Perks are active abilities in Hunty Zombie. You charge them by killing zombies, then press E to activate. The right perk carries your build. The wrong one gets you killed on wave 40.
I’ve tested every perk across raids, payload, and endless mode. Here’s the Hunty Zombie perks tier list after the Christmas Sword update.
Quick Tier List
| Tier | Perks |
|---|---|
| S | Vampire, Critical, Joker |
| A | DoubleDmg, DamageShield, Healer |
| B | ReduceDmg, Undead, Flame |
| C | Speed, Freeze |
Vampire is the default pick. Everything else is situational.
S-Tier Perks
Run one of these. They’re that much better than the rest.
Vampire
Lifesteal on hit. The meta perk since launch.
What it does: Your attacks heal you for a percentage of damage dealt.
Why it’s S-tier:
- Sustain through anything
- Works in every game mode
- Lets you face-tank damage while dealing damage
- Mandatory for solo raids
I ran Vampire from level 25 to 100. Never felt the need to switch. When you’re healing faster than enemies can damage you, the game becomes easy mode.
Best with: High attack speed weapons (Dagger, Katana), Attack skill tree path
Critical
Burst damage steroid. Pop it and delete bosses.
What it does: Massively increases crit chance and crit damage for a short duration.
Why it’s S-tier:
- Insane burst during boss vulnerability phases
- Stacks with crit traits and pets
- Melts raid bosses
- Best DPS perk in the game
Critical requires more skill than Vampire. You need to time it with boss openings. Miss the window and you wasted your perk.
Best with: Crit skill tree path, crit-focused traits, Scythe or Greatsword
Joker (Divine Rarity)
The RNG perk. Divine rarity only.
What it does: Randomly applies one of three buffs - damage boost, defense boost, or regeneration.
Why it’s S-tier:
- All three effects are strong
- Divine rarity means high base stats
- Works in any situation
- Flex pick when you have it
Joker is rare. If you roll it, use it. The randomness sounds bad but all outcomes are good outcomes.
Best with: Any build, it’s universally strong
A-Tier Perks
Solid picks for specific situations. Not as universally good as S-tier.
DoubleDmg
Team damage buff.
What it does: Doubles damage for you and nearby teammates.
Why it’s A-tier:
- Insane in group content
- Stacks with other damage buffs
- Useless solo
- Great for carrying friends
DoubleDmg in a 4-player raid is disgusting. Everyone popping it at once melts bosses in seconds. But if you’re solo, it’s just worse Critical.
Best with: Group raids, coordinated teams
DamageShield
Defensive option with damage reflection.
What it does: Absorbs incoming damage and reflects a portion back.
Why it’s A-tier:
- Good for learning raids
- Lets you survive mistakes
- Damage reflection adds up
- Falls off when you stop getting hit
DamageShield is training wheels. Use it while learning boss patterns, then switch to Vampire or Critical once you’re comfortable.
Best with: New players, Hell difficulty campaign
Healer
Team sustain.
What it does: Heals you and nearby teammates over time.
Why it’s A-tier:
- Keeps the whole team alive
- Good in Payload mode
- Worse than Vampire for solo
- Valuable in group raids
If your team already has Vampire users, Healer adds redundant sustain. But in random groups where people die constantly, Healer carries.
Best with: Group content, Payload mode, support builds
B-Tier Perks
Niche uses. Not bad, just outclassed.
ReduceDmg
Flat damage reduction.
What it does: Reduces all incoming damage by a percentage.
Why it’s B-tier:
- Good defensive option
- Helps in Hell difficulty
- Doesn’t help you kill faster
- Vampire sustain is usually better
ReduceDmg + DR passive + Defense skill tree makes you unkillable. But you also kill slowly. Not worth it in most cases.
Best with: Tank builds, Hell difficulty farming
Undead
Cooldown reduction burst.
What it does: Reduces all ability cooldowns when activated.
Why it’s B-tier:
- More ability spam
- Good with high-cooldown weapons
- Doesn’t directly increase damage
- Niche use case
Undead is interesting on Greatsword or Anchor where abilities have long cooldowns. But most weapons don’t need it.
Best with: Greatsword, Anchor, CDR builds
Flame
DOT damage.
What it does: Adds fire damage over time to your attacks.
Why it’s B-tier:
- Extra damage is nice
- Works on all attacks
- DOT is slow
- Burst damage is usually better
Flame sounds good on paper. In practice, enemies die before the DOT matters, or they’re bosses where burst is more valuable.
Best with: Sustained damage builds, Chainsaw
C-Tier Perks
Avoid these. They’re not worth the perk slot.
Speed
Movement speed boost.
What it does: Increases movement speed temporarily.
Why it’s C-tier:
- Mobility is nice
- Doesn’t help you kill
- Doesn’t help you survive
- Dash exists
You have dash. You have weapon mobility abilities. Speed perk is redundant. I’ve never seen a good player run this.
Freeze
Crowd control.
What it does: Freezes nearby enemies temporarily.
Why it’s C-tier:
- CC sounds useful
- Doesn’t work on bosses
- Killing enemies is better CC
- Waste of a perk slot
Freeze would be good if it worked on raid bosses. It doesn’t. So it’s useless in endgame content.
How Perks Work
Some mechanics to understand:
Charging: Kill zombies to fill your perk meter. More kills = faster charge.
Duration: Most perks last 10-30 seconds. Check the tooltip.
Cooldown: After using a perk, you need to recharge it by killing more.
Stacking: Team perks (DoubleDmg, Healer) stack with personal perks. Coordinate with your group.
Best Perk by Game Mode
Different modes favor different perks:
| Mode | Best Perk | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Vampire | Sustain through waves |
| Payload | Vampire or Healer | Long mode, need sustain |
| Raids | Critical or Vampire | Burst for DPS, Vampire for safety |
| Endless | Vampire | Sustain is everything |
If you only have one good perk, make it Vampire. It works everywhere.
Perk + Weapon Synergies
Some combos work better than others:
Vampire + Dagger: Fast attacks = fast healing. Broken combo.
Critical + Scythe: Big AOE crits delete waves.
Critical + Greatsword: Huge single hits become huge crits.
DoubleDmg + Any: Just needs teammates to be good.
Healer + Anchor: Pull enemies, heal team, support role.
How to Get Perks
Perk spins from:
- Hunty Zombie codes (60+ free perk spins available)
- Gameplay rewards
- Raid drops
- Shop purchases
Roll until you get Vampire. Then save spins for trait rerolls instead.
Common Mistakes
Running damage perks without sustain. Critical is great until you die. New players should stick with Vampire.
Using perks randomly. Save Critical for boss vulnerability phases. Don’t pop it on wave 15 trash mobs.
Ignoring team composition. If everyone runs Vampire, nobody needs Healer. If nobody has sustain, someone should run Healer.
Chasing Joker. It’s Divine rarity. You’ll burn hundreds of spins. Vampire and Critical are almost as good and way easier to get.
More Hunty Zombie Content
- Hunty Zombie Codes - Free perk spins
- Hunty Zombie Guide - Full progression guide
- Hunty Zombie Weapons Tier List - Weapon rankings
- Hunty Zombie Traits Tier List - Trait rankings
Related Tier Lists
- Anime Vanguards Tier List - Unit rankings
- Type Soul Build Tier List - Build rankings
- Blue Lock Rivals Flows Tier List - Flow ability rankings
