Infectonator 3 Tips, Tricks & Strategy

[Cyberdyne]

Share you tips and strategies here.

What stats do you guys focus on first?
I try to balance the stats, so the have the same level (not the mutation stat, i stop at 10%)

But is the balance bad idea, or do you guys focus on one or two stats?

I also save my zombies to upgrade the unique zombies, because they do not need to be crafted.

[Honorable_D]

I just started playing but Speed seems like a really important stat and it is one I have been investing heavily in.

Now that I'm getting further in the game I find that durability is becoming a major issue as my zombies are dying really fast to hazmat/soldier guys. So now I've been bumping that up...

[Ashiaka]

Later, when they everyone is armed. you need to create pocket infections in less crowded areas. Even with full Damage Resistance, creating a zombie, even the tanky ones, in the middle of a group of humans will get it killed instantly. By infecting small rooms and building up a horde, you can actually start winning these frustrating maps.

Also, LIBERAL use of items. When ZITs start appearing, don't be afraid to pop 'em with some mines ;D. You'll be getting enough coins from maps you should be able to aford 1 or 2 of four items to help with map clearing. This means that your naim income for increasing zombie stats comes from quests later, because you'll be spending the coins you get in maps for items.

Also, get the Mummy Special quickly. They're REALLY good.

Those would be my tips in the 4-5 hours I've played, and am currently on the road to victory on my first run I'd say :D

[Cpl. Spellguru]

Quick Q: Does upgrading the classic zombie apply to zombies you get from infection/canister etc?

[Colbat]

If you mutate into special ones, no, if normal zombies come out of it, yes

[henri.hubert]

Something which worked really nice for me was starting in Asia to get the vampiric kiss upgrade, spawn vampires and unlock Alucard. Later on when the maps get bigger kickin' it of with a jar off goo somewhere in the middle (drawing attention) and then blowing my way with mines and grenades, maybe adding the unique fedora zombie (was it Krueger?) to add some speed to my GooZombies. So, quite the different approach to pocket infections. Also the Military Zombie seems to be very strong against the heavily armed ZIT Squad which arrives later, it just blows up in their face and kills them (mines work there too just fine). And yes, liberal use of items seems to be very neccessary.

[Rosinante]

When u start a new Game u need to focus on Infection-Chance > Lifespan > Tempo
Clowns seem to be a decent Starter Zombie as he is giving u free Burgers on the Map.

1. Try to infect as much Countrys as u can (get Infection lvl Up) then move on to the next. This way u will get more Zombies when u let the time run for a day or two, which u can use to Upgrade ur Zombies. Also when the first labs are spawning build ur way towards them.
2. Infection-Chance is priority until u hit about 66% chance
3. then i try to max other stats even except Speed and Mutation Chance two lvls higher.
4. lvl up ur Standard Zombie to lvl 5 as soon as possible (when ur Infection-Chance is getting higher every Human u kill will then spawn at least a lvl 5 standard Zombie)
5. When u start to see heavy armored Humans and ur starting to not roll over with ur Zombies u need to focus on Defense more.
6. Don´t hesitate to use Landmines or Grenades against Humans when they are all crowded in one place trying to shoot ur fresh Zombies down.
7. When u struggle to destroy a Lab, move on to another Country/Map, take a few days off, lvl ur Zombies up. then try again.

Consumables:
Im trying to allways stock my consumables up until i have this much, when u getting more it starts to get expensive.
3 Grenades
3 Landmines
1 Canister
2 Burger
2 Ooze

Also when u need to play 5 consumables for a Quest it is usually worth buying them right away and make the quest as fast as possible, otherwise u loose gold when ur not getting as much quests as possible.

personal favourite Setup:
3xBomber Zombie, Doomon, Disco Zombie(u get it when u beat Justin Beaver in Canada), Krypp

favourite Start:
open all doors if there are any.
use 1 Canister if possible in the middle of the Map wait a few seconds till they start to crowd around you then use 2 Ooze´s on either side where most Humans are, then release doomon, a few Bomber Zombies, Disco Zombie, Krypp and get rdy to mine the ZIT Squad.

[Cyberdyne]

Here is a few tips to unlock some unique zombies:

Doomon: Destory a continent (Tanky Zombie with ranged AOE attack)
Disco Zombie: Defeat Justin Beaver in Canada
Kim Jong-un Zombie: Kill 100 humans in Asia (Explodes on death)
Mummy Zombie: Kill 100 humans in middle east (AOE Slow debuff)
Yeti: Kill 100 humans in the snow (Very tanky)
"Alien" Zombie: Get Jumpscare, Grip and Vomit DNA (Very fast, jumping and acid spitting Zombie)

[Zaxius]

I FINALLY managed a win on my fourth playthrough and here's a basic synopsis of the strategy I utilized.

CURE CONTROL

the first important thing is cure control. in the begining you want to infect as many continents just once as possible (choosing to do a fresh region in the continent you have been away from the longest when a fresh continent is unavailable). This will allow you a decent foothold into items, funds, and zombies before the world opens its first lab.

once a lab is opened you should make whatever attacks are neccessary to open that zone if unavailable and to attack it a couple times to slow the research. dont over do it though or global panic rises too fast. continue your rotation and evolving/upgrading until you feel you can take out a city of over a hundred. when you're well stocked with items (or the world opens a second lab) you need to attack both labs several times and ultimately destroy the first. keep this up as labs occur throughout the game without ever letting two exist for long or even one to hang around without being mitigated with a couple attacks pursuant to your current global panic and ability to deal with it.

eventually you will have destroyed enough regions and infected enough of the globe that labs dont crop up very often and you can enjoy a relatively research free environment in which to spread your plague. Once my upgrades were decent and i had no trouble using items, it was easy to destroy regions with labs within a turn or two from when they appear. especially so if you have defeated the hero of that continent.

ITEMS

I made this second instead of upgrades because I think it's important to highlight having the right items in the right amount can easily make or break a level. I replenish items before looking at upgrades every turn fairly early on in the game (around lvl 2-3 on my chosen upgrades).


Canisters: are great when used in large number or in combination with goo. their area of effect is rather limited but their effect and ability to infect enormous groups simulataneously makes it unique and very useful as an opening when multiple are used for a quest etc.

Goo: this is my go to item especially mid to long term game play. its ability to generate zombies over time can allow you to deploy other items and strategies without fear of missing the timer for all zombies lost in a large city. dropping 2-3 relatively close to one another in the start will allow you handle any mobs aside from ZIT or Hazmat efficiently and effectively while generating a large mob of zombies to spread your infection. The first goo placed ultimately draws npcs in large groups as it begins to turn a few. When this occurs (pretty darn quickly, but give it a moment sometimes for maximum effect) it easy to use a canister or follow up goo just to the side of the first allowing the large mobs of responders to be infected. proper use of goo is a game changer, easily the most effective/critical item in the game. after about a third of the way or so i wasn't even using my virus infection prefering goo or canisters for an opening.

Grenade: solid choice, goes boom, destroys walls, more reliable deployment than landmines. best used on military and hazmats, though any time is a good time for zee ole boom.

Landmines: not bad, random deployement of 3 is kind of nice. I experienced some glitchiness with deployment myself where if i deployed on an occupied square the deployment either didnt occur or did so under environment. while you generate a much larger boom than the grenade and the possibilty of leaving behind a little surprise for the next victim, this instability made the grenade my much prefered choice of explosive. it should be noted when placed directly in front of a unit it can generate an explosion capable of decimating a group of ZIT officers (something that requires 3 grenades if they are undamaged).

Hamburgers: another favorite item and the reason grenades can be chosen over landmines once ZIT has deployed. When dropped on a group a burger tends to negate 2 ZIT officers (though i have observed 3 walk up and take a bite on several occasions). it is best placed directly upon or in front of a pair for maximum effect. on occasion dropping too close to the side or too far in front caused the unit to stop moving and freeze until acted upon by another force (another item or zombies approaching), perhaps that burger appearing out of nowhere isn't as delicious and carefree as it appears, he must ponder. it should also be noted for your strategy a unit actively firing upon zombies will not stop to eat your burger... it's not an ok time for a snack.


UPGRADES

I'm a little different than most in these games (i've played since the first and also played pandemic and a couple other games they drew from for this project).

Infection chance: is king of all, if you ain't spawning zombies you ain't doing $#!@. crank that baby to the top and never look back with regret in your eye. if that plus sign is green youd be hard pressed to wrong in clicking it.

Mutation chance: in my opinion is a close second. these are the two i focus on most heavily throughout my campaign. a mutation allows access to special zombies from normal infections means. in decent percentages i have found it in combination with items and strategy, to be a more than ample replacement for a focus on damage reduction and attack.
as you move along many special zombies come with "friends" and those are also spawned when a zombie mutates, so 1 can become 3.Also, most special zombies are stronger, mitigate more damage, last longer, and often have a useful ability.

Speed: Another important upgrade, if you can't catch em ya can't eat em. I would suggest upgrading this to 3 very early regardless of what other strategies you utilize. In my strategy i upgraded it to 7 directly behind infection/mutation during which time it served me fairly well around the 5-7 area, was critical to get to 3, and around the time it was 9 i had no further need to upgrade it as a priority. It should be noted Freddy (i disrecall his in game name atm) super boosts the speed of your hoard (i believe there is another zombie type with this effect though i am unsure as mutation chance took care of most of my special zombie spawns for me).

Lifespan: this stat is especially important early on when you have fewer humans to infect and a smaller chane of infecting them. how many times have we watched a screen wanting to scream at our zombies to attack the sole survivor only to see them despawn as they Finally notice and reach it. Another important stat to get to 3 and pretty early to 7. by 9 i was clicking it out of habit and i believe i let it rest at 11 until my two priority stats were very close to max (17-18). Once you're infecting bigger cities more effectively this stat rarely comes into play.


Damage Reduction: Ahhh, the art of getting shot in the face and not dying. Whelp, your zombies aren't all that great at that, especially as you transition into the mid and end game special forces which you may inadvertantly unlock far too early to deal with effectively. 3 gets you pretty beefy if you follow the region rotation stategy early on. 5 and 7 come in their time and feel neccessary as they do. I let it rest at 3-5 while beefing up my prefered stats well above. then again at 7-9 (which came at a point when my other stats were very very expensive and i suddenly needed extra support from the ZIT units so i was wellllll into the campaign by then.) i left it at 9 until my other stats (besides attack which waited with it) were maxed.

Attack: So here's the deal on attack. Yes it's nice to increase your damage. However, it doesn't increase it very much. It is still going to take your zombies 3 strikes to fell a civilian until 5-7 something like that. by which time humans have gotten a health boost (likely) or your begining to fight those with higher health. Making this stat 3 is good, but should be done as a last priority. leaving it there until you happen to make it 7-9 is fine. i believe i left it at 7 or so until either max or nearly max on my other stats (aside from defense reduction which waited with it). Fact being if a horde is smacking the target or it is running from one zombie to another, they don't all have to hit like bricks. Mutations and items providing plenty of additional dps.


UNIQUE INFECTED

pretty awesome, freddy and jason grant speed and power respectively to your horde. the flower and the doom demon are amazing, easily the most powerful, lots of good stuff to choose from both early on and as you unlock more and more.



SYNOPSIS

so as you can see, my basic strategy was to spread the infection around early on so as not to generate panic and labs/armed citizens too fast etc. Prioritze creating zombie quantity over zombie quality (relying heavily on mutations and spawns to provide additional quality), Above all else purchase and use those items!!! by around 50-60% of my way through the campaign i was habitually carrying 3-5 of all 4 items i carried with me (start with goo! midway i was 3 grenades, 2-3 canisters, 3-4 burgers, and 3-4 goo. from there prioritizing goo, burgers, and grenades utilizing canisters or landmines as quests required.

from level 3-5 your upgrades can be somewhat prioritized over items but assuredly from then on you should purchase items, priority upgrades, then secondary upgrades if anything is left. pretty early on your goal is to destroy cities rather than fulfill your minimal obligation. items will definitely help you do that. this grants free gold and zombies, allows higher infection with lower panic, and gets you closer to wiping that region right off the ole map. Speaking of which once you have your legs under you and/or need to destroy an unprepped lab fast, you can defeat the continental hero and spread your infection twice as fast for each attack!. They are tough fights though and you should be ready to know you must kill all the occompaning people not just the hero. so even if 1 person is left at the end be ready to have wasted your items/turn/ and need to challenge the hero and full compliment agaim. Though the is vastly worth the benefit.

so just keep some of those things in mind. Especially items and cure control and soon you will be infecting the entire planet. i am on my second play through now and chose to utilize items far earlier along with a deeper focus on my chosen stats instead of proceeding in a test fashion. So far i have been able to fully wipe every city i have infected and my zombies remain largely unnoticed on a global scale so opposition is minimal.

Good luck to you my friend, I hope this helped!!!

[elonashooter]

The strategy I won with was as follows:

If there is a closed area with a fair number of people infect it, otherwise just drop in the middle.
Immediately drop goo on the spot I infected, this causes zombies to keep spawning, even if they get shot down immediately the level will not time out.

Once you get some zombies surviving immediately drop Jason + Kruggy on them to buff the ♥♥♥♥ out of them.

Once ZIT spawns, drop mines on them, may use a grenade or 2 for good measure.

Drop Yeti to finish off ZIT, or wherever needed.

If ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan drop berserker zombies which can move super fast and deal ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of damage if they aren't killed immediately.

Occassionally need to use canisters to keep the level going.

Prior to ZIT spawning, and all civilians being armed they don't matter that much, they do make it harder especially early on, so you probably won't be destroying the first province you attack before moving on.

Once panic maxes out on a continent, a nuke is dropped, randomly destroying one region in the continent. This region CAN include the last surviving region.

After the fifth nuke is dropped, global nuclear war occurs destroying more regions for free.

When world panic hits max, another nuclear war occurs destroying 5 random regions (i.e. probably ending the game).

After you get to a certain point, you can start taking out bosses, you should fight a boss as soon as you can win, because after they die, you infect regions twice as fast on that continent (this means that instead of getting 2 bars on a perfect you get 4). If you do this at exactly 20 infection you can control when the nuke is dropped easily enough and utilize it to do as little work as possible.

When labs open, destroy them asap, don't worry about panic levels going up in the process.

There are a finite number of labs that can spawn, once the last is destroyed you can just cruise through the rest of the game.

Hope this helps.

[Dheran]

Late game I usually started the fight by using Burger 3x on the spot followed by Goo 2x followed by Kruger and Doomon. Then mines at the ZIT.
This usually did net me a horde of zombos with super boosted speed thanks to Kruger and Doomon oneshoted most things from range.

In terms of upgrades I focused on infection rate up to 50% or so and time and speed of zombies first. When switching to mid/late game I started focusing defence instead and maxed it out first.
Goben has 3k defence on highest level this way, highest of all the zombies. Definitely recommend him as tank mid game.

I did not raise mutation chance by a lot (lvl 4 or so by the end of the game), as I got the DNA upgrade mutation chance maxed very fast and it gives much, much bigger bonus than the upgrade.

My special zombies of choice were: Kruger (always), and a tanky one: Jayson changed to Goben changed to Mummy changed to Doomon.
Doomon is OP, it has hard attack with long range, AOE and some swarmlings.

From normal zombies I cannot recommend too much the Clown (from minelaying DNA or US start). It is OP-OP. It lays an infected burger every now and then. Burgers have 3 uses and infect/kill the human touching it. Including ZIT... though they really can't have anything to shoot at to be interested in burger.
Other than this I found useful the small Soldier, Toxic, Vampire, and even the Chubby one, which is a very good early game tanky zombie.
Late game the gremlin goblins (coin grab + swarm) are super awesome, just let them go where there are no humans, preferably next to a car and collect all the monies.

[Rosinante]

indeed love my Doomon

[Rekt Nut]

So... You basically get high infection, get medium or low survive time, you upgrade ur normal zombies as much as possible, don't level up mutation, unlock as much special ones to help, then THE BEST PART: to win you get as much coins as possible and DO THE FOLLOWING: BUY EXPLOSION UPGRADE TO YOUR INFECTION, THEN YOU SAVE MONEY FOR THE CHAIN INFECTION UPGRADE AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST YOU BUY THE WALL PENETRETION UPGRADE AND YOU BASICALLY WON THE GAME.

[Jexvrok]

early game i go for speed, burgers & money based zombies. then the mutation chain i will hunt for more $$ speed & mutation chance. mid game i will go for infection chance. all the while i try to upgrade my base zombie as hard as i can. special zombie Goben and disco zombie are really good for for money and item spam. i try to keep the amount of zombie variations i have to minimum so i can max out the strength of what i have and make it easier to achieve mission goals when it comes to spawning a certain type of zombie(less variation means more change of them spawning from mutations)

[Mike Crain]

Coming from having played 2, my first few playthroughs involved me losing. lol

I found that even when everyone is heavily armed and ZIT squads have been introduced in densely populated areas that it's very effective to have a few jars of goo and burgers to place in a few spots away from each other. This often causes the military and everyone related to focus on these and then you can drop a grenade or mine to kill several of them at once. I prefer to keep the mines for when ZIT arrives though because they seem to be more effective at taking those guys down. I was losing a playthrough where even yeti didn't survive longer than a couple of seconds and I still was able to frequently win when you have to kill everyone to destroy a region.

Governments can end up nuking regions with research labs in them which also sets them back in progress if you max panic on a continent. If you have trouble destroying the lab directly. Nuking also technically counts as a win for you. I'm reading that if you keep triggering nukes that nuclear war will happen which is beneficial for you.