Once you’ve survived the initial weeks in Project Zomboid, it’s time to focus on long-term solutions for your current game. The usual survival rules still apply, of course, but you should prepare for the weeks and months ahead if you want to keep this character. Due to various events and the general passage of time, you’ll face new challenges to stay alive. Your caution should never be thrown out the window. One bite, and your character is highly likely to become infected.
Effective Base Building in Project Zomboid
Sooner or later, you might stumble upon a place on the map that you like and offers plenty of storage space. Then it’s high time to build your own base, which will become your new home. Where and how you find this place is entirely up to you. Whether it’s a secluded cabin in the woods, a warehouse near a larger city, or just a new family home – almost any location can serve as a base.
The important thing is that you can store all your important items and furniture there to survive long-term. Use barricades and other defensive mechanisms to keep zombies at bay. If you live on an upper floor, use a ladder made of bed sheets and barricade the stairs so the undead cannot follow you.
Vehicle Strategies for Project Zomboid
A well-maintained car will be your best friend in the coming hours of gameplay! With it, you can cover long distances, collect more loot, and even transport larger pieces of furniture on the back seat. This will become extremely important for some of the later points in this list to stock up your base and prepare for emergencies. Always keep your vehicle in good condition and repair any damage immediately. For longer tours, transporters are of course useful, but sometimes small and fast vehicles will also do the job. Always keep in mind that noise can also attract hordes of zombies!
Power and Water Supply in Project Zomboid
If you’ve chosen one of the normal game modes, both water and power will fail within the first month. And then the game really begins! Because a large portion of fresh food will spoil and become unusable. Additionally, you will run out of water once you’ve exhausted all the nearby taps.
Generators, which you can find in hardware stores or in the garages of regular houses, serve as new power sources. They require gasoline to run long-term. They also need to be maintained to ensure they do not explode. Only place a generator outside to avoid dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Water is, of course, essential for survival and can be collected in various ways. You can use almost any glass, bucket, or cup to store water. Additionally, you can find large water dispensers that hold up to 250 litres. The best solution for long-term gameplay is rain collectors, which you can craft from plastic bags, nails, and planks. If you place these directly above a sink, you can even connect them! Otherwise, you should always boil the water before use.
Dangers and Opportunities: Expand Map Exploration
Survival in Project Zomboid also involves exploring the map further to find new locations. Perhaps there are still some items you desperately want. On the other hand, it’s just fun to explore different shops and areas. Especially the big city of Louisville in the northeast of the map is a major challenge for many experienced players and is definitely designed for the endgame. However, exploration always comes with a certain risk, so always stay alert, even if you are well-equipped to handle hordes of zombies. You will die, if you underestimate the game!
Independence Through Your Own Resources
As many regular food items spoil and canned food is not a nutritious solution in the long run, you need to become self-sufficient. This is best achieved through fishing, farming, foraging, and trapping. Living off the land will be your best bet in the long run to eat a balanced diet and give your character a good chance of survival.
Fishing is self-explanatory and best done in the morning and evening when there are the most and largest fish. Always have enough bait to improve your catches. Traps should be set the night before, as animals like rabbits are mostly active between 7 PM and 5 AM. In farming, focus on cabbage at first, one of the best food items. Use fertiliser to boost your harvest.
Eventually, you will have enough food and should bring some large freezers from gas stations into your base. This will keep you supplied for months, especially in winter. A variety of cooking utensils, including pans, bowls, and pots, will allow you to experiment with different recipes.
Develop Your Survival Skills Further
Your skills naturally improve as you play. However, you can also specifically focus on maximising them. Your best friends are, of course, the books that give you an XP boost. Find the corresponding volumes that match your current level. A book collection is also a great way to track your progress in the game.
We have already written a complete article on how to level up each skill (Project Zomboid: Level Up All Skills Effectively) . This will turn your character into a true jack-of-all-trades!
Experience New Challenges with Mods
Although long-term survival in Project Zomboid is a significant challenge, it can become a bit monotonous at some point. It’s no surprise that many players compare the game not only visually to “The Sims” – the gameplay can also become similarly monotonous later on.
It’s no shame to start a new game for a new challenge. Feel free to try different playstyles to broaden your knowledge. The new Build 42 is also worth a look if you want to dive into the new update (Project Zomboid Build 42: An Overview of the Most Exciting New Features) . Additionally, there are a number of challenging mods that make long-term survival extremely difficult. The most popular mod is “Cryogenic Winter”!
Conclusion: Your Path to Survival in Project Zomboid
Surviving long-term in Project Zomboid is not easy, as the game aims to kill you at every corner. However, with enough planning, a cool head, and a good understanding of the game mechanics, it shouldn’t be a problem. Rent your own server for Project Zomboid with us and try to play on a game for as long as possible together. It’s a truly great challenge to survive a few months or even years in the game and build a cool base!
