State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition Achievement Guide & Road Map

State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition
State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 5/10
- Offline: 72 [1500 ]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1500 : 60-80 Hours
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1+ per game mode
- Number of missable achievements: 16 [check Roadmap for details]
- Does difficulty affect achievements? No
- Glitchy achievements? None
- Unobtainable achievements? None
- Extra equipment needed? No

Introduction:
Welcome to the "State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition" Achievement Guide & Roadmap. This is a strategic open world zombie-survival game developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios. "State of Decay" was originally released as an Xbox Live Arcade game on Xbox 360 and was later ported to Xbox One. The Year-One Edition of the game includes both DLC add-ons “Breakdown” and “Lifeline” and features improved animations, bug fixes, new textures, improved user interface, new lighting, dust and fog effects, a better draw distance and 1080p resolution. Furthermore several new weapons, new knife attacks, new vehicles and vehicle skins, new playable characters, new Breakdown challenges, new soundtracks and new easter eggs were added to the game. On top of that there is a new series of missions available involving a mysterious signal on the radio.

The Year-One Edition includes all the 46 achievements from the original State of Decay and adds 26 new achievements across all the three game modes. In general most of the achievements aren’t very difficult but many of them require some planning and you should keep in mind that this is a survival game and if you don’t prepare well before going on missions your characters won’t survive.

Note: If you’ve played the Xbox 360 version of the game you’re able to export your savegame to the Xbox One version. Once imported some of the achievements will unlock instantly on the Xbox One version.

Playthrough:
When you launch the game you’ll have the option to start the base game, the Breakdown add-on or the Lifeline add-on. I suggest starting with the base game because it’s the easiest mode and helps you get familiar with the game play and offers an interesting story. Your task is to build up a community of survivors during the zombie apocalypse.

Follow the storyline and watch out for the "Home on the Grange", "Gun Thugs", "Arrested Developments" and "Survivor" achievements. These are the only missable achievements and require you to interact with NPCs in a specific way and you can’t die during those missions. The other achievements can be done in any order and involve killing zombies, leveling up your skills, building facilities at your home base and earning fame. Facilities, fame and skills can be found in your journal. You can access it by pressing and switching between the different tabs. For construction and day-to-day survival you need to collect resources such as material, food, medicine, ammo and fuel. They can be found in various buildings throughout the game world. Due to the fact that the game features dynamic progression the game world will keep changing even if you’re not playing. Therefore it’s important that you have enough resources and good defenses before leaving the game otherwise your survivors might get sick or go missing.

After completing the main story mode and most of its achievements it’s time for Breakdown now. Most of the misc. achievements of the main game can also be unlocked in Breakdown so you don’t have to complete all of the main game achievements before starting this DLC. In this mode the story missions are removed and it’s your task to survive as long as possible. The game mode is divided into levels where a higher level means higher difficulty in terms of more zombies, more special infected / mutants and less resources. You have to reach level 6 and complete 29 level-specific challenges to unlock all the achievements in Breakdown. The challenges can be found in a new tab in your journal and involve killing zombies in a certain way, interacting with your facilities, scavenging for supplies and earning fame. Once a challenge is complete you’ll get access to new survivors with special skills – the heroes. I’d suggest you complete the challenges as soon as they become available and keep in mind that progressing to the next level will reset your challenge progress. Therefore you should only move to the next level when all the challenges are finished. In order to advance to the next level you have to locate and fix an old recreational vehicle and select the characters you want to take with you.

Finally it’s time for Lifeline. This DLC is very different to the main game and can be pretty hard at first. You’re now playing as the army in a completely new town and you have to rescue civilians to find a cure to the zombie outbreak. You have to fight zombie waves at your base all the time and the zombie threat is very high in this part of the world therefore you should never go alone on a mission and focus on shooting skills instead of melee since close combat can easily get out of hand. The achievements "Under Siege", "Freak Hunt", "War Never Changes", "Last Voice of Danforth" and all the achievements for extracting a survivor successfully are missable so you should definitely take a look at the achievement guide before starting the DLC.

For additional tips & tricks check the YOSE Tip Sharing Thread.

[XBA would like to thank Hawaiian for this Roadmap]

Cannibal Family Picnic

10
Get to the Mt. Tanner Ranger Station.
Story related and can’t be missed. Play the game until you reach the Ranger Station.
Holy Rolling

20
Escape Mt. Tanner and find the survivors at the church.
Story related and can’t be missed. After hearing about another group of survivors on the radio head south towards the marker on your map to reach the church.
Survivor

50
Escape Trumbull County.
(1)
Story related and missable. This is the final mission – called “The Wall” – in the game. Take enough meds, food and ammo with you because you have to fight off several waves of zombies and special infected. Bombs or grenade launchers will make it easier to deal with the juggernauts. You cannot die during the final fight otherwise the mission will fail and the achievement won’t unlock.
It Was Just a Police Action

20
Find out what the Army was up to.
Story related and can’t be missed. Follow the main storyline until you hear Sgt. Erik Tan on the radio. Go to the marked area on the map and complete the mission.
Home on the Grange

20
Play matchmaker for Quentin and Becca.
Story related and missable. Follow the main storyline until you meet Quentin and Becca (“A Stranger in Trouble” and “Indefensible” will introduce you to them). A mission called “A Discreet Request” will pop up where Quentin asks you to find out more about Becca’s past. Go to the Country Court House and ask Sheriff Carl about it. He’ll ask you to help him hunt a feral zombie. Do so and he’ll tell you what you need to know. Head back to Quentin and do NOT tell him the truth if you want the achievement.
Arrested Developments

20
See things through at the courthouse.
Story related and missable. This is a quest chain from the Country Court House. It begins with a mission called “The Law”. Keep on completing various tasks from this enclave (clear out infestations, rescue survivors for “Civic Duty” mission) until Lily notifies you of “Trouble at the Courthouse”. Head there as fast as possible and help the enclave fight the zombies. If you’re too late the whole enclave will be dead and you cannot get the achievement.
Gun Thugs

20
Help the Wilkersons resolve their differences.
(2)
Story related and missable. This is a quest chain consisting of 6 side missions. You’ll first meet one of the Wilkersons when you rescue Lilys brother. The first side mission “The Old Farmhouse” is the hardest because you have to defend the farmhouse from a horde of zombies and a few juggernauts. Prepare yourself with ammo, meds & food and don’t take any risks i.e. only attack the juggernaut with firearms (aim for the head), no melee weapons! If you’re low on health let the Wilkersons deal with the zombies and head upstairs.
A while after that the “Accusations” mission will be available where you have to confront Job and Mickey with stories about robbed survivors. In “A Helping Hand” you have to drive Sam Haney from the Wilkersons farm back to his home. Before you start the next mission - “Nervous Survivor” - collect 5 crates of ammunition. This is required to help the survivor and complete the mission. Later on an “Unwelcome Guest” will be at your base. Accept the offer to continue the storyline. Finally the last mission - “Neutral Observer” - requires you to drive an enclave to a meeting with the Wilkersons. The achievement unlocks as soon as you leave the area and let the Wilkersons do their business.
Pest Control

30
Destroy 5 infestations in one day.
(1)
Infestations are buildings that are infested by zombies. They have a red house icon with bloodstains on your map. If you don’t kill hordes and don’t have many outposts several infestations should pop up after a while. Keep on driving around and do survey activities to spot them. Drive to the infestations and lure out the zombies by honking (press ). Run them over and head inside the building to kill the remaining ones. Usually there are 1-2 special infected inside, most often screamers. Use headshots to take them out. Repeat the process 5 times during one in-game day.
Watch the Birdie!

20
Distract zombies to complete an objective.
(3)
During the game there will be several missions where you have to distract zombies. The first one is when you rescue Lilys brother. Simply drive there with a car and honk several times (press ) to unlock the achievement. Alternatively you can search for and use items like Firecracker, Kitchen Timer, Talking Doll or Wind-Up Alarm Clock to create noise (select with / and throw with ).
I Can See My House From Here

20
Complete a survey activity.
(1)
Story related. At Mt. Tanner you’ll be asked to take a look at your surroundings. Climb on the water tower next to the Ranger Station and hold whilst looking at the question marks. Once everything is researched the achievement will be unlocked.
Come and Knock On Our Door

20
Convince another enclave to join your community.
Simply keep helping other enclaves to gain trust. This can be done through siege missions or by helping them clean out infestations or rescuing lost survivors. As soon as they fully trust you they’ll ask you if they can join your community. Pretty early in the game (after moving to the church) Lily will inform you about a group of survivors that’s willing to join you immediately after helping them fight a zombie horde. Go for this mission if you want to get this done quickly.
Manifest Destiny

30
Build 8 outposts.
In order to build an outpost you first have to fully search a building (press Y on highlighted objects). Then you’re able to establish an outpost by using the radio: Press and select “Establish Outpost”. This costs 50 influence points (influence can be gained by completing missions, collecting resources, rescuing survivors, etc.). Depending on your home base you’re able to build 4-8 outposts in total. If you want to remove an outpost, select it from your journal and choose “Abandon Outpost”. You don’t have to build 8 outposts at once. If you have 4 in one home base and move to another base where you create 4 more the achievement will still unlock. Alternatively you can move to Snyders Trucking Warehouse or Fairfield Fairgrounds (requires 50 materials and 12 people in your community) to build 8 outposts for a single home base.
Everywhere You Look

30
Get 15 people in your community
The key to getting a large community is building trust and gaining fame. Help other enclaves and survivors who are in trouble. After a while they’ll ask if they can join you. Alternatively you can use the radio tower with Lily for 100 influence points to offer shelter for survivors. Afterwards you’ll be able to escort them to your base. Repeat this process until you have 15 people in your community. It’s not necessary to have a bed for everyone but make sure that you have a medical station to prevent diseases (that might kill some of your people) and create enough outposts to prevent people from getting missing.
Movin' On Up!

30
Relocate your home base.
(1)
After living for a while at the church Jacob will eventually ask you to search for a new home base. Collect 30-50 material crates and head towards Marshall. There you can move to the Savini Residence (30 materials, 8 people) or Snyders Trucking Warehouse (50 materials, 12 people). If you don’t like it there you can search for any other potential home base on the map. Benefits of the Savini Residence are the 4 pre-built facilities: Bedroom, Cooking Area, Library and Watch Tower. Furthermore you can build 6 outposts around your base to make it extremely easy to defend. Snyders Trucking Warehouse is positioned in a more dangerous area and harder to defend but it’s the biggest home base and offers a pre-built Bedroom, Storage and Workshop + 8 outposts.
Rule #1

25
Max out a community member's Cardio skill.
Hold when running around to sprint. This will improve your cardio skill quickly but consumes stamina. Therefore you should take some snacks and coffee with you to prevent getting exhausted. You can either grind this out by running around your home base or keep playing the game until it unlocks naturally.
Trust Me, I'm an Expert

30
Earn a skill specialization for one of your community members.
Skill specializations can be selected after reaching level 7 (or level 4 for weapon specialization) in a basic skill. Basic skills are cardio, wits, fighting and shooting. Skills can be improved by running (cardio), doing survey activities/searching for resources (wits), fighting with melee weapons (fighting) and shooting zombies (shooting). Go to the skills tab in your journal (, / to switch tabs), scroll down and select the specialization you want (press ). This can be a weapon specialization or a skill specialization like combat endurance, rage or focus aim.
Ya Always Were An A-Hole Gorman

20
Sacrifice your life in a blaze of glory.
(1)
First of all you need to equip a fire bomb or a grenade to the character you want to get killed (select / on the D-Pad to switch to it). Head towards a group of zombies and let them attack you until you’re crouching on the ground. Do nothing until you’re lying on your back. Now press RB to detonate the bomb/grenade.
Torn Apart

20
Get killed by zombies.
(1)
Select a character you want to get killed and head towards a group of zombies. Let them attack you until you’re ripped apart.
Get Yo' Freak On

20
Kill one of each freak zombie type.
There are 5 different freak zombies also known as special infected:
1. SWAT/Army Zombie – Regular zombie with army armor. Immune to firearms but can be killed with melee weapons quickly.
2. Screamer – Pale zombie with no arms. Can summon large amounts of zombies with a very loud scream. Don’t get too close when he’s screaming or you’ll be stunned for a moment. Use firearms and aim for the head.
3. Bloater/Rotter – Pale zombie with swollen belly that contains toxic gas. Don’t get too close and kill it with firearms.
4. Juggernaut/Big ‘Un – Large zombie with powerful attacks. Around 6 headshots or 2 grenades/bombs are necessary to kill him. Fighting with melee weapons is very dangerous since the Juggernaut can kill you with 1-2 attacks when you’re too close. It’s also possible to kill him with a car. Either ram him several times (especially when he’s lying on the ground) or park the car next to him when it is on fire and wait for it to explode.
5. Feral/Hunter – Yellow-green werewolf-like zombie that can move quickly and can kill survivors with a single attack. Either kill them with a headshot from a distance (the skill specialization focus aim is very helpful) or use edged weapons in close combat and attack him repeatedly so that he cannot jump on you.
The location of the zombies is random. Do survey activities to find them on your map or complete the various “Zed Hunt” missions.
Vehicular Zombicide

30
Run over 250 zombies.
Drive around the map and kill some hordes with your car. This will unlock naturally when playing the game.
Badass

50
Complete 50 missions or activities with the same character.
Select your favorite character and complete any 50 missions with him/her. These can be story missions, side quests, rescuing survivors, clearing infestations, helping strangers, helping people in your group, etc. Always take enough medicine and food with you to make sure that he/she doesn’t die.
Land Usage

30
Build one of every type of facility.
You need to construct these facilities:
- Workshop
- Sleeping Area
- Medical Area
- Training Area
- Cooking Area
- Storage Area
- Garden
- Library
- Dining Area
Each of them requires a specific amount of construction material. It’s not necessary to upgrade them. Since there isn’t enough room for every facility in any homebase you’ll have to move or replace some facilities after they’ve been built to get the achievement. You’ll need to do this again in the Breakdown DLC (this time with upgrades, see "The Rescuer" achievement) so you don’t have to do this in the base game if you’re planning on completing Breakdown as well.
Home Improvement

20
Build a facility.
After moving into a home base (the first one is the church) you have the option to build facilities. Open your journal () and switch to the right tab. There you can see a few empty spots where you can build various types of facilities like a sleeping area, workshop, garden, etc. Before you can start building you’ll need to collect a certain amount of material resources which can be found in construction areas or storage buildings.
I'll Be There For You

20
Earn 500 Fame.
Fame can be earned by:
- Completing story missions – Follow the main storyline and you should have around 400 fame.
- Convincing other enclaves to join your community – Gain trust by helping other enclaves until they ask you if they can join your community. This will give you 25 fame.
- Building facilities – Every time Lily advices you to build a specific type of facility you’ll be rewarded with 25 fame once you’ve built it.
- Leveling up survivors – You can earn 1 fame for every level-up in a basic skill or weapon skill per character. In Breakdown you even get 4 fame per level which makes this achievement pretty easy.
Mercy Shot

20
Kill a member of your community to prevent them from turning.
(1)
If a community member is injured or gets sick from a bloater attack there is a chance that he/she becomes gravely ill or gets black fever. After a while a new mission called “Mercy Shot” will pop up. You’ll have the option to tell the sick person to leave the base or to execute him/her. Choose the latter and bring the survivor to the place marked on your map. There you can kill him/her with a firearm and the achievement will unlock.

In order to increase the chance of survivors getting gravely ill you should remove the medical area at your homebase. Survivors can be injured by running them over with your car repeatedly, with explosives or by being attacked by zombies until they’re nearly dead. It’s a good idea to let them run into Bloaters since their toxic gas can cause an infection. Once they’re injured you’ll have to wait a few hours to see if they recover or turn gravely ill. If they recover you have to try injuring them again. If they turn gravely ill the “Mercy Shot” mission will become available soon.

There is also a (missable) story mission involving Alan Gunderson and Pastor William where both get the black fever and have to be killed. It takes place early in the game at the church or your second homebase. As soon as you hear about Pastor William getting sick don’t do any other main story quests. Simply focus on side quests and visit your homebase regularly until Alan gets sick and has to be killed.
Horde Hoard

30
Destroy 10 hordes in one day.
(1)
Hordes are large groups of zombies (10-20) that travel along the streets. They can be spotted through survey activities or when exploring the world. The easiest way to destroy them is with a vehicle. Make sure to hit every zombie of the horde until you get a notification “Horde destroyed” on the top right of your screen. Since outposts can destroy hordes as well it’s better to do this with none or only a few outposts set up. Nevertheless you should be able to find 10 within one in-game day if you keep driving around the main roads.
The Bruce

30
Kill 3 zombies with an exploding propane tank.
(2)
Propane tanks can be found beneath many houses attached to gas grills or beneath storage buildings attached to nearby walls. They explode with a single shotgun shot, the only difficulty is to get 3 zombies near the tank. You can either attract them with a car honk (press in vehicle) or with items like Firecracker, Kitchen Timer, Talking Doll or Wind-Up Alarm Clock (select with / and throw with ). You can also run around and lure zombies to the tank but then it’s quite difficult to shoot the tank without getting attacked by the zombies and you might get injured or killed by the explosion.
Double Dead

30
Perform a hand to hand double kill special attack.
For this special attack you need a community member with the powerhouse skill (e.g. the starting character Marcus). Train his skill to level 6 by fighting zombies. Now open the journal and scroll down on the skills tab and select the Double Kill skill in the defense skill section (press ). Now all you have to do is find two regular zombies standing next to each other and press + to perform the special attack.
Gotta Enjoy the Little Things

10
Use a car door to kill a zombie.
(1)
Press whilst driving a car to open the car door. Drive through a zombie to unlock the achievement.
Get Outta My Dreams

30
Kill one of each freak zombie type with your car.
(5)
There are 5 different freak zombies also known as special infected that you need to run over with your car:
1. SWAT/Army Zombie – Regular zombie with army armor.
2. Screamer – Pale zombie with no arms. Can summon large amounts of zombies with a very loud scream.
3. Bloater/Rotter – Pale zombie with swollen belly that contains toxic gas. Exit the car as soon as you’ve killed him otherwise you’ll be poisoned.
4. Juggernaut/Big ‘Un – Large zombie with powerful attacks. Ram him several times with your car (especially when he’s lying on the ground) or park the car next to him (whilst sitting inside!) when it is on fire and wait for it to explode. Make sure that your health is full otherwise the explosion will kill yourself.
5. Feral/Hunter – Yellow-green werewolf-like zombie that can move quickly and can kill survivors with a single attack. They can dodge your car but if you are persistent they stand no chance.
The location of the zombies is random. Do survey activities to find them on your map or complete the various “Zed Hunt” missions.
Get Over Here

20
Invite a community member to follow you.
Refer to “Serial Monogamist” achievement.
Serial Monogamist

30
Invite a community member to follow you 10 times.
(1)
Interact with any community member at your base (press ) and look out for the “Come with me and watch my back” option. If the community member has the option available it’ll cost 100 influence and he will support you during missions. Influence can be gained by completing missions, collecting resources, rescuing survivors, etc. When you no longer need the member you can talk to him again and tell him to go home.
Do this 10 times to unlock the achievement.
Rule #2

25
Max out a community member's Shooting skill.
(1)
Shooting is a basic skill that can be improved by killing zombies with firearms. Headshots streaks and multi kills give extra XP. You can either just play the game and wait for the achievement to unlock naturally or you can focus on killing zombies with headshots. Characters with the Eagle-Eyed trait (can be found in your journal at the character detail page) level up twice as fast and if you have a shooting platform at your base you can activate firearm training which doubles the XP as well. As soon as you reach level 7 the achievement will unlock.
Rule #18

25
Max out a community member's Fighting skill.
Fighting is a basic skill that can be improved by killing zombies with melee weapons. Slaughter gives extra XP (= killing many zombies in a short time frame). This will unlock naturally during gameplay if you stick with a character. Characters with the Fast Hands trait (can be found in your journal at the character detail page) level up twice as fast and if you have a dojo at your base you can activate combat training which doubles the XP as well. Don’t go for this achievement with a character who has the Coward or Two Left Feed because they reduce the XP gain.
Rule #31

25
Max out a community member's Wits skill.
Wits is a basic skill that can be improved by searching containers and doing survey activities. If you have a character with the Research skill (personal skill, check the character detail page) in your community it allows you to level up any character twice as fast as long as you have a library at your base. Don’t go for this achievement with a character who has the Dim Bulb, Drunk or Absent-Minded trait because they reduce the XP gain.
Apples and Beans

20
Fix delicious snacks 5 times.
Snacks can be produced in any homebase at the kitchen. Switch to the home tab in your journal, select the cooking area and choose to make snacks. They’re complete after 5 minutes and require 1 food. Repeat 4 more times to unlock the achievement.
Powder and Primer

20
Craft ammunition 5 times.
Ammunition can be produced in any homebase at the munitions shop. To construct this facility you’ll have to build a basic workshop first and upgrade it to a regular workshop and finally to the munitions shop. Then you need a library to research ammo manufacture. This allows you to craft various types of ammo as long as you have enough resources.
Watch the World Burn

30
Kill 25 zombies with incendiary shotguns.
Incendiary shotguns are usually found in gunshops (Spencer’s Mill and Marshall has one) or in CLEO drops. To kill 25 zombies you’ll probably need to produce some incendiary ammunition on your own. This can be done with the munitions shop. To construct this facility you’ll have to build a basic workshop first and upgrade it to a regular workshop and finally to the munitions shop. Then you need a library to research ammo manufacture. This allows you to craft incendiary ammo as long as you have enough resources (4 fuel for one crate).

Order at DZ

20
Intercept a mysterious supply drop.
Refer to "Letters from Cleo".
Letters from Cleo

30
Intercept 5 mysterious supply drops.
These missions become available when Lily mentions something about a mysterious signal. After a while there will be a marker on your map and you’re asked to investigate the signal. You have to be well prepared before you start because the signal attracts several waves of zombies that you have to defeat. Drive to the location and fully search the supply drop to complete the mission. It’s a good idea to take a big vehicle with you (pickup/SUV) to kill most of the zombies with your car.

There are 16 achievements with a total of 250 points

The Sacrifice

10
Go out in a Blaze of Glory at Breakdown Level 1 or Higher.
First of all you need to equip a fire bomb or a grenade to the character you want to get killed (select / to switch to it). Head towards a group of zombies and let them attack you until you’re crouching on the ground. Do nothing until you’re lying on your back. Now press to detonate the bomb/grenade.
The Dead Man

10
Destroy 5 Bloaters (Breakdown Level 2 or Higher).
Bloaters are pale zombie with swollen belly that contains toxic gas. Don’t get too close and kill them with firearms. You can find them through survey activities, by exploring the map or in ZED hunt missions.
The Judge

10
Perform 50 Zombie Executions at Breakdown Level 3 or Higher.
Fight a zombie with melee weapons or by pressing to make it stumble until it’s lying on the ground. Now press + to execute it with a melee weapon or to execute it with multiple kicks. Take enough snacks & coffee with you since executions cost a lot of stamina.
The Survivor

10
Collect 150 Resources at Breakdown Level 4 or Higher.
Scavenge buildings to find valuable resources and bring them back to base. The most common resource is food (found inside supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants). Other resources are construction material, ammunition, medicine and fuel.
The Mercenary

10
Destroy 5 Juggernauts at Breakdown Level 5 or Higher.
(2)
Juggernauts are large zombie with powerful attacks. Around 6 headshots or 2 grenades/bombs are necessary to kill him. Fighting with melee weapons is very dangerous since the Juggernaut can kill you with 1-2 attacks when you’re too close. It’s also possible to kill him with a car. Either ram him several times (especially when he’s lying on the ground) or park the car next to him when it is on fire and wait for it to explode.
The Ninja

10
Execute 50 Stealth Kills at Breakdown Level 5 or Higher.
Press to activate the stealth mode. Now sneak up on a zombie from behind and press + to kill him with a single attack. You should only use characters with a high withs level or the ninja ability for this achievement.
The Scientist

30
Reach Breakdown Level 6.
After completing all the level 5 challenges it’s time to locate and repair the RV. Lily will inform you about its location and when you find it you’ll be informed about the supplies that are required to fix it.

As soon as it’s repaired you can select the survivors you want to take with you onto the next level. Once you leave the valley the achievement will unlock.
The Rescuer

50
Unlock All Heroes.
(14)
Heroes are unlocked by completing the level-specific challenges in Breakdown. Heroes are experienced survivors with unique abilities and skills.

Here is an overview of all the heroes available and info on how to unlock them:

Level 1

Gurubani Kaur - The Prodigal (not required for this achievement)
Previous owners of State of Decay who purchase the Year One Survival Edition unlock this hero automatically.

Eli Wilkerson - The Bruiser
100 Blunt Weapons kills
Blunt weapons such as baseball bats, wrenches or metal pipes are very common in Tumbull County. Equip one with a high durability and kill 100 zombies with it.

Owen Lykins - The Cop
50 Pistols kills
Pistols are the most common firearms in the game. Make sure you have enough ammo and kill 50 zombies with it. Headshots are the best strategy and you should consider using a suppressor since the report attracts lots of zombies.

Pastor William Mulroney - The Believer
Earn 500 Fame
Fame can be earned by:
- Completing quests – Accept the besieged and zed hunt missions to earn 25 fame when you succeed.
- Convincing other enclaves to join your community – Gain trust by helping other enclaves until they ask you if they can join your community. This will give you 25 fame.
- Building facilities – Every time Lily advises you to build a specific type of facility you’ll be rewarded with 25 fame once you’ve built it.
- Collecting resources – Go on supply runs and scavenge buildings to find valuable resources and bring them back to base.
- Leveling up survivors – You can earn 4 fame for every level-up in a basic skill or weapon skill per character.
Thomas Ritter - The Father
Max out every type of facility
For this challenge you have to build and upgrade every type of facility available in the game. This requires a lot of construction materials and is best done in a large home base since some facilities depend on other facilities. The facilities don’t have to be built at once so you can replace them as soon as they’re built. You can use Lily at the radio tower (open your journal and head to the home base tab) to find new construction materials on your map. Here is a check list:
- Kitchen
- Dining Area
- Library
- Watch Tower -> Shooting Platform
- Basic Workshop -> Workshop -> Munitions Shop
- Basic Workshop -> Workshop -> Machine Shop (requires mechanic)
- Storage Area -> Food Storage -> Refrigerated Storage (requires workshop)
- Medical Area -> Infirmary -> Medical Lab (requires library)
- Garden -> Greenhouse (requires library)
- Sleeping Area -> Bunkhouse
- Training Area -> Dojo
Raymundo Santos - The Dealer
400 kills with car door
Press whilst driving to kill zombies with the car door. Best done with a heavy vehicle like SUV or pickup.

Charley Marshall - The Scholar
Complete all research projects
Research projects are done in the library. In order to unlock all of them you also have to build a storage area, a garden and a munitions shop. Select the library in your journal and commence the research when you have enough influence points.

Jacob Ritter - The Tragedy
Get torn apart by zombies
Select a character you want to get killed and head towards a group of zombies. Let them attack you until you’re ripped apart.

Alan Gunderson - The Killer
Kill a dying community member
If a community member is injured or gets sick from a bloater attack there is a chance that he/she becomes gravely ill or gets black fever. After a while a new mission called “Mercy Shot” will pop up. You’ll have the option to tell the sick person to leave the base or to execute him/her. Choose the latter and bring the survivor to the place marked on your map. There you can kill him/her with a firearm and the achievement will unlock.

In order to increase the chance of survivors getting gravely ill you should remove the medical area at your homebase. Survivors can be injured by running them over with your car repeatedly, with explosives or by being attacked by zombies until they’re nearly dead. It’s a good idea to let them run into Bloaters since their toxic gas can cause an infection. Once they’re injured you’ll have to wait a few hours to see if they recover or turn gravely ill. If they recover you have to try injuring them again. If they turn gravely ill the “Mercy Shot” mission will become available soon.

Erik Tan - The Sacrifice
Go out in ablaze of glory
First of all you need to equip a fire bomb or a grenade to the character you want to get killed (select / to switch to it). Head towards a group of zombies and let them attack you until you’re crouching on the ground. Do nothing until you’re lying on your back. Now press to detonate the bomb/grenade.

Cpt. Diane Montressor - The Taskmaster
Play for 10 hours
This unlocks naturally when playing the game and the progress towards this challenge carries over to the next level.

Royell Vincent - The Joker
Create ten snacks
Snacks can be produced in any homebase at the kitchen. Switch to the home tab in your journal and choose to make snacks. They’re complete after 5 minutes and require 1 food. Repeat 9 more times to unlock the achievement.

Level 2

Ed Jones - The Friend
Reach Level 2

Becca Collins - The Phoenix
100 kills with fire
Use incendiary shotguns, molotovs or firebombs to kill 100 zombies with fire.

Lyanna Carter - The Enthusiast
100 Light Edged Weapons kills
Edged weapons such as machetes, swords or axes are very common in Tumbull County. Equip one with a high durability and kill 100 zombies with it.

Andy Pimms - The Dead Man
Kill 5 bloaters
Bloaters are pale zombie with swollen belly that contains toxic gas. Don’t get too close and kill them with firearms. You can find them through survey activities, by exploring the map or in ZED hunt missions.

Lincoln Voss - The Hunter
50 Rifles kills
Rifles are the most powerful firearms in the game. One shot can kill multiple zombies. Make sure you have enough ammo and kill 50 zombies with it. Headshots are the best strategy and you should consider using a suppressor since the report attracts lots of zombies.

Heather LaRue - The Mother
Cook a feast
In order to cook a feast you need to find a survivor who has the “Good Cook” personal skill. Then head to the home tab in your journal, select the cooking area and prepare a feast. This requires 5 food and usually some special ingredients that you need to find (questionmarks on your map).

Alicia Hawkes - The Commander
3 surveys
Complete three survey activities by climbing on top of a survey point (these are cellphone/water towers or rooftops for example) and holding whilst looking at the question marks. Do this for every question mark in sight to complete the activity.

Level 3

Sam Hoffman - The Convict
Reach Level 3

Judge Constance Lawton - The Judge
Perform 50 executions
Fight a zombie with melee weapons or by pressing to make it stumble until it’s lying on the ground. Now press + to execute it with a melee weapon or to execute it with multiple kicks. Take enough snacks & coffee with you since executions cost a lot of stamina.

Carl Parsons - The Mentor
50 Revolver kills
Revolvers are powerful short-range firearms. Make sure you have enough ammo and kill 50 zombies with it. Headshots are the best strategy. Unfortunately the loading times are pretty slow, the ammo capacity is small and suppressors don’t work on these firearms.

Amelia Crasman - The Fighter
Kill 5 Ferals
Ferals are yellow-green werewolf-like zombies that can move quickly and can kill survivors with a single attack. Either kill them with a headshot from a distance (the skill specialization focus aim is very helpful) or use edged weapons in close combat and attack them repeatedly so that they cannot jump on you. You can also try to kill them with a vehicle.

Doc Hanson - The Healer
Create Stimulants or Painkillers 5 times
Painkillers and stimulants can be produced in any homebase at the medical lab. To construct this facility you’ll have to build a medical area first and upgrade it to an infirmary and finally to the medical lab. There you can produce mild stims and homemade painkillers if you have enough medicine resources.

Joel Macon - The Biker
Create weapons in the workshop 5 times
Weapons can be produced in any homebase at the munitions shop. To construct this facility you’ll have to build a basic workshop first and upgrade it to a regular workshop and finally to the munitions shop. The first weapon you can create is the Flame Fougasse.

Calliope Morris - The Gardener
Grow 10 Food in the garden
For this challenge you have to build a garden area. You don’t have to upgrade it to a greenhouse. The garden produces food each day and the amount of food increases from 2 food/day to 6 food/day depending on the stage of the plants. It takes approximately 3 to 4 in-game days until 10 food is grown.

Kilohana Young - The Defender
Craft 300 Rounds of Ammo
Ammunition can be produced in any homebase at the munitions shop. To construct this facility you’ll have to build a basic workshop first and upgrade it to a regular workshop and finally to the munitions shop. Then you need a library to research ammo manufacture. This allows you to craft various types of ammo as long as you have enough resources.

Level 4

K.C. Winters - The Gunner
Reach Level 4

Job Wilkerson - The Survivor
Scavenge 150 resources
Go on supply runs and scavenge buildings to find valuable resources and bring them back to base. The most common resource is food (found inside supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants). Other resources are construction material, ammunition, medicine and fuel.

Marcus Campbell - The Hero
100 Heavy Weapons kills
Heavy weapons such as sledgehammers, shovels or splitting mauls can knock down multiple zombies at once but due to their weight there is a significant delay between attacks. Equip one with a high durability and kill 100 zombies with it.

Zeika Rivera - The Rebel
50 Assault Rifles kills
Assault Rifles are the most versatile firearms in the game. Make sure you have enough ammo and kill 50 zombies with it. Headshots are the best strategy and you should consider using a suppressor since the report attracts lots of zombies.

Mickey Wilkerson - The Sniper
Earn 25 headshot streaks
Headshot streaks are earned by accomplishing 5 headshots in a row without missing or getting hit by a zombie in a small time period. This should be approached with a character who has a shooting skill level of 7 and the skill specialization focus aim that allows you to slow down time whilst aiming. Take enough snacks with you to replenish your stamina.

Evan Woodrow - The Grenadier
50 explosives kills
You can either produce bombs at the munitions shop or use a grenade launcher for this challenge. Aim for hordes to kill a lot of zombies at once with a single bomb/grenade.

Kelly Eldridge III - The Operator
Kill 10 Screamers
Screamers are pale zombie with no arms. They can summon large amounts of zombies with a very loud scream. Don’t get too close when he’s screaming or you’ll be stunned for a moment. Use firearms and aim for the head to kill them or run them over with a car. They’re usually inside infestations.

Level 5

Maya Torres - The Veteran
Reach Level 5

Dan Hovenden - The Moustache
50 shotgun kills
Shotguns aren’t the best firearms in the game because of their limited range, slow load times and loud noise however they are pretty effective in shorter distances. Make sure you have enough ammo and kill 50 zombies with it. Headshots are the best strategy.

Leon Montague - The Mercenary
Kill 5 juggernauts
Juggernatus are large zombie with powerful attacks. Around 6 headshots or 2 grenades/bombs are necessary to kill him. Fighting with melee weapons is very dangerous since the Juggernaut can kill you with 1-2 attacks when you’re too close. It’s also possible to kill him with a car. Either ram him several times (especially when he’s lying on the ground) or park the car next to him when it is on fire and wait for it to explode.

Shark Hoodie Guy - The Ninja
Perform 50 stealth kills
Press to activate the stealth mode. Now sneak up on a zombie from behind and press + to kill him with a single attack. You should only use characters with a high withs level or the ninja ability for this challenge.

Level 6

Walter Degrasse - The Scientist
Reach Level 6
The Friend

10
Reach Breakdown Level 2.
After completing all the level 1 challenges it’s time to locate and repair the RV. Lily will inform you about its location and when you find it you’ll be informed about the supplies that are required to fix it.

As soon as it’s repaired you can select the survivors you want to take with you onto the next level. Once you leave the valley the achievement will unlock.
The Convict

15
Reach Breakdown Level 3.
After completing all the level 2 challenges it’s time to locate and repair the RV. Lily will inform you about its location and when you find it you’ll be informed about the supplies that are required to fix it.

As soon as it’s repaired you can select the survivors you want to take with you onto the next level. Once you leave the valley the achievement will unlock.
The Gunner

20
Reach Breakdown Level 4.
After completing all the level 3 challenges it’s time to locate and repair the RV. Lily will inform you about its location and when you find it you’ll be informed about the supplies that are required to fix it.

As soon as it’s repaired you can select the survivors you want to take with you onto the next level. Once you leave the valley the achievement will unlock.
The Veteran

25
Reach Breakdown Level 5.
After completing all the level 4 challenges it’s time to locate and repair the RV. Lily will inform you about its location and when you find it you’ll be informed about the supplies that are required to fix it.

As soon as it’s repaired you can select the survivors you want to take with you onto the next level. Once you leave the valley the achievement will unlock.
The Scholar

10
Complete All Research Projects (Breakdown Level 1 or Higher).
Research projects are done in the library. In order to unlock all of them you also have to build a storage area, a garden and a munitions shop. Select the library in your journal and commence the research when you have enough influence points.
The Phoenix

10
Burn 100 Zombies with Fire (Breakdown Level 2 or Higher).
Use incendiary shotguns, molotovs or firebombs to kill 100 zombies with fire.
The Fighter

10
Destroy 5 Ferals (Breakdown Level 3 or Higher).
Ferals are yellow-green werewolf-like zombies that can move quickly and can kill survivors with a single attack. Either kill them with a headshot from a distance (the skill specialization focus aim is very helpful) or use edged weapons in close combat and attack them repeatedly so that they cannot jump on you. You can also try to kill them with a vehicle.
The Sniper

10
Earn 25 Headshot Streaks (Breakdown Level 4 or Higher).
Headshot streaks are earned by accomplishing 5 headshots in a row without missing or getting hit by a zombie in a small time period. This should be approached with a character who has a shooting skill level of 7 and the skill specialization focus aim that allows you to slow down time whilst aiming. Take enough snacks with you to replenish your stamina.

There are 16 achievements with a total of 250 points

Wired for War

20
Kill 100 zombies with Drone Strikes.
(1)
Press to open the radio menu. There you’ll find the option to call Drone Strikes from the Doghouse. This option is only available in the first part of the game and costs 60 influence. You’ll receive a Drone Strike Marker (you need and empty spot in your inventory) that can be thrown by pressing (select the marker by pressing / if you have multiple items in your inventory). Throw it in areas with lots of zombies (e.g. hordes, infestations or in Danger Zones (=red areas on the map)) to get the 100 kills quickly. If you miss this in the beginning of the game you still have the option to call for Drone Strike Markers if you build 2 drone outposts. The first one can be found in the very North of the map. The other one is located in the East behind a supermarket. Influence is earned by bringing home resources and by rescuing civilians/soldiers.
Rucks in Trucks

10
In Lifeline, deliver 6 rucksacks to your base in the back of a single vehicle.
(2)
Every car in the game allows you to put 4-6 rucksacks full of resources in the trunk. For this achievement you’ll need a large vehicle like the pickups/trucks or the SUVs. I’d suggest doing this as soon as you start the game since you have 2 military guys as support and the zombies aren’t that aggressive during the first missions. Drive to the fast food restaurants for food crates and to storage areas for material crates since these are the most common resources. Search the crates with and load your rucksack with after finding a resource. Then you can interact with the trunk of the car () to put the rucksack in the trunk. Repeat 6 times until the trunk is full. Now make sure that you don’t destroy your car whilst heading towards the base! As soon as you park the car in any of the parking spots the achievement will unlock.
Under Siege

20
Survive 10 sieges on your base in a single playthrough.
(1)
Sieges occur every 30 minutes in your base and consist of 2 waves of zombies. You know when a siege is about to occur by looking at the threat level (can be found below the mini map). Once it reaches threat level 3 the siege is imminent. Kill every zombie without getting killed to survive the siege. You need to be well prepared to survive the later sieges since the difficulty is constantly increasing.
Here are a few tips:
- Activate the traps in your home base before the siege starts (costs 2 ammo). The mines will blow up most of the zombies from the first wave.
- Use a character with a high shooting level during the sieges = Alicia Hawkes (starting character in Lifeline) and enable the special ability Focus Aim (scroll down on the character page). This allows you to slow down time whilst shooting zombies and makes headshots very easy (press +). It’s important to take enough snacks/MREs with you since Focus Aim reduces your stamina. The rest of your inventory should consist of 3 painkillers, a good melee weapon and enough ammo.
- Search for grenade launchers early in the game and equip the other soldiers with them (remove all other shotguns in their inventory). This is the easiest way to deal with huge zombie hordes during the siege because the NPCs will have infinite ammo and can destroy everything with the grenades. Grenade launchers can be found along the highway inside the “Drake’s History Cartridge Co.” (white/blue color) and “Coach Keel’s Man Cave” (camouflage) trucks.
- Kill ferals and juggernauts with headshots (use Focus Aim) as soon as you see them (the other soldiers usually warn you beforehand). That’s very important because these special infected can destroy the gates to your base with a few hits and as soon as they + lots of zombies are inside it’s very likely that some of your people get killed.
You’ll usually have finished the main story line after about 8 sieges. Keep on playing before triggering the last mission/evacuating otherwise you’ll miss out on this achievement.
Maverick

10
Survive 2 minutes within a Danger Zone.
(2)
This can be done as soon as the game starts. Danger Zones are the red areas on your map. Drive inside one with your car or find a good spot where zombies can’t reach you (usually at the edge of the danger zones, e.g. behind a wall or wrecked truck) and wait 2 minutes.
Flugtag

10
Send an energy drink flying.
(2)
Along the highway are several trucks with big soda cans on top of them. Use your car and drive quickly towards such a can so that it flies away. This might take a few tries because if it doesn’t fly far enough it won’t count. You can try pushing the can a bit further if it’s already down on the street, this should unlock the achievement as well if you haven’t made it in one go.
Freak Hunt

10
Complete all hunting missions with Sasquatch.
These missions become available after rescuing Kelly Eldridge III aka Sasquatch from the tunnels. He will ask you to kill 4 special infected zombies in a specific way.
Each mission will become available after a siege as long as he doesn’t get killed in the meantime or during such a hunting mission. Take enough meds, snacks and ammo with you because there are usually a lot of regular zombies in the mission areas. These are the missions:
1. Kill a bloater with a headshot. – Pretty easy, especially with focus aim and and a good rifle.
2. Kill a feral with an edged weapon. – Keep attacking the feral by spamming so that it doesn’t jump on you or Sasquatch.
3. Kill a screamer with fire. – Use a molotov/fire bomb or an incendiary shotgun.
4. Kill a juggernaut with melee weapons. – This is the hardest mission. Start by damaging the juggernaut with a car or with a grenade launcher (only 1 shot!). Only attack him with melee attacks from behind or when he finishes his charge attack. It’s important that your health is nearly full, otherwise he’ll kill you instantly with one hit. Furthermore you need enough stamina to dodge his attacks.
After completing the missions take Sasquatch back to base and the achievement will unlock.
The Doctor

15
Successfully extract Thomas Horn.
These achievements are rewarded for rescuing the High Value Targets marked on your map. In general you should always ask another soldier to come with you on such a mission (talk to him/her, costs 20 influence points) and be well prepared with meds, food and ammo since the HVAs get killed easily and they are usually in areas with large amounts of zombies. Usually your task is to clear the area from zombies, protect the HVA whilst he/she is searching for notes or help them search for other survivors. These achievements are missable, so start these missions as soon as possible and prevent their death. After bringing the HVA back to base you have to survive the next siege in order to extract them successfully.
The Surgeon

15
Successfully extract Julene Horn.
Refer to "The Doctor".
The Bureaucrat

15
Successfully extract Michele Martin.
Refer to "The Doctor".
The Examiner

15
Successfully extract Timothy Hall.
Refer to "The Doctor".
The Scion

15
Successfully extract Hadley Westen.
Refer to "The Doctor".
The Colleague

15
Successfully extract Dan Bogatz.
Refer to "The Doctor".
The Protégée

15
Successfully extract Madison Grant.
Refer to "The Doctor".
The Operator

15
Successfully extract Kelly Eldridge.
Refer to "The Doctor".

Make sure that Kelly Eldridge doesn't die because he is required for the "Freak Hunt" and the ending achievements!

War Never Changes

25
Survive detonating a nuclear device in Danforth.
(1)
This is one of the possible endings of the game. Complete the main story line and fulfill these requirements:

After finishing the hunting missions with Sasquatch (refer to "Freak Hunt" achievement) Sasquatch will go missing. You’ll find him in the tunnels where he set up an atomic bomb. Bring him back to base and you’ll get the option to talk to him and nuke the town. Now you only have to survive one last siege. This will unlock the achievement and end the game.

Note: If you don’t want to miss the "Last Voice of Danforth" achievement you should go offline before nuking the town (Xbox Settings -> Network -> Go Offline). Play through the nuke ending offline and after finishing the game delete the save game from your console. Go back online and as soon as you launch State of Decay your previous save game (the one before you nuked the town) will be downloaded from the cloud. Soon afterwards the "War Never Changes" achievement will unlock (you don’t necessarily get a notification). Continue the game and go for the other ending now.
Last Voice of Danforth

25
Escape Danforth with Vienna Cho in your community.
(3)
This is one of the possible endings of the game. Complete the main story line and fulfill these requirements:

Vienna Cho is the woman on the radio that keeps telling you about civilians in trouble. You have to rescue about 8 civilians to gain her trust. Then she’ll ask you to rescue her as well. As soon as she’s in your community she’ll ask you to defuse Sasquatchs bomb. To do this you have to go to the tunnels again. It’s pretty dangerous there so use your best character with plenty of meds, food and ammo. After bringing her back to base and having completed all main story missions you’ll have the option to evacuate the town. Survive the last siege to unlock the achievement.