Zombies are hostile entities found in almost all known locations in all of the Unturned maps, being the main threat the player faces in the game. Zombies are drawn to motion and sound. This can be observed when players or thrown objects (Grenades, Flares or Smokes) are in their range of vision, or after shooting, without any zombies actually seeing you. Zombies will only attack Vehicles, Barricades and Structures if they cannot find a way around them. An exception is when it is a Full Moon.
Early in the game, zombies may prove to be very difficult for the player, especially in groups. A player can quickly find themselves overwhelmed if they aren't too careful with how much sound they're creating or visibility they are presenting. Large groups of zombies can prove deadly to even skilled players, so an unsuppressed firearm isn't always a viable option for taking down zombies. Small groups of zombies are relatively easy to take down using a melee weapon, as zombies will briefly become stunned when taking sufficient damage. However, this won't happen in hard mode, and even a handful of zombies can easily overwhelm a poorly equipped player.
Zombie Variants
Zombies have different types of professions, clothing grades, sizes, special abilities and movement styles.
By Profession
- Civilian Zombie
- Police Zombie
- Construction Worker Zombie
- Fisherman Zombie
- Lumberjack Zombie
- Pilot Zombie
- Mechanic Zombie
- Riot Zombie
- Military Zombie
- Rebel Zombie
- Firefighter Zombie
- Medical Zombie
- Farmer Zombie
- Chef Zombie
- Swimsuit Zombie
By Size
- Zombies, the standard zombies, with different movement styles as seen below
- Mega Zombies, a rarer and much larger variant of the Zombie with darker skin and really high health and damage.
- Zombie Bosses, larger zombies with unique abilities spawning only in specific locations on the Russia, Greece and Hawaii maps as part of specific quests.
By Clothing Grades
- Civil Servant Zombies, a type of zombie that spawn near civil service buildings.
- Military Zombies, a type of zombie found in military locations.
- Civilian Zombies, a type of zombie found in civilian locations.
- Military Mega Zombies, a type of mega zombie that spawns in military locations.
- Hazmat Mega Zombies, a type of mega zombie that spawns in Scorpion-7 locations such as Crashed Skycrane, Off Limits and Overturned Ship in Yukon.
- Spec Ops Mega Zombies, a type of mega zombie that only spawns at Silo 22 and at a Horde Beacon.
By special ability
- Flanker Zombie: Added in 3.15.9.0 update. These zombies will try to attack The Player from behind or from either side. While idle they cannot be distinguished from normal zombies, but will cloak when alerted, becoming only visible due to their purple aura. They uncloak briefly to attack.
- Burner Zombie: Added in 3.15.9.0 update. These zombies act like normal zombies, but if they are killed they explode and cause nearby Players to bleed, alongside turning nearby normal zombies into new Burner Zombies. They have increased attack strength compared to normal zombies.
- Acid Zombie: Added in 3.15.10.0 update. When alerted, they will spit neon-blue acid at The Player. When this acid spit hits the ground, it will leave an acid pool that damages Players who step on it. If close enough, they can use melee attacks like any other zombie.
- Radioactive Zombie: Added in 3.15.4.0 update. Any zombie in a Deadzone Node becomes a Radioactive Zombie in addition to their original mutation or lack thereof. Upon death, they explode.
- Spirit Zombie: Added in 3.26.6.0 update. They are aesthetically similar to normal zombies with the exception of being translucent, faceless, and making higher-pitched noises than regular zombies, and are resistant to bullets.
- Dying Light Zombies: Added after the 3.20.3.2 patch in the Dying Light X Unturned crossover event. They are similar to regular zombies except for a slight increase in speed, unique noises as well as different textures. When the in-game time reaches 6:00 PM, they begin to spawn in most locations. These zombies explode in flames once the time changes to 6:00 AM, turning nearby zombies into Burner Zombies.
By Movement Style
- Normal: Normal zombies simply walk towards the player. Their resistances vary on the zombie's clothing. Normal zombies on official maps do 15 points of damage and have one hundred points of health.
- Sprinter: Sprinters stand on all fours, when attracted they charge at the player. A player must run to avoid being attacked by a sprinter. Sprinters do reduced damage and have reduced health, with one power hit or even a normal hit from a strong melee weapon being enough to kill them.
- Crawler: Crawlers were first in Unturned Classic and returned later in 3.0. Crawlers are slower than normal zombies and sprinters, but they can both deal and take more damage than their counterparts before dying, with some even taking up to 2 head shots with most firearms. Also, similar to any zombie during a Full Moon, crawlers inflict Bleeding directly, in addition to normal damage.
Loot Drops
Zombies will have a chance of dropping a random item based on what kind of zombie it is. For example medical zombies may drop medical items, police zombies have a chance of dropping civilian ammunition and police clothing, ranger zombies can drop ranger grade items, and military zombies can drop military grade items. Mega zombies will drop a high amount of uncommon or rare loot upon death, like military firearms, ammunition, and grenades. If the zombie was spawned as part of a horde it won't drop any items upon death.
Any zombie killed by the player, horde or not, will drop experience upon death, the exact amount depending on the game's difficulty. If the zombies are killed using grenades, vehicles, or traps, they can still drop items upon death, if they're not part of a horde, but the player won't get any experience.
Trivia:
- Zombies have a specific area they can navigate, and when they attempt to exit the area, they will stop and turn around
- This is affected by the size of a location's navigation node. Larger locations tend to have larger nodes.
- With a Permanent Gold Upgrade DLC account, the player can resemble a zombie by selecting the Zombie face in the customization options and then changing their skin color.
- During a full moon, a flanker zombie's eyes will glow red even when cloaked.
- The Player can stand on top of zombies, allowing them to walk about on top of a horde. Zombies can still attack players above them, even if the player seems to be out of reach.