Players are those few uninfected humans left after the zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, the new world is one where survival of the fittest is rule number one, so survivors are as much a danger to each other as they are to zombies.
Factions[ | ]
A player faction can consist of up to 16 players, a limit which may be raised later, and these players can either be the best of friends or the deadliest of foes. On survival servers, players are considered hostile to each other by default, but friendly players can form parties and work together. On PvP servers, each player is part of one of many warring teams. The goal is for one team to wipe out all others.
Survival[ | ]
For survivors, keeping on going is not simply a matter of outrunning Zed; Humans need to stay close to food and away from infection. If a player does not eat from time to time, they will suffer negative effects, such as death.
As of the Alpha Build 008 "No Place is Safe" update infection risk has been added. This takes the form of a bar underneath Stamina. Unlike the other status bars Infection Risk starts off empty. When the Player is attacked by a zombie, kills a zombie with a melee weapon or eats/interacts with contaminated objects this bar will begin to rise, indicating an increased risk of infection. A full bar does not necessarily mean the Player is infected, only that there is a very high chance of catching the HNZ virus. The bar will slowly decrease over time and in later updates drinking or washing will also lower infection risk. If a Player is infected the screen will become increasingly blurry and the character will begin to sway from side to side. Eventually the Player will fall to the ground and fade out, the death screen will then be presented and the player will respawn.
After respawning, it is possible to find the player's previous character among the zombie horde, however it is not required to kill this character to recover equipment. As of April 2013, it is not yet known whether zombies can contaminate food or water supplies.
Armament[ | ]
Players can equip themselves with various weapons ranging from firearms to bows to improvised melee weapons. A player's danger to others heavily depends on their arsenal; an unarmed newbie is not much of a threat at all, but a player with a sniper rifle and keen trigger finger can kill anyone who approaches their compound.
Armor[ | ]
Various types of clothing are available, granting protection and other practical benefits.