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With the arrival of Build 42 in Project Zomboid, the way we dive into Knox Country has changed considerably, which means we need to adapt our character builds for the new challenges. While some builds remain powerful enough to brave these zombie-infested lands, there are a few new ones that are equally useful, if not better. Furthermore, there are some new traits that affect the whole “meta” surrounding the game, so we’ll go over some of the character builds you can use right now.
[Updated on December 24, 2024: Updated the information to line up with the release of the unstable Build 42, as well as replaced a new build with one of the update’s newest occupations]
Carpenter
| Positive Traits | Negative Traits |
|---|---|
| Fast Reader (2 Points) | Slow Healer (3 Points) |
| Gymnast (5 Points) | Prone to Illness (4 Points) |
| Handy (8 Points) | Weak Stomach (3 Points) |
| N/A | Hearty Appetite (4 Points) |
Carpenter is one of the most useful occupations in Project Zomboid, and one that many will recommend for most character builds. It provides a good headstart to the Carpentry skill, which can be a bit difficult to level up without mods. However, we’ll add a few things to make it even better.
Handy is an ideal choice, as it increases the health of a construction built by the player. Gymnast is a very odd choice, but I like having it as it helps with the Nimble and Lightfooted skills. Since you’ll likely be carrying a lot of logs and planks from one place to the other, being a bit sneaky can help. Lastly, Fast Reader is there to help you tackle skill books faster, thus making the leveling-up process easier. In the case of the negative traits, Slow Healer and Prone to Illness are always great picks, especially if you’re careful when playing. Weak Stomach can also help while you learn how to cook properly or when you have enough canned food to last you for a while.
With the addition of Build 42 for Project Zomboid, this character build changed a little bit, especially with the Slow Healer trait, which only provides three points now. We’ve added Hearty Appetite now, which isn’t that bad of a trait. As long as you manage to loot some food during your runs, you’ll be fine. It might affect in the late-game, but as long as you start farming or hunting, you should be fine.
Burglar
| Positive Traits | Negative Traits |
|---|---|
| Dextrous (2 Points) | High Thirst (1 Point) |
| Wakeful (2 Points) | Slow Healer (3 Points) |
| Graceful (4 Points) | Reluctant Fighter (4 Points) |
| Organized (4 Points) | Prone to Illness (4 Points) |
| N/A | Hearty Appetite (4 Points) |
| N/A | Slow Metabolism (2 Points) |
This one is my favorite character build in Project Zomboid, especially since I always lean toward sneaky characters. The Burglar occupation will let you hotwire cars from the start, which is vital. Also, building windows won’t break often when trying to open them. On top of that, we’ll add a few more traits to create the ultimate sneaky/hoarding character.
Dextrous will allow you to move items to your inventory faster, which is handy when there are Zeds behind you, and you want to loot quickly. Since I like to spend most of my time looting, I always pick Wakeful to have even more hours to search every nook and cranny. Graceful is there to keep your steps quiet, and Organized will increase your carry weight. The negative traits are similar to the ones before, with the exception of Reluctant Fighter and High Thirst. I always pick the former because I try to avoid combat with this build. However, you can swap it with a different one if you feel you’re too weak.
In Build 42, this character build is much more viable now. Stealth has been reworked, and you can properly sneak around those pesky zeds. However, some traits received a few nerfs. For starters, High Thirst only provides one point now. Slow Healer provides three, which means it isn’t as good of an option, but it isn’t terrible, either. To make the build work, we added Hearty Appetite, which you can circumvent by hoarding food, and Slow Metabolism shouldn’t affect you, especially if you perform an exercise routine every night.
Lumberjack
| Positive Traits | Negative Traits |
|---|---|
| Resilient (4 Points) | High Thirst (1 Points) |
| Former Scout (6 Points) | Conspicuous (4 Points) |
| Handy (8 Points) | Hearty Appetite (4 Points) |
| N/A | Weak Stomach (3 Points) |
| N/A | Restless Sleeper (6 Points) |
Out of all the character builds we had to rework for Project Zomboid Build 42, this one is the one that changed the most, at least in terms of negative traits. The positive ones remain the same. They are quite useful for those who want to try a run in the wilderness. You could even swap Resilient for Herbalist if you want to forage as well.
The negative traits, though, are a whole different story. High Thirst is still there because it isn’t hard to live with it. Just make sure you boil some water, and you’ll be good. Since you’ll be spending most of your time outdoors, you shouldn’t have issues with zombies, which is why Conspicuous is here. Heart Appetite isn’t challenging to deal with, and if you’re foraging and hunting, you should have enough food. Weak Stomach is basically a trait that gives free points as long as you are careful with what you eat. Restless Sleeper might be controversial, but you’ll likely recover stamina in between your wood-chopping moments, and since you’ll be far from civilization, you shouldn’t worry about having a lot of rest for long loot runs.
Mechanic
| Positive Traits | Negative Traits |
|---|---|
| Inconspicuous (4 Points) | High Thirst (1 Points) |
| Fast Learner (6 Points) | Slow Healer (3 Points) |
| Keen Hearing (6 Points) | Reluctant Fighter (4 Points) |
| N/A | Prone to Illness (4 Points) |
| N/A | Weak Stomach (3 Points) |
| N/A | Short of Breath (5 Points) |
With Project Zomboid having one of the most in-depth and immersive vehicle systems, you can build your character as a mechanic and start a post-apocalyptic Pimp My Ride (yes, I’m that old). By choosing Mechanic as your occupation, you’ll already have repair knowledge of most cars in the game. I threw Inconspicuous into the mix because Zeds tend to sneak up on players when they are checking a car, so this one is there to keep things stealthy. Fast Learner is to tackle the mechanic books faster, and Keen Hearing is to help with the prowling zeds situation.
With Build 42, we had to add a few more negative traits. High Thirst and Slow Healer got nerfed, which means we have to change the build a bit. You’ll still keep those for free points. Since you’ll be using a car, you won’t have a lot of trouble traveling far to get water. However, we’ve added Weak Stomach for three more points and Short of Breath for five points, with it being helpful as you’ll be rolling around with your car. It might be a challenging build at first, but it is quite helpful as you start creating a powerful ride.
Livestock Farmer
| Positive Traits | Negative Traits |
|---|---|
| Gardener (2 Points) | Out of Shape (6 Points) |
| Whittler (2 Points) | Reluctant Fighter (4 Points) |
| Hunter (8 Points) | Prone to Illness (6 Points) |
With animals arriving in Build 42, we thought we’d make an animal-oriented character build in Project Zomboid, and so far, it has been fun. You’ll be spending your time in the wilderness or on a farm. We prefer the latter as some of these buildings already have coops. You’ll be taking Gardener for a boost in Agriculture and Whittler to let you craft things from bone and wood. Hunter is there to provide increases on Aiming, Sneaking, Trapping, and Short Blade.
For negative traits, you can’t go wrong with Reluctant Fighter and Prone to Illness. The former is not too necessary as long as you know how to manage zeds and the latter is basically free points. We grabbed Short of Breath because you’ll likely spend your time at your farm and won’t have to escape from zombies that often. However, if you do, try to lose them through the woods or by cutting through buildings. Other than that, it should be a fun build to try.
