State of Decay 2 tips, tricks and guide to surviving the zeds

Some beginner and advanced tips for State of Decay 2, whether you're fighting or hiding.

Guide by Chris Tapsell Deputy Editor

Updated on May 24, 2018

State of Decay 2 has arrived, with all of its lovely gore and base-building antics returning with it.

A lot of it will be familiar to original State of Decay players, but some things have changed nonetheless. Here, well run through some choice State of Decay 2 tips for beginners and returning pros, as part of our main State of Decay 2 guide hub on this page.

If you're out for more specific help though, we recommend taking a look at our gate to State of Decay 2 home bases and the best bases in the Foothills, Valley and Plateau regions, too!

State of Decay 2 tips for your community, base and morale

Try to save base construction templates for non-resource-generating stuff - set up outposts for meds, food, fuel, ammo, etc., as they can't be used for anything else.
Upgrade your command centre to unlock more outpost slots.
Clearing infestations is a pretty straightforward way of boosting morale when you have a resource problem.
Be aware that massive building projects create lots of noise which might lead to a zombie siege (lots of zombies spawning in the base, including specials).

Max out your Infirmary first - it's one you'll be using pretty often and getting it running as efficiently as possible is going to be a massive help.
Hydroponics are generally a lot better for keeping on top of food than the little garden farms you can build, and if you can get a lot of them up and running in one place, can give you loads of resources for trading.
Save up for as long as you can before moving to a bigger base. The first one is really limited but most of the middle-sized bases are quite similar (we pick out our favourites in our guide to the best State of Decay 2 bases, mind), so you really only want to make one jump to a mid-sized base and then as soon as you can move to your map's big, 3500 Influence, 8-person base for the long-run.

State of Decay 2 tips for looting, fighting and exploring

Get a car ASAP to boost range and inventory space while foraging, and always take an escort character to serve as a pack mule and distract zombies while you're looting.
Switch between characters to pick up more than one resource bag.

Use distraction items in crowds as they're cheap and ridiculously effective.
Don't worry excessively about getting hit by plague zombies as it'll take a few swipes before you're actually infected.
Look out for army medical checkpoints as they tend to have guns, ammo and meds in excess.
Empty survivor inventories before switching to others if you want to conserve ammo and consumables - likewise, do the same before exiling them to make sure you get everything they're carrying.

Other general State of Decay 2 tips

Cars don't despawn, so you can park them strategically to use them as extra storage and barricades (thanks to redditor AINOKEA for that tip).
To pause the game, turn your Multiplayer settings to Offline in the in-game menu - otherwise the game will continue running even when you're in menus or have it minimised.

Be sure to climb observation towers whenever you see them, as it's the only way to fill that map of yours full of icons and explore properly.

Be selective with your survivors, unless you're just starting out or specifically need one or two more to unlock a better base. They're a constant drain on resources, so pay attention to their stats when deciding whether or not to take them in.