A zombie Horde is a group of 5—20 zombies traveling together as a single-minded undead unit.
When a horde shows up in the character's line of sight, or is spotted from a Survey Area, a Horde symbol (a white human icon with a orange cone designating line of sight) will appear on the main map as well as the player's minimap. Hordes tend to follow the streets, (although they can occasionally be found wandering through forests and fields) but will follow players anywhere once alerted.
State of Decay 2 has hordes of 3 at minimum, being easier to dispatch with a vehicle or even hand-to-hand combat.
Effects of Horde[]
To an inexperienced character, a Horde on the way home or to an objective means having to carefully take another route to avoid them. Engaging multiple zombies with a weak character often mean wasting health and stamina items at best, and injury/death at worst.
Zombie Horde are also known to attack Enclaves if they are alerted by seeing a survivor or hearing a gunshot. Occasionally, they can overwhelm the enclave, killing all members inside. They can also attack and kill computer-controlled survivors on supply runs or other missions.
When certain conditions are met, the player sees a "Too many Hordes" notification, and several Hordes are marked on the map. When a marked horde is clicked on, their intended target will be marked as a red flag on the map. The zombies will travel to the destination, attacking any survivor on their path. If the destination is an empty location, it will become infested. If a player-controlled character destroys a marked Horde, the player will earn Influence, increase Morale meter and improve the character's attitude. Hordes destroyed by Outposts only boost Morale. If the player fails to destroy all marked hordes in time, Morale will decrease significantly.
For experienced players, Hordes can be a quick source of Fighting or Shooting experience. Their number as well as tendency to clump together when traveling provide an excellent opportunity to score Multikills (with Shotguns, Rifles or Revolvers) or Headshot Streaks (with any Firearms) that gives bonus Shooting XP. At close range, killing zombies in succession can result in Slaughter, which rewards the character with bonus Fighting XP.
State of Decay 2 has hordes marked when close by, and do not affect morale as much as the previous instalment.
Taking On The Horde[]
If the player is on foot, engage hordes with firearms first to kill or at least thin them out before they can close the distance. In melee combat, some characters are more efficient at engaging hordes than others. For example, characters specializing in Heavy Weapons and Light Edged Weapons have access to a Special Attack that slice zombies' leg off, instantly incapacitating them. Likewise, characters with Powerhouse or Reflexes skills have additional combat moves (Utility Skill and Defensive Skill) that knock down or kill zombies more effectively. Explosives, particularly mines, are very effective against hordes, and often wipe them out in one shot.
The fastest and safest way engage a horde is with a vehicle. Driving backwards (to minimize engine damage) towards the horde with the car door opened (to maximize impact area) can make short work of any horde.
a Flame Fougasse or similar explosive like a molotov is also an easy way to dispatch them. Especially if the horde is facing away from you, sneak up to them, place the mine trap, then let out a taunt (2 on the upper number pad on PC) and step back as they walk right into it.
Outposts can also destroy hordes with automatically-armed fire traps. Spending 1 Fuel extends the trapped radius of all outposts for 1 in-game day.
Choose your own Apocalypse[]
In this latest update, the horde's behavior and size can be differed from the type of mode.
Green Zone[]
Standard Zone[]
- Normal Zombie Horde
- Normal Plague Zombie Horde
Dread Zone[]
- Normal Zombie Horde
- Normal Plague Zombie Horde
- Army Zombie Horde
Nightmare Zone[]
- Normal Zombie Horde
- Normal Plague Zombie Horde
- Army Zombie Horde
- Bloater Horde
- Screamer Horde
- Feral Horde
- Plague Juggernaut Horde