Overall Class Rankings
Classes are unlocked with Emeralds (Gems) at the Class Tent. Each class has 3 upgrade levels with progressively powerful abilities.
🔧 Engineer — S Tier Meta Pick
For any team focused on base construction and deep endurance runs, the Level 3 Engineer is unequivocally the most vital class in the game. It is a mandatory, non-negotiable inclusion for Day 100+ attempts.
| Ability | Effect | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 2x Repair Speed | Double efficiency with repair hammer | Sustain breached walls mid-Blood-Moon combat, saving materials and preventing cascading failures. |
| +25% Building HP | All structures gain 25% bonus health | Exponentially harder for Titan Zombie and Bandit grenades to breach perimeter. |
| +20% Turret Damage | All turrets deal 20% more damage | Applied to the 8-turret setup, this is a colossal aggregate DPS increase across the entire base. |
📡 Commander — S Tier Solo Meta
Costing an immense 1,000 Gems, the Commander is a tactical support powerhouse designed for battlefield management.
| Level | Ability | Effect | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lv1 | Attack Order (Whistle) | AoE buff: increased move speed, fire rate, damage, reload speed for all allies | 30s active / 2min CD |
| Lv2 | Defense Debuff | Precision shots mark targets with red bullseye, lowering defense by 20% | 15s per mark |
| Lv3 | Air Strike | Linear explosive barrage that instantly annihilates lesser zombies | 5min CD |
Commander Leveling Exploit
Unlike the Necromancer's agonizing grind, the Commander can reach Level 3 in under 2 hours:
Tree-Climbing Cheese Strategy
Solo Commanders climb into tall trees to break zombie pathfinding. Zombies cluster helplessly below. Wait for max density → deploy Air Strike → wipe entire wave with zero ammunition spent. Dominant leaderboard strategy.
A-Tier Classes
💀 Necromancer
Summoner / Solo Meta
Converts zombie kills into temporary allied summons. At Level 2, 10% of killed zombies become your fighters — essentially free mobile turrets. Agonizing grind to level, but the solo carry potential is unmatched. Best class for SOLOIST badge attempts.
🏥 Medic
Team Healer / Siege Support
Essential for patching up players and mitigating attrition during prolonged nighttime sieges. The Medic effectively rights the team's wrongs when mistakes are made — a critical safety net during Blood Moon chaos.
B-Tier Classes
🛡️ Guardian
Provides localized defense buffs to nearby structures and allies. Solid support choice but outclassed by Engineer's global building buffs.
💣 Fragger
Optimized for aggressive, fast-paced clearing of infected zones. High burst damage but lacks the sustainability of S-tier classes for endgame defense.
🎖️ Soldier
Ranged DPS specialist. Starts with AK-47, strong for early game. Conserve ammo for bosses and Blood Moon. After map expansion, surplus weapons reduce Soldier's unique value.
C & D-Tier Classes
🗡️ Assassin C
Sprint speed for fast fuel gathering. -30% aggro range provides stealth. Niche utility but doesn't scale into late game. Good for speed-running early days.
🌾 Farmer C
Logistical benefits for resource production. Grows food faster, reducing dependency on scavenging. Situationally useful in large teams but not a combat asset.
👤 Survivor D
Default starting class with no special abilities. Upgrade to any specialized class as soon as you have enough Emeralds.
👮 Scavenger D
Beginner-friendly class with minor loot-finding bonuses. Quickly outclassed. Transition to Engineer or Commander as soon as possible.
🤖 NPC Survivor Classes
Rescue NPC survivors from the environment to bolster your base defenses. They act as autonomous night-cycle defenders.
| NPC Type | Role | Placement Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Assassin NPC | High-DPS melee defender | High-threat chokepoints near gates |
| Policeman NPC | Ranged combat defender | Elevated positions with line of sight |
| Survivor NPC | Basic autonomous defender | Internal perimeter backup |
| Merchant NPC | Economic trading during lulls | Protected inner core area |