How to Play Project Zomboid - Beginners Edition

New to Zomboid? This is the video for you!

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[WarmRivet]

no idea why those visual bugs came up in the render but, its there now 👹

[Pro-vwqw]

As known from real life experience, check how many rounds you have before shooting. Count them down as you shoot, it’s got me out of many situations.

[peemeister]

The first time i played i spawned in a zombie birthday party and got eaten alive immediately.

[travis]

4:43 "The house you spawn in, will be safe"

_gets eaten alive instantly by zombies in party hats_

[Chuuchunmarun]

This has got to be the most beginner friendly tutorial among the dozen videos I've watched, learned more here and I'm even more excited to start off my future gameplay

[hk-]

Statement: I pretty much never play without Lucky, Cat Eyes, and Wakeful. Those are SO worth it. Wakeful gives you 30% more time before you get tired, Cat Eyes helps you see in the dark a bit better and I do tend to do more at night than I should, and Lucky affects everything you loot. Keen Hearing is also a really good one, giving you more detection range behind you. Very often, that's what gets you, and a grab from behind is usually a guaranteed bite. A bite = death.

When you are new, it's also better to stick to a weapon type and get the appropriate occupation/perk for it. You're much better off sticking with one weapon type rather than alternating between a bunch of weapons (though you will have to do that at first, for a little while) because as you build up skill you do more damage with the weapon type and as your maintenance levels up the time between repairs gets longer.

Short blunts are plentiful, short blades not so much (and most knives are better suited for other things or saving for stealth kills)
Long blunts are pretty good and somewhat common to find, and the crowbar lasts a really long time especially with maintenance skill
Long blade is much more rare, and is not recommended until you start finding machetes or katanas on zombie bodies (usually day 40+ gives you the chance of that, I think).
Axes are good, and you can find handaxes and fireaxes relatively easily in fire stations and emergency vehicles.
Spears are really good, but are incredibly flimsy in the beginning. However, you can make them yourself with easily foraged materials and once you have some skill in it, spears rock.

The most important part of learning this as a new player is NOT to be risky or greedy. Try not to fight more than 1 or 2 zeds at a time unless you have a shotgun. Bear in mind that using ANY gun is very loud, and you can quickly find yourself in a situation where you get mobbed. Shotguns are great for hordes, but will draw in more. Shotguns are the best way to level up Aiming and once you reach at least level 3 then you can use pistols more reliably.

If you only find a pistol for a while, an alternative way to level up Aiming is to push a zombie over, stand on it, and aim at it's head. When you are standing on a downed zombie, it can't get up. This is especially good with the M9 or M36, as they are relatively quiet.

[mr_pukish]

If you pick very underweight, always counter it with the Fit trait (it is avaible, and it will leave your fitness the same as before while still giving you positive points.)

[andersiversen]

Also, the weak stomach traits is essentially free points because once you get a can opener food is too easy to stockpile

[oddvin]

Smoker and organized are also extremely good traits, especially Smoker as there are thousands of smokes readily aviable. And smoking decreases stress anyway, So its literally just free point.

[derekp]

One of the best vids for beginners I will definitely be rewatching this when I start my first play through.

[oprimeirodenorth]

I just bought project zomboid, played a few times, learned by myself, now with this tutorial, it added a bunch of knowledge, I'm always confused about Traits. Thank you!!!!

[TheMateuszek]

finally someone who explained how to start the game and not die in 5min. thanks !!! amazing video.

[neoncamcorder]

thank you for this!! i just got the game and have been a bit overwhelmed trying to learn it lol. your precise wording and visuals are really helpful!

[sethsends]

I swear to God I've played for 10 hours and done literally nothing, you are a big help. Thanks!

[didelphidae]

It's also worth mentioning that walking on broken glass without shoes will in fact injure your character's feet, and can cause bleeding.

[ewanwaugh]

literally out of all the tutorials i have ever watched for any games this one was the most understandable and helped me lol. When i started i wasnt choosing sandbox and was choosing the hard combat thingy so i was wondering why it was so hard. Thanks alot man

[cnrksn]

I really needed this thx. Literally got traped in a bathroom with a horde not 2 minutes in. Looking forward to watch more

[BlackCanvasAudio]

My friend you are a lifesaver! This game has been sitting in my backlog for MONTHS because I was getting wrecked everytime I tried to play it. You're exactly right, the learning curve is STEEP! Thanks! SUBBED!

[dragonborne]

"the house you spawn in will be safe"
Me: *dies 5 minutes ingame because some zomboids were inside my base at the moment of spawn*

[wuxian]

im a complete newbie to the game, just got it yesterday and this video is REALLY helpful!!!! thank you