Best Character Build in Project Zomboid 2023

Project Zomboid is a well-known survival game available on Steam. Players have to spend time on the best character build in Project Zomboid. There is nothing wrong with jumping into the game by selecting random traits and major skills. You will enjoy the game for the time being, but you won’t survive for long, and the rest of the opponents will end up doing better than you. Of course, you can step ahead of everyone else by trying your best character builds. I have compiled three builds for fast pace players and slow-pace players. The third character build finds the middle ground and will suit most of the players in the game.

What is the best occupation in Project Zomboid?

The survival game requires the players to create a customized character and select the traits according to the game sense. The character is heavily customizable, and you can add/remove traits of the individual. You have to start with selecting the occupation, and it comes with a few skills. Every character has basic skills, and it comes from the nature of the occupation. Allow me to introduce you to three occupations that might pique your interest in Project Zomboid.

a. Unemployed

b. Fire Officer

c. Police Officer

d. Park Ranger

e. Construction Worker

f. Security Guard

g. Carpenter

h. Carpenter

i. Chef

j. Repairman

k. Farmer

l. Fisherman

m. Doctor

n. Veteran

o. Nurse

p. Lumberjack

q. Fitness Instructor

r. Burger Flipper

s. Electrician

t. Engineer

u. Mechanic

You should choose the employment or character keeping the survival instincts in mind. The best characters in Project Zomboid are Unemployed, Veteran, Carpenter, and Lumberjack. The “unemployed” character might sound silly but consider it a white paper that you can draw anything on it.

The game developers removed the Blacksmith occupation from the system if you are wondering why it is missing in the dashboard.

I explained the importance of character selection since they bring the most basic survival tools without losing a single point. You should consider the starting skills because they bring the most basic survival skills into the game.

What does “skill” mean in Project Zomboid?

First, you should get familiar with the Project Zomboid TV schedule so you can level up a few ranges of skills. I picked “Nutritionist” as a skill, which will help me calculate the nutritional values of any food in the game. There’s another popular skill in the system, and it’s called “Cat’s Eyes”, and it enhances vision during nighttime. Every skill in the dashboard has a value, and you can earn XP as the game level increases.

You should keep improving your knowledge of the popular skills and experience them first-hand. Players should utilize each skill to escape from the zombies and live another day to defeat more challenges.

What are positive & negative traits in Project Zomboid?

The dashboard has positive and negative traits to apply to the character. Players need points to add traits in the game, and you have to add negative traits to earn the points. If I add the hidden +ve trait for five points, then I have a negative trait to earn back five points. I have mentioned earlier that the unemployed is the most popular character because it gives you eight points to start.

Choosing the right set of traits gives you an advantage in the survival game, and earning the lost points is important at the same time. Players can earn back twelve points with the “Deaf” trait, and you will lose the sense of sound in the game. The second-highest negative trait is Thin-Skinned, where the zombies can give you higher damage.

Positive Trait: You get unique skills, but it will eat away the points.

The Project Zomboid doesn’t work without points in your basket, so there has to be a way to earn it back.

Negative Trait: Add negative traits that have an adverse impact depending on the price, and players can earn up to twelve points at once.

That’s a huge leap towards victory in a survival game, so you should have the best character build to survive longer in the game.

(TRAIT NAME)	(TRAIT TYPE)	(POINTS)	(DESCRIPTION)
Adrenaline Junkie	Positive	-8	The character moves faster when panicked
Athletic	Positive	-10	Stamina improves, and helps in long run
Brave	Positive	-4	The character gains ability to deal problems with less panic
Cat’s Eyes	Positive	-2	The cat eyes improves night sight
Dextrous	Positive	-2	Inventory transfer speed improves
Eagle Eyed	Positive	-6	Improved visibility
Fast Healer	Positive	-6	Injuries or ailments goes away faster
Fast Reader & Fast Learner	Positive	-2	Character takes less time to read and gains XP faster
Fit	Positive	-6	Good physical shape
Graceful	Positive	-4	The character movement noise decreases
Inconspicuous	Positive	-4	The character can is less erratic in Zombies point-of-view
Iron Gut	Positive	-3	Gut immunity improved
Keen Hearing	Positive	-6	Improved perception in radius
Light Eater	Positive	-4	Less appetite
Low Thirst	Positive	-6	Daily water consumption is a must
Lucky	Positive	-4	You’re luck increases
Organised	Positive	-6	Inventory capacity increases
Outdoorsman	Positive	-2	Harsh weather effects decreases
Resilient	Positive	-4	Zombification rate decreases
Speed Demon	Positive	-1	Drive faster
Stout	Positive	-6	Extra knockback from melee weapons and increased carry weight.
Strong	Positive	-10	Extra knockback from melee weapons and increased carry weight.
Thick-Skinned	Positive	-6	Thickened skin is hard to bite and scratch
Wakeful	Positive	-2	Sleep less and get same benefits

Now, you should learn about the negative traits and find out what is better for your game.

(TRAIT NAME)	(TRAIT TYPE)	(POINTS)	(DESCRIPTION)
Agoraphobic	Negative	+4	Characters panics when travelling outdoors
All Thumbs	Negative	+2	Inventory items are moved slowly
Asthmatic	Negative	+5	Running stamina decreases
Claustrophobic	Negative	+4	Characters panics when staying indoors
Clumsy	Negative	+2	Movement noise increases
Conspicuous	Negative	+4	Zombies can spot you better
Cowardly	Negative	+2	The character panics sooner
Deaf	Negative	+12	The character hearing capacity decreases
Disorganized	Negative	+4	Inventory container capacity decreases
Emaciated	–	–	Low endurance, strength and injury prone
Feeble	Negative	+6	Less knockback from melee weapons. Decreased carrying weight.
Hard of Hearing	Negative	+2	Hearing range decreases and so as perception
Hearty Appetite	Negative	+4	Appetite increases and needs to be fed regularly
Hemophobic	Negative	+5	Character panics when applying first aid
High Thirst	Negative	+6	Character needs more water to end thirst
Illiterate	Negative	+8	Character loses the trait to read books
Out of Shape	Negative	+6	Low stamina and decreased stamina regeneration
Obese	Negative	+10	Character mass increases and makes it difficult to run and decreased immunity
Overweight	Negative	+6	Character mass increases and makes it difficult to run and decreased immunity
Pacifist	Negative	+4	Weapons are less effective
Prone to Illness	Negative	+4	Character gets more ailment and prone to injury
Restless Sleeper	Negative	+6	Unable to relax during sleep
Short Sighted	Negative	+2	Shortened view and short sight
Sleepyhead	Negative	+4	Character need more sleep
Smoker	Negative	+4	Tobacco side effects includes urge to have next smoke, stress and decreased happiness
Slow Healer	Negative	+6	Character heals slowly
Slow Learner	Negative	+6	XP earning decerases
Slow Reader	Negative	+2	Character reads slowly
Sunday driver	Negative	+1	Slow driver
Thin-skinned	Negative	+8	Thin skin is easily scratch-able and bite-able
Underweight	Negative	+6	Skinny, less stamina and strength
Unfit	Negative	+10	Physically weak
Unlucky	Negative	+4	Character gets unlucky
Very Underweight	Negative	+10	Low strength, immunity and injury prone
Weak & Weak Stomach	Negative	+10 / +3	Food illness increases

Now, you clearly know what to add to the positive traits and balance the XP points with negative traits. You should spend time identifying your game sense, pace, and play style, then create a strong character build.

3 Best Character Builds in Project Zomboid

I want to build the first character for beginners; then, I will move on to the next level.

#1: Beginners

This character creation differs from the rest, so I will start with clothing and then focus on adding traits.

Clothing:

T-Shirt – Blue Fireman T-shirt

Pants – Firefighter Pants

Socks – Long Socks

Shoes – Military Boots

You have improved the character’s clothing, improving endurance while surviving the harsh conditions.

Occupation:

I would choose “unemployed” in most cases, but a beginner should choose a character with predefined skills.

Choose “Fire Officer” for this creation.

Ax – You get an ax in the major skills.

Fitness – Your character’s physical fitness is good.

Sprinting – A good add-on to have in the arsenal.

Strength – A fire officer works out daily, so you get the benefits.

A fire officer is trained to take on the harsh fire conditions and that will come with some survival skills.

Chosen Positive Traits:

Wakeful – Your character sleeps less and works more.

Graceful – You have decreased the noises while moving from one place to another.

Athletic – The character is more durable and recovers from illness/injuries faster.

Lucky – How lucky can you be?

These are the best positive traits for a beginner, and you will end up using a few of them for the rest of the journey.

Chosen Negative Traits:

Overweight

Pacifist

Smoker

Weak Stomach

Short-Sighted

Sunday Driver

We have to choose a few negative traits to earn the point back and that’s how the game work.
We selected a weak stomach to balance it with athletic traits. You shouldn’t be worried about short-sighted as long as you move the mouse around for a better view. Sunday driver trait won’t make much of a difference and it will ensure that you are driving safely.

#2: Combat Mode

The majority of them don’t hold back, and they want to engage in combat, so this is for you.

Clothing:

You can play around with the clothes and find the ideal one that suits your taste.

Occupation:

Choose Burglar (Thug) this time, and it brings interesting skills to the table.

Lightfooted – Your footsteps are light now, so the character makes fewer noises while moving in the game.

Nimble – You can move faster in the game while making less noise.

Sneaking – You can sneak from one place to another smoothly.

A burglar has unique skills, and I must say what a combination of skills to have in this game.

Chosen Positive Traits:

Burglar

Speed Demon

Cat’s Eye

Dextrous

Wakeful

Brave

Lucky

Fast Learner

Keen Hearing

Organized

Strong

You can read the traits that I have listed here and find out what I have selected for the burglar character creation.

Chosen Negative Traits:

Very Underweight

Thin-Skinned

High Thirst

Slow Healer

Hearty Appetite

Prone to Illness

Smoker

Weak Stomach

Short-Sighted

Slow Reader

We are spending points to make our character overpowered and we cannot overkill the burglar here. Play around with the traits and balance them, so you can do good hunting and escape from zombies at the same time.

#3: Mr.Unemployed

Many beginners are looking for a balanced character that can withstand harsh conditions. We have compiled a good combination of skills, negative traits, and positive traits for the players.

Occupation:

Choose “Unemployed” and you get eight-point to spend on the traits.

However, you won’t get any major skills, and it’s not a bummer.

Chosen Positive Traits:

Speed Demon

Dextrous

Strong

Athletic

Cat’s Eye

Wakeful

Keen Hearing

Brave

Organized

Fast Reader

Fast Learner

Lucky

The unemployed occupation allowed us to add more positive traits, and we can reduce the number of negatives in exchange.

Chosen Negative Traits:

Thin-Skinned

High Thirst

Slow Healer

Very Underweight

Hearty Appetite

Weak Stomach

Prone to Illness

Smoker

Short-Sighted

A balanced character creation to deal with multiple scenarios in the game and survive as long as you can.

Bottom Line

I have selected negative traits while keeping the positive traits in mind and tried different occupations for predefined skills. New players neglect the clothes which is not a good sign because they provide basic protection for the character. Most of the traits doesn’t resemble real-life scenario, and the game has their way of doing things. Let us know what changes you will make in the best character build in Project Zomboid.