Slasher | Character classes in World War Z World War Z guide, tips
Last update: 17 May 2019
The Slasher in World War Z is the frontline character. The character focuses on dealing with the zombies using melee attacks, with perks increasing the damage done and at the same time decreasing the damage taken from enemies when fighting in close quarters. This class also provides benefits to the entire team, increasing allies' effectiveness in melee combat. In this chapter you will learn more about the Slasher class in World War Z.
Slasher class - general information
The Slasher is the melee specialist in World War Z - majority of the class' skills focus around increasing the effectiveness of the character when fighting in melee, using the machete. The perks increase both the damage done via those attacks, as well as the number of attacks that can be performed before the character gets tired. What is more, the class gains a huge, 50% damage reduction and 90% friendly fire damage when fighting in melee range, allowing the class to stay in the middle of the enemies, even on higher difficulty levels. The class deals immense damage with melee strikes - with proper upgrades, even the Bull will be downed in just a few hits, before he can do anything. Additionally, the class offers bonuses to melee attacks to the entire party, allowing allies to perform more melee attacks before they get tired.
The class starts with a Stun Gun and a Compact SMG. The Stun Gun shoots electrodes, capable of stunning and killing over a dozen of enemies in one hit. The tool can be further enhanced with perks, turning it into a deadly weapon. What is more, when fighting in melee the class can hit two enemies at once, deals double damage when the character is not tired and getting tired does not make melee attacks slower.
The Core Perks of the class are: Shock Trooper, Slice and Dice, Executioner and Blade Master. The descriptions of all of them can be found in the further part of this chapter.
Slasher - available perks
The Slasher, like other character classes in World War Z, has access to 31 different perks. All of the perks were presented in the following table.
Level required | Perk name | Description |
0 - starter perk | Shock Troops | Start with a Stun Gun and a Compact SMG. Melee strikes damage two targets at the same time and do twice damage when the character is not tired. Melee attacks are not slower when tired. |
1 | Crowd Control | Push radius from melee attacks is increased by 50%. |
2 | All Elbows | Decreases the movement speed penalty when zombies are very close by 100%. |
3 | Rooted | Increases the number of zombies required to pin down the character from 8 to 12. |
4 | Juiced Up | The Stun Gun effect duration is increased by 100%. |
5 | Zeus | Increases the range of the Stun Gun by 50% and the maximum amount of targets that can be struck at the same time to 20 (base range is 12 meters, base target count is 15). |
6 | High Voltage | Increases the damage done by the Stun Gun by 100%. |
7 | Bullet-dodger | The character takes 90% less friendly fire from bullets while performing melee attacks. |
8 | Nimble | The character takes 50% reduced damage from zombies while performing melee attacks. |
9 | With My Last Breath | Melee strikes damage 1 more target when the health of the character drops below 25%> |
10 | Slice and Dice | You and your teammates can perform more melee strikes (+2) before becoming tired. |
11 | Trophy Hunter | The character deals 25% more damage to special zombies. |
12 | Wheatgrass | Health of the character is increased by 25%. |
13 | Silent Killer | The character starts with the TMP5 SMG with a pre-installed silencer upgrade. |
14 | Vigour | Killing 10 zombies in rapid succession with a melee weapon grants a temporary health boost. The ability has a 30 seconds cooldown. |
15 | Cloak and Dagger | Killing 10 zombies in rapid succession with a melee weapon grants a masking effect. The ability has a 30 seconds cooldown. |
16 | Third Hand | Killing 10 zombies with melee strikes in rapid succession instantly reloads your primary weapon. |
17 | Heavy Metal I | The character starts with an improved Forrest Warrior Chainsaw, dealing 50% more damage and having 50% more fuel. All Forest Warrior Chainsaw pickups are also improved. |
18 | Heavy Metal II | The character starts with an improved Taiga-12 Heavy Assault Shotgun, dealing 25% more damage and having 25% more ammo. All Taiga-12 Heavy Assault Shotgun pickups are improved. |
19 | Battle Cry | The character automatically stands up from being pinned after 5 seconds. |
20 | Executioner | The character can perform 1 more melee strike before becoming tired. Melee damage is increased by 50%. |
21 | Shock Therapy | The character does not become fatigued when melee attacking zombies electrified by the Stun Gun. |
22 | Samurai | Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession allows you to hit 1 more target per melee strike for 10 seconds. |
23 | Bloodlust | Killing special zombies with a melee weapon increases firearms damage by 50% for 10 seconds. |
24 | Spare Batteries | The Stun Gun max capacity is increased to 4. |
25 | Pickpocket | Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives a 25% chance to restore one charge of your equipment. |
26 | Loan Shark | Killing a special zombie gives a 25% chance to restore one charge of your equipment. |
27 | Flash Site | Using the Stun Gun restores 1% of your primary weapon's ammo for every target you stun. |
28 | Swapping Mags!! | SMGs' reload speed is increased by 25%. |
29 | Adrenaline | Reload speed increased by 50% when health is below 25%. |
30 | Blade Master | Melee strikes damage 1 more target. |
Note - Firearm damage is the damage done with ranged weapons (shotguns, rifles, assault rifles, pistols, SMGs and so on). It does not affect melee damage done with Machetes and Chainsaws.
Slasher - tips
To sum up, we present a list of hints that will make playing the Slasher character class easier and more effective:
- The Slasher is a melee specialist in World War Z. The class is immensely effective in performing melee attacks and it can be further enhanced with perks, to the point that most enemies will be killed in one hit and even the Bull will be downed in just a few strikes, before the special zombie can react.
- The key early game perks for the class are Bullet-dodger and Nimble. The former decreases the damage taken from friendly fire attacks by 90%, bringing them down almost to 0 and the latter decreases the damage taken from enemy attacks while performing melee attacks by 50%. Those two perks turn the Slasher into a tank, as long as the character is fighting in melee range. The Wheatgrass perk is also valuable, as it increases the health of the character by 25%.
- Even though the Slasher is the melee specialist, you do not want to rush into a zombie swarm. The character of this class is powerful in melee range and can even top a Bull, but running into a group of 50 enemies will cause you to lose health and/or get incapacitated. Choose your fights accordingly.
- The unique equipment of the Slasher is the Stun Gun. The gun launchers electrodes that electrocute the target and nearby enemies, stunning them and, in most cases, killing the affected foes. The Stun Gun is a powerful tool that can be used to stop the rush of a zombie swarm, especially inside a tight passage, or to stop the Bull from rushing you or your allies, giving you time to act.
- The Stun Gan can be further enhanced with perks. You can increase the amount of "bullets" the tool can store, the amount of affected enemies, as well as the damage done by the electrode, making the tool capable of killing almost all enemies, aside from Bull, with one shot. A valuable perk is the Flash Site - it causes you to regain 1% of your primary weapon ammo for each enemy stunned by the Stun Gun.
- The Slasher can increase the effectiveness of melee attacks of the party. The perk Slice and Dice allows you and your teammates to perform 2 more melee attacks before getting tired, which can be decisive in an encounter.
- The Slasher does not have a favorite weapon group. The character of this class can use all types of weapons, but the ones from the SMG and Shotgun groups are most desired here, as the character will be fighting in close quarters most of the time.
Note - you will eventually unlock all of the perks, but you should focus on the one you are really going to need, as unlocking them all will require a substantial amount of Supplies.