Guides:So you've decided to become a zombie

So you've decided to swell the ranks of the undead huh? This certainly is an interesting career move, and one which poses many problems and dilemmas. After all, it's a zombie-eat-human-shoot-zombie world out there in Malton, and you want to get to the top of the pile as quickly as possible. So what's the best way to do this?

Go it alone, or be a team player?

A certain children's TV character once said "It's not easy bein' green", and that's especially true when the green bit just happens to be your brain. The basic key to getting stronger is racking up experience points, and when you're a baby zombie the only way to do this is to attack and kill survivors.

And there's your first problem - how do you find your targets? Many zombies in Malton are feral, just living the outdoors life by wandering around town on the off-chance that they'll stumble across a foolish human sleeping in the street after failing to ration their Action Points properly. You may have a limited amount of success doing this, especially if you're in a relatively safe suburb and the locals are living in a false sense of security, but this is unlikely. If you happen to come across a building that is only loosely barricaded, you could try knocking on the door a few times but unless you have the required skills, you'll quickly find out this is a complete waste of time. Living (or rather un-living) this way will just mean slow progress and one bored and hungry zombie.

If you want to find plenty of juicy targets, you need to join one of Malton's zombie groups (or at least tag along). These groups rarely stay in one place, roving from one suburb to another, tearing down the local defences, gorging themselves on the yumminess inside, then moving on to redder pastures. Some groups actively help baby zombies to grow by entering newly-opened buildings, attacking the survivors inside until they're almost dead, then dragging them out into the street for the young'uns outside to finish off. After all, a kill equals 10 XP, and getting fresh meat delivered to you allows you to quickly rack up these points with minimal effort.

Zombie skills - u haz dem

So you've been feasting away on the locals, you've made a few kills and your zombie has reached the 100-XP milestone. Now you're left with a happy dilemma - what fruit to pick first from the tree of skills? Some of the skills available are absolutely vital for turning you into a lean green killing machine, others are good for helping you help others, while others are just plain fun.

Happy feet

One obvious disadvantage faced by new zombies is their lack of mobility - it takes twice as much effort for them to move from block to block compared to survivors and older zombies. Therefore, when it comes to selecting your first skill, Lurching Gait is an absolute must. After all, if your horde is moving to a new suburb, you need to keep up with them to gain the maximum benefits.

Summary

1. Lurching Gait
2. Ankle Grab
3. Vigour Mortis
4. Death Grip
5. Rend Flesh
6. Tangling Grasp
7. Scent Fear
8. Scent Blood
9. Neck Lurch
10. Digestion
11. Infectious Bite
12. Memories of Life
13. Feeding Drag
14. Feeding Groan
15. Ransack
16. Scent Trail
17. Scent Death
18. Death Rattle
19. Flailing Gesture
20. Brain Rot
21. Flesh Rot