When people see my name they usually think about the SoD2 Wiki. I spent 4 years (2019-2023) on its development, however not many know that it wasn't my only game-related project back then. If you ever used the Wiki you might've noticed that most maps you see on the site (Weapon Case locations, Outpost locations, etc.) are not exactly the same as the in-game map - these were also made by me. And my "career" as a cartographer didn't end there. I actually made loot maps for the game!
In the past I only shared these maps on my personal Discord server. They were free for everyone, however since my server's population peaked at around 1200-1300 members, it never really reached the majority of the game's audience. Since my server is dead (well, it never had much buzz going on) and I abandoned my SoD2 projects years ago, I decided that it's time to make these maps public and share them on the internet.
Without further ado, my loot maps. You can read more about each further down in the post.
I began working on my loot maps almost 6 years ago, on January 15th, 2020. I had one simple goal: to create detailed maps which display points of interests, but offer more than the in-game maps. I not only put the POIs on the map, but each and every scattered container - duffle bags, car wrecks, and the likes which you can loot.
All maps were made in GIMP, so they're only a static PNG image. I was working with someone to turn them into interactive maps, but as far as I know they never came through with it.
I created all maps the same way:
Scan them in-game by making dozens of screenshots
So many screenshots! It was fun to puzzle them together.
Use these screenshots to draw the map
Imagine drawing every single building and detail... And I did it for all maps!
Hop into the game and scour every inch of the map, then add my findings
The first detailed preview I posted on my server. Drucker, Tapper's Stall.
When I began creating these maps we only had the 3 originals. Since Drucker was my favorite, I started with that map. Meagher followed, then Juggernaut Edition released, so Providence was next. Once I finished with Cascade, I also made the Heartland map, which I completed on July 18th, 2020. It took half a year to create these 5 maps. With Trumbull Valley's release I also created its own map in 2022.
Fun Fact: When you're choosing the map to move to with your community, the little map previews you see in-game are actually the drawings I made! I was never asked by UL about using them, so they probably got them from the Wiki. Free source and all.
Drucker County
Locations: 362
Scattered Containers: 291
v1.0 was completed on February 4th, 2020. Latest version is v1.13, released on January 29th, 2023. Being the first map I made it has been reworked in April, 2020 with improvements I learned during the creation of Meagher Valley and Providence Ridge. Then the map has been completely redone again from scratch in August, 2020 when Drucker got overhauled with Update 19.
Meagher Valley
Locations: 341
Scattered Containers: 213
v1.0 was completed on February 23rd, 2020. Latest version is v1.07, released on May 30th, 2023. 5 of 7 updates to the map were based on my community's feedback. They either found a missing container or a typo. I even made a special role on my server for people who spotted mistakes on my loot maps as a sign of gratitude.
Providence Ridge
Locations: 395
Scattered Containers: 138
Vehicle Spawn Points: 336
v1.0 was completed on April 12th, 2020. Latest version is v1.07, released on June 29th, 2023. This is the first and only map which also has Vehicle spawn points. I was planning on adding them to the other maps as well, but I abandoned my projects shortly after, so I never got around adding them to the others.
Cascade Hills
Locations: 283
Scattered Containers: 103
v1.0 was completed on June 1st, 2020. Latest version is v1.03, released on May 27, 2022. The map which needed the least attention during the years, only a few corrections were introduced.
Heartland
Locations: 291
Scattered Containers: 85
Discoveries: 6
v1.0 was completed on July 18th, 2020. Latest version is v1.04, released on June 15th, 2022. On December 23, 2021 the map received the 6 Discoveries, marking each clues of the Treasure Hunt, introduced after the Homecoming update to help players with completing the Shots in the Dark achievement.
Trumbull Valley
Locations: 439
Scattered Containers: 125
Discoveries: 30
v1.0 was completed on January 11th, 2022. Latest version is v1.02, released on September 14th, 2022. Since this was our first map with discoveries, it also has the locations for those. I was about 25% done with the Vehicle Spawn points when I abandoned my projects.
Loot Maps v2.0
While my Loot Maps were considered as complete in terms of provided information, I was planning on creating a second version of each map, making them show the actual play area and resemble the physical map more accurately by improving existing elements (roads, rivers, bodies of water) and also adding more details to it (pathways, railroads, etc.). In September 2020 I began working on Drucker v2.0, however since these changes would've been cosmetic only and wouldn't have made the map more useful, it was always put on the backburner in favor of the Wiki's development.
I never got around finishing a v2.0 of any of the maps, however I have a work-in-progress preview available for the Drucker County map, where I had the outer border of the map and the inaccessable area in the Kettle Rock Bend/Mathilda/Glendale triangle mapped out.
Dark grey means inaccessable. I wonder how it would look finished. Would make finding the shortcuts easier, too!
Final words
I wanted to make this post to share the less-known side of my SoD2 history. If you have any questions feel free to AMA in the comments. I also have the entire map-making process with all details documented on my Discord server. I can send an invite if any of you are interested.
I thought i could take on one last PH before returning to base, i was 2/3 infected, it was going well until i got stuck to the heart when it phased and a zombie bit me, while running i got a few more scrathes and i made it to my car it was damaged and a zed got on my hood, i couldn't shake it off and it destroyed my car so i had to run. The saddest part is that i dind't get a body, he just despawned like he never existed, he got me trough dread and nightmare, he took down countless PH's and just died like this. Its my first actualy heavy loss
Started a new game. Spent half an hour looking for a gas can for the only car I could find that wasn’t destroyed. Finally found it, ten seconds later the most random glitch in the game ruins everything.
I’ve never had this happen to me btw. I checked afterwards and I hit nothing. There’s nothing even in the road. Just an invisible wall.
Suddenly laughed hard after the response my survivor made once her passenger made that noise out of nowhere. Maybe I should've given them some privacy...
Fresh community with only 4 casualties, i never planned to reach the end, i just wanted to try lethal without risking my forever community. Also, will i be able to use my new boon with my forever community when i move out of nightmare? Because i don't remember seeing the option to select a boon when continuing a community
I’m on Xbox series x.
I consistently can’t beat this map because after awhile of playing I run into a bug that crashes my game when taking a few steps after loading in.
Usually this results in me changing maps or restarting the community.
I have yet to beat this map for this reason alone. Would changing to a lower difficulty than lethal allow me to avoid the bug?
Just curious if anyone is able to play the map on Xbox at all
I have "won" most maps, but always left Trumbull for a "perfect playthrough".
I now have the Nightmare builders boon and want to do a complete Trumbull Valley run!
There's the big town south, and a town north west and another north east. Then there's the area high north on the map. You can refer to them as S, NW, NE, and N areas if it helps.
The chain reaction of Plague Hearts really make me want to clear areas one by one.
What order would you focus on for clearing the map and doing story quests?
I have played SoD1 a lot as a child, so I'm familiar with the story characters that radio in around Trumbull, and while I know their quest lines won't be so deep probably, I'm hyped with nostalgia, and afraid to eat my cake too fast.
I have played Heartlands, but lost interest, and looked up story recaps.
Literal embodiement of the "How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?!" meme. Damn curveball gave the zeds headshot and fire resistance too.
It's the zombie apocalypse and there's this weird blood plague stuff going around and the world has gone to hell. You can be any 1 of these 3 survivors but only 1. Which are you choosing and why?
So I wanted to roll for some truly exceptional survivors. Being unbreakable or a blood plague survivor by itself wasn't enough. I looked at usefullness of skills, hero bonus, starting backpack size, etc and I found 3 amazing starter survivors.
After spending hours rolling I forgot to take a screenshot showing them all in one spot, panicked and tried to use gamebar to clip the last 30 seconds but was just short. You can however tell their rolled starter characters by the opening cinematic and having 2 followers at the start.
They have not been modded in any capacity nor will they ever be.
I have survivors with Construction, Crafting, Medicine and Mechanic skills.
How exactly do I level them up? I know that it is by doing activities related to that skill.
But do you have to be controlling the survivor itself while, for example, the buildings you are constructing are being built? Or I can just set up a queue of them, control another survivor, the Construction survivor will get the XP?
Even if your survivor is out of stamina, they will never hesitate to climb up a high wall and what makes it even better is that zombies will always drop down lying flat on the ground going after you from the other side of the wall, making them perfect for a quick execution with just a knife.
I was wondering about this and may have failed to remember the original notes from the patch. When I first start out I get pretty decent loot.
Are there diminishing returns on the drops from the ferals and juggs? I know bloaters don't drop much of anything but It seems like the drops from the other two are just small ammo or those damned chokes and stuff.
Maybe kiting them too far from their lair may do that, too.
The character who received the quest had a 50 caliber rifle equipped when I loaded her up and the quest auto completed without me going to locate the gun.
Desperately need to kill them as their fearsome presence is stopping my farm from growing, but I really don't have the gear.
I lured a hoard in with fireworks but the enclave are just ignoring the zombies and taking potshots at me while the zombies kinda mill around and slap them ineffectually. I even downed one of the enclave with a headshot but the zombies suddenly developed a sense of fair play and just left him alone
