A Zombie (also known as Zomboid, Zed) is the player's main antagonist in Project Zomboid. Zombies are the game's biggest threat, the once human citizens of Knox Country roam the landscape in the thousands. They have an insatiable hunger for human flesh and will not hesitate to kill.
The game uses the traditional Romero style slow-moving zombies[1]. The zombies can be heavily modified with the use of Custom Sandbox or fan-made mods, modifying increasing or reducing their speed, durability, primary senses, strength etc.
Zombie Mechanics[]
Spawning[]
In the beginning of the game, Zombies heavily populate the west side of Muldraugh and thin out from there throughout the town as the meta-game plays its role to spread the zombie population around. However, the west side will usually have a considerable amount more zombies than the east side. Around the outskirts of town (farms, lumber mills), only small pockets of zombies will spawn naturally.
The vast wilderness around Muldraugh is more or less considered a "safe zone" from zomboids, as they never spawn in this part of the map and they will rarely move here. However, the player will find much less in terms of supplies and housing, encouraging the player to live a rudimentary, survivalist lifestyle.
Movement and Horde Behavior[]
Horde Movement
The default zomboids in the game are traditional shamblers, but newly-turned zomboids shamble a lot faster, almost at about an alive human's walking speed (about 1.5m/s). Zomboids are attracted to noise, bright light (particularly from a flashlight or fire), and the sight of humans.
Zomboids will prioritize their pathfinding needs. The sight of human flesh will always be first priority- both the flesh of the player or an NPC. Then, they will prioritize any noise they may hear, regardless of whether that noise is man-made or not.
With the introduction of a wandering mechanic in 0.2.0r RC2.9.9.11, zomboids will occasionally move around without hearing anything. Whereas before hordes were idle, now they will wander about, breaking windows and doors that happen to be in the way. When it is raining, zomboids will wander even more.
At times, helicopters flying overhead, or gunshots fired in the distance will attract and move hordes of zomboids. This is zomboids reacting to the metagame so that the zomboids will migrate around the map. The metagame is in charge of creating zomboid movement patterns around the map, to properly distribute them and create balanced gameplay.
Crawlers[]
Occasionally, zomboids may be turned upside, on its stomach or on its back, and may approach a survivor or a source of noise- by crawling. Sometimes, after a zomboid is knocked down, instead of getting up, it can decide to crawl around. Other times, a crawler might just "play dead" by lying down and may emerge when it hears a noise or some prey.
This type of zomboid moves extremely slowly, at about a fifth of the speed the standing zomboid may move at. Therefore, when a crawler is in a horde, it will usually crawl behind and separate from the rest of the horde. However, because it moves slowly, it makes little noise. Although it may moan every now and then, its method of movement makes little noise and its slow speed makes it harder to hear- even if it were to make a lot of noise to reach its target. Furthermore, this type of zomboid can be submerged by tall objects such as crops; survivors should be cautious when exploring unsecured/obscured territories. A crawler does NOT get knocked back when hit by a non-fatal blow, but it's attack speed is very slow. However, a crawler is NOT capable of sieging a structure's window, but they are able to siege a door.
One weakness is that it has trouble turning around. Unlike the regular zomboid, a crawler has to push its entire body 180 degrees to turn around. A survivor can manipulate this by going behind the rotating zomboid and finishing it off quickly provided there is adequate time to do so.
Combat and Loot[]
Combat[]
Zomboids will, upon visual contact, attempt to chase the player down. If they get too close, a bite animation will play out. If a player’s strength is high, they can push the zomboid away. If they player is unable to shake them off, a bite animation will play with a sound cue correlating to the injury sustained. A bite sound plays when bitten. A cloth tearing sound can indicate scratches or lacerations or punches, where no injuries are sustained, but pain will be inflicted. This can be countered by pain meds.
When attacking a survivor, a zomboid will grab that survivor and keep them from moving for a short amount of time. A few zomboids can be easy to manage, even when grabbed. If a horde is present, a zomboid grab could anchor you down to be mauled by a horde. It is recommended to avoid large groups of zomboids if possible, and if detected, break eye contact by looping through buildings or around them, just be careful to check corners.
If Meta Events or player-made sounds are detected, zomboids can bang on doors. Only a few can bang on a door at a time, but the sound of them banging on the door can grab the attention of other zomboids, potentially luring more towards the meta event, or you. In addition to banging on doors, zomboids can bang on windows, breaking them in a short period of time. They can also bang on barricaded windows, but it will take longer for them to break completely through. Fences and naturally generated walls are indestructible, but player-made walls are not. If a small group starts attacking your walls, take them out. If large numbers make their way to you, try luring them away.
Zomboids have very quiet footsteps. Therefore, a survivor always has to be on guard for zomboids. However, zomboids will occasionally moan and groan. Furthermore, they tend to make a lot of noise while moving. They can vault through windows and travel through trees and bushes, potentially causing plenty enough noise to be alerted of their presence.
Infection[]
Humans, the player and the NPCs, who get too close to zomboids may be bitten, scratched, or otherwise injured. Bites guarantee infection, but there is only a 7% chance of infection when scratched. there is a 25% chance of infection when lacerated.
As of Alpha 29, the following formula is used to calculate scratch chance:
scratchChance = 100 - (75 + meleeDefense)
The meleeDefense variable is dependent on the user's guard skill for the weapon type they are currently wielding.
- Level 1 = -2
- Level 2 = 0
- Level 3 = +2
- Level 4 = +5
- Level 5 = +7
If the character has the thin-skinned trait, they have a 15 percent chance of being scratched. There is always a 25 percent chance of being bitten.
When a character is infected the anxiety moodle appears to verify it, and the moodle's intensity will slowly increase. And after that the sick moodle will appear and increase until the character has a full-blown fever, and will succumb to it. However, the sick moodle can also happen because the character ate raw or rotten foods, although sometimes the moodle appears out of the blue. When this happens, there will be no zombification, and the moodle will usually go away by itself with rest and by being well-fed, and won't be of much harm to the character except decreased abilities for a small amount of time. If the Human has the Hypochondriac perk it is possible to have infection symptoms after a scratch without actually being infected.
Corpse and Loot[]
After a Zombie is killed, it's corpse will become a Container with 8 capacity. Usually, the clothes that are worn on the zomboids are the only loot. However, occasionally, useless items such as wallets, Watches or jewelry can spawn on certain corpses. Even more uncommonly, useful items such as Weapons, Materials, Medical supplies and Cigarettes can be spawn on a zombie's corpse. Very rarely, Zombie may spawn with unique items, such as Katana, Machete, Military Backpack, etc.
If you stand over a corpse for too long, you will eventually get sick. Unlike a bite however, you can recover by eating and drinking plenty of food. The more corpses there are in one place, the higher your chances are of getting sick. If you kill a bunch near or in your base, be sure to get rid of them before they become a problem, just be sure to loot them first.
Dead corpse after some time deletes from the game.
Delete items[]
The Items cannot be deleted in the game (not confuse with 'consumed' or 'crafting' items), until you store it inside Bins and delete it. But, you can 'fill' dead zombie corpse with items (such as junk, seeds, broken weapons, clothing, opened cans), and once the corpse deleted from game, the item is deleted too. This way you take care of the environment and calm down an "OCD" of your character's :-)
Gallery[]
External links[]
Project Zomboid 
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| Game | Challenges · Character Customization · Controls · Game Interface · Game Modes · Survival Guide · Tutorial · Other · Version History | |
| Player | Health · Moodles · Nutrition · Profession · Skills · Traits | |
| Characters | Bob Smith · Jane Doe · Kate Smith · NPC's · Survivor | |
| Items | Clothing · Consumables · Literature · Medicine · Weapons | |
| Locations | Muldraugh · Riverside · Rosewood · West Point· Others(Dixie · March Ridge · Louisville) | |
| Tiles | Appliances · Furniture · Lighting · Miscellaneous · Plumbing · Storage | |
| World | Animal · Erosion · Events · Fire · Mass media · Nature · Weather · Vehicles · Zombie |