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Best Survivors in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days

2025-04-12

The fight to fend off hordes of zombies in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is no easy feat, and comes down to picking the best survivors for the job. The game features a variety of different options for you to choose from, and it can be hard to know who to go with for the journey ahead. If you're feeling stuck, here's a guide to the best survivors in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days.

How Survivors Work in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days

When first starting a new game in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days, you'll be shown a detailed menu of playable 'Survivors' to choose from. As a unique twist, however, those survivors are paired off, their backstories bringing them together for different reasons.

In other words, you'll play as the pair rather than as a single character. To take things a step further, each pair of survivors has its own inherent strengths and weaknesses that you need to think about. Those traits can work cohesively together in some ways but not others.

Best Survivors to Use in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days

Since each pair of survivors in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days functions differently depending on their skills and inhibitions, those differences can mean life or death, literally. Based on in-game observations, there are certain survivor pairs who feel the most effective to use in all manner of situations.

For example, if one survivor in the pair dies, the other is resilient enough to survive on their own (at least until they're able to recruit others).

Tracy and Wayne

Tracy and Wayne are a pair that can be surprisingly resilient, if used correctly. At the outset, traits like Wayne's 'Restless' and Tracy's 'Non-Drinker' may seem detrimental, but their other traits balance out almost perfectly.

Wayne is the one you usually want to send scavenging often, as staying at the shelter makes him prone to morale loss due to his 'Restless' trait. However, if you migrate to a shelter where you can build a cooking station, then he can craft Crude Moonshine to help keep his morale boosted. This can help you stay stocked up on Beer as well.

Meanwhile, you may use Tracy mostly for maintaining the shelter and building things, but she can be a good stand-in for Wayne when he needs to sleep. On top of her 'Determined' trait, which keeps her needs low, 'Will to Live' can be a vital protection during scavenging trips.

Darrel and Leo

Out of every pair on the roster, Darrel and Leo are probably the most formidable and the easiest for newcomers to pick up.

Leo is the clear priority for scavenging trips, due to his high defense and melee damage output. He's also far less prone to morale loss and needs to sleep less often. The one main trade-off is his need to eat fairly often, but given the amount of food supplies you can craft and find, it's a rather small price.

Meanwhile, Darrel is best suited for taking care of the shelter, building stations, and crafting items. His 'Whittler' trait makes melee weapons easier to craft by requiring fewer resources, which is especially compatible with Leo's 'Slugger' trait. However, cooking is the one thing he should stay away from when possible, and only send him for scavenging missions if absolutely necessary.

Hector and Kayla

Hector and Kayla are another effective pair to use, but their strongest traits require a bit more intuition to make good use of.

Kayla is the one you usually want to send on scavenging trips, due to her 'Evasive' trait, which gives her a chance to not take damage during combat. While you usually want to avoid damage at all costs, this still gives her a better chance of survival, especially at locations where numerous zombies are present.

As for Hector, he's best-suited for crafting items and maintaining the shelter due to his 'Gearhead' and 'Fortifier' traits. He makes it significantly easier to maintain barricades, and he can gain extra resources from dismantling. If need be, however, he can handle scavenging trips as well.

That concludes our guide to the best survivors in Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days. Be sure to check out all of the latest gaming guides and news here at Pro Game Guides, such as the 10 Best Games from Triple-I Initiative.

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