The State of Decay

Ferals, a.k.a. Hunters or Stalkers, are one of the boss zombies encountered. Primarily an ambush hunter, the Feral is the most dangerous zombie a survivor can encounter. More so than any other single zombie, including juggernauts because of their speed. Ferals are easily capable of killing an unwary survivor due to their incredibly fast movements and high damage and should always be considered the highest threat in the area.

Ferals are fast and vicious. They have a bulging, misshapen silhouette and move in jerks and bursts of speed. A Feral can be distinguished from other zombie types by its yellow-green skin, bulging muscles, heaving panting, and idle animation which is far more animalistic than anything else seen. It also walk on all 4s, which no other zombie can do, and all of them wear torn clothing, and can dodge high-speed vehicles.

Ferals can be found just about at any location on the map, both indoors, outdoors, in urban and wilderness locations. There are no areas that are considered higher-risk; their appearance is random, although they seem to take a liking to urban places, being found along the sides of roads, as if waiting to ambush those approaching.

Ferals are ferocious fighters, attacking in a frenzy and making defense or escape difficult. Extremely fast and agile, Ferals gain the upper hand by striking first, then preventing the victim from gaining any distance or mounting a meaningful counter-attack.

When it spots a survivor, the Feral typically lets out a resonant roar which is instantly recognizable. Then, it quickly approaches a survivor by sprinting on all fours. It will try to rip the victim in half or bite the survivor's neck until the head falls.

Juggernauts are a type of boss zombie encountered. They are a lot more powerful than normal zombies and require special consideration when the player attempts to evade or fight them. Juggernauts can be considered a Heavy-type enemy: slow but possessing powerful attacks and high durability.

Juggernauts are large zombies, over 6 ft tall. They have a distinctive silhouette that is easily recognized, marked most prominently by their large, thick bodies, gray skin and small heads. They move with a lumbering waddle, as opposed to the jerky gait of a normal zombie.

Juggernauts can appear anywhere, but, they do not commonly appear in open fields. Instead, it is not uncommon to see them in the yards behind the houses in the warehouse and downtown districts. Juggernauts are also known to spawn near the entrances of East, due to the fact there is free, open land. In rare cases, Juggernauts also spawn or appear in the parking lot, due to there being a lot of open land.

As is expected given their size, Juggernauts are very well suited to close combat. They possess an enormous amount of health as well as an ability to deal considerable amounts of damage. Additionally, despite their size, Juggernauts are capable of charging at relatively high speed to close distances and/or knockdown prey.

Upon spotting a survivor, the Juggernaut will typically stomp the ground and roar. A Juggernaut's roar will attract nearby zombies. Juggernauts typically attack in one of four ways: a charge attack to close distance, an "accordion" attack on any survivor within arm's reach, a backhand swing, or an earth-shaking pound attack.

"Accordion": Once a survivor is within its arm's reach, or approximately 4-6 feet, the Juggernaut will attempt to grab the survivor. If successful the Juggernaut will rip them in half. But if not, they will "grab and bite". Usually, after successfully grabbing the victim, the Juggernaut will bite on the survivor's neck then the attacked survivor will kick him off.

The Army Zombie, or Zombie Soldier, is one of the freak-type zombies encountered. They are the undead remains of the United States Army unit deployed to Trumbull Valley.

They have an overall look similar to the SWAT Zombie, with uniform, bulky body armor, knee and elbow pads and a helmet. However, while SWAT zombies have charcoal uniform and black armor, Army zombies have mottled green uniform, body armor and helmet (similar to Woodland camouflage). Another difference is their movement patterns; while SWAT zombies move slowly and never run, Army Zombies are fast (which could be related to stricter military fitness requirements in comparison to police), and always run to attack the survivors when alerted.

Army zombies do not appear until after the military base's gates are blown up. Once the bridges to the Trumbull County Fairgrounds are open, Army zombies become very common throughout Trumbull Valley. They can also appear near existing hordes and will attack along with the horde if alerted to a survivor's presence. They can spawn anywhere, but are more common near the fairgrounds and military bases.

Despite the armor they wear, Army zombies appear to have no special combat abilities. Unlike the lumbering SWAT zombie, however, Army zombies are very fast-moving, so even if it appears to be at a safe distance, it can cover a great deal of ground quickly and attack unexpectedly. Once it has closed to melee range with a survivor, the Army zombie unleashes a series of rapid pummeling attacks which can be countered depending upon the survivor's training, some of them are seen wielding machetes, batons or large knifes, but their moveset is the same as the Zombie SWAT knife-wielders, except that they use more the horizontal slash/swing and downward slash/swing... Just like Zombie SWAT, the Army Zombies are bulletproof... But not melee-proof.

The SWAT Zombie or Zombie SWAT is a special-type zombie. Unlike most freaks, SWAT zombies are relatively weak and are easily handled if provided caution is taken.

SWAT zombie is distinguished by wearing a charcoal grey uniform (Variants exist with a green uniform) with black armor and move at a slow, loping shamble.

SWAT Zombies are very common, and can be found anywhere on the map, which the survivor might stumble upon a few in East Marshall during certain walks. They appear to be more common near the courthouse in Marshall, most likely due to their origin as SWAT officers. Furthermore, SWAT zombies can appear in close proximity to existing hordes and will attack with the horde if startled.

Despite their armor, SWAT zombies have no special ability in offensive combat. Upon closing to melee range with a survivor, the SWAT zombie will attempt to pummel the victim or, if able to catch the survivor from behind, bite... Sometimes they will try to slash with a knife, or try to punch to attack, indicating that their body still remembers how to fight, also, they are inmune to gunshots because of their armor, but not inmune to melee attacks.

There are two variants: The Unarmed ones, and the knife-wielders. The unarmed ones throw wild swings or will try to bite the survivors.

The knife-wielder Zombie SWAT's moveset: Downward Slash: The Zombie SWAT will use a right downward diagonal slash. Step-up slash: The Zombie SWAT will take a step back and then will hop towards the survivor and use a right upward slash. Fast slash: sometimes they will rarely grab their knifes and will use a fast right horizontal slash. Stab: The Zombie SWAT will pin down their prey and will stab it.

Bloater a.k.a Rotter is a Freak-type zombie. Unlike any other zombie types, Bloaters still pose a threat even after elimination, thanks to the ability to release a toxic gas that quickly drains survivors' health and stamina.

Bloaters can be difficult to spot when among other zombies. They are somewhat taller, grey and slimy, with spindly, wasted limbs and a grossly distended abdomen. They are clad only in a loincloth-type garment which is often hidden under their swollen bulk, and move in an unsteady, tottering shamble.

In a mix of other "normal" zombies, they can blend in with other overweight zombies at a distance simply by being hidden by the bulk of its fellows. In this case, only their greater height is a distinguishing characteristic, although by the time a survivor is close enough to make this assessment, it may be too late... Unless they have good sight and detect the bloater from a distance.

Bloaters can appear anywhere on the map, although they are found more readily in urban areas, such as the main streets, it seems to be a particularly common point of appearance, as well as the open fields around the Farmhouses Home Site, as well as any surrounding homes/barns.

Bloater zombies have only a single attack: they will close in on a survivor until they are in range, whereupon they will spontaneously burst and emit their cloud of toxic gas.

This gas will contaminate nearby surfaces for approximately 30 seconds. Any survivor exposed to the gas will take constant stamina and health damage. This attack, while rarely able to kill a survivor by itself, is extremely dangerous if said survivor is in the middle of fighting multiple zombies. Lowered health makes subsequent attacks more likely fatal, and the drained stamina can severely impede the survivor's ability to retreat or fight back.

The Screamer is a Freak-type zombie encountered in State of Decay. Rarely engaging in direct combat, Screamers are instead a hazard due to their ability to lure nearby zombies to it with their scream, which can also briefly deafen and stun survivors during combat by just screaming. Generally only a threat when encountered amid other zombies, Screamers are nevertheless a priority target in combat.

A Screamer is bald, pale, always topless and missing its arms, which give it a unique and easily-identifiable silhouette.

Screamers are always found at the site of a zombie infestation. An infested building will contain either one or two Screamers.

Although in far lower frequency than any other zombie, freak or otherwise, Screamers can also be found wandering in the streets or in buildings.

Lacking arms, Screamers pose little direct combat risk, although they are capable of not only rallying additional zombies to the site, but can also disrupt the fighting ability of survivors.

Scream: The feature from which this freak derives its name; a Screamer will shriek when a survivor is within sight and will continue to scream every 3—5 seconds until the survivor retreats from sight, the Screamer is knocked down, or the Screamer is killed. Also, Screamer shrieks once when sees another dead screamer. The Screamer’s scream has two effects:

Each scream has the potential to rally any zombies within a roughly 50—60 foot circle from the Screamer, using carlengths as a measurement guide. These "recruits" will come at a run and engage any survivors in the area. Of equal significance, however, is that the Screamer’s shriek will stun nearby survivors for about two seconds, making them unable to move or attack. This will leave survivors completely vulnerable for the duration of the scream.

In State of Decay a number of special zombie sub-types exist. Often called "Freaks", or "Zombie Bosses", atleast some of them are called that. These zombies possess unique properties that regular zombies don't have.

"Hordes" are groups consisting of 5-20 zombies that travel together as a hive-minded undead unit. These are extremely dangerous for both the survivors in Trumbull Valley.

Killing a member of the horde alerts the others, but they will lose interest if they cannot detect the survivor, a lone zombie joining a horde is possible.

The reanimated pathogenic-vectors (i.e. zombies) are the non-human antagonists in State of Decay. It isn't known what exactly created them, but it is assumed to be pandemic-related (due to the description of the Hazmat hero). Their behavior widely varies (there are walkers, runners, etc.). Some become mutated, taking distinctive appearances and characteristics.

The only way to kill zombies when on foot is to destroy their brains, either using melee attacks or firearms. Cutting or shooting off their limbs does nothing but reduce their mobility and danger. Exception: the low slice attack slices off both legs off non-freak zombies. They become totally harmless as a result... Or maybe crawl fast towards the survivor.

A sufficiently powerful attack might knock a zombie to its knees, or on its back, making it briefly vulnerable to executions. However, if the survivor misses this window, the zombie will regain its balance and continue attacking.

The zombies don't attack each other.

The end is here. Life as you knew it has gone to hell after the mother of all zombie outbreaks. Now you and the few scattered survivors must band together to survive and rebuild, set in a dynamic open world. You choose where to make your stand, designing and fortifying your home base, performing daring raids for food and ammunition, and rescuing other playable survivors with unique talents and skills.

State of Decay is an open world that unfolds in real-time, dynamically generating content based on your actions, choices, and the growing zombie threat. Decide where you’d like to set up a fortified shelter for yourself and other survivors you’ve rescued, then explore for critical supplies and order your scouts to gather resources and create supply chains. Use the gathered materials to build and upgrade your base, but be careful! Resources will deplete as you raid areas, and noise and activity will attract zombies. Go on the offensive by attacking the hordes before they reach your base, or focus on improving defenses against mass zombie attacks. Every choice and every action counts in this fully simulated, ever-evolving world.

Manage your base through your journal. In it, you can see the status of all the members of your community, including their vitality, stamina, inventory, character condition interesting. Getting the friendship of other survivors unlocks the ability to play their role (they become playable characters). Loot supplies, rescue more survivors to join your community, and build facilities that allow you to produce your own resources, to help ensure long-term survival. Each base represents a unique combination of built-in facilities and space to build your own. Do you feel crowded? Do you need room to grow? Look for new sites that offer the protection and space your community needs to expand. Keep an eye on your stockpiles as the scope of your supplies has a direct impact on the morale of your community. A low level of morale facilitates the appearance of negative consequences.

State of Decay is a story of environmental transformation, revealing the ingenuity, adaptability, perseverance, and collectivism found within the survivors. Each survivor starts with the same four core skills. Their fifth skill is unique, and this point of difference is what makes them most valuable to their community.