How zombies notice you
A zombie notices you once you're closer than a certain distance, and that distance depends on how much noise you make and how visible you are. There's no noise meter on screen, so learn the table:
| What you're doing | Noticed from |
|---|---|
| Sneaking or lying prone | 8 m |
| Standing still | 12 m |
| Walking | 20 m |
| Running | 32 m |
| Sprinting | 36 m |
| Talking in voice chat (standing) | 28 m |
| Coughing | 24–36 m |
| Driving a car | 40 m |
| Riding a bicycle, or coasting with the engine off | 22 m |
What changes these numbers:
- Military zombies notice and hear you 1.5 times further away.
- At night (21:00 to 06:00 on the in-game clock) every zombie notices you 1.25 times further away.
- In a blizzard zombies see half as well: a walking player is noticed from 12 m, a standing one from 6 m. A car is still noticed from 40 m.
- Jumping makes you very visible for a moment.
- Bloody clothes taken off a corpse: you're noticed 15% further away.
- Heavy armor rattles while you move: Military chest rig +1 m, Reinforced police vest +2 m, Heavy plate carrier +3 m, Anti-tank reinforced suit +5 m (armor).
- Walls. A zombie can't see you through a wall, only hear you, and sound is muffled behind it. Stand quietly round a corner and it won't notice you. In cover against a wall (Q) you can't be seen either.
Sneaking and going prone
- Ctrl cycles your stance: sneak, low crouch, sneak again, normal. Only sneaking is quiet for zombies: 8 m. In the low crouch you're noticed as if you were standing or walking.
- Z lies down and gets up. While prone, W crawls forward, S back, A and D turn. You can't shoot lying down. A prone player is noticed like a sneaking one.
Gunshots
A shot carries far, but zombies don't come running straight away. The first shot only puts them on alert: a zombie stops and looks towards the sound for about three seconds. Three shots within 20 seconds (two for military zombies) and they walk over to check what's going on. If they see you, the chase is on.
| Weapon | Heard from |
|---|---|
| Melee, stun gun | silent |
| Pistols | 50 m |
| SMGs, Raging Bull, musket | 55 m |
| Assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles | 60 m |
| Machine guns, M107, M82A1 | 90 m |
A suppressor halves the distance a shot is heard from (weapons).
The chase
The zombie that spots you screams (you can hear it about 40 m away) and calls up to 12 zombies within 25 m. You can shake them off in two ways:
- get 2.5 times further away than the distance you're noticed from: 50 m at a walk, 90 m at a sprint; 3 times for military zombies;
- stay out of sight and quiet for 6 seconds (12 for military zombies).
Once it loses you, the zombie runs to where it last saw you, searches a little and wanders off.
Light, voice, sirens
- At night zombies see a flashlight (in hand or on a gun) and switched-on headlights from 45 m and walk over to see what's shining.
- Zombies hear voice chat too. A talking player is noticed from 28 m and puts zombies on alert up to 45 m away; keep talking and they come to check.
- A car with its siren on draws in zombies within 120 m that haven't spotted anyone yet. A car abandoned with the siren on works as a lure.
Playing dead
U: you drop and lie still. While you lie quietly:
- new zombies don't notice you;
- one that was already chasing you comes to check, but doesn't attack and loses interest after 5 seconds.
To get up, press U again or make any move: walk, jump, run, shoot, aim or get into a vehicle. You can play dead again a minute later. It doesn't work in a vehicle or mid-jump. Coughing or talking gives you away even lying down, and then you can get hit.
Zombie lure
Use puts the jar in your hand, and from there it works like a grenade: RMB to aim (you see the arc and where it lands), LMB to throw it up to 40 m, Backspace to put it away. You can't throw it from a vehicle. The jar breaks, and for 30 seconds every zombie within 60 m drops its target and runs to it. Don't stand by the jar: the crowd hits anyone within 4 m. A lure doesn't work in water. You can have no more than three lures active at once. More in traps.
Tracks
- Footprints in the snow. Everyone leaves them, and other players see them, even if they arrive later. They last about 3 minutes, 2 minutes in light snow, 75 seconds in snowfall and 25 seconds in a blizzard: a blizzard also wipes out older tracks. Zombies leave barefoot prints.
- Blood. A bleeding player drips blood while moving, and that trail leads straight to them (blood).
- Breath is visible from 25 m. The colder it is and the harder you're panting after a sprint, the thicker it gets.