In survival games, choosing the right path is key to having the experience that suits a player’s style. This rings especially true when talking about the team the player chooses and the tactics they employ. With so many different approaches, it gets hard to sort through the most effective ways to victory. Thankfully, the pioneers have passed down the information so beginners can save time.
Not all paths are good choices though, with some giving little to no benefit at all and taking up valuable resources. State Of Decay 2 even lays some traps with a misleading title being a complete waste of time for the player and their community. Avoiding these pitfalls will make the ride a lot more fun and let the player enjoy it in all its zombie-killing glory.
Updated October 1, 2021, by Jerrad Wyche: State of Decay 2 recently released a free piece of DLC for the game called Homecoming. It added new content to the game, including the map from the original game. Players can look to use the best skills in the game to explore and clear the latest adventure added to the game by developers Undead Labs. Fans are hoping that the reveal of the third game in the franchise happens at some point in 2022.
12 Acting - Manipulate & Influence
Acting may not seem like the type of skill that’s applicable in a zombie apocalypse, but it’s surprising how handy it can be in the right circumstances. If a character has the Acting quirk skill it provides the following effects: +100 percent Standing Rewards, +10 percent Influence Gained, and Pop Culture Knowledge.
Being able to influence a larger group and obtain bigger and better rewards can quickly secure an outpost and make it a viable place of safety.
11 Scrum Certification - Build Things Faster
In a zombie apocalypse, shelter can often be the thing that separates the survivors from the fallen. The Quirk Skill called Scrum Certification provides a +50 percent boost to both build action speed and facility action, with an additional +2 to all general labor.
This could mean the difference between finishing fortifications in time or being left vulnerable because people are taking too long to finish a project in time. It may not have a cool name, but its usefulness makes up for that shortcoming.
10 Hydroponics - Think Big
Hydroponics ends up essentially doing the same job as Gardening but on a bigger scale with the latter being more cost-effective if the player is dealing with a smaller community. Hydroponics can’t be upgraded and costs the same as level three Gardening, it just limits the scope.
Once the player has committed, the options begin to open up. Being able to be indoors leaves more options for placement and growth. With all things added in, Hydroponics can build up to nine food daily which is more than enough to supply a larger community.
9 Farting Around - Silliness Goes A Long Way
Some of the Quirk Skills in State of Decay 2 are pure comedy. Farting Around gives you a +10 morale boost. There are other silly Quirk Skills that give you some nice buffs for a funny name, but there are also some joke skills that are downright horrible to come across.
Every day Reddit users are finding silly skills like Irritable Bowels and Worst Fighter Ever. It’s safe to say that the funny Quirk Skills you can come across make gameplay way more interesting and challenging no matter if it’s a positive or negative trait.
8 Fishing - Always Have Food
Fishing is a key skill that will ensure that lack of food is a rare issue, though it doesn’t come without a price. Any survivor that you pick up with the angler trait comes with -3 morale, probably to balance out the big advantage players get in having them.
It isn’t a huge morale hit but it is something to look out for if you happen to stumble upon one in the early game before the base is all settled. Stabilizing this issue shouldn’t be hard and the skill is invaluable throughout just for the fact of keeping resources going on a regular basis.
7 Pinball - Buff City
Pinball is a Quirk Skill that gives you -25 percent in Gun Durability Loss, a +100 Shooting Experience Rate, and the Knowledge of Mechanics. These are three very useful buffs to have on a character.
Though State of Decay has always urged players to play the stealthy role and not alert too many zombies at once, shooting down hordes of zombies is just fun. If you’re going for a gun-only run, you better hope you find someone with the Pinball quirk.
6 Driving - Worth Fully Leveling
This skill will come in handy in a multitude of ways – ways that will affect the entire community you’ve built up and allow a smoother experience. Once the skill is completely leveled, the main thing is 100 percent fuel efficiency, meaning there’s no need to worry about filling up the tank and opens up the player’s resources.
Besides that, it reduces vehicle damage which will allow the vehicle to take out twice as many zombies on the cruise through the landscape. Also, players don’t have to worry too much about stirring up the enemy when the noise is reduced by 50 percent, as well.
5 Gut Packing - Tower Defense Critical
Gut Packing is a Red Talon Quirk Skill. This means that it can only be found and used in the DLC Daybreak by Red Talon Contractors. This DLC makes it so that instead of surviving out on the road and building a community, you get to play tower defense with up to four other players.
This skill gives you Knowledge of Cooking and Nutrition as well as a -35 percent of consumed food. If you’re constantly low on food during Daybreak, you may want to look into finding this Quirk Skill. Gut Packing allows you to manage and maintain food stocks better as well as giving you the skills to further upgrade and provide for your team.
4 Lichenology - Best One-Star Skill
The rarest skill to roll for and the renowned best one-star skill in the game, Lichenology comes in handy for many different reasons. The main positive being the two meds you get per day from the jump, giving players an extremely valuable resource with little upgrading put into the process.
It also reigns supreme among the gardening-related skills, having to buff them up to levels six and seven before players start seeing the same results. Keeping it to one person with great rewards, players also have room for another skill such as agriculture to get a much better income.
3 Mechanics - Make Cars Last Longer
You may not be totally into cars, but you’ll find yourself using them until they break in State of Decay 2. In the first game, cars will break after you hit around three zombies in total. In State of Decay 2, cars last much longer. They can take more damage before being completely useless but still need tending and care.
Mechanics is a Community Skill that allows you to continue upgrading your Work Shop facility at your base so that you can craft stronger weapons and repair kits for cars. When specializing in Automechanic, you can build an Auto Shop in your base which will allow you to completely beef up cars so that they can mow down horde after horde. If you love running over zombies and abusing cars in State of Decay 2, this skill is mandatory.
2 Chemistry - Bigger Booms, Better Meds
Depending on the path players choose with Chemistry it can provide vastly different outcomes, both worthwhile. Once players reach level seven, the skill can be branched off into Pharmacology or Munitions. Medical or offensive abilities result and playstyle is heavily influenced by either choice.
With Munitions, the player will get much better ammo production and the production of both thermite and C4. The Pharmacology route provides better medication and pain killers while improving your infirmary. Building upon either is a huge asset to the player’s game experience.
1 Enhanced Skills - New Mechanics
One of the DLC’s for State of Decay 2 allows unique skills you can’t find anywhere else in the base game or other DLC. The Heartland DLC takes you back to Trumbull Valley where you control specific characters and explore their personal stories.
Some of these characters can “specialize” in Core and Community Skills in a much more advanced way than you normally would be able to. For example, specializing in Core Skills will give you epic combat moves you haven’t seen before. Specializing these characters in Community Skils allows you to have access to mechanics you haven’t seen before like recycling cars.
NEXT: The Most Dangerous Types of Video Game Zombies, Ranked
