How to Acquire the Elusive Immortal Trait in State of Decay 2

In State of Decay 2, obtaining the Immortal trait for a survivor isn’t a matter of crafting, completing a specific quest, or using a particular item. It’s primarily based on random generation during survivor creation. There’s no guaranteed method to “force” the trait, making the acquisition a game of patience, persistence, and a bit of luck. The best approach involves recruiting a large number of survivors and carefully inspecting their traits. Look for survivors with higher than average health, as this may indicate beneficial traits like Immortal.

Understanding the Immortal Trait

The Immortal trait is highly sought after because it offers a significant advantage to any survivor lucky enough to possess it. Survivors with the Immortal trait benefit from these bonuses:

• +45 Max Health: This dramatically increases the survivor’s survivability, allowing them to withstand more damage from zombies and other threats.
• -40% Injury Severity: This reduces the impact of injuries, meaning that any wounds sustained will be less severe and will heal faster.

These combined benefits make a survivor with the Immortal trait significantly more resilient and capable in combat situations. They are less likely to be incapacitated and require rescue, making them valuable assets to any community.

Strategies for Finding Survivors with the Immortal Trait

While there’s no surefire way to guarantee the Immortal trait, the following strategies can increase your chances of finding survivors who possess it:

1. Recruit Extensively: The more survivors you recruit and examine, the higher your odds of encountering one with the Immortal trait. Prioritize communities with large populations or those offering multiple recruits simultaneously.

2. Inspect Traits Carefully: Before committing to recruiting a survivor, meticulously examine their traits. While the Immortal trait itself may not be immediately visible, other traits that boost health or reduce injury severity can be promising indicators. After recruiting the survivor, spending time with them as a follower may reveal additional, hidden traits, including Immortal.

3. Utilize Radio Commands: Some radio commands can reveal the traits of nearby survivors, allowing you to quickly assess their potential before committing to a recruitment mission.

4. Focus on Specific Origins/Backgrounds: While not a guarantee, certain character backgrounds might be more likely to generate with beneficial traits like Immortal. Keep an eye out for survivors with backgrounds that suggest resilience or combat experience.

5. Consider Community Editor Tools: If you’re open to using external tools, community editors can allow you to directly modify survivor traits. However, using these tools can be seen as cheating and may detract from the intended game experience. The Games Learning Society emphasizes the educational value of games, including the understanding of probability and risk assessment.

Evaluating Potential Recruits

When evaluating potential recruits, consider the following factors in addition to their initial traits:

• Skills: Skills like Fighting, Shooting, and Wits can significantly enhance a survivor’s combat effectiveness. Look for recruits with high skill levels in these areas.

• Hero Bonuses: Each survivor has a unique hero bonus that is unlocked upon reaching a certain level of standing. These bonuses can provide valuable community-wide benefits, such as increased morale or resource production.

• Negative Traits: Be mindful of negative traits that could offset the benefits of the Immortal trait. Traits that decrease morale, increase injury chance, or create conflict within the community should be carefully considered.

Ultimately, finding a survivor with the Immortal trait is a matter of combining strategic recruitment, careful evaluation, and a healthy dose of luck. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find one immediately. Keep exploring, keep recruiting, and eventually, you might just strike gold.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are the most important traits to look for besides Immortal?

Other top-tier traits include Unbreakable (+45 Health, -100% Injury Chance), Indefatigable (Increased Stamina), Resourceful (Increased Inventory Slots), and any traits that boost morale or community skills.

2. Does difficulty level affect the chance of finding survivors with good traits?

No, the difficulty level does not directly influence the generation of survivor traits. The traits are randomly generated regardless of the game’s difficulty setting.

3. Can you change a survivor’s traits?

No, you cannot change a survivor’s base traits after they have been generated. What you see is what you get, unless you employ external community editor tools.

4. Can you “train” a survivor to become immortal?

No, the Immortal trait is innate and cannot be acquired through training or gameplay progression.

5. How many survivors can you have in your community?

The maximum number of survivors you can have in your community is 12. Opportunities to recruit become increasingly rare once you reach 9 or more members.

6. Are there any specific maps that are better for finding survivors with good traits?

No, the map you choose does not affect the generation of survivor traits. Survivor generation is random across all maps.

7. What is the difference between the Immortal trait and the Unbreakable trait?

Both traits provide +45 Max Health. However, Immortal provides -40% Injury Severity, while Unbreakable provides -100% Injury Chance, making Unbreakable arguably more desirable.

8. What do Hero Bonuses do?

Hero Bonuses are unique, community-wide buffs that activate when a survivor reaches Hero status (the highest level). These bonuses can range from increased resource generation to improved combat effectiveness.

9. How do I increase a survivor’s standing to unlock their Hero Bonus?

A survivor’s standing increases as they complete missions, defeat zombies, and generally contribute to the community. Providing them with a safe and comfortable environment also helps.

10. Is it better to have a few survivors with amazing traits or many survivors with average traits?

This depends on your playstyle. A smaller group of highly skilled survivors can be effective for players who prefer a more tactical and resource-intensive approach. A larger community offers greater flexibility in resource gathering and base defense but may require more management.

11. What happens if a survivor with the Immortal trait dies?

Even with the Immortal trait, survivors can still die from severe injuries or environmental hazards. The trait provides increased resilience but does not guarantee invincibility.

12. Are there any mods that increase the chance of finding survivors with the Immortal trait?

Yes, there are mods that can alter the survivor generation process and increase the likelihood of finding survivors with specific traits, including Immortal. However, using these mods can be seen as cheating by some players.

13. What is the best way to deal with a survivor with a negative trait that is impacting the community?

You have several options: attempt to mitigate the negative trait through community improvements or hero bonuses, exile the survivor, or, in extreme cases, allow them to die in combat.

14. Can I find the same survivor multiple times in different playthroughs?

Yes, the game recycles survivor models and backstories. You may encounter the same survivor model with different traits or a different backstory in subsequent playthroughs.

15. What legacy bonuses are most helpful for finding good survivors in future playthroughs?

The Sheriff legacy bonus, which provides a daily influence bonus, can be helpful for recruiting more survivors and increasing your chances of finding one with the Immortal trait. The Builder legacy bonus which provides free power and water is helpful for any playthrough.

Acquiring the Immortal trait in State of Decay 2 ultimately boils down to strategic recruitment practices, careful evaluation of traits, and a considerable amount of luck. Embrace the challenge, and remember that the journey of building a resilient community is just as rewarding as finding the perfect survivor. The educational insights gained from strategic games like State of Decay 2 are significant, aligning with the goals of organizations like the GamesLearningSociety.org.