Zombie Dead End City (colloquially known as ZDC) is an event game mode that began to act as an alternative to Zombie Battle Royales (ZBRs) since Halloween 2021. It is similarly an annual occurrence for Halloween and Christmas (but yet to be seen for Easter). It acts as a parody mode to ZBRs as well as the Death Match Royale mode found in Dead End City.
Rules[]
- No natural health regeneration
- Duo partners are available from lobby
- Special abilities are present to select from lobby
- Players join match with a Shotgun and 35 spare shells
- Upon initiation of a match, 2 mins are given for players to join and loot—joining is not possible in the last 30 secs
- Players are given a further minute to gather at the tank, during which time gas will fill the map outside of the designated circle
- Walk next to the tank to escort it along one of five predetermined routes—15m 10s is provided to complete the escort in addition to previous times
- Players may not leave the tank unattended for 2 mins at one time
- Players can collect rewards every 600m the tank has been escorted
Players have a total of 18m 10s to escort a tank under the directive of helping to deliver presents/candy (depending on the holiday period) to the "poor residents of Dead City". Both the map and enemies are themed to the relevant holiday period, unlike ZBR which only themes enemies. This has been the standard ZDC setup since its second iteration: Christmas of 2021. It is essentially a mix of Vehicle Escort found in Classic with the Death Match Royale of Dead End City, but the addition of special abilities and no natural respawning.
Routes[]
Players begin a match with one of five predetermined routes awaiting them. These routes are the same regardless of the holiday period. Depending on the route length, users may come across more or less enemies and reward drops. These lengths vary by over 1000m. Most routes can be told apart simply by the starting position of the tank; however two routes share the same starting position: Route B and Route E. Users cannot tell Routes B and E apart until the tank is escorted to the first turn—turning left will result in Route B while turning right will result in the longest Route E.
Mechanics[]
Enemy Count[]
The enemy count varies slightly between the Halloween and Christmas versions of the mode.
The total number of monsters depends on two factors: the number of living players and the current combat phase of the round. The number of combat phases may differ depending on the route. Combat phases change roughly every 600m. The phases are as follows:
- Looting Phase: Before 50m pushed
- Combat Phase 1: 50m to 600m
- Combat Phase 2: 600m to 1200m
- Combat Phase 3: 1200m to 1800m
- Combat Phase 4: 1800m to 2400m
- Combat Phase 5: 2400m to 3000m
- Combat Phase 6: 3000m to 3600m
Of the five routes, three only go as far as Phase 4. Route D will enter Phase 5, but only for a brief period of time (180m of pushing). Route E is the only route to properly explore Phase 5 and will go a decent way through Phase 6. During the Looting Phase there will only be two enemies which will increase per extra player that joins—up to a maximum of five enemies alive at once. This means that four players will max out the enemy count to five.
Once the tank is pushed 50m, Phase 1 begins and the enemy count is determined by the formula:
With one player the enemy count will start at 10. For every extra player, and additional five enemies are added to the enemy cap until a maximum of 25 is reached (four living players).
Note that the maximum number of enemies relies upon the number of living players. Players that die or spectate do not count towards the enemy count. Additionally, the only thing that changes upon a player's death is the maximum number of enemies for spawning. If there are more enemies alive than the spawn cap, they will not be despawned to match the new max. The lowered spawn cap only affects the number of enemies that respawn from that point on.
In Phase 3 there is a permanent increase of an additional five enemies regardless of the player count, resulting in only three players needed now to reach the maximum possible enemies. This means enemy caps of 15, 20, and 25 for one, two, and three living players respectively. Phase 5 brings another permanent enemy increase that mirrors the Looting Phase: two enemies with an additional enemy per extra player present up to a total of five enemies. This means enemy caps of 17, 23, and 25 for one, two, and three living players.
Enemy Spread — Halloween[]
Enemies have an even distribution in Halloween. As there are five unique monsters, the number of each particular monster can be found by dividing the spawn cap by 5. For 10 enemies there are two of each monster, for 15 there are three of each, and so on. When the enemy cap is not divisible by 5, enemies spawn from a predetermined order: a Skeleton and Goblin take the first two slots followed by, Witch, Vampire, and finally Frankenstein to complete the set of 5. These enemies may be swapped out for others such as in 2023 where Skeletons were Pumpkin Heads and Goblins were Chainsaws.
Enemy Spread — Christmas[]
As opposed to Halloween, the Christmas holiday period includes logic to specify the spread of enemies. These work in waves. All enemies will be available to spawn from the start of the round. Every 600m the server will forcefully kill every enemy (this will result in no item drops) and the next wave will be spawned in. Note that the Gingerbread enemy can still be present in the next wave for a short while because of its clone ability; when the server kills it at a larger stage, the gingerbread will break down into its smaller copies.
The distribution of enemies are:
- 0m — all enemies
- 600m — everything except Gingerbread spawns
- 1200m — only Snowman and Nutcracker spawns
- 1800m — Gingerbread only, rare Elf or Yeti
- 2400m — Snowman and Nutcracker spawns are reintroduced among the high Gingerbread spawns
Most players struggle at the 1800m mark where there are almost always only Gingerbread spawns. Routes D and E both introduce the harder stretch past 2400m with the addition of knockback to worry about. Players should aim to work with others, make good use of abilities, and work around the enemy AI by running circles around them. Focusing on one half of the Gingerbreads at a time reduces the chance of being swarmed. As the large splits to two mediums, kill one medium and then its small clones before killing the second medium. It is better to have three enemies and quickly dropping to one as opposed to introducing four enemies, even if they will die fast. While this may not matter as much with one Gingerbread, when multiple Gingerbreads are after a player, this becomes very important. In the same line of logic, only one large Gingerbread should be killed at a time, ensuring that the clones are all killed before moving on to the next large one. This reduces the number of attacks a player receives at once. Shooting without thinking in a panic can result in a quick death to a swarm.
Strategy[]
Each ZDC has patterns that players can use from event to event. Some are more general, while others are more specific to the season the event takes place in (Halloween or Christmas). The enemies a player faces can also change what a player needs to do in order to survive. Of the two seasons, the Christmas ZDCs are historically more difficult than the Halloween ones.
The Theory (How to Win)[]
Enemy AI is simple to abuse. Players should run or jump circles around an enemy or group of enemies. Note that if the group gets too large, the circle can be too wide to be effective. This tight circling will confuse the enemies, making them turn to look at the player as they try to catch up or will result in them attacking the air at positions the player has already left. This is particularly helpful for enemies like the Gingerbread where a group can appear out of nowhere from clones.
Making use of the map to put space between players and enemies is also important. Fences are a simple way to quickly lose enemies. Enemies do not like to jump unless a player is actually above them. By jumping over a fence, a majority of enemies will be lost as they get stuck running in place.
Select a Suitable Ability[]
Players should aim for an ability that matches well with their playstyle and how they plan to cooperate with their team (if not solo). By default, players have the powerful Stealth ability. Grouping up with others and communicating how each person will act will help find strategies to make it through ZDC. This may be players bringing Revive, or supports like Ammo and Aggro Tank. Players may decide to take turns pushing with Stealth active, or perhaps grouping up with Ammo to maintain a perpetual ability effect will be the best course of action. Planning ahead of good communication is key to a player's victory.
Remember that an ability can only be selected at the duo partner lobby screen. Once a player has hit PLAY, there is no more option to change and they will be sent in with the default Stealth or the ability from the round prior (if this is in the same game session).
Choose the Right Starting Conditions[]
In order to win have a consistent grip on each round of ZDC, players will need to keep a few things in mind. First a player should reflect on the round they join:
- Is the current route worth it for the players' skill?
- Is the looting situation at the start good enough?
If a player is new to ZDC and not accustomed to the battle ahead of them, it is recommended that they only play in lobbies with Route A. This can be seen by the starting position of the tank. If the tank is not in the correct spawn position, that player should leave and wait for a new lobby until they find one with Route A. This will ensure they have the shortest amount of time on the field to get used to getting a win. This also removes the number of enemies a player may be exposed to, and in the case of Christmas will mean avoiding the extremely difficult enemy wave from 2400m onward. As a player gets used to the mode and how to handle enemies, opening up to other routes will allow them to improve further and experience some deviations to the mode.
Any player regardless of skill should be wary of the loot they have before starting a run. It is better to leave and start a new round than to potentially waste time trying to scrap together a workable loadout in the struggle awaiting them in their current match. If a match has less then a minute left to loot, a player may want to consider joining a new lobby to have closer to the 2min loot time. If there is a lack of good weapons with ammo, healing, movement through weapons like Rubber Chicken, and backpack, then players may also want to consider swapping to a new server. Though players do not need the perfect loot situation, the less a player starts off with the less chance they have to make it through a match.
Looting along the way is possible, but never ideal. At a minimum, players will want movement to grant them the option to outrun enemies. This needs to be a melee like Rubber Chicken or Chainsaw, or a buildup of Energy Cans. With movement a player can still somewhat safely loot for a suitable weapon. Alternatively, a player with a very powerful weapon situation who is able to blitz through enemies with pure firepower may not need to worry about movement. What a player considers more important may largely depend on the enemies they will encounter, and the ability they selected.
Keep to the Tank[]
There should always be at least one player by the tank at all times. Once the round has properly taken off as the tank is pushed past 50m, every time the tank stops the round comes to a potential halt. As the round progresses and more enemies spawn, the tank stopping means getting swarmed. There are times where this may be beneficial though.
As ZDC has many enemies that make use of knockback through weapons like the RPG, keeping the tank in between players and enemies can reduce the number of hits and the amount of knockback players take. Enemies running up on foot may get caught on the back of the tank, reducing the number of enemies a player has to face at once. This is especially important for solo runs. The occasional enemy will make their way along the side of the tank or jump on top. The number of hits they may get off are low while in this position still.
Where knockback is not a concern, staying on top of the tank also heavily reduces the number of enemies a player will have to worry about. As long as the player does not jump, enemies will be more inclined to run towards the tank without jumping up on top. Some enemies will still jump up occasionally. When this happens, the player should cycle off and onto the tank in a circular pattern to reduce openings to enemy attacks. Done well, a player can avoid any hits from enemies. This is particularly effective in Christmas during Gingerbread waves.
Players will need to be careful on corners where the tank will pause as it turns. This small pause grants an opening for enemies to circle around the tank in bulk and/or jump onto the tank. Players should also be careful during lag spikes that they do not get pushed under the tank, as this will result in a self-destruct once they touch a death zone under the ground.
Don't be Afraid to Abandon the Tank[]
Compared to the above point about keeping to the tank, this may seem confusing and contradictory. The above point is still valid. Players should always be aiming to keep the tank moving as much as possible. This should not be done at a player's detriment though. If a player is getting into a dangerous situation where they will die, they should drop the tank immediately in pursuit of a safe corner to hide and gather themselves. Also relevant to when players may be aiming to get gifts from drops every 600m, taking back the tank will need a good angle of view to quickly take out the swarm safely. This may be through the window of a house. Players carrying Stealth can take it easier from the open streets, while those with Air Strike can hit the tank in one big attack.
There are times where it is smarter to leave the tank to heal up to a safer level. While keeping to the tank is important, players should never be so focused on it that they are too afraid to leave it alone.
ALWAYS Watch the Health Bar[]
Players should aim to be consistently be above 300HP, with a bare minimum of 250HP. Work alongside any partners present in a match to help keep each other at high heath. Failing to keep HP up at regular intervals will result in losing all HP over a small combo attack and losing a run. Knockback can be particularly deadly in stun-locking a player for a fatal combo. Healing while on top of the tank, or in front of it, will allow a player to heal safer thanks to the tank pushing them. The slow running speed is otherwise dangerous if timed wrong.
This is best done with Small Health as the player drops to 300HP or less to try sticking to max HP. As a player reaches 250HP and drops, a Medium Health is going to be heavily preferred unless there is a large opening to use multiple Small Healths (to preserve Medium Healths due to their rarity).
Prioritise Enemy Types[]
Some enemies pose more of a threat than others. Knockback is always the most problematic factor when dealing with enemies. The next biggest threats are normally those that use Fists, as they will attack regularly and deal more damage than those holding a melee weapon. Of these, enemies should be sorted by dangerous aspects such as cloning or high jump. How close an enemy is may at times influence which enemies to focus on first.
In the case of Christmas where Snowmen and Nutcrackers take up all spawns for 600m, players may instead focus on carrying the tank from the front instead of fighting. It is better to get the tank past the 600m as soon as possible rather than to fight the long fight. During this stretch, the regular firing Snowmen are more of a problem and may need to be cleared out in preference of Nutcracker spawns.
History[]
The mode appears to have remained the same since the second appearance during Christmas 2021, acting as a team effort in a PvE environment.
- Halloween, 2021: Antidote ZDC
- Christmas, 2021: The first appearance of the escort variation and the beginning of ZDC replacing ZBR
- Halloween, 2022: Dual release of ZDC and ZBR with the introduction of new special abilities only for events
- Christmas, 2022: Christmas repeat with the new abilities introduced in Halloween
- Halloween, 2023: Goblins and Skeletons were swapped for Chainsaws and Pumpkin Heads
- Christmas, 2023: Balancing updates to the abilities and a now forcefully despawning enemies at key points to remove a cheese strategy
Trivia[]
- In 2021 and 2022, a Christmas ZDC strategy involved allowing the Snowmen and Nutcrackers to stay alive before hitting 1800m. As players reached the dreaded Gingerbread phase of 1800m onwards, the Snowmen and Nutcrackers would form a shield by taking up the max enemy limit. By sticking to the front of the tank and healing regularly from the chip damage, players would force their way through to the end without meeting a single other enemy (unless on a long route with a new enemy max limit). This was patched out as an option in 2023 where the server would forcefully kill every enemy at each wave to ensure that players would experience each wave, even if a player tried to fill the spawn cap.