Upgrades
Armoured upgrade blocks queue up here. Shoot one open for a new gun, more damage, faster fire, range, missile storms, repairs or a stronger wall.
Game Guide
Everything you need to hold the line: how a level works, every gun and zombie, powers, upgrades, Survival, rewards and the shop.
Quick start
- Drag to steer. Your squad slides wherever your finger goes and shoots straight down the lane it stands in.
- Grow the squad on the right. Run through gates for more soldiers, then get back to the middle.
- Break blocks on the left. Upgrade blocks give you a better gun, more damage and a stronger wall.
- Keep the wall standing. Once a section of the barricade falls, zombies climb through into your squad.
- Every try pays. Even a lost level earns coins. Spend them on guns and Base upgrades, then go again.
How to play
Your squad stands behind a barricade at the end of a long street, and the horde walks toward it down the middle. You win a level by killing everything it sends, bosses included. You lose when your last soldier falls.
Steering
- Drag anywhere on the screen and the squad follows your finger sideways. It stays where you let go.
- Flick left or right to jump one lane and snap to its centre.
- The squad fires straight down the lane it stands in. In the middle it shoots the horde. In a side lane it shoots the gates or blocks there instead, while the horde keeps walking toward your wall.
- Tap the round buttons on the right to fire your powers. The pause button is at the top right.
The street has three lanes:
The horde
Wave after wave of zombies, bosses and explosive barrels. This is the lane you have to hold.
Your squad
A stream of gates that never stops: more soldiers, rare multipliers, turrets for the wall and rocket launchers.
Every second you spend in a side lane is a second the horde gets closer to your wall. Knowing when to step out and when to get back is the whole game.
Gates (right lane)
Gates roll toward you down the right lane. Your squad takes a gate by being under it as it reaches the wall, so you can wait in the middle and dash or flick across at the last moment.
+N
Adds that many soldiers.
x2
Doubles your squad. Rare, so don't miss one. Multiplier Rush levels also have the game's only x3 gate.
-N
Takes soldiers away, though never your last one. Shoot it and the number climbs toward green.
Turret
Mounts a machine gun, laser or mortar on the wall. See turrets.
Rockets
Hands your front rank rocket launchers for a short time. See rocket launchers.
Shoot gates to power them up. Green gates count up (to a limit that rises with the level) and red gates climb toward green. Turret and rocket gates go all the way to x5. The bigger your squad, the faster a gate fills, so a handful of soldiers has to work for it. Multipliers stay as they are.
Your squad can grow to 10,000 soldiers. Past that, extra soldiers wait in reserve and step in as soldiers fall. Once the reserve is full, every extra soldier turns into POWER: harder hits and smaller losses for the rest of the level.
Upgrade blocks (left lane)
Blocks roll in and queue up in front of the wall. The front block shows how many hits it needs, and its armour crumbles as you shoot. Open it and the reward kicks in straight away.
NEW GUN
The whole squad switches to the gun shown on the block. Always an upgrade.
DAMAGE
Every bullet hits harder.
FIRE RATE
The squad shoots faster.
RANGE
Bullets reach further down the lane.
BARRICADE
The wall goes up a tier and every section is rebuilt at full health.
WALL MOD
Bolts a saw, trap, gun, plating or flamer onto the wall. See wall mods.
REPAIR
Rebuilds every section of the wall to full health.
MISSILES
One more missile storm in stock.
Small quick blocks (damage and fire rate, and a repair once your wall is down to half) come now and then and open fast. The big ones take longer and get tougher as the level goes on, and they only break once they're close enough to read. Everything a block gives lasts to the end of the level, and the next level starts fresh.
TIP
Only eight blocks can wait in the lane at once. While it's full, new blocks are skipped for good, so pop the front ones whenever the horde gives you a breather.
The barricade
The wall across the middle lane comes in three sections, each with its own health. While a section stands, zombies have to beat on it and your soldiers are safe behind it. Once it's destroyed, zombies climb through the gap and fight hand to hand in your ranks, and that is how most squads fall. Running to a side lane won't save you: whatever gets through, bosses included, follows the squad wherever it stands. Spitters and acid reach over the wall whatever its state.
A broken wall doesn't lose the level by itself: you lose only when the last soldier falls. REPAIR and BARRICADE blocks rebuild destroyed sections. There's more in Barricade and turrets.
Last stand: when the wall as a whole drops under 20%, your squad fires 25% faster until it's back over half.
How a level plays out
- Waves come one after another. Many are themed and announced with a banner, like SPRINTERS!, SHIELD WALL! or STAMPEDE! (see wave themes).
- A boss soon starts leading the middle wave too, and levels end with the FINAL WAVE and one or more bosses.
- Explosive barrels roll down the middle lane with the horde. Shoot one open and it blows up the zombies around it. Let it reach the wall and it blows up there instead.
- Combos: quick kills chain into a combo, and big streaks (KILLING SPREE!, RAMPAGE!, UNSTOPPABLE!, GODLIKE!) charge your missile storm.
- Kill milestones: each milestone makes the squad stronger for the rest of the level, alternating between more damage and faster fire. The screen shows the next one.
- Bonus goal: from level 3 each level has one, such as keeping the wall above 50%, blowing up every barrel or landing a number of headshots. Meet it and win for extra coins.
Special levels
Hard level
Marked HARD LEVEL on the home screen. A tougher horde and fewer upgrade blocks, but bigger coin pay and bonus gems.
Super hard
Marked SUPER HARD. Tougher still, and pays even more.
Boss level
Every 5th level. A giant leads the final wave and the level has a twist. Pays extra gems, plus a nuke if you win without a revive.
Bonus round
Two levels before each boss level. No horde: shoot the golden statue in the middle lane. Every hit pays coins, and you earn gems as it breaks apart.
Level rules. Later levels can carry a rule, named in the intro banner: ARMORED HORDE (tougher zombies, more riot shields), FRENZY (a faster horde), SCARCE SUPPLIES (fewer upgrade blocks) or the friendly SUPPLY SURPLUS (blocks break faster). The tough rules add to the level's coin pay, and the first time you meet one a tip explains it.
Openings. From level 3 every level also opens with a twist of its own: a SUPPLY DROP of quick blocks, a TURRET ON THE WALL, AIR SUPPORT READY, a MULTIPLIER RUSH of gates, a REINFORCED START, LOCKED AND LOADED with the next gun already in hand, or a rough start such as RUNNERS FIRST, CRAWLER AMBUSH, HULK INCOMING or UNDER SIEGE.
Winning and losing
- Win and you collect coins and gems. An optional ad on the victory screen multiplies the coins, and the victory photo of your cheering squad has a SHARE button.
- Lose and you still get coins for how much of the level you cleared.
- Revive with gems (the price goes up with each revive in the same level) or, for the first revive in a level, by watching an ad. A revive clears the zombies near the wall, pushes bosses back, brings your squad back up and adds a free airstrike.
- RETRY starts the level again, or spend a few gems to retry with extra soldiers.
- Backup: lose the same level twice in a row and your squad gets +20% damage on it until you win.
Cleared levels can't be replayed: the home screen always shows your next level. Every ten levels the fight moves somewhere new, and the light and weather change from level to level.
TIPS
Back to contents
- The horde is weakest early in a level, so that's the best time to grow your squad on the right.
- Watch the wall bar. If it's dropping fast, get back to the middle before opening the next block.
- Shoot red gates on your way past: a few seconds of fire can turn them green.
Guns and the Armory
Every soldier in your squad carries the same gun. There are 29 of them in strict power order, from the Pistol you start with to the Rail Gun.
Two ways to a bigger gun
- In a level, NEW GUN blocks move the whole squad up the list, a solid step at a time, as far as the XM Gatling. At the next level your squad goes back to its starting gun.
- In the Armory, buy guns with coins on the GUNS tab and choose your starting gun. Tap the equipped gun again to upgrade it for more damage. Only the equipped gun can be upgraded.
The Laser Rifle, Plasma Cannon and Rail Gun are energy weapons sold only in the Armory, and NEW GUN blocks never hand them out. Start a level with one and NEW GUN blocks turn into DAMAGE blocks instead.
All 29 guns
- Pistol Pistol
- Combat Pistol Pistol
- Heavy Pistol Pistol
- Revolver Pistol
- .50 Hand Cannon Pistol
- SMG SMG
- Micro SMG SMG
- Assault SMG SMG
- Combat PDW SMG
- Sawed-Off Shotgun Shotgun
- Shotgun Shotgun
- Rapid SMG SMG
- Carbine Rifle Rifle
- Assault Rifle Rifle
- Bullpup Rifle Rifle
- Assault Shotgun Shotgun
- Advanced Rifle Rifle
- Battle Rifle Rifle
- Marksman Rifle Sniper
- Heavy Shotgun Shotgun
- Light Machine Gun LMG
- Heavy Sniper Sniper
- Minigun Minigun
- Combat MG LMG
- Heavy MG LMG
- XM Gatling Minigun
- Laser Rifle Energy
- Plasma Cannon Energy
- Rail Gun Energy
Gun types
| Type | What it's like |
|---|---|
| Pistols | Steady single shots, the heavier ones hitting hardest. |
| SMGs | A fast stream of light rounds. |
| Shotguns | A spray of pellets that hits hard up close but loses punch at range. |
| Rifles | Accurate, keep their damage at range and can punch through into the zombie behind. |
| Snipers | Slow, heavy shots that go through several zombies. |
| LMGs and miniguns | Bullet hoses that keep their damage at range. |
| Energy | Laser, plasma and rail shots at the very top of the list. |
TIPS
- Headshots do extra damage, and your squad aims part of its fire at head height on its own. Crawlers are too low to headshot.
- Upgrading your starting gun pays twice: it hits harder, and NEW GUN blocks always offer a real step up from it, so they can skip ahead.
- No shot goes through a boss, titan or hulk, so big targets soak up a whole volley.
Skins, gear and formations
The Armory also dresses your squad. All of this is cosmetic: it changes how the squad looks, never how it fights.
- LOOK: 14 squad skins bought with coins: ARMY (free), DESERT, ARCTIC, URBAN, JUNGLE, NIGHT OPS, HAZMAT, POLICE, ROYAL GUARD, NEON, CRIMSON, GOLD, ASTRONAUT and FIREFIGHTER. GOLD is also the top reward of the premium season pass.
- GEAR: headgear, armour, a back piece and a colour scheme, worn over any skin, from goggles and night vision to capes and jetpacks.
- SQUAD: choose a formation: OVAL (a round huddle that grows outward, the default), BLOCK (tight and balanced), WEDGE (an arrowhead aimed at the horde) or LINE (wide and shallow).
Barricade and turrets
The barricade is your squad's only cover. Melee zombies have to smash through it before they can touch a soldier, so a strong wall buys you time for gates and blocks.
Nine tiers
Every level starts with the wall at tier 1, or higher with the FORTIFIED START Base upgrade. Each BARRICADE block raises it a tier and rebuilds it at full health, and every tier keeps what the tiers below it do.
| Tier | Name | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jersey Barriers | The starting concrete barriers. |
| 2 | Sandbags | More health. Every tier from here adds more. |
| 3 | Steel Plating | Zombie blows on the wall do less damage. |
| 4 | Razor Wire | Zombies leaning on the wall bleed. |
| 5 | Hedgehogs | Zombies close to the wall slow down. |
| 6 | Tesla Coils | Lightning arcs from the wall into nearby zombies and chains on. |
| 7 | Flame Vents | The wall bursts fire at zombies right in front of it. |
| 8 | Concrete Wall | A big jump in health. |
| 9 | Steel Bunker | Acid, spit and rocks do half damage. |
Wall mods
On top of its tier, the wall has five mod slots with ten tiers each: 50 mods in all, each with its own look. A WALL MOD block raises whichever slot is furthest behind, and the matching Base upgrades start every battle with that slot a tier higher. With all five maxed out, a WALL MOD block repairs the wall instead.
Wall blades
Saws and blades on the front of each section shred zombies at the wall.
Traps
Nail boards, pits and moats in front of the wall slow and hurt zombies walking up to it.
Wall guns
Guns on the two outer sections pick off the zombies nearest the wall on their own.
Wall plating
A tougher wall, and every blow on it does less.
Flank defences
Spikes, rams and flamers on the side walls strike zombies crowding in front of the barricade.
Blades, traps and wall guns need their section standing. Flank defences keep working even after a section falls.
See all 50 wall mods
| Tier | Wall blades | Traps | Wall guns | Wall plating | Flank defences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rebar Spikes | Nail Boards | Floodlights | Scrap Sheets | Spiked Posts |
| 2 | Scrap Blades | Caltrops | Siren Towers | Tire Wall | Wrecking Balls |
| 3 | Twin Buzzsaws | Barbed Wire | Nail Guns | Corrugated Steel | Flame Jets |
| 4 | Saw Wall | Bear Traps | Ballistas | Car Doors | Piston Rams |
| 5 | Chainsaw Rail | Oil Slick | MG Nests | Riot Shields | Spinning Maces |
| 6 | Blade Drum | Glue Pit | Rocket Pods | Tank Treads | Spring Traps |
| 7 | Whirling Scythes | Spike Pit | Tesla Spires | Hull Plates | Grinder Columns |
| 8 | Grinder Rollers | Shock Plates | Laser Emitters | Reactive Armor | Napalm Throwers |
| 9 | Giant Circular Saw | Cryo Vents | Arc Cannons | Titanium Plating | Lightning Rods |
| 10 | Plasma Saws | Acid Moat | Plasma Beacons | Energy Shield | Inferno Cannons |
Turrets
Orange turret gates in the right lane mount guns on the wall that fire on their own and outrange your squad.
Machine gun
A tripod .50 cal that hoses down the nearest zombie.
Laser turret
A beam that burns through up to four zombies in a line and hits harder the longer it fires.
Mortar
Lobs shells into the horde where it's about to be. Joins the turret gates a few levels in.
- Up to five turrets at once, each lasting about 22 seconds (longer with TURRET ENGINEERING). A timer bar shows how long each one has left.
- One type at a time: grabbing a different type swaps every mounted turret over to it with fresh timers. With all five slots full, a new turret refreshes the one closest to running out.
- A turret breaks if the wall section under it is destroyed.
- Turrets grow stronger with the level and with your squad's firepower.
Rocket launchers
Purple ROCKETS gates hand rocket launchers to your front rank for 12 seconds, up to five launchers at once. Another rocket gate adds more and restarts the clock. Rockets go for whatever is closest to the wall in the middle lane, favouring bosses and big zombies, and they keep firing even while your squad is off in a side lane. Soldiers carrying launchers don't fire their guns until the launchers are gone.
TIPS
Back to contents
- Shoot a turret or rocket gate on its way in to push it up to x5 before you take it.
- Fresh turrets or rocket launchers are the perfect cover for a trip into the upgrade lane.
- Mortars shine against big crowds. The laser is best when the horde comes in a long line.
Enemies and bosses
Zombies walk straight down the middle lane toward your wall. New kinds join as you climb the levels, and each one asks for a slightly different answer.
Zombies
Walker
The bulk of the horde. Slow and steady.
Beat it: keep the middle lane covered.
Runner
Sprints at the wall.
Beat it: stay in the middle when the sprinters come.
Crawler
Small, low and very fast, hiding under the crowd. Too low to headshot.
Beat it: traps, turrets and blasts clean them up.
Skinny
Tall, thin and quick on its feet.
Beat it: steady fire. It doesn't take much.
Fatty
Very wide, slow, and soaks up bullets.
Beat it: big guns and damage boosts.
Spitter
Stops short of the wall and lobs acid over it into your squad. The wall can't stop it.
Beat it: kill spitters first. A Steel Bunker halves their acid.
Thrower
Stops at range and hurls rocks at the wall, or into your squad through a gap.
Beat it: drop it before it settles in, and keep the wall whole.
Boomer
Bloated and glowing. Bursts when it dies, hurting every zombie around it. At the wall it blows up on the barricade, or in your squad through a gap.
Beat it: pop boomers early, out in the crowd.
Riot zombie
Carries a shield that soaks up every bullet until it breaks.
Beat it: keep firing. The Elite sniper and tesla towers ignore shields.
Brute
A broad bruiser that hits the wall hard.
Beat it: missile storms go for brutes right after bosses.
Hulk
Very tough, and bullets don't pass through it.
Beat it: focus fire, turrets and missiles.
Titan
The biggest of the horde, with its own health bar. Leads some waves and hits the wall very hard.
Beat it: save a missile storm or fresh turrets for it.
Elites are dark red, a little bigger and marked by a red ring on the road. They come in ELITE PACK waves on hard and super hard levels and take a lot more killing.
Wave themes
Most waves are a mixed crowd, but many are built around one idea. The banner tells you what's coming:
| Banner | What's coming |
|---|---|
| SPRINTERS! | Runners and skinnies. Fast but fragile. |
| BOOMER PARADE! | Boomers packed in among walkers, so one pop sets off the next. |
| SHIELD WALL! | Riot shields and fatties. Slow and tough. |
| ACID ARTILLERY! | Spitters and throwers hanging back to bombard you. |
| GIANTS WITH ARTILLERY! | Hulks or a titan up front with spitters and throwers sheltering behind. |
| STAMPEDE! | A huge rush of runners and walkers that go down easily. |
| CRAWLER SWARM! | A carpet of crawlers. |
| BRUTE SQUAD! | Brutes with riot shields among the walkers. |
| QUIET... GRAB UPGRADES! | A light breather: the best moment to visit the side lanes. |
| ELITE PACK! | A small pack of elites, on hard and super hard levels. |
| FINAL WAVE! | The biggest wave of the level, with the final bosses close behind. |
Bosses
Bosses walk out of the haze with an escort, a glowing ring in their colour on the road and a health bar overhead. The first time each kind shows up in a level, its name card slides across the screen.
The ButcherBrute boss
Rushes the wall and punches through it.
Beat it: have the wall standing when it arrives.
The BlightSpitter boss
Stops every few seconds to lob big acid blobs over the wall into your squad.
Beat it: kill it fast. Missiles and the sniper go for bosses first.
The GravecallerSummoner boss
Raises walkers around itself as it comes.
Beat it: focus it down before the crowd grows.
The BullCharger boss
Stamps and roars, then charges the wall at speed.
Beat it: hit it hard before the charge.
The ColossusGiant
Leads every boss level and the last Survival stage. Huge health; fights like a brute.
Beat it: throw everything you have at it.
- Every boss charges the wall once. At half health, when it gets close, or when it enrages, it roars, rushes the barricade, slams into it and starts swinging. It can't be finished off until that first swing lands, unless you drop a nuke on it.
- If the section in front of a boss is down, its slam and swings land on your soldiers instead of the wall.
- Don't let a boss linger. One still standing 45 seconds after it arrives becomes ENRAGED: faster, and its blows keep getting harder.
- Part of your squad focuses on the nearest boss automatically.
- Each boss you kill adds a missile storm (up to five in stock), drops coins and blasts the zombies around it.
What works on bosses
- Steady squad fire and turret rounds do full damage.
- Missile storms lock onto bosses first.
- The lead jet of an airstrike drops extra bombs on every boss.
- Sniper Overwatch from the Elite Arsenal always takes the boss first.
- The nuke kills every boss it reaches outright.
- Explosions and wall mods do reduced damage to bosses, and spikes, razor wire and wall blades don't hurt them at all.
Boss-level twists
Every boss level comes with one twist, in rotation. The weekly challenge uses the same four.
Armored Horde
Every zombie except the bosses is much tougher, and more walkers carry riot shields.
Frenzy
The whole horde moves a lot faster.
Toxic Swarm
Far more boomers and spitters in the mixed waves.
Regenerating Giant
Bosses heal whenever you stop hitting them for a moment. Keep the fire on.
Powers
Three round buttons on the right of the battle screen call in help. A ring round each shows its charge, a badge shows how many you have, and a dimmed button can't be used yet.
Airstrike
Three jets roar in and carpet-bomb the middle lane, from just in front of the wall to far down the street. The lead jet drops extra bombs on every boss.
- Recharges on its own over time, however the fight is going. AIR SUPPORT in the Base makes it recharge faster.
- Hold up to five, with a short cooldown between strikes.
- Run out with zombies close to the wall and the button may offer one for coins.
- You also get airstrikes from the loadout, AIR SUPPORT READY levels, every revive, ad chests, the free season pass track and the event shop.
Missile storm
Red lock-on rings snap onto twelve targets (bosses first, then brutes, then the zombies nearest the wall) and twelve missiles climb from your squad and dive onto them.
- Charged by fighting: gunfire kills (big zombies count extra), combo streaks and kill milestones fill the meter. Each storm in a level takes a little more than the last.
- Every boss you kill adds one, and so do MISSILES blocks.
- Hold up to five. Out of storms with zombies close or a boss alive, the button may offer one for coins.
Nuke
A red target drops onto the road, a warhead streaks down, and the shock wave wipes out every zombie on the road, bosses included. For a few seconds after the blast it keeps killing anything that walks into it. Later waves still come.
- Nukes are kept between levels. Use as many as you have, one at a time, once the last one has cleared.
- Out of nukes? The button lets you drop one for gems.
- Earn them from the daily calendar, boss levels won without a revive, victory chests, the premium season pass, the event shop and inbox gifts. Every new game starts with one.
Loadout
Above the PLAY button on the home screen you can buy missile storms and airstrikes with coins, and a nuke with gems, before a level starts. Airstrikes and missile storms you don't use carry over to your next level, up to five of each.
TIPS
Back to contents
- Don't sit on a full stock: at five, the meter stops filling until you use one.
- Save a missile storm for the final bosses, since its missiles go to bosses first.
- Keep a nuke for when the wall is about to fall or a boss is about to land its blows.
- An airstrike covers the whole lane, so call it in when the lane is packed.
Base and the Elite Arsenal
The BASE tab holds permanent upgrades that make every future level easier. Every level you play pays coins, won or lost, so there's always something to put them toward.
Base upgrades (coins)
| Upgrade | What it does |
|---|---|
| SQUAD TRAINING | Every soldier's bullets hit harder. |
| MARKSMANSHIP | Your squad shoots further. |
| BARRICADE ARMOR | Tougher barricade sections. |
| REINFORCEMENTS | Start every level with more soldiers. |
| SPIKED BARRICADE | Zombies leaning on the wall bleed (bosses are immune). |
| FORTIFIED START | Start every level with the barricade a tier higher. |
| AIR SUPPORT | Airstrikes recharge faster. |
| TURRET ENGINEERING | Turrets last longer. |
| QUARTERMASTER | Upgrade blocks need fewer hits. |
| WAR CHEST | More coins from wins, defeats, bonus goals and bonus rounds. |
| WALL BLADES, TRAPS, WALL GUNS, WALL PLATING, FLANK DEFENCES | Every battle starts with that wall mod a tier higher. |
The YOUR BARRICADE panel at the top of the Base shows your wall live, wearing every mod you've bought. The BASE tab shows a ! whenever you can afford a coin upgrade.
Elite Arsenal (gems)
Seven gem-only upgrades put machines beside your squad. None of them can be destroyed, each fights on its own clock, and they join every battle: campaign levels, bonus rounds, Survival and the weekly challenge. Each level you buy makes them stronger.
Guardian DronesOne to three drones hover over the wall and fire bursts at the zombie nearest it, then reload. Higher levels reload faster, and the top level adds a rocket to every burst.
Sniper OverwatchA sniper on a watchtower takes the biggest threat first: any boss, then the toughest zombie in range. Fires faster with each level.
Nano RepairWall sections that haven't been hit for a few seconds mend themselves. It can't rebuild a section that's been destroyed.
Field MedicEvery 20 seconds a field hospital sends a share of your fallen soldiers back into the fight.
Tesla FenceTwo towers at the ends of the wall chain lightning through the zombies at it and stun them for a moment.
Artillery BatteryGuns behind the lines shell the thickest part of the horde in salvos.
Attack ChopperA gunship flies in every so often, hovers and strafes the front of the horde with its door gun. The top level adds rockets.
TIP
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Gems spent on a revive help once. Gems spent on the Elite Arsenal help in every battle from then on.
Survival and the weekly challenge
Survival unlocks at level 5, from the SURVIVAL tile on the home screen. A run is 30 waves in three stages of ten, and each stage ends with a boss wave.
How a run works
- Clear wave 30, where a giant leads the last boss wave, to win the run.
- Coins come for every wave you hold, and clearing the first two stages pays a stage chest each. Winning the run pays a victory chest on top.
- Everything you earn is banked as you go, so nothing is lost if you're defeated or leave early. END RUN in the pause menu stops the run and banks it.
- Each run is built from your current level and is different every time. Gates and upgrade blocks keep coming all the way, but there are no barrels or bonus goals.
- After a defeat you can revive, and an optional ad can double the run's coins.
Difficulties
| Difficulty | Unlocks | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| NORMAL | Always open | The standard run. |
| HARD | Best run reaches wave 10 | A tougher horde, more coins and bigger stage chests. |
| NIGHTMARE | Best run reaches wave 25 | The toughest horde, the most coins and the biggest chests, plus extra gems along the way. |
Weekly challenge
Every week brings a Survival run on HARD with that week's twist: Armored Horde, Frenzy, Toxic Swarm or Regenerating Giant (see boss-level twists). Play it from the top row of the Survival screen.
- It pays normal Survival coins and chests, plus event tokens for every new wave you reach.
- Spend tokens in the event shop on the Survival screen, on airstrikes, a missile storm or a nuke.
- Your best wave of the week goes on the leaderboard and also counts toward your overall Survival best.
- Tokens and the week's best reset when the week ends, on Monday at 00:00 UTC.
Leaderboard and call signs
LEADERBOARD on the Survival screen shows the top 50 best waves of the week, with your own row and rank pinned at the top. It needs an internet connection.
- The first time you open it, you're asked for a call sign of 3 to 16 characters: letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and underscores. Until you choose one, you show up as "Survivor-" and a short code.
- Change it any time by tapping your own row, or in Settings under CALL SIGN.
- Your call sign, best wave and level are public, so don't use your real name. Offensive call signs aren't allowed: if yours is refused, pick another.
TIP
Back to contents
Stuck on a campaign level? A Survival run is a great way to earn coins for Base upgrades, and everything it pays is kept even when the run ends early.
Rewards
The REWARDS tab gathers the daily rewards, missions, season pass, ad chest and inbox, and its badge counts how many have something waiting. Daily things reset at midnight UTC.
Daily rewards
A seven-day login calendar. Claim once a day: mostly coins, gems on day 3, a nuke on day 5 and a big bundle of coins, gems and a nuke on day 7. Miss a day and the week starts again at day 1.
Daily missions
Three new missions every day, the same for every player: kill zombies, win levels, open blocks, beat bosses, call airstrikes, grow your squad or reach a Survival wave. Each pays coins, some pay gems, and all pay season pass XP. Once a day you can swap one for another with an optional ad.
Weekly mission
Win a set number of levels during the week for a gem reward.
Achievements
Lifetime goals for zombies killed, bosses beaten, levels reached and Survival waves. Each tier pays gems once.
Season pass
A monthly pass with 30 tiers and two tracks. Earn XP from wins, claimed daily missions and Survival waves. The free track pays coins, gems and airstrikes. The premium track pays more, with missile storms, nukes and the GOLD squad skin at tier 30. Everything resets on the 1st of the month (UTC).
Ad chest
Up to three times a day, a few hours apart, open a chest with an optional ad for coins, maybe gems and maybe an airstrike for your next level.
Victory chest
Every third level you win opens the victory chest: coins, with a chance of gems or a nuke. The victory screen shows your progress toward it.
Piggy bank
Every campaign level you finish drops a coin per kill into the piggy bank in the Shop. Once it's nearly full, crack it with optional ads; the third crack breaks it open and pays out a share of the coins inside.
Inbox
Gifts, event rewards and messages from us arrive in the inbox (the mail button on the home screen). Claim each one once.
Offline earnings
Coins pile up while you're away, for up to 8 hours. Collect them from the WELCOME BACK message when you return; an optional ad doubles them.
Blood Moon
Some weekends the Blood Moon rises: a red night over the street, a tougher and faster horde, and extra coins from every battle except bonus rounds. The home screen tells you when it's on.
TIP
Back to contents
Claim the daily calendar every day. Day 7 is the big one, and missing a day starts the week over.
Shop, VIP and Remove Ads
Mob Surge is free to play. Purchases are optional, and everything you can buy with gems can also be earned by playing. The game shows prices in your own currency.
What's in the Shop?
Gem packs, a coin pack, the VIP Club, Remove Ads, the piggy bank, free coins and gems for watching an optional ad, and a way to turn gems into coins. Early on, a one-time Starter Pack offer also appears for a limited time. Restore Purchases is at the bottom.
What are coins and gems for?
Coins buy guns and gun upgrades, squad skins and gear, Base upgrades, and airstrikes and missile storms for your loadout. Every level pays them, win or lose.
Gems pay for revives, nukes, retries with extra soldiers, the premium season pass and the Elite Arsenal, and can be turned into coins. You earn them from wins, chests, missions, achievements, the season pass and more.
What does Remove Ads do?
It's a one-time purchase that switches off the full-screen ads between levels for good. Rewarded ads, the ones you choose to watch for a bonus, stay available and are always optional.
What does VIP give me?
VIP is an auto-renewing subscription, weekly or monthly. While it's active you get no full-screen ads, extra coins from every win and bonus gems every time you claim your daily reward, plus Elite Arsenal perks. The VIP screen lists every perk, what each is worth right now and when your VIP ends.
What is the Premium Pass?
It unlocks the premium track of this month's season pass, with gems or as a purchase. It covers the current month only. Upgrade part-way through the month and you can still claim the premium rewards for every tier you've already reached.
When do ads appear?
Rewarded ads only play when you tap a button that says what you'll get. Full-screen ads only show at a natural break between levels, never in the middle of a fight, and not at all with Remove Ads or VIP. To turn off personalised ads, use Privacy Choices in Settings (where the law requires it) or your phone's advertising settings.
How do I restore my purchases?
Tap Restore Purchases in Settings, the Shop or the VIP screen, signed in to the same Apple or Google account you bought with. Remove Ads and an active VIP subscription come back. Gem and coin packs are used up when they're delivered, so if one never arrived, contact support with your receipt and player ID.
How do I cancel or change my VIP subscription?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple or Google, not inside the game:
- iPhone: open the Settings app, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and choose Mob Surge. Or open your App Store subscriptions.
- Android: open the Google Play Store app, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions, and choose Mob Surge. Or open your Google Play subscriptions.
Cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends to stop the next renewal. VIP stays on until the end of the period you've paid for. Deleting the game, or your game data, does not cancel a subscription.
Can I get a refund?
Refunds are handled by Apple or Google under their own policies. Ask for one from your purchase history: reportaproblem.apple.com for the App Store, or your Google Play order history.
Questions
Is Mob Surge free?
Yes. Mob Surge is free to play, with optional in-app purchases and ads.
Which phones can play it?
iPhone (iOS 15 or later) and Android phones (Android 8.0 or later).
Do I need an internet connection?
No. The campaign plays offline. When you're online your progress is also saved to our servers, and the leaderboard, events and inbox gifts need a connection.
Do I need an account?
No. There's no sign-up and we never ask for your name or email. The game creates an anonymous player ID, shown at the bottom of Settings, so support can find your profile.
How is my progress saved?
On your phone, and on our servers whenever you're online. There's no login, so your progress belongs to the phone it was made on. Purchases are tied to your Apple or Google account and can be restored.
Can I replay a level?
No. Cleared levels can't be replayed: the home screen always shows your next level. Coins keep coming from every try, from Survival, chests and the daily rewards.
I'm stuck on a level. What can I do?
- Spend your coins on Base upgrades and on your starting gun in the Armory.
- Play a Survival run to earn more coins; everything it pays is kept.
- Buy missile storms and airstrikes in the loadout before you press PLAY.
- Lose twice in a row and backup arrives: +20% damage on that level until you win.
- Grow the squad early, open blocks when the horde thins out, and keep the wall standing.
The game is slow or my phone gets warm. What can I do?
Open Settings and set Graphics to MEDIUM or LOW. Fewer soldiers, zombies and effects are drawn on screen, but the fight stays the same: your whole squad still fires and the horde is just as tough. The game also adjusts itself if your phone starts to struggle.
Why does the game ask to send notifications?
After your first win, the game asks whether it may remind you about things like full offline earnings or a ready ad chest. Reminders are optional and scheduled on your phone; switch them off any time in your phone's settings.
Can I undo my upgrades and spend them differently?
Yes. In the game: Settings, then Reset Upgrades. Every Base upgrade, Elite Arsenal level and gun level goes back to zero and you get most of what they cost back in coins and gems; the game shows the exact amount before you confirm. Your guns, skins and gear stay. It isn't available in the middle of a level.
How do I change my call sign?
Open Settings and tap CALL SIGN, or tap your own row on the leaderboard.
How do I delete my data?
In the game: Settings, then Delete My Data. It removes your progress, your cloud profile and your leaderboard entries straight away, and it can't be undone. Purchases stay with your Apple or Google account, so Restore Purchases can bring them back into a new game. Deleting your data doesn't cancel a VIP subscription: cancel that in your store account. You can also email us with the player ID from Settings. See the Privacy Policy.
How do I contact support?
Email mob.surge.support@gulpgames.com with your player ID (Settings, at the bottom) and, for a purchase problem, the store receipt or order number. There's more on the Support page.
Still need a hand?
Visit the Support page or email mob.surge.support@gulpgames.com. We answer every message, usually within a few days.