Medicine, Research, Tattoo

Master State of Decay skills like Powerhouse, Reflexes, and Leadership. Learn about their benefits, unlockable moves, and usefulness for your survivors.

Powerhouse Skill:

Survivors with the "natural athlete" trait possess the Powerhouse skill. Leveling it up through combat provides several benefits:

• Strong Back: Increases the weight capacity of your pack.
• Pack Mule: Allows you to carry more items per stack (e.g., 4 snacks instead of 3).
• Powerhouse: Reduces stamina penalty when using heavy weapons and makes them easier and faster to swing.
• Big Guns: Improves control when using machine guns.

As the Powerhouse trait levels up, it increases the blow/kill chance, enabling Powerhouses to kill zombies more quickly and with more one-hit instant kills.

Unlockable Moves:

Utility Skill (Level 3): Choose between replacing your push with a powerful shove that knocks zombies down (LB + Y) or replacing your kick with a stronger one that knocks zombies back and staggers them (Y). The kick is recommended for creating distance.

Defensive Skill (Level 6): Unlock either Pro Wrestling (LB + B = suplex zombie, with a potential kill by hitting Y during the suplex) or Double Kill (LB + B, standing still), which smashes two zombie heads together for a kill. Pro Wrestling is recommended for its versatility in throwing or slamming zombies, its defensive utility, and low stamina cost.

Usefulness: Powerhouses are valuable for scavenging due to their increased carrying capacity and for combat due to their harder-hitting and faster kills.

Nimble/Reflexes Skill:

Nimble characters have Reflex skills that improve stamina regeneration and unlock special moves. Leveling up Reflexes increases stamina regeneration speed.

Unlockable Moves:

Utility Skill (Level 3): Replace your normal kick (Y) with a sweep kick (trips zombies) or a spin kick (knocks down nearby zombies and stops ferals). The spin kick is recommended for its effectiveness against ferals, allowing for follow-up instant kills.

Defensive Skill (Level 6): Unlock either Leapfrog (LB + B), which knocks a zombie down as you leap over it, or Instant Counter (LB + B), which trips and kills an attacking zombie if performed while not moving. The Instant Counter is recommended; Leapfrog is not recommended as it disables the roll, which is more effective.

Leadership Skill:

Survivors with high Leadership skills receive a greater friendship bonus when completing missions, making it easier to earn trust. Maximum trust allows survivors in your group to be playable and encourages other enclaves to join you faster. Leadership skills increase by leading in combat or using the cheer emote (RT + Y) when another survivor is killing an enemy.

Helpful Skills That Can't Be Leveled Up:

• Counselor: Reduces violent arguments and prevents suicides or running away among survivors.
• Chemistry: Allows building a munitions shop and prevents mishaps when making explosives.
• Construction: Decreases construction time for building projects/upgrades and allows the creation of a machine shop. Essential for fully fixing vehicles.
• Cooking: Enables preparing feasts in the kitchen.
• Fitness Guru: Reduces injuries and allows for an exercise regime when a dojo is built.
• Horticulture: Improves the effectiveness of gardens/greenhouses, with benefits often seen in the journal.
• Medicine: Allows upgrading the infirmary to a medical lab and increases the chances of healing hurt/sick survivors.
• Research: Speeds up research projects in the library and increases the wits bonus a survivor receives while scavenging.
• Tattoo Artist (DLC (downloadable content — extra missions or items released after launch) only): Grants all survivors a matching tattoo that raises trust and morale. This skill is exclusive to Becca in the DLC: Breakdown.

Other skills like "computer skills" and "soduku" skills are considered useless in the zombie apocalypse.

Weapon Specializations:

At fighting level 4, you can choose a melee specialization (Blunt, Edged, Heavy Weapons) or a gun specialization (Pistol, Revolver, Rifle, Shotgun, Assault Gun) at shooting level 4. Specializing unlocks special attacks.

Melee Weapon Specializations:

• Blunt Weapons (e.g., Bats, Crowbars, Lead Pipes): Leveling up increases the chance of knock...