Zombie Perks

Data updated 29 Oct 2026

A zombie holds as many perk nodes as it has red skulls, and the 35 mastery nodes use slots the same as the 50 actual perks. Slots are the scarce resource here, not tech points. The zombie pays those itself, out of what it earns on the crafts it works, so a fresh hire has nothing to spend. Factory Operative sits in two trees (Building and Smithing) and you only need one copy. Novice and Veteran Fisherman do nothing at all.

Zombie Perk Tier List

How Zombie Perks Work

Red Skulls Are Slots

A zombie can hold as many nodes as it has red skulls. Mastery nodes take a slot too, so a perk that sits three steps down a tree costs you four slots once you count the path. Check the route before you spend anything.

Who Pays

The zombie pays, not you. It earns tech points from the crafts it works, and every node bills one colour only: red if the node lists red, otherwise blue, otherwise green. A node that shows two prices charges the first.

Mastery and Locks

Mastery nodes lift the zombie's mastery across a whole tree. Mastery perks such as Master Blacksmith add their bonus on their own recipes only. Both matter because each recipe has a mastery lock, the level a zombie needs before it will run that craft.

Perks That Do Nothing

Novice Fisherman and Veteran Fisherman set a flag that nothing in this build reads. They cost 200 and 500 green and give nothing back. The three musician perks look equally empty in the data, but the game's code applies them: +2, +4 and +7 church quality per choir or organ zombie.