101 Project Zomboid Tips For New & Experienced Players! Top PZ Tips For Beginners!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Check out NAKWON: Last Paradise! Releasing November 29th: ggcont.me/40I2J5m

[@jackmehoff6052]

The helicopter event does not spawn zombies, its just bring the ones all ready spawn in nearby cells unto your position, this IS where the "Zombies follow sound distance" settings comes into play

[@Serlixe]

This is true, I was surprised when he said it spawned zombies. 👍🏼

[@middleclass-014]

true, usually when i already cleared my area, almost nothing coming to my base in heli event. that is why i add hoard night mod to spice up the game.

[@nerfherder4284]

Also if you stay indoors and are never seen by the helicopter it doesn't hover over your location, it just flies around stirring up all the zombies in the neighborhood, but if you are outside and it sees you it will follow you and hover over your location.

[@Anschlagen]

​@@nerfherder4284Can use this to your own advantage by having it draw all the Zombies from the middle of town and kite them somewhere away. One decent sized forest and boom. Easy pickings for a couple of days until they migrate back...

[@Azuciea]

if you have not changed it in settings zombies will respawn

[@SweenyMarc]

Holding Z near or inside a vehicle brings up the seat map. Holding Z and pressing 1/2/3/4/5/6 auto moves the character to that seat. Really useful if you need to jump in a car quickly to avoid a zed because you can get in whatever door is nearest and then hit Z+1 and move into the driver seat for a quick get away. Also useful in a more casual way for just getting inside a car, because you don't have to be perfectly aligned with the door to get in, like you do with E

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Good one for new players! Thank you!

[@KobraKaK]

Clutch tip

[@fakskis]

You don't have to hold down Z, you can just press Z and the 'change seat' window will appear. Unless I've changed something in my settings and just can't remember, but I don't think so, but sorry just in case that I'm wrong lol

[@Sashko_Dee]

I need to run to the driver's seat each time because the other seats are loaded down with looted mannequins.

[@aldvier]

I've actually forgot about this 😂

[@nerfherder4284]

Best advice for beginners: Take some time, without the distractions of survival or building anything just to get used to fighting zombies. Push some around. If you stand on a zombie when it's on the ground they can't get up. Same thing if another zombie is standing on them. Know that it is where you stand on a zombie, not where your weapon hits it that determines where they are hit. Stand on their head. See how long it takes to kill one when you are tired and how slow you move when when exhaustion hits....now you are ready to worry about surviving. So many wasted hours can be put into a character when you die stupidly, avoid frustration and learn to fight zombies first. Now go enjoy the best game ever made in my opinion. ✌🏻

[@mendoyy600]

I agree playing this game for more than 10 years and fighting zombies is the first thing u need to learn after u master it many roads will open for u amd the game will be not as hard as it seems i cnat wait for b 42 to come back for this masterpice oncemore start new game and play the best game in the world in my eyes atleast

[@mrkampfcookie2118]

You deal damage based on where you stand? Add that to the list of nonsensical features/bugs of this game. xd

[@darkslayer54278]

isnt that realistic though? I mean your gonna kill them faster if you smash in their head instead of their legs@@mrkampfcookie2118

[@mrkampfcookie2118]

Yes, but if you stand on their legs and hit their head with your baseball bat, does it make sense that you deal damage to the legs? @@darkslayer54278

[@gbmotors4150]

@@mrkampfcookie2118I mean, do you really expect to kill a zombie by repeatedly stomping its ankle?

[@jasonbrack2042]

#27 You're going to need a PIPE WRENCH in your inventory to be able to connect said rain barrel with a water source.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Thank you for clarifying this.

[@Gottaculat]

I'm glad i saw this. I'm new to the game, and have no idea how to even craft a rain barrel. I would have never known to have a pipe wrench, and would have wondered why I was lied to. Edit: Not sure if the tutorial covers this or not, because the tutorial is broken, and seems to have been broken for over two years, as the same bug with the outhouse waypoint not triggering is still a thing. Cannot progress past the outhouse. Do you use it to poop or something? I'm not sure what's supposed to happen when you make it into the yellow circle.

[@veddersmith8869]

@@Gottaculatyou need to run to the yellow then press q for the antidote

[@clawedassasin2909]

@@Gottaculatjust had this happen to me. Ended up reading it better and realized you have to use the toggle sprint button not just using shift

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

​@@Gottaculat you need a Hammer, nails, planks, garbage bags and bring a saw just in case, and lvl4 carpentry for the small Rain barrelz and lvl6 or 7 for the big one If you want to connect it to a sink in your safehouse, it has to be above the sink, and then you need to connect the sink with the pipe wrench

[@Meadras]

Something to point out about plumbing a sink: The rain collector doesn't have to be directly above the sink. It can be offset by one tile in any direction. I'm sure somebody has already pointed this out

[@nerfherder4284]

Also a good tip to go with this (and this is going to sound complicated) is that from two directions, the ones you can't see because of the isometric view, you can build a wood floor out of an open window and climb out. Meaning it is easier to build (or move) a water collector out of any second story window with a lower floor sink without the need for level 6 carpentry and stairs.

[@chubwheel]

Does this mean if i place a water collector barrel right outside the kitchen window (where usually the sink is) touching the house, will the sink have running water? Also isn't rain water contaminated and has to be boiled?

[@Meadras]

​@chubwheel Oh, the collector will still have to be one floor above your sink. So if your base has a walled-in second story, you can place a floor tile one space outside the wall and drop the water collector on that. Plumbing the sink will clean the water that comes out so you don't have to boil it.

[@chubwheel]

@@Meadras I dont have a second floor, and my kitchen doesn't have a window above the sink. Just my luck. But if i go outside, and build a stair, and build a wooden floor, would it let me build a wooden floor on the roof tile and put a collector above the sink, would that work? Or if the game doesn't let me build on a roof tile, could i just build 1 adjacent tile next and above the sink? basically outside, above the ground, but in line with the house wall? I tried to post 2 imgur links to visualise this but i still dont see my comment:D So it must've been deleted due to the links

[@Meadras]

@@chubwheel Yeah exactly, either of those would work. You could build directly above the sink or one tile outside the edge of your wall. Just as long as the collector isn't covered by a higher roof or something

[@Veroveren]

Here's a tip ; kill all the zombies you can in a pile then stand on top of them. Open your inventory > click on your Screwdriver > then select disassemble Digital Watches (X) instead of collecting them 1 by 1.

[@solidXsnake4life]

Holding F let's you select which kind of light you want to bring up, flashlight or lighter if you have any on you. Pressing it once takes out your flashlight unless it's out of battery and also turns it off. Especially handy to turn a lighter off after using a molotov. X while having a firearm equipped racks it, clearing any jams. Holding R with a firearm equipped opens a menu that let's you load/unload ammo or clear jams.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

This is a nice one! Thank you!

[@rorixdragonblade8480]

took me a while to find out about holding r. total gamechanger esp with multiple mags n such

[@ANIManiak89]

So, another qol hint: If you like to write something and drawing on your map, but hate to drag with you 4 pens, then just use crayons, it have same weight, but it's one piece and can do all 4 colors

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Wow! Thank you I've not found crayons yet, so had no clue! One pencil and one crayon should allow for map edits and the ability to remove some! You're awesome!

[@sektorace]

So best option is craions. Thank you very much

[@friedmandesigns]

You have discovered the Easter Egg that Indie Stone have some good folks and contractors on-board, who know that crayons can do it all. 😆 ❤‍🔥

[@albizumarcano2156]

That’s crazy never new crazy they mark it as junk

[@aperson9950]

one piece

[@shortbread-bits]

New player here. Purchased the game over a year ago after watching one of your videos for new players, but never actually played it until a few days ago. I am totally going crazy but having a blast learning the mechanics of the game and am so glad you still put out PZ content. Thank you.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for the support :)

[@Noah-bi4ll]

I'm new as well, I found learning the combat on their away characters had greatly improved my first real serious run! I'm winning bare handed fights against several Z's and now when I read a book, I don't feel like I'm wasting precious hours just to die!

[@anon_234]

To add to the TV shows bit, watching them on the TV live does not count toward watching them on the VHS tape. You can double or more your XP gain by watching the shows live, then finding the skill tapes.

[@JHubert4300]

Wow I did not know about this thanks haha

[@nerfherder4284]

Good reminder 👍🏻 also if you miss a show, say it's 12:10 and you haven't turned the TV on, you can wait until just before the next hour and turn on the TV and the show will be playing. Doesn't work 100% of the time, but enough.

[@GoblinKnightLeo]

I... didn't know that!

[@SergenGamesTV]

You can use Trash bins to completely remove items u dont need. I never knew this. Every trash bin has a button named "Delete" and if u click it, all the items in it will be deleted and u have again free space to fill up your junk. Idk how much space the large trash containers have, but if they have enough space for corpses, thats also a easy way to get rid of zombie corpses around your base, instead of digging.

[@revolver265]

This only works in single player, or MP when the server owner has turned on the setting for trash cans to be capable of deleting. The wheelie bin (green bin you roll to the curb) and trash can are the smallest easily moveable ones that will support a 20 encumberance corpse if you don't have the Organized trait. You'll need a strangely high carpentry stat to move dumpsters.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

​@@revolver265thank you both! @SergenGamesTV

[@FiftyStates5]

Pretty sure the largest ones come from Spiffos. They are larger than dumpsters for some reason

[@RandomLombax37]

Be especially considerate of the ammunition advice in this video. I thought I had more than enough shells and it didn't really thin the group much in fact I think it turned bigger. Always have a strategy for escaping hoards too. Never ever walk directly to your base if you lose your vehicle. If it's safe enough use large fences to break direct pathing to you.

[@RandomLombax37]

Trees can work about as well too but always try to break line of sight away from your intended stop point.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

You NEVER have enough ammo in PZ 😂 Tis a fact of life

[@RandomLombax37]

@@MrAtomicDuck thankfully I was very smart about trying to take the Rosewood PD the wire fence saved me. Finally getting traction in this game feels glorious.

[@ROKASniper89]

​@@RandomLombax37Can relate. Was struggling in Muldraugh. Doing a lot better in Rosewood. Things are just closer together.

[@RandomLombax37]

@@ROKASniper89 I have it on low population and was having trouble with it. But I got past the helicopter event and I'm past the television being on so the next step is utilities going out. Which I do believe I'm already well prepared for electricity. The houses to the East are the best bases to make because the trees are a natural defense and filter against zombies. Hope your run is successful too.

[@Cyberian_Khatru]

Keys for doors generated as zombie loot have been patched, they require the zombie to have spawned in the building instead of dying in it.

[@nerfherder4284]

You are correct, but they are often outside and the same mechanism works, but just not as reliably as before.

[@thesourabomination1582]

glad someone pointed this out i actually was looking for this one

[@ANIManiak89]

Hmmm, but why then it's still working so good? Don't have specific numbers, but feels like almost half of killed zombies inside of building have a keys for it.

[@thesourabomination1582]

it was said to be patched maby they lied or i had a bad source@@ANIManiak89

[@kiraxxxxxxxxx]

I lured zeds inside storage and got key for the other doors so it still works.

[@EricLS]

The first aid tip is so funny to me, because I have cut myself and gotten infected IRL so many times it’s just second nature to instantly disinfect, bandage with a sterilized bandage and eat well with rest.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

IRL I never get infections from skin damage and I don't ever think about disinfectant until I'm sick and dying from an infection that I probably could have avoided!

[@brothazoot]

Whenever you tow a vehicle make sure that the vehicle that you are towing has its engine facing to the rear. That way any road zeds hit the trunk of the towed vehicle and not the hood/engine.

[@peger]

good one

[@QuarkTASCHENjoe]

in addition to that: make sure that the tire pressure is at maximum for better towing. You can pump it up with tire pumps wich are often found in vehicle trunks. another thing i figured out is that sport cars are better as a towing vehicle because its faster than a heavy duty or standart type car.

[@yonblek4542]

When driving through wooded areas. Have an axe in your inventory. Right click a tree hit cut down. It will highlight the base of trees making it way easier to drive through forests without whacking every little tree.

[@dsenvy]

11:08 after you're done with the lighter make sure to turn it off by right clicking the lighter in the primary/ secondary hand else it will drain the whole item in inventory

[@Anschlagen]

For me pressing F again also turns it off. Could be a mod though.

[@dsenvy]

@@Anschlagen no, thats also a way to turn it off. you can turn it off by clicking F two times or equip and right click it (to make sure it turn off)

[@friedmandesigns]

Holding down "F" and choosing the turn off option from there is one less click, and that UI / interface applies to all light sources. Great reminder to turn it off!

[@MrMariaTTVArchive]

Advice: There is plenty of loot. Everything is not worth risking anything. Retreat Regroup, Replan

[@nerfherder4284]

Good advice 👍🏻 additional, watch your noodles and learn when it's time to call it quits and retreat....moodles that is 😂 (autocorrect) that's what the mood indicators are lovingly called

[@thelimon4338]

@@nerfherder4284I want some noodles

[@friedmandesigns]

"Be brave...the Earth is all that lasts." (Sioux proverb). Risk everything. Retreat is brittle. The only pain-trudge worth dying for is that of glory. 😆

[@GetAssista]

it depends on sandbox settings heh

[@gracefulonion]

What are some things you dint think are worth picking up/ bot worth leaving behind

[@skoltr]

Also you can carry almost anything in primary/secondary, in that way you can carry many more logs, or even a oven or fridge in your offhand

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Will it break your character from over exertion?!

[@JoeyyXp91]

I can't wrap my head around how much fun this game is lol.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Same!

[@dethmaul]

I love the progress bar for each tip! Very thoughtful of you.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

😎

[@friedmandesigns]

I found it visually distracting eyeball clutter that doesn't add to message retention for otherwise excellent brain-food.

[@RazzaldG]

you can go to the food warehouses early and grab a few hundred weight units of food sacks.. Then come back and deposit them in fridges/freezers around town to extend their time as fresh... If you do this at a petrol station ice box, not only do you have a sizeable freezer, but also can use the generator to power the pumps whilst using the same generator to keep the food fresh.

[@ghriszlybare2547]

Burglar is by far the best occupation for beginners. Finding a car in the first few days is huge and the bonus skill levels are amazing! Staying hidden will keep you alive much longer than fighting

[@EricLS]

I just have car spawns on “normal”. That’s something that has bugged me about this game. If there’s THOUSANDS of zombies in each town, who drove all the cars away? This is the United States, you see any passenger trains or busses in knox county? Even in ‘93 there would have been at least a 1:2 car to person ratio, and lots of the zombies are literally still in uniform, at home, etc. so it came fast. It just is weird to not have hundreds of cars everywhere.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

​@@EricLSI totally agree, not only is it weird the cars are missing, but all the cars being damaged so badly, and fully empty on gas just boggles my mind! Gas was cheap back then, and so was maintenance for your vehicles. How is it even the parked cars are all missing all the gas and every single one damaged that badly?!

[@Noah-bi4ll]

​@@EricLSthanks for the tip changing the settings to car spawns to normal, does that also affect the cars damage and gas contents?

[@governmentghost01]

​@@Noah-bi4llReminds me of a meme I saw once that said just before the outbreak, everyone in Knox threw their sledgehammers, dumped their gas, and drove their cars into the Ohio River 😂

[@FiftyStates5]

Lumberjack. I will not hear any arguments

[@yayie2235]

1. While driving, press the spacebar to break instead of pressing S. 2. Bind your pause, play, fast forward buttons, so that you can pause the game while looking at a map.

[@nerfherder4284]

DEFINITELY rebind q to something far away 😂

[@jt0n]

don't use the space bar above 120 mph. it's actually the e-brake and will cause the rear to slide out at high speeds, even in a straight line

[@cronus721]

You can do sick drifts with the handbrake with a bit of practice

[@grimnar6725]

Those buttons are bound by default to Fkeys 2-6

[@Noah-bi4ll]

I wasn't sure if anyone else knew you were able to pause on the map! I'm still learning and totally found out on accident when I pressed the key and saw "Game Paused" and now use it everywhere! About to loot a bunch of things close by? Pause-Sort-Unpause!

[@designconker4796]

Here's a tip that even seasoned players may not know. I figured it out recently and has been exceptionally useful. But I have never seen anyone talk about. If you have an axe you can right click on a tree and select cut down tree. This will give a green box around every tree, but instead of cutting the trees down you can just walk (or drive) through a forest knowing where every tree is and avoid getting scratches, slowed, or crashing a vehicle. I have used this to run through a forest without touching a tree and create driving paths through forests that you can't see normally. So, if you are like me and enjoy building a base deep in the forest and don't want people to just find the entrance then this may be one of the most useful tips out there.

[@Anschlagen]

Walk To is better for navigating through trees on foot, but driving this would be amazing.

[@designconker4796]

@@Anschlagen I disagree, if you are being chased the quick traversing means more distance between you and zombies quicker. If it’s just moving through than sure walk to. But that may just be a play style difference.

[@Anschlagen]

@@designconker4796 Never had an issue with walk through with zombies on my tail, just make sure to hold shift if a tree zombie tries to jump me.

[@designconker4796]

@@Anschlagen again probably just different play styles lol I’ve never had an issue, it’s just more of a hinderance in the flow of gameplay imo, since I am no longer in direct control of the character. It just doesn’t feel right. You know?

[@thelimon4338]

@@AnschlagenI play on with some sprinters last of us zomboids so this is super useful to me as every 10 there’s a runner

[@ding_chavez7613]

Shoutout to the coders that linked keys to doornob, you fuckers are the future of gaming lol. You're literally the only designers that are still doing it the right way ❤

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Such a small thing that makes all the difference.

[@Drie_Kleuren]

7:17 I never like to enter louisville via the checkpoint. I usually go a different way. I enter next to the burned out town/village there is also a very small checkpoint. only downside you need a sledge hammer since there is no entrance. I like this way more since it has way less zombies and you avoid some hot zones with lots of zombies. also this way you can stay on the left of louisville more easely and go from there. I eventually do clear the checkpoint but I like to go in first via the other route...

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Yep, totally respect that! Finding an alternate route is always a solid plan if you've got the gear required.

[@Opachki69420]

The freight yard has a breach in the fence as well that leads to the military tent area just beyond the checkpoint, me and my buddy opted to just dismantle the wall on the tracks to get through using a propane torch, there is a set of fences that control the flow of zombies pretty well, so you can use it to retreat pretty easily if you can get a car to shuttle you along it without interference. It makes for a good initial base that isnt overwhelmed but it is a bit of a hike without a car

[@BonBonB]

Tip 91: worth waiting for. I always take this trait, but am now commuting regularly from Muldraugh to March Ridge to clear the infestation there. This tip will half my journey time!

[@JeyVGaming]

I haven't played Project Zomboid for almost a year now that I forgot the basics of this game. Watching this video, really jogged my memory. Thank you!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Glad I could help!

[@ScreamingSturmovik]

make sure you want to jump a high fence when you are carrying a bag in secondary, if you jump it you will drop the bag on the side you started, put it in inventory before you jump if you can i've lost good stuff and nice bags forgetting this also i would like to ask if people play on apocalypse or survival mode more as i've only played apocalypse and the hordes seem to be getting more prevalent then they used to be on restarts

[@Lattikin]

I remember seeing your channel some years back with the videos of the Dead Matter content and only a few thousand subs at most, now i'm recently getting into PZ and the algorithm has brought me to you again and its nice to see the channel growth and that you've found your niche with PZ content among other things.

[@suicidalbanananana]

#30-B : When moving heavy objects like some furniture or said watercooler, you should ideally hold them in your hands so they are a lot more manageable / are a lot less likely to hurt you by being too heavy.

[@getrealchick1867]

Put the mouse cursor past the target you want to attack, aiming right at it gives you a greater chance of aiming slightly off. Also the top of the line is the pointer, not the circle at the bottom of the line.

[@marcdc6809]

I understood that for trapping the trap you set with the right bait will be checked every hour but if you're within a range of 70 tiles it will 100% not yield anything... So that would mean that you could put a bird-trap in your garden next to your generator and there would be a chance of a catch if you've been out and about elsewhere...

[@lebell79]

This game is one of the best designed games ive played, you can tell theres been a lot of love and attention involved.

[@RandomLombax37]

Never underestimate having a crafted spear or two especially when your maintenance skill is up to level 2 or higher.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Man, spears have always been my go to weapon. They are so much fun.

[@RandomLombax37]

@@MrAtomicDuck it beats out my pickaxe with level 4 axe skill with no investment if I have a few... attitude problems with my character. Lol

[@WilliamTheMovieFan]

I like spears with screwdrivers attached. Duct tape and screwdrivers are easy to find, and spears are free. Screwdrivers by themselves are terrible weapons but attached to a spear and it’s almost as good as a spear with hunting knife attached. Once your maintenace and spear levels are up, give the screwdriver spear combo a try!

[@RandomLombax37]

@@WilliamTheMovieFan sounds like a fun little combo. Definitely will try that one out when I can.

[@grimnar6725]

Spears and stone axes are really the best weapons in the game. They are infinite and will start slaying hordes pretty much immediately at low levels. Once you get into 4-5+ maintenance they also start lasting alot longer. S tier weapons imo

[@secretnya]

11:30 is 100% how some people will die, thinking they can outsmart a horde only to get knocked down by the lunge attack.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Guilty of that! Only once though!

[@remudanzan3226]

As a 1 week PZ player... Seeing the Campfire strategy (Tip#49) to Lure and Kill Hordes is so Amazingly useful for me rather than finding Bourbons to make molotovs Pretty Sure the best way for me to overcome the Helicopter event Hordes

[@stevebooth9542]

The helicopter doesn't spawn zombies. And lights do not attract them, it's flicking a light open or closed that makes a sound that attracts them. Sickness is not caused by infected wounds but by being cold and wet.

[@Reidorian]

I've never had to break down the gate at the LV Checkpoint, idk if some mod is doing that (unlikely). But I could usually just open it like any other opened door.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Random luck basically. Sometimes it's locked, sometimes it isn't and sometimes zombies have destroyed it.

[@nerfherder4284]

It seems to be easier to destroy than a door tho, only takes me one or two swings

[@fasterdays]

The big flashlight (the yellow one) offers a bigger lighting radius than the car's headlights. To use it simply turn the flashlight on before entering the vehicle.

[@Cifer77]

I'm so glad you recommended playing vanilla, playing without mods is always best for new players in damn near any game.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

For sure! There's so much playtime to be had with the game before you introduce mods and I think it's important to get that vanilla experience first to appreciate the differences.

[@spankyjeffro5320]

Even if you had 5000 hours, playing without mods is the only legitimate way to play.

[@peger]

7:40 you can also put them above washing machine. So you don't have spend time washing your clothes by hand. 23:30 if i remember crouching and aiming also increase a chance when foraging

[@GetAssista]

crouching and aiming increase your forage radius, it is visible

[@davidwells5611]

I thought I would get out of this without learning anything new but you got me on that very last one. Well played, Sir.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

😎

[@Noah-bi4ll]

I am new to the game and mostly add QoL mods that won't change and alter Vanilla too much, except i added car armour, as i would never be able to do that stuff until i get gud anyway! I even went and removed all the cars and stuff bc i noticed it was making it harder to see how everything works! These tips are great!

[@philiprodver2521]

There is 3 "main" and one "gold" novice tips "how not to be killed in pz": 1.Never run out of endurance. You're tired = You're dead 2.Allways 360° control. There is much more there. 3.Never fight some zds in buildings. Building is a trap. And a "gold rule": if you didn't know, what to do - escape.

[@nerfherder4284]

Good ones 👍🏻. As someone with hundreds of hours in this game tho, I do now enjoy the thrill of fighting indoors, just not too many at once 😂

[@firewyatt5730]

About rule 3, any advice to make them follow you through the door rather than banging on the window next door ? Got stupidly bitten several times trying to spare a window for a future base.

[@philiprodver2521]

​@@firewyatt5730windows? On my base?! No way.. The real advice is to try to take window from 2nd floor.

[@bigfishoutofwater3135]

Keep a master map for each location and use writing instruments to keep consolidating new annotated map information over to it. Keep an eye out for a set of winter clothes if you expect to make it that far.

[@Drie_Kleuren]

a tip for leveling mechanics that I learned recently. Just find a random crashed car or a broken down low condition car and remove the gastank, muffeler and tyres and breaks/suspention. even if your not lvl 2 or 3 you can still try to take them off. failing also gives xp, so you can just try again and again again. but it will lower the condition. thats why a random broken/crashed car helps. You can get mechanics lvl 2 with just 2 or 3 broken cars... Its better to tow the cars somewhere where they are not in the way because if you ruin some parts and the car has no tyres its a nightmare to clear. I usually do this early game on roads I often take. I tow the cars off the road and just remove some random parts. this clears the road and gives me a little xp. after like level 2-3 this method will not be as effective since you 100% succesfully take off the part and you cant fail so you yield less xp. but this also isnt a problem since you now can repair cars at lvl 2-3 and hotwire so you dont need to rush the xp anymore...

[@SheyD78]

This leads to a new question, how do you tow cars? (brand new here)

[@Drie_Kleuren]

@@SheyD78 park your car rear end near the front or end of the car you want to tow. when in position press V and you get a menu and you can select it from there

[@SheyD78]

@@Drie_Kleuren Cheers, would never have occurred to me towing was a thing. Ever more depth to PZ

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Question: How do you get a working car to tow the vehicle out of the way without the Burglar/Mechanic/other perks that grant these abilities that this would be required to even be needed? I'm taking my first run without all those perks bc I wanna do this a different way and now, I'm stuck without a working vehicle!

[@SheyD78]

@@Noah-bi4ll I'd imagine you have to get lucky and find a working vehicle, and the key that goes with it (probably in the nearest house).

[@greyham5620]

Another that helps forge leveling is after dismantling houses leave the nails and use forage to pick them up for a easy Exp boost.

[@TheDiner50]

Wow. This game... XD

[@TheUplate]

Are you sure about this? I never got any xp from "noticing" things that drop from killed / dismantled things

[@greyham5620]

@@TheUplate 100%

[@Noah-bi4ll]

​@@TheUplatehave you TRIED IT?!

[@TheUplate]

yes, though my game is heavily modded@@Noah-bi4ll

[@pskovca]

after you bury corpses you can delete the grave with a sledge since you cannot build in square with grave.

[@kuderedev9108]

About helicopter event. 1. No, it doesn't spawn any zombies on it's own, just sound from it dragging zombies to position of the helicopter 2. If you predicted helicopter and it arrived when you are under roof, just don't go out, helicopter don't know where are you, until you expose your location by going outside. How to understand are you spotted or not, it quite simple, searching helicopter would fly around you position in big radius, you would hear it's noise going up and down, left and right, until it finishes its search and fly away. If helicopter is above you and it doesn't travel at all, you have been spotted, jump in your car and lure zombies away. Helicopter search can go hours, just be ready for one zed or two, that will invade base if you have bad luck.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Can I ask you: What is the point of the Helicopter? Are they literally there to get you killed?! Like, the canon lore behind what the hell they're doing?! They obviously see it clustering zombies, are they intentionally trying to kill you or do they genuinely think it's just a great idea to hover over any survivors?!

[@kuderedev9108]

@@Noah-bi4ll I actually don't know. Most certainty it's a news helicopter, maybe they want to look at alive survivors inside sealed area of Knox county.

[@Road_Work_Ahead]

Im not sure if it's been changed but last I heard, lights aren't as attractive to zombies as you'd think. Sounds are the main attractor. That little flicking sound when flipping a light switch is usually what brings them in. Opening and closing doors will also attract them

[@Noah-bi4ll]

I leave all my inside doors open, always bc of this! Also, I think you are right about the light switch being the catalyst for zombies attraction to your location as I am in a trailer and don't have any way to block the lights but they never shamble my way unless I'm standing in the window and that I think is the factor driving them when the lights are on

[@sheepy627]

The knife insta-kill doesn't need to be from behind, as long as one or less zombies are targeting you, it will work.

[@charlietheturdil8632]

Idk man I've gotten 1 inch to it's face before and I wasn't able to and got bit😢

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Pretty sure I mentioned this too didn't I? At the end of that tip.

[@Anschlagen]

Yeah, I noticed the front insta kill only even happens against the last zombie in a group. Still awesome for taking out lone Zombies while sneaking.

[@everettfisher8752]

it's also chance-based, dependent on your characters short blade skill and the weapon itself - a hunting knife is FAR more likely to jaw stab from the front than a screwdriver, for example. as mentioned it only works on single zombies, not groups, and your character MUST be standing still to trigger the animation. source: certified burger flipper main

[@nerfherder4284]

​@@charlietheturdil8632they have to be alone or it doesn't work.

[@antayat]

Water - I keep and fill any empty bottles that i come across. I save all of them. Either store them in the mailboxes or on the side of the road for easy pickup later in the game. Jonathan the zombie - I love turtles t-shirt. Totally needs to be added.

[@David-mk9nc]

This is not necessary advice but neat for organization reasons. You can rename toolboxes to names like (Car Repair,Carpentry,etc.) and load those boxes with all the tools you need for those specific repairs to just pick up instead of sorting through your tools.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Is renaming vanilla?

[@homelessboxman7582]

I believe so. For containers anyways like backpacks or toolboxes.

[@itsunworldly]

7:42 Dont forget you need a wrench to plumb the barrel to the sink, all you have to do is make sure you’re holding the wrench then just right click and the option will appear

[@alephnull127]

for tip #100, you can actually find a car key in a much more hidden fifth location... the door of the car itself! The game does not bring it up, and just quietly adds the key to your inventory when you enter the vehicle. There's mods to announce to you that you found the key in the door, but if you aren't playing with mods, you can double check whether or not you have the key by just clicking the ignition on the car dashboard.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Wait, this is a thing?! Good stuff!! Thank you

[@Piedrahumo4447]

That makes so much sense like, of course there would be a poor foresaken soul that would almost outrun the zombies

[@MediHusky]

I had a run where the water shut off on day 2 and the power went out day 3. Made for an interesting run.

[@hansenhenry5438]

Man I just recently got this game and die every time I start doing good, your videos really give me inspiration to keep trying the game and having fun, so I appreciate you a lot :) ❤

[@MrAtomicDuck]

You're welcome! Keep pushing!

[@Noah-bi4ll]

As a new player, I know you are probably way further now, but I spent several lives learning combat after my first few play throughs netted me great exp but instantly dead!

[@hansenhenry5438]

@@Noah-bi4llhaha nice, yeah I haven't played in a little while but I can say the more you play the combat and everything else just becomes easier, you got this! I started to play it less because it got too scary for me when I just wanted to relax xD

[@RooDomingues]

The emergency radio station also warns you when the power is flickering and will go out, so listen to it daily

[@MrAtomicDuck]

This is a good one!

[@SnowbirdTheGoober]

A safer way to cut off zombies from the second floor and above is to instead use the pick up option (has an icon of a end table with a green arrow above it) to pick up the floor covering, then disassembling the actual wooden floors in a straight line until there is a 1 tile wide gap. Neither players nor zombies can jump this, but if you get cut off from the upper floors making a new floor tile is MUCH easier than a new set of stairs.

[@MrCoolJule]

Been playing that game for several years and you still managed to teach me useful stuff. Thanks, mate. Very good video.

[@zaikolebolsh5724]

If you dont find an axe to open a door you can always use a cleaver, for some reason it also breaks doors very quickly

[@nathandesilva4781]

Thats because it's classed as a hand axe. You can chop trees with it too.

[@zaikolebolsh5724]

@@nathandesilva4781 yes, guessed as much, thanks for clarifying

[@EricLS]

Oh. I accidentally did that the other day, didn’t know it was the only non sledgehammer/crowbar/axe tool that could to that

[@MrErizid]

Removing glass from a broken window requires either gloves OR a weapon equipped. It doesn't require gloves specifically.

[@nerfherder4284]

Or even a spoon or pen. Never tried with a single nail 😂

[@konoko6413]

My two cents. (1) Cardboard boxes are efficient to create early storage rooms, very light to carry and easy to find. (2) Don't clear hordes while on foot. It takes a long time and you will get fatigued. Use a car, roll down the window and shoot from there. (3) You don't have to use a handheld weapon to kill infected. Depending on the situation it is better to stomp their heads while they are on the ground. In the early game or when conserving a weapon for larger groups. (4) Microwaving a metal container is a super fast way to burn down the compound and loot you have been building for the last 4 in-game months. (5) You can also consider levelling mechanics by tinkering with parts above your level. Each attempt will give you experience, but you will eventually ruin the part. (6) You can wear one fanny pack in the front and one in the back, in addition to the container you might have on your back. (7) Be certain that on long road trips your vehicle will get damaged, so bring skills/tools/spares. (8) Split large meals into bowls, so you don't have to wait for the character to move the entire mass from and to the container every time they eat.

[@Noah-bi4ll]

How do you put a meal into a bowl? I guess I can check reddit, I just learned from you that it's possible!

[@Cacowninja]

16:49 Actually you should throw and delete zombies in dumpsters if possible.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Totally viable strategy, good point! Faster too!

[@pinguin4898]

a saucepan also works in case if you don't have a cooking pot to sterilize bandages

[@RudyTheNinja]

You can pick up and put down radios to change what channels they have preinstalled

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Awesome! That way you can find the emergency frequency!

[@RudyTheNinja]

Not sure if this still works But yes, definitely helps finding channels in your save

[@CruelDog97]

I just recently got back into PZ after a 2 month hiatus due to Starfield and Alan Wake 2 lol! So this video came out at the perfect time! Also my Steadfast Spiffo Makeship plush came in the mail yesterday so good looking out for letting me know about that campaign over the Summer Mr. Atomic Duck!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

You got it!

[@jordansligar1644]

A big tip is that zombies recalculate their pathing when you vault over anything. If you get distance from a horde, jump over a fence and then a stealth run away to break clean of them.

[@dsenvy]

1.always spend your first 9 day to watch life and living. at the end of day 9 you'll have atleast level 6 carpentry, 6 cooking, and some survival skills which essential for the late game. (Higher level if youre lucky to find books). 2.Bowl is the best item you should carry especially in the late game. at level 7 cooking you can use stale/ rotten food as an ingredient and not only it will change the rotten into a fresh food it will also give you some stress/ boredom reduction. this let you store any food from farm and trapping without electricity/ generator/ freezer which is game changing.

[@Virusphere]

Thats why I like to get a TV, clear a school and set up my temporary base there for the first few days. :D

[@nerfherder4284]

Yeah and then die 😂. I have min/maxed the first 10 days so many times. I watch a lot of Pr1vateLime vids and agree wholeheartedly about the mighty BOWL 😂. So much happiness from salads and at higher levels you get more servings out of your food

[@Noah-bi4ll]

​@@nerfherder4284 the real way to min-max is to spend several life times building muscle memory in combat. No point in learning everything else if you can't fight without telling yourself which buttons to press! Gotta think about it in real world aspects, you wouldn't put a basic street fighter in the Octagon! It doesn't matter how many fights you watch, you gotta learn how to Wax On/Wax Off without thinking!

[@mathesonhop]

Maxing out your panic clears boredom. Agoraphobic and Claustrophobic can be used to your benefit in this way, especially when speeding up time in singleplayer or zooming out in the case of Agoraphobic. The quicker panic fade that builds up over time is not calculated, meaning you can quickly max out your panic in the right environment, regardless of long you have survived in the game.

[@Nukinator]

Regarding Tip 36: i'd argue while strength is definitely friendly for newer players to take, higher fitness is an absolute godesend; 7 fitness means any passive skill building is done at it's maximum speed, you recover energy faster and have more to use, and it's just a good time overall to never worry about needing to grind out the skill the more of it you have. Strength while not a bad stat is EASY to level by simply fighting zombies, being encumbered, and just having access to weight training (although push ups are a good source of strength as well). Spears and short blades are your best friends on a low strength playthrough as they have their own ways to incorporate an instant kill disregarding your need for a high strength stat as a whole. This isn't to disregard your advice but to take into account veteran experience with the game and understanding at least this user's perspective on it. In a given run, you can easily get by if either strength or fitness is low. It gets interesting when you dump *both* and come armed with a plethora of skills and useful traits.

[@NotRyan96]

i started playing this game at halloween because it was on sale, its now one of my favorite games! just wanted to say thanks for the videos, i been learning alot from them! 👍

[@MrAtomicDuck]

My pleasure! Glad you're enjoying it!

[@deathknigt3000]

One tip I didn’t realize until about 200 hours of playtime: you can shoot from your car. Open the context menu when in your car, roll down your windows, equip a handgun and hold down the right click, you’ll be able to do drive by’s.

[@MakamaFEET]

i learned that from mutiplayer when someone did a hit and run from his car

[@SuperKrisco]

I've got 500+ hours on PZ and so I use a lot of guns. I am stoked to find out you can press X to unjam, that's super useful! Thanks!

[@PooryaLotfi-y5i]

I have one tip to add: Try always wearing a hat because it increases the defense from zombie attacks from behind! Hats have saved me from a bite many times!!!

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Backwards facing or just normal?

[@PooryaLotfi-y5i]

@@Noah-bi4ll Normal! I always wear them normal!

[@pearsonbrennan6222]

Thanks!

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Dude, thank you so much!!

[@MartinFinnerup]

Car keys can also sometimes be found in the actual door of the vehicle, although there is no visual indicator for this.

[@smitty1320]

I've literally been thinking about getting this game for the past 2(?) months. This upload was perfect timing 👌

[@Silly2smart]

Fire Officer + Strength + Fitness: Pick some easy negatives and you and on the road to becoming the "Super Mega CHAD" you should be!

[@pierre-andrelecomte9384]

some knives can cut trees if you dont have an axe by hitting them manualy (it takes a while).(maybe other weapons too?) i wanted to craft a stone axe but couldn't find a ******* tree branche, so as a frustrated pz beginner, i tried hitting a tree and saw the tree react/shake to the hits with a (combat) knife. and just continued hitting for 1 or 2 IRL minutes. never saw anyone mention this even though it's quite usefull knowledge everyone keep telling to take traits but you could also just... not take any. which is perhaps preferable for new player so that they dont take bad habits and/or become dependant to trait(s)

[@FazriGading]

ngl nakwon looks better than The Day Before lmaooo

[@Gottaculat]

It would be pretty brutal (and very realistic) of them to make inexperienced shooters have a chance of short-stroking a pump shotgun, doubly so if panicked. Shotguns IRL are actually pretty much the most difficult small arm available to most people, in terms of learning and getting proficient in their manual of arms. Shotguns also don't have the kind of spread they do in PZ - it's actually quite narrow, typically about +1" of spread per every 10 feet. So in a 20 foot room, you're looking at between 1"-2" of spread, and about 15" group at 50 yards. Obviously longer barrels and chokes can shrink this, but again, just rough ballpark estimates. I get why they go the Hollywood/videogame trope route, though, because they want a game mechanic that lets you shoot multiple zombies at once, so whatever, it is what it is. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a flame thrower in the game found in agricultural areas. It's KY, after all; flamethrowers are totally legal here in the US, and while uncommon, they aren't particularly rare, either. My save game has guns and ammo also very common, because again, it's KY. Like dude, I know lots of people with 20+ guns and well over 10K rounds of ammo, and they aren't even preppers; they just enjoy shooting. I know where I live in Southeastern WA, according to the sheriff, 2 out of 3 households here have AT LEAST one firearm. In an actual zombie apocalypse, I'm grabbing 3, maybe 4 of my guns, maybe 1,000 rounds for each, chucking them in my car trunk, and getting the hell out of town, leaving all the rest in my place. Again, not a prepper, just an American who enjoys being American. This game should have WAY more guns and ammo lying around. Suppressors, too. Suppressors are less common because f--- the NFA, but lots of people still have them.

[@Mista808]

21:29 Did you know rabbits actually do not like carrots in real life? I just found that out the other day. Bugs Bunny lied to us all!

[@mendoyy600]

About closed doors u can also carry screwdriver and hammer with that u can disassemble almost all doors or so it was like that i stopped playi g for a while gonna comeback when build 42 will be here I always carry screwdriver and a hammer with me also 2 ropes any kind and few nails u never know what may happen

[@MrBiggz_o7]

I'm ashamed of myself. But you did a hell of a job to put this list together.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

You're a good egg Biggz. Killer editing as always.

[@umar9860]

Here's a "secret" tip from another zomboid player: Car-keys can spawn INSIDE car doors! 1/12 vehicles in the game has a car key in the door. The reason why nobody knows this is simple: To retrieve the key, the player need to try and enter the car while it's locked. But when a key spawns on a vehicle, it's always UN-locked! So next time you find your dream-car and dont find the keys in the ignition/glove-box/ground, just enter the unlocked vehicle, lock it, and try entering from both the driver and co-driver doors (the windows must be intact) and you might just have the wheels you wanted.

[@ANIManiak89]

Huh? Never happens for few hundreds hours...

[@Noah-bi4ll]

​@@ANIManiak89you close and lock your car just to try to get inside it without the key? Really? 😨

[@kolotxoz]

I think you forgot that car batteries can also be removed with only a screwdriver

[@Serlixe]

True 👍🏼

[@Anschlagen]

And can never fail either! Wish automechanic mod had an option to just do these 3-6. Lights, battery, radio. Unfortunately Windows only need a screwdriver too, for some reason...

[@nerfherder4284]

Also taking amateur mechanic gives an overall XP boost of 75% and lvl 1. I use a mod called Amateur electrician that gives the same and how to use generators.

[@Anschlagen]

I mean, there are already two sepperate traits that do that, so seems unessessary. I assume it is cheaper though, so you do you.

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Good addition, thank you!

[@KhalidElMouloudi]

1. Get a bat 2. Dismantle furniture to get nails 3. Craft the spiked baseball bat 4. Repairing it can be done using nails without needing glue

[@kristomonieth]

Another tip with vehicles. ALL the keys work for each vehicle. If you find ONE key for a specific vehicle... put it on your key ring.. and you can now drive ANY model of vehicle for that key. The same truck or car always. Very handy to keep track of your friends who have a full set and if you have multiple keys even better, stash them at the safehouse for your faction members to use as well

[@Bored679]

Default start time is 9am, in custom you can change the start time e to 6am to get cooking exp. I've also noticed if you start at 2am on the first day only you will get a bonus showing of exposure survival for fishing

[@Random_Car_Guy]

Yeah, personally i put it at 5 am so I can both see the fishing show and the cook show

[@Noah-bi4ll]

Interesting, I have vanilla settings and I spawned next to a television that was on Life and Living and the Cooking Show was on.

[@mollyoldfield746]

Your videos have been heaven sent for me :) your videos made me buy the game and your tips videos helped me enjoy it so much more too :)

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Very glad I could help :) Thank you for the kind words.

[@HenrikJansson78]

Two things. First, you don't need a sledge hammer to secure the second floor, instead of breaking the stairs, you could just remove the flooring above the stairs instead. Just simple everyday tools needed for that. And I don't understand why everyone seems to love to hotwire cars. A car isn't needed untill you start doing longer trips, and when I have played, I have pretty much always found some car keys and a matching car before that..

[@cheaple4824]

hotwiring is good for unlocking cars that could have good loot in them like service vehicles, and it can let you train mechanics on a lot more parts than locked cars

[@mylesmitchell8092]

Hotwiring it is good because you don’t have to be super careful with your cars and allows you to take cars to disassemble for mechanics

[@dficwriter]

Hotwiring is one of the first things I learn in a new run. I always look for big trucks with best engine quality (70+), this is a very specific thing to target. Makes it so much easier to loot warehouses and move bases! Even in towns, helps to carry lots of stuff from gigamarts and garages.

[@whoknows8223]

As a new player (yesterday) this was helpful

[@Gottaculat]

How do you put the bandages in a cooking pot to boil them? Also, how do you put the pot on the top of the stove instead of the oven? I just bought the game a couple days ago, tutorial is broken (won't progress past outhouse waypoint objective), and the game isn't particularly clear how to do things. Is there a tutorial series like what Splitsie does for Space Engineers, but for PZ? Would love a link to that.

[@hmoadhajali]

On my first long playthrough I got the Jason event. I didn’t even know events were a thing. I clued in when the zombie was wearing all denim, a hockey mask, had a machete, was just standing at a window, with a pile of corpses wearing different school clothes. It was epic and hilarious.

[@GarrySturley-vq1ir]

@MrAtomicDuck If you ever do another foraging tips video, I've just discovered that the Anxious moodle has a HUGE debuff to your foraging search radius. My radius drops from about 12 to 4 tiles with just the first "anxious" moodle, nasty! Smokers beware... Definitely a tip for beginners and old hands alike!

[@rorixdragonblade8480]

news to me. makes sense

[@MrAtomicDuck]

Nice one, good thing to get out there for sure!

[@bastian_5975]

Slow healer is terrible if you aren't already good enough to avoid the vast majority of damage (ie, new players). The way it slows your healing is by making wounds more severe, and more severe wounds effect you more. A normal scratch to the hand will half your damage. A severe scratch will half your damage AND swing speed, and you're stuck with it for longer. Hope you like not being able to deal with more than 3 zombies at once because that is just how it is with a severe hand wound. If it were just longer recovery time, it'd be fine, but that double whammy makes it suicide to leave your house with a scratched hand. It gets even more fun with people who also recommend taking thin skinned on top of that, which turns every encounter with a tree into a game of "will I be able to leave my base for the next 3 days?" I spent so long wondering why every single one of my characters that didn't immediately die usually went the same way of "things are good, get scratch on limb, realize I can't fight anymore, realize that I don't have the supplies to just wait until I heal, die trying to get supplies", then I didn't take slow healer one time while also not playing with mods, and assumed that it was probably the mods, tested it, and quickly discovered it was one of the traits everyone told me was "free points"

[@Noah-bi4ll]

I would never take slow healing time, in real life I heal incredibly fast, sometimes I wonder if my blood is special, it's insane! Its so weird to even think about role playing from that perspective, having to be super careful with everything not to injure myself? I'm a tank in real life, for being 6'2" 150, my body sustains and heals so effectively!