Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid

Why fortify a base?
I'm still very new to the game, and I see loads of tutorials on how to fortify and hoard-proof your base: how to board up windows, knockout stair cases, build walls, all that stuff. My only real question is... why?!

Aside from the helicopter event, which can be predicted and prepared for, I've never had a case where my base of operations (basically a house where I stash my extra loot), was attacked by more than two or three strays.

Is there any reason in vanilla SP to even board up your windows?
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Näytetään 16-30 / 30 kommentista
after the chopper there is always a chance a horde will show up. and day to day activity makes noise which attracts zombies. so yes a fortified base is essential to long term survival.
Spark Sunbright lähetti viestin:
I'm still very new to the game, and I see loads of tutorials on how to fortify and hoard-proof your base: how to board up windows, knockout stair cases, build walls, all that stuff. My only real question is... why?!

Aside from the helicopter event, which can be predicted and prepared for, I've never had a case where my base of operations (basically a house where I stash my extra loot), was attacked by more than two or three strays.

Is there any reason in vanilla SP to even board up your windows?

i can recommend you to do that and also making a secure perimeter with high walls if possible. outside of the helicoper event zombies form naturally a hoard and that can kill you if you cant controll the pull of zombies. it also givey you a safe space to shoot the zombies to train aim and reload
Selcrim lähetti viestin:
after the chopper there is always a chance a horde will show up. and day to day activity makes noise which attracts zombies. so yes a fortified base is essential to long term survival.

to pick that up: there are certain areas in the cities where you have high fences. you can use them to your advantage most of them contain 2 to 4 possible entrances for zombies. barricading those is the quickest way to get a area safe. there is also a gated community at the edge of louieville that only has ONE entrance. thats argubly the safest place in the city but dont take my word for that.
All good answers so far but ill tell you this from my time playing there is nothing worse than waiting for breakfast to cook on day like 40 thinking of what your going to try and get done that day and all of a sudden the zed that waltzed into your base bites you from behind. i actually set up multiple safe houses, some near loot zones so i can clear an area of stuff and other fall back bases in case a horde decides to overrun my main base. the only time i would not make a safe house is if i was doing a run as a straight scavanger constantly moving from place to place. also zombies can destroy crops and such you also need a safe place to collect water, cook, heal up, read, hide from a horde etc. so base building is a top priority. unless of course you dont want to do it then just be prepared to be on the move all the time.
Boarding up your doors and windows in summer will serve you well in the winter. Broken doors and windows equal a dangerously cold/un-heatable base.

Also prevents you waking up to vagrant zombies who decided to squat in your kitchen while you were asleep.
Spark Sunbright lähetti viestin:
Is there any reason in vanilla SP to even board up your windows?
It is the easiest way to level up carpentry without wasting many resources.
(other than the VHS tapes)
Also if your rope ladder exit is at the same location as a downstairs window then boarding up the window allows you to reliable climb the rope ladder.
Viimeisin muokkaaja on [²³²Th] Genesis; 26.5.2022 klo 1.15
doing stuff decreases boredom and increases skills... so the real question is, Why not? if you have something better to do, then do that. but in the end, you may accidentally pull the trigger on a gun cause you misclicked and then 50 zoms hone in on your location
It's bad if they get in while you're sleeping, if you're extra tired you might not wake up, i recommend fortifying your base when you find a place you like.
Deathjester lähetti viestin:
It's bad if they get in while you're sleeping, if you're extra tired you might not wake up, i recommend fortifying your base when you find a place you like.

Boarded up windows and doors wont protect you against that though.
Since they will still able to break it down while you are sleeping. (6 zeds tear it down in less than 10 seconds. So not even from 10:00 to 10:10 will pass) And since you are sleeping they can position around your sleeping character, so that when you wake up you are instantly grabbed. It is why most folks do not board up, but instead if possible stay on the first floor which is unapproachable for the zeds. Or if it is not a viable solution they place certain things before and after the stairs. (And sleep in enclosed rooms :P)

In my experience allthough i play in harsher settings, it is not worth to board up, or to even make defenses as they do not really provide the defense you hope them to offer. And you just waste valuable time.
If you want to advance carpentry then start to dismantle the normal wooden fences surrounding houses, crates in warehouses and pews in temples. You get both material and xp, and you are not wasting your time building something on the ground level which a small mediocre zombie group can destroy in seconds.
Viimeisin muokkaaja on Nordil(Hun); 27.5.2022 klo 10.45
suki! 27.5.2022 klo 11.14 
Turd King lähetti viestin:
They need something akin to the zombies honing in on your storage to destroy them to make boarding/securing a base more of a survival requirement rather then something more role-play based.

Perhaps make it a visual check that is not dependent on the zombies pathfinding as I believe zeds only target player built objects if its in their way.
I wouldn't say they need this as I buy the game for the realism, whether it benefits me in game or not. There is challenges like you have one day where your house is raided by a ton of zombies. Perhaps a tuned down version of this challenge might be closer to what you're looking for.
suki! 27.5.2022 klo 11.17 
Nordil(Hun) lähetti viestin:
Deathjester lähetti viestin:
It's bad if they get in while you're sleeping, if you're extra tired you might not wake up, i recommend fortifying your base when you find a place you like.

Boarded up windows and doors wont protect you against that though.
Since they will still able to break it down while you are sleeping. (6 zeds tear it down in less than 10 seconds. So not even from 10:00 to 10:10 will pass) And since you are sleeping they can position around your sleeping character, so that when you wake up you are instantly grabbed. It is why most folks do not board up, but instead if possible stay on the first floor which is unapproachable for the zeds. Or if it is not a viable solution they place certain things before and after the stairs. (And sleep in enclosed rooms :P)

In my experience allthough i play in harsher settings, it is not worth to board up, or to even make defenses as they do not really provide the defense you hope them to offer. And you just waste valuable time.
If you want to advance carpentry then start to dismantle the normal wooden fences surrounding houses, crates in warehouses and pews in temples. You get both material and xp, and you are not wasting your time building something on the ground level which a small mediocre zombie group can destroy in seconds.
I wouldn't say most people don't board up their house in the game honestly. I was surprised to hear people don't because everyone I have played with or watched has boarded their base as extra security and peace of mind for emergencies.
Clementine lähetti viestin:
Nordil(Hun) lähetti viestin:

Boarded up windows and doors wont protect you against that though.
Since they will still able to break it down while you are sleeping. (6 zeds tear it down in less than 10 seconds. So not even from 10:00 to 10:10 will pass) And since you are sleeping they can position around your sleeping character, so that when you wake up you are instantly grabbed. It is why most folks do not board up, but instead if possible stay on the first floor which is unapproachable for the zeds. Or if it is not a viable solution they place certain things before and after the stairs. (And sleep in enclosed rooms :P)

In my experience allthough i play in harsher settings, it is not worth to board up, or to even make defenses as they do not really provide the defense you hope them to offer. And you just waste valuable time.
If you want to advance carpentry then start to dismantle the normal wooden fences surrounding houses, crates in warehouses and pews in temples. You get both material and xp, and you are not wasting your time building something on the ground level which a small mediocre zombie group can destroy in seconds.
I wouldn't say most people don't board up their house in the game honestly. I was surprised to hear people don't because everyone I have played with or watched has boarded their base as extra security and peace of mind for emergencies.

I know, i've seen many videos suggesting it, but I actually learned the hard way it is not worth it. First i did ages ago, when i was still growing out of noobdom, and i boarded up and prepped my place, but I got hit by a huge spread out of zeds. (Basicly chopper came shifted all the zeds, my place was completely empty as i drew them away, however within a few days a huge mass of them still found its way to my base.) I had everything barricaded, i was living on the first floor with multiple sheet ropes, allthough my stairs were still present. I was reading some books to advance certain skills when i started to hear banging (no keen hearing so did not hear the moans). I went down to check and basicly all my barricades, windows, doors etc were destroyed the moment i got down. I was still lucky to push through and leave my place (leaving most of my stuff behind) and make a new base. I prepped that one as well but it only lasted for a week or so, because again a huge horde found its way to my vicinity. (OFC it was in WP as I was still just around 100 or so hours.) The same thing happened, but this time i was able to escape because i made pass to the next house via floor boards.
After that i did some barricading and the like in other bases, but each time it was destroyed. The only thing it offered was that i could notice if zombies broke into the house while i was away. I closed down all my doors and windows and used sheet ropes to get in an out. However this proved to be eventually a fatal idea. As with not barricaded windows and doors, you can try to run through the zeds, whereas climbing down the sheet rope, you will instantly die if the zeds are nearby. (It happened a few times.) Since then i stopped doing any kind of barricading, as i most of the time just lock my char within the house this way, once sheet rope is not an option to escape. Whereas i might still try to make a run for it through the doors.

On certain settings, and with certain characters, where at the beginning your time is more precious than in other settings (like with 0/0 str and endurance chars, or one peaceful year challenge settings) at the start, so you will likely be either constantly on the move, or move out of densely populated zones. (Until you can achieve the unreachable for zombies safe base) On these settings nights are harder to survive, so you will need to gather what you can during daytime, and even prepare a safe house for that one night, where you wish to sleep, during the day. (Like leading the zeds away, making sure it is not easy to enter, or notice you and so on.)

Oh and just to give like an example, my char was living in the middle of nowhere, like between the small town southeast of the golf club and Rosewood. I barely saw any zombies, but once the chopper comes it usually brought at least 200 zeds. But it was 200 only because i have already thinned them out during previous chopper raids. (Nothing beats having chopper event every 5-7 days:D)
I had already a sledge so i was mostly safe.

As i do not play multiplayer i have some additional tricks too, like i can place down weapons, water and food on the ground near my safe house, so should i return from a loot run/raid and find my base swarmed (no way to reach the sheet ropes, or all torn down) i can still survive having enough supplies available. (Until i find a new place, or am able to access my base again cuz i learned how to make stairs and destroyed all zeds.)
Viimeisin muokkaaja on Nordil(Hun); 27.5.2022 klo 12.31
not really, just build a fence zombies can't get over or destroy, there's plenty of methods.
I do that in case I wanna stay afk, but if you're always on there's no real reason to barricade
Grogcito lähetti viestin:
not really, just build a fence zombies can't get over or destroy, there's plenty of methods.
I do that in case I wanna stay afk, but if you're always on there's no real reason to barricade

I know the trick but i find it cheesily, so i dont use it. The block via car/car wreck does not seem as cheezy to me as does the fence+crate combo. Allthough i have not used the block via car/wreck combo in a long while neither simply...because it is not worth to live in such a place. If i live in urban areas, i find a place with several 2 story buildings nearby and prep one of them with sheet ropes as first, maybe two houses, and then destroy for every house the stairs. -> first no zombie can get up to first floor, and also it will make all the zombies above ground level jump down;) so it is a win win situation.
I only fortify my base when its around a town like westpoint and the like. But if I use the base like the mansions near westpoint no point fortifying the base because there is no threat around it.
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