State of Decay 2 home bases explained - the best base locations in the Valley, Plateau and Foothills
All the key info on which bases you should choose in each of State of Decay 2's areas.
State of Decay 2 bases are probably the most important things for you to get right, acting as the foundation of your expedition into the zombieland around you.
Much of it comes down to choosing the best base location, where you're starting in the Valley, the Foothills or the Plateau, and that depends on a couple of factors.
Below, we'll briefly explain how home bases work, as well as provide a list of all bases in State of Decay 2 and pick out our highlights for the best base locations for you to choose from, too. For more general State of Decay 2 tips, meanwhile, head on over to our main State of Decay 2 tips, tricks and guide hub.
On this page:
Base building and home bases explained
Much like the first game, in State of Decay 2 you have one main base, and then a series of other smaller outposts that you can claim in order to boost your resource income.
Your main home base then is your foundation: it's where your community hangs out, where you keep vital facilities like the Infirmary and beds for your team to sleep in, or farms to grow your food, and is really the main hub from which you branch out into the rest of the game.
You'll get your first base early on, very soon after choosing which of the three areas you want to reside in (the Foothills, Plateua, or Valley) and that first base - the house - is near enough identical in each of those three locales.
Soon enough though, you're going to outgrow it, and that's where the time to choose your next home base comes in. There's a pretty wide range of bases to choose from - a good half-dozen in each area - and they all have different requirements (amounts of Influence required, which is earned simply by completing in-game tasks of any kind, and also the amount of survivors in your community at the time) so below we've put together a handy list of all the bases that are available, sorted by area, and we've also noted all of the facilities you can unlock in each of them.
Below that, we briefly discuss our favourite picks for each area and any other things to know about picking bases and using them effectively in State of Decay 2.
List of all base locations in the Valley, Foothills and Plateau regions of State of Decay 2
Foothills (Cascade Hills) base locations
| Base Name | Location | Starting Facilities | Open Slots | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge Fort | South | 1 Sheltered Beds 3 Parking 1 Western Watchpost 1Eastern Watchpost | 1 Large 1 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 500 Influence 4 Community Members |
| Church on the Hill | Central | 1 Bell Tower 4 Parking 2 Pews (clearable) | 1 Large 1 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
| Container Fort | South-west | 1 Firesafe Storage 3 3 Parking 1 Workshop 3 | 2 Large 5 Small Outdoor | 3500 Influence 8 Community Members |
| Loch and Keogh Self Storage | North-west | 1 Elaborate Storage 2 Sheltered Beds 1 Secret Distillery 3 Parking 1 Watchtower 2 Abandoned Locker (clearable) | 1 Large 2 Small Outdoor | 1500 Influence 6 Community Members |
| Mohr and Mohr Distributing | North-east | 1 Sheltered Beds 1 Sheltered Beds 2 1 Machine Shop 4 Parking 1 Huge Fuel Storage 1 Backup Generator | 2 Large 1 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 1500 Influence 6 Community Members |
| Corner Office | Central | 1 Chic Eatery Kitchen 1 Overlook 1 Sheltered Beds 2 Parking | 1 Large 1 Small Indoor 3 Small Outdoor | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
Plateau (Drucker County) base locations
| Base Name | Location | Starting Facilities | Open Slots | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelhouse Truck Stop | West | 1 Outdoor Beds 1 Restaurant Kitchen 1 Huge Fuel Storage 2 Seating Area (Clearable) 4 Parking 1 Auto Shop | 1 Large | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
| Mike's Concrete | West | 1 Sheltered Beds 1 Sheltered Beds 2 1 Machine Shop 4 Parking 1 Huge Fuel Storage 1 Backup Generator | 2 Large 1 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 1500 Influence 6 Community Members |
| Cabin Park Motel | South | 1 Sheltered Beds 2 1 Heavy Track (Clearable) 1 Country Kitchen 1 Old Well 2 Parking 1 Seating Area (Clearable) | 2 Large 1 Small Indoor | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
| Wally's Bar and Grill | Central | 1 Bar and Grill 2 Parking 2 Seating Area (Clearable) | 1 Large 2 Small Outdoor | 500 Influence 4 Community Members |
| Knight's Family Drive-In | East | 4 Parking 1 Gate Tower 1 Employee Bathroom 1 Concession Kitchen 1 Drive-in Theatert | 1 Large 1 Small Indoor 3 Small Outdoor | 1000 Influence 6 Community Members |
| Barricaded Strip Mall | North | 1 Employee Bathroom 1 Sheltered Beds 2 3 Parking 1 Tae-Kwon-Do Gym 1 High-End Kitchen 1 Urgent Care 1 Laundromat (Clearable) | 3 Large 1 Small Outdoor | 3500 Influence 8 Community Members |
Valley (Meagher Valley) base locations
| Base Name | Location | Starting Facilities | Open Slots | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazzara Farm | Central | 1 Country Kitchen 1 Well House 1 Crewhouse 1 Grain Silo Storage 2 Parking | 2 Large 1 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
| Squelones Brewing Company | Central | 1 Tasting Room 3 Parking 1 Primary Still 1 Craft Still 1 Water Tank 1 Keg Cooperage (Clearable) | 1 Large 3 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 1500 Influence 6 Community Members |
| Rural Police Station | North | 4 Parking 1 Police Armory 1 Doorless Cells 1 Secure Lockers 1 Checkpoint | 2 Large 1 Small Indoor 2 Small Outdoor | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
| Country Church | North-west | 3 Parking 1 Front Pews (Clearable) 1 Community Food Bank 1 Watchpost 1 Rear Pews (Clearable) | 1 Large 1 Small Outdoor | 500 Influence 4 Community Members |
| Camp Kelenqua | West | 1 Heavy Trash (Clearable) Cafeteria Kitchen Old Well 2 Parking Bunkhouse Seating Area (Clearable) | 2 Large 2 Small Indoor | 1000 Influence 5 Community Members |
| Whitney Field | South | 1 Sheltered Beds 2 1 Announcer Box 2 Fortified Bleachers 1 Outdoor Beds 2 1 Outdoor Beds 4 Parking | 3 Large 2 Small Outdoor | 3500 Influence 8 Community Members |
What are the best bases in State of Decay 2?
With all that info above in mind, there are a few bases we can highlight as our favourites, at least on paper, for options as you progress through the game.
The standouts are obviously the larger, late-game options: the Container Fort, Barricaded Strip Mall, and Whitney Field (although this last one has some limitations and might not be the best option, more on that below). They're going to be necessary, really, as you progress towards the later game and want to clear out the tougher Plague Hearts, but their strong defensibility and potential for farming resources is generally great anyway.
Otherwise, the mid-game options are really the interesting ones. We particularly like the Bridge Fort in the Cascade Hills Foothills area. It's easily defensible - there's only one point that can be attacked at each end of the bridge - and in a fairly central spot with good access to nearby towns for looting and fairly flexible slots for building up your squad in the mid-game.
Squelones Brewing Company in Meagher Valley, meanwhile, is a great option for Hydroponic farming, so you can get an excess of supplies and trade them for what you need. If you're not keen on Whitney Field, like a lot of people, the Police Station and Camp Kelenqua are also solid, highly flexible options for the mid to late game, too.
And then there's Knight's Family Drive-in on Drucker County's Plateau region, which is a fun, themed drive-in restaurant styled like a mock castle. It's quite defensible as a result, has lots of parking for travelling around the area, and a lot of outdoor slots for flexibility in how you build it, too.