[WIP] Advanced/Beginner’s Guide to Classic – 4U

Overview

Classic is easily the most challenging mode in the game, since all the zombies are intelligent, player zombies, capable of working together, and the fact that one of them is a bulletproof, bulletsponge riot zombie that will screw you over if you’re not prepared.This guide will help both beginners and veterans survive by showing them tactics, preferred weapons, and camping spots, as well as a zombie tactics guide.

What is Classic mode?

What is this mode? What do we do?
That’s a question I hear often on Classic servers. Classic mode (both Classic Objective, and Classic Panic) is the most recent game type added to Contaigon that replaces massive hordes of AI zombies with smarter, deadlier player zombies. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the first zombie will be a riot zombie, a bulletproof, bulletsponge tank that can and will outrun and outendure you. Players in a classic round will start off with several items, usually a pistol and either a MP5 or KG9, and will have a few minutes to scrounge the map for weapons, group up, and fortify a position. After this grace period, a random player will turn and become a zombie. Zombies have 20 collective lives, which goes up each time a player is killed and joins the ranks of the undead. Humans can win either by killing 20+ zombies, or running down the clock.

This mode sounds easy!
I hear this every time I explain Classic to someone – how hard can it be to kill a few zombies or camp out for 20 minutes? It’s actually quite hard – only a few games result in humans winning. The simple fact that zombies can scheme to rush your position or ambush your group adds a whole new dimension to Contaigon, as simply having good aim and trigger discipline won’t keep you alive for long!

Humans: Pre-round Strats

In order to understand Classic mode, you must look at it in several stages:

Pre Round: The period between you spawning and the first zombie
Mid Game: The period after the first zombie
Late Game: The period when ♥♥♥♥’s getting tense; lots of zombies

The pre-round is possibly the most important stage of the match, as what you scavenge then is most likely what you will have for the rest of the match.

You will probably spawn with a pistol and a low tier automatic weapon of some sort. Ditch the pistol immediately, as it is only effective against unarmored, slow zombies (AI). All the zombies in classic will be highly mobile and will likely strafe your bullets, so it is essential that you keep a high RoF, 9mm weapon. I prefer the MP5 to the KG9 (it’s more accurate, and has a flashlight), and I will often keep it deep into late game as a secondary.

Now that you’ve discarded your pistol, search the area immediate to your surroundings. Grab everything you see, and don’t worry about sharing – we’ll get to that later.

Weapon-of-Choice Hierarchy

MP5 / KG9
These automatic weapons are probably the most reliable and versatile weapons you will use in Contaigon. You should use the MP5 and the KG9 whenever you can, as both are fairly accurate, fire rapidly, and still kill unarmored zombies with a single shot to the head. Its ample magazine of 30 bullets gives you enough leeway to track strafing and jumping zombies, as well as heavily damage a riot zombie. The MP5 can kill a riot zombie with just a little over 30 rounds. Another advantage of the 9mm weapons is the sheer amount of ammunition that can be found, all throughout the map. It is not uncommon to max out on 9mm ammunition (150) before a round starts.

AR-15 / AK47u
As rare assault rifles may be, these coveted weapons are your number one choice against the riot zombies. The high RoF combined with the high damage per shot of both ar’s make it the ideal weapon for keeping riot zombies off your ass, at nearly all ranges. A mag from either of the rifles to the chest will melt riot zombies, making it ideal for surviving close brushes. If you can choose from either, I would go with the AR-15, as I feel the flashlight and the accuracy are more important than the power and 8 extra bullets from the AK47u. It all comes down to paticular taste, however.

Remington/BLR
These rifles are often avoided by players on servers, and are only carried when nothing is else is at hand. However, both rifles are very effective on classic gamemodes, as both do heavy damage per shot. Either rifle can put down a riot zombie with 1-2 shots to the head, and do a lot of damage with bodyshots. I prefer the BLR to the Remington, however, because of the BLR’s versatility and extra ammo capacity. The Remington does do substantially more damage than the BLR, making it a better choice if you know how to use it.

Mossberg 560
Shotguns, suprisingly aren’t very good in Contagion at close range, but are instead best used at close-medium ranges. The Mossberg is nearly useless against the riot zombie and is best used for crowd control, as firing at head level into a group of zombies will stop the horde right in its tracks. That being said, keep it in your inventory for the late game, where you will start to see horde rushes. Also, the Over-and-Under is pretty useless (idk much haven’t used it a lot), given it only carries 2 shots, doesn’t have a flashlight, and doesn’t one-hit riots, so carry it until you find a Mossberg, then unload and discard.

Grenades, IEDS, and Health Kits
Grenades and health kits are a mixed bag, considering how you can only carry one of each. Personally, I would only carry these if I had the inventory space, but always have someone in your group carry at least one of these. Grenades and IEDs are extremely effective against riot zombies, and can cancel rushes if used correctly. Health kits, however, aren’t that effective in classic, as the infection probability is extremely high – if you’re in need of a health kit, you’re probably infected (from my experiences), and health kits don’t cure infections. Still, they are handy to have in the case of environmental dangers (falls and fires).

1911, Sig, Revolver, and Crossbow
These weapons are nearly useless in Contaigon. Notice how all the weapons listed above neither automatic nor highly-damaging – you should only have these weapons in your inventory if there is space for them. Always look for weapons higher on the hiearchy, since these weapons are better suited for taking out AI zombies and other players than fast, agile player zombies.

Remember, don’t go out of your way to look for weapons. When the first player turns, you want to be prepared, in a safe place, not in some closet with your head up your ass.

Humans: Mid-game Strats

You’ll know when the mid-game starts when you start hearing screams and gunfire – someone’s turned. If you’re too far away to hear this, you can also tell when you start hearing the duh dumdumdumdum duh of the ambient music – ♥♥♥♥ is going down.

At this point, you should probably be loaded – all the weapons you want, and all the ammo you’ve gotten your hands on. Get the ♥♥♥♥ out of wherever you are, and get to a position to hold out in.

Cool, so we’ll get to barricade rooms and ♥♥♥♥?
Sadly, unlike ZP:S, the barricades are somewhat pathetic, and zombies will eventually get through, usually en mass, and overwhelm you and/or your group. Barricading yourself is a bad idea.

The key to surviving in Contagion is putting up shop on hard to access, elevated positions.
If the position is hard to access, usually accessible from only one point, everyone can focus on that point. If the position is elevated, humans up on the fort can fire down upon zombies, and therefore increase the possibilities of a headshot.

Here are the spots that I know of (if you know more, please leave them in the comments and I’ll put them in here).

Pioneer Express
Pioneer Express in my opinion is one of the most unbalanced maps to play Classic on, mainly because of the abundance of camping spots. Having said that, there are 3 spots in Pioneer Express , all of which are ideal.

Generator Room
The center of the Pioneer Express, the Generator room is an easy room to hold even by itself. Several survivors can position themselves on the catwalks and watch the doors. However, any group of well-organized zombies, with or without the riot zombie can and will overwhelm a group in Generator Room. A good position to hold is the top of the generators, which are accessible from the top of the catwalk. Use the shelves next to the doors to get closer to the generators further from the catwalk, and sprint jump onto the generators. This position is very hard to get to, both as a human, and even harder for zombies. However, a rush of zombies can overwhelm you since zombies can climb the generator, although the climbable zones are a bit broken.

Top of the Trains
This is a favorite of many, but also the weakest of all 3 spots. Although humans have extremely long LoS down the tunnels, and can easily watch the ladders, any sizable group of zombies can and will overwhelm groups on top of the trains, as this spot is easily accessible, to both zombies and humans.

Scaffolding @ Tent Room
This is my personal favorite. Though this position is accessible to zombies, it is only accessible via a single ladder, which again is only accessible via a chain fence-door, creating many oppurtunities for IED and grenade usage. In addition to the double chokepoints, the 2 layers of scaffolding can accomodate up to 10 people, literally creating a firing squad that has LoS to nearly everything on the left side of the Tent Rooms.

Cyprus Park
Cyprus park, sadly, only has one campable position, which is also somewhat accessible.

Hotdog Stand
Humans should group up in here, take up positions up on the counters, and train their sights on the door and open vending window. IEDs should be placed outside, a few feet away from the doors, so that using the IEDS won’t kill everyone in the room. This position is rushable. A variation of this is to take up positions on the bleachers. The bleachers, however, are more accessible than the Hotdog stand since there are no chokepoints to hold zombies at.

Barlowe Square
Barlowe Square is probably the hardest game to play Classic on. It’s big, everything has multiple entry ways, and the heavy rain and bloom lighting cuts down on visibility even if the LoS is there. There is a single position that is worthwhile, however.

Alleyway Roof
This is a bit hard to describe, but in the alleyway next to the bank, across the street from the Hardware Store, and close to the plaza is an accessible roof. The roof provides LoS to the entire alleyway, and is only accessible through 2 ladders on both sides of the building. This position requires significant manpower to keep safe, as zombies will flank you from both sides. I would recommend you take up this position early and stay hidden, as the zombie taco trail will lead zombies to easier, on-ground targets. Veteran zombies may check this location at random, so watch out! In the case that you are alone and you are discovered, GTFO. That position is no longer safe, because you can’t hold it by yourself. Either get reinforcements to join right away, or get out and run.

Humans: Late Game Strats

You’ve stayed alive for this long, and you and your group are the only ones left. Zombies are prowling around the map, looking for stray survivors, and eventually realize that you’re the last holdout. This is probably the toughest part of the round, and you best be stocked up and armed to the teeth, as all the zombies will probably be scheming to group up and rush you (it’s their best plan).

There’s really no strategy here other than to reload between every encounter, and to put more focus on managing ammo and holding the fort. Victory is almost near, don’t let it slip away! Plant your IEDS, heal up, and share your ammo. Wait for the storm. Sooner or later, zombies will make an all-out rush on your position. Shotguns are great for this moment, because if you’re in a good position, they’ll all have to group up at the chokepoint. Aim down towards their heads and blast away!

This section is pretty useless, now that I think about it.

Humans: Ammunition and Weapon Etiquette

This guide may be for ZP:S, but it still applies. I’m too tired to write this section atm, so this video should suffice for now!

Zombie: Tactics [Riot]

WIP

Contagion Guide