Difficulty Options

When playing State of Decay 2 you can experience the zombie apocalypse through different difficulty options.

## About Difficulties

The game currently has 5 difficulty settings:

* **Green Zone** - A more welcoming apocalypse. Less dangerous zombies and plentiful resources.
* **Standard Zone** - A fair challenge not everyone will survive. Balanced danger and resources.
* **Dread Zone** - A more intense threat to your survival. Deadlier zombies, larger hordes, and scarcer resources.
* **Nightmare Zone** - A punishment for something you did. Deadlier human enemies, freak hordes, and extreme scarcity.
* **Lethal Zone** - Seriously. You've been warned. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

When starting a new game you can choose your difficulty through 2 screens: Basic Settings or Custom Settings.

Basic settings is an upgraded version of the original difficulty selector screen introduced with Update 7. Choosing your difficulty here will set every aspect of the game to the picked difficulty level.

Custom settings was added with Update 21. It allows you to customize your experience by individually picking the difficulty level of certain aspects of the game.

* The **Action** slider sets the Zombies, Freaks & Blood Plague, and Combat aspects,
* the **Community** slider sets the Survivor Management, Base Management, and Crafting & Repairing aspects, and
* the **Map** slider sets the Resources, Gear & Vehicles, Blood Plague, and Claiming Sites aspects.

## Green Zone

Green Zone is the easiest difficulty setting, ideal for new players and for those who'd like a chill experience.

### Green Action

*Combat is dangerous, but much less deadly than in Standard.*

**Zombies:**

* Zombies are easier to kill and deal less damage
* Zombies are less plentiful and less aggressive
* Nearby zombies appear on the minimap

**Freaks and Blood Plague:**

* Freaks are very rare
* Plague Hearts require less effort to destroy
* Blood Plague kills survivors very slowly (3 hours)

**Combat:**

* Combat costs less Stamina, and fatigue accrues slowly
* Combat noise is less likely to draw zombies
* Hostile humans are less deadly in combat
* Vehicles are more durable
* Injuries and trauma are uncommon and less severe

### Green Community

*Building and maintaning a healthy community is a minor challenge.*

**Survivor Management:**

* Fighting and Shooting skills improve faster
* Each survivor consumes only half as much food per day
* All survivors receive a bonus to their morale (Hopeful Survivors: +15 Morale)
* Survivors don't start fights or waste resources
* New recruits may show up at your base (usually in the morning)
* Influence and standing rewards are significantly increased

**Base Management:**

* Facility and outpost costs are decreased
	+ Building and Upgrading Facilities cost 25% less Materials
	+ Claiming Outposts cost 50% less Influence
	+ Upgrading Outposts cost 25% less Materials and 50% less Influence
* Zombie sieges at your base pose only a limited threat (Mild Danger: -10 Zombie Threat)
* Food-producing facilities and outposts produce extra food (50% more)
* Vehicles have higher fuel efficiency

**Weapon Crafting and Breakage:**

* Crafting weapons costs less
* Weapons last longer before breaking

### Green Map

*The world is full of useful things to find.*

**Resources:**

* Resources (food, ammo, etc.) are very plentiful
* Each rucksack holds 5 to 9 units of that resource

**Gear and Vehicles:**

* Weapons are very plentiful
* Consumables and crafting ingredients are very plentiful
* Most vehicles are found undamaged, and with gas in the tank

**Blood Plague:**

* Each map includes 7 plague hearts
* Killed plague zombies often drop plague samples

**Claiming Sites:**

* Home sites cost less influence to claim (50% less)

## Standard Zone

Standard Zone is the default difficulty setting, providing you with the standard State of Decay 2 experience.

### Standard Action

*Combat is dangerous, but fair.*

**Zombies:**

* Zombies have normal toughness and deal normal damage
* Zombies exhibit normal pursuit behavior
* Zombies are somewhat plentiful
* Nearby zombies appear on the mini-map

**Freaks and Blood Plague:**

* Most freaks appear as solitary threats
* Plague hearts pose a reasonable challenge to destroy
* Blood plague kills survivors relatively slowly (3 hours)

**Combat:**

* Combat noise is likely to draw zombies
* Hostile humans are dangerous in combat
* Damage to survivors can cause lasting injuries or trauma

### Standard Community

*Building and maintaining a healthy community takes effort.*

**Survivor Management:**

* Each survivor consumes 1 unit of food per day
* Survivors with low morale can start fights or waste resources

**Base Management:**

* Zombie sieges pose an occasional threat to your community

### Standard Map

*Finding what you need can take time, but it's out there.*

**Resources:**

* Resources (food, ammo, etc.) are plentiful
* Each rucksack holds 3 to 6 units of that resource

**Gear and Vehicles:**

* Weapons are plentiful
* Consumables and crafting ingredients are plentiful
* Many vehicles can be found on the map

**Blood Plague:**

* Each map typically includes 10 plague hearts
* Killed plague zombies occasionally drop plague samples

## Dread Zone

Dread Zone lets you experience a harder apocalypse through tougher and more enemies, and less available resources.

### Dread Action

*Combat is deadly to the inexperienced or unwary.*

**Zombies:**

* Zombies are tougher and deal more damage
* Zombies are more plentiful and more aggressive
* Some hordes are extra large or contain armored zombies
* Zombies do not appear on the mini-map

**Freaks and Blood Plague:**

* Freaks are more plentiful and can join a horde
* All juggernauts have blood plague
* Plague hearts are harder to destroy
* Blood plague kills survivors relatively quickly (30 minutes)

**Combat:**

* Combat actions cost more Stamina
* Combat noise is more likely to draw zombies
* Hostile humans are tougher and more dangerous
* Vehicles are less durable

### Dread Community

*Keeping your community happy and safe requires hard work.*

**Survivor Management:**

* All survivors have a penalty to their morale (Jaded Survivors: -10 Morale)
* Influence gain from skills and facilties is greatly reduced
* Influence, and standing rewards are slightly increased

**Base Management:**

* Facility and Outpost costs are increased
	+ Building and Upgrading Facilities cost 25% more Materials
	+ Upgrading Outposts cost 25% more Materials
* Zombie sieges at your base are a greater threat (Increased Danger: +3 Zombie Threat)
* Radio commands cost more Influence (150% more)

**Crafting Items:**

* Items cost more to craft

### Dread Map

*It's not easy to gather what you need to survive.*

**Resources:**

* Resources (food, ammo, etc.) are less plentiful
* Each rucksack holds 3 to 6 units of that resource

**Gear and Vehicles:**

* Weapons (especially crossbows and high-end weapons) are less plentiful
* Consumables and crafting ingredients are less plentiful
* Fewer vehicles can be found on the map
* Most vehicles are found damaged or destroyed
* Some sites on the map have nothing to scavange

**Blood Plague:**

* Each map typically includes 13 plague hearts
* Killed plague zombies rarely drop plague samples

## Nightmare Zone

Nightmare Zone offers a real challenge: enemies are plentiful and deadlier, and supplies are scarce.

### Nightmare Action

*Combat is an extreme test of your skill and reflexes.*

**Zombies:**

* Zombies are much tougher and deal much more damage
* Zombies are much more plentiful and aggressive
* Some hordes are extra large or contain armored zombies

**Freaks and Blood Plague:**

* Freaks are much more plentiful, and can travel in groups
* All bloaters, screamers, and juggernauts have blood plague
* Plague hearts are much harder to destroy
* Blood Plague kills survivors very quickly (10 minutes)

**Combat:**

* Combat actions cost much more Stamina
* Combat noise is much more likely to draw zombies
* Hostile humans are tougher and very deadly
* Vehicles are much less durable

### Nightmare Community

*Your community always seems to be on the brink of a crisis.*

**Survivor Management:**

* Skills and standing improve at a slower rate
* Each survivor consumes 50% extra food each day
* All survivors have a significant penalty to their morale (Traumatized Survivors: -15 Morale)
* Influence gain from skills and facilties is greatly reduced
* Influence and standing rewards are drastically reduced

**Base Management:**

* Facility and Outpost costs are increased again
	+ Building and Upgrading Facilities cost 100% more Materials
	+ Upgrading Outposts cost 100% more Materials
* Zombie sieges at your base pose a dire threat (Extreme Danger: +5 Zombie Threat)
* Food-producing outposts produce extra food (50% more)
* Radio commands cost more influence (150% more)

**Crafting and Repairing:**

* Items cost more to craft
* Weapons cost more to repair

### Nightmare Map

*Finding useful stuff around here is a real challenge.*

**Resources:**

* Resources (food, ammo, etc.) are very limited
* Each rucksack holds 3 to 6 units of that resource

**Gear and Vehicles:**

* Weapons (especially high-end weapons) are very limited
* Consumables and crafting ingredients are very limited
* Very few vehicles can be found on the map
* Nearly all vehicles are found damaged or destroyed
* Many sites on the map have nothing to scavange

**Blood Plague:**

* Each map includes 17-18 plague hearts
* Plague Hearts can be found near one another
* Killed plague zombies very rarely drop plague samples

## Lethal Zone

Nightmare Zone is not challenging enough for you? Lethal Zone is the true test of your survival skills, where even the most experienced players are never safe.

### Lethal Action

*Combat is murderously unfair.*

**Zombies:**

* Every zombie is a deadly threat
* Zombies pursue noise relentlessly

**Freaks and Blood Plague:**

* All freaks have blood plague
* XL hordes include one of each plague freak
* Plague hearts are absurdly durable
* Destroying a plague heart doesn't kill nearby plague zeds
* Blood plague kills survivors ridiculously quickly (5 minutes)

**Combat:**

* Gunfire draws an insane number of zombies
* Vehicles fall apart from only minimal damage

### Lethal Community

*Your community is doomed.*

**Survivor Management:**

* Skills and standing improve at a drastically slower rate
* Each survivor consumes 100% extra food each day
* All survivors have a massive penalty to their morale (Desperate Survivors: -30 Morale)

**Base Management:**

* Facility and Outpost costs are increased yet again
	+ Building and Upgrading Facilities cost 150% more Materials
	+ Upgrading Outposts cost 150% more Materials
* Deadly zombie sieges at your base are very common (Ludicrous Danger: +8 Zombie Threat)
* Food-producing outposts produce even more food (100% more)
* Radio commands cost more influence (150% more)
* Vehicles have lower fuel efficiency

**Crafting and Repairing:**

* Items cost even more parts to craft
* Weapons cost even more parts to repair

### Lethal Map

*There's almost nothing useful left in this town.*

**Resources:**

* Only minimal resources can be found
* Each rucksack holds 3 to 6 units of that resource

**Gear and Vehicles:**

* High-end weapons are almost nonexistent
* Crossbows are hard to find
* The rare vehicles you find are trashed and need gas
* Most houses on the map have nothing to scavenge

**Blood Plague:**

* Each map includes 28-30 plague hearts
* Plague Hearts can be found right next to one another
* Killed plague zombies almost never drop plague samples