Hello fellow SoD YOSE players. This guide is a collection of small tips about survival in the sandbox mode of SoD, in other words Breakdown. Still, some of this tips can be useful in Story.

I'm going update this miniguide as fast as I can test my survival techniques in the Breakdown YOSE.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

• Medicine and Ammunition are the most useful resources (except maybe the first part of each level) - prefer to get them over others;
  
• Food is not a real problem if you manage your population around 12-15 persons;
  
• each survivor armed with firearm consumes 1 Ammunition (real day);
  
• each sick or hurt (seriously) survivor consume 1 Medicine (real day) if left with such status;
  
• DO NOT BREAK any Food and Ammunition containers (you can produce more consumables and ammo manualy with right facilities).

MEDICINE MANAGEMENT

• always bring some medicine and snakcs for long-range scavenging;
  
• do not produce mild (cofee is cheaper) and potent (it's better to rest or use "Words of Encouragement" radio command) stims;
  
• overall max-stamina medicine is almost useless in many cases;
  
• try to avoid using powerful medicine (like Homemade Painkillers) on minor wounds;
  
• if possible it is better to switch instead of wasting medicine consumables.

AMMUNITION MANAGEMENT

• minimize variety of your ammunition (it is easier to produce 3-4 variants after all);
  
• .22 and 9 mm are good for training Shooting (and the guns are quite abudant);
  
• .45 caliber is the best choice for the most of your survivors (since it is quite powerful);
  
• .50 caliber is precious and useful to eliminate the most dangerous targets - Jaggernauts;
  
• 5.56 mm is better compared to 7.62 mm becuase of weight (LMG and Rifles are lighter too);
  
• shotgun shells are good if you have shotgun specialist - otherwise they are useless;
  
• incedenary shotgun shells are not so good because of specific shotguns (they're less durable);
  
• 40 mm grenades are mostly used to deal with Jaggernauts.

WEAPON MANAGEMENT

• Wrench is the best Blunt weapon and there is high chance to get one;
  
• Cutting Machine Blade and CLEO Axe are the best Edged weapons but quite rare;
  
• Axe is the best Heavy Weapon (its weight is on par with Blunt and Edged weapons) but it can be abudant or rare for different playthroughs;
  
• SMGs are the best choice for your general population (light, high capacity and can be suppressed);
  
• you should keep at least TWO reserve melee weapons of each category you use;
  
• SELL weapons that you do not need to other Enclaves (to free your locker or to get some Influence in case you scavenged them).

INFLUENCE MANAGEMENT

• you can gain 25 Influence for each complete Survey;
  
• you can gain 10 Influence each time you kill around 10 zombies during mission progress (roadkills are not included);
  
• you can gain around 30-40 Influence for every Supply Run your current character is supporting;
  
• you can gain FREE influence if you disarm your survivor (into YOUR locker) and switch to other one (dusarmed survivor will arm him/herself free of charge after some time).

TRAINING MANAGEMENT

• the fastest (and safest) way to train the Cardio skill is to load you character with Snacks and start running in circles near you base consuming Snacks from time to time.
  
• it is quite easy to train Wits in the YOSE compared to the original game. Each stealth kill give you some Wits XP (the same amount as for searching containers). So the best way to train your Wits is tailing hordes and wiping them out one by one. Stealthly. Just be aware of Ferals.
  
• you could use Wits training method to train your Fighting skill too. It's usually safer as well.
  
• the old trick from the original game is still here. You can get some Shooting XP by aiming your gun when enemy dies by a fire, an artillery barrage or Outpost defense mines.

Your characters can fight with knife if they were left without melee weapons. It can be used to dispatch an ordinary zombie or two. It take around 2-12 stabs for single zombie to be finished, so use it as your last resort.

To enter into knife fighting you should:

• dodge incoming zombie attack (C);
  
• start to press attack button (LMB) as fast as you can.

The other way around (actually this one safer):

• stagger zombie (with kick or push);
  
• start to press attack button (LMB) as fast as you can.

It is possible to perform some kind of counter with your knife. Just press attack button (LMB) right before zombie grabs you and you will push it down and perform special knife execution.

You can finish zombies that stuck to wall but you should press attack button (LMB) instead of usual execution button (Z).

SPECIAL MOVES

• DROPKICK - LShift+Space+Direction;
  
• DODGE ROLL - LShift+C+Direction;
  
• KNIFE EXECUTION - LMB from behind without any melee weapon equiped (usually when the targeted zed attacking an ally).

NORMAL ZOMBIES

• it is quite easy to deal with any lone normal zed with any melee weapon (or even without it) but stealth kills are better choice if it's possible;
  
• hordes and large packs of them are different story. The best way is to thin their numbers with silenced firearm and finish any remnants in melee;
  
• it is quite easy to deal with the single horde in melee by utilizing dropkick. If zeds a close to each other there is a high chance that at least 2-3 of them are on their knees or backs while others are pushed away. (WARNING: Sometimes dropkick kills the zed and leave your survivor vulnerable)

ARMORED ZOMBIES (SWAT and ARMY)

• do not waste your ammo on them - it's useless;
  
• deal with their normal escort first - firearm can be handy;
  
• SWAT zombie is slow and can be killed with ease with the "Dropkick+Execution" combo;
  
• ARMY zombie is fast but still can be killed with the "Dropkick+Execution" combo without any problems.

SCREAMER

• shoot them from distance to avoid their screams (and zeds that like to gather after);
  
• do not engage them with your melee weapons if they have escort - their screams are stunning and you will be vulnerable to other zeds for 2-3 seconds;
  
• Firebomb and Petrol Bombs are the best way to deal with them and their escort - if you know how to use them right.

BLOATER

• ROADKILL IS NOT RECOMMENDED (high risk of getting sick);
  
• shoot at their body (headshot won't kill them) - sometimes their blast can kill nearby zeds as well;
  
• try to lure them out of buildings if they are targets of the "Zed Hunt" mission.

FERAL

JUGGERNAUT

Coming soon...

You should think about what kind of tasks each of your community member is going to do from the start. Here some of my builds:

SCAVENGER
Prerequisite: None
Weapon Specialization: Blunt or Edge.
Special Technique: Ninja.
Inventory: SMG (with supressor), Blunt or Edge (based on WS), Firecrackers (x3).
Scavengers are your scouts for resources. They are not so hard to train with right timing and can be used for Hordes and Infestations control. You should have at least two of them at your disposal at any given time.

FREAK HUNTER
Prerequisite: Reflexes or Basic Training
Weapon Specialization: Shotgun.
Special Technique: Combat Endurance / Rage.
Inventory: Shotgun (A12 Custom is highly recommended), Blunt, Shotgun Shells.
Freak Hunters are good when you need to deal with Freaks, especially Ferals. Shotguns are loud but fighting Ferals are usually noisy so their ability to knock down Ferals without proper aiming is equal exchange. Juggernauts can be tricky to deal though.
The most dangerous enemies for Freak Hunters are normal zombies which tend to gather around him/her. So Reflexes (Spin Kick) or Basic Training (you can take a little more weight with you) are needed to battle hordes of Zeds.

HEAVY WEAPON SURVIVOR
Prerequisite: Powerhouse
Weapon Specialization: Heavy Weapon.
Special Technique: Combat Endurance / Rage.
Inventory: M27 IAR or LMG: CLEO LSW, Axe, Grenade Launcher: CLEO GL40, explosives.
Too many infestations, hordes or somebody need to hunt down Juggernaut - HWS is your best choice. Your LMG (with suppressor) can deal with any freak, explosives can clean up infestations in no time (with right PLAYER skills) and Axe can be used to deal with normal zombies in CQC.

Raymundo Santos
[Skills: Shooting (7), Revolver Specialization (7), Construction]
This one survivor is arguably the most useful hero in all Breakdown. His Vehicle Delivery radio command come handy if your RV gets stuck nowhere close to potential homesites. Especially on higher levels. His Revolver Specialization make him almost useless in any field work except maybe Zed Hunt (with right weapons). Keep him safe.

Royell Vincent
[Skills: Fitness Guru]
His Artillery Barage radio command puts Artillery Marker in your current character inventory. It is quite powerful ability and can be used to wipe out Infestations or Jaggernauts with ease (practice needed though). Additionaly his max load is 25 lbs (instead of 20 lbs). Good at level one BD and do not lose usefulness later.

Doc Hanson
[Skills: Medicine]
You should keep your Doc as far from zombies as you could. His Medical Advice radio command is only second to Vehicle Delivery since it can restore your maximum vitality. He can be trained into any kind of survivor but it is better to leave him at your homesite.

MILITARY PICKUP
The most durable vehicle in the game, possibly. It can ram a lot of zombies before it starts to break appart. The sad note is that you can find three of these vehicles (near Trumbull County Fairgrounds) at best.
It has 6 seats and 6 storage slots. The best vehicle in the game.

Known spawn locations:

• Fairfield - the parking lot near Trumbull County Fairgrounds;
  
• Fairfield - at the east road leading into town, near Trumbull County Fairgrounds;
  
• Fairfield - the bridge near blockaded tunnel (Story Mode Last Mission).

MILITARY SUV
This one is quite durable vehicle, just a little weaker compared to Military Pickup. Its top speed is on par with ordinary SUV though. It looks like your ordinary SUV too, just black.
It has 4 seats and 6 storage slots. The second best vehicle in the game (if speed is not on your top priority list).

Known spawn locations:

• Spencer's Mill - inside the tunnel that lead to Mt.Tanner;
  
• Spencer's Mill - near the Kirkman's Residence (south-west);
  
• East Marshall - at the end of the riverside street;
  
• West Marshall - near "Ma Roger's Corner Store";
  
• Grange & Supply Co. - inside the warehouse.

Lily gets a strange signal from time to time and marks position of the source. This is the one of CLEO Missions which can get you 1-2 rucksacks of specific resource, one firearm and one melee weapon, plus some consumables. If you want these goods you should send your best survivor with best firearm and melee weapon.

Once you get to the source you usuall find tons of ordinart zombies and number of freaks around some kind of an airdrop cash. You need to search the said cash to complete the CLEO Mission and stop zombies from spawning near it.

This is how I usually did it:

• ram any ferals in sight;
  
• shoot at bloaters (zombies are to attracted to CLEO cash to hear your shots);
  
• deal with Jaggernauts ASAP;
  
• throw some Firecrackers nearby;
  
• search the CLEO cash;
  
• deal with remaining zombies;
  
• loot the CLEO cash.

There is a loophole in the game which allow easy completion of CLEO Missions. If you start one of the escort-like missions (Zed Hunt, Supply Run, Combat Training and etc.) you can loot the CLEO cash without fighting. You can complete CLEO Mission by simply getting your character nearby the marked place.

RV AT COUNTRY SIDE
Usefulness: [color=red]DANGEROUS[/color]
I got this glitch (bug) when staying at the STW. When you repair your RV it won't appear near the STW. It stays at it origianl location (repaired). When you use command "On RV" for your survivors that you want to get with you onto the next level they usually run toward RV position... This mean that they can actually die if this bug happens.

NO XP BUG
Usefulness: [color=yellow]ANNOYING[/color]
Sometimes your characters don't gain XP in if they have XP penalty traits in this skill. It can be quite a problem, especially for Fighting (since it give additional HP). It can be solved like this though:

• choose character without such traits and not maximized skill;
  
• quit game (to Windows);
  
• load your game and choose your problem character.

FREE RESOURCE RUCKSACK
Usefulness: [color=green]HANDY[/color]
You can gain free resource rucksack through this glitch:

• loot any resource at specific place but one you want to copy;
  
• call for scavengers and get the last resource cash (after confirmation of the scavenger run);
  
• wait for the scavenger run to complete (you can assist or just wait for it) - do not quit the game until it completes.

FREE PISTOL
Usefulness: [color=green]HANDY[/color]
You can get free Bz 75 during "Combat Training" mission sometimes. If your trainee does not have firearm or his/her firearm is not a Pistol - he/she arms himself/herself with Bz 75 during the second phase of the mission. You can sell it or keep it afterwards.

Note: This scores are for the first Breakdown level (1x multiplier):

• headshot - 1 point;
  
• Screamer kill - 2 points;
  
• Bloater kill - 3 points;
  
• stealth kill - 4 points;
  
• Feral kill - 6 points;
  
• horde elimination - 6 points;
  
• resource delivery - 6 points;
  
• headshot streak - 10 points;
  
• infestation elimination - 10 points;
  
• multykill - 10 points;
  
• mission (completed) - 25 points;

P.S.
The fastest and the most dangerous way to get more points is shotgun frenzy. You can destroy hordes and infestations with multikills.

I hope it helps a little for newbies. If you have usable tricks and tips, please feel free to inform me in comments.