TF2 Zombie Escape Guide
  • What is Zombie Escape?
  • ⭐Highlights
    • Bhopping
    • !zload
    • Gamemode Changes 5/20/2025
    • Recent Maps 6/3/2025
      • Legacy Maps
    • Map List (+Map Records!)
  • 📖General Overview
    • Mod Mechanics
    • New Player's Guide
    • How to Play as Humans
      • Human Class Overviews
      • Human Mechanics
    • How to Play as Zombies
      • Zombie Mutations Overview
      • Zombie Mechanics
      • Niche Mechanic Uses
    • Leading
    • Defending and Falling Back
    • Boosting 101
    • Terminology and Slang
    • Useful Commands
    • Where to Play
  • ⚔️Human/Zombie Guides (Stats Here!)
    • Meet The Humans (+Weapons!)
      • ⚾Scout
        • Scout Primaries
        • Scout Secondaries
        • Scout Melees
      • 🚀Soldier
        • Soldier Primaries
        • Soldier Secondaries
        • Soldier Melees
      • 🔥Pyro
        • Pyro Primaries
        • Pyro Secondaries
        • Pyro Melees
      • 💣Demoman
        • Demoman Primaries
        • Demoman Secondaries
        • Demoman Melees
      • 👊Heavy
        • Heavy Primaries
        • Heavy Secondaries
        • Heavy Melees
      • 🔧Engineer
        • Engineer Primaries
        • Engineer Secondaries
        • Engineer Melees
      • 🏥Medic
        • Medic Primaries
        • Medic Secondaries
        • Medic Melees
      • 🇳🇿Sniper
        • Sniper Primaries
        • Sniper Secondaries
        • Sniper Melees
      • 🗡️Spy
        • Spy Primaries
        • Spy Secondaries
        • Spy Melees
        • Spy Sappers
    • Meet The Zombies
      • Zombie Scout
      • Zombie Soldier
      • Zombie Pyro
      • Zombie Demoman
      • Zombie Heavy
      • Zombie Engineer
      • Zombie Medic
      • Zombie Sniper
      • Zombie Spy
    • Human Meta (+Loadouts!)
      • [OPTIMAL DPS] + Team Comps
      • Class Loadouts (Scout/Soldier/Pyro)
      • Class Loadouts (Demoman/Heavy/Engineer)
      • Class Loadouts (Medic/Sniper/Spy)
  • 🌀Elements of Zombie Escape
    • Parkour
    • Surf
    • Lasers
      • Ping Issue
    • Items
      • Common Items
    • NPCs and Bosses
      • Bosses
  • ⚙️Miscellaneous Info
    • Miscellaneous Info...
    • Stat Explanation
    • TF2 Systems
    • Useful Console Commands and Keybinds
    • Better Flashlight
    • Map Guides
    • Editor Notes
    • ⭐Afterword⭐
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On this page
  • Pain Train
  • Half-Zatoichi
  • Disciplinary Action
  • Escape Plan
  • Equalizer
  • Shovel
  • Market Gardener
  1. Human/Zombie Guides (Stats Here!)
  2. Meet The Humans (+Weapons!)
  3. Soldier

Soldier Melees

Soldier Melee Options

PreviousSoldier SecondariesNextPyro

Last updated 11 months ago

Pain Train

Attributes

+1 capture rate on wearer

10% bullet damage vulnerability on wearer

When Held: +10% faster move speed on wearer

When Held: +20% damage vulnerability on wearer

Essentially the Powerjack for Soldier, this speeds him up at the cost of taking more universal damage. Speed is an important utility that most of his other melees lack, so there's good reason to always bring it along. The increased damage vulnerability just requires you to be a bit more careful with NPCs, bosses, and zombie Mutations.

Half-Zatoichi

Attributes

This weapon has a large melee range and deploys and holsters slower

No Honorbound penalty!

Soldiers and Demos can duel with katanas for a one-hit kill

Gain 0% of base health on kill

The Half-Zatoichi has been changed so you get no health from killing a zombie. The weapon switch penalty is definitely felt when you want to quickly deal with a low zombie but are slow to the draw before someone else kills them. It's really only here because it lets you one shot Half-Zatoichi Soldier and Demo zombies and because the increased range can be nice.

Disciplinary Action

Attributes

This weapon has a large melee range!

-25% Slower Swing Speed

Can't inflict speed boost on teammates or yourself.

Unable to inflict speed-boost upon anybody - there is still a use for the disciplinary action; that being its substantial melee range, giving it a little edge over the other melees enough to use it as an alternative go-to from the Half-Zatoichi, albeit slower swinging speed than that.

Attributes

When Held: -28% slower move speed on wearer

When Held: -90% less healing from Medic sources

When Held: Move speed increases as the user becomes injured

When Held: Marked-For-Death until short period after switching weapons

Max move speed is ~116% of normal Soldier speed

The Escape Plan gives the Soldier increased movement speed at lower health as long as it's held out. However, the weapon is taxed with a movement speed penalty while held making it so you are slower than normal at high hp and not that fast at low health. Despite its potential to provide more speed than the Pain Train, you shouldn't even be walking around at low health as you could easily die from NPCs, bosses, or zombie Mutations. Plus, Marked-For-Death affects all sources of damage adding onto the danger. If you want to use this over the Pain Train, you'll have to be ten times as careful.

Attributes

When Held: -90% less healing from Medic sources

When Held: Damage increases as the user becomes injured

While the Equalizer does give you the potential to deal more damage, this has the same downside as the Escape Plan being that it's too dangerous to use at low health with so many sources of damage surrounding you. This does have the upside of letting you help your Medic build ÜberCharge faster, although it'd be best for them to generate it naturally by healing those upfront tanking hits. Still, it's better than nothing.

Dig your own grave with this.

No benefits or attributes.

Attributes

20% Slower Swing Speed

Deals crits while the wielder is rocket jumping

Due to rocket jumping being disabled, you're essentially wielding a shovel with a slower firing speed. Even hitting yourself with an explosive and trying to melee a zombie while still in the air doesn't let you crit!

Escape Plan

Equalizer

Shovel

Market Gardener

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