The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners

In my The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners, I'll tell you what you need to know to survive the zombie apocalypse in this new roguelike title from Con Artist Games and Armor Games Studios.

What is The Last Stand: Aftermath?

The Last Stand: Aftermath is the sequel to the late 2000s Flash series The Last Stand which saw players barricading a building and defending themselves against zombie hordes. It's 15 years later, society has borderline collapsed, and there's no cure in sight.

The last best chance for humanity lies in the Volunteers: infected people with only a few days left to live. You'll head out into the overrun cities and towns, searching for valuable Supplies, Knowledge, and loot -- all the while trying to stay alive.

The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners - Understanding Game Mechanics

We're not going to cover the basics of gameplay (shooting, melee, etc.) in The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners as that is covered in the first few moments of the tutorial. There are, however, several game mechanics that are not quite so clear at the beginning -- here's a list of what they are and how they work including Health, Stamina, Supply, Fuel, and Knowledge.

Volunteers

Volunteers are the infected heroes who are willing to travel out into territory filled with zombies in an effect to secure Supplies, Knowledge, and more. A Volunteer's life is short, but you can help give the people after you a better chance if you play your cards right.

Life, Stamina, Your Infection, and Mutations

As you might expect, you have a life meter to worry about (along with some other things); here's the basic rundown:

1. Life Bar - When this reaches zero, you die. Your maximum health is determined by how much your infection has progressed.
2. Stamina Bar - When this reaches zero, you can't run or perform many actions that require Stamina. Your maximum Stamina also goes down as you perform actions, but you can restore it with items.
3. Antiviral Meter - This shows you how long the Antivirals you have taken will halt the Infection. Once this runs out, the Infection will start progressing again.
4. Infection Progression & Mutations - Without an active Antiviral, the Infection will gradually progress and reduce your maximum Health. Fortunately, each block of Health taken over will grant you a new Mutation (which is typically to your benefit).
   • Read more about how Mutations work in our The Last Stand: Aftermath Mutations Guide.

Experience

As with most RPGs, you'll gain Experience. This is used to unlock new items that you can buy with Supply.

Focus Mode

Focus Mode (Right Trigger / Left Alt) will direct you to any major points of interest in a level such as your vehicle and Crafting stations.

Stealth

Stealth in The Last Stand: Aftermath works pretty much like how you'd expect: you can crouch down to avoid being seen by enemies. You'll need to be quiet, too, or the noise you make might attract enemies towards you.

An important note: it is actually possible to break windows or knock physics objects around. I'm not quite sure if this can attract enemy attention, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Fuel

Fuel is needed to keep your Car going to each new map. At the minimum, you're going to have to find a Fuel Can in order to progress to the next section of the map. Should you fall short of Fuel, you'll arrive on a special level (such as the side of the road) with minimal loot and a lot of enemies; do try to avoid leaving while short on Fuel.

An important note to keep in mind: you cannot carry a Fuel Can and a Supply Bag at the same time. You'll have to make a trip for each of these items you wish to bring back to your Car.

Fuel only lasts for each individual run. You'll lose any excess Fuel if you die. Fortunately, it's abundant and you won't have to worry too much about finding it in future runs.

Supply

Supply is acquired when your run comes to an end. You can also earn Supply by using a Battery on Supply Caches or bringing a Supply Bag back to your car. Keep in mind that you cannot carry a Supply Bag and a Fuel Can at the same time.

Supply persists between runs -- you won't lose it if you die -- and it can be used to purchase various items and upgrades at the Armory. (More on that later!)

Knowledge

Knowledge serves two functions: it allows you to buy Upgrades for your current and future Volunteers and it can also be used to purchase goods from the Merchant.

Upgrades are permanent enhancements that can buff Volunteers in various ways; I strongly recommend maxing out Survival Upgrades > Knowledge Retention for the sake of Efficiency. Once you have Knowledge, you can use it at The End (the base where your start) or at Radios in the field (provided you have a Battery to power it) to immediately purchase upgrades.

As for the Merchant, you will randomly find him on certain levels during a run. (The Merchant will be clearly marked on the map.) You can instead spend Knowledge to buy items for your Volunteer right then and there, and his goods often include powerful weapons and ammo.

Knowledge persists between Volunteers -- if you die, you won't lose it.

Your Inevitable Death

Let's get down to brass tacks: your Volunteer is going to die. Unless you have absolutely phenomenal luck, you are not going to survive your first few runs. (You are definitely not going to survive the tutorial, that's for sure!)

Death is a part of The Last Stand: Aftermath. All you can hope to do is earn as much Knowledge and Supply as you can to continue the overall mission.

The Last Stand: Aftermath Beginner's Guide - Starting Your Adventure

Your adventure begins proper with a short tutorial mission. You're introduced to some basic mechanics. Eventually, you'll have to turn on a generator. This attracts a horde of zombies and you will inevitably die.

The tutorial highlights several key points that you should understand as part of The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide of Beginners. Your character will absolutely die at some point. Just do your best to make as much progress as possible with each run.

You'll soon find yourself back in "The End" -- the hub town from which your Volunteers start your runs. You'll get a guaranteed "Generalist" Loadout for this first run, but it will be a random selection for all subsequent runs. Speak with the people in town as directed and then hit the road.

Surviving Uptown and Beyond

Your next step in The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners is Uptown. This location is the next part of the tutorial that will teach you several key points.

The first thing you'll learn is that your car needs Fuel. This is a key component for moving to new areas on the map; you won't be able to leave an area without at least 1 unit of Fuel.

You'll also learn about cellars. These are self-contained underground areas that often have loot (and zombies) in them. You'll find an uncharacteristically generous Fuel can in here; grab it and fill up your car. (Remember, you can only carry either a Fuel Can or a Supply Bag -- not both!)

Once that stuff is done, take some time to loot. You'll also discover a H.E.R.C. Station, and this is where you'll learn about Batteries. Batteries are used to activate electronic devices, including the all-important Antiviral Dispenser. This device, once powered, will give you a single dose of Antiviral. You can find them in buildings or placed out in the open; always keep an eye out for them as getting more Antivirals is critical to your long-term survival.

Eventually, you'll run out of stuff to loot in Uptown and move on. The map is randomized on every run, so there's really no telling what you'll have in front of you. Pick a location, do your best to survive, and try to amass as much Supply and Knowledge as you can. Once you die, you'll return to The End and get to start a new run.

Returning to 'The End'

The End serves as the hub town. Aside from letting you pick from three Loadouts, it also allows you to finally spend all of that Supply and Knowledge you've saved up.

As stated earlier in The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners, your first few Knowledge Points should be spent on the "Knowledge Retention" upgrade as early as possible. This will increase your overall Knowledge income and reduce the overall amount of Knowledge items you need to find to unlock all of the Upgrades. Supply, however, is a somewhat more involved process.

Supply and the Armory

Supply is one of the critical resources in the game (and arguably the most important). As far as I can tell, you gain a bit of Supply in each run regardless of how well you perform. You'll gain much more, however, through Supply Bags and Supply Caches.

As previously explained, Supply Bags can be found in the field much like Fuel Cans. You'll have to carry it on your back and put it in your car to actually earn the Supply, and you can only carry either a Supply Bag or a Fuel Can at any one time.

Supply Caches, however, are much more interesting. There are two types of Supply Caches. The first are little boxes that simply need to be powered by a Battery. The second is much larger boxes that need to be powered by a Generator. These will naturally attract quite a few zombies, but they can have a ton of great loot inside. You'll have the choice of getting some items you can use right now or sending the lot back to The End.

However you get Supply, you'll be able to spend it by talking to Trinity in town. More options will be available to you as you level up. It's best to focus on the Armory Items first and foremost as these will provide you a consistent, long-term benefit.

List of Armory Upgrades You Can Buy with Supply

Item Type	Icon	Description
Armory Items		Permanently adds an item to the Armory roster. These items will be replenished at the start of every new run.
Caches		Adds a fixed number of items in the Armory. You can take them as desired before leaving on a run. Any items taken from a cache cannot be redeposited into the Armory.
Drops		Enables drops of the item type in the game world.
Instant Items		Instantly adds the listed item into your Volunteer's inventory. These items cannot be redeposited into the Armory.
Gear Insurance		Automatically transfers three random items from your current Volunteer to your next Volunteer.
Knowledge		Converts Supply into Knowledge.
Loadout		Adds a new Loadout to the pool of potential Volunteers.
Recipe		Unlocks a new Crafting Recipe.

Continuing Your Adventure

And so we reach the end of The Last Stand: Aftermath Guide for Beginners. By now, you should have a pretty good understanding of the game and its mechanics.

Going forward, you should focus your early runs on gaining as much Supply and Knowledge as possible, upgrading your Volunteers with a focus on getting equipment and surviving as long as possible. Upgraded Volunteers will be able to survive longer, kill more zombies, and explore the farther reaches of the map.

Beyond that, though, is up to you. Each new zone has tougher and tougher enemies to overcome. Equip yourself well, play carefully, and you'll overcome the greatest challenges the game can throw at you in no time flat.