Decaying Winter Evacuation Protocols Guide

Evacuation Protocols is the alternate ending path added with the Last Strandeds update for experienced Decaying Winter squads. It is not officially labeled “the true ending”—developer Archeximus has stated it is a veteran route rather than mandatory canon. Still, the payout is enormous: roughly 10,000 Odens, about 150,000 XP, and 50 bonds if Quartermaster is unlocked. This guide walks through prerequisites, step order, shuttle survival rules, and why pub matchmaking rarely succeeds without voice-coordinated roles.

Who should attempt Evacuation Protocols

Evacuation is hard and assumes your squad already clears standard ten-night runs reliably. You need coordinated roles from Role Builds, stable night holds from Survive the Night, and map literacy from Enemies and Map. Attempting Evacuation before your group masters med economy and storm timing wastes hours on steps you cannot finish under pressure.

Treat Evacuation as a scheduled event—like a Castle raid—not a spontaneous pub queue goal. Assign Frontline, Backline, Support, and a caller who reads this guide aloud during prep day.

Decaying Winter evacuation concept footage

Reward summary

Completing Evacuation Protocols grants approximately:

• ~10,000 Odens for vendor and account purchases.
• ~150,000 XP toward perk unlocks—pair with Grind XP planning so the payout accelerates a target perk instead of random overflow.
• 50 bonds if Quartermaster is unlocked on your account.

These numbers make Evacuation one of the largest single-run payouts in Decaying Winter, which is why veteran groups repeat the route after patches stabilize. Track reward tweaks on Trello after balance updates.

Step one: kill the Sledge Queen

The Evacuation chain begins with killing the Sledge Queen, the optional Castle boss and raider leader. Success yields massive scrap, ammo, and rations, and critically replaces Castle raiders with regular scavengers for the rest of the run—freeing map pressure while you pursue later steps.

Do not fight her inside Castle proper where snipers and raider density overwhelm melee. Lure her away to a controlled lane and use a Hologram Emitter auxiliary if available to split attention. Full fight breakdown lives on Sledge Queen Guide and Auxiliary Equipment.

After the kill, ex-raiders leave the next day, simplifying surface routes for keycard retrieval.

Step two: keycard from the cultist hole

Post-Sledge Queen, retrieve a keycard from the hole with cultists in the Sledge Queen basement beneath Castle. This step is combat-dense—bring meds, aux charges, and Backline focus fire for priority targets. Squads that skip storm checks or morale management here often wipe with the keycard one room away.

Cross-reference Challenges if your account tracks related kill or exploration goals alongside Evacuation prep.

Step three: Agency Facility and Lab access

Use the keycard to access the Agency Facility and Lab through the green wall near the bridge outside Mountain. This POI gate is easy to miss if your squad never looted Mountain routes in earlier nights—scout during day phases with storm timers padded.

Inside, meet evacuation requirements displayed by the mode UI (gear checks, interactables, or squad states depending on patch). Read updated requirement lists on Trello when Last Strandeds hotfixes land.

Step four: storm mask and ally visibility trade-off

Evacuation progression grants a mask that provides storm immunity— invaluable for timed outdoor segments—but hides ally health bars. Supports who rely on visual heal targeting must call health states in chat more aggressively. Morale Guide explains why hidden bars plus teammate deaths stack into near-unwinnable debuffs if communication slips.

Step five: board the shuttle

Once requirements clear, board the evacuation shuttle and commit to the finale. There is no partial evacuation credit if one player wanders off looting—stack at the shuttle on call.

Step six: survive the Raider attack (~five minutes)

The finale is a timed survival segment roughly five minutes of Raider attack on the shuttle—not a wipe-all-enemies objective. Focus pilot and shuttle integrity (as UI indicates), conserve ammo for priority raiders, and ignore trash you can kite. Squads that treat this phase like a night hold clear every scavenger and run dry before the timer completes.

Use explosives saved from earlier nights per Tips and Tricks banking advice. Frontline holds the ramp; Artillerist deletes armor; Sovereign thralls bait focus away from the shuttle hull.

Step seven: credits and post-run planning

Surviving the timer triggers credits and deposits the Odens, XP, and bond rewards listed above. Immediately note which perks the XP chunk unlocks on Perk Tier List so the next queue targets complementary traits from Perk Guide.

Relationship to Holdout mode

Holdout is separate—a /startholdout infinite wave mode protecting the helipad pilot. Evacuation Protocols lives inside standard structured runs. Some groups practice Holdout boss cycles to warm up for Sledge Queen execution, but the modes do not share a single launch command. Read Holdout Guide for that sandbox.

Common failure points

• Skipping Sledge Queen lure discipline — wipe inside Castle before keycard access opens.
• Morale spirals — one basement death snowballs into four stacks; see Morale Guide.
• Storm deaths without mask — players who miss the immunity item die en route to the shuttle.
• Shuttle DPS check misunderstanding — burning ammo on infinite trash instead of surviving the timer.
• Pub coordination — no assigned caller, no med shares, no fall-back words.

Where to go next

Goal	Page
Sledge Queen fight	Sledge Queen
Infinite wave practice	Holdout
Map POIs	Enemies and Map
Account goals	Challenges
XP planning	Grind XP
Squad habits	Tips and Tricks

Evacuation Protocols is Decaying Winter’s coordinated finale—not a solo flex. Bring a squad that already wins nights; bring a plan for each step; bring the patience to survive five minutes when every Raider on EDEN-227 wants your shuttle down.