State of Decay 2: Every New Feature, Item, & Fix In Update 28

State of Decay 2 recently saw the release of Update 28 on December 6 and many new features, items, and fixes that came with it. These changes are intended to improve, fix, or optimize the game experience for players. The latest update follows a long line of updates that have continued to take player feedback into account to keep the game exciting and engaging. These frequent updates are headed by a skeleton crew but demonstrate a strong love and passion for the game.

Given that Undead Labs has confirmed State of Decay 3, it’s likely that remains the studio’s primary focus, yet State of Decay 2 releases sequential major updates frequently with the skeleton crew still shepherding it. These frequent changes are generally significant, with major in-game impacts. Update 25, for example, introduced the concept of plague territories while Update 26 added the fifth open-world map to the game, Trumbull Valley. Update 28 now continues the trend by improving the game in several different major ways along with accompanying minor quality-of-life changes.

Some of the biggest changes in State of Decay 2’s Update 28 include quality of life changes and bugfixes, updates to missions and achievements, the addition of a Zombie Density layer to the map, and some updates to the way that enclave settlements work. These all work together to bring State of Decay 2 into its most complete and accessible form yet.

Every Major Fix, Update, & Addition State Of Decay 2’s Update 28 Brings

The first major change is to outposts and enclaves. Before, when an NPC enclave claimed a settlement, there would be no visual change signifying that location was occupied. Similarly, player-owned outposts also showed no visual changes post-ownership. Both player-owned outposts and State of Decay 2’s enclaves in update 28 now light up during the night. Additionally, enclave settlements are now tidier indoors to reflect a settlement that is being lived in. NPC-owned enclave locations can also no longer be looted by the player, better reflecting enclave ownership of the area.

Another major change is with respect to a new function called Zombie Density. Zombie density is, as the name implies, a visual representation of how densely packed an area is with undead activity. Clearing out undead from within an area temporarily thins out the number of zombies encountered within that area. By using the map, a player can tell how dense the zombie population is in a certain area. Areas of extreme zombie activity are a deep red while areas that have been cleared and have minimal activity are close to white. This new feature accompanies a fix for the State of Decay 2 achievement titled Shots in the Dark for Heartland mode, which now ensures that all six weapons required for the achievement will spawn in every playthrough. With less than 1% of players having earned the achievement at the time of the update due to the RNG element, achievement hunters can once again resuming its pursuit.

Other changes that Update 28 brings is the addition of festive holiday hats that players could receive simply by logging into the game between December 6 December 10. Additionally, players that had purchased the Ultimate Edition of State of Decay 2 on console or when State of Decay 2 released on Steam and Windows received access to a pack called the Doomsday Pack. It has been noted by Undead Labs that players with access to this pack had trouble redeeming the rewards. To address this, the Doomsday Pack has been fixed and is available to everyone.

State Of Decay 2’s Update 28 Also Offers Many Quality-Of-Life Changes

Beyond these fixes and additions, there are several other quality-of-life changes that are more minor but still serve to fix or streamline the experience. State of Decay 2 had many bugs and a reputation for being a bit janky, but Undead Labs has distanced themselves from that reputation through quality-of-life updates, a number of which are included with Update 28. The first of these is that the sidewalks in Heartland have now been patched to avoid odd collisions. Additionally, NPC characters will no longer shoot at targets that are not visible behind walls or other obstacles. The last vehicle driven by the player will now be highlighted on the map to make it easier to find, and the game will now pause when the player is on the screen to change maps. This allows to player to be able to decide what map they want to decide to go to without the threat of a zombie sneaking up on them.

There are many more minor changes as well to make the game more friendly and accessible to veterans familiar with the game and also beginners to State of Decay 2 learning how to navigate the apocalypse. The badges on radio commands now disappear immediately when they are highlighted, and the game remembers the ones that have been cleared. Further, there are additional objects that can be claimed in Trumbull Valley that were previously unclaimable. The game has also fixed a situation in which players could accidentally delete muzzle attachments. Vehicles can now be upgraded by interacting with the parking slot and using an upgrade kit within the player inventory. Two missions have also been updated, allowing Breaking the Code to be cancelled while the Clean Slate mission no longer spawns infestations on areas with existing enclaves.

Finally, visual quality updates to State of Decay 2 include messages indicating that facility actions have been disabled are clearer for players to see, the removal of a checkmark next to enclave listings, a replacement for the icon when the Haven Device powers down, and the removal of the HUD while the player is inside of a vehicle. The Providence Ridge map has also received a major visual overhaul, and it’s likely that players can expect similar graphical updates to the other maps over the course of 2022.

Though the State of Decay 2 team hasn’t addressed too many specifics for what’s coming to the game in the next year, it will be exciting to see what further changes are in the pipeline. Undead Labs teased a few of many potential changes they might be interested in making during their final livestream Q&A session of 2021, so it looks as though State of Decay 2 fans should still have plenty to look forward to as they await more news on State of Decay 3.

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