Mortar Squad: Price, Range and Blast in Zombies Aren't Real

What the mortar squad is

A mortar squad is area damage against groups of zombies, fired from a position the game lets you pick - the store page lists mortar squads among the specialised ground forces, and the game encourages using higher rooftops for them.

The numbers on the unit panel

The selected-unit panel in the official screenshots shows a mortar emplacement with:

Stat	Value shown
Damage	10
Fire rate	5.0/min
Range	160-630 m
Blast	40 m
Ammo magazine	4
Reloads left	20.0 s (inside safe zone)
Building health	1000/1000
Value	$75
Level 2	3x fire rate, reload
Level up	$150

Price

$270 in the deploy menu of the same scenario - more expensive than a garrison ($150) or a mine field ($200), cheaper than C4 ($500). The panel separately lists the emplacement’s value at $75 with a $150 level-up, which is the upgrade cost rather than the deploy price.

Where it earns its cost

• Groups, not singles. Low fire rate and a 40 m blast make mortars useful against clusters. A horde bunched at a gate or packed along a street is the target.
• Elevated positions. The game encourages using higher rooftops. Press the height view to compare elevated positions with the areas you need to cover - the tallest building is not automatically the best choice if the important approach sits outside the 160-630 m band.

The risk that comes with it

Mortars can hit friendly units or civilians. Slow firing and explosions near civilians create problems: in an official screenshot’s stats panel, mortars sit at zero kills while other units did the work, and the store page is explicit that you should aim air support well to minimise civilian casualties. The same logic applies to mortar blasts - your score is the civilians you saved, so a blast that lands on a crowd of survivors costs more than it kills.

Do not treat every crowded street as a safe target simply because zombies are present.

Related

• Units and defense overview - every deploy option with prices.
• Turret - concentrated single-point fire instead of area damage.

faq:

• question: “How much does a mortar squad cost in Zombies Aren’t Real?” answer: “$270 in the deploy menu shown in the official screenshots. The unit panel separately lists the emplacement’s value at $75 and a level-up cost of $150, which is the upgrade rather than the deploy price.”
• question: “What is the mortar’s range and blast radius?” answer: “The unit panel shows a range of 160-630 m and a blast radius of 40 m, with a magazine of 4 and a 20.0 second reload. Level 2 adds 3x fire rate and reload.”
• question: “Can mortars hit civilians in Zombies Aren’t Real?” answer: “Yes. Mortars deal area damage with a 40 m blast, and the store page warns to aim carefully to minimise civilian casualties. Your score is the number of civilians you saved, so mortar fire near a crowd of survivors can cost you the run.”