- Knowing your enemies is not enough.

  - Learn what makes them tick. Or how they act.

  - Exploiting is only immoral outside survival.

  - You know, make your own wiki about them.

  ---

  I decided to write down all of the zombie types that I've encountered from the start.

  It's been... what, a year and a half? Maybe more?

  I've seen more zombies than people.

  Let's begin.

  Standards. Or Normals. Or Normies.

  Essentially bottom of the barrel, cookie cutter "Zombies."

  Quotation marks because they don't really fit our term of it.

  They're not undead.

  They react to sound and movement.

  They're not slow.

  They're dumb, yes.

  But they die just like how any other human.

  They get exhausted.

  They bleed.

  They get paralyzed.

  You aim for the head, not because it's their weakness.

  You aim for the head because that kills them quickly.

  They starve for flesh and blood. But seems like they can last a long time without eating.

  That, or I expect they eat one another to survive.

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  Sometimes you'd find one with clothes. Most times naked.

  Sometimes with hair, sometimes without.

  Humanoid, yes. But... sometimes they're taller, shorter, or with slightly longer or shorter limbs.

  They run, they walk, they crawl, they jump. But no sense of depth perception or object permanence. No intelligence whatsoever.

  Which leads us to...

  Leaders.

  Just as fragile as Normals, but they're smarter. They can think. And they can relay orders.

  I don't know how yet. Through grunts and growls, probably. But I don't disregard any other potential reasons.

  Some leaders stay at the farthest back of their group.

  Some are smart enough to hide among Normals.

  Take the leaders down first. That loss of leadership makes some Normals rampage, yes. But some also run away.

  Sounds easy enough, no? Wait until you meet the Variants.

  Variants, for a lack of a better word are those who doesn't fit the category of Normals and Leaders.

  Variants, because there's so many types, it needed an umbrella.

  Here's some that I've encountered, just on top of my head.

  Dog Variants. Maybe they were actual dogs. Or infected humans that became dog variants.

  I call them Fido. Air Bud. Hachiko. Kinda guilty about that last one.

  On all fours, has a keen sense of smell, and bites. Very fast.

  Strengths: They're good at tracking and chasing.

  Weaknesses: Can only see forward. Their necks are their weakest point and can be destroyed easily.

  Notes: Do not hide, and do not get scared. A calm rationale is needed against these ferals.

  Limb Variants. These are Variants with extreme changes in their body, most notably their limbs.

  Like Lanky or Lankies.

  Tall. Very tall. With arms as long as its body.

  Strengths: Has a long reach, attacks use momentum, and overall disruptive. When you encounter a Lanky, you bet your ass the commotion it makes calls more of them.

  Weaknesses: Upper limbs are essentially just bones with tendons, they're light and easy to shrug off. It's like whips. They suck at tight areas. Their lower limbs take the full brunt of the upper body weight, so they're slow too.

  That means their strength are in numbers.

  Notes: Keep your distance or break the distance. Kill on sight. Don't let it make noise by fumbling around.

  Brutes. Another Limb Variant.

  Think of a Lanky, Instead of longer, think thicker.

  Strengths: Very powerful. It will kill you with a single blow. It can break walls with ease. Arms are practically just as tough as steel.

  Weaknesses: Absurdly slow. It can't run. It forgot that leg-days exist. It's not smart enough to learn how to throw. If it does, then you're fucked. That, or there's a leader around. As opposed to his arms, the rest of the body are very fleshy. Just like Lankies, Brutes attract others just by fighting.

  Notes: Never go melee. If you do, don't get hit. Keep your distance and make sure to hit only center mass. Guns are preferred. Since fighting one already attracts zombies, Pretending that you don't have a gun isn't optimal.

  Crabs. A limb Variant.

  They have pincers made out of bone, instead of arms.

  Literally, bone is protruding out of their skin like they overdosed on calcium.

  Who knew carcinization is still relevant in the apocalypse?

  Strengths: Very durable pincers. And unlike actual crabs, these once are omnidirectional. Can fit in any hole small enough for a human to go through, think vents, doggy doors, sewers.

  Weaknesses: They can't look up. Height is your advantage.

  Notes: Spears, or guns are better. The pincers may shrug off bullets, but once you can get past those, they're easy pickings.

  Those are the Limb Variants I can think of. But there will be more. I'm sure of it.

  Body Variants are the opposite of Limb variants. The change happens around the body. And... usually they don't last long. I only have one in mind.

  Bloaters.

  As the name implies, bloated. But don't let your bubble wrap urges dictate what happens.

  Strengths: None. I mean, if it pops, it usually either explodes into gas that causes the same gas effects as tear gas, acid, or bleach. Highly flammable too, and prone to deter other zombies away. The gas is also mildly corrosive. But at that point, the Bloater is dead.

  Weaknesses: Literally any sharp or piercing weapon.

  Note: Pop at your own risk.

  That being said, these are not the only Variants you'll see. There will be more.

  And lastly... Barbie.

  When we first entered Cleveland, Barbie was 40 feet tall. At a second observation, she shrunk down to 9.

  No, reduced is wrong. More like... compressed.

  Barbie is like... a mix of a Variant and a Leader.

  Barbie is capable of controlling Leaders. Hierarchy wise, that puts them above leaders.

  Her body is thick and durable, think Brutes but the whole body.

  She can cosplay the Kool-Aid Man, get a building dropped on her and she'd walk out unscathed.

  She's territorial. And those under her seems to copy what she does. If she rests, they all rest.

  She's smart. She observes. And she meditates like it has beauty rest.

  But She WILL chase you. Through buildings.

  Get out of her territory immediately.

  Notes: DON'T.

  The existence of Barbie makes me think there are others. Do not fight them, if you find one.

  I call them... Lords.

  Avoid Barbie, Cleveland's City Lord.