Is the Heartland DLC story the same for both Quincy and Larisse?

[Traceral]

I'm just wondering, what is the difference in the story for both starting groups beside the first few missions. I'm not looking for the ending but is the ending the same? Are the quest to get to the ending the same? Beyond character specific interactions what is the difference?

[Aesyle]

Main diff:

Quincy + Helena
* Upgrade Repair Depot to Weapons Depot
* Get allied with Santos Auto Shop
* Able to recruit Keesha Green (Bomb Making as 5th skill) - enables Basic Lab to be upgraded to Demolitions Lab

Larisse + Aunt Fi
* Upgrade Repair Depot to Vehicle Depot
* Get allied with Wilkersons
* Able to recruit Brock Jensen (Outlaw Chemistry as 5th skill) - enables Basic Lab to be upgraded to Outlaw Chem Lab

Further reading regards of Weapons vs Vehicle Depot,
link: https://state-of-decay-2.fandom.com/wiki/Facility:_Repair_Depot

Further reading regards of Demo Lab vs Outlaw Chem Lab,
link: https://state-of-decay-2.fandom.com/wiki/Facility:_Basic_Lab

The rest is same.
Oh, on 2nd playthrough, you can recruit Isaac instead of Vic, or vice-versa, to see what another option of Unused Medical Annex offers.

Overall:
Quincy + Helena = craft all ammo types
Larisse + Aunt FI = craft vehicle upgrade kits

I prefer Larisse, since i can upgrade all my cars and craft any ammo as well, given that i've found all ammo presses (which isn't that hard). Quincy gives more convenience regarding ammo crafting but you can't find/buy any vehicle upgrade kits, keeping you stuck driving vanilla vehicles.

[SpeedEgoist]

Thank you for the breakdown!

A bit offtopic, but I was wondering, is it possible to time out on missions in Heartland, like in standard community campaign, (i.e. if you take too long to respond to emergency calls or enclave requests)? Would it ultimately fail the story or a mission can reappear a bit later?

[Traceral]

Wow, this is very detailed and organized and I thank you for it.

I'm currently running with Larisse and the only ammo press I've found is the heavy but I'll have a lot more places to search.

Also I used a glitch to get both Vic and Issac where you start one of Logan's missions while transporting one of them back to base during their mission. It completes the mission, sends them back to base and allows you to use both of them.

I wasn't aware how difficult it was to find vehicle upgrade kits but that is something to think about.

[Aesyle]

Originally posted by SpeedEgoist:

Thank you for the breakdown!

A bit offtopic, but I was wondering, is it possible to time out on missions in Heartland, like in standard community campaign, (i.e. if you take too long to respond to emergency calls or enclave requests)? Would it ultimately fail the story or a mission can reappear a bit later?

I haven't personally experienced this, but i've read that when you time out on side missions, they are gone for forever and you may not be able to recruit that person anymore. Main story isn't affected on it. Albeit, when you get Captain Logan killed in one of the missions where he is following you, you can't recruit him later on. But main missions still continue on and you can finish Heartland.

Btw, when recruiting all you can, without glitches, you end up with 10 survivors in your community. Only choice regarding survivors who to recruit, is between Vic and Isaac.

Best survivor to recruit is Chavez, since he is Red Talon Daybreak Operator, with all the fancy Red Talon main skills + his 5th skill unlocks Utilities Complex, which provides: free base wide power, free base wide water + makes all other facility materials cost to 0 (same as Staging Area).

Originally posted by Traceral:

Wow, this is very detailed and organized and I thank you for it.

I'm currently running with Larisse and the only ammo press I've found is the heavy but I'll have a lot more places to search.

Also I used a glitch to get both Vic and Issac where you start one of Logan's missions while transporting one of them back to base during their mission. It completes the mission, sends them back to base and allows you to use both of them.

I wasn't aware how difficult it was to find vehicle upgrade kits but that is something to think about.

On my 2nd playthrough, with Larisse, 1st ammo press i found was for 5.56mm and 7.62mm. Though, in the end, i found all of them and multiple ones as well. Oh, you can buy ammo presses from Wilkerson's as well, once you've allied with them.

My 1st playthrough was with Quincy and i did not find or was able to buy any vehicle upgrade kits.

[Traceral]

So I did eventually find several ammo press, this is after clearing a large portion of the map, unfortunately.

The starting with Larissa vs Quincy still makes me wonder who is the best, only because, I have only found 2 or 3 really good weapons. Not having any vehicle upgrades is definitely annoying (which is why I'm not in love with the vehicle damage system) but clearing those plague walls without decent weapons is a chore.

[Aesyle]

Originally posted by Traceral:

So I did eventually find several ammo press, this is after clearing a large portion of the map, unfortunately.

The starting with Larissa vs Quincy still makes me wonder who is the best, only because, I have only found 2 or 3 really good weapons. Not having any vehicle upgrades is definitely annoying (which is why I'm not in love with the vehicle damage system) but clearing those plague walls without decent weapons is a chore.

In both of my playthrougs, i found Enternal Guard's Infinite Rage (AK-47 with 150 round mag) and full mag is enough to take down one plague wall, in full auto + advanced brake. It takes ~50 bullets to kill 1/3 of plague wall.

For good weapons, loot military checkpoints (loads of them in Marshall) and/or loot all weapon cases. Locations here: https://state-of-decay-2.fandom.com/wiki/Weapon_Cases#Trumbull_Valley_.28Heartland.29

[Traceral]

I finished the first play through with Larissa, I only found 2 weapons with 50 round mags. It was tough but I got through it. Just started with Quincy, and being able to make ammo and make the masterwork rifle has made the beginning a bit easier.

[Medvezhak]

I must be lucky then. Finally decided to try this dlc and started with Q&L. The game just floods me with awesome weapons from the beginning.

[Aesyle]

Originally posted by Traceral:

I finished the first play through with Larissa, I only found 2 weapons with 50 round mags. It was tough but I got through it. Just started with Quincy, and being able to make ammo and make the masterwork rifle has made the beginning a bit easier.

Every beginning is tough. Especially when you don't have good people recruited who give you nice facility unlocks.

For long-term gameplay, upgraded vehicle is far more useful than Masterwork Assault Rifle. At least, to me. Since i've more-or-less mastered combat and i only use .22 ammo weapons against zeds. And for juggs, 3x plague busters and they are toast.

[Traceral]

I'm almost done with this play through, and not having the vehicle upgrade hasn't been a problem for me. I've always been decent at driving so I can usually avoid a lot of damage. Plus I make certain I have repair kits available and outpost spread out to access them. Though I've never taken enough damage to the vehicle to need them for any emergency repairs.

Having the masterwork weapons has been useful, but being able to make any ammo was even more useful. But its funny, this play through I found every ammo press without a few minutes, which sucked because now they are worthless lol. The last one took me forever to find the rifle ammo press.

The only draw back to the masterwork assault rifle is the cost. Sure I could just make a few but I must equip all of my survivors with one for no other reason than I can.

[Aesyle]

Originally posted by Traceral:

The only draw back to the masterwork assault rifle is the cost.

Spare parts are hard to come by until you recruit Diana and build Fabricator Shop. Since with it, you can make spare parts (65) with cost of 1 labor in 2-3 mins.

Heartland has some neat base facility options that i'd wish we could also get in normal game. E.g Craft Circutry from Vehicles Deopt would help a lot, since that's the rarest resource in my normal game. And it is mostly needed for vehicle upgrades.

[Traceral]

Yeah those unique facilities make a huge difference but thats probably because the DLC world is limited compared to the main game. Once I got Diana I was crafting parts every few minutes.