call for Medic to see marked and class. You Mini-Crit the marked survivor but do less damage to non marked.
Rage	When above 80% HP you can activate by calling for Medic to gain +HP +Speed
Roar	Call for Medic to push back nearby survivors in front of you and give them -Def
Sick	Hurl bombs that create patches of vomit that damage survivors in the piles. -Att
Swarming	Instant respawn upon death, -Att -Def +Speed
Theiving	Destroy metal, Ammo, and ÜberCharge on each hit of that survivor.
Toxic	Poison survivors on hit. More hits = more time poisoned. Damage near survivors when not moving. -100%Att.
Vampiric	Leech HP per hit based on damage. Increased HP regen.
Vindictive	+Crit +Def on killing a survivor. Buffs carry when you respawn or change classes.

External links

• Zombie fortress official website
• FPSBanana
• TF2Files