The player will be able to rescue other AI survivors to help with defense, build facilities, and repair cars/guns (with the appropriate facilities). They can also be sent out to loot, find a new base location, or to come pick up supplies found by the player. Once a high enough relationship is developed with these new characters, they will become playable.[3][4] The player's choices will affect how the gameplay evolves.[3] The game world is 16 square kilometers[5] but because of mountains, it is 8 square kilometers of playable area.[6]
The non-player characters (NPCs) in State of Decay will vary in skin color and gender, they sometimes show signs of aging in the game. They can set up bases to survive which the player character can find while exploring. Saving NPCs will add them to the community of survivors. Each NPC can be assigned tasks like doing runs to collect items, or scouting. Player characters can trade with other survivor bases for items which they excel in, such as weaponry. NPCs can become trapped when on a run for items, although the player will have the option to rescue them. If they are not rescued, they may die or become lost. There are 30 NPCs in State of Decay which will spawn in a semi-random arrangement, while 20 Story NPCs will always spawn in a designated location.[7]
The game features 99 different guns and between 30 to 40 melee weapons to be found around the game world.[8][9][10] The higher a character's skill with guns, the lower the chance of them jamming. Jammed guns will need to be repaired at any home base. High skills with guns will also result in lower recoil. Gunshots will attract zombies, to combat this weapons can be equipped with suppressors.[7] Each gun has a decibel rating seen in the game's inventory; higher decibel ratings result in louder gunshot.[11] There are three classes of melee weapons featured in the game; light blunt, light edged, and heavy weapons. Each class will have advantages and disadvantages. As characters use weapons, their skill will increase.[9][10]
During the game, player characters can enter buildings. While loot will often be found, so will zombies. Fenced buildings can be turned into a base. Only one base can be occupied at a time, they can be overrun, and relocated. A large number of customization options exist for the base, including, but not limited to, gardens, kitchens, tents for sleeping, storage areas, radio station for communication, workshop for upgrading and repairing weapons, training centers, generators for power, guard towers, and walls for defense.[12] Any building that is not destroyed can be turned into an outpost. An outpost is a place for players to sleep in or store items. Zombies cannot spawn around an outpost.[citation needed] The number of outposts available to players is dependent on the size of the player character's base.
