Tips for World War Z World War Z guide, tips
Last update: 08 May 2019
World War Z is a title closely resembling the Left 4 Dead series - a title focusing on close cooperation of 4 people (which is especially important on higher difficulty levels), further enriched by the implementation of the system of the classes. In this chapter you will find a handful of tips that will be useful both for beginners, as well as those more experienced with the title.
- Replenish ammo regularly
- Monitor your surroundings
- Look for new pieces of equipment
- Use a silenced weapon whenever you have the chance
- Shoot accurately
- Save explosives for groups of enemies
- Play as a team
- Assist downed allies
- Watch out for special zombies
- Test all of the classes in the game
- Pick your class depending on the team needs
- Upgrade your weapons
- Remember that you can practice in solo, in offline mode
- Instead of destroying automated turrets, hack them
- Destroy Hazmat special enemies by shooting their heads
- Look for Breaching Charges
- If you lack explosives, shoot at the base of the zombie Swarm
- Do not play on higher difficulty levels unless you are capable of beating them
Replenish ammo regularly
There are numerous enemies to eliminate in World War Z, which can quickly deplete your ammo - if that happens, you will be able to take out some foes with melee attacks, but you should not depend on that if you do not want to receive unnecessary damage. Ammo can be replenished with special boxes - those are located in key locations (when the team needs to defend against a swarm of zombies), you can also stumble upon them while exploring the map.
Monitor your surroundings
You will always have a mini-map at your disposal. There you will find (marked in red) the directions from which the enemies will be approaching you, giving you time to prepare. The locations of your allies can also be checked on the mini-map - they are marked by blue dots.
Look for new pieces of equipment
During every mission you will stumble upon numerous chests with equipment - inside you can find medkits, explosives and new weapons. New weapons can also be found lying in the open. You should keep an eye out for new equipment and change your weapons whenever necessary - for instance when the weapon that you are currently using does not suit your playstyle.
Use a silenced weapon whenever you have the chance
Thanks to silenced weapons (such as the pistol that most classes start with at the beginning of the mission) you will be able to avoid unnecessary encounters with the enemies - enemies cannot hear shots from a silenced weapon and most will die from a single shot to the head. Using "regular" weapons generates a lot of noise that will attract the attention of nearby enemies.
Shoot accurately
Ammo is valuable in the game, especially on the higher difficulty levels, you should not waste ammo unnecessarily on lone enemies. Short, accurate series and focusing on the heads of your foes will allow you to swiftly eliminate your enemies and save a large amount of precious ammo
Save explosives for groups of enemies
During each mission you will at least once run into a Swarm - a huge cluster of zombies, often reaching thousands of enemies. You should save explosives for encounters with Swarms (you will often find containers used to replenish explosives in locations where the Swarm appears) - each of those will allow you to take out multiple enemies at the same time.
Explosives are also extremely effective when used in closed spaces - tunnels or interiors of buildings. One accurate grenade, C4 or a Molotov Cocktail is enough to eliminate a dozen of enemies.
Play as a team
World War Z is a title requiring close cooperation of all 4 members of the team. You will not be able to act on your own, far away from your companions - you will either run out of ammo, be surrounded by a huge group of regular zombies or caught by a special enemy (Creeper or Bull), requiring assistance of an ally. Move in a group to quickly and effectively take out enemies.
Assist downed allies
Once the health points of an ally drop to 0, his/her character will be knocked down. Other teammates will be able to approach the fallen one and "revive" him/her. The time to resuscitate an ally is limited, as well as the number of times this can be done before the character dies permanently - this decreases as the difficulty level goes up (on Instane the character dies after one knockdown).
Watch out for special zombies
There are several special enemies in the game, severely differing from regular zombies. At the moment those are:
- Reaper - the enemy is moving on all fours and pounces on the player if he/she is close enough. His attack knocks down the target - the enemy will be constantly dealing damage and you will need assistance of an ally to escape his clutches.
- Bull - a heavily armored enemy that charges at the player, catches him/her and pounds the character into the ground. The enemy will repeat the process until the player is dead. Ally assistance is required to escape the hold of the enemy. The foe is fully armored - the only weak spots are his back and the head.
- Hazmat - the most often encountered special enemy that can be easily distinguished by the yellow hazmat suit. Killing that foe releases a cloud of toxic gas, dealing damage to players inside of it. If the enemy dies from a headshot, the cloud will not appear.
- Screamer - a peculiar enemy, as his only task is to scream. The scream attracts the attention of all nearby enemies - quick elimination of the foe is crucial to prevent him from attracting a horde of zombies to your location.
Test all of the classes in the game
Each player can choose from several character classes, each one differing from one another. You can find classes focusing on dealing damage with firearms or melee attacks, one that is especially effective at crowd control, as well as two support classes that focus on keeping the team supplied or alive. You should test out all of the classes and pick the one that is best for your playstyle.
Pick your class depending on the team needs
World War Z is a game requiring close cooperation of all of the party members, which also manifests in the character classes. If the team lacks a damage dealing class do not select a medic/fixer and if the rest of the team focuses on dealing damage you should consider choosing a support class. This can severely affect the chances of successful mission completion.
Note - the amount of kills you make during a mission have no impact on the amount of experience points you receive at the end.
Upgrade your weapons
Each weapon in the game can be further upgraded. This is done simply through using a specific firearm - killing enemies with it gives the weapon experience points. Once the weapon levels up, you will be able to select a modification for the firearm - increasing the accuracy, handling, the amount of bullets in a magazine or damage dealt.
Remember that you can practice in solo, in offline mode
Even though World War Z is an online game, you can play freely in offline mode, with the help of AI-controlled bots - it was thoroughly described in the "Can you play World War Z offline" chapter of this guide. Offline mode is a good method of learning the game - the bots will not rush you and you will be able to take your time. What is more, bots are effective up to the Hard difficulty level, making this a good leveling method up to level 15-20.
Instead of destroying automated turrets, hack them
During certain missions you will run into hostile automated turrets that will fire at anything in sight - both undead and alive. You can destroy those turrets, but you can also approach them from behind and hack them. The latter will allow you to take control over the turret and use it against zombies.
Destroy Hazmat special enemies by shooting their heads
Normally, killing a Hazmat special zombie will cause it to release a poisonous cloud, dealing continuous damage to you and your allies. You can prevent this from happening by killing the zombie with a headshot - this way the enemy will not release the deadly gas cloud.
Look for Breaching Charges
Breaching Charges are special items that can be found in the game - the Fixer class and the Hellraiser class can start with them with the help with appropriate perks (more in chapters devoted to those classes). Breaching Charges can be used to open normally locked passages and entrances, behind which you will find valuable items and high-tier weapons, giving you an edge against zombies.
If you lack explosives, shoot at the base of the zombie Swarm
Zombie Swarms appear in critical moments during missions, in most cases when you need to defend a point. They will try to climb up to a specific point, creating a pyramid-like construction. If you lack explosives, you can kill the zombies located at the base of the pyramid, causing the whole "structure" to collapse, giving you some breathing space.
Do not play on higher difficulty levels unless you are capable of beating them
The game gives access to 5 difficulty levels - Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard and Insane. Higher difficulty levels offer better rewards - more experience and Supplies - but also makes the game significantly more difficult. Do not play on higher difficulties (especially Very Hard and Insane) unless you are experienced with the game and have a properly developed character - otherwise you will waste both yours and your allies' time.