World War Z is here. It is loud, it is proud, and it has so many zombies to shoot. In this game, the only thing that stands between the zombies and you is enough led to sink a ship.
The more you fight the stronger you get. In WWZ, that means leveling up and gaining skills. While the game’s skill system seems a bit confusing at first, it actually allows you to streamline your character class however you want.
We’ve put together some example builds for you to try out, as well as some general tips and tricks on how progression works (which you can skip if you’ve already got a firm grasp on it).
General Progression Tips
First things first. Each class has its own progression, so your best bet is to find one you like and stick with it for the time being.
Looking at the skill tree, you can see that skills are broken into columns of three for the most part. You can have one skill from every column active at one time. So, if you want more than one skill from the same column, you’ll have to make a hard decision.
What’s more, you can spend coins you earn through playing either on unlocking skills or upgrading your weapons. We recommend skill first, but hey, it’s your life.
No matter which character you are playing as, you can still choose whichever class you want, so don’t worry about that.
Right then, on with the builds. To see what campaign characters and classes we think are the best and worst, head to this list.
World War Z Campaign Builds
Gunslinger
For this build in particular, we are leaning into firing forever. Well, as long as you still have ammo.
The aim here is to almost entirely rely on your firearms and switch between weapons once the magazine is empty. To play to the Gunslinger’s strengths, these are the skills we recommend.
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Power Nap | Unequipped weapon automatically reloads after 10 seconds |
| Front Line Supply | Headshots with primary or secondary weapons automatically restore 5% of rounds to the magazine |
| This is My Rifle | Start with ARK-103 Assault Rifle |
| Wheatgrass | Health increased by 25% |
| Gun Fanatic | Draining primary and then secondary weapons’ magazines automatically reloads primary weapon |
| Senjata | Start with a Senjata PDW in your secondary weapon slot |
| Free Refill | Restore 1% of primary weapon ammo for each kill made with equipment |
| Executioner | Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 25% chance to refill one equipment charge |
| Annihilator | Primary, secondary, and heavy weapons deal 15% more damage |
Hellraiser
If you love the smell of explosions in the morning, afternoon, and evening, then this is the class for you. We are going all in on C4 and Claymores with this build. These are the skills you want.
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Here Kitty | C4 will attract zombies for 5 seconds after being planted |
| Welcome Mat | Claymore kill 25% more targets, start with Claymores |
| Directed Blast | You deal 100% more damage with all explosives |
| Wheatgrass | Health increased by 25% |
| Third Hand | Increase Claymore capacity to 4 and C4 capacity to 3 |
| Senjata | Claymore and C4 explosions will set the nearby area on fire |
| Scorched Earth | Restore 1% of primary weapon ammo for each equipment kill |
| Thumper | Start with a Thumper GL in your secondary weapon slot |
| Knock Knock | Start with a Breaching Charge |
Medic
This is very much the class for you if you are the protective type. Your aim with this build is to be a proper support class, but to also stay healthy yourself. So, here are the skills you need.
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Triage | Apply Medkits 50% faster |
| Pick Me Up | Any teammate revived by you will gain a temporary health boost |
| Empathy | Using the Stim Pistol on a teammate will also apply 50% of its effect to you |
| Second Wind | 25% chance to regain 25% health and keep going instead of becoming incapacitated (cooldown 60 seconds) |
| Good Karma | Using Medkit on teammate will also apply 50% of its effect to you |
| Free Hugs | 25% chance of using the Stim Pistol without depleting its charge |
| Fighting Fit | Firearm damage increased by 25% when your whole team have more than 50% health |
| Battle Surgeon | Stim Pistol heals 10% of health in addition to the boost effect |
| Lobotomy | Restore 2 rounds in magazine for each headshot made with SMG |
Fixer
This is the supplier of the group and another excellent support class. You can drop off explosive ammo for yourself and your team, you best believe that this build leans into that. This is what you want.
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Armory | Using Supply Bag gives 15% chance to restore on equipment charge |
| Side Effects | Masking Grenade gas is lethal to zombies. Start with Masking Grenades |
| Give ‘Em Hell | Reviving a teammate grants explosive ammo for both of you |
| My Round I | Increase carried ammo capacity for primary and secondary weapons by 10% for you and all teammates |
| One for the Road | Max Masking Grenade capacity increased to 2 and Supply Bag capacity to 2 |
| Under the Table | Anyone entering Masking Grenade gas cloud restores 20% of primary weapon ammo |
| Power Shot | All semi-automatic rifles gain increased penetration |
| Shadow Walker | Masking effect duration increased by 3 seconds |
| My Round II | increase carried ammo capacity for heavy weapons by 10% for all teammates |
Slasher
If you prefer to get close and personal with the horde of flesh-hungry zombies then have we got the class for you. In order to best utilize the Slasher’s endurance, we are going all in on playing this game like it is Dynasty Warriors. Here is how to do it.
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Crowd Control | Push radius from melee attacks increased by 50% |
| Zeus | Increase Stun Gun Range by 50% and target count to 20 |
| Nimble | Take 50% less damage while performing melee attacks |
| Wheatgrass | Health increased by 25% |
| Cloak and Dagger | Killing 10 zombies in rapid succession with a melee weapon grants a masking effect (cooldown 30 seconds) |
| Battle Cry | Automatically stand up from being pinned after 5 seconds |
| Executioner II | Perform 1 more melee strike before becoming tired. Melee damage increased by 50% |
| Spare Batteries | Max capacity for Stun Gun charges increased to 4 |
| Flash Sale | Using the Stun Gun restores 1% of your primary weapon’s ammunition for every target you stun |
Exterminator
The Exterminator is great for crowd control. Where the other classes here are generally better at single target attacks or support, the Exterminator is great for attacking a group. Here is how best to lean into that strength.
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hangover | Molotovs burn 50% longer |
| Hangover | Movement speed penalty when zombies are very close reduced by 100% |
| Dragonhide | Fire resistance increased by 90% |
| Wheatgrass | Health increased by 25% |
| Fire Trap | Claymore explosions set fire to the surrounding area. Start with Claymore |
| Cloak and Dagger | Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession grants masking effect for 3 seconds |
| Broad Shoulders | Heavy weapon ammo capacity increased by 25% |
| Party at My Place | Maximum Molotov capacity increased to 3 and Claymore capacity to 4 |
| Know-How | Molotovs and Claymores can kill 25% more targets |
There you have it. One build for each of the classes you can choose in World War Z‘s Campaign mode.
Keep in mind that these aren’t the only builds you can choose in the game, the skills are hugely varied, and it is a lot of fun to mess around with them as a result. For more tips and lists for this zombie slaughterfest, head over to our World War Z guides page. page.
