How to Beat Pandemic 2

Last Updated: January 3, 2021

Can't infect Madagascar before the ports close? Or maybe your bug was taken down by a speedily-developed vaccine? Don't worry -- you can find a way around those common pitfalls and beat Pandemic 2.

Steps

1
Choose a virus. Parasites and bacteria aren't as environmentally dependent, but they evolve super slowly. Instead, pick a virus and just buy environmental resistance traits as your bug evolves.
- Parasites are for the long con. If you have time to walk away from the computer for 5 or 10 minutes at a time while your bug accumulates points, it's not a bad way to go. For more immediate gratification, though, stick to the viruses or bacteria.
2
Name your bug. What you name your bug shouldn't matter — some people claim naming it a certain way will lead to starting in Madagascar, but these cheats are far from 100% effective. Instead of spending a ton of time on naming cheats, focus on where you start.

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3
Pay attention to where your bug starts. Where the infection begins can make or break the success of your game. Here's what you need to know:
- Try to start in a small or isolated area. Argentina, Peru, Indonesia, Greenland and Madagascar are all ideal locations for starting.
- Brute force your way into Madagascar. A common Pandemic 2 strategy is simply restarting the game until you luck out and start in Madagascar. It can take some time, but it ensures you won't miss out on infecting the island.
4
Unload your "gift" symptoms immediately. As soon as you're happy with where you're starting, open up the Disease tab and unload whatever symptoms you started with. This makes it so your bug can fly under the radar and accumulate evolution points.
- Note that it does cost evolution points to sell your symptoms right away, but it's worth it. Don't worry, you'll buy up better symptoms later!
5
Gather enough points to buy transmission modes. Wait a few minutes to build up some evolution points, then look at the transmission modes.
- Waterborne and airborne are the most important modes to buy.
- You can buy rodent and insect, but they're more noticeable and not as effective. However, if your disease isn't spreading as quickly as you'd like, go ahead and buy them.
6
Buy your resistances. Look at the climate where your bug started, as well as the bonus resistance you got from the beginning. This will help you choose what to buy.
- Don't buy another level of the resistance you had when you started. Focus your points on upgrading the others.
- Buy what's related to the country where your disease started, as well as the places where the ships and planes from your country go. Here's a basic rundown of each region:^{[1]
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  - Cold: Russia, Canada, Greenland and West Europe.
  - Heat: Mexico, Brazil, Africa, Australia, West Europe, Madagascar, India and the Middle East.
  - Moisture: Cuba, Peru, Argentina, Indonesia, Japan and Australia.
7
Watch your disease spread. You should be able to see different regions become infected with the disease now.
- Notice when the ports shut down. If difficult areas like Madagascar, Greenland, Argentina or Indonesia close down all access before your bug infects them, it's over. Start again.
8
Wait for more evolution points to build up. When you've infected every area, sit back and let the evolution points build for a little bit. Once you have around 50, move on to the next step.
- Pay attention to vaccine development. Click the World tab and check on the vaccine progress. If you notice that a vaccine is less than 30 days to completion, and more than half of the hospitals are working on it, buy a drug resistance level. Keep checking up on it every so often and just buy another level every time it's getting too close. When enough hospitals shut down, you won't have to worry about it.
9
Buy up your symptoms in one big blitz. When you're ready to unleash total destruction, buy all of your terrible symptoms at the same time. For maximum annihilation, wait for a big natural disaster to strike, then move in. Here are some symptoms that work well:
- Sneezing and coughing: Spread your disease around faster.
- Fever: Increases lethality
- Hemorrhaging and kidney failure: These ones are expensive, but deadly.
- Don't bother unlocking Tier 4. It costs too many points, and you can do just as much damage with the symptoms in the first three tiers.
10
Sit back and watch every region become forsaken. You've won!

Community Q&A

Question

What do I do if my disease gets the "harmless" trait and won't kill anybody, but has already spread everywhere?

Community Answer

If the disease has already spread everywhere, buy more symptoms. Then large amounts of people will die.
Question

Can I somehow beat the vaccine after it has been deployed by making the disease stronger?

Jared

Community Answer

From what I have gathered, no. Once the vaccine has been deployed, there is no way to beat it.
Question

What do those little red flashing things in the top right corner mean?

Community Answer

If you mean the two trapeziums, this tells you when there is a news update.