Zombie

Zombie

**Zombies** are the primary enemy in State of Decay.

In State of Decay most undead opponents are easily identified, not the least of which by their glowing eyes. The relevance of this singular trait hasn't been revealed at this point, but makes them easy to identify even at night.

## Encounters

Zombies appear most often in three different concentrations.

They are most often found simply roaming the street or interiors of buildings singly, sometimes in great numbers. These types of encounters are the easiest to deal with, in that there will often only be a few zombies in the area that might be drawn by the sounds of combat to deal with.

Zombies can also appear as **hordes**. These zombies are groups of eight zombies that are aimlessly moving about the map. Most easily dealt with by the use of a vehicle or high explosives, these groups of zombies are actually identified on the in game map once you have located them. Having a zombie horde approach your base or follow you into it is a sure way to get into trouble. Destroying a zombie horde entirely grants a small bonus to base morale and influence when done as part of the Base Defense mission.

The final common grouping of zombies is as an infestation. Infestations are an immediate concern for all survivor communities. An infestation is when a group of zombies congregate in a building or significant outdoor site and dwell there. While this might initially seem like not that big a problem, zombie infestations in fact encourage other zombie infestations. Left unchecked these infections will spread across the desolated towns of Trumbull Valley and deny the survivor group many scavenging locations until they are dealt with. Rarely a Zombie Horde will move into a location, infesting it. Other infestations seems to dynamically spawn on their own. Destroying a zombie infestation will grant a small bonus to morale and influence.

## Strategy

Aim for the head.

Zombies tend to be slow moving creatures until they notice a living person or hear a loud noise or see bright lights. Once a potential target has been spotted or heard, they will begin moving towards it at a quick pace. When they spot a human they will begin running towards them with approximately the same speed as a human.

Zombies attack by grappling with and biting their opponent. Singly or in pairs they aren't much of a threat to a reasonably healthy adult, but become much more worrisome in larger groups. While a zombie can be staggered, stunned or slowed by causing them excessive damage, the only way to truly end the threat is by destroying the head or severing its link to the body.

Even a shotgun blast to the chest will only slow down a zombie for a few moments, to end their threat you must advance and destroy their brain either with a boot, melee weapon or bullet to the brain case.

### Vehicles

Obviously one of the most effective ways to deal with undead is to hit them at speed with a car. If the car is moving fast enough it will splatter the zombie. If the car is not moving fast enough the damaged zombies will cling to the car, attacking it, eventually cracking the engine block or ripping off the doors and pulling out the occupants.

### Explosives

Explosives also are an effective means of dealing with undead, as the cranial trauma tends to be severe. In addition to grenades and pipe bombs, keep an eye out for conveniently placed propane tanks placed behind buildings or attached to grills that you could lure them into. Fire can also dispatch undead but tends to be less effective means of dealing with undead, often leaving flaming corpses charging towards you. Take care with all forms of explosives used in proximity to yourself.

### Firearms

In ranged combat heavy caliber firearms can slow a zombie significantly, and even small arms can take out a zombie with a well placed headshot. After the apocalypse finding new ammunition can be troublesome so exercise control and avoid frantic fire. Most assault rifles can be switched to semi-automatic fire by pressing A while holding down the left trigger.

### Melee

In melee combat they can be attacked effectively, but care should be taken to ensure that you are not attacked en masse. A character's skill in melee weapons and any potential specializations they might have. Slower weapons tend to deal with single targets more decisively but can lead to a horde of zombies overwhelming a single person. Bladed weapons also offer up a chance to sever limbs and can be effective at rendering a zombie less capable of returning attacks.

### Hand to Hand Combat

A less than desirable situation, but a vital tactic when used in conjunction with melee weapons or close range firearms. Characters can duck and roll, push back zombies or kick them. Pushing a zombie over a low wall may cause them to break their neck, 'killing' them again. You can also perform a traditional boot stomp on a downed zombie, or grab a stunned zombie and slam their head into a wall, or push them backwards into a counter or other low object and crack their skull.

## Freaks

In addition to what could be considered traditional zombies there are a few notable variations on them. These aren't simply zombies walking around in different clothes or something. The zombification process has caused these unfortunate souls to become something else.

* Armored Zombie
* Rotter
* Feral Zombie
* Big Bastard
* Screamer