Yet Another Zombie Survivors Weapon Tier List (August 2026)
Last updated: 2026-08-30
Awesome Games Studio has never published a full weapon list or any damage numbers, so this page only contains weapons and evolutions that appear by name in the Steam store description, in official patch notes, or in released gameplay footage — each entry says which. Ranking weighs how much of the 1.0 patch cycle the studio spent tuning a line, which of the seven damage types it feeds, and whether it survives into a tier-3 evolution. Anything the studio has not named is not invented here.
S Tier
Name
Role
Why
Ricochet → Shattering
SWAT · Kinetic → Slashing
The starter weapon line, and the one the studio was still fixing at 1.0.0c: the Shattering evolution was not dealing Slashing-type damage until that patch. That matters because damage-type tags gate a whole achievement family — a broken type on the weapon everyone starts with was a real build problem, and it is now the cheapest route into Slashing tags.
Thousand Cuts / Windcutter
Evolution fork · Slashing
A branching choice players hit early and search about constantly — it is one of the highest-volume long-tail queries for the game, and almost nothing has been written about it. Both are Slashing-line evolutions. The 1.0 change that most affects the fork: most weapon attacks no longer lose damage on penetration, which favours the multi-hit side of the split.
Cooling Mods
Mechanic · Ice
Called an ability in the patch notes, but it rewrites weapon damage: 1.0.0b reordered its extra damage instance to land before the weapon's own, so a target killed in one hit now dies to Ice. The studio patching damage *ordering* is a strong signal of how central this is to elemental builds.
A Tier
Name
Role
Why
Crossbow
Ranger · Kinetic
The ninth survivor's signature weapon, introduced in the 1.0 announcement ('great experience in handling enemies with the use of her crossbow'). Newest line in the game, and the only one attached to a survivor who also buffs the squad's Critical and Luck.
Bombing Strike → Bioweapon
Tank · Explosive → Chemical
Tank's headline line; the Bioweapon evolution was missing visual effects until 1.0.0b. The obvious vehicle for the million-Explosive-damage achievement, and the Chemical evolution covers a damage type few other lines reach.
Kunai Dance
Ghost · Slashing
Ghost's signature ability, visually reworked in 1.0.0b for jitter. High-skill, high-ceiling — it anchors most published Ghost builds, which are among the most-searched builds for the game.
Flamethrower
Pyro · Fire
Named directly in the Steam store description as one of the three weapons the mercenary squad carries. Fire has the broadest status-effect support after 1.0 raised activation chances and lowered spread.
B Tier
Name
Role
Why
Katana
Melee · Slashing
Named in the Steam store description alongside the flamethrower and rocket launcher. Melee range is the trade for Slashing tag density.
Rocket Launcher
Explosive
The third weapon named in the store description. Benefits from the 1.0 critical-hit change: burst and multi-projectile attacks now roll crit once for the whole group rather than per projectile, which makes its damage far less swingy.
Ice Turret
Engineer · Ice
Part of the turret family the Yet Another Zombie Defense achievement asks you to stack three of. Its damage was not registering as Ice until patch 1.0.0a — worth knowing if you tried the Ice achievement during launch week and it did not track.
Medical Drone
Medic · support
Heals while stationary, attacks while moving. A 2025 patch slowed the mode switch from 0.25s to 0.75s, deliberately making it a positioning tool rather than something you flick between states.
C Tier
Name
Role
Why
Taser
Electric
Confirmed by patch 1.0.0a, which fixed its description in the German localisation. Feeds the Electric damage type — the 1.21 Gigawatts achievement wants a million of it in one run.
Syringer
Medic · Chemical
Appears in released gameplay footage as a Medic unlock rather than in any official post, so treat its details as unconfirmed until the studio documents it.
Weapon ranks revised:
Not sure which class to build around? Check the class tier list first.