World War Z, the zombie titled derived from both excellent book and terrible film, has a new update today which expand the options players have for taking on the endless hordes of digital undead. There’s some new difficulty options which completely change how the game is played, and this is the main component of the update. Ammo refills, health top-ups, and restrictions on weapon variants are all being tweaked in the new difficulty selections.
The Six Skulls Update adds a bunch more changes though, and a new set of challenging difficulty options is just the beginning.
In terms of existing content, a bunch of AI tweaks are also being thrown into the mix to help add more flesh to the bones of the new difficulty mode in Six Skulls. The AI will now adjust spawn rates, pathing, as well as damage values for some turrets and other enemies, with this patch.
Various gameplay elements, including perks like Gunslinger, Hellraiser, Medic and Fixer got a bunch of tweaks. The balance is all over the place, with many receiving major buffs, a few stealth nerfs are packed in there too though. Check out the full patch notes down below for all of the details.
Other adjustments include some QoL changes to the HUD that make information easier to understand. AI is also a little harder to exploit in some cases. The patch also includes various bug fixes too. Several crashes and map issues which caused clipping problems have been dealt with.
The newest free update to the cooperative zombie shooter is out now on all platforms. Check out the full trailer that runs through all of the features and changes, down below. World War Z is currently available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC via the Epic Games Store
Patch Notes – Six Skulls Update
New Features
- Added new 6 skulls difficulty mode.
- Added Wakizashi melee weapon for completing any level on the new difficulty mode.
- Added unique Sniper Rifle variant for completing all levels on the new difficulty mode.
- Ammo crates now have limited ammo available based on difficulty level. The amount of ammunition drained from the ammo crate depends on the weapon and how much ammo the player has left. On average, the distribution is:
- Easy – unlimited refills.
- Normal – unlimited refills.
- Hard – 12 full refills.
- Insane – 6 full refills.
- Extreme – 6 full refills.
AI
- Slightly reduced the number of special zombies that can spawn in idle state.
- Reduced the total number of special zombies that can be present simultaneously from 6 to 4 on all difficulties except Extreme difficulty, which will have 5.
- Slightly increased cooldown between special zombie spawns.
- Very slightly reduced the total number of zombies that can spawn during non-swarm waves.
- Increased AI bots’ efficiency on Insane difficulty.
- Improved balance of zombie waves when playing without AI bots.
- Improved friendly auto turrets on higher difficulties (previously their damage did not scale).
- Enemy auto turrets will deal slightly less damage on higher difficulties, but will have more health.
- Fixed issue that was preventing AI bots from attacking zombies when they were under masking effect.
- Special zombies will no longer be able to grab player through thin walls.
- Improved Lurker jump behavior; he will be able to spot and jump on players from above more efficiently.
- Greengold and Svetlana friendly NPCs will use silenced pistols and will no longer undermine stealth for players.
Quality of Life
- AI bots will no longer explode barrels and mines by accidental shooting.
- Added HUD icon when teammates are carrying car parts on Jerusalem 2.
- Added HUD icon when teammates are carrying explosive charges on Tokyo 2.
- Added sound notification when zombie is approaching or attacking from behind.
- Added a 6 second masking effect for players that respawn or join the game in progress (without screen effect).
- Added a 2 second masking effect for players that are revived (without screen effect).
- Added an indicator for remaining mortar shots.
UI
- Added weapon perks display on Weapon Customization screen.
- Minor UI and localization fixes.
Weapons
- Added missing laser sight beam effect for Assault Carbine and Assault Rifle.
- MAG5 Machine Gun’s damage increased by 50% (in PvE only).
- Chainsaw will now generate noise in all of its attack modes.
- Fixed issue that was causing the Chainsaw to not stagger zombies in some cases.
Perks
- Gunslinger
- Sleight of hand. Weapon switch speed increased from 50% to 100%.
- Last Resort. When both primary and secondary weapon magazines are dry you can perform 4 (was 2) more melee strikes without fatigue and damage 2 (was 1) more targets with each melee strike.
- Desperado. Pistol damage increased from 25% to 50%.
- Free Refill. Primary weapon ammo restored 2% (was 1%) for each kill made with equipment.
- Executioner. Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 100% (was 25%) chance to refill one equipment charge (cooldown 60 seconds, was 10 seconds).
- Switcheroo. Switching between primary and secondary weapons increases firearm damage by 50% (was 25%) for 3 seconds.
- Thrifty. Reloading a weapon with less than 25% ammo in the magazine provides a 35% firearm damage boost (was 25%) for 5 seconds.
- Gun Fanatic. Fixed perk conditions triggering early in some cases.
- Hellraiser
- Unshakeable. Self inflicted explosive damage is reduced by 90% (was 60%).
- Pickpocket. Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 100% (was 25%) chance to refill one equipment charge (cooldown 60 seconds, was 10 seconds).
- I’ll Take That. Killing a special zombie gives 100% (was 25%) chance to restore one equipment charge (cooldown 60 seconds, was 10).
- Deep Pockets. Heavy weapon ammo capacity increased by 35% (was 25%).
- Predator. Killing special zombies boosts firearm damage by 100% (was 50%) for 10 seconds.
- Medic
- Combat Medic. Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 50% (was 10%) chance to receive a Medkit (cooldown 180 seconds, was 10).
- Pickpocket. Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 100% (was 25%) chance to refill one equipment charge (cooldown 30 seconds, was 10 seconds).
- I’ll Take That. Killing a special zombie gives 100% (was 25%) chance to restore one equipment charge (cooldown 30 seconds, was 10).
- Patch Up. Fixed issue that was causing the perk to not trigger correctly in some cases.
- Lobotomy. Fixed issue that was causing the perk to trigger with non-SMG weapons in some cases.
- Fixer
- Armory. Using a Supply Bag gives a 25% (was 15%) chance to restore one equipment charge.
- Stand By Me. Increase firearm damage by 100% (was 50%) for 10 seconds when reviving or unpinning a teammate.
- Pickpocket. Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 100% (was 25%) chance to refill one equipment charge (cooldown 90 seconds, was 10 seconds).
- I’ll Take That. Killing a special zombie gives 100% (was 25%) chance to restore one equipment charge (cooldown 90 seconds, was 10).
- Go Get ‘Em. Reviving a teammate will restore 25% (was 15%) of primary weapon’s ammunition for you and your teammate.
- Efficiency. Supply Bag contains 25% more explosive ammo. Masking Grenade effect duration increased by 2 (was 5) seconds.
- Darkness Falls. Masking Grenade gas cloud duration is increased by 5 seconds (was 3 seconds).
- Slasher
- Bullet-dodger – Take 100% (was 90%) less friendly fire from bullets while performing melee attacks.
- With My Last Breath – Melee strikes damage 2 (was 1) more targets when health is below 25%.
- Third Hand – Killing 5 (was 10) zombies with melee attacks in rapid succession instantly reloads your primary weapon.
- Bloodlust – Killing special zombies with a melee weapon will increase firearm damage by 100% (was 50%) for 10 seconds.
- Pickpocket – Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 100% (was 25%) chance to refill one equipment charge (cooldown 60 seconds, was 10 seconds).
- Heavy Metal I. Fixed issue that was causing improved Chainsaw not to receive proper 50% damage increase.
- Exterminator
- Dragon Hide. Fire resistance increased by 100% (was 90%).
- Pickpocket. Killing 15 zombies in rapid succession gives 100% (was 25%) chance to refill one equipment charge (cooldown 60 seconds, was 10 seconds).
- Thrifty. 25% (was 15%) chance of using the Claymore or Molotov without depleting an equipment charge.
Stability
- Fixed several gameplay crashes.
Levels
- Fixed some gameplay bugs that were causing inability to progress in levels.
- Improved navigation on NY 1 level.
- Reduced the number of crates player has to deliver on NY 1 when playing solo.
- Prevented several options to farm XP by suicide rushing Moscow 1, NY 3 and Tokyo 1.
General fixes
- Fixed issue with item pickup progress not showing up in some cases.
- Fixed issue with player overhead marker not showing up upon respawn in PvP in some cases.
- Fixed issue with receiving party lead privileges causing soft lock in menus in some cases.
- Fixed soft lock in menus when entering game settings while respawning in PvP.
- Fixed Infector effect staying on screen in outro cinematics.
- Fixed voice chat not being output to connected headset in some cases.
- Fixed issue that was moving player over large distances when grabbed by a zombie swarm.
- Fixed issue causing AI bots trying to shoot through walls.
- Fixed issue causing scoreboard to stay on screen in outro cinematics.
- Fixed issue causing Medkit progress bar to appear briefly upon respawn.
- Fixed issue causing zombies to not receive melee damage in certain doorways.
- Fixed issue causing Medkit healing to constantly interrupt in certain locations.
- Fixed issue with a certain combination of perks causing Slasher to heal when receiving friendly fire.
- Fixed issue causing player to receive another player’s melee weapon when joining a game in progress.
- Added sound for receiving medals in PvP.
- Sho is no longer wearing 2 helmets at the same time like a true badass.
PC Specific Fixes
- Increased bleed out timer on Insane difficulty from 20 to 30 seconds (PC only).
- Fixed issue with DLC weapons selection reset upon game restart.
Vulkan
- Added FidelityFX Sharpening feature