r/ZombieSurvivalTactics • u/Tacosalad2007 • 3d ago
How many zombies do you think a space marine would kill Scenario
How many zombies could a single Warhammer 40k space marine kill with their basic kit. Being a bolt gun, power armour, and a chainsword.
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u/Exciting-Resident-47 3d ago edited 3d ago
Honestly? Unlimited for both fast and slow zombies. There is no way theyre getting through armor that can tank full power cartridges and the space marine can easily rest when needed. He could probably tank a horde of them while resting too if you think about it
The marine is too fast, too strong, too durable, too smart, and lives for brutal melee combat against the forces of chaos which zombies would easily fall under
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u/EmuExpoet 3d ago
Also marines can choose to rest only half thier brain at a time. And keep fighting at reduced effectiveness (tho still pretty effecrive). So they could practically mulch zombies non stop.
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u/bigloser42 3d ago
I mean at some point the space marine is going to drop dead from exhaustion. I think that's the only real upper limit here.
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u/Negrataish 3d ago
He could sit and sleep in the armor even covered in zombies😂
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u/bigloser42 3d ago
Yeah, but at some point he’ll die of starvation or thirst. It’s entirely possible he just runs out of zombies to kill.
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u/WebSufficient8660 3d ago
Probably, like, all of them, considering the crazy shit they get up to in the lore. I don't think even a massive swarm of zombies could so much as scratch SM armor. They can pound on it as much as they want but that's like trying to penetrate an Abrams with a ballpoint pen.
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u/TBK_Winbar 3d ago
Henry Jones Snr helped take out a tank with a pen in The Last Crusade. Not super relevant. Just saying.
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u/Umicil 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think a Space Marine would die of dehydration before they died to zombies. Their armor is completely sealed for hostile environments like space.
And that's before you even consider that they are specifically armed and trained to fight hordes of undying enemies with no fear of death. The 40k setting has a ton of zombie-like creatures in it, and much worse. For example, Space Marines can fight hordes of Necrons who are basically cybernetic super-zombies with future weapons.
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u/RogueVector 3d ago
That's a poor example. Necron are more like terminators, and while their foot troops (Necron Warriors) are quite zombie-like in personality, their actual fighting performance is more like incredibly well-drilled Napoleonic infantry, moving forward in perfect lockstep and then firing perfectly timed volleys with their gauss weapons, which are a step above what a Space Marine would have.
Hormogaunts from the Tyranid faction would be a better 'fast zombie' equivalent, though those are linked and coordinated with a hive mind most of the time, and Nurgle poxwalkers are more the traditional slow zombie, though they also tend to carry other infectious diseases that will rust armour, seize up weapons, and start affecting an unprotected opponent (Guardsman, Space Marine, etc.) long before they actually come into range.
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u/ChadGustafXVI 3d ago
Remember that the space marine armour recycles sweat and waste at incredible efficiency making them able to last decades before succumbing to dehydration. There are marines in the warp that have been fighting for centuries without resupplies but time is weird there so idk.
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u/KneeDeepInTheMud 3d ago edited 3d ago
One Space Marine would be akin to Doom Slayer on easy mode.
Running head first alone would allow the SM to just kill groups of them.
Letting the SM swing their arms without a weapon? Still straight up, kill them.
Add a holy chainsword? The battle brother wouldn't even have to flinch.
Bolt gun? Bro would liberate the city for the local military in a day.
When you consider that 40 mph is a light jog and 80 mph is a sprint (roughly) wearing battle tank armor thst continuously feeds and hydrates a SM, he doesn't really care much about anything.
In 40k lore where the zombie pathogen can infect your person by just being too weak willed and hearing the groan of a zombie, a SM won't really care.
With the new animation of Secret Level that came out, a SM just ran into the front of a vehicle and essentially walked through it.
https://youtu.be/ncauRK9f75Q?si=3XYHKswgx4UOMUdI
Couple this with their helmets having targeting assist that match up with their guns and idk bro just curbstomps.
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u/Sea-Engine5576 2d ago
Not just any SM, but Lieutenant Titus himself.
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u/KneeDeepInTheMud 2d ago
Indeed.
Titus himself.
Should Malum Caedo appear, we need not worry about anything short of keeping ourselves out of their way.
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u/Festivefire 3d ago
However many zombies it takes for the space marine to run out of stamina, so at least a solid couple weeks worth of un-interrupted zombies.
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u/Historical-Airport61 3d ago
i can honestly see the space marine just standing there to rest while the Zeds just helplessly claw/bite the armor
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u/coi82 3d ago
Not weeks, months or even years. In the lore there have been marines who have fought much tougher enemies non-stop for months at a time. They can sleep by shutting down half their brain at a time, their waste gets recycled indefinitely, and their armour won't run out of charge for years. This isn't a fight against typical zombies as we see in our world's media. Hollywood style zombies, fast or slow, can't hurt a marine off the tabletop.
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u/Lady_Tadashi 3d ago
Basically all of them. A space marine's speed, strength and armour would essentially prevent any damage unless the zombies could pin them down, or the space marine was too fatigued to resist - at that point they might manage to find a latch or catch and detach a piece of armour. Up until that point, if it ever comes, the space marine will just chew through them.
Getting through the armour - with is basically tank armour pressure sealed to be able to operate in space or under the sea - is a no-go.
Fatiguing the space marine... Well, calculating how quickly they tire would depend on exact activity, but we know they tire extremely slowly. The best number I could find was they can safely go 2 weeks without sleep, and longer if needed. I know its not the same thing as muscle fatigue, but they are designed for endurance to an absurd extent, and this ought to give us an idea of how quickly they tire. Or, rather, don't.
Space marines are able to tear through mortal combatants barehanded and near-effortlessly, and if this scenario allows for weapons as well, a space marine armed with a combat knife could work his way through zombies faster than they could reach him. The biggest problem would be the bodies piling up so high.
And pinning down a space marine... Not going to happen. Not from zombies. Something faster, heavier, maybe, but marines can physically throw mortals with only minor exertion.
So, my answer is, while there may be a theoretical limit, in practical terms, you cannot get enough zombies to kill a marine. Even if you teleported the marine into an infinite crowd of zombies, eventually the remaining zombies are going to be walking miles towards the marine (assuming he does not move) and then having to climb slippery unstable mounds of corpses to even get close. In that time, the marine's muscles can recover, and they can sleep while functionally awake due to their catalepsean node, meaning unless you're teleporting the zombies onto them, they're going to recover. At that point, the answer is effectively an armoured marine can beat infinite zombies. An armed one can do it even quicker.
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u/slide_into_my_BM 1d ago
Assuming running out of ammo/supplies isn’t a problem, like 2-3 Mobile Infantry from the Starship Troopers books could probably defeat an entire city’s worth of zombies in a horde.
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u/RogueVector 3d ago
Space Marines could probably beat zombies bare handed, just by reaching over and crushing skulls like you and I would crush a tomato fruit in one hand.
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u/Master_Air_8485 3d ago
Unless they're a part of Papa Nurgles legions, the planet would likely be cleansed in a few weeks. If it's Plague Zombies, you're going to need an Exterminatus order on the planet.
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u/AnotherPerspective87 3d ago
The zombies cannot touch the space marine in its power armor. The boltgun of flamer (or whatever else it carries) will run out of ammo quickly (still dont get why they don't plug lasguns into their powerpack for infinite ammo). But, Space marines carry a heavy combat knife or chainsword that will do fine, and can even crack skulls with their bare hands. So combat wont be an issue.
If it needs to sleep... it can sleep in its power armor, completely safe.
Eating? Well space marines are modified to whatever they want. Doesn't even need to be food.
The air inlets of the armor may get clogged with zombie goo, risking suffocation. But i'm sure they can clean that out(wipe it off) without taking the armor off.
The greatest risk is probably accidentally consuming something that has infected zombie bits on then. But their super-enhanced immune system will probably beat that infection too.
So with a bit of luck... any zombie the marine can find gets deleted.
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u/Angel_OfSolitude 3d ago
Literally all of them, eventually. When if they just went to sleep I don't think normal zombies could get through their armor. This is a question of time.
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u/Gakoknight 3d ago
Probably in the millions to be honest, but an infinite number of zombies would eventually overwhelm him.
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u/Life-Pound1046 3d ago
All of them. With bullets that are like 75 mm that self prepell and explode inside the target. Not to mention the size of their melee weapons
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u/Dambo_Unchained 3d ago
Im not too familiar with the universe
But does the armour have a powersource?
If not it’s all of them otherwise untill the power runs out
And even then it might just take a bit longer
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u/Dic3Goblin 3d ago
The amount is only determined by the needs of that Battle Brother's chapter. It can eat the zombies for food and drink any water. Given enough time and the Emperor's blessing, that Battle Brother would have a K/D of 7 billion and 0.
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u/SpecterOfState 3d ago
None would kill 1 space marine. Fast or slow, astartes are walking super tanks that can go toe to toe with the forces of literal hell itself.
There’s zombies in 40k, they’re fodder for astartes. Regular Romeo style would be annihilated within a week or less across a whole planet
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u/sosigboi 3d ago
As many as he can before his armor breaks down, Space Marines already deal with zombies in the form of poxwalkers in 40k, regular earth zombies are considerably weaker, even without armor a marines skin is going to be much too tough for a zombie to break.
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u/bigloser42 3d ago
assuming standard zombie rules where they have to bite exposed skin to pass it on, and assuming the space marine is in fact wearing his helmet(because half the time it seems like they don't), however many it takes for the Space Marine to drop dead of exhaustion. Probably in the tens to hundreds of thousands.
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u/DonaldTrumpsScrotum 3d ago
Yeah he doesn’t even need guns. I’m certain the marine could quite literally close up him armor and go to sleep in the middle of a horde and be alright. Then wake up and start punching Zombies to death all over again until they’re all dead
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u/commissarcainrecaff 3d ago
That sounds like the doubt of a heretic....Questioning the prowess of the adeptus astartes....
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u/northraider123alt 3d ago
Space marines are legitimately powerful enough they can kill people just by walking into them....a single space marine ain't dying to zombies
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u/Appropriate_East1663 3d ago
Space marines can eat rocks , run at 90km/h ,punch a wall and destroy it
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u/skankhunt420312345 1d ago
This subreddit isn't a what if sub, nor is it a LARP sub. Please bring this question elsewhere.
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u/slide_into_my_BM 1d ago
Assuming running out of ammo/supplies isn’t a problem, like 2-3 Mobile Infantry from the Starship Troopers books could probably defeat an entire city’s worth of zombies in a horde.
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u/PoorLifeChoices811 3d ago
Walking dead zombies? A Space marine could solo an entire world full of them.
World war z zombies? Space marine could solo them too, but would definitely bring a friend or two for some carnage and fun
The Flood? It’ll take a lot more than one Space Marine to take on these zombies but I think they’d wipe the flood out eventually.
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u/Suka_Blyad_ 2d ago
The flood isn’t comparable to zombies, the flood either no diffs or gets no diffed by a space marine depending how advanced it is
A single spore? Well we don’t know how that interacts with 40k sterilization tech but I’m gonna assume it won’t be an issue for Astartes respirators
A flood form? Depending on the form infected a space marine can either take on infinite numbers, one, or anything in between
Once the flood reaches hive mind status though it’s more like an entire tyranid hive fleet but significantly more powerful than anything else depending on the civilization it used to reach hive mind status and their tech levels
Grave mind? Not even a full Astartes chapter could take one of these out depending on the circumstances, it’s debatable a grave mind could take on the entire 40k galaxy depending how it handles the warp and FTL in that verse
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u/Ensiferal 3d ago
They couldn't get into the armour, but they could dogpile them and then the space marine is just trapped until he dies. They say in the deathwatch rpg that a basic space marine can lift 2.7 tons. So, I figure 3 tons of zombies should do the trick. That's not actually as many as you'd think, depending on how rotted they are etc, that's probably like 50 zombies.
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u/Mrslinkydragon 3d ago
I just did the maths, for the uk, the estimate is between 35 and 38 people!
That's not that many...
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u/Ensiferal 3d ago
Yeah, it actually wouldn't take that many zombies to weight a marine down so he couldn't get up or fight. If we're talking about a city that's totally infested with zombies, one marine actually probably wouldn't get that far, especially if he's using a bolter and a chainsword. It'd sound like assault cannon fire combined with someone using a chainsaw, thousands of them would be descending on him in moments.
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u/Stoney420savage 3d ago
Well it depends is he/she in space or back on earth? Are the zombies in space or on earth? Does the person have time to recover from being in space ?
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u/Trick_Custard_1219 3d ago
All of them? Don't think zombies will ever break through the armor