Zombicidal

What if you don’t want to just survive? If you want to become a zombicidal superstar, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ll cover some of the more difficult achievements. Visit the Steam status site to see a list of all achievements and their rates of completion among Steam players.

Many achievements below state that you should kick AI Survivors, if any. Use the kick [character] console command. Explain! ▼

Index

AKIMBO ASSASSIN
BACK 2 HELP
CR0WND
GROUND COVER
MAN VS TANK
NOTHING SPECIAL
SAFETY FIRST
SPINAL TAP
STOMACH UPSET
UNBREAKABLE
UNTOUCHABLES
WITCH HUNTER
ZOMBICIDAL MANIAC/WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PROVE?
ZOMBIE GENOCIDEST

• The only guns you may fire are pistols!
• You may NOT use the Gatling gun.
• You MAY use explosives.

The best strategy for this is to avoid picking up any primary weapons. You never know when you’ll accidentally select the weapon and fire it. Of course, you should pick up a second pistol as soon as possible.

This one is very simple. When you get to a safe room, incapacitate someone outside it manually—preferably, someone who is already bleeding out. Then, the person going for the achievement should go to the back of the safe room and then come back out and revive the downed teammate. Then, all teammates should go inside and close the door.

Staring down a Witch can be one of the most harrowing parts of the game, but we highly recommend that you practice proper cr0wning technique. To do it properly, you should use a shotgun. The automatic shotgun is preferable because you will be able to pump a couple more shells into her for good measure, but this can be done with either in theory. We recommend doing this on the easier difficulties first, since she can kill you in one hit on Expert regardless of your health.

First, the Witch should be completely undisturbed. With the shotgun in hand and flashlight off, run up either behind or to the side of her so you are right up against her. She will turn to look at you and will start standing up. As soon as she is about a third of the way on her feet, blast her straight in the face. She should die in a single shot.

Some guides say that you do not have to target the Witch’s head; that, instead, a body blast is preferable. In terms of this achievement, that is true. You can sometimes achieve CR0WND with a shot that is not directly targeted at the head. However, when it comes to cr0wning in general, this is not true. Shooting for the body will kill the Witch in the easier difficulties, but you must aim for the head in Advanced and Expert to ensure a single-shot kill. Why? ▼

After achieving this, we recommend you still practice proper cr0wning whenever possible, so you can deal with Witches in Expert.^Top
((PIC/VIDEO?)) -David Li 2/6/09 12:50 PM

• Kill a Hunter, Smoker, or Tank attacking a Survivor while you are incapacitated.

This one is simple in principle. You just have to wait for the right chance. Once you’re incapacitated, you must score the killing shot on a Hunter, Smoker, or Tank that is attacking a friendly player. Aim for the head with your pistols. Even though your accuracy is low, if you can get a couple headshots, you can kill the Special Infected. If it’s a Hunter or a Smoker, it must be disabling a Survivor at its time of death.^Top

• Be the only one to do damage to kill a Tank.
• Any living computer players will mess this up.

There are two easy ways to do this. All living characters must be human players, and you should pick a single person to try for the achievement at a time. If you’re playing with computers, you can kick them. Once the Tank is down, just add them again. If you’re on the XB360, you can change it to Expert mode very quickly and kill your teammates (as in this video).

Burn the Tank to death

No shots should be fired in this case. The chosen one should light the Tank with a Molotov or gas tank and then all human players should run away. After 30-40 seconds, the Tank will die. This can even be done on Expert difficulty.

Spam the Tank on Easy difficulty

The chosen player should have an automatic shotgun. As soon as the Tank is detected, non-chosen players should try to kill all Common Infected nearby. The chosen player will start spamming pistols to get the Tank’s attention. Take advantage of difficult spots for the Tank to access, like balconies or small openings. Then, he should backtrack and blast the tank as soon as it gets near. This is why it is essential to clear out all nearby Common Infected, so this player is not slowed. Other players should not assist, even if the player is about to die. Sometimes players will finish the Tank off with pistols while on the ground.^Top

• Only direct damage from Hunters, Boomers, Smokers, and Tanks counts. The Tank rock attack counts.
• Interestingly, damage from Witches DOES NOT count.
• Boomer bile doesn’t count, even if Common Infected summoned by the bile hit you.
• The Smoker’s tongue only does damage once you get stuck on something.
• Using Full Captions (in Audio Settings) is very helpful.

This should be done on Easy, and you should know that this is unequivocally the most annoying achievement. You should avoid combining this with SAFETY FIRST or AKIMBO ASSASSIN, though you could try doing both this and SAFETY FIRST and abandon whichever one is failed first. You can easily combine this with STOMACH UPSET. We recommend Death Toll for this achievement.

The basic strategy one should follow is to move through the level relatively quickly, to minimize the number of random AID spawns. Don’t move so quickly that you lose control over the situation and get separated. When going for this achievement, the Common Infected are nothing more than distractions. Make sure that you always have at least one person watching out for Special Infected during swarms. When a Special Infected is spotted, other players should be warned immediately, and all players should stop and try to kill the Special Infected.

The most dangerous Special Infected here are actually Hunters, because of their leaps and melee tendencies. You must make sure no Hunter even has a chance to get close. Sometimes, even if you bash a Hunter out of his leap, he will still claw right as he’s being bashed, invalidating the achievement. When you hear a Hunter, find a good, high vantage point. Avoid going around tight corners. This will force him to come out in the open and to possibly make either multiple jumps or one very high-arc jump. The most dangerous place to be when you hear a Hunter is somewhere on ground level with limited visibility.

If you have someone carrying a hunting rifle, make it his responsibility to always watch out for Special Infected, even when hordes appear.

In general, the other Infected aren’t a huge problem. Really, the only thing you have to worry about is getting within melee range of them. Avoid windows and anywhere a Special Infected can jump down onto you. We can’t count how many times we’ve been helping friends and a Boomer will jump down right next to them or come up to a window and claw them. Definitely avoid very small choke points like manholes. Even Tanks aren’t a huge problem. In Easy mode, they go down very fast. Just avoid the rocks and avoid getting cornered or slowed by Common Infected.

If you don’t have four human players, you may want to kick the bots. They can be useful because they can see Special Infected that you may not (e.g. in the woods), but they are a huge liability when Tanks appear. We recommend using them throughout the level and kicking them quickly when the Tank appears.^Top

• Don’t shoot your homies.
• Survivor-created fire (Molotovs and gas cans) count towards friendly fire.

This is one of the more difficult ones to get. You should do this on Easy, and you should only do it with players with whom you are familiar. You can also do this with AI players, but you should know that they have a tendency to run in front of you. Here are few things to know and keep in mind:

1. On Easy difficulty, Infected do almost no damage. Don’t worry about protecting teammates, and do not shoot near them under any circumstances. Let them bash and kill Infected that are at melee range. Even Special Infected do very little damage. If your friends get pounced, you should all run up and bash the Hunter. Nobody should shoot, in case someone steps in the way. If a Smoker grabs someone, you can bash the tongue off or fire at the Smoker if you can see him. Bash the Smoker if he’s too close to the Survivor.
2. In some cases, if you shoot and hit Infected but also hit a teammate with the same shot, it does not count as friendly fire. Even if a character complains of friendly fire, it does not mean you have failed. Receiving the “Do not shoot friendly players” warning is a sign of failure, however. Once this is received by a player, you should abandon the achievement and perhaps restart.
3. AI players will almost never commit friendly fire. With #2 kept in mind, this means that you should always assume that no friendly fire has come from AI players, even if you “feel” damage from them.
4. Teamwork and communication are absolutely essential. Don’t assume that other players (including AI) will not cross your line of fire or move unexpectedly while you are firing near them. The single most common reason this achievement is failed is because either you cross into someone’s active line of fire or you are shooting too close to a player and she moves unexpectedly into your fire. Be very, very careful!
5. Your first instinct should always be to melee. When a zombie suddenly comes up on your right, don’t shoot him. Melee him off and shoot only when you are sure no Survivors are in front of you. Bashing him to death is even better.
6. Don’t zoom in with the hunting rifle. Ever.

If you’re playing with only computers, you should start with either Level 1 weapon and stay ahead. Once you get the automatic shotgun, just run-and-gun, so that none of the AI players have a chance to stumble in front of your muzzle. At Crescendos and Finales, get on the Gatling gun. When you come upon special infected (including Tanks), don’t fire at all. Let the AI players take them down. You should also be careful of crossing into AI players’ fire. Remember that they always shoot the Tank for a second or two after he dies, and remember that they will shoot at Hunters who have landed a Survivor.

With human players, you should divide yourselves into rough “quadrants”. One person should be forward on the left, firing forward and left of the direction of movement. Another should be forward on the right, firing the other way. Neither player should shoot outside of their “quadrant”. The two behind should watch the sides and back accordingly. When you get into crowded areas, communication is essential. You should say when you’re moving near someone’s line of fire, and say which way you will fire, etc.^Top

This one is finicky. You should look for Infected that are either sitting on the ground or leaning up against walls. Go up behind them and melee them, aiming for the neck or head. You may have to do it multiple times before you get an instant kill that registers.^Top

To do this, you have to be cautious and keen. Every time you hear a Boomer, you should get away from vulnerable places like corners and exterior building walls. The open is the best place to be. One person should have a hunting rifle, which is excellent against Boomers. If you’re inside a building, close the doors. If a Boomer comes up to the door, shoot the door. It will explode, but should not cover anyone in bile. Anyone with a high-penetration weapon and good directional audio should try to shoot through the walls to blow up the Boomer.

It is essential to control your instincts and be calm. If you find yourself staring at a Boomer, you should shoot him if he’s far enough away. If not, you must shove him at least once before firing. He cannot puke on you while he is reeling, and there is some charging time on his puke when he decides to hurl.

The best campaigns for this are Death Toll and Blood Harvest, because these have the best finale locations for avoiding Boomers. On Death Toll, you may follow my suggestions for “Untouchables”. On Blood Harvest, you should hold out in the red barn. Two people should cover the hole in the roof. The other two should cover the floorless back part of the upstairs. One of these players should climb out as far as possible on the boards and shoot into the main part of the barn (towards the house). The other should be opposite this person, covering the walls that will break once Infected attack.get a picture of this^Top

• You must never be healed by a first aid kit.
• You may take pain pills to your heart’s content.
• AI Players will cause you to fail if you fall below 40 HP.

This should be done on Easy, and can be easily combined with “Akimbo Assassin” or “Nothing Special”. In order to get this achievement, you must never be healed by anyone, but you may take pain pills. For this reason, if you can’t get a full human team, you should kick all computer players after you drop below 40 HP, since they will automatically heal you. You can kick the bots to prevent this.

This person should be the middle Survivor in the formation, and should try to avoid all damage (obviously). She should stay far away when the Tank spawns.^Top

((MAYBE MAKE A PICTURE?)) -David Li 2/6/09 12:50 PM

• You must not be hit by anything after calling for rescue. This includes friendly fire, even on Easy difficulty.
• You can start the campaign from the Finale chapter to get this achievement.

This one will not seem as daunting once you have some practice with the game. You must not be hit by anything after calling for rescue. This includes friendly fire, even in Easy. We recommend doing Death Toll on Easy for this one. Strat, pl0x! ▼

^Top

To do this, all Survivors must avoid taking damage from a startled Witch. This is, of course, easy if someone in the team can cr0wn her. If nobody can, then you can handle her in many ways found in the Witch section of the guide. Here are some examples:

1. Burn the Witch! One person should light her with a Molotov and then run away quickly. The others should crouch near the Witch’s path—without blocking it—and spray her to attempt to kill her. Even if you can’t, she’ll be slowed and will die after 15 seconds.
2. If you’re near a precipice (e.g. on a rooftop), one Survivor should startle the Witch and then slide off to start dangling. Nobody else should fire on the Witch. She will disengage and flee. Then, rescue the hanging Survivor.

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Beat Expert campaigns, possibly using this guide. Note that you can still “survive” a campaign if you die during the campaign. However, you must not die after calling for rescue, and you must not be incapacitated when the game ends. The game ends as soon as all living, non-incapacitated Survivors are on the rescue vehicle. Note that you will not “survive” if you are on the rescue vehicle but are incapacitated. Also, unlike chapter endings, the campaign will end even if Infected are aboard the vehicle.

You should also note that when joining a game for this achievement, you should begin within the Lobby. If you join partway through the campaign, you might not earn the achievement even if you restart the campaign through a vote.^Top

Play. A lot.^Top