Basic Tips for first 60 mins of SoD

A. Shoot zombies in the head*! But try and resist using guns at the start as they just attract more zombies till you can find or create sound suppressors.
* Who knew all those Zombie films were giving you training info' for this game!

B. Use the Y button only to stomp finish a zombie ONCE on the ground and save wear and tear on your melee weapon. *** (See TIP 19)

C. Do not over loot resources (oil-construction materials etc) and bring too much back to your home base. Things can happen during the main story and you can waste resources. Take what you need leave the rest marked on the map for use later.

D. Like Dead Island, melee is very strong at the start of SoD and firearms are not. Save your bullets and use melee mainly for the first few hours.

E. Use X,X, B to fight more than one zombie a dodge makes you very hard to hit every few hits you deal out. And use TIP B. Use Y to finish downed zombies to save wear and tear on your melee weapon.



Advanced Tips and tricks for your first 24 hours:

1. Drive backwards into zombies. Killing zombies with the rear end of your car greatly prolongs the life of your vehicle. Larger vehicles last longer (Jeeps-SUVs etc vs small cars).

2. Take full advantage of "missing" and "training" missions. In these missions you will have a computer controlled player (bot) assigned to you. This bot will follow you no matter where you go. Take this bot, and crush an infestation! Clear unsearched buildings in zombie-dense areas. Establish outposts etc.

3. If the goal of SoD is to create an emotional world that reflects a real-life zombie apocalypse, then the name of the game is surviving as long as you can. Upgrade all of your playable characters. Even characters that initially to do not show unique skill sets can grow into valuable members of your team.

Keeping as many playable characters alive as long as possible will help you accomplish the goal of living life as long as you can*

*Of course, you can also take a dislike to some of the characters and decide they should go running with zombie hordes while taking the pin out of a grenade to make room for new people at base. In SoD the choice is yours!



3a. When you have a friendly survivor following you for a side mission, now is the time to scavenge. you have unlimited time- till you finish the mission no new ones will pop up- and a friend to watch your back while you search for goodies.
While you're doing these scavenging runs with a buddy, use the cheer emote (RT+Y) whenever they kill a zombie. After 15-20 times, you'll gain trust with the survivor. You know it happens when the words "Emotional support- gained trust" appear in the upper right of the screen.

4. Do not underestimate Special Infected (besides the rotter-exploder, he's just a royal pain). The game is mainly easy and forgiving by nature, but make no mistake about it, special infected are present for one reason: to enforce the permadeath aspect of the game.

1 feral vs 2 survivors can feel easy.
1 survivor vs 1 feral and 1 zed can become overwhelming very quickly.

Feral and Big 'un's, can insta-gib you, if your on low health. Best to run away and hide-regroup if things go wrong vs those 'boss' zombies.

If you have to fight a Big 'un' in a car, use the rear of the car to try and damage it. Best tip vs Big 'un's is to make them 'aggro' on you and run inside a house and shoot them through a small window in the head (pistol 20+ shots too the head will work). Or let them charge a wall or tree and hit them 3x with melee then run away and repeat.

Really Feral and Big 'un's are what the guns are for!

5. Do not forget to take advantage of the whole D-PAD UP menu system. You can customize your survivors to match their skillsets. For example, if you have a powerhouse, you can specialize him to become a heavy weapons expert by training him in the arts of zombie skull obliterating with heavy melee weapons.

With so much to do in SoD, and so much to learn so quickly, game aspects like the customizable RPG elements are easy to miss. Check the Survivor Skills section for more info on this subject.

6. Establish outposts close to your home. This will help cut down on roaming zombie hoards and infestations. It also makes missing survivor missions easier because outposts prevent spawning within the outposts circumference.

7. Establish outposts in establishments that contain resources (rucksacks of raw goods) that you do not carry home yourself. Upon identifying a outpost, leave some if not all of its natural resources there! Outposts that contain “unrucksacked” resources will help reduce the daily reduction of already harvested resources.

8. Doors are your friend. It takes zombies time to break down a door. When you see on your map that 1-3 zombies are outside of the door pounding on it, burst through the door by tapping X or running through it. This will either auto-kill an assailant, or knock them to the ground for easy one-hit kills. You can also use A to leap through windows and get the jump on zombies (or escape!).

9. Player customization. Match the unique aspects of your character with their weapons of choice. For example, a powerhouse wields a shovel mightily, but a person with agility is more prone to success with sharp weapons.
YOU ONLY NEED EIGHT SURVIVORS. With tip 3a and some playtime with a leadership character, you'll make friends with all of your survivors quickly. If a survivor doesn't offer a useful base skill (counciling, research, cooking, etc.) then cut them loose. Get 6 survivors with these skills, and one survivor each with powerhouse and reflexes. If your powerhouse/reflex character has a base skill, more power to you. Save that extra bunkhouse for something useful, like a dining room.



10. Explore! State of Decay is a large open world. In places that would seem logical to establish camp grounds, you can and will find campgrounds with rare gun potential, and most importantly, large backpacks. Gun shops have the best chance of finding guns etc Using 'missing' missions and your free bot helper, you can pause other missions spawning and you can then explore at your own pace.

Searching every searchable area within the entire map would take an estimated 75 hours of real-life time. According to Xbox gamers.

11. Helping other survivors (besieged missions etc) often nets the reward of cheap bullets in their stash (don't forget to check). These bullets refresh in the stash every 24 hours in game.

12. Did you die 'cause your melee weapon broke at the wrong moment? Smart survivors carry 2 melee weapons! Don't forget you can toss yellow damaged weapon into your stash and if you have a workshop they will repair over night.

13. Lots of sick people? You need to upgrade your Medical area to an Infirmary and stockpile medicine. Finding another survivor with medical knowledge is also helpful to give you a greater percentage chance to cure sick survivors in your group. Don't forget to look at the other upgrades for the areas in your base and even outposts and use them.

14. Like Skyrim, the 'thing' your character is doing will get XP to level, so running levels cardio, shooting guns, levels the shooting skill etc.

15. Using your car door (X) to kill zombies is more effective then even the rear of the car, as the car doors seem to have far more HPs. If zombies get on the side of the car and you can't dislodge them by driving that side into a obstacle. Just stop the car jump out and fight them on foot. If zombies pull the car doors off, it's then very easy for them to pull-knock you out of the car as you go past.

16. Spend your fame-infamy points daily, use swat, arty, Doc's injury radio call etc. Or buy tons of ammo from other survivors stashes to put in your own stash! Those points you gain over your fame level, degrade everyday so you might as well spend them!



17. If you want to try a Stealth class-build look for characters with the NIMBLE and or reflexes skills it makes stam' regen' 2-3x's faster! Mix that with silenced pistols and noise makers and you have a looting machine once you earn the NINJA skill.

18. SoD game engine runs some code everytime you log in and out that simulates the passage of time in the SoD game world when you have not been playing! When you log out if your morale is low and your survivors have no supplies things may have gone very wrong when you log back in!. While your not playing the game simulates your group raiding supplies etc (well runs some code when you next play not while you not playing as a background task!). The amount of change to the gameworld changes between real life timescales of roughly 1-2 days, 1 week and 1 month. At 1 month or more the game change become almost nothing.

***19. Do use the 'Finish Him-Execute' combo (LB+Y) on downed armoured SWAT zombies, unless you enjoy having to 'Riverdance' on their heads for 10 mins with your boots.

20. (suggested by steam user Tenth Doctor)
To level cardio fast, take all the items out of your rucksack (put them in stash) and run around your home base and you can max level cardio fast and not worry about being attacked by a boss zombie at wrong moment on low stam.

21. Survivors are not infinite in number, if your'e not careful there is a chance to kill every survivor generated at the start of a new game. If you find yourself in this situation the radio can be used to generate (spawn) two more random survivors at a cost of 100 influence each time.

22. Black Fever is mainly spread by Rotter (bloated) zombie bosses, when you see them use a rifle to take them out at long range and make sure no computer controlled players run in with a pipe! When you are set a mission to 'kill a rotter' on the radio etc if you rush there and range kill the boss, your computer controlled team mates won't get infected when they attempt it on thier own. Make sure you have a fully upgraded Medical bay and plenty of drugs and Black fever won't be a issue bar for the characters scripted to die from it.

23. Dude wheres my car? Is your survivor tired or without a ride a long way from home? You can fast travel. switch to another character, and switch back, and your original character will have fast traveled to your home base! (Note that there are a few reasons this won't work, like when you're carrying resources, or are in a car.)

24. To repair cars, first build a workshop, then park them in the special parking areas outside of your home base. Higher level workshops (upgraded) can repair cars in worse conditions.

25. Select Fire Tip: For those weapons that have a selective fire mode (auto, semi-auto, like the assualt rifles), you can change the mode by first aiming (holding down left trigger) and then hitting the A button (PC X key).

26. For distraction missions, instead of wasting firecrackers-alarm clocks etc, you can stand outside and taunt. Hold the R trigger and pressX, do this 3 times and the mission is over. (car horns also work though!)

27. Unlike almost any other zombie don't shoot Blotters-Rotters in the head! Shoot them in the stomach is one shot kill. (stay away from the fallout!)

28. Always try to bring back items when you are returning home, even if you think they are worthless. It will help raise your morale. Each item you bring back raises morale slightly. Basically zombie apoc' retail therapy.

To access the skills use DPAD UP[PC TAB] and then RB[PC G key] to the STAR Icon (second one along), you can then scroll up and down and see ingame info' on skills and how much XP they need to level use the X to choose one of the higher level skill (they will appear down the page). A confirmation will ask you to HOLD X for 2 seconds to confim the choice of skill.

TIP: Each Survivor need to get skills like shooting or fighting to lv 3+, to open up weapon spec' etc, at LV 4 you get extra key skills in that area that upgrade your base attacks-defense-counter at Level 7 you get your big skill from one of your base stats.

Character traits like a 'pack a day' make make it harder to level your cardio. So do roll over all the character skills and traits and this can help you decide what you want them to be.


Cardio
Determines max' Stamina, is trained by running-sprinting (see TIP 20)

Wits
Improves a survivor's search speed and ability to identify things when surveying.
Is trained by searching or surveying.
Higher levels in wits allows for quieter and faster scavenging (4 stars will unlock Quiet Search).

Fighting
Increases as you engage in melee combat. It improves max vitality and unlocks Special Attacks for characters who possess the Powerhouse or Reflexes personal skills.

Shooting
Determines a survivor's handling of firearms. Improved shooting will reduce weapon recoil (10% per star level) and increase accuracy (reticle remains on target longer).
Having survivors with high shooting skills will prevent them from participating in 'mishandled gun' events.

These skills can be improved. Not all characters will have these personal skills they are random in each new game on each of the survivors.

Leadership
Each star of Leadership increases the Trust that can be gained. Higher Leadership levels unlock special effects from emotes, allowing things like boost the combat effectiveness of the survivors by cheering them on.

Powerhouse Adds crit 16%-300% depending on level (star), unlocks
Training: A Powerhouse wades into the middle of 'em and mixes it up hand to hand.
Strong Back: You can carry more weight in your pack before becoming encumbered.
Pack Mule: You can carry more items per stack.
Powerhouse: Reduced stamina penalty when using heavy weapons, and you can swing them a bit easier.
Big Guns: Increased mobility and control when light machine guns.

Reflexes
Increases a character's Stamina regen'. At the third star level you get the choice of two different utility skills. When they gain their sixth star, they gain a choice of two defensive skills.

1 Star: +0% Stamina Regeneration Rate
2 Stars: +16% Stamina Regeneration Rate
3 Stars: +33% Stamina Regeneration Rate
4 Stars: +50% Stamina Regeneration Rate
5 Stars: +75% Stamina Regeneration Rate
6 Stars: +150% Stamina Regeneration Rate
7 Stars: +300% Stamina Regeneration Rate

There are also several Negative or Gag personal skills that can appear instead of Reflexes-Powerhouse etc. It is your choice if you wish to remove that character or level them.

These skills are vital for Home Sites and Facilities. These skills cannot be upgraded and have no impact on combat or exploration abilities.
Chemistry / Construction / Cooking / Counseling / Horticulture / Literature / Medicine / Research

These "gag" skills have no known effect on skills or your gameplay.
Reality Show Trivia / Sexting / Sports Trivia / Online Shopping


Weapon Specialization
Levels by kills made with weapon type, once trait is choosen. Each level will give added benefits such as more knockback-stagger etc.

Blunt Weapons
Edged Weapons
Heavy Weapons
Pistols
Revolvers
Rifles
Assault Rifles
Shotguns

Special Attacks
Uppercut
Spinning Backhand
Low Slice
Decapitate
Sweep
Spin

Utility Skill
Shove
Powerkick
Spin Kick
Sweep Kick

Defensive Skill
Pro Wrestling
Double Kill
Leapfrog
Instant Counter

Unlocked by one of the main survivor stat's reaching level 7.

Marathon (Unlocked Cardio Lv 7)
You're used to running long distances without tiring. Sprinting drains your Stamina 50% slower.

Combat Endurance (Unlocked Cardio Lv 7)
Decreases the rate at which you lose Stamina in Combat.Combat moves drain your stamina 50% slower.

Ninja (unlocked by Wits Lv 7)
Doors are never considered locked for you, and you make no noise when you search. You can also move quickly while sneaking by holding (LB). Goes great with the NIMBLE or RELEXES character trait.

Rage (unlocked by Fighting Lv 7)
Gives you a small amount of Stamina back when you kill an enemy.

Focus Aim (unlocked by Shooting Lv 7)
Slow time while aiming, when aiming gun with (LT) tap (LB) to slow time as long as your stamina lasts all Max Payne Style.

Keyboard vs joypad bindings for the main X360 4 buttons-bumpers and triggers on joypad when converted to current SoD default PC keybinding are currently:

A = [Space bar]
B = [Left CTRL]
Y = [e]
X = [Left mouse button, MB 1]

LB = [Left s h i f t]
LT = [Right mouse button, MB 2]

RB = [f]
RT = [Left mouse button, MB1]

LS (Left stick) = [W,A,S,D]
RS (Right stick) = mouse axis

DPAD UP = [Tab]
DPAD L&R = [Mouse wheel up and down]
DPAD Down = Left Alt (changed 27/09/13)

These bindings may change with patches, for driving, the X360 right trigger for the car accelerator (gas pedal) is better than using the Keyboard right now, so a joypad for driving is handy at the moment in. SoD.