Hordes

How it works

1. Blood moon waves (on Hunter): about +25% at the start, 1.6x by game stage 50, 2x by 100, 2.6x by 200, 3x from 300. Waves draw from tougher mixes from game stage 50, alphas join from 100.
2. Zombies alive at once: the world's Blood Moon Count to game stage 25, then up to 1.25x (60), 1.5x (120), 1.75x (200) and 2x (300), never past the max-alive cap (Hunter 32 for the whole party).
3. Wandering hordes: the usual size at the start, +50% by game stage 30, 2x by 100, 2.5x from 200, on top of a base size that grows with game stage. By day they are the usual mix; at night they run with the feral blood moon mix. Alphas from 100.
4. Wandering hordes come more often as the days pass: +50% by day 60.
5. Migrations: from day 7 some wandering hordes are 2.5x the size. The Hollow Relay warns about three hours out, again an hour out while the herd is heard in the distance and your dread climbs, and once more when it arrives.
6. Screamer hordes: one screamer can call up to 25-30 zombies, a little more at high game stage. From game stage 30 its scream can also be answered by special infected (see Base Raids & Sieges).
7. Sieges: from day 50 a blood moon comes from two sides at once, three from day 80 and four from day 110. You are told which directions when the first wave starts (see Base Raids & Sieges).
8. Blood moon day, 18:00: the Relay tells you how big tonight is. 21:00: you hear them coming.
9. Live through a blood moon without dying and at dawn you get Blood Moon Survivor: +2 Hollow Marks (game stage under 30), +3 (under 60), +5 (under 120), +8 (under 200), +12 above.

Tips

• Every special infected and demon can now turn up in a horde; before, some never did.
• Difficulty presets: Drifter about 70% of the Hunter numbers, Settler 85%, Warden 115%, Hollowborn 130%, Forsaken 150%, Last Light 175%, with faster ramps, more migrations and a higher alive cap on the hard ones.
• HORDES tab (Hollow Settings): blood moon size and ramp, wandering size and frequency, migrations, max alive, special zombies and Rift demons in hordes. AUTO = your difficulty; DIFFICULTY DEFAULTS puts them all back.
• Horde zombies drop loot bags more often at high game stage (up to 2x from 200), migrations a little more.
• Special zombies can join hordes from game stage 30 and Rift demons from 80 (blood moons and night wanderers).
• In multiplayer the server's own settings decide; a host's settings apply to the world they host.
• Early blood moons stay close to vanilla: board up, build a kill lane, and it grows with you.