Watchmen

Out of desperation, citizens during a zombie apocalypse often need to resort to one incredibly effective (yet dangerous) tactic: meat shields. Introduced in Season 6, the Watchmen is a job any citizen can choose to take up (in addition to their profession), be it Hero Hero or Resident Resident.

Uses

• Any Citizen Citizen can join the Watchmen Watchmen by selecting to join at the Watchmen tab in town. They will stay on guard as a watchman for The Attack The Attack that night, and block off any zombies that get past the town's defense from the remaining citizens.
  • You earn Watchman Watchman distinction if you stand watch during that night.
  • After The Attack The Attack, they will be relieved of their watchman duty. They need to sign up again if they want to join watch again. There are no limits on signing up.
• The number of zombies you can block off is equal to your personal defence.
  • The defence provided by the watchman still counts even if they die on watch. There was a bug which the defence of one random living watchmen will be ignored for 1 death on watch. It is fixed in mid-Season 8.
  • In Season 9 First Patch, dead watchman is said to block off all zombies except 1. That single zombie will intrude into the town and attack the citizens' homes. However it is bugged and is not working, i.e. no overflow actually occurs.
• In Season 10 The watch chance for guardians was nerfed slightly to give value to the 'pro-watch' heroic "feat".
• Guardian Guardian has a base 99% survival chance while other watchmen 95%. There is also 10% chance of Wounded Wound or Terrorised Terrorisation.
  • The chances of survival for watchman are always personal. Initially it indicates the percentage of your survival chance when you mouseover the icon but the percentage is no longer visible now.
  • Your personal defence no longer affects your chances of survival.
• Any class besides Guardian Guardian that is a Ghoul Ghoul will have 100% survival chance without going over.
• Certain items placed in their Inventory Inventory, Status Effects Status Effects or Professional tools Professional tools of Hero Heroes will affect the survival chances and the number of zombies a watchman can block off, both positively and negatively.
• If someone dies on watch, all items in their rucksack are lost forever, which is unlike the case when someone dies in their home. In this case all items from rucksack will be all dropped into their chest, ignoring the slot limit of their chest.
• In Season 9 First Patch, everyone faces the same risk of being attacked (but the number of zombies attacking at them is random and can vary a lot) if there is an overflow and they cannot cover the attack. In the past watchmen passed after the non-watchmen.
• Watchmen Watchmen survival chance drops by 10% after staying on watch for a night and 5% is regained while resting for a day.
• The Injury Chance on watch is 5% higher than the death chance. Except in hardcore, where the Injury chance is 20% higher.
  • If your chance of death is 6%, then your chance of injury is 11% or in hardcore: 26%.

Zombies Blocked and Safety

The following items and statuses influences the effectiveness and safety of citizens on watch:

Professional tools

Name	Defense	Safety
Riot Shield Riot Shield (Guardian)	30	4
Three-legged Labradoodle Three-legged Labradoodle (Tamer)	20	0
Voodoo Mask Voodoo Mask (Shaman)	0	0
Handyman's Toolbelt Handyman's Toolbelt (Technician)	0	0
Survival Guide Survival Guide (Survivalist)	0	0
Small Spade Small Spade (Scavenger)	0	0
Camouflage Vest Camouflage Vest (Scout)	0	0
Town Uniform Town Uniform (Resident)	0	0
Dirty Uniform Dirty Uniform (Resident)	0	0

Statuses

Note: The effect stacks up.

Name	Defense	Safety
Clean Clean	0	0
Drugged Drugged	10	0
Hooked! Hooked!	15	-10
Drunk Drunk	20	4
Hungover Hungover	-15	-5
Exhausted Exhausted	0	0
Fed Fed	0	0
Refreshed Refreshed	0	0
Thirsty Thirsty	0	0
Dehydrated Dehydrated!	-10	0
Wounded Wounded	-20	-20
Infected Infected	-15	-20
Healed Healed	-10	-10
Terrorised Terrorised	-30	-45
Ghoul Ghoul	0	5

Heavy Items

You can only bring one Heavy object Heavy object on watch.

Note: If an item is Broken Broken..., it will not increase the number of zombies pulverized.

Name	Defense	Safety	Becomes
Beer Fridge Beer Fridge	19	0	Broken Broken...
Stinking Pig Stinking Pig	20	0	Unspecified Meat Unspecified Meat *1!
Persian Rug Persian Rug	6	0	Disappears
Toolbox Toolbox	4	0	???
Chest Chest	8	0	???
Hastily-built desk Hastily-built desk	23	0	Disappears
Iron Chest Iron Chest	8	0	Disappears
Ektorp-Gluten Chair Ektorp-Gluten Chair	8	0	Broken Broken...
Old Door Old Door	10	0	Disappears
Car Door Car Door	23	0	Disappears
Mattress Mattress	25	0	Disappears
Flatpacked Furniture Flatpacked Furniture	8	0	Disappears
Lawnmower Lawnmower	15	0	Broken Broken...
Järpen Table Järpen Table	15	0	Disappears
Old Washing Machine Old Washing Machine	19	0	Broken Broken...
Trestle Trestle	4	0	Disappears
PC Base Unit PC Base Unit	11	0	Broken Broken...
Carcinogenic Oven Carcinogenic Oven	15	0	Broken Broken...
Chainsaw (loaded) Chainsaw (loaded)	30	0	Chainsaw (incomplete) Chainsaw (incomplete)
Engine Engine	30	0	Disappears
Shopping Trolley Shopping Trolley	20	0	Disappears
Rocking Chair Rocking Chair	15	0	Disappears
Water Cooler Bottle (3 rations) Water Cooler Bottle (3 rations) (1, 2, or 3 rations)	20	0	Water Cooler Bottle (empty) Water Cooler Bottle (empty)
Santa's reindeer Santa's reindeer	30	0	Disappears
Kalashni-Splash Kalashni-Splash	11	0	Disappears
Huge Snake (Ophiophagus trouser) Huge Snake (Ophiophagus trouser)	15	0	Tasty-looking Steak Tasty-looking Steak *1!
Stake Launcher Stake Launcher	8	0	Disappears (?)

Non-heavy Items

Note if an item is Broken Broken... it will not increase the number of zombies blocked off.

Name	Defense	Safety	Becomes
Aqua-Splash (5 shots) Aqua-Splash (5 shots) (1 to 5 shots)	8	0	Aqua-Splash (empty) Aqua-Splash (empty)
Torch Torch	15	0	Burnt out Torch Burnt out TorchBroken Broken...
Burnt out Torch Burnt out Torch	4	0	Broken Broken...
Rusty Chain Rusty Chain	8	0	Broken Broken...
Boxes Boxes	4	0	Disappears
Bedside Lamp (off) Bedside Lamp (off)	4	0	Disappears
Bedside Lamp (on) Bedside Lamp (on)	10	0	???
Pocket Vibrator (charged) Pocket Vibrator (charged)	-4	0	Pocket Vibrator (incomplete) Pocket Vibrator (incomplete)
Groundsheet Groundsheet	10	0	Disappears
Pathetic Penknife Pathetic Penknife	5	0	Broken Broken...
Adjustable Spanner Adjustable Spanner	2	0	Broken Broken...
Mobile Phone Mobile Phone	8	0	Destroyed. Leave behind: Electronic component Electronic component
Can Opener Can Opener	4	0	Broken Broken...
Tasty Homemade Dish Tasty Homemade Dish	6	0	Disappears
Dodgy Homemade Dish Dodgy Homemade Dish	4	0	Disappears
Open Can Open Can	2	0	Disappears
Water Bomb Water Bomb	8	0	Disappears
Exploding Water Bomb Exploding Water Bomb	20	0	Disappears
Broken Human Bone Broken Human Bone	10	0	Broken Broken...
Human Flesh Human Flesh	20	0	Disappears
Tasty-looking Steak Tasty-looking Steak	4	0	Disappears
Unspecified Meat Unspecified Meat	2	0	Disappears
Meaty Bone Meaty Bone	10	0	Disappears
Machete Machete	5	0	Broken Broken...
Screwdriver Screwdriver	5	0	Broken Broken...
Battery Launcher Mk. II (loaded) Battery Launcher Mk. II (loaded)	11	0	Battery Launcher Mk. II (empty) Battery Launcher Mk. II (empty)
Battery Launcher 1-ITF (loaded) Battery Launcher 1-ITF (loaded)	10	0	Battery Launcher 1-ITF (empty) Battery Launcher 1-ITF (empty)
Radio Cassette Player Radio Cassette Player	-8	0	Radio Cassette Player (no battery) Radio Cassette Player (no battery)
Mini HiFi (on) Mini HiFi (on)	-15	0	Mini HI-Fi (Broken) Mini HI-Fi (Broken)
Box Cutter Box Cutter	10	0	Broken Broken...
Staff Staff	4	0	Broken Staff Broken staff
Serrated Knife Serrated Knife	10	0	Broken Broken...
Taser Taser	5	0	Taser (incomplete) Taser (incomplete)
Devastator (loaded) Devastator (loaded)	10	0	Devastator (empty) Devastator (empty)
Water Pistol (3 shots) Water Pistol (3 shots) (1, 2 or 3 shots)	8	0	Water Pistol (empty) Water Pistol (empty)
Swiss Army Knife Swiss Army Knife	10	0	Broken Broken...
Electric Whisk (charged) Electric Whisk (charged)	9	0	Electric Whisk (incomplete) Electric Whisk (incomplete)
Empty Vending Machine Empty Vending Machine	30	0	Disappears
Exploding Grapefruit Exploding Grapefruit	8	0	Disappears
Spy Rocket Spy Rocket	-10	0	Disappears
Chicken Chicken	8	0	Unspecified Meat Unspecified Meat *1 !
Giant Rat Giant Rat	4	0	Unspecified Meat Unspecified Meat *1 !
Fat Cat Fat Cat	8	0	Tasty-looking Steak Tasty-looking Steak *1 !
Makeshift Guitar Makeshift Guitar	19	0	Broken Broken...
Claymore Mine Claymore Mine	34	0	Disappears
Psychadelic Spiritual Counsel Psychadelic Spiritual Counsel	20 * N	0	Disappears N = every citizen on watch. Effect does not stack so you need one only that night.
ANZAC Badge ANZAC Badge (removed)	40	0	Disappears
Easter Egg Easter Egg (removed)	60	0	Disappears

Notes

• If the watchman dies on watch, it will be reported as such in the Gazette:

  [Watchman's name] was devoured by X zombie(s)!

  where X is "number of zombies" (which pass through the gate) divide by "number of watchmen" that night

• If a small enough number of zombies make it through the defenses, it is possible for a dead Watchman to be reported as such in the Gazette:

  [Watchman's name] was devoured by 0 zombie(s)!

• Later on someone reported they see this kind of death too [1].

  [Watchman's name] tragically fell off the top of the wall.

  • It is said it is to replace the "devoured by 0 zombie(s)" message which the developer wants to avoid.
  • But for the person who saw this message, the situation was 2 watchmen fighting with 3 zombies (3/2 = 1.5) so the above assertion may be incorrect.
• If the basic defence of the town is already over the number of zombies (i.e. all zombies can be blocked without the need of watchmen), it will be reported as such in the Gazette:

  Last night's watchmen showed incredible courage, it's just a shame the zombies were clearly busy doing something else!

  • Watchmen will not face any risk of death, wound or infection but CANNOT earn the watchman distinction in this situation.
• Added in Season 9 First Patch. The log in the Gazette indicates which citizens were on watch that night.

  Last night, these watchmen showed incredible courage, but it was not enough to stay alive: X,Y,Z

  where X/Y/Z is the name of the citizen.

  Most likely a translation error, the message misleads the players into thinking that the names on the list were dead on watch. In fact it simply indicates who stood watch that night.

Changes

Changes in each season:

• In Season 6:
  • The Watchmen Watchmen was introduced.
• In Season 7:
  • Several bugs related to Watchmen Watchmen were fixed, including players rejoining/leaving post, consuming items in their chest, and assembling incomplete items without using resources (such as Radio Cassette Player (no battery) Radio Cassette Player (no battery) becoming a Radio Cassette Player Radio Cassette Player, or Wonky Shopping Trolley Wonky Shopping Trolley becoming a Shopping Trolley Shopping Trolley).
    • The Flatpacked Furniture Flatpacked Furniture continues to assemble into an assortment of furniture, however.
  • Watchmen status bug was also repaired. During Season 6 statuses changed before attack but with season 7 bug fixes this was changed so that statuses take affect before the attack. This means that Drunk Drunk status will stay on during the attack and is changed to Hungover Hungover after attack.
• In Season 8:
  • Base survival chance was lowered from 95% to 92%. This made it so sober Guardians only have a 97% chance of survival, while Drunk Drunk Guardians can have a 100% chance of survival.
  • Items are no longer converted when kept on the watch. Most are consumed and simply disappear (Flatpacked Furniture Flatpacked Furniture included). Battery guns and water based weapons lose all ammo. Animals transform into 1x food item (Unspecified Meat Unspecified Meat for most, Tasty-looking Steak Tasty-looking Steak for snakes and fat cats), similar to butchering an animal.
• Further changes in Season 8:
  • This bug has been fixed: the defence of one random living watchmen will be ignored for 1 death on watch.
  • Base survival chance is no longer visible. Guardians appear to have 100% survival chance.
  • Survival chances decrease with consecutive watches. Guardians have a chance to die on watch on the third watch in a row.
  • Psychadelic Spiritual Counsel Psychadelic Spiritual Counsel was added. If a watchman holds it while on watch, every watchman gets 20 watchmen points. Disappears after use.
  • There is a bug where items which should be broken (e.g. Makeshift Guitar Makeshift Guitar, Old Washing Machine Old Washing Machine) disappear on watch sometimes. It is later fixed.
• In Season 9:
  • Watchmen system has been altered to favour construction more than defensive structures. The attack curve has also been modified and is less steep now.
  • Chance of dying increases greatly each time you go on watch consecutively. The exact penalty is unknown.
  • Citizen who dies on watch no longer blocks all zombies. The number of zombies they block is random and can be anywhere between 1 and max. Zombies which do not block will intrude into the town and attack citizens' house. The death of watchmen can be fatal to the town.
  • The new adjustments are not welcomed by the community and attracts heavy criticisms. For example, they complain an unwanted citizen who signed up on watch can jeopardize the town.
  • The new watchmen system is proved to be buggy. No overflow will happen if at least one watchman stands on watch and all survive, even if the numbers they block cannot cover the attack.
  • The same bug about watchmen items re-occurs. Items which should be broken disappear on watch sometimes.
• Further changes in Season 9 (April 4, 2014):
  • The developers patch and simplify the watchmen system. See the Patch Notes for details.
  • Everyone faces the same risk of being attacked (but the number of zombies attacking at them is random and can vary a lot) if there is an overflow and they cannot cover the attack. In the past watchmen passed after the non-watchmen.
  • The bugs of watchmen items which should be broken disappear on watch sometimes is fixed again.
  • A new log is added in the Gazette. It indicates which citizens were on watch that night.
  • Dead watchman is said to block off all zombies except 1. That single zombie will intrude into the town and attack the citizens' homes. However it is bugged and is not working, i.e. no overflow actually occurs.
• In Season 12: Ghoul defense lowered from 20 to 0.

External links

• Watchmen - Official Die2Nite.Com Help Section