Every State Of Decay 2 Map, Ranked

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home March 18, 2025 25 Views 12 Min Read
Every State Of Decay 2 Map, Ranked



Views: 0

Undead Labs’ State of Decay 2 mostly sticks to the same formula as its predecessor, delivering an open-world survival game with a heavy focus on scavenging and resource management. While there are some quests to play through, the story takes a back seat to exploration, base building, and crafting a safe haven to stave off wandering zombies. This makes State of Decay 2 maps very important.

Split image of Taz from Resident Evil, Johnny from House of the Dead 2, and Bubble Head Nurse from Silent Hill 2.

Related


10 Most Iconic Zombie Characters In Video Games

Creatures to make Romero proud.

Players take charge of randomly generated characters with their own traits, strengths, and weaknesses; in fact, while the zombies are nothing to scoff at, fostering a sustainable community of survivors is often the game’s greatest challenge. For the most part, the sequel plays like a slightly more polished version of 2013’s State of Decay, but you are given the pick of multiple maps rather than just one. Including the tutorial and the DLC packages, State of Decay 2 has six separate maps that are just waiting to be traversed. Each area has its own positives and negatives, but which one is the best?

Updated January 27, 2025, by Zackary Wiggs: State of Decay 3 is on the far horizon. While it may take a bit for it to release still, there has been no better time to try out the series, and State of Decay 2 has plenty of entertainment value if you haven’t played it. Even if you have put some hours into it, the zombie-fueled mayhem mixed with the sim-like building and maintaining of a home base makes it a survival game well-worth diving back into. With plenty of post-release updates, it can be hard to decide which maps you should play or even in what order to play them. Thankfully, some are easier and more interesting than others.

6

Camp Osprey

Welcome To The Apocalypse

Amount Of Bases

N/A

Best Base

N/A

Difficulty Level

Tutorial

Features

Tutorial level, introduces a main character duo and bloodplague.

Unlike the rest of State of Decay 2’s maps, Camp Osprey will be visited in each playthrough since it is the game’s designated tutorial area. Consequently, this map is designed to teach players the basic mechanics and introduce them to the enemies and systems that will dominate the rest of their time in the campaign.

Because it is a tutorial area, it does not contain one of the new Landmark outposts.

Camp Osprey is a decent level that just about serves its purpose and has a great sense of atmosphere due to the placement of the sun and the area’s makeshift buildings. Camp Osprey does give players the first sample of the Blood Plague and zombies like the Screamer, so this area does produce some memorable moments. However, Camp Osprey lacks any sense of exploration and is rather inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, which is such a huge part of the State of Decay experience.

5

Trumbull Valley

Back To Basics

Amount Of Bases

Six

Best Base

Fort Marshall

Difficulty Level

Moderate

Features

Medium-sized, smaller urban areas and out-of-the-way wooded areas

State of Decay 2’s Heartland DLC revisits the original 2013 game’s Trumbull Valley. At times, it can seem like Undead Labs prioritized quantity over quality for the sequel. State of Decay 2’s four full maps are generally all decent sandboxes, but they lack the personality of the original game’s Trumbull Valley. This is also partially due to the sequel downplaying the presence of a narrative to promote a less structured campaign that emphasizes surviving indefinitely.

Trumbull Valley is a DLC map and doesn’t contain a Landmark outpost, but the map is full of blood plague zombies only. Because of this, it’s important to understand the new way the plague works. Plague hearts compromise entire communities. You can no longer claim nearby outposts, and the area will be flooded with more plague zombies than regular ones. This makes looting and claiming outposts harder, since half the map will be flooded with plague hearts in a normal game.

This map provides a more focused storyline featuring two sets of predetermined groups of survivors. While the map is not quite as satisfying as the original version, Trumbull Valley is still an interesting terrain to explore. However, it also feels completely detached from the base game, offering a diminished sandbox adventure while also not allowing any of the survivors to be moved to the other maps.

4

Providence Ridge

Simpler Times

Amount Of Bases

Five

Best Base

Prescott Fire Station

Difficulty Level

Low

Features

Downtown areas in the western section with good loot, camp is a good scenic base

Introduced in 2020’s Juggernaut Edition, Providence Ridge is the default map for that version, and it leaves quite an impression, for better or worse. Visually, Providence Ridge stands out from the rest of the maps due to its Pacific Northwest aesthetic, opting for greenery over barren terrain and sparse urban landscapes. It also features one of the best bases out of all those available in State of Decay 2, as the Prescott Fire Station is a delight.

The Prescott Fire Station is a large-sized base. It offers:

  • Scout tower
  • Utility room
  • Firehouse workshop
  • Station bathroom
  • Storage
  • Firefighter bunks
  • Firehouse kitchen
  • 2 beds
  • 2 small outdoor plots
  • 2 large outdoor plots
  • 4 parking spots

5:17

Best Survival Games For Beginners, The Long Dark, Dysmantle, Terraria

Related


The Best Survival Games For Beginners

If you don’t know where to start, start here.

Providence Ridge’s Landmark outpost is called New Hope Church. It provides:

  • 4 beds
  • Morale boosts
  • Actions to control zombie threats

Except the fire station and Landmark outpost, Providence Ridge lacks any other noteworthy structures or landmarks. It can be tiresome to traverse, which is not helped by how unnecessarily spread out it feels at times.

3

Drucker County

Some Scenic Views

Amount Of Bases

Seven

Best Base

Knight’s Family Drive-In

Difficulty Level

High

Features

Quite rural, vehicles quite necessary, weapons can often be found near Santa Maya and Mathilda

Known as the Plateau, Drucker County can be rather frustrating at first due to its massive size. Initially, players are required to spend a lot of time driving while sticking to the main roads, which is not made easy due to State of Decay 2’s lackluster driving mechanics.

There is a way to unstick your car, should it glitch, via your radio.

Drucker County’s Landmark outpost is Sasser Regional Hospital. It provides:

  • +10-25 Max health
  • -10-30 percent Injury Severity
  • +20-40 plague resistance
  • +2 Meds

Crossing the map to find survivors is tedious and rarely entertaining, but Drucker County does improve once you become more familiar with its shortcuts. It also features some stellar and well-placed bases, particularly the quite large Barricaded Strip Mall and the visually pleasing Knights Family Drive-In.

2

Cascade Hills

Not Exactly Luxury

Amount Of Bases

Seven

Best Base

Container Fort

Difficulty Level

Moderate

Features

Many areas where driving is difficult, home bases are often out of the way

Cascade Hills has a lot going for it but is also let down by some significant weaknesses. Aesthetically, it is one of the more striking maps in the game, opting for clusters of buildings and a fair amount of open space.

Despite not hiding the fact this is an area that has gone fully post-apocalyptic, Cascade Hills still manages to be sporadically beautiful. Out of the three original State of Decay 2 maps, Cascade Hills has perhaps the best selection of bases, with the Container Fort ranking among the greatest in the game. The Justineau House is also a very good starting base, giving you six beds off the bat.

The Container Fort is a large-sized base that offers:

  • Firesafe storage
  • Workshop
  • 5 small outdoor slots
  • 2 large outdoor slots
  • 3 parking spots

This map’s Landmark outpost is Leeds Concrete Silo. It provides:

  • +50-75 percent construction speed
  • Needs upkeep using any resource

Cascade Hills’ main flaw is that while quite a few of the bases are good, they tend to have undesirable map placements. Container Fort would be perfect if it was not so out of the way that picking it as the main base adds a lot of driving time to scavenge for resources and loot in a map that is not welcoming of cars.

1

Meagher Valley

Home On The Range

Amount Of Bases

Seven

Best Base

Camp Kelenqua / Whitney Field

Difficulty Level

Moderate

Features

Whitney Field is great for late game when you can be closer to more infected, fair amount of looting by sticking to main roads

Meagher Valley is the closest thing to a perfect map in State of Decay 2. It is not as needlessly large as Drucker County, and it also has an overabundance of buildings that makes looting easier than Cascade Hills. Out of all the maps, Meagher Valley is the most densely packed, and that extends to the zombies. The map’s difficulty comes from the hordes of undead rather than the location of resources or frustrating mechanics like driving.

The Landmark outpost is called Wind Farm. It provides:

  • Morale boost
  • Power
  • Needs upkeep

Meagher Valley is the best map in State of Decay 2 for newcomers as it offers varied environments, plenty of combat scenarios to engage in, and a decent selection of bases.

Source link