Quick answer
What to do first
Make the next few hours safe before planning a permanent base. Break contact with zombies, carry drinking water and simple food, then secure a small shelter with an escape route. Spend the next days making short supply trips and recovering between them, not clearing an entire town.
Check your game conditions
- Current Stable
- 42.20.4 Stable
- Play mode
- Singleplayer / Multiplayer
- Vanilla / Mods
- Vanilla baseline; mods may replace rules
- Sandbox / server settings
- Zombie population/speed, starter supplies, start date and utility shutoff change this priority plan.
Your next priority
Escape immediate pursuit
Looting cannot help while you are being surrounded
Check: Look for a clear route; break line of sight and avoid leading a group into your shelter
Move on when: You can stop without nearby zombies closing in.
Carry essentials
A long shopping list increases exposure and load
Check: Take safe water, ready-to-eat food, a usable weapon and bandaging supplies
Move on when: You can handle thirst, hunger and minor injury without another risky trip.
Choose a temporary shelter
Early safety matters more than a perfect base
Check: Check rooms, openings and a second exit; cover visible windows where possible
Move on when: You have somewhere to rest and store supplies.
Build a repeatable routine
Overlong raids end with exhausted returns
Check: Plan one objective, an exit route and a turnaround point
Move on when: Return with useful supplies while you can still move and defend yourself.
Treat the first house as temporary
Search only after checking the immediate rooms and exits. A small house with an accessible escape route is usually easier to manage than a large building you have not cleared. This is a planning preference, not a claim that a named spawn is guaranteed safe.
Carry less on your next trip if you struggled to return. Extra furniture and building materials can wait until water, food, rest and basic protection are reliable. Do not turn a supply run into an unplanned fight because you found a rare item.
Turn survival into a routine
Choose one nearby objective at a time: replenish food, collect containers, or look for the tools your next task actually needs. Check your moodles before leaving and again before taking another fight.
Prepare for utility loss before the taps and grid stop: fill suitable containers, keep shelf-stable food and arrange a heat source you can use safely. Farming is a longer-term project, not an answer to being hungry tonight. In co-op, agree where supplies belong so the group does not duplicate dangerous trips.
Version notes & limits
Current B42 modes differ from B41 presets. The priorities below are recommendations; zombie behavior, utility timing and available loot depend on your world.
A survival priority plan, not a fixed day-by-day script, exact safehouse route or guarantee that every starting house is safe.
Last verified means the linked documentation was reviewed, not that this guide was tested in-game. PZwiki is maintained by community contributors.
Version & sources
Sources & what may change
- Applies to
- 42.20.4 Stable; Singleplayer / Multiplayer; Vanilla baseline; mods may replace rules
- Last verified
- 2026-09-04
- When to check again
- A relevant Stable patch, changed world setting, mod update or correction to the cited instructions.