State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition Special Techniques

State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition has a lot of moving parts, and over the last week we’ve been trying to cover as many as we possibly can. For instance, we recently talked about the four basic skills that every survivor has, as well as how those skills impact this post-apocalyptic world. Today we’re going to build on that concept with a related topic, Special Techniques.

Special Techniques are unlocked when you rank one of your four basic skills up to level seven. For the most part, players will only receive one Special Technique per skill, except for Cardio, which comes with two. The benefits of these Special Techniques will sometimes be applied automatically, while others may require players to press a specific button or button combination. We’ll outline all of that for you today, but we also want to urge you to spend a few moments familiarizing yourself with the combat in State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition.

Shooting – Focus Aim

Feel free to take a short lesson in the weapon types in State of Decay if you haven’t already, but the important thing here is that players know that ranking up their Shooting skill to level seven will unlock the Focus Aim Special Technique. This makes the world around you slow down, allowing for much more precision with firearms. To activate this, press the Left Bumper while aiming down sight using the Left Trigger. This will last as long as you have stamina.

Wits – Ninja

This Special Technique (also unlocked at level seven) is a dream come true for anyone who likes to keep a low profile. For starters, no doors are ever locked for you, and you’ll search without making noise. You can also hold down the Left Bumper while sneaking, which allows you to sneak even faster. Now that you know how to sneak around using Ninja, why not learn more about the five key resources in State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition? After all, the entire point of getting around quietly is so you can easily acquire these resources.

Cardio – Marathon and Combat Endurance

As with every Special Technique, these are unlocked at level seven, but they won’t require you to press any buttons to activate. Instead, they are automatically applied as you play. With Marathon, for example, sprinting will drain your energy 50 percent slower, allowing you to get away from all those pesky hordes. With Combat Endurance, you again lose stamina 50 percent slower when fighting zeds, and there are a lot of zombies that need killing in State of Decay.

Fighting – Rage

Rage is another Special Technique that doesn’t require you to do anything to gain its benefits. It also unlocks at level seven of the Fighting skill, just like all other Special Techniques unlock at maximum level. What it does is give you a bit of stamina back each time you kill a zombie, which combined with the Combat Endurance Special Technique is a pretty sweet deal.

To learn more about State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition, take some time to read through our guide for how to find the best Home Site for you. Once you’ve found somewhere to lay your head, upgrade your Facilities to ensure your group survives the apocalypse.

If you’re looking to get your hands on all of our State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition content in one place, visit our State of Decay guide and become the ultimate survivor.