In our previous article, we mentioned how base-building was one of the most important aspects of The Walking Dead: Road to Survival. True enough, your base of operations in the central hub for all your activities in the game. From building, upgrading, and researching new combat items, to housing and training survivors, everything you do in the game is accomplished in your town. In this sense, it’s always important to keep your buildings fully upgraded in order to maximize your production and ensure that you’re able to create the best items at all times.

However, an important part of surviving is having access to the best items and tech that you can get your hands on. In this sense, research is another important aspect of the game, as it will allow you to outfit your characters with awesome gear, as well as unlock new character types and access to better combat items. After all, you wouldn’t want to take the fight to the zombie hordes using your bare fists, would you?

In this guide, we will go over all you need to know about research, and how to achieve the best results in battle.

Research

Luckily, just like base-building, research in this game is just as straightforward as erecting any structure in your base. Nevertheless, just like creating production buildings and upgrading them, researching new stuff is also pivotal for ensuring the survival of all your characters, as well as for all the people that inhabit your town. By keeping your Workshop and Training Grounds at their highest levels at all time, you will gain access to new combat items and character types, respectively. However, before obtaining access to these new elements, you will first need to research them.

Unlike most games, which often have many prerequisites to unlock new tech and items, the research system in The Walking Dead: Road to Survival is very simple; all you need to do in order to gain access to new things is to click on the technology or character type, clicking on “research,” and waiting out the timer, or speed it up by using coins. Researching combat items will cost you materials while researching new character types will set you back several units of food.

Make sure to always research the latest items and character types in order to maximize your odds of success in upcoming battles and scenarios. Additionally, remember that when it comes to combat items, researching them is not enough; you must also produce them and assign them to your item slots before each battle. You can select your favorite and assign your preferred items, and save your selection so you don’t have to do it every time.

Combat and Survival

The story and battles in this game take place in three different modes:

• The World Map: The main way to progress through the story. This mode consists of several chapters, all of which expand upon different areas of the character’s lives, including yours. Your decisions in these stages will greatly affect the outcome of the story, as some characters may live, while others may die, due to the consequences of your actions.

• The Roadmap: These are specials events and scenarios that often have certain prerequisites to get unlocked, and usually only remain available for a limited amount of time. These stages, while not part of the main story, can also reward the player with several tidbits of information, as well as many rewards, including XP, items, gear, and special characters. Some of these events require radios in order to be unlocked.

• Raids: The main form of Player versus Player (PvP) combat in this game. You can access this mode by clicking on the “Raids” button on the lower left side of the screen once it becomes available. Winning raids against other players will net you and your faction different rewards. Whenever you are attacked, you will be notified in the notifications section. If you lost the attack, you will also be informed of what was taken from you, as well as be given an opportunity to strike back. You can avoid being raided by spending money on Ceasefire Shields available at the store, which prevents you from coming under attack for a certain amount of time.

The combat itself in this game is just as straightforward as every other part. Battles take place in a turn-based fashion where you can select the enemy you wish to attack and then click on your character’s portraits to decide who is going to launch the attack.

In The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, battles are either against walkers or humans. Walkers are slow and must spend several turns to encroach upon your team in order to attack, which makes them a bit easier to deal with. Meanwhile, humans can easily attack you from the beginning, as they are and lunge at you each turn, returning to their initial position after attacking.

While some enemies can be tougher than others, there is always a trick to beating every battle. Here are some things you can keep in mind in order to maximize your odds of success:

Never Skip the Flavor Text

In this game, most battles in the world map are preceded by a text scenario where you can see your characters interacting with the world, as well as witness the events that lead up to the battle. These dialogue sections are good indicators of the enemies that you’ll be facing in the upcoming battle, so always make sure to read them in order to prepare accordingly.

Pay Attention to Traits and Challenges

This just might be the most important tip to prepare properly for combat. Since you’ll be given the opportunity to arrange your team before every fight, you can always be prepared for the upcoming battle by analyzing the enemy’s traits, as well as the challenges of every stage.

Character traits are divided into four categories, and serve as the game’s rock-paper-scissors mechanic, in which certain types are strong against some, and weak against others. These traits, in order, are Tough, which beats Alert, which beats Strong, which beats Fast, which beats Tough. Furthermore, not all walkers have traits, but all human enemies do. Keep these traits in mind, and pick your team accordingly if you want to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses.

Challenges, on the other hand, are special conditions present in some stages, which can make some battles more interesting, and definitely more difficult. There are many types of challenges, which we’ll explain in the following list:

• Area Damage: The enemies in this stage may deal damage to several of your characters with a single attack. Bring lots of healing items to these battles and keep your character’s HP topped up.
• Buff: The enemies in this stage are able to bestow beneficial effects to themselves, increasing their attack, defense, HP, etc. Prepare accordingly by bringing strong combat items such as grenades.
• Chokepoints: These stages make it difficult for your melee characters to reach the enemy. The only way to attack enemies behind a chokepoint is by using grenades or similar items.
• Control: The enemies in these stages can cause disabling effects, such as stun, to wrest control of characters from you.
• Dividers: Similar to chokepoints, but they serve to divide enemies into several smaller groups instead of confining them to a single hallway. Use the same tactics as with chokepoints, but be wary of enemies that approach from other directions.
• Focused Damage: The enemies in these stages hit insanely hard, and can usually one-shot your characters. You’ll have to bring your beefiest characters, and lots of healing items to withstand their relentless assault.
• Healing: Some enemies in these stages can heal themselves and their allies. Deal with them quickly, even if you have to use an item or two.
• Large Mob: Hordes of weak enemies roam these stages. While they’re weak on their own, the number of monsters here make dealing with them very difficult. Bring healing and attack items to withstand the gauntlet of foes.
• Powerful Enemies: Simply put, the enemies here are stronger than usual. Bring your beefiest characters, and equip them with the best weapons for these stages.

By reading the flavor text, as well as identifying the challenges of each stage, you will be able to prepare accordingly for each battle which, in turn, will allow you to easily complete each stage.

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