Hunting: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:16, 14 September 2026

Hunting is an escalating combat activity. Every hunting location has its own normal Zed, boss Zed and independent progress. The Zeds at a location become stronger each time you defeat its normal Zed.

How hunting works

A location begins with its normal Zed. Winning advances the location one step and adds one Mutation, making its next Zed one level stronger. After ten normal victories, the next hunt is a boss fight.

The complete cycle is:

Fight and defeat the location's normal Zed ten times.
Each victory adds one permanent Mutation level at that location.
The Hunt button changes to Hunt Boss.
Fight the location's separate boss Zed.
Defeating the boss resets the ten-step progress bar, but does not remove any Mutation levels.
Begin the next ten-fight cycle against stronger normal Zeds.

Only victories advance the cycle. Losing or leaving a fight keeps the same normal Zed or boss as the next encounter. Each location tracks this progress separately.

Hunting locations

The table shows the useful differences between locations. Hunt cost is consumed on every attempt. Access required is an item you must own but which is not consumed. Select a location or Zed to see its full live data and possible rewards.

Location	Hunt cost	Access required	Normal Zed	Boss Zed
Concession Stand	4 × Rad Immunity	None	Crawler	Skinless Crawler
Hall of Mirrors	4 × Rad Immunity	None	Zombie	Zombie Pack Leader
Projection Room	4 × Rad Immunity	None	Bloater	Bloater Mother
Ticket Booths	4 × Rad Immunity	None	Spitter	Sapling Spitter
Central Atrium	6 × Rad Immunity	None	Raging Crawler	Glowing Crawler
Food Court	6 × Rad Immunity	None	Raging Zombie	Alpha Zombie
Loading Bay	6 × Rad Immunity	None	Raging Bloater	Bloater Queen
Storage Area	6 × Rad Immunity	None	Raging Spitter	Thorned Spitter
Dining Area	8 × Rad Immunity	None	Frenzied Crawler	Inflamed Crawler
Kitchen	8 × Rad Immunity	None	Frenzied Zombie	Zombie Puppet Master
Toxic Dump Site	8 × Rad Immunity	None	Frenzied Bloater	Bloater Matriarch
Sewage Plant	8 × Rad Immunity	None	Frenzied Spitter	Vine Riddled Spitter
Main Wall	8 × Rad Immunity	1 × Buddys Pass	Undead Soldier	Undead Commando
Courtyard	8 × Rad Immunity	1 × Buddys Pass	Bloater	Bloater Mother
Foyer	8 × Rad Immunity	1 × Police RFID	Undead Supervisor	Enraged Undead Supervisor
Armory	8 × Rad Immunity; 1 × Silver key	1 × Police RFID	Lurcher	Darting Lurcher

Mutations and NPC scaling

The Mutations ×N number on a location card is the permanent level bonus its Zeds have gained. One normal victory adds one Mutation. The added levels increase the Zed's Health, Strength, Defense, Speed and Agility.

For example, one location progresses like this:

Encounter	Normal Zed scaling	Result
First normal fight	Base level	A win adds Mutation 1
Tenth normal fight	+9 levels	A win adds Mutation 10 and unlocks the boss
First boss	+10 Mutation levels, plus 10 boss levels	A win resets the progress bar
Next normal fight	+10 levels	The second cycle begins
Second boss	+20 Mutation levels, plus 10 boss levels	The location continues scaling

Boss victories do not add another Mutation. They reset only the ten-step boss progress, so the difficulty gained from normal victories is permanent.

Select the Zed names on a location card to compare their original level and stats with their current mutated values before starting the fight.

Boss fights

Each location has a boss NPC distinct from its normal NPC. The boss inherits all Mutation levels accumulated at that location and receives a further 10-level boss bonus. This creates a noticeable difficulty jump after every tenth normal victory.

Bosses also provide better rewards than normal hunts:

Three times the location's normal Hunting skill XP.
Double the mutation-scaled Zed Juice payout.
An additional location-specific boss loot pool.

Boss loot can include Boss Tokens and special armour with resistance traits. The boss victory screen displays the loot won and previews the location's boss pool.

Costs and rewards

Starting a hunt consumes the location's displayed cost, reduces Morale by 4–5 and begins a turn-based fight. It awards some character XP and the first part of the Hunting skill XP immediately. The remaining Hunting XP and item loot require a victory.

Every defeated hunting Zed drops Zed Juice. Its payout rises gradually with the location's Mutation count and is increased by your Hunting skill bonus. The meter below the location card shows the current payout, progress toward its next increase and the boss ×2 bonus when applicable. Every hunt also has a separate 10% chance to award additional Zed Juice.

The normal and boss loot pools differ by location. Select a location in the table above to view its current requirements and possible rewards.

Preparing for a hunt

Equip weapons and armour from your Inventory.
Check the current mutated NPC stats rather than relying on its original difficulty.
Match weapons to the Zed's weakness and prepare for its combat attacks.
Restore enough health and carry medical items for repeated hunts.
Prepare carefully when Hunt Boss appears: it is substantially stronger than the preceding normal Zed.

A loss does not remove Mutations or boss progress, but the starting cost is not returned and your health may need to recover before another attempt.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Hunting''' is a repeatable combat activity where you fight increasingly powerful Zeds for Hunting skill XP, Zed Juice and location-specific loot.
+'''Hunting''' is an escalating combat activity. Every hunting location has its own '''normal Zed''', '''boss Zed''' and independent progress. The Zeds at a location become stronger each time you defeat its normal Zed.
-The important part of Hunting is that '''every hunting location has its own normal NPC, boss NPC and progression'''. Progress at one location does not affect another location.
+== How hunting works ==
-== How a hunting location works ==
+A location begins with its normal Zed. Winning advances the location one step and adds one Mutation, making its next Zed one level stronger. After '''ten normal victories''', the next hunt is a boss fight.
-Each location follows the same cycle:
+The complete cycle is:
-# Select '''Hunt''' to fight the location's normal NPC.
+# Fight and defeat the location's normal Zed ten times.
-# Defeat the normal NPC to advance that location's progress by one fight.
+# Each victory adds one permanent Mutation level at that location.
-# The next NPC at that location becomes stronger.
+# The '''Hunt''' button changes to '''Hunt Boss'''.
-# After ten normal victories, the location's boss becomes available.
+# Fight the location's separate boss Zed.
-# Select '''Hunt Boss''' and defeat the boss to complete the cycle.
+# Defeating the boss resets the ten-step progress bar, but does not remove any Mutation levels.
-# The ten-fight progress bar resets, but the NPC scaling remains.
+# Begin the next ten-fight cycle against stronger normal Zeds.
-The cycle is therefore '''ten normal fights followed by one boss fight''', then it begins again with stronger enemies. Losing or leaving a fight does not advance the progress bar.
+Only victories advance the cycle. Losing or leaving a fight keeps the same normal Zed or boss as the next encounter. Each location tracks this progress separately.
-== Normal NPCs and boss NPCs ==
+== Hunting locations ==
-Every location has two versions of its enemy:
+The table shows the useful differences between locations. '''Hunt cost''' is consumed on every attempt. '''Access required''' is an item you must own but which is not consumed. Select a location or Zed to see its full live data and possible rewards.
-* The '''normal NPC''' appears during the ten regular fights.
+{{#zed_list:job_hunting|city}}
-* The '''boss NPC''' appears after the tenth normal fight has been won.
-The boss is a separate, more powerful NPC for that location. When a boss is ready, the final step of the progress bar is marked '''Boss''' and the green '''Hunt''' button changes to '''Hunt Boss'''. The boss receives the location's accumulated scaling and an additional ten NPC levels.
-Defeating the boss resets only the ten-fight boss progress. It does not return the enemies to their original strength. Another sequence of ten normal fights then leads to the next boss.
-== NPC scaling and Mutations ==
-NPCs at a location scale upward as you successfully hunt there. Each defeated normal NPC adds one '''Mutation''' and one level to that location's later NPCs. Their Health, Strength, Defense, Speed and Agility increase with their level.
-For example:
-* The first normal hunt uses the NPC's starting level.
+== Mutations and NPC scaling ==
-* After one normal victory, the next normal NPC has +1 level.
-* After ten normal victories, the normal NPC has accumulated +10 levels and the boss becomes available.
-* The boss uses that accumulated +10 scaling and receives a further +10 boss levels.
-* After the boss is defeated, the next normal NPC still has the accumulated +10 levels.
-* After another ten normal victories, normal NPCs have accumulated +20 levels and the next boss is stronger again.
-Boss victories are not counted as extra Mutations. The '''Mutations ×N''' value on a location card shows the permanent level increase built up through its normal victories.
+The '''Mutations ×N''' number on a location card is the permanent level bonus its Zeds have gained. One normal victory adds one Mutation. The added levels increase the Zed's Health, Strength, Defense, Speed and Agility.
-Select the NPC names on a hunting card to open the stats panel. It compares the NPC's original level and stats with its current mutated level and stats, making it possible to judge the next fight before paying its cost.
+For example, one location progresses like this:
-== Starting a hunt ==
+{| class="wikitable"
+! Encounter !! Normal Zed scaling !! Result
+|-
+| First normal fight || Base level || A win adds Mutation 1
+|-
+| Tenth normal fight || +9 levels || A win adds Mutation 10 and unlocks the boss
+|-
+| First boss || +10 Mutation levels, plus 10 boss levels || A win resets the progress bar
+|-
+| Next normal fight || +10 levels || The second cycle begins
+|-
+| Second boss || +20 Mutation levels, plus 10 boss levels || The location continues scaling
+|}
-A location card shows the hunt's Radiation cost and any required access or consumable items. Starting the hunt pays the displayed cost, reduces Morale by 4–5 and opens a turn-based fight.
+Boss victories do not add another Mutation. They reset only the ten-step boss progress, so the difficulty gained from normal victories is permanent.
-Before hunting:
+Select the Zed names on a location card to compare their original level and stats with their current mutated values before starting the fight.
-* Equip suitable weapons and armour in your [[Inventory]].
+== Boss fights ==
-* Check your health and carry medical items when hunting repeatedly.
-* Open the NPC stats panel and compare the mutated stats with your own.
-* Prepare for the NPC's attacks and weapon weakness.
-The NPC continues to scale even when your equipment does not, so a location that was once easy can eventually become dangerous.
+Each location has a boss NPC distinct from its normal NPC. The boss inherits all Mutation levels accumulated at that location and receives a further '''10-level boss bonus'''. This creates a noticeable difficulty jump after every tenth normal victory.
-== Rewards ==
+Bosses also provide better rewards than normal hunts:
-Starting a hunt awards character XP and part of the hunt's Hunting skill XP. Defeating the NPC awards the remaining Hunting skill XP, advances the location and rolls its loot. A loss does not award the victory portion, progression or loot.
-Every successful hunt awards Zed Juice. Its base payout starts from the location's Radiation cost and gradually increases with the location's Mutation count. The Hunting skill bonus shown on the card increases that payout. There is also an independent 10% chance for an additional Zed Juice drop.
-Boss fights provide increased rewards:
 * Three times the location's normal Hunting skill XP.
 * Double the mutation-scaled Zed Juice payout.
-* The location's additional boss reward pool, which can contain Boss Tokens and special resistance armour.
+* An additional location-specific boss loot pool.
-The Zed Juice meter shows the current mutation-scaled payout, Hunting skill bonus, progress toward the next payout increase and the boss multiplier when a boss is ready.
+Boss loot can include Boss Tokens and special armour with resistance traits. The boss victory screen displays the loot won and previews the location's boss pool.
-== If you lose ==
+== Costs and rewards ==
-Losing a fight does not remove Mutations, reset the boss progress or erase other character progress. The hunt's starting costs are not returned, and your health may need to recover before another attempt. The same normal NPC or boss remains next in that location's cycle.
+Starting a hunt consumes the location's displayed cost, reduces Morale by 4–5 and begins a turn-based fight. It awards some character XP and the first part of the Hunting skill XP immediately. The remaining Hunting XP and item loot require a victory.
-== Current hunting locations ==
+Every defeated hunting Zed drops Zed Juice. Its payout rises gradually with the location's Mutation count and is increased by your Hunting skill bonus. The meter below the location card shows the current payout, progress toward its next increase and the boss ×2 bonus when applicable. Every hunt also has a separate 10% chance to award additional Zed Juice.
-The following list comes directly from the current game definitions. Open a location to see its current costs, normal NPC, rewards and access requirements.
+The normal and boss loot pools differ by location. Select a location in the table above to view its current requirements and possible rewards.
-{{#zed_list:job_hunting|city}}
+== Preparing for a hunt ==
-== Tips ==
+* Equip weapons and armour from your [[Inventory]].
+* Check the current mutated NPC stats rather than relying on its original difficulty.
+* Match weapons to the Zed's weakness and prepare for its combat attacks.
+* Restore enough health and carry medical items for repeated hunts.
+* Prepare carefully when '''Hunt Boss''' appears: it is substantially stronger than the preceding normal Zed.
-* Treat each location as a separate difficulty ladder.
+A loss does not remove Mutations or boss progress, but the starting cost is not returned and your health may need to recover before another attempt.
-* Check NPC stats regularly because they increase after every normal victory.
-* Prepare for the sharp difficulty increase after the tenth fight, when the boss replaces the normal NPC.
-* Improving equipment and combat stats is essential because Mutation scaling is permanent.
-* Higher-cost locations award more Hunting XP and start with a larger Zed Juice payout, but risk more resources per attempt.
-* Use the current values shown in-game if they differ from this guide, as balance values can change.

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