Overview[]
The radio call menu, with most calls unlocked (Alpha version)
The Radio is used as a link between the home site and survivors in the field. Lily Ritter serves as the base radio operator, providing mission information to the active survivor and functioning as a liaison for Survey Support radio calls.
Incoming Calls[]
- "Looks like they're in a tough spot. Might wanna give them a hand."
When missions are available, Lily contacts the players over the radio to notify them, occasionally forwarding messages from other survivors asking for help. These calls mark the start of the mission's timer; up to two additional reminder calls may be made when a mission timer is about to run out.
Outgoing Calls[]
Field Support[]
The active survivor can also call for field support through the radio. By pressing Down on the directional pad (or LAlt in PC version), the survivor can view the radio menu and choose a call to use.
All radio calls cost Influence to use and have a "recharge" time, the more powerful/useful calls cost more influence or take longer to recharge. In the earlier builds of State of Decay, the calls uses can stack and have longer recharge time. In the current version, the calls no longer stack, but have a much shorter recharge time.
In State of Decay, most calls must be unlocked by completing a storyline or side mission before they can be used. In Breakdown, they are unlocked by having a specific Hero character in the player's community. Certain commands are only available when the player is not playing as the character who performs that task. For example, Mickey Wilkerson cannot provide sniper support when the player is playing as him, Pastor Mulroney cannot give himself the Words of Inspiration, but Erik Tan can call Death from Above while on the field.
| Command | Unlocked / Performed by | Cost (Influence) | Recharge Time (minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call For Scavengers | Lily Ritter | 10 | 3 |
| Establish Outpost | Lily Ritter | 50 | 10 |
| Settle Home Base | (Breakdown) Lily Ritter | 0 | 2 |
| Relocate Home Base |
(SoD) Jacob Ritter |
100 | 60 |
| Call For Backup |
|
30 | 60 |
| Sharpshooting | Mickey Wilkerson | 75 | 10 |
| Death From Above |
|
125 | 20 |
| Vehicle Delivery | Ray Santos | 100 | 60 |
| Construction Advice |
|
200 | 90 |
| Medical Advice | Doc Hanson | 10 | 60 |
| Words of Inspiration | Pastor William Mulroney | 20 | 60 |
| Words of Encouragement | (Breakdown) Lily Ritter | 20 | 60 |
| Drone Strike | (Breakdown) Kelly Eldridge III | 40 | |
| Incendiary Barrage | (Breakdown) Kilohana Young | 60 | |
| Drone Recon | (Breakdown) Alicia Hawkes | 20 |
Survey Support[]
Support is also available to help the active survivor locate specific resources in the field. Referred to as survey support, these calls are made through the base menu. You can also look through the base menu and select the Radio Assistance for help looking for certain resources. Unlike the field support options listed above, these calls are not accessed through the d-pad radio menu, but rather through the base menu.
- Make a Radio Call looking for Survivors: 100 Influence, 20m
- Make a Radio Call looking for Building Materials: 20 Influence, 10m
- Make a Radio Call looking for Medicine: 20 Influence, 10m
- Make a Radio Call looking for Ammunition: 20 Influence, 10m
- Make a Radio Call looking for Food: 20 Influence, 10m
- Make a Radio Call looking for Fuel: 20 Influence, 10m
Unlike field service requests, however, survey support calls do not always succeed:
- For resources, there is a chance that the resource in question will not be located. Additionally, unlike the map markers for radio-dispatched missions, survey support markers for resources indicate the starting location for finding the resource in question. Once the survivor has arrived at the marked location, several nearby buildings will be marked; one will have the listed resource, much like any Construction Delayed missions.
- For survivors, there is a moderate chance for the command center to be unable to contact a group of survivors. However, once the player manages to contact them, the subsequent contact attempt will never succeed; meaning for every successful contact, the player will always fail to contact the next one. Therefore, on average, the player will have to spend at least 300 to 400 Influence in order to contact more than one random group of survivors. This random chance is reset on a new real day cycle; meaning the first time contacting a group of survivor on a new day always has a chance to succeed.