------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Leveling Guide ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ////////////////////////////////// Contents \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction II. Version History III. How Do I Level Up? IIIa. PP Required to Level IIIb. Levelup Bonuses IV. Leveling Tips and Tricks V. FAQs VI. Thanks and Legal/Contact Info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ////////////////////////////// I. Introduction \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello again, fellow GameFAQers! Alucadrian here, with my second superlative effort in the wide world of game guide authoring. I've submitted once before (a Scouting guide for Dragon Quest: Monsters on the Nintendo DS), and am a professional writer by trade. Hopefully this short guide will prove useful to the various vicarious vengeants fighting for family in a father's facade, stranded in the arid sands of Still Creek. Dead Rising 2 - Case Zero is a pioneering example of a new notion in online DLC marketing that can be adequately described as "Optional Prologuing." The idea of elective enhancement of an existing software purchase through DLC is well- worn already, of course; relatively few indeed are the Xbox 360 owners who haven't found some reason to want to purchase one of the hundreds of expansion chapters, bonus items or equipment, and other such peripheral content off of the Live Arcade Marketplace. What DR:CZ experiments with is the idea that a pre-release prologue package packed with points of pique (and containing the actual game's source engine - independent of a disc! - under the hood) could conceivably generate interest, intrigue, and ultimately added income when the game itself releases. Instead of designing the DLC to require the game to play (thereby automatically restricting its sales to a number equal-to-or-less-than the sale figure of the full game), a pre-release such as this one creates a bite-sized snack that's equal parts trial version and rental, but with the added appeal of carryover bonuses and exclusive extra story. It's a bold business move, and we should all be watching to see how it pans out. Its success, after all, would be all the red carpet the gaming industry would need to start rolling out similar preview prologues in all manner of titles to come. But enough talk. Have at it! Let's see if we can't figure out the best ways to get our new good buddy Chuck up to Level 5, the max level achievable in this chapter, with the best bonuses brains and brawn can buy. :-D NOTE: This guide does contain spoilers for the plot of this prologue. If you're a story-minded soul (and I already know you are since you're reading a guide for a game add-on that's ENTIRELY STORY-BASED), you have been warned. I will endeavor to keep any references to plot events as vague as I can, while still communicating the information this guide is designed to impart. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- //////////////////////////// II. Version History \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9/05/2010 : Guide version 1.0 under construction! Should have it finished today without a problem, I'd think; this ain't my longest effort, nor my first rodeo. Got myself a soda, a sammich, and a fresh level 1 Chuck. Let's do this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ////////////////////////// III. How Do I Level Up? \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The easiest, most basic answer to this section's title question is this: You require a certain, preset amount of Prestige Points (PP) to reach a higher level, at which point you gain a bonus to your stats, a Combo Card, or both. Yes. I know. Duh, and all that. But hey, somewhere out there is a guy to whom the most baseline concept of an RPG-style point leveling system is total news, okay? Just... go fix a sammich or something for this part if you're that easily bored, and catch up with me below. As for you, That Guy, stay with me. No, I don't care if you want a sammich too, you'll just have to wait. -------------------------------------- PP is earned in several distinct ways: -------------------------------------- - The largest chunks (but also the most time-consuming) are accrued by rescuing any of the 10 possible survivors found throughout the prologue, with 3000-3500PP earned for each individual brought back to the safety of the gas station, with one exception (Dick, who is considered "rescued" when he reaches his pawnshop and begins fleecing you as a war profiteering bastard). A loose-end 1000PP bonus can also be obtained anytime you place a Frying Pan weapon onto a Stove, heating it and creating the strong-attack- capable cherry-red Frying Pan. - PP is also earned in much smaller quantities each and every time a zombie is killed in any way whatsoever resulting from your actions. Chopping through a crowd with a chainsaw or any other basic found weapon, running them over with a pushcart or motorcycle, or striking them with thrown objects will earn you PP slowly and relatively invisibly. - Killing zombies with hand-made Combo Weapons will award more PP per kill AND display the higher amount onscreen in white with each kill. Drinking beer from the Beer Hat Combo Item also awards 150PP per swig. - Slaying zombies with a Combo Weapon for which you have earned a full Combo Card (I will explain exactly how this is accomplished in the subsections to follow) will earn you the most violence-based PP, displaying the maxed-out potential earning onscreen in red after each kill. - Defeating Jed, the psychopath boss at the end of the prologue, will award you 10000PP. Going out of your way to run down any of the military soldiers during the escape sequence at the end will also net you 1000PP per grieving army widow. - Drinking too much real water, too rapidly can also create a sudden buildup of PP, due to the body's digestive tract reaching operational limits and reacting by expelling the excess material without maximum processing. Despite the relative ease with which this can be done, it doesn't actually level you up in real life, and excessive "grinding" of this method of PP creation will only render you unable to hold it in your twilight years. See the section labeled "Your Bathroom" for a solution to this. But please don't email me your findings. Upon reaching a preset goal amount for each level, Chuck will immediately Level Up and receive one or two Level Up Bonuses, all known possibilities of which will be described in detail below. --------------------------------------- ///// IIIa. PP Required to Level \\\\\\ --------------------------------------- Level 1 - 0 PP (See below*) Level 2 - 20,000 PP Level 3 - 40,000 PP Level 4 - 60,000 PP Level 5 - 80,000 PP Level 6 - 110,000 PP (See below**) * This one can be tricky; it's not just killing zombies. First, you have to get an Xbox 360. This may also require you to purchase a television. Next, you'll need a job that pays you at least $5.00 before you are fired, and access to that money digitally. Then you'll have to find some way to at least temporarily obtain internet access, and spend your five beans on XBLA to buy this demo. Wait for the download to finish. Finally, highlight it on your menu screen and press Start about six times, waiting in between each press for prompts or cutscenes to end. BAM! There you are. You've reached Level 1! Whoo. Luckily, it's all downhill from here. ** Okay, first thing you have to do is wait until September 28th (U.S.). It is recommended that you sit or lie down for added comfort, and hunt some local flora and/or fauna to sustain yourself in the meantime. More to follow as our crack team continues to investigate (though I have a hunch it may take them until, oh, say, September 28th or so to make any significant progress on the case). One detail that has been discovered already is that even after reaching level 5, the PP bar will continue to fill again as normal until you reach 110,000 PP, though nothing in particular happens at that point as you can only reach level 6 and beyond in the full release version of Dead Rising 2. --------------------------------------- //////// IIIb. Levelup Bonuses \\\\\\\\ --------------------------------------- This section is a compiling of the possible bonuses available at each new level of experience (prestige?). Regardless of the various theories I have seen here and there across the forums, the bonuses are neither completely random nor completely scripted, but rather a combination of both. Here is how the system actually works. Levelup bonuses come in two distinct columns, but in three separate categories. Column A consists of one category: stat/attribute bonuses, or bonuses to - Attack - Health - Inventory Space - Throw Distance Column B consists of two categories: - Skills - Combo Cards It is POSSIBLE to: - Receive a maximum of FOUR levelups, for a potential total of EIGHT levelup bonuses, during this prologue chapter - Receive two bonuses (one from both Column A and B) in a single levelup - Receive only a single bonus from Column B (a Skill, or a Combo Card) It is IMPOSSIBLE to: - Receive two bonuses from the second column in a single levelup (a Skill and a Combo Card together), even if they're from different categories - Receive two bonuses from the same category in a single levelup (two stat bonuses, two skills or two Combo Cards together) - Receive only a bonus from Column A (a stat bonus) without also receiving either a Skill or a Combo Card bonus from Column B Allow me to provide a visual to explain what I mean: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Column A (50%)* | Column B (100%)** | | |-----------------------|----------------------------------------| | | Stat Bonuses | Skills (25%) | Combo Cards (75%) | | Level | (Limit 2 Per Stat) | (Limit 2 Total) | | |-------|-----------------------|------------------|---------------------| | 2 |ATK+, HP+, INV+, THR+ | Backdrop | Drill Bucket | | | | | | | 3 |ATK+, HP+, INV+, THR+ |Backdrop,Jump Kick|Drill Bucket,I.E.D. | | | | | | | 4 |ATK+, HP+, INV+, THR+ |Backdrop,Jump Kick|Drill Bucket,I.E.D., | | | | | Molotov | | 5 |ATK+, HP+, INV+, THR+ |Backdrop,Jump Kick| I.E.D., Molotov | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * There is a roughly 50% chance of receiving a Column A stat bonus from leveling up, and a 50% chance of receiving none. ** There is a 100% chance of receiving a Skill or Combo Card bonus when leveling up, which is then broken down into a 25% chance of a Skill on any given levelup, and a 75% chance of a Combo Card. The exception to this rule plays out if you have already been awarded all 3 Combo Cards As you can see from the chart, certain rules hold true despite the random- seeming nature of the system at play within this game. - It is possible to receive a particular stat increase at any levelup, UNLESS you have already received two increases in that particular stat from previous levelups. You therefore cannot have greater than 6 HEALTH, 3 ATTACK, 6 INVENTORY SPACES, or 3 THROW DISTANCE, and you cannot have the maximum values of more than two of these at best. You can, however, try for and accept increases of each of them by 1 apiece if you prefer to remain well-rounded. - There are only two Skills available during the prologue, Backdrop and Jump Kick. Jump Kick IS NOT AVAILABLE unless Backdrop has already been learned, so it CANNOT be learned at Level 2 (this is different from Dead Rising 1). If both skills have already been learned, the chance of receiving a Combo Card for any subsequent levelups climbs to 100%. - The Combo Cards are ALWAYS received in the listed order. You will never get the Combo Card for anything other than the Drill Bucket until you have already gotten the Drill Bucket card, and even after you do you will always receive the card for the I.E.D. next. Should you receive all 3 Combo Card bonuses during your first 3 levelups (Drill Bucket at 2, I.E.D. at 3, and Molotov at 4), the bonus at level 5 will be the Backdrop Skill 100% of the time, and it will be impossible to receive the Jump Kick move thereafter. - Because it is impossible to learn more than 2 Skills in this prologue, and also impossible NOT to receive a Combo Card if you don't get a Skill, you are absolutely guaranteed to top out at Level 5 with at least the Combo Cards for the Drill Bucket and I.E.D., and the Backdrop Skill. The Molotov Card and Jump Kick Skill are not guaranteed, though you will necessarily receive one of the two by the time you reach level 5 (fortunately, the card is an easy choice to bypass for now; I'll explain in the next section what I mean). Likewise, however, neither of the 2 skills are guaranteed either. The ONLY bonuses that are absolutely guaranteed to every player who plays regardless of luck, chance, or the hand of fate, are the Drill Bucket and I.E.D. Combo Cards, and the Backdrop Skill. There are no guaranteed stat upgrades, only the probability of one (which remains steady at around 50%), and the specific stat gained is always perfectly random; each of the four stats has a constant 25% probability of being chosen, unless as mentioned before you have already received 2 bonuses to that stat in which case it is dropped from the probability table from then on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- //////////////////////// IV. Leveling Tips and Tricks \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - It is marginally faster to level up by focusing on zombie-hunting for a single run through the game, than it is to try and level up by playing the plot-line and rescuing survivors as they appear. Frankly, though, there isn't too terribly much of a difference either way. The entire game is only meant to last for two hours of play, after all. If you find yourself desperately needing to shave a few minutes off of those two hours in order to fit Dead Rising 2: Case Zero into your day, you should probably revisit your schedule in general. - The single highest-return PP reward for any weapon in the game is the 2,500PP awarded for the strong attack with the Boomstick Combo Weapon. You can create one of these by combining a pitchfork (hardware store, bar) and a shotgun (sheriff's office 2nd floor, hunting store), or by picking up the respawning one that Jed produces after you defeat him near the end of the in-game day. Before you go getting all excited about that, though, you should probably know that the Boomstick's strong attack is only available to players who have unlocked its Combo Card... which is possible to get ONLY as a bonus for defeating Jed. So this weapon and its huge PP payout are relatively useless for leveling in the prologue (since you don't get access to its power attack until you've completed practically the entire prologue anyway), but can still be useful for amassing superfluous PP if you're one of those who enjoys earning a spot on the XBLA leaderboards. - The single most efficient PP-earning weapon is the Electric Rake, which produces a healthy 200PP per strike even without its Combo Card (which is not available during this prologue anyway), strikes exactly 50 times before breaking, and can be reassembled swiftly by saving and reloading in the diner bathroom to respawn its components. Here is a short list of the most popular choices, with their comparative efficiency laid bare: - Electric Rake: 200PP per strike x 50 strikes = 10000PP per item - Paddlesaw: 125PP per strike x 60 strikes = 7500PP per item - Boomstick*: 100PP per strike x 30 strikes = 3000PP per item - Spiked Bat**: 50-200PP per strike x 75 strikes = 3750-15000PP per item * This chart assumed a Boomstick user who hasn't yet received the Boomstick Combo Card for defeating Jed, since if you HAVE received that card yet are still worried for some reason about leveling up, you're probably going to have to start over anyway to reattain the bonuses you actually wanted. For the curious, however, the Boomstick's full potential is a whopping 25000PP for one full run of 10 heavy strikes, enough to gain a single level and change in roughly the time it takes to tie a shoe. ** The Spiked Bat is actually a potentially greater total PP earner than the Electric Rake due to its comparable payout per heavy strike and 50% higher durability, but it loses out on the one thing that matters the most in a question of efficiency: Time. The animation for the Spiked Bat's heavy strike takes almost five full seconds and can kill only one zombie at a time. In short, the Electric Rake does the same job far faster in the longer run. - It is incredibly important for the application of the information in this guide that you SAVE YOUR GAME DIRECTLY BEFORE LEVELING UP each time. When your status screen tells you you're less than 200PP from one of the multiples of 20,000 that represent the prologue's levelup milestones, stop killing anything and go save your game. This way if you don't get anything you wanted you can simply pause, quit, reload, and immediately level again in one strike until you score the bonus or bonuses you were waiting for! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ////////////////////////////////// V. FAQs \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was finding the GameFAQs message boards chock full of repeated questions on this subject that motivated me to pen this brief guide in the first place. Though at first glance it seems straightforward enough (kill kill kill, rescue rescue kill kill, rescue kill boss kill drive done), the process does actually have a bit of nuance and wiggle room to it, as well as a few questions any self-respecting completionist will find themselves asking. Like: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. Is it feasible to try to reach Level 5 on one playthrough without worrying about the case files, then start at level 5 on a subsequent playthrough to tackle the storyline? A. Absolutely, it is feasible. Some players, myself included, automatically gravitate toward this methodology, preferring the challenge of mastering the system over the more obvious challenge of just beating the game itself. Others may prefer to play through the storyline, using only the PP they accrue naturally to level as they go. A full game playthrough complete with 10 successful rescues, one big boss fight bonus and a healthy amount of zombie killing along the way can also easily get you to Level 5. Really, it just comes down to how you prefer to play. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. What is the fastest/easiest/sweetest/sexiest way to reach Level 5? A. Fastest - Exit the gas station. Grab the Paddle across the street on the concrete ledge behind the white van, then grab the rake around front of the same building and run all the way east to the hardware store. Enter and grab the chainsaw. Enter the maintenance room just next door to the right and combine the paddle and chainsaw. Use the resultant paddlesaw in the street outside until it breaks; this will produce 7500PP. As soon as it breaks, run into the narrow dead-end alley across the street from the maintenance shed and grab the battery at the end. Return to the mainten- ance room and combine it with the rake. Use the resultant Electric Rake in the street outside until it breaks as well. This should produce 17500PP total. When the electric rake breaks on you, enter the diner on the corner and save in the bathroom. Pause, select Quit, Load, your savefile, and you're back in the action in twenty seconds right where you left off... but with everything freshly respawned. Exit the diner, enter the hardware store, grab a rake, go get the battery from the alley, and use it to exhaus- tion once more for another 10,000PP in two minutes. Rinse, repeat. Don't bother running all the way back to get another paddle for a Paddlesaw a second time; it's proven far faster to just use the Electric Rake over and over again from that save point. Using this method, I successfully leveled to 5 from scratch eight separate times during my testing for this guide, and was finished each time before 1pm (less than half an hour of play). Easiest - Exit the gas station. See zombies, forget which buttons do what in a moment of vicarious panic that briefly embarrasses you in front of your significant other. Get bit twice crossing the street, figure out how to jump onto a car through error and trial and error, then climb onto the van. Feel proud of yourself for a private moment for doing that, but say nothing. Hesitantly ask said significant other if they would rather play, throw the controller at them before they can reply and leave the room, claiming that you're hungry and are going to make a sammich. Return minutes later to find the other person doing all the work for you, then notice that they are expertly following the "Fastest" strategy laid out above. Fall even deeper in love with their obvious brilliance than you were already. Daydream about planning your wedding with the other person, until they reach Level 5. Sweetest - That word doesn't have any meaning here, because all available methods of killing zombies and accruing PP are arguably sweet. Sexiest - Follow the instructions listed under "Easiest," but replace sammich excuse with successful seduction of significant other. Afterward, remind them that "don't they have something they're supposed to be doing" for you, and exit a conquering hero or heroine. Victory dancing prior to exit not recommended. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. How do I reroll my levelup chance if I don't like what I got? Do I have to erase my Savefile entirely and start from scratch? A. Not if you save at any bathroom right before you level. The one in the diner right across the street from the hardware store at the far eastern edge of town works great in combination with my "Fastest" strategy detailed in answer to a question above. You can save while holding a large weapon like the Electric Rake or Paddlesaw, so if you simply check your status screen and save just before you hit one of the 20,000PP milestones you can reload, level with one kill, check the results, and reload again as many times as you wish until you get the levelup bonuses you want. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. How do I get more Combo Cards, and which ones can I potentially get? A. Additional Combo Cards are earned via leveling up, and represent the basic reward for doing so. You will receive a Combo Card with each level up by default (75% chance) unless it is replaced by the lower-odds chance of getting a new Skill instead (25% chance). There is no way to receive Combo Cards beyond the three that are available with levelups in the prologue and the one your receive as a bossfight reward; it has nothing to do with how many times you've built the item, kills racked up with it, or any other theoretical factors beyond leveling up. There are therefore no Combo Cards available for the Air Horn, Beer Hat, Paddlesaw, or Electric Rake until the release of Dead Rising 2 on September 28th, 2010 (for U.S. consumers). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. What are the best possible stats/skills/combo cards I could have? A. This is another question that comes down to your own personal play style and preferences. The majority of forumgoers seem to prefer Inventory Space bonuses above and beyond all others, likely because of the periodic fluctua- tion caused by having to temporarily carry two items in order to make one, a problem the Frank Westies never had to deal with before for anything other than juice creation. If you're asking my personal opinion, I would answer as follows: Attack: 1 Skill - Backdrop Health: 6 Skill - Jump Kick Inventory: 6 Combo Card - Drill Bucket Throw Distance: 1 Combo Card - I.E.D. Additional attack only really matters against psychopaths, and Jed just isn't that hard to beat, even at level 1, with the proper item set. The Jump Kick is a mandatory part of my playstyle in a Dead Rising game, which focuses on relatively uninterrupted travel between points for maximum chance at total completion of all tasks, major and minor. Throw Distance can stay at zero for the entire duration of the full game, too, for all I care; I never use anything that requires being thrown, and I don't throw the objects I'd be better off hanging onto and using. As for the Combo Cards, they're sort of mandatory, and while the I.E.D. isn't a bad weapon to swing around I doubt I'd really go out of my way to extensively use any of the existing Combo Items in a serious, full-length game (save to gather additional PP for leveling purposes, of course). In short, I'd rather have what I need now (health and more equipment handy) than haul around stuff I *might* need a month from now in the main game. Not when I can get it just as easily in the main game anyway if I need it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. Is it possible that Jimmy Hoffa is buried somewhere in Still Creek? A. It is absolutely, 100% definitely a remote possibility, yes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- //////////////////// VI. Thanks and Legal/Contact Info \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks as always starts with GameFAQs itself and Jeff "CJayC" Veasey, the site's senior editor. You're the nexus of a site that's helped me countless times with as many different games, and I appreciate all your hard work! This guide is copyrighted to Alucadrian, c. 2010. Anyone who wishes to post my guide on their site may freely do so with my permission, provided they ask me with an email first. Anyone in violation of this is kind of a silly asshole. Anyone with questions, comments, suggestions or corrections please feel welcome to email me anytime at alucadrian at gmail dot com. Thanks for reading!