There are a lot of ways you can die in the zombie survival game State of Decay 2. One of the most horrific involves becoming infected and eventually turning into a zombie carrying the Blood Plague. This is a special disease in State of Decay 2 that can actually turn any survivor afflicted with the virus, making certain zombies extremely dangerous. Thankfully, players can actually cure the Blood Plague, but doing so is very risky and could result in more survivors becoming infected.
First, it’s important to know exactly which zombies are infected with the Blood Plague. The two telltale signs are glowing red eyes and their bodies being completely soaked in blood. They have the same standard attacks as normal zombies and so far we haven’t found a specialized zombie that contracted the Blood Plague. They are rarer than normal zombies, with the exception of any area that’s infested with a Plague Heart.
Additionally, survivors can contract the Blood Plague by either being bitten or receiving multiple hits from an infected zombie. This will fill up a meter that slowly infects that survivor with the Blood Plague. Once they have fully turned the player will have no choice but to kill them before they transform into a plague zombie. You cannot remove any Blood Plague progression from the meter unless you use the antidote. If you become infected then that survivor has just under three hours before they turn.
In order to actually cure the Blood Plague in State of Decay 2, you will need to manufacture an antidote back at your base. This requires users to first construct an infirmary, which can be placed in any open plot of land. After this, you’ll need to go out into the wild and collect Plague Samples from fallen infected zombies. When a plague zombie dies there will be a chance for you to inspect their corpse and collect some of the samples. However, there is no guarantee that these ghouls will actually drop this rare material, so don’t bet on this as a consistent way to make medicine.
You can also obtain Plague Samples from destroying Plague Hearts, which is far easier said than done. These are some of the most dangerous locations in all of State of Decay 2. Not only will you need to fight through a horde of plague zombies, but damaging the heart will cause even more to arrive. Make sure to bring a survivor with a high fighting or shooting skill to ensure the easy removal of the infected undead.
As for the heart itself, you can beat it into submission, but fire and explosives work much better. Save items such as Pipe Bombs or Molotov Cocktails for the heart unless you absolutely need to dispatch a large horde or giant special zombie. Ater the heart is destroyed just walk around and collect at least five samples to make an antidote back at your base. Plague Hearts are volatile locations, so make sure to remove them quickly otherwise you’ll have a lot of plague zombies to deal with.
Finally, we recommend having a vial or two of the cure in storage. There are a few missions that require you to donate samples or the antidote, so not having to whip one up on the fly is a nice timesaver. Always make sure to maintain your Blood Plague levels to ensure that no one in your community becomes infected and lost forever.