The information in this guide is specific to the zombie survival game Infestation: Survivor Stories.  It may or may not be applicable to other games and/or real life.  Use at your own risk.

Zombie 101

To become an expert at zombie eradication you need to understand the enemy:

• zombies have poor vision
• zombies have poor hearing
• zombies have good smell
• zombies often lie down
• zombies don’t move a lot
• zombies don’t move very fast
• zombies are bad at climbing
• zombies are stupid

Exploit or counter all of the above to dominate the zombie infestation.

Engage on your terms

The best way to eradicate zombies is to only fight the battles you are likely to win.  The best way to do this is to engage zombies on terms of your choosing.

Always remember that your character looks forward.  If you walk backward you can’t see where you are going.  There could be zombies there.  You could draw their attention (aggro) and be attacked from behind with little or no warning.  Don’t walk backward (or even sideways) unless you are sure the area is safe.

If you sprint you make more noise.  Zombies will be able to hear you from further away — a lot further away.  You will get more zombie aggro.  Sprinting through a town/city with lots of buildings and blind corners is very, very dangerous and can quickly result in a horde of zombies on your trail for precisely this reason.  Sprinting also gives you less time to notice possible zombies lying on the ground in front of (or near) you and thus less opportunity to steer clear of them.  You may awaken these zombies and draw their aggro.  Avoid sprinting unless you have good visibility of the entire area that you are in and/or plan on sprinting through.

Until you are proficient in melee (hand-to-hand) combat against zombies the best thing to do is approach from a safe area with good visibility and pick them off one at a time.

Be prepared

If you haven’t already:  Press I to bring up your inventory. Drag a melee weapon into slot 2 of your inventory to equip it. Hit ESC go go back to first-/third-person view. Press 2 to select the weapon in slot 2. It will glow blue.  Your melee weapon is now equipped, selected and ready to be used.

The first kill

Find a zombie by itself (not very close to other zombies). Inch closer until it detects you and starts heading towards you. Back off a little. This process is known as ‘pulling’.

Always pull zombies towards areas that you know are clear of other zombies.  Pulling is safer because once you and the zombie start swinging, you minimise the chance that the noise of combat will aggro any more zombies.  These additional zombies (adds) can quickly overwhelm you if you’re not expecting them and not proficient enough to deal with them.

Place your crosshairs in (aim at) the middle of the zombie’s head.  The only way to kill a zombie is by hitting it in the head.  Press and hold the left mouse button.  Your character will keep attacking with their weapon until you release the button — there is no need to click repeatedly like a crazy person.

You will notice that every time you hit the zombie there will be a splash of blood and the zombie may lurch, often violently, in some direction. There is no need to track the head when it does this. The zombie will regain its composure and their head will return to where it was before. If you haven’t moved the mouse and are still holding down the left mouse button, you will hit them again, and again, and again.

After enough head shots the zombie will go down.

Avoiding damage

Every time you hit the zombie you interrupt its attack. Thus if you keep hitting the zombie, they will never be able to hit you. If you miss the zombie, they will probably complete their attack and might actually do some damage.

Keep this in mind, as what it means is that body shots, although they wont kill a zombie, will stop that zombie from hurting you. Head shots, while they will kill a zombie, have a much higher chance of missing and, as a result, you might get hurt.

If a zombie gets the jump on you (surprise attacks you) you are much better off aiming for the body to start with (to interrupt their attacks) before moving your focus to the head. This minimises the chance of damage.

If you don’t care about being hit every-so-often, and want to take down zombies as fast as possible, always aim for the head. Just make sure you have medical supplies as it is inevitable that you will be hit and take damage if you do this.

Armour

It takes 5 hits from a zombie to kill you with no body armour on.  With Light Gear Forest, MTV Forest or IBA Sand on it takes 6 hits.  With Custom Guerilla it takes 7 hits.

Helmets (oddly enough) make no difference because zombies aim for the body, not the head.  Presumably they beat you to death with their arms then remove your helmet and eat your brain.

Wear body armour if you can — it helps.

Rifles and pistols

Shooting zombies is a waste of ammunition. The supply of zombies is infinite, but your ammo supply is very, very limited. You are far better off saving the bullets for players and learning how to kill zombies quickly and efficiently with a melee weapon.

If you are intent on wasting precious ammo, realise that one shot to the head, from any firearm, will kill a zombie.  That means there is absolutely no point wasting an M107 .50 sniper round on a zombie.  You may as well grab a Kruger .22 rifle or pistol and get the job done just as well.  It is much easier to find .22 guns and ammo than it is sniper guns and ammo (and besides, .22s do virtually nothing against armoured players so it’s not like you are going to use them in PvP).

Also realise that guns make (sometimes a lot) more noise than melee weapons and thus may draw unwanted zombie aggro.  Fire an M107 inside of Boulder or the Airport and you’ll soon see what a zombie horde looks like.  If you open fire on zombies, expect the consequences.  To avoid attracting a horde you are strongly advised to put a silencer on your firearm.

Best anti-zombie firearm/setup for stealthy eradication of zombies:  Kruger .22 rifle/pistol with silencer and scope.

Melee weapons

The best melee weapons for killing zombies are the katana, machete and hatchet.  They all take only 2 head shots to kill a zombie. Pretty much every other weapon takes about 3 head shots. If possible, avoid using a flashlight, nail gun or a regular baseball bat as they take 4 or more head shots.

Contrary to expectations, all melee weapons have the same range: 1m.  You are no safer taking on a zombie with a canoe paddle than you are brass knuckles.

Note that the game implements different ‘hit boxes’ for different weapons, meaning that they don’t all work the same way. For some weapons you need to aim a little higher (like at the forehead/scalp of the zombie), for some aiming at the right or left ear might be best. Trial and error on your part will let you discover what the most effective aiming spot is for your character/view/view side/camera angle/weapon.