Dead State Tips | Pitstop Head

So basically you just told us what the tutorial already said.

Good info. If I might, here are my own tips.
1. Fallback and quicksave. You can't save in combat, and combat will instantly restart when reinforcements/attracted zombies arrive. This can lead to a frustrating cycle. So any time combat ends, RUN BACK to a safe area. And while you are running, reload weapons and quicksave. This way, you'll be able to have a save if things go south, plus you'll get your weapons reloaded.
2. Do NOT fight indoors unless you have no choice. Not only are there bottlenecks, but close quarters combat gives the advantage to the zombies. Draw them outside to deal with them.
3. KEEP DISTANCE from zombies. Zombies will have a "throttle" attack if they can attack you in their first turn, which does INCREDIBLE amounts of damage and can sometimes kill you in one turn. Much like their movie counterparts, Dead State zombies are dumb. They'll just keep coming for you, expending their turns to close the distance... if one is 8 squares away, he'll expend every AP to get to you, leaving him without an attack and at arm's length for you to blast him or pulverize him.
4. If you break into a locked house, be ready for a tough fight. If there are looters, they will instantly attack in a group. Plus, looters think nothing of using guns, which will bring zombies.
5. If looters and zombies are going at it, by all means let them. These enemies will attack you if they are not already fighting someone else, so let them take each other out. Of course fallen looters will turn into zombies that you'll then have to fight, but it's always FAR better to fight zombies than looters, because zombies dont SHOOT your ass. Plus, they may take down a few zombies, which just helps you.
6. Try not to fight looters early in the game, especially the better equipped ones. Gunfights without armor will tear you up fast.
7. Early in the game, when you are using the pistols, remember that they do MUCH more damage at close range, and will almost always miss at more than 4 or so squares.
8. Don't rely too much on guns. Ammo is incredibly scarce in this game.
9. Don't try to max your character on things like Medical and Mechanical: you really need your points elsewhere. Let the specialized NPCs take care of those areas. Plus, remember that your NPCs level up, too -- make sure to spend their skill points.
10. ALWAYS put people on jobs. Idle people dont help you, and they don't heal any faster. If your scavenge party comes home for the day, put them on jobs at once, so you'll get that bump for the end of the day.
11 - A zombie that is "almost dead" does just as much damage as one that is unhurt. Focus on taking one out at a time.
12 - Firing lines work great. Have the zombies come towards your positioned party members, then concentrate fire on the zombies one at a time.
And some quick notes. About two key concepts.
NOISE -- If you make significant noise (30-90dB), nearby zombies will come running towards your location. You can run away from that location to avoid the fight for now, but they will still converge on that area and you'll have to deal with them eventually. However, if you are VERY loud (100dB), extra zombies may spawn in the "map travel" zones and join the fight. BUT zombies on the map will not otherwise spawn -- if you keep the sound down and take out all the zombies on the map, you should be able to explore the map at your leisure.
HEALING -- Now this is the part of the game that's incredibly frustrating and challenging for zombie-game vets. There IS no instant healing in this game (at least at low levels). You have to heal naturally, 1 hit point an hour at base (if you're working or not, see #10), higher if you have base facilities. But you cannot heal out in the field -- what you CAN do is apply medical items (using the med bag). This will replace some of the character's hit points BUT it will also drop their hitpoint cap. Let's say we have Joel, who has 100hp. He gets hit for 30 points. You apply the bandages (remember, he's at 70): and while it raises his hp back up to 85, his cap gets lowered to 95. His cap can only be restored while at base. How much the cap lowers depends on the healer's skill. So, unless you are VERY lucky, you can't rely on just one squad. You need to have heal shifts where banged-up guys work at home for the day to heal.