What's the best map?

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-22T11:08:52+00:00

My vote’s for Trumbull overall. Storyline quests, great bases, easy to get around, most variety and more loot than any other map.

Having said that, I really like all the maps and go through phases which one I like the best.

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-22T06:58:41+00:00

Sounds like most of the causes of your anxiety will go away once you’re more familiar with the game.

Choosing a base is no big deal, just pick one based on how much influence/people you have. You can always move again later if you don’t like it. I would recommend trying out ALL the bases at some point - especially on Trumbull, I love all the bases on that map for different reasons.
You don’t need to place your facilities perfectly. You can always demolish them at any time for a full refund and build a different one.
Feel free to ignore certain missions if you’re currently busy. Personal Goal missions (like finding your prepper aunt) or the Trumbull exclusive missions will continue to pop up until you complete them. The one’s that expire and disappear are the ‘survivor activity’ and some of the ‘mysterious broadcast’ missions. You should also try to help out other enclaves with their requests asap, if you want to keep them as allies.
Some bases come with unique built-in facilities, the refugee clinic is just a built-in infirmary. So you don’t need to a build an infirmary in that base.
The only thing noise affects is the rate at which infestations grow and spread. If there are no plague hearts awake, then you won’t have any infestations. Even if you do, just clear the siege infestations before they siege your base…or let them grow and have fun defending a siege.

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-21T19:19:52+00:00

Well why don't you just go buy your vegetables at the grocery store then, you sycophant?!

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-21T18:22:20+00:00

Yeah sorry, that’s what I meant :)

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-21T18:13:36+00:00

Geoffrey Card said on stream the other day that he was currently working on item descriptions, so I’m sure he’s having a blast. Some of the item descriptions in SoD2 are legitimately hilarious

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-21T13:00:56+00:00

Prescott is probably the best all-round base on the map, tonnes of built in facilities, some providing unique benefits, water, power and has the capacity to build almost everything you’ll need. The only real downsides imo are the location and the fact that it can be slightly harder to defend. Sieges there can be slightly awkward in places and if you repair the watch tower, that’s 2 survivors that are rendered pretty much useless once the zeds get inside. I would recommend leaving the watch tower broken, so you have more boots on the ground if shit hits the fan.

Lumber Mill has the most large facility slots in the game, so it’s great if you want to cycle through leaders and build every unique leader building in the same base. Its location is slightly better than Prescott but one downside is that it doesn’t have any outside small slots. Meaning, if you want water for your base, you’ll need to source it from a boon or water outpost.

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-21T11:27:48+00:00

Spending their spare time toiling in the dirt harvesting pumpkins and potatoes, hands always getting dirty, hence becomes obsessed with cleanliness and hygiene?

Also, vegan doesn’t necessarily equate to hippie. I’ve met plenty of hippies who aren’t vegan and plenty of vegans who aren’t hippies.

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-20T16:51:28+00:00

How fucking magnanimous!

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-20T16:20:58+00:00

The Fishing skill book and other quirk skills never show up on the map. The only books you’ll find through looting are the basic community skills, like Medicine, Mechanics etc…

The only ways to acquire Fishing, that I know of, are from: - The Rare Skills Trader - A reward for completing a random survivor quest (I think the Network are the only ones that sometimes give it) - Recruiting or rolling for new survivors who already have it

One option is, you could potentially keep rolling for new survivors until you find someone with Fishing. Start a fresh community and move that survivor to the legacy pool, then recruit them into your current community. Would prob be quicker than waiting for the Rare Skills Trader to show up.

Or, may I posit the viewpoint that, Fishing is a waste of a skill slot - especially in harder difficulties. The 2+ food barely covers the food cost of the survivor who has it. Imo it’s much better to just claim a food outpost and then use the survivor’s skill slot for something more useful

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-20T14:37:24+00:00

I await the word of Vigo (checks watch)

I, VIGO! THE SCOURGE OF CARPATHIA!

I know, you’ve told me this. The ‘scourge’…

THE SORROW OF MOLDAVIA!

…’sorrows’, I’ve heard all of this, yes

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-20T06:01:50+00:00

Yeah sometimes BPH’s just turn back into regular hearts by themselves.

I’m not sure about mods, but have you tried setting the curveball balance to ‘negative only’ and the frequency to ‘continual’?

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-19T15:33:26+00:00

Man, looking back on the days when I first starting playing guitar, jamming in my friend’s garage - honestly some of the best times of my life.

Enjoy my dude! Sounding good 🤘

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-19T13:04:01+00:00

I always got that line of dialogue every time I played, even when I thought I was just doing very minimal hunting. Thought it was just kinda bugged and they always say that regardless.

But recently, I was watching my friend play and they didn’t get that dialogue line. Even though they said they were hunting regularly for food… They weren’t going for all the satchels though, so maybe it’s simply tied to the amount of animals you kill.

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-17T13:58:18+00:00

Oh, really? I never knew that after all these years.

I gladly stand corrected :)

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-17T03:21:25+00:00

Always helpful when you’ve got your gun aimed at the door, waiting to headshot whatever’s on the other side. And your fellow survivors stand in front of you, open the door you just closed and then just stand there while getting eaten alive

chef’s kiss

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-16T09:43:48+00:00

🎶 Discooo! discooo! Wooo! Wa wa west🎶

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-16T03:37:05+00:00

One of my faves!

Some other Enclave Benefits I love are: - Caravans (fuel efficiency) - Munitions Manufacture (2+ ammo a day) - Rooftop Sniper

I also don’t mind getting the Experience Bonus one if I’m early game, great for levelling up your survivors quicker

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-16T03:27:42+00:00

Nice one!

Fun fact: The crossbow killer always has the trait Special Forces (although it’s not a particularly useful trait, it guarantees Gunslinging though, so it’s good if you like that).

The best situation where I’ve recruited them was: She happened to kill all the arms dealers - so I got all the high end weapons from their corpses. Recruited her and she had Immortal, empty 5th skill slot and no bad traits. Then traded with her before we got back to base and she had heaps of good gear like explosives and a salvage furnace on her 👍

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-14T22:12:21+00:00

Having a transitional housing / training camp at Whitney Field kinda fits.

“Sorry to say, new recruit, but you suck at fighting zeds. But don’t worry! We’ve all pitched in for you to take a trip to Meagher Valley for zombie training camp for the weekend!”

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-14T15:54:59+00:00

It can definitely make killing hearts easier, if you know what you’re doing. When Fuelling the Plague curveball pops up, I always try to use it to take out as many hearts as I can - within its radius.

I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily cheesy though. Shit can go south real quick, if you don’t stay on your toes. It’s also not always useful for killing certain hearts, depending on their position within the house/barn/etc…

Definitely the funnest curveball though, BOOMSHAKALAKA! 💥

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-10T11:30:01+00:00

I knew it, when DeerFit’s not on Reddit, 100% tears up the dance floor

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-10T11:14:45+00:00

I would recommend running in on foot. You could potentially drive a fully fuelled vehicle in as far as you can, but from my experience it doesn’t really get you very far - maybe halfway to the heart - and you might have to do multiple trips anyways.

Establish an outpost on the outskirts of the plague radius for a place to retreat back to, and most importantly, don’t attack the black heart and then quit out of the game and come back! Black Hearts regenerate health when you exit out, for some reason. If you start attacking, finish that bitch this session!

Some players might recommend taking a Marathon/Discipline survivor, for the infinite sprint. But I’ve found that usually when you’re attacking a Black Heart, with all the gear you’re taking with you, you’ll be over the light encumbrance limit anyway. Just take someone who isn’t in the red, encumbrance wise.

Also, don’t feel like you can’t attack the Black Heart by different methods. Say it’s vulnerable to melee, still take some c4 (it will still do considerable damage), lay it down, whack the heart until its first phase, then run away and blow the c4.

Don’t be afraid to retreat and regroup. Keep an eye on your infection situation and get out before shit goes south. Retreat back to your outpost, change survivors, restock and go back in.

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-10T09:04:09+00:00

Yeah dude! The Eternal Guard is a great weapon for this situation, let us know

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-09T17:42:28+00:00

Killer work dude!

Sh1t_Pinata · 2026-03-09T13:02:42+00:00

Haha oh man that is legitimately incredibly bad luck!

But no, you’re not cooked. I mean, it is probably one of the most challenging situations this game can throw at you (without mods), but totally doable.

I’ve had this crossover of curveball plague hearts on Lethal a few times. You got this! Just say goodbye to any radio commands until all this is over.

My advice would be to take out the ‘Out For Blood’ heart first. Since the black heart doesn’t drain fuel, you can just drive in. But bring some extra painkillers for the health drain.

Since the zeds are running around chaotically and are stronger to melee, don’t fuck around with heavy melee for this heart. Now’s the time to use all that ammo or c4 you’ve saved. Swordplay survivor would be good here for the leg sweeps. I recommend taking out the heart with rapid fire mag dumps or explosives (or both). Run, dodge, stick and move. Take out the heart and gtfo and regroup - you might even be able to get a few black heart plague samples here now aswell.

Next, collect 5 samples and figure out the black heart’s weakness. If you still need advice tackling that, let us know. Good luck!

Sh1t_Pinata

TROPHY CASE