Project Zomboid | 2023 Guide for Complete Beginners | Episode 5 | Escaping Hordes and a New Death

[@TheLadyhawke1976]

I know this series is a year old, but I saw you sometimes notice old comments anyway - I wanted to thank you and leave a like and an abo for a very sympathically, honest and not to serious Player and his deaths... That cools down my frustration about dying so often now again. Played the game 2022 last and thought I would do better. It's frightening how fast you forget how to play a game... One tip for anyone new watching this: You can save your traits and your charakter - in the bottom left of each screen is a save option, so all you have to do is choose it the next time you are in this screens. Helped me a lot.

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, yes! I still die a lot ;D It happens haha. Thank you for sharing that tip about character creation!

[@capscorp_idk7920]

It's not a beginner guide if you're not dying in it 😂 love this series ❤

[@DrIncompetent]

For sure haha ;D I still die haha

[@cyzeal]

Nicely paced guide for beginners! I only started playing two weeks ago so I remember the struggle well :D I'd like to add two things: - you can right click on your wounds in the health window to quickly bandage (disinfect etc) wounds if you have the necessary materials (equipped containers included). Very handy if health is dropping rapidly. - only digital watches can get dismantled

[@DrIncompetent]

Oh fantastic! Thank you so much for these clarifications! That first aid tip is super helpful :) Bleeding out is a harrowing experience haha.

[@comediewithme]

this guide is the funniest shit i ever seen like a real zombie movie hahahaha

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, the game really is hilarious... and scary!

[@jackpmeadows]

I really appreciate your un-abridged versions of videos. It always helps me so much to see the entire thing. So very informative. Thanks.

[@DrIncompetent]

Wonderful! I try to cover as much as I can with lots of details as there is so much to this game at first!

[@Gidon147]

i must thank you again for helping me get into a game I've always wanted to be into. As said I have been playing it a lot in the past, but my last week with this game made 8 total hours (over 5 years) into 60, and that puts "a lot" into quite some perspective, haha. The reason: You casually mentioned at the beginning of this playlist, that the world is persistent and your next character can play on the same world as the previous one. Apparently this feature has been around for ages, but in the past I always quit and started a new run the moment I got scratched or bitten, so it took me literally 5 years to even come across the "start new character" button. Now that i know that getting infected does not mean the end of the world, but the start of the preparations for the next one! I can be much more confident, fighting zombies more boldly, going on the riskiest of looting runs, to give the next character an edge on surviving their own story. I also got FAR better in combat since I have started playing out my character's deaths, getting a lot of zombie slaying practice in while I have nothing to lose. When you're infected and going to die, you have the chance to do things that are otherwise practically impossible or unthinkable. That just never occured to me because I simply did not know that I didnt have to start an entirely new world after death, so I never bothered and got frustrated with the game instead. Now I enjoy every minute of it. Thank you for these Guides, as always.

[@DrIncompetent]

This is such great advice Gidon! I love practicing combat and doing experimental stuff if you've been infected to level up your combat skill--good idea! I still mess up (as you can see here haha) with my combat movement sometimes or even just timing the attacks so getting that extra practice will help for sure. I also agree 100% with you that the "roguelite" element of building up a base and a stash makes the game SOO much better considering how easy it is to die. It feels great to get a sense of progress and build up rather than starting fresh each time ;)

[@Drie_Kleuren]

I still delete my safefile after death but when I get bitten I try to do stuff that I whouldnt normally do (like run into hordea and try to dogde them.) For me I dont get frustrated I just dont like it when you create a new character the world is advanced. Like its pretty hard starting over when there is no power I have noticed. Also I like to play with the idea of 1 mistake can end everything. Currently my highest days survived is 11 and I am still going. Also I am fairly new I have now 70 hours in the game and the starting over makes you better in just overal management. And yeah it sucked one time I had a cool base and I died and its rip 3 hours irl time but it just adds to the story of you die die 😂 but this is just me and its nice you if you want there is a option to retrieve your old stuff

[@LapsedPacifist79]

Very useful and fun guide mate, really like the format. I’m just starting out. One thing, I’m sure you know but just mentioning in case anyone new like me reads this, when you died around 15 mins instead of fumbling with the inventory, players can just right click the wound in the status screen and apply bandages there. It might not have made a difference with how quick you were leaking though :) I usually tear up a few zombie socks so I have a few emergency bandages, bizarrely they’re usually clean. Nice to have a stack when you can take a second and boil them sterile.

[@DrIncompetent]

Yes! This is a great point and something that has saved me from death many times. Thank you for bringing this up! The inventory is really clunky haha the status screen is your friend here.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Re Traits: Instead of Conspicuous, you could take High Thirst for 2 extra points, and its probably a lot less dangerous

[@DrIncompetent]

Great point! Conspicuous is deadly haha. Good way to showcase combat, but brutal for survival. ;)

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

@@DrIncompetent Ive tried out Underweight as well, since apparently one only needs to gain about 5kg to remove it, but so far its felt like its more trouble than its worth, given the reduced melee damage and knock back

[@nemesissombria]

​@@alyssinwilliams4570 about that, better to take unfit which you'll have if you get underweight. Better to just get that and train just he fitness instead of the weight and fitness

[@matthewbaier766]

@@alyssinwilliams4570honestly underweight has always been super easy to manage. Just sit inside for a day or two stuffing your face with canned food to remove it

[@fvnievelt]

I’m a new player myself, but I realized you can attach weapons/tools to your back and belt for faster access with 1/2/3 keys

[@DrIncompetent]

Great point! You sure can. It changes your encumbrance a bit to do this as well, depending on where you store it.

[@yungfeen4884]

I've been speed running the whole series for a while now thank you so much 🙌

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, awesome! I'm so glad you enjoy it ^_^

[@EleshNorn115]

"Hello everyone" very relaxing and calm voice. 30s later : "oh my godness" 100 zombies chasing. That's peak zomboid.

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, so true! That's the Zomboid life! One minute, fine, next moment--violin screech and Zombies everywhere! haha

[@Ryan-by3px]

I’ve really appreciated your videos, I’ve been trying to take your lessons into my own games but still feel like I end up running from giant mobs of zombies every time lol. By the way, you can right click on your injuries in the health window to apply bandages and stuff instead of searching through your inventory. I don’t know if you knew that or just panicked, but it’s a good tip for new players that weren’t aware.

[@DrIncompetent]

Yes! That right click on injury window is key for bandages--thanks for sharing! I panicked haha. Try making a game not on apocalypse and it can be easier, but giant mobs have wrecked me so many times haha

[@robertjackson2692]

Love the series so far... i just started playing. I love your explanations and saying what your doing/buttons your pushing/etc... as Im listening to this at work, and am not able to watch what your doing.

[@DrIncompetent]

Oh great! So glad you are finding the series to be helpful! :D

[@crimestick6648]

Thank you for the episodic beginners guide. I bought this game about a week ago and as you well know, it is freeking brutal. Your videos offer a completely different perspective (than what I was pursuing) to surviving in this game. Edit to say that your audio is just fine. ;)

[@DrIncompetent]

Thank you for your kind words! I am so glad you are finding this series helpful! There is just so much going on in this game that it can be really overwhelming at first haha. I hope you are enjoying the game!

[@Drie_Kleuren]

13:04 I am sure you will go over this when the helicopter event happens in a future episode but I like to have a car for when the helicopter comes and I just drive out of town and go to farmlands and just lure everyone out of town and when the helicopter is done take a different route back to base.

[@DrIncompetent]

That's a nice way of dealing with it! We just stay inside so they can't spot us here and it goes on by haha. Brings out them Z's tho ;D

[@andreiamador4894]

I love this series, I'm a new player, and I really appreciate the full gameplay including what to do when you die, I like your approach of asking "What happened?" A constructive self-question to avoid repeating that mistake in the future.

[@DrIncompetent]

I'm so glad you are finding this series to be helpful! Haha, yeah death happens in this game and it's very important to learn from it unless you want to be a splat every time haha

[@sactokid9250]

Hey, Dr. Incompetent! Loving this tutorial series. I just discovered this game this past week and was looking for a walk-through or tutorial. Audio has been just fine, and your tutorials are great for me because I'm a slow learner. FYI... I have yet to play the game. (Part of me is "chicken", too! LOL!!) I shall delve into the game after your next episode, I think. Thanks again for the awesome series! 👍 👍 👍

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, awesome! I am so glad you are enjoying it! You will dive in soon and have fun with this one! It's hard but still fun haha ;D

[@tylerdurden7965]

haha love how you're clearly a beginner yourself, making a "tutorial for beginners" lol. that being said, ive made it to episode 5 now and find this series very entertaining for some reason!

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, thanks for watching :D I tried to put in as much info as I could for brand new players that I learned from dying many, many times haha along with all the awesome advice from viewers of the streams and my LP.

[@PlayfulDead22]

I can already see how many times I'm going to die LOL I haven't played any survival or horror games in a very long time as I tend to panic play and my stupid anxiety gets all worked up and I get frustrated. Your series so far has definitely helped me feel better in terms of me feeling like this game will be a good one for trying out the genre again. The zombies are slow and fairly easy to lose overall at least, and this episode (and end of last one) specifically I already feel like a weight lifted almost. I'm not stuck starting from total scratch technically every time I die really. I can get my stuff back and continue with my safehouse base, etc. with the next character. One of the mods I saw mentioned in another vid that I'm definitely getting is one that shows weapon status, like how much use is left. It adds a coloured background to the icon for it up on the left side that changes as it degrades, from green to yellow, I think then to orange, and then red. Oh! I Googled quickly between episodes and apparently in Settings > Display there should be an option to change to a 12hr clock!

[@DrIncompetent]

Oh great on the 12 hour clock setting! I'm going to do that myself haha. Yes! You can get away from the zombies fairly easily and even if you die, just respawn and go get your stuff back haha if you can ;) I panic and have a hard time with the combat as well (as you can see in the series) but even though I am not good at the game and die a lot, I still have so much fun! haha

[@PlayfulDead22]

@@DrIncompetent I'll definitely be changing the clocks too lol Exactly! That's why other games like this always ended up frustrating me, you were always back at 0 every time you died but, this really lets you kinda continue still in a way which helps. I'm glad I won't be the only one who panics during combat sometimes heh

[@wrongzzYT]

Very useful guide, thank you

[@DrIncompetent]

Awesome! I am so glad it is helpful :) This is such a fun game!

[@099Mustang]

This series is really good.

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, thanks so much for watching!

[@naudiatf2791]

honestly you don't really need to press i over and over to open your inventory, or expand it up and down, you can literally just keep it open, hover over them to open them, and click anywhere on the screen underneath them to close them. Just keep them open at all times and click the screen to close it. Hover over it to re-open it. You should teach this instead of pressing i because you literally never really need to do that and all you lose is a few pixels of space on the top of the screen? also on a side note- I noticed when you picked up the watch you left it in your inventory, if you right click it you can WEAR it and it goes from being in your inventory to on your wrist (even cosmetically) and it lowers your encumbrance. ALSO in your settings you should also turn on your cursor to be visible when you are fighting because the circle when you hold right click is where their FEET should be, and the cursor will be where their head should be. I noticed sometimes you aim the circle near their torso making your character slightly too far left and missing swings. The circle goes where their feet are, and the pole is essentially the length of their body. You use the pole to size them up, and gauge the 3rd dimension to get accurate swings.

[@DrIncompetent]

Good points! Thank you for sharing these!

[@NadineCallan]

The right click thing has gotten me way too many times to. I still really enjoy the game.

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, what's funny is I was playing a different game right before this where you just click left to attack and I was so confused until I remembered: this is PZ! gotta right click, too ;) I still love it as well, but it can lead to a quick zombification if you slip up haha

[@NadineCallan]

Incompetent yup sounds about right. I forget to uncrouch when fighting and get in trouble with that to. Do you know a butter knife is a pretty good weapon? I discovered that when my baseball bat broke and ran into an already raided house. I was 2 shotting wit it. Only annoying thing was having to raid the zomboid to get it back.

[@KAfrique]

This is a difficult game with a steep learning curve for sure. I've lost count of the amount of times I've died. Thanks for your tutorials. They are helpful, but I am clearly useless....

[@DrIncompetent]

It's not you! It's a hard game! I still die all the time haha ;D You will get better eventually and have a character survive a bit and feel amazing. Getting good at combat and getting some better armor really helps, which you can improve through practice and secure with some looting.

[@bigmanspook]

aw man i just started a playthrough and the water turned off after the second day lol. i thought my sinks were all bugged or something cause i couldn't do anything to them. decided to up the time it takes for water/power to turn off from 0-30 days to 0-2 months

[@DrIncompetent]

Uff that is an early water shutoff! Yes--keep that water flowing when you are learning for sure.

[@targetdreamer257]

As for a diversion could you take an alarm clock and set it for 5 minutes in future then sneak the other way?

[@DrIncompetent]

You certainly can do this! You can also set traps and alarm traps to trigger remotely.

[@TheGazzzman]

Don't know if you mentioned this and I missed it but what happens if you die before making it back to your old body and claiming your gear back? Does that gear get lost?

[@DrIncompetent]

Nope! AFAIK the loot never despawns in this (or takes a long time), so it's still there waiting!

[@matthewbaier766]

One minute into this video was my first experience leaving a house in project Zomboid 😂

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, brutal!

[@jdub_bkv6598]

Day 1 my water is shut off...as a beginner should i restart?

[@DrIncompetent]

I would consider it, but it's going to happen someday anyway. All the sinks etc will still have water in them until you drink it, they just won't refill now.

[@Goregaltha]

Guns in the kids room..... Hey it is Kentucky after all LOL

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, it's not right! ;D

[@lancemanyon4235]

I screamed. Oh no, he’s gonna get bit lol. The main reason why I quit playing this game was because of the movement and fighting mechanics. I think they’re just awful. I hope they’ll fix it in the future because it really really sucks. I also think it’s a pain to keep choosing the same skills over and over. Your new character should have the same skills that it started with. Then, if you wanted to change something you could

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, the combat is certainly super hard to get used to (at least for me!)

[@rhialto39]

I 100% agree. I keep starting this game and really want to play it but the combat and movement is so completely messed up I end up just giving up every time.

[@lancemanyon4235]

@@rhialto39 I’ve been playing a lot lately I found a way to play that makes it way more enjoyable. I go to sandbox settings. Choose saliva only. I also get more points and choose just a few good traits no negative traits and then I got a journal mod you can record your crafting progress. When you die, you just read the book and you gain it back makes it way more fun, but it’s still hard and you still die all the time. The controls still suck, but you do get used to them. I still die because of them.

[@TheSchwegmann]

This makes me feel much better about dying every 5 minutes over some stupid stuff

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, I know! I die a lot at the start of this--apocalypse setting is more challenging for sure.

[@djuni24]

mmmKay

[@DrIncompetent]

Haha, thanks for watching! I hope you are enjoying the game!

[@djuni24]

@@DrIncompetent Wont lie, verry informative and nice to watch!

[@brecht9322]

Nice guide but WOW does this guy talk slowly

[@DrIncompetent]

Thanks for watching! I hope you found this useful and are enjoying Project Zomboid!

[@GrahamRands]

The audio is terrible. Would love to watch but can't hear anything except a muffled low voice.....

[@DrIncompetent]

I'm sorry to hear you are having that issue! Generally, I receive very good feedback on my audio. I just went back and listened to it to check and the vocals sound great to me!

[@canadiangemstones7636]

??? Audio is perfect...

[@wombat8812]

The audio is fine. Maybe try listening through actual headphones and not your $20 Walmart speakers?

[@lacko623]

Same here, no issues with the audio at all