In Project Zomboid, the world is a tough and unforgiving place, and not every player manages to get lucky enough to be out of things to do. With the mindless slaughter that comes with thousands of zombies constantly pushing to see players dead or in their bellies, it's easy enough to become frustrated and overwhelmed at the sheer scale of the game and want to close it for good.
Luckily, there are many tasks and objectives players can do to keep themselves alive and occupied, and being able to complete them will contribute towards any player's mastery of the game.
10 Place Items & Decorate
There’s nothing worse than a home without a bit of life in it. Adding a sense of personality is essential for players looking to create a base they'll want to return to. For kitchens, players can look to place canned goods, bottles, or even alcohol on counters.
Survivors can even use tables to lay out an arsenal of weaponry or designate an entire room for an armory. Having items arranged in such ways adds immersion to the base-building aspect of the game, and encourages players to decorate their homes in ways that are true to life.
9 Clean Up
Whether there are hordes of bodies amassed outside, empty cans, or splotches of blood across every wall, there's nothing quite like tidying up! Grab a sponge, pick up all those empty cans and bottles littered across the floor, and get to work. Players looking to dispose of large quantities of undead corpses can dispose of them in graves.
Graves can be dug with a shovel, allowing players to drop zombie corpses in to send them back into the earth. With bleach, a mop, and a bath or dish towel, players can rid these spots of blood and gore for good and feel rewarded knowing the house is clean.
8 Collect Random Items
Currently, there are many items in Project Zomboid that serve only a cosmetic purpose. Such items are typically left on the floor, or left to rot in the pockets of corpses, never to be seen again. Most players will typically avoid looting jewelry such as bangles, rings, and necklaces from zombies as it simply isn’t worth the hassle.
For players looking to get a little more out of their characters and their character's journey, be on the lookout for any items that might look good as decorative items. Survivors who play on Multiplayer servers should know that items such as jewelry can even be traded on some servers, as they act as forms of currency, so keep an eye out for them.
7 Make Multiple Bases
Not everybody wants to be tied down to one place. For players wanting a more diverse survival experience, having multiple bases in separate locations can allow the exploration of other areas of the map, keeping the game fresh and exciting. Survivors can decide to temporarily reside in the wilderness, camping freely in tents and isolated cabins, apartment complexes or houses with fortified entrances and defenses, or even temporarily holed up with only a car barricade to protect them.
Players really can just live anywhere. Having the ability to live in a multitude of places has all its merits, and survivors shouldn’t have to worry about having to lug around hundreds of pounds of equipment in a car that could break down at any moment.
6 Clear Out Areas
Players will often find themselves roaming the roads, killing any of the dead that cross their path without a second thought, while others might approach stealthily, or even avoid the encounter altogether. Survivors looking to dispatch large hordes can do so with guns, their sharpest melee weapons, vehicles, or even fire. Zombies caught in the radius of a Molotov cocktail can create a devastating domino effect of fire that can spread uncontrollably through hordes and destroy entire buildings, so use fire with extra caution.
For those who opt to turn off zombie re-spawns in their world settings, they can rest easy knowing any dead they bring down won’t be returning. Living in areas with large populations can be challenging, but players who decide to clear out areas block by block or horde by horde can rest knowing that their efforts are making their world a better place.
5 Download Mods
While Project Zomboid is an ever-growing sensation with thousands of locations to explore and scavenge, sometimes survivors can find themselves at a crossroads. With mods that allow players to dance, ride skateboards, use hundreds of new guns and vehicles, or even transform the earth into a green, overgrown landscape years in the future, there’s no doubt that Project Zomboid has an impressive modding community that shows no signs of slowing.
For players looking to get further mileage out of their worlds and characters, look to add mods to the game for hours and hours of additional fun.
4 Cook & Learn
Living off cans of peas and beans is a viable strategy for survivors simply looking for a quick fix or snack, but this type of lifestyle isn’t best suited for everyone, especially long term. For players looking for meals with more nutrition, there is a whole menu within the crafting section that shows all the ingredients and kitchen utensils needed for easy meal creation.
Through a careful and researched understanding of the game's deep and intricate Nutrition system, survivors will eventually be able to maintain a balanced diet encompassing a variety of different food groups, which is far more beneficial than a character who solely eats chips and chocolate. Players should ensure that any oven used after cooking is switched off, as the results of leaving an oven on could have catastrophic effects on bases left unattended.
3 Farm & Plant Crops
As players begin to survive long periods of time in the game, the ability to scavenge fresh food no longer remains possible. Having the knowledge and ability to grow and maintain crops allows survivors to have a constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, which will enhance and increase the available recipes players are able to create.
To make things easier, it is worth collecting farming tools and equipment such as hand rakes, fertilizer, and seeds in the early stages of the game, which will ensure that crops will grow in time before the electricity runs out. Players should be warned that farming is a long-term investment but has a very rewarding payoff once the crops are ready to be harvested.
2 Grind Skills
Deciding to grind and level specific skills in Project Zomboid is challenging enough in itself, with even veteran players succumbing to infection in the early days and needing to start over with a brand-new character. Having the determination to grind any particular skill demonstrates an incredible mental fortitude, as players will know that at any given moment the tides could turn against them, and hours of skill progress could go down the drain.
Skill grinding does come with great benefits, as having high levels in combat-based skills such as Long Blade can make it possible to kill zombies in one to two hits, and skills such as Maintenance provide weapons with an extremely durable condition.
1 Go Fishing
Having the means to catch fresh fish every day will no doubt be of use to any player looking for long-term survival, and living next to a water source is an even greater benefit. To fish, players can do so with a fishing rod, crafted spears, or fishing traps. Fish can be cooked and used in various recipes, and they can be caught in an array of shapes and sizes.
Players looking for an alternative to scavenging and farming should fish to maintain a steady and long-lasting food source, and they can even compete with friends to see who can catch the biggest one!
Project Zomboid is currently available on PC.