Community Weapon Strategies

This is the community guide for strategies on weapons and ammo management. This page aims to detail the most desired guns for each stage of the game and methods to obtain them.

Wall Weapon Strategy

Experienced players tend to rush to the Mystery Box as fast as possible since it provides better weapons, skipping wall weapons entirely.

It is possible to not buy any wall weapons and to solely rely on the starting Beretta M9 and knife to generate points. By round 5 or before, the player should be able to make it to the Mystery Box and buy their first weapon.

The strategy of rushing the Mystery Box is effective and conserves points. However, it requires an element of luck. Getting bad weapons out of the Mystery Box on the first few rolls can leave the player stuck in a bad spot with an unfavorable gun and zero points.

• At the start of a game, If opting to play slower, players can elect to buy one of the starting room wall weapons in early rounds if necessary. Depending on spawn, the player should buy the B93 Raffica instead of the SKS. The B93 Raffica is a potent starting room weapon that maintains its viability for a long time due to its three-round burst. On the other side, the M14 is preferable as the Ranger tends to fall off in viability rather quickly. Players should then focus on getting to the Power Room and reach the Mystery Box.

• Near to a higher round, After obtaining satisfactory weapons from the Mystery Box, players should only buy wall weapons if they run out of ammo on Mystery Box weapons since you can buy ammo or if it is an essential part of their loadout as a weapon like the AN-94 which is the most potent wall weapon in game.

Mystery Box Strategies

Best Mystery Box Locations

The best Graduation Mystery Box spawns are the Power Room and the Long Power Room Hallway since these locations are easily defended, are right next to each other, and are on Floor 2.

The worst Graduation spawn is the Juggernog Room since it is on Floor 1 and the room is extremely small, allowing zombies to overwhelm players.

In Research, The best possible spawn could be the starting room spawn as it is located right next to a teleporter allowing a quick escape even if zombies could be overwhelming.

However, inside the gas area of the map, not only is the entire area tight and confide, there is a box spawn next to a fish tank that will easily overwhelm a player if stood there for too long. Not only that the room nearby with the whiteboard could be game ending as there is one way out but that door way could easily be filled with a zombie and trap you instantly.

Burn the Box

Much of the gameplay in Project Lazarus circulates around the Mystery Box.

Burning the box (informally known as "BTB") is a strategy that involves players constantly opening the Box to obtain desired weapons. If the Box produces an undesirable weapon, the opener either waits for the Box to reset or equips the undesirable weapon and opens the box again to speed up the process. After it teleports, players relocate and continue opening it.

BTB can occur unofficially if it is unannounced in the chat, but there is a group of players hogging the box and continuously opening it while fending off attacking zombies.

Otherwise, BTB can be formally requested by announcing it in the chat. Usually, it is expressed with the message "Don't kill the last zombie." When this message is said, the other players understand that someone needs to use the Mystery Box before the next round. In later rounds where ammunition supply becomes a much larger factor to survival, it is generally assumed to keep the last zombie alive to prevent the next round from starting, so players can obtain high-tier guns from the Mystery Box with full ammo.

The last zombie is either:

• Preoccupied with a player who opts to run in circles away from the Mystery Box to distract the zombie.
• At the Box but the players are moving around, so it cannot hit any players enough times to down him/her.

Tradeouts

A tradeout is what occurs when you need to reroll the Mystery Box until receiving a desired weapon. This is usually done upon running out of ray gun ammunition and then needing to hit the box until getting the ray gun again, thus trading it out.

Solo Tradeouts

Solo tradeouts are done when there is only one player alive, or the player is the last remaining in the lobby. There are 2 types, end of round tradeouts, and mid-round tradeouts.

End-of-Round Tradeouts

• End of round tradeouts are the fastest, and easiest type of solo tradeout. They are done at the end of the round, when there is only one zombie remaining. This can be identified when zombies are no longer spawning and then slowly culling the last remaining zombies until only one remains. To do an end of round tradeout, simply constantly hit the box while also constantly moving such that you do not go down to the final zombie until receiving the ray gun or any other 3 Star weapon.

(Mid-Round) Full Horde Tradeouts

• Full horde tradeouts are done when the player needs ammo in the middle of a round. These are much more dangerous, and much more time consuming than a normal end of round tradeout, but are a necessity at high rounds, as one ray gun will not have enough ammo to clear a full round. To perform a full horde tradeout, start by training up a full horde of 24 zombies in the mule kick room. When the zombies stop spawning in, you'll know that you have a full horde.
• Then move to the box location. The key is to sprint enough to put distance between you and the horde, but not so much distance that zombies walk in the OPPOSITE direction and cut you off later. Be sure to balance your sprinting and walking time.
• Then upon reaching the box, depending on the location, you will have time to hit the box 1-3 times before the zombie horde catches up with you. Then you'll be forced to bring them all back to the mule kick room, and then rinse and repeat until you receive the ray gun. If the box is in the power room, go clockwise so that you have more time to get away from the zombies and get more box hits. If the box is downstairs, go counterclockwise.

Co-Op Tradeouts

Unlike solo, in co-op with coordinated players, it does not really matter when a tradeout is performed, as mid-round tradeouts can be performed at the same speed as end of round tradeouts.

• Even if players are not cooperative, there can only be 24 zombies at a time leaving you with only a few zombies to deal with while you spin the box.
• To do a co-op tradeout, gather all players in/around the Mule Kick room and train up a full horde of zombies. Then the players that need to do the tradeout exit the Mule Kick room by sprinting the speed cola, NOT down the stairs. By sprinting through speed cola (to the box), due to the zombie pathfinding AI, most of the zombies will stop chasing the player, and instead return to the Mule Kick room. If any zombies remain in pursuit, simply kill them. Eventually, the zombies will spawn in an area where they go after the player still in the Mule Kick room.

The player in the Mule kick room only needs to run the train of zombies in Mule kick while the other players hit the box until receiving ray gun or any other 3 star weapon.

Specific Weapon Strategies

Knife

When using the knife, It is beneficial to immediately step back between knife swings to avoid any retaliatory attacks by quickly exiting the striking distance of zombies.

The knife can perform one-hit kills in round 1, but require 2 hits in round 2, 3 hits on round 3, and so on. It is best used in the first rounds of the game and have a cooldown for 1 secs.

Knifing can save ammunition and generate more points. A normal headshot kill rewards 100 Points, while a melee kill rewards 130 points. However, knifing will not count towards headshots.

If possible, the player can aim to use the knife exclusively during rounds 1 and 2 as their main weapon. The knife can be used as a finishing weapon up to round 5. Going for a number of headshots with the Beretta M9 to soften up the zombie before finishing with a melee attack to maximize point gain.

To conserve ammo, there is a rough heuristic for Beretta M9 headshots required to finish with the knife, starting on round 2:

$\text{Beretta M9 Headshots} = \text{Round} \times 2$

For example, on round 4 it will require 8 headshots from the Beretta M9 before a zombie can be killed with a single knife strike. Note that this is not necessary for round 1, as zombies will die in a single knife strike.

The one exception is when the Insta-Kill power-up is active, as any damage will be sufficient to kill. Knifing zombies during this time will allow the player to preserve ammunition and gain more points per zombie. But if you are being cornered, switch to using any other weapon instead, as the small interval between any knife swings can still leave the player vulnerable. Even with Insta-Kill, knifing will still be much less effective against crowds compared automatic weapons.

If the player is downed with no suitable weapon to use, knifing can be more effective than the Beretta M9, as it deals more damage.

Overall, the main advantage of the knife is to damage zombies without the expenditure of ammunition. It is better than using the Beretta M9 because of its ability to one hit kill during the first round. However, the knife only truly shines in the first few rounds when against a handful of zombies. It does not allow the player to gain headshots and the time between swings can leave the player defenseless. It becomes most helpful later on during the effects of the Insta-kill power-up, allowing the player to conserve precious ammo while granting more points for melee kills.

AK-47

The AK-47 is a recommended weapon to have in later rounds, due to its high damage and large magazine.

This is especially true with the Pack-a-Punch upgrade. At 200% damage, The Revolution deals 4500 damage on a Double Tap Root Beer-boosted headshot at point blank, which can one-shot zombies up until Round 25.

SL9SD

For being able to take down zombies with quick work while using minimal amounts of ammo, SL9SD has outstanding performance and can be a staple in your loadout. Its incredible damage, fire rate, and astonishing amount of reserve ammo the SL9SD could be a compelling weapon to use, with a massive headshot multiplier, it makes easy work of zombies coming your way whether it be used for training or camping the SL9SD couldn't be any better not to mention its quick reload speeds accompanying its fire rate and ammo size.

The upgraded SL9SD can do even greater headshot damage per shot. 500 base damage x 2 from Double Tap is 1000 damage per shot. With the module effect, 150% of 1000 damage for 1500 damage. With the x5 headshots multiplayer of the upgraded weapon, it totals to a staggering 7500 potential damage per bullet.

Remington 870

The Remington 870 shotgun isn't one of those reliable shotgun you see in your everyday life, this shotgun has powerful slugs that can deal huge damage numbers per hit with its module.

The upgraded Remington has the highest direct hit per bullet damage in the whole game. The Mortal Reminder can deal up to 10,125 damage per shot with Double Tap Root Beer. Headshots damage can be calculated with the equation of 2250 (upgraded Remington 870 damage) x 2 (Double Tap Root Beer) x2.25 (headshot bonus damage) for 10,125 total damage.

With that said, the Remington 870's damage per bullet deals massive numbers. There are other weapons with higher per shot damage, but they are less reliable and unwieldy. The Carl-Gustaf M2 deals 5000 max splash damage and the Crossbow headshot damage can stack infinitely, but good luck not getting run over by zombies like how the grass cutter runs over the grass.

AWP

When the scope reticle turns red with the upgraded AWP, that is when the player must fire the weapon in order for the 175% damage boost to apply. Be quick, however, as the time window of the Quick Scope Module is extremely short.

The Quick Scope Module allows the Arctic Wisp to kill zombies with a single headshot up to and including round 49 with Double Tap Root Beer. This makes it one of the most effective weapons in the game besides Wonder Weapons and a must-have for players who wish to obtain the Round 50 badge, as it will always one-shot kill until round 50.

MSSR

Considering the mixture of high damage and possible high fire rate, the MSSR is possibly one of the best guns in the game. With Double Tap, Misery deals 500 x 2 damage per shot. On a headshot, this means that it deals 10000 damage per round. This alongside it's infinite possible fire rate makes it incredibly easy to take down lines of zombies in a few seconds.

The scope is both open allowing you to have a clear field of vision in close range, while also being zoomed in enough to help with making headshots at range. This gun also performs extremely well at range considering that there is no damage drop off at range.

M249 SAW

The power and reliability of the M249 SAW are top tier. The weapon is the best LMG in the game and has the damage output and reserve ammo to prove it. Whether its holding down a location or used for training zombies, it will shred trains of zombies with its penetration and ruthless damage output. This gun shines with its ammo that lasts multiple rounds without a refill. Paired With Another 3 Star Weapon, this will undoubtedly carry you into the next round.

The damage of the upgraded M249 SAW is pretty simple to calculate: 350 (base damage) x2 (Double Tap) = 700. x3 (headshot multiplier) = 2,100 damage per bullet

Ray Gun

When using the Ray Gun for offensive capabilities, it is beneficial to round up the zombies first! Shooting zombies in a straight line defeats the purpose of the added splash damage buff and is an inefficient way of using ammo, especially late game.

The upgraded Ray Gun, Iscariot's Kiss, is one of the two weapons in the game that deals infinite damage alongside the Frostbite. Zombies will always die within four shots regardless of round, making it theoretically possible to reach any round with it.

Once the zombies are rounded up, it is recommended to shoot the horde no more than four times to conserve ammo, as the upgraded Ray Gun always kills within four shots. Having a Ray Gun is ideal past round 50.

Frostbite

To keep it simple, The PAP'd Frostbite is able to one shot a horde of zombies by freezing them to a immovable block of ice. When shooting zombies directly it will instantly transform them to ice, furthermore, inside of the radius of the dome outputted from the Frostbite's direct hit, zombies will initially be slowed down (including the player) leaving them in a state still able to hit you, then transform into ice shortly after. Frozen zombies should commonly be noted as dead as they cannot hit you or move, having said that, the Frostbite can act as a double edged sword as it slows the player down and creates a blockade of frozen zombies, effectively creating a wall behind which slowly accumulates only a few normal zombies in the time the frozen zombies would die, nevertheless, the Frostbite will save you from being cornered, or even being cornered off guard and using then Frostbite due to direct hits instantly freezing the zombie about to hit you then the splash killing the zombies behind the frozen zombie holding you in a corner. The limitation of the Frostbite being only obtainable by a single user still requires non-frostbite loadouts being planned, the players can decide if the Frostbite is to be given to the best player on your team or the person who is able to utilize it the best or leave it to the Mystery Box's RNG.

Absolute Zero is one of the two weapons in the game that deals infinite damage, alongside the Pack-A-Punched Ray Gun. Being able to one-shot zombies regardless of round makes it theoretically possible to reach any round with it.

Please note that performing a melee attack on a frozen zombie will break the ice along with the zombie. It will also give you the same amount of points as killing a zombie with a knife.

Pack-a-Punch

The Pack-a-Punch machine allows the player to upgrade their weapons for 5000 points. The machine requireseveral steps to activate.

Activating the Pack-a-Punch

Graduation

The following are the steps needed to activate the Pack-a-Punch machine in the Graduation map.

1. Turn on the power switch
2. Obtain the key in the power room
3. Use the key to open to room containing the Pack-a-Punch machine
4. Interact with the big empty jar (harvester) on the shelf next to the machine
5. Kill nearby zombies to collect essence needed to activate it
6. Upon reaching the amount of essence required, the machine may now be used.

Research

The following are the steps needed to activate the Pack-a-Punch machine in the Research map.

1. Turn on the Power Switch
2. Divert all 4 switches at the testing chamber floor area
3. Once all switches are diverted, the PaP machine will be activated then players will need go to the portal to access the room.

Upgraded Weapon Ratings

1 star = Don't Get This. 2 star = Viable Gun. 3 star = Meta Weapon. High Round Meta.

Handgun		Upgraded Weapon	Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
Beretta M9	Slows down zombies Nice support for raygun Has big splash damage	Call of the Void	⭐⭐	> Null Infusion Module Converts the weapon to 2-round burst, firing void energy. Second shot explodes and slows on impact.
B93 Raffica	Meant to be used at the start of the game, is a wall weapon with potential at lower rounds.	Triumvirate	⭐	> Triple Burst Module Every 3 third shot does 150% damage.
Glock 17	Speeds you up without the need for killing anything ect.	Synthetik Polymer	⭐⭐	> EKO Cobra Module Converts weapon to full-auto. Increases movement speed by 15%.
Desert Eagle	Low damage on high rounds, module is only a single bullet. 1 Shot till round 18.	Hell's Vulture	⭐	> Perfect Last Shot Module Last bullet in the chamber has reduced spread and does 666% damage.
TEC-9	Very low damage at high rounds, despite it's high firerate.	Torrent	⭐	> 50 Kill Upgrade Module Gain 50% recoil reduction and do 125% damage at 50 kills.

Submachine Gun		Upgraded Weapon	Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
AS Val	(replaced with kedr-b same stats)	Silent Valor	⭐	> Stealth Attack Module First 25% of magazine does 150% damage.
MP5	Convenient spot in graduation, terrible spot in Research. Damage isn't bad, but still not good.	Mediator	⭐	> Symphony Module Finishing reloads grants 125% damage for 1s.
TMP	Relies hugely on the wielder's luck due to it's random nature. Even so, it's power pales to that of others.	Entropy	⭐	> Chaos Module 35% chance for to deal 0%-350% damage. Variable fire rate.
UMP45	Requires sustained fire just to kill a zombie in a few bullets. Still, a good wall weapon if used for farming.	Undying Wish	⭐	> Unyielding Module Successive shots increase damage by 2%.
P90	Very high damage for its class, incredible mag count and reserve ammo rivaling that of LMGs.	P-Chan	⭐⭐⭐	> LLENN Module Kills increase damage by 10% for 5s up to 150% damage.

Assault Rifle	Upgraded Weapon		Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
M14	Manifest Destiny	Meant for early game. low damage, 1 shot at round 5 or so.	⭐	> Conquest Module First shot after reloading fires a 3-round burst.
SKS	Surgeon's Knife	A weapon that is made fun of for its damage and stats.	⭐	> Steady Hand Module 75% recoil reduction when aiming down sights.
AN-94 Abakan	Anesthesia	Arguably the best wall weapon, high damage for a wall weapon. The 3 stars is given for being the best wall weapon not weapon in category.	⭐⭐⭐	> Double Headshots Module Double headshots grant 150% headshot damage for 1s.
AK-47	The Revolution	It has an incredible module that allows huge damage per bullet fired. Drops off after round 40+.	⭐⭐⭐	> Lionheart Module Kills permanently increase damage by 1% up to 200% total damage.
AUG A3	Aggression	Mostly used for its speed, has alright damage for a box weapon.	⭐⭐	> Adrenaline Module Kills grant a fleeting movespeed boost for 3s.
F2000	Fleeting Moment	Module relies mainly on the wielder's luck. Deals a normal amount of damage.	⭐	> Opportunity Module Headshots have a 5% chance to grant a 200% damage buff for 5s.
HK416	Hunter-Killer	Box weapon, gives movement speed. pretty good for a while but will drop off after round 30.	⭐⭐	> Tactical Maneuver Module Tactical reloads grant a fleeting movespeed boost for 3s based on expended ammo.
M16A4	The Institution	Box weapon, pretty good for a while but will drop off after round 30.	⭐⭐	> 50 Kill Upgrade Module Converts the weapon to full-auto with 125% damage at 50 kills.
SL9SD	Deafening Silence	Incredible damage per bullet, large ammo reserves that can last rounds without max ammo, and is semi-auto so you can conserve ammo better.	⭐⭐⭐	> Stealth Attack Module Does 150% damage for the first 25% of the magazine.
Masada	The Fortress	Shots slow down enemies and deal extra damage at the same time. You can slowly push back zombies at Round 40, however this is pressured the ammo reserve. (slightly buffed with frostbite update)	⭐⭐	> Defender Module Shots have a 15% chance of slowing and doing 200% damage.

Shotgun	Upgraded Weapon		Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
Benelli M4	Better Days	Absolutely decimates Round 30 - 35 and below, an underrated gun, but slowly loses its touch at wave 40+.	⭐⭐⭐	> Better Tomorrow Module First shot after reloading has increased range and tighter spread. Reloads 4 shells at once.
Ranger	Lone Survivor	Was nerfed into the ground unfortunately, it no longer has the 40+ damage, common to see at round 30 still.	⭐⭐	> Madness Module Converts the weapon to 5-round burst. Massively increases ammunition capacity.
Remington 870	Mortal Reminder	You will be overrun by zombies if stationary as it only shoots a single slug.	⭐	> Slug Shot Module Fires a single powerful slug instead of pellets. Reloads 2 shells at once.
USAS-12	Usurper	Great damage however it wont last a round without needing more ammo at round 30-40.	⭐	> Floating Dagger Module Kills grant a fleeting movespeed boost for 2s. Every 4 kills grant a 150% damage buff for 5s.

Sniper	Upgraded Weapon		Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
AWP	Arctic Wisp	Quick scoping requires precious timing as it activates after zooming in fully. great damage/penetration however.	⭐⭐	> Quick Scope Module Firing right after aiming down sights does 175% damage. Headshots trigger airhorns.
Barrett .50cal	Yoko-Lagann	This weapon promotes camping and is often seen in graduations pap room. big damage however the ammo capacity might not suit multiple rounds.	⭐⭐	> Littner Anti-Material Module Shooting while stationary fires anti-material rounds that explode and penetrate.
Dragunov SVU	Gaze of the Dragon	Favoured because of its semi-auto nature, it is common to see one out of ammo if the player isn't too careful with usage.	⭐⭐	> Multi Headshot Module Hitting two headshots with one bullet chambers another round.

Light Machine Gun	Upgraded Weapon		Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
SA58 OSW	Sweet Sorrow	Wall weapon that managed to be categorised as an lmg. not commonly seen at round 20 and above.	⭐	> Emptiness Module 150% fire rate for the last 35% of the magazine.
M249 SAW	Chainsaw	Incredible horde killer, powerful bullets. Huge ammo reserves so you will last multiple rounds without max ammo.	⭐⭐⭐	> Frenzy Module Kills increase fire rate to 125% for 1s.
RPD	Demolisher	Great module however the damage will drop off at round 40+.	⭐⭐	> Scrapper Module Kills have a 20% chance of returning up to 10 ammo to reserves.
SCAR-HAMR	Sledgehammer	Terrible ammo mag along with low damage at round 40. usually replaced with a better weapon on this later in a game.	⭐	> Battle Scars Module 150% fire rate for the first 7 rounds of each burst.

Wonder Weapon	Upgraded Weapon		Rating	Pack-a-Punch Module
Ray Gun	Iscariot's Kiss	4 shots to kill on any round. Required weapon in all loadouts above round 50+.	⭐⭐⭐	> Ruiner Module Splash deals 25% of the targets max health as bonus damage.
Frostbite	Absolute Zero	1 shot kill to any zombie directly or in the dome radius. Super handy to have as a emergency weapon or for killing hordes, and is essential for any high round loadout.	⭐⭐⭐	> Black Ice Module Enhanced freeze.