Project Zomboid is extremely complex not only in terms of gameplay but can also be customized to your needs before your first round. The Custom Sandbox is crucial for both newcomers and experts as it allows your game state to be tailored to your desires and challenges. However, many of the settings are not so transparent, especially for beginners. Hopefully, our guide will help you navigate through and find your perfect settings!
Overview of Preset Settings for Sandbox
If you don’t want to dive into all the settings directly, you can use one of the presets. These are perfect for beginners but also for various challenges. You can select them from a menu in the sandbox settings below. It might be worthwhile to play some of them and get a feel for how PZ handles different aspects over a longer period. Additionally, all modifications are always marked in yellow, making it easier to see changes.
- Apocalypse: The hardest mode!
- Survivor: Slightly easier but still challenging.
- Builder: Perfect for beginners or builders.
- First Week: Good for beginners who want to grow with the game.
- One Week Later: For casuals, with a few more zombies at the start.
- Six Months Later: Significantly more zombies, no electricity or water, lots of nature.
Spawn Points and Cities in Project Zomboid
Your initial spawn point can also determine a lot of different factors. The selection is not very clear and can surprise new players. Keep in mind that we are referring to Build 41, as the latest update adds new locations!
- Muldraugh: Better for experienced players, with lots of loot but also many zombies.
- Riverside: For a calm start, good for anglers and nature lovers.
- Rosewood: The perfect beginner city! Lots of family houses, shops, and a prison.
- West Point: Only for really good players looking for a challenge.
Custom Gameplay with Advanced Sandbox Settings
After selecting your location, you will be thrown into the further setting options. This can be a bit difficult for beginners to understand, so let’s take a closer look at everything! Depending on your play style, you can change a lot of options here and make it easier for yourself – or seek new challenges.
In the end, you can also save your settings and store them in the lower menu. This is handy if you keep starting new game states but don’t want to set everything up again constantly.
Optimal Zombie Settings
Population: These settings primarily affect the advanced zombie options. Normal corresponds to approximately 52,000 zombies on the entire map. You can also influence the distribution.
Zombie Lore: Uncheck the box above and adjust the zombies in their aggressiveness and behavior. For beginners, slow zombies with poor senses are worthwhile. You can also turn off the infection to avoid dying from the first bite. But you can also go overboard and make the zombies real ninjas!
Advanced Zombie Options: Here, you can set the nuances for spawning zombies. For instance, you can change the value for the day with the highest population so that there are steadily more undead. For beginners, it’s worthwhile to set the settings with respawns to 0. The group size can also be crucial. Large clusters of zombies are a massive challenge, but individual zombies can also surprise you!
Loot and Resource Optimization
Loot Rarity: Your haul is, of course, important for survival, but also for your skills and further gameplay. However, it must also be realistic because having everything all the time becomes boring in the long run. “Rare” is, in almost every case, the best setting (and not that rare!). If you are looking for a challenge, you should switch to “extremely rare” or even “insanely rare.” Anything over “Rare” is already too much for a zombie apocalypse.
Vehicles: In this submenu, you can generally leave everything on the default settings unless you want to play as a mechanic. However, you can also turn off vehicles completely if you prefer to travel on foot.
Adjusting World, Time, and Nature
Time: We recommend increasing the day length to two or three hours in these options, as one hour is particularly short at the beginning and can cause you to panic. Give yourself a little more time! You should set the starting point to spring, preferably at 5 a.m. This gives you enough months before the harsh winter and enough time on the first day.
World: Many of these settings are very individual, including the switching off of electricity and water, alarms, or locked houses. Fundamentally, you should leave everything as it is for now. As you get better, you might want to turn off electricity and water from the start for a greater challenge.
Nature: If you enjoy being in nature, you should take a closer look at these options. Erosion, for example, is worthwhile for immersive gameplay where nature reclaims everything. Temperature and rain affect the character and can pose a greater challenge.
Gameplay Fine-Tuning for Your Needs
Sadistic AI Director: This option sounds creepy… and it is! Especially the Helicopter Event attracts hordes of zombies to your current location and can be extremely overwhelming for new players. Meta events are background noises like barking dogs or gunshots, which also influence zombies.
Meta: Leave everything as it is here.
Character: Your character settings are very interesting and can significantly change your gameplay. You can influence the learning of your skills, disable nutritional values for food, or set certain vulnerabilities (diseases, injuries, or poisoning). Two very important settings are “Starter Kit” (backpack with essential items) and “Multi-Hit” (hit multiple zombies with one attack), which make the game significantly easier. If you want to know more about the actual traits, read our article (Optimal Traits for Your Project Zomboid Character) on it!
In-Game Map: Both beginners and experts will benefit from activating both the large map and the minimap. This way, you never lose orientation!
Conclusion: Customization Options in Project Zomboid
The options for your perfect game state in Project Zomboid are truly endless! You can make it significantly easier or immensely harder. It is definitely worth trying different sandbox settings or challenges to get a better feel for the game. Rent your own Project Zomboid server with us and test the best settings together to ensure everyone is satisfied in the end!
