A few significant changes were made outside of the Curveball addition in State of Decay 2’s recent update (Update 34). Here’s what I noticed since returning to try out the latest gameplay changes that will help you keep your SOD2 tips up to date.
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Hostiles are way easier TO KILL with Update 34
Though the fight-for-life window of members in your own community remains the same, you’ll notice that human enemies are easier to kill. On harder difficulties, hostile humans would only stay downed briefly and would be invincible during their recovery animation. On lethal mode, this used to mean you had 1-2 seconds to land a fatal attack to a downed hostile.
With update 34, downed hostiles stay down for (what I think is) an absurd amount of time. More than 5 seconds. This gives you plenty of time to attempt a final kill.
If you relied on Gunslinging’s aim snap bonus ability to deal with hostiles, check out the next section to see why other shooting specializations might be better now.
Gunslinging is nerfed? State of Decay 2 shooting specializations compared
The stats for the different shooting skill specializations haven’t changed, but because the gameplay regarding human hostiles is drastically different with State of Decay 2 update 34, it’s my opinion that the Gunslinging specialization has been nerfed indirectly.
What I mean is that I used to grab my gunslinging character first when it was time to take out hostile enclaves, because the aim snap bonus ability guaranteed a quick fatal blow as soon as a hostile was downed.
But, the new changes in hostile downtime make this unnecessary.
Though gunslinging is still valuable if you want to:
- guarantee feral headshots
- negate multiplayer lag and aim issues
- reload really fast (because that’s fun!)
…it’s a better time than ever to give the other gold shooting skill specializations some consideration.
Here’s a look at the different stats for Gunslinging vs. Assault vs. Sharpshooting
Mysterious Wandering Trader won’t stand up or die
Mysterious Wandering Traders either don’t die, or they get so many second chances that I haven’t been able to see their final fate. After a few second chances, however, the Mysterious Wandering Trader will now lay on the ground in the downed position for a really long time. At first, it appears they can not be interacted with, which is a huge bummer since you’re probably there to trade with them. However, if you run in a quick circle and try again, you’ll be able to interact and start trading. Yes, they will continue to lie there on the ground while trading with you.
It’s even easier to influence-farm on Whitney Field
The Whitney Field home site is a favorite end-game base for many survivors because the built-in loudspeaker allows you to call in zombie attacks and farm influence. It’s always been recommended that players prepare for these “Rang The Dinnerbell” sieges by equipping community members with heavy-caliber, high-power guns. Alternatively, you could also use the Haven device (which has also been updated recently!).
But with the new siege and infestation rework, the zeds are fewer in number and fewer in freaks. These waves are easier than ever, and I say that after playing on a Lethal zone run where looting rarely gave me a decent weapon. My community is equipped with mid-tier weapons at best and nobody needs to be hospitalized after I call in a horde at Whitney Field. YMMV, but if you struggled with the Whitney Field influence farming strategy because of siege difficulty in the past, it’s worth revisiting.
Demoting a leader no longer spawns a new plague heart
Demoting a leader after clearing all plague hearts no longer spawns one new plague heart.
This means you can’t influence-farm by demoting, killing the new plague heart, and repeating.
It also means you can’t demote a leader to add more plague zombies to the map to harvest plague samples. To get more plague samples after killing all plague hearts, you’ll either need to hunt Juggs or reset your map by moving or changing difficulties (note: resetting in this way will land you a new, full set of plague hearts).
Drop tables have worse loot chances after State Of Decay 2 curveball update
I’ve only done 2 map clear-throughs, but the loot table seems to be different. I could barely find any mods. The guns and heavy weapons I found were mostly from trading and plague heart looting.
I’ve done dozens of lethal zone playthroughs and feel like my two most recent runs had noticeably worse drop tables.
Maybe it’s just my luck, but I do think an intentional change could have been made to balance some of the Curveball effects. Some of the curveball effects are really great in terms of loot for ammo and luxury goods. However, curveballs spawn on their own time. If your playthroughs are fast and short, you won’t have the opportunity for many curveballs, and the curveball effects you do get will not all be positive. So for players that clear maps quickly, you will likely experience worse loot and luck from drop tables, unless you get lucky.
Other SOD2 Tips For Returning Players
If you’re returning to State of Decay 2 for the first time in a while, there are some other things to know that may have changed since you last played.
How to remove Frustration as a permanent 4th trait
Your survivor can become so frustrated that a 4th trait can appear for it. To remove it, you can send the character to the legacy pool.
I was unable to remove the 4th trait even though the character was no longer frustrated and had green personal morale. Maybe I needed to wait longer, but it felt like enough time had passed, and seemed like she was just plagued with this 4th trait forever. It was gone when I recruited her from the legacy pool.
For the regular frustrated morale status, simply engage in morale-boosting activities like community feasts, lounge buffs, and individual fixes like letting a frustrated character rest and heal.
Plague Heart Supplies – best enclave supply benefit?
I am not sure when the Plague Heart Supplies benefit was updated, but the current version is seriously OP. On lethal mode, the updated Plague Heart Supplies drop has:
- A 150-influence cost (30-influence cost when playing multiplayer)
- 10-minute radio cooldown (that’s with NO cooldown buffs)
- 2 Rucksacks. 2!!!!
- At least one will be a meds rucksack.
- The second rucksack could also be an Ammo, Meds, or Fuel rucksack.
- Bonus health, explosive, and incendiary items
Previously, this drop had 3 variations and only included meds rucksacks (2/3 chance you’d only get a single rucksack). Now, after calling this drop in every 10 minutes for about 3 hours, I can say I got 2 rucksacks every single time and the second rucksack was probably meds about 1/3rd of the time or less.
If you want to lock stock and load up a community, try influence-farming on Whitney Field next time you have this supply drop at the ready.
How to get the plague heart supplies enclave benefit
The Plague Heart Supplies radio command is a supply drop that can be unlocked by completing either of the Winning Allies missions. Both of these missions are part of the Sherriff Leader legacy goals and require a Sherriff leader and plague heart (anywhere on the map) to spawn.
Winning Allies (Fugitive version) – The enclave suspects one of their own murdered somebody. You help the suspect prove their innocence. The enclave becomes allied and provides you with the Plague Heart Supplies benefit.
Winning Allies (Infestation) – A part of 2 radios for help. When you meet, they ask you to destroy infestations with them. After clearing out 3 total infestations, the mission will be complete. The enclave will now be allied and provide the Plague Heart Supplies benefit.
In my experience, the fugitive version of winning allies is way easier. You only have to protect one enclave member for a short search and take out one hostile (with the help of 2 other enclave members). The infestation version has too many variables, and you’ll have to babysit 2 NPC humans the whole time.
Haven Device now needs to recharge (~15 minutes)
The recharge window doesn’t seem to be all that significant in the end-game, but I think this is due in greater part to the reduction in siege risk as plague hearts are cleared for good. In other words, if you have to survive 15 minutes without the Haven device every 30-60 minutes, you can probably survive fine without the Haven device at all.
In my opinion, there are only two reasons a Haven device is worth it. Reason one is if you have a messy map with awakened plague hearts and are having trouble getting things under control. Reason two is if your base has weird deadly chokepoints, like the back side gate of the Strip Mall base.
If your map isn’t swarming with siege sites and you’re not at a base where NPCs can get bottlenecked in one spot, you’re probably wasting a large slot and daily maintenance for little benefit. YMMV.
That’s all for this guide on State of Decay 2 changes and updates I haven’t heard anyone talking about quite yet. If you found this guide because you were curious about the same things I was, high-five! You know what they say about great minds!
State of Decay 2 is one of my favorite games and the continuous updates are a big part of it’s high replayability. I love the community and the science behind SOD2 gameplay, so if you have any other thoughts or unique preferences for your own playthrough, I’d love to hear them.
