Genetics & Perks

Learn by doing, perk books, perk mods, and blueprints

Genetics: your stats grow from what you do

There are no perk points from leveling up. Instead, five genetics stats rise from matching activity, and each level adds a small passive bonus. All five also rise a little from combat.

The Genetics tab always opens on a summary of what raises each stat, which is worth a look. Genetics experience drops to 0.2x during a horde night and for ranged kills, and ranged kills give no Strength at all.

How perks unlock

Every perk sits under a genetic, and each perk rank needs a minimum level in that genetic:

• 10-rank perks (such as Sexual Tyrannosaurus, Mother Lode, Cardio) need one genetic level per rank.
• 5-rank perks (such as Healing Factor and Iron Gut) need two genetic levels per rank.

Reaching the genetic level isn't enough on its own: you also need a perk book for each rank. Briston sells them at every trader compound, and they also come from loot and rewards. Books for 10-rank perks tend to cost less than books for 5-rank perks.

Books stop short: perk mods finish the job

Books only take a perk so far. A 10-rank perk tops out at rank 8 from books, and a 5-rank perk at rank 4. (Warrior's Edge and Voidstep go to rank 9 from books, and perks with fewer ranks stop one short of their maximum.) The last ranks come from a perk mod equipped in your armor. When a mod is adding ranks, the lock icon next to that perk turns green.

• Zombies drop genetic blueprints, color-coded by genetic. Collect 100 of one type and craft that genetic's perk mod at the forge. For example, a Miner 69'er mod costs 100 red (Strength) blueprints.
• Perk mods are crafted, not found. The wiki disagrees with itself on this, but the game files settle it: perk, group, and super mods are only made at the forge, and no loot table or trader hands them out. Only the blueprints drop.
• Individual perk mods add +2 ranks to Pack Mule, Cardio, Parkour, T-Rex, Miner 69'er, and Mother Lode, and +1 rank to the rest.
• Mods have fixed slots: Strength mods go in the hands, Dexterity in the feet, Constitution in the chest, and Intelligence, Charisma, and the super mod in the head.

Combining perk mods to save slots

• Group mods: combine one of every perk mod under a genetic into a single mod giving +2 ranks to every 10-rank perk in that group (+1 rank for Warrior's Edge, Voidstep, and the smaller perks). For example, Dexterity's perk mods, such as Cardio, Parkour, and Voidstep, combine into one Dexterity mod.
• The super mod: combine all five group mods into one end-game mod giving +1 rank to every 4- or 5-rank perk and +2 to every 10-rank perk.

Other uses for blueprints

• Trade them at Briston, either for other blueprint types when you're saving for one specific mod, or for DNA boosts, which you inject to raise a genetic directly. DNA boosts are also sold and found as loot and rewards.
• Craft armor mods from them. Charisma blueprints, for example, make a Daring Adventurer or Better Barter mod for head armor. Check the recipes.

Two chest mods worth knowing

• Rebirth mod (5 tiers): lowers the chance that a zombie you kill gets back up.
• Genetics Experience mod (5 tiers): speeds up genetics leveling.