If you’ve survived the first few weeks in Project Zomboid, it’s time to think about long-term solutions for your current game. The basic survival rules still apply, of course, but you should prepare for the coming weeks and months if you want to keep this character. Due to various events and the passage of time, you’ll face new challenges to stay alive. Your caution should never be thrown to the wind. One bite, and your character is likely infected.
Effective Base Building in Project Zomboid
Sooner or later, you’ll likely stumble upon a location 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 simply a new single-family home – almost any place can serve as a base.
The important thing is that you can store all your important items and furniture there to ensure long-term survival. Use barricades and other defensive mechanisms to keep zombies at bay. If you’re living on an upper floor, use a ladder made of bed sheets and barricade the stairs so the undead can’t follow you.
Vehicle Strategies for Project Zomboid
A well-maintained car will be your best friend in the coming game hours! It allows you to travel long distances, gather more loot, and even transport larger pieces of furniture in the back seat. For some of the later points on this list, this will become extremely important to stock up your base and prepare for emergencies. Always keep your vehicle in good condition and repair damages immediately. For longer trips, transporters are great, but sometimes small and fast vehicles will do. Always remember 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 electricity will go out within the first month. And that’s when the game really begins! Because a large portion of fresh food will spoil and become unusable. And you’ll also run out of water once you’ve used up all the faucets nearby.
Generators, which you can find in hardware stores or in the garages of regular houses, serve as a new power source. They require gasoline to run long-term. Additionally, they need to be maintained to ensure they don’t explode. Always place a generator outside so you don’t die 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. Alternatively, you can find large water dispensers that hold up to 250 liters. The best solution for long-term gameplay is rain collectors, which you can make from plastic bags, nails, and planks. If you place them directly over a sink, you can even connect them directly! Otherwise, you should always boil the water before use.
Dangers and Opportunities: Expand Map Exploration
Surviving in Project Zomboid also involves continuing to explore the map and discovering new locations. Maybe you’re still missing a few items that you really want. On the other hand, it can be just fun to check out various stores and areas. Especially the city of Louisville in the northeast of the map is a major challenge even for many experienced players and is definitely meant for endgame. Exploration comes with a certain risk, so stay alert even if you’re already doing well against hordes of zombies. You’ll die if you underestimate the game!
Independence through Your Own Resources
Since many regular foods spoil and canned food isn’t a nutritious long-term solution, you need to become independent. The best way is through fishing, farming, gathering, and trapping. Living off the land will be your best decision in the long run to eat balanced meals and give your character a good chance of survival.
Fishing is self-explanatory and best done in the mornings and evenings, as that’s when you find 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 first on cabbage, one of the best foods. Use fertilizers to increase your yield.
Eventually, you’ll have enough food and should get some large freezers from gas stations for your base. This way, you’ll be supplied for months, especially in winter. A diverse collection of cooking utensils, including pans, bowls, and pots, allows you to experiment with different recipes.
Develop Your Survival Skills Further
Your skills will naturally improve as you play. However, you can also focus on specifically maxing them out. Your best friends are, of course, the books that give you an XP boost. Find the corresponding volumes that match your current level. Having a book collection is also a good idea to track your progress in the game.
We’ve already written a complete article on how to level up every skill (Project Zomboid: Efficiently Level All Skills) . This will make your character a true jack-of-all-trades!
Experience New Challenges with Mods
Even though long-term survival in Project Zomboid is a significant challenge, it can become somewhat boring at some point. It’s no wonder that many players compare the game to “The Sims” not only because of its visuals – the gameplay can 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 expand your knowledge. The new Build 42 is also worth a look if you want to check out the new update (Project Zomboid Build 42: An Overview of the Most Exciting Updates) . Otherwise, there are also 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 that easy, as the game wants to kill you at every corner. But with enough planning, a cool head, and a good understanding of the game mechanics, it should be no problem. Rent your own server for Project Zomboid from us and try to play on a game save 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!
