Highlights

  • Having survivors with useful traits is crucial for keeping the base safe, happy, and functional in State of Decay 2.
  • Traits like Keeps Hidden Pouches and Quartermaster provide advantages such as increased carrying capacity and boosted storage, making them valuable for survival.
  • Traits like Infectious Energy and Can Sleep Anywhere offer benefits like extra influence, faster facility action speed, and the ability to get sleep, adding to the overall effectiveness of the survivors.

State of Decay 2 is a zombie-style survival game that keeps players on their feet and constantly moving. Luckily, there is always a relatively safe haven to run back to in case things start getting a little dangerous.

Such a safe haven is ideal for the State of Decay 2 players and survivors since they can get food, rest, and upgrade their weapons. However, a base is only as good as the survivors that live there. This is why having residents with great traits is so important. Without useful traits, players could find themselves struggling to keep their base safe, happy, or functional. Some traits are well worth looking out for, and some are worth avoiding.

Updated November 10, 2023, by Collins Erasmus: Each survivor in State of Decay 2 has their own special abilities and characteristics that can help them in the fight, in the hunt, or in the group as a whole. There are many possible characteristics; the question is which one is more important. The survivors' personalities are essential, as is the group's continued success. With the appropriate traits, an outsider can increase the group's chances of staying alive. However, the incorrect traits might just as quickly lead to everyone's demise. If players want to succeed in this survival environment, they will require the following traits, which are the best in State of Decay 2.

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13 Keeps Hidden Pouches

Increased carrying capacity

An image of player having several traits including the Keeps Hidden Pouches
  • +10 Light Carrying Capacity
  • +10 Max Carrying Capacity
  • +1 Max Consumable Stack

Keeps Hidden Pouches, like other traits, has its place in the zombie apocalypse. When doing a resource run, having survivors who are good at scavenging is a huge advantage, because gathering supplies takes a lot of time. It strikes a delicate balance between conserving resources and using them in the hopes of replenishing what was used.

In addition, the consumable stack is helpful for bringing critical goods into battle and maintaining team health. The Keeps Hidden Pouches trait is not only useful for storing loot, but can also help players find other settlements to barter with.

12 Quartermaster

Boost morale and keep peace in the neighborhood

Storage in a camp
  • +5 Maximum To Materials Storage
  • +5 Maximum To Ammo Storage
  • +5 Maximum To Fuel Storage

While it's worth looking into traits that have more than one perk, sometimes they can lead to a clash, or they can just be three relatively useless additions that are only there to persuade the player into getting them. Luckily, the Quartermaster trait is the opposite.

This trait is fantastically useful for any player who struggles with storage. Any hoarder out there will need a survivor with the Quartermaster trait. Even if the player isn't interested in getting every material possible, there is no such thing as too much ammo or fuel.

11 Infectious Energy

Extra influence and speed

An image of a character having several traits including Infectious Energy
  • +15% Influence Gained
  • +50% Facility Action Speed influence

Infectious Energy might not seem like a lot at first, but it builds up over time and gives players a fair amount of purchasing power. Survivors with the ‘Infectious Energy’ trait earn an additional 15% influence on each task they complete. Influence is used for a wide variety of things, like purchasing items and establishing outposts.

Survivors with this trait also increase the speed at which their facilities perform tasks by 50%, which is a massive boost to their base’s production rate. This will allow them to create essential resources like food and ammunition much quicker than usual.

10 Eats Like A Bird

Lessen the burden on foraging activities

Food
  • -50% Of Food Consumed

Food can be a tricky aspect of State of Decay 2. It's something many players would rather not think about and often proves to be a pain that only comes up when players have better things to do. Nevertheless, with the Eats Like a Bird trait, survivors will end up consuming less food than the average person.

50% is a large amount and will aid players in their resources, time, and effort, which can be put into scavenging or simply stockpiling the food already available, allowing it to stretch a little further.

9 Just Keeps Going

Players function longer at their highest level

A player surrounded by dead zombies and other players while having the just keep going trait
  • +45 Max Stamina
  • -50% Fatigue Severity

Stamina is crucial in State of Decay 2. This is something that any player can attest to if they have ever encountered a horde of zombies and then watched as the undead tore them apart due to a lack of energy. A person who possesses the trait of "Just Keeps Going" will be of great help in these scenarios.

Not only can this trait provide a character with much more endurance, but it also cuts the duration that they stay weary by half. The "Just Keeps Going" trait gives players a significant 45-point increase in stamina on top of the standard 100.

8 Can Sleep Anywhere

Helps players get sleep

Beds
  • -1 Beds Used

Typically, at the start of State of Decay 2, players will find themselves in a relatively small base that provides few empty slots for resources and even fewer beds. This can be frustrating, especially when survivors and the player get sleep-deprived.

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Sleep deprivation is a real problem in State of Decay 2 and can force players to stop what they intend to do. This becomes an even bigger problem when there aren't enough beds for players to sleep in. Grab a survivor with this trait, and one bed will become free, allowing for that precious rest from exploring dangerous lands.

7 Immortal

Courage against danger without hesitation

Shooting a zombie
  • -40% To Injury Severity
  • +45 Max Health

While the name itself is enough to get most fans of State of Decay 2 to grab the survivor as quickly as possible, it's not entirely accurate. It would be particularly overpowering if a survivor were actually immortal.

That being said, characters with this trait are considerably stronger than other survivors, especially with the increase in health. This will allow the survivor to stay up longer, fight harder, and not be too scared to get into the fray of a challenging battle. Just don't expect them to actually be immortal; they are not.

6 Unbreakable

Durability and resilience

Shooting a zombie
  • +45 Max Health
  • -100% To Injury Chance

Any preference between Immortal and Unbreakable solely depends on the player, since both will grant the survivor more health and limit their injuries. However, Unbreakable will limit the chance of getting an injury by an impressive 100%, which can be fantastic when coming up against some damaging zombies like a Juggernaut.

After all, long-lasting injuries can be frustrating, and will limit both the survivor and the player if they are far away from the base or can't heal quickly. Stopping this from happening is a boon many will look for.

5 Diehard Veteran

Recovery from illness and injury

Diehard Veteran
  • -40% To Injury Severity
  • +100 To Infection Resistance
  • +10 To Light Carrying Capacity

There are many things to do in State of Decay 2. Players can build up their base, complete quests, or simply go around wiping out as many zombies as they can. If the latter is the preference, then a survivor with the Diehard Veteran trait is the best way to go.

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This strong trait will keep the survivor going through injury, infection, and a heavy load. It's the ideal companion to take or to play with when exploring the unforgiving landscape.

4 Indefatigable

Physical strength and endurance

Indefatigable

When players prefer to fight using a melee weapon or if they just feel like running to nearby areas, they should be looking for a survivor with the Indefatigable perk. It's ideal for players who find their stamina to be a problem during State of Decay 2, and it's perfect for running away from those quicker zombies.

In the end, stamina is a challenging stat to manage and can be devastating when under attack from a horde. Having a survivor with more stamina and a lower fatigue severity could just be a lifesaver.

  • -40% To Fatigue Severity
  • +30 To Max Stamina

3 Red Talon Operative

Manage resources and construct better bases

Red Talon Operative
  • -95% To Durability Loss Per Strike
  • +60 To Max Carrying Capacity
  • -100% To Fatigue Severity

One of the most frustrating aspects of State of Decay 2 is weapon durability. Nothing is worse than coming into a big battle only to find the weapon is just about to break, or when players are protecting their bases, they find their favorite weapon broken.

A Red Talon Operative will have more use out of those powerful weapons and will be able to keep taking down those zombies like it's nothing. On top of that, this trait gives them lower fatigue and a higher carrying capacity, making them a great jack of all trades and still a master of many.

2 Officer Material

Blend into the community

Officer Material
  • +50% To Wits Experience Gain
  • +6 To Morale

Morale is vital in State of Decay 2. It can grant survivors extra perks and works well with other traits that have a negative effect on morale but are a great boon to other useful elements. That, combined with the Wits experience, allows the survivor to get some useful skills that will make them a survivor any player will want to get.

Ultimately, this is a well-rounded survivor that is worth having at any point in the game. They're useful, work well in camp, and can be effective around the map as players defeat zombies. It may not be Immortal, but it's great fun to play.

1 Volunteer Coordinator

Boosts player morale, power, and access to special leadership projects

Volunteer Coordinator
  • +4 Morale (For All Survivors)

As previously mentioned, morale is extremely important in State of Decay 2. High morale will stop survivors from leaving or getting into fights. It will increase speed and stop any resources from dwindling as quickly.

The Volunteer Coordinator will not only increase their own morale but the morale of everyone else in the camp by four. It may not be as high as the Officer Material trait, but to give it to everyone makes this trait undeniably one of the best in the game.

State of Decay 2
State of Decay 2

Platform(s)
Xbox One , PC
Released
May 22, 2018
Developer(s)
Undead Labs

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