Warning: There is currently a change in behaviour by the Zombies - they now ATTACK TURN 1 - we are working together with SMG to resolve this issue, but in the meantime please be aware that the Zombies will attack on turn 1 instead of just infecting territories. This means they will not add +60% troops to infected territories on turn 1, but they will still add +75% troops on turn 2.
10 things to understand about zombies
- Zombies are weak - they need double your troops to attack you, and they will almost not fight back when you attack them
- Zombies will almost double in size the first turn Read about the first turn
- Zombies will come back if they are killed before the game ends
- Zombies will follow a pre-determined path on the map Read about zombie pathing
- Zombies might infect players if they feel too weak Read about infections
- Zombies will begin attacking from pre-determined territories on the map Read about zombie pathing
- Zombies will grow fast until they have >40% of all troops on the board Read about zombie growth
- Zombies (expert bot) will only leave 1's behind when attacking
- Zombies will fortify to spread out their troops to any territory bordering newly attacked territories
- Zombies will get +2 troops if you trade in cards for territories they hold
Their first turn
Zombies will start turn 1 by infecting one territory from each player, and adding +60% troops on those territories, without attacking anyone.
On turn 2 the Zombies will start by adding +75% troops to each territory (often this calculates to 'double minus 1 troop') before they do their attacks following the pathing route
Zombie growth behaviour
Zombies will always try to get to 55% of all troops on the board, and if they feel they are too far behind they might grow a lot in one turn.
In extreme cases they might add as much as +150% on all territories just to catch up.
Exactly how much the zombies will add each turn is collerated to how many troops the other players have, and how many zombie troops have been taken out. But you can usually follow this table as an reference.
If all 5 human players have 20 troops each, they have a total of 100 troops. For the zombies to reach >40% of all troops on the board they would need to have at least 67 troops. Growth is pr. territory they hold
| Turn |
<40% |
<50% |
<55% |
>55% |
|---|
| 1 | Infect +60% + attack | | | |
| 2 | +75% | +3 troops | +2 troops | +1 troop |
| 3 | +90% | +3 troops | +2 troops | +1 troop |
| 4 | +105% | +3 troops | +2 troops | +1 troop |
| 5 | +120% | +3 troops | +2 troops | +1 troop |
| 6 | +135% | +3 troops | +2 troops | +1 troop |
| 7+ | +150% | +3 troops | +2 troops | +1 troop |
If they add +150% troops one turn and are still below 40% of all troops on the board, they will go back to adding +60% the next turn, +75% after that etc. Random player infections can happend after turn 8 (if zombies <40%)
Zombie infections
Infections are a mechanism where the zombies just take over a random territory that you own, with all the troops on it.
Zombies might infect players if they have <40% of all troops. Zombies will never infect the same player twice before all players have already been infected once.
The fewer territories the zombies hold, the higher are the chances of infections
They are more likely to infect larger stacks when they first infect a player
Zombie Pathing
Every territory on the map have its unique number (index), and the Zombies will always start attacking from the lowest number possible.
For every attack, they will always try to attack the neighboring territory as specified by the game devs (primary path). If that is already taken by Zombies or hold a player stack too large to attack, it will go on to attack the next priority territory (secondary path) etc.
With some clever work by the RISK community we have been able to extract this information and create pathing maps showing both index numbers and the zombies prefered pathing.
You can find these maps under the RISK Maps section of this website.
Strategy suggestions
- 3v1 on zombies are 100% guaranteed win
- Try not to keep all troops in a single stack in case of infections
- If you are the last in turn order, you have the power to manipulate the Zombies to remove another player by slow rolling their stack
- Try to set up a card-trading spots where the zombies cant reach to get cheaper cards each turn
- In fog, if you hold a territory card that has no +2 for yourself or +2 for the zombies, then you know there is a human player on that territory
- If you see the zombies are getting +1/+2/+3 troops, you can divide their total troop income that turn to deduct how many territories the zombies hold on the board. With this information you know how many territories are held by players, and you can estimate how many positions each player have.
- In fog, if you see the zombies fortify somewhere, you know someone made an attack near by
Cleaning up the Zombies
If you have defeated all other players and are only facing a huge Zombie army, here are some tips to clean them up:
- Always make sure to expand slowly, ensuring that all your borders have at least 51% of Zombie troops on the next turn
- When you see the Zombies start to add +3 troops on each territory, you know you are getting close to enough troops for a sweep
