Special Operations is the name the Steam store page uses for the Operations system in Zombie Assault: Resurgence, while the developers' diaries and the in-game HUD call the same activities Operations. Either way it is the repeatable mission loop of the game: each run is generated rather than hand-built, so the objective, the horde and the ending are different every time. Every Operation ends with an Extraction phase.
What Special Operations are made of
Each Operation rolls five things before you start fighting:
- A mission type — one of the five objectives listed below.
- A random selection of zombie types from the full undead roster.
- A final scenario, often with a twist.
- Optional modifiers that push the squad to its limit.
- A map, chosen from the range of Operation maps.
Because the roster draw is random, the same mission type can feel completely different from run to run, and knowing what is coming is part of the vote. The zombie side of that draw is covered on the enemies page.
The five mission types
| Mission type | What you have to do |
|---|---|
| Eradication | Wave-based. Clear the entire horde to complete the operation |
| Eradication Surge | Time-based with an endless swarm. Survive and take out as many zombies as possible before the timer runs out |
| Cache Recovery | Time-based. Packages spawn around the map and you recover as many as you can while fending off zombies |
| Close the Breach | The breach-closing objective, tracked by the achievement Life's a Breach |
| Uplink | The data-upload objective, tracked by Data Defender for uploading 2,000 GB of data |
Tough runs, voting and the three endings
Tough is the closest thing the game has to a difficulty tier. The Tough modifier raises the level of the zombies, removes all Supply Drops and cranks up the intensity, with a bigger payout for surviving it. There is no Nightmare mode, and ticket limits and free-to-play style restrictions do not apply because this is a premium release.
You vote before the run. The vote covers the mission and the difficulty, and it includes options for taking on more difficult Operations with increased rewards. Matchmaking also takes player rank into account, so squads are matched with players of comparable standing.
Every Operation resolves into one of three endings:
- Simple — the plain resolution.
- Rush — the time-pressured resolution.
- Boss — a boss ending means the extraction is delayed until the boss is down.
That third ending is the one that changes a run the most, and the bosses page covers what those fights are.
Extraction is the closing phase
Every Operation ends with an Extraction phase, and some mission types have you grab loot and get it to the extraction point. The developers are explicit that this is not an extraction shooter: the extraction is the closing phase of a mission rather than the whole game.
The risk is the squad wipe. A downed mercenary can be revived, but if the entire team goes down the mission counts as failed, so a wipe is a lost run rather than a retry from the start — and the rules around it are on the multiplayer page.