6 Tips To Get You Through The Early Hours Of State of Decay 2
By Jason Fanelli ·
State of Decay 2 may be dropping players into a zombie-infested world of limited resources, but we have six dynamite ways to keep you and your team surviving for as long as possible.
Microsoft Studios and Undead Labs are again dropping us into a zombie-infested world in State of Decay 2. Surviving this harsh world will require wits, skill, and above all else a solid team of other players that you can trust and depend on. Once you assemble your team of survivors and start to play the game, you may not know the best way to approach the early game. Thankfully we can help, as here are a few tips to quickly get you to a solid foundation.
Balance your team!
This will be the most obvious tip we can share, but make sure every character on the team can help the team in different ways. You don’t want four characters who only do well with guns, because then if a zombie gets close someone’s going to get bit. We recommend the following setup: someone with Wits for stealth clearing stragglers (more on stealth shortly), at least one person adept in close-range fighting, someone with good Medicine skills for making health items, and one with high Craftsmanship for building sections of your compound. Now those can be mixed and matched -- Wits and Melee go hand in hand for example -- but balance is key to victory.
Clean and build that compound ASAP
Here’s a tip your mother will appreciate: clean up your house when you get there. There will be trash strewn about, and that trash inhibits you from building new areas in your compound. You want a fighting gym to practice melee attacks? Clear the area of trash. How about a workshop for modding items and weapons? Time for trash detail. Once the trash is gone, start building immediately. An infirmary is invaluable, but the aforementioned Workshop and Gym are good for starters as well.
Search everything (Without Fast Search)
Everywhere you travel in this game you’ll find flashing containers, be they file cabinets or car trunks. Every one of them can be searched for supplies, and every one of them starts with a slow-moving wheel as you search. There is an option to Fast Search, but all that does is put you in danger. Stay patient and let the wheel turn on its own, there’s no bonus or extra items for Fast Searching. It's really only for when you're already in danger and need to grab some useful tool fast. Also, you only need to do the search wheel once for each container, so even if you fill your inventory make sure to “open” everything in that building, as it will make the return trip much easier.
Stealth is your friend, so use it!
State of Decay 2 gives you stealth abilities as we mentioned earlier, as simple as holding a single button before moving. Going stealth allows for quiet zombie kills and moving without detection, so make sure to use it every chance you get. This also allows you to grab a zombie from behind, using it as a sort of undead shield or throwing it at other undead enemies. Repeated stealth moves will build a character’s Wits skill, which eventually could lead to an entire team of ninja-like survivors that can get in and get out without being seen.
Screamers are the top targets
There are plenty of zombie types to encounter, but none are more fearsome in the early going than Screamers. These armless wonders don’t do much direct damage to you, but their screams will attract multiple zombies from the area and make them descend right onto your position. If you encounter one of these Screamer freaks make sure he’s the first target on your list, otherwise you’ll be in for a long, long fight.
Influence is bliss
Influence is the “experience points” of State of Decay 2, the more actions you perform the higher your influence grows. Influence is needed to claim outposts and make more safe areas during the journey, so be sure to trade with as many survivors as you can and perform as many quests as possible. Be sure that everyone on the team is building Influence as well, because having only one person gain all of the points doesn’t do the rest of the team any favors.
If you utilize these tips, you might just survive long enough to build up your new life and community in the undead wasteland. Want guides to surviving in other worlds as well? Here's guide to finding treasure in Salty Springs in Fortnite.