One of the more popular mods for Counter-Strike is Zombie Escape. It’s a zombie survival mod with the main goal of, you guessed it, surviving a zombie invasion. Below we will outline the game mod and some tips for those daring enough to face off against some brain eaters.
- The first step will be finding a Zombie Escape server. Zombie escape servers start with ze_. Again, a tic rate of 100+ is optimal when looking for the right server.
- In zombie escape, there are two teams. The Counter-Terrorists are relabeled Humans. The Terrorists are relabeled Zombies. At the beginning of the round, at least one Mother Zombie is selected.
- Humans have approximately 10 seconds at the beginning of the round to buy weapons and equipment. After this time, the Mother Zombies are chosen and the round begins. The Mother Zombies are automatically put on the Terrorist side while the Humans remain on the Counter-Terrorist side.
- All players selected as Mother Zombies are restricted to only using a knife (also known as the zombie_claws_of_death).
- Each Zombie Escape server has its own settings. These generally are the Zombie Mother’s health, speed, whether bunnyhop is accessible, and the type of weapons/grenades available to the Humans.
- The main objective of Zombie Escape for the Humans is to survive and outlast the round timer and Zombie invasion. Humans may also win the round by eliminating all Zombies or on some maps by escaping (such as via a helicopter). For the Zombie Mothers and subsequent Zombies the objective is to infect all the Humans before the round timer ends or they escape.
- Team coordination plays a paramount role in Zombie Escape. Other skills include being able to aim accurately (especially landing headshots), having experience of the Zombies and the equipment for the Humans, and especially knowing the map layouts.
- For Humans, there are two types of play styles. Those who look to cover or defend, and those who just attempt to escape. For those who look to cover and defend, saving as much players until late game is the goal. These are often the hardest working and most experienced players. Those who attempt to just escape are often rather uncoordinated and typically are just looking out for themselves.
- An often used ploy by the Humans is creating barricades. This involves knowing key parts of the map and where access from the Zombies may be limited. Most times, this involves finding a room with limited access points and then using various props (couches, vending machines, boxes, etc) to barricade these access points with as many players inside the room as possible. While this technique when used properly and coordinated well among players can be highly successful, it also can be quite lethal. If the barricade is destroyed or just one player in the room becomes infected, the entire room will most likely fall victim to the Zombies.
- Unlike traditional Counter-Strike maps and play styles, assault rifles are not the most desired. Instead, weapons with a high firing rate and large ammo capacity are favored. Below are some of the primary weapons seen in Zombie Escape
- P90 – The P90 is one of the most used weapons in the game. It’s relatively cheap and provides a high firing rate. It is great for knocking back Zombies and holding down positions (such as barricades).
- TMP – It has no run penalty, a fast reload time, and a fast firing rate. It is an ideal weapon for providing cover fire as well as running at long distances.
- MP5 – The same principles from the TMP apply, but it provides better accuracy at longer ranges.
- M249 – This is one of the slowest weapons in the game but provides excellent ammo reserves. Skilled players will gravitate towards this weapon.
- Leone12 – This is the default shotgun most players look to get. It has great knockback and a fast reload time.
- As a human and a zombie, you want to run with either your pistols or knife out. Also, spamming your strafe buttons while holding down W (the A and D keys) will theoretically let you run faster (this increased your velocity by 10, maxing your run speed at 260). Also attempt to aim your cursor directionally towards the right when running alongside walls (see the picture below).
