Project Zomboid is notorious for its difficulty, and even more so for how quickly the tides can turn from calm to catastrophic. After wrapping up a 1000-day survival run, here’s how I typically structure my first day and week of gameplay. This walkthrough offers a practical, proven approach for early game survival and base setup that anyone can follow or adapt to their own playstyle.

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Choosing Your Spawn Location

When selecting a spawn town, consider zombie population vs. available Points of Interest (POIs):

• Riverside: Easiest for new players, very low zombie density, but fewer POIs.
• Rosewood: My favorite pick—higher zombie density, but packed with rewards like a fire station, police station, prison, grocery store, and two gas stations.

For this run, we’re going with Rosewood.

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Occupation Breakdown

Occupations shape your starting skills and access to key features:

• Lumberjack: +1 Strength, Axeman trait, starter axe skills. Great for Rosewood (fire station synergy).
• Veteran: Best trait in the game—Desensitized. Immune to panic. Excellent for combat.
• Burglar: Great for stealth builds. +2 to Sneaking, Nimble, and Lightfooted. Can hotwire cars immediately.

Pick Veteran for this walkthrough due to the long-term combat benefits of panic immunity.

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Trait Setup (Vanilla-Friendly)

Start with negatives to earn points:

• Underweight (easy to fix by eating)
• High Thirst (water is abundant early)
• Slow Reader (irrelevant in solo—you can fast-forward)
• Weak Stomach (just avoid rotten food)
• Prone to Illness (manageable with warm clothing and rest)
• Smoker (optional, but easy to manage)

Then take positives:

• Keen Hearing (expanded awareness radius)
• Cat’s Eyes (better visibility at night)
• Fast Learner (top-tier XP gain boost)
• Dextrous (speeds up looting and item transfer)
• Speed Demon (better vehicle handling, especially useful when fleeing)

Tip: Equip both a t-shirt and a long-sleeve shirt on spawn, then rip one for emergency bandages.

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First Thing to Do: Watch TV

Run to the nearest TV and switch to Life and Living channel.

• Shows air at 6 AM, 12 PM, 6 PM, and midnight
• Grants free XP in Cooking, Carpentry, Fishing, Farming, Foraging, Trapping

While watching, loot the kitchen and nearby containers for:

• Water bottles or mugs
• Perishable food (especially butter and ice cream to gain weight quickly)

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Clothing and Combat Prep

• Loot bedrooms for extra clothes—look for hoodies and leather jackets for protection.
• Rip everything else for bandages and tailoring.

Combat tip: Don’t engage unless necessary. Practice on solo zombies until you build confidence. Overstaying is the #1 killer.

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Heading to the Fire Station Base

Rosewood’s fire station is an elite early-game base:

• Two floors
• Garage with tools and storage
• Decent fencing and room for expansions

Expect a small horde near the parking lot and fence. Loop around and use fence-hopping to separate them.

Inside the fire station:

• Loot garage shelves for weapons: shovels, crowbars, axes, hammers
• Clear the second floor
• Drop your loot
• Set up a TV upstairs

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Organize Your Supplies

While waiting for Life and Living shows, organize your inventory:

• Crafting items
• Medical supplies
• Food (perishable and non-perishable)
• Weapons
• Books and magazines

Optional: double up wooden tables to slow down upstairs break-ins and give an audio cue.

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Secure the Perimeter and Prep Defenses

• Do a full perimeter sweep before nightfall
• Clear stragglers to prevent garage door breaches
• Pile zombie corpses and loot clothing for thread, ripped sheets, and tailoring supplies
• Craft sheet rope now, and stash it in case you get a sledgehammer later to destroy stairs

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Combat Practice and Awareness

• Learn your comfort range in combat—don’t overextend
• Early weapons like hammers and short blunts conserve stamina
• Use fences and houses to break line of sight and isolate zombies

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Wrap-Up: First Day Complete

Once the area is clear and looted, you’re free to:

• Rest (light a cigarette if anxious)
• Save your character’s progress
• Prepare for looting runs and crafting on Day 2

This guide mirrors how I approach every new save and is designed for replayability and steady progress. On Day 2, we’ll focus on looting runs to build out our food stockpile, crafting stations, and defense infrastructure.

Stay safe—and as always, thanks for stopping by.