How to prepare for power/water cutting off?

[Nephilim]

I'm on world day 5 currently, recently just died on day 4 and managed to retrieve my lost loot was a good run tho but, my fridge which has 50 capacity is full of fresh food and canned food, but im asking about how to get water, when the water is cut off how do i make rain collecter? what other factors that follow it that might make power and water the least of my concerns? what does the helicopter do?

[DoomMarine23]

Get a hammer and right click, you'll see the recipes for the collectors and the required skill level. I wouldn't worry too much, there are lots of sinks around, which hold 20 units of water, and there is plenty of bathtubs that hold 100 units. Furthermore, there are quiet a few water dispensers that can hold up to 250 units each.

Here is a link to the Zomboid wiki about rain collectors. The wiki is sometimes a bit outdated, but it has been a huge help in understanding the game. https://pzwiki.net/wiki/Rain_Collector_Barrel

One piece of advice I do have is to fill containers like soup pots, saucepans, kettles, and empty bottles, before the water goes out. Furthermore, don't forget that you can always get water from rivers and boil it in a fire, oven, or BBQ. (I think microwave too?).

The helicopter follows you and attracts zombies through noise, and it usually arrives around day 7 (it is randomized). This is what I consider the great filter. If you can survive the helicopter, your life becomes far easier, because by default, it only happens once in your game.

What I would do, is prep a car with some important supplies, and hold up in your base as soon as you hear the rotors. Shut all the blinds so it does not see you, because if it does, it will stick on to you. Just wait it out, but don't leave safety once you hear it go away, because it will sometimes do a second pass. If it gets bad, get in the car and go. Just drive around, don't panic, and once its over, clear out your home area and get back to business.

Your big concern after that initial week and helicopter shock is just getting your supplies and base in order, and planning out your next moves. Get water secured, put defenses around your base with planks, barricade with furniture if required. Get a nice stockpile of non-perishable food, and begin farming, which will take a lot of water, so its good to get it started early when the game has a lot of rain. After things stabilize, you can begin to relax and focus on exploring, getting skill books, doing whatever you want.

[Shurenai]

Lot of questions crammed in there. I'll try to answer them all.

First, Every water outputting object has an internal volume of water; A toilet is 25, a tub is 100, etc. While the water is still 'ON', This volume remains full at all times and is listed as Unlimited(except water dispensers; they aren't hooked to the water main). Once the water turns off, you still have access to the existing volume of water, until you've drained it all away.

So one method to get water post-shutoff is to literally go house to house draining water into containers to bring home for local storage.

To make a rain collector, You need Carpentry level 4 for the small one, and carpentry level 7 for the large one. Components in both cases are garbage bags, planks, nails. Right click on the ground, find the carpentry menu, and find the rain collector/rain barrel within. (This context menu might not appear if you dont have a hammer on you)

Also, Most containers capable of containing water, like pots, pans, mugs, bowls, etc, can all be placed on the ground outside to catch rain water. You also can fill containers with water from natural sources like rivers and ponds.


For pre-power shutoff, Stock up on non-perishables as you explore, And focus on surviving off of perishable items- Eat all the pastries you come across, cook meat, make sandwiches with bread, etc, etc, etc; Once the power goes out you can't refrigerate it anymore. So make eating the fresh stuff the priority so it doesn't get wasted.

Ideally, you'll want to find a Generator, and the 'How to use a generator' book before the power shuts off so you can continue to run refrigeration at your home for whatever remaining perishables you might have. If you find a generator and the book early, you can start eating non perishable food to stretch the perishable stuff out for happiness/health reasons, since you'll be able to refrigerate them after shutoff.

Post-power shutoff, after a few days of it being off, Most perishable foods you find are going to be rotten, And the refrigeration at your base is going to be used mostly for stuff you've farmed yourself, critters you've trapped, fish you've fished up.


Lastly, the helicopter is a nuisance. In gameplay, it's sole purpose is to ruin your day. In lore, It's a news helicopter that broke the no-fly restriction over kentucky and they're gathering footage.

If you are out of view when the helicopter arrives, It will just fly randomly around the area making lots of noise and luring zombies all over the place. If you are outside when it arrives, it will follow you; Once you've been spotted, there's no point hiding, it'll hover over any house you try to hide in, and it'll lure all the zombies right to you.

It'll linger around for an hour or so, fly away to refuel, then return to find you again- During this period if you relocate it will lose track of you. It does this hover-refuel cycle a few times before it stops coming.

As for how to deal with it, Make a bug-out bag. Just have a bag set up ready for you to grab that has canned food, a can opener, water, medical supplies and maybe some backup weapons. When it arrives, get home ASAP, grab the bag, and then walk away- On default apocalypse settings your walking speed is faster than zombies are. So just pace yourself, only run if you need to in order to avoid getting grab- Just walk otherwise. Lure as many zombies as you can away from the place you want to eventually be, and keep doing it until the helicopter goes away for good- Then shake the massive horde you've got behind you and find a place to rest, eat, drink, and then go try to retake your area.


Important in all three cases: On the radios/walkie talkies/etc, You can find a frequency called the 'Automated Emergency Broadcast System', or AEBS. Every hour on the hour this channel reports the weather. Will give warning of extreme weather 2-5 days ahead of time.

It also gives you early warning of two of the above events.
2 days before Power shutoff, it'll say something about "Knox Grid: fluctuations detected".
1 day before, it says "Knox Grid: Systems failing"
Day of, and thereafter it says "Knox Grid: Blackout."

It will also foreshadow the Helicopter event. The day the helicopter event will happen, It will announce "Air Activity Detected"- This is your warning to go pre-emptively rest up and recuperate and get your bugout bag.

These warnings happen AFTER all the weather chatter, so be sure to wait for a bit after the weather report to see if there's additional info to come.

[Kaldrak]

I'll start with the helicopter. If you are inside, it will spread zombies out around the whole area, and they might come knocking on your doors and windows, if you're outside and it spots you, it will follow you for a long time, leading all zombies in the area to your location, so you either need to keep running until it goes away, or find some place to hole up with the stairs destroyed, as zombies can't reach you without stairs.

For power you need a generator, some electrical skill, a 'how to operate generators' magazine, and gas.

For water you need to level up carpentry and get planks, nails, and garbage bags. The garbage bags have to be empty. The water collector needs to be outside with nothing above it. If you upgrade your carpentry enough you can build rain barrels instead, which cost about the same in resources and hold more water.

The water needs to be boiled before you can drink it.

[✝️ SeaBass]

For power:
>Read the ''How to use Generator'' magazine. (You can do this at any point but it's crucial)
>Find a generator and place it outside, hugging the wall of your base.
>Connect the generator to the house by right click on the generator and "connect generator"
>Fuel the generator (The more electronics are active inside the house, the more fuel it consumes)
>"Turn on generator" And you should be all good for a while.
PD: Always keep an eye on the condition of the generator, you can always repair it with "Electronics Scrap".


For water:
>Reach level Carpentry 4
>Have x1 Hammer + x4 Planks + x4 Nails + x4 Garbage Bags = Low Tier Rain Collector Barrel
>Place it outside (Preferably on your roof above the sink, That way you can plumb the rain collector to the sink so you can get purified tap water.
>Pray to the gods for it to rain.
>If you haven't plumped your sink, boil the water first if you want it for consumption.

Regarding the plumping: Place the Rain collector above sink, right click on the sink with a ''Pipe Wrench'' in hand and ''Plumb sink". And again, "Pray to the gods for it to rain"

PD: There is the best Rain Barrel Collector which you get at "Carpentry level 7", steps still apply, you just get more water units.

Good luck survivor.

[Quill]

Water Short Term: While you're on loot runs collect as many empty water containers and Office Water Dispensers as you can. You'll be shocked how much water you can store after looking at every trashcan and taking all the empty bottles in them.

Once you get to your safehouse fill the bottles from the running sink and put them in the below cupboard. You should have plenty of water stored up once the water shuts off, Cupboards Being short term water storage and the Water Dispensers being more long term

Water Long Term: You'll either want to set up a water collector filter system or base up next to a Well (3 are on the Vanilla map). For clean water from a Water Collector build a rain collector on a 2nd floor and below it have an internal room with a sink in a 3x3 square of where the rain collector is above; the Rain Collector in the center. With a pipe wrench in hand right click the sink and you can plumb the sink to the rain collector. Now any stored water in the collector can be accessed by the sink and will be clean instead of tainted. Wells are always give clean water and is infinite.

Power: You will need 3 things. Knowledge of Generators. A Generator. and Fuel.

The best way to find the Magazine "How to use Generators" is looking in Magazine Racks, mailboxes, Mail trucks/buildings, and Bookstores/Libraries.

Generators are found in Sheds, Garages, or Self Storage. Generators are heavy so it's recommended to have a car to carry it back to base

Fuel can be found in cars or gas pumps. If the power goes out before you can get fuel from pumps you want to place and connect a generator in a 20 tile radius of the gas pumps. Fuel up the generator, and start it up. The pumps will spring to life and allow you to fill up a car or gas can.

[Quill]

Originally posted by Steve:

For power:
>Read the ''How to use Generator'' magazine. (You can do this at any point but it's crucial)
>Find a generator and place it outside, hugging the wall of your base.
>Connect the generator to the house by right click on the generator and "connect generator"
>Fuel the generator (The more electronics are active inside the house, the more fuel it consumes)
>"Turn on generator" And you should be all good for a while.
PD: Always keep an eye on the condition of the generator, you can always repair it with "Electronics Scrap".


For water:
>Reach level Carpentry 4
>Have x1 Hammer + x4 Planks + x4 Nails + x4 Garbage Bags = Low Tier Rain Collector Barrel
>Place it outside (Preferably on your roof above the sink, That way you can plumb the rain collector to the sink so you can get purified tap water.
>Pray to the gods for it to rain.
>If you haven't plumped your sink, boil the water first if you want it for consumption.

Regarding the plumping: Place the Rain collector above sink, right click on the sink with a ''Pipe Wrench'' in hand and ''Plumb sink". And again, "Pray to the gods for it to rain"

PD: There is the best Rain Barrel Collector which you get at "Carpentry level 7", steps still apply, you just get more water units.

Good luck survivor.

Better Rain Collectors can be found at the Louisville Refugee Camp. Able to hold 800 units of water. However, only 6 can be found in a playthrough and can also be used to make Charcoal

[Nephilim]

Originally posted by Shurenai:

Lot of questions crammed in there. I'll try to answer them all.

First, Every water outputting object has an internal volume of water; A toilet is 25, a tub is 100, etc. While the water is still 'ON', This volume remains full at all times and is listed as Unlimited(except water dispensers; they aren't hooked to the water main). Once the water turns off, you still have access to the existing volume of water, until you've drained it all away.

So one method to get water post-shutoff is to literally go house to house draining water into containers to bring home for local storage.

To make a rain collector, You need Carpentry level 4 for the small one, and carpentry level 7 for the large one. Components in both cases are garbage bags, planks, nails. Right click on the ground, find the carpentry menu, and find the rain collector/rain barrel within. (This context menu might not appear if you dont have a hammer on you)

Also, Most containers capable of containing water, like pots, pans, mugs, bowls, etc, can all be placed on the ground outside to catch rain water. You also can fill containers with water from natural sources like rivers and ponds.


For pre-power shutoff, Stock up on non-perishables as you explore, And focus on surviving off of perishable items- Eat all the pastries you come across, cook meat, make sandwiches with bread, etc, etc, etc; Once the power goes out you can't refrigerate it anymore. So make eating the fresh stuff the priority so it doesn't get wasted.

Ideally, you'll want to find a Generator, and the 'How to use a generator' book before the power shuts off so you can continue to run refrigeration at your home for whatever remaining perishables you might have. If you find a generator and the book early, you can start eating non perishable food to stretch the perishable stuff out for happiness/health reasons, since you'll be able to refrigerate them after shutoff.

Post-power shutoff, after a few days of it being off, Most perishable foods you find are going to be rotten, And the refrigeration at your base is going to be used mostly for stuff you've farmed yourself, critters you've trapped, fish you've fished up.


Lastly, the helicopter is a nuisance. In gameplay, it's sole purpose is to ruin your day. In lore, It's a news helicopter that broke the no-fly restriction over kentucky and they're gathering footage.

If you are out of view when the helicopter arrives, It will just fly randomly around the area making lots of noise and luring zombies all over the place. If you are outside when it arrives, it will follow you; Once you've been spotted, there's no point hiding, it'll hover over any house you try to hide in, and it'll lure all the zombies right to you.

It'll linger around for an hour or so, fly away to refuel, then return to find you again- During this period if you relocate it will lose track of you. It does this hover-refuel cycle a few times before it stops coming.

As for how to deal with it, Make a bug-out bag. Just have a bag set up ready for you to grab that has canned food, a can opener, water, medical supplies and maybe some backup weapons. When it arrives, get home ASAP, grab the bag, and then walk away- On default apocalypse settings your walking speed is faster than zombies are. So just pace yourself, only run if you need to in order to avoid getting grab- Just walk otherwise. Lure as many zombies as you can away from the place you want to eventually be, and keep doing it until the helicopter goes away for good- Then shake the massive horde you've got behind you and find a place to rest, eat, drink, and then go try to retake your area.


Important in all three cases: On the radios/walkie talkies/etc, You can find a frequency called the 'Automated Emergency Broadcast System', or AEBS. Every hour on the hour this channel reports the weather. Will give warning of extreme weather 2-5 days ahead of time.

It also gives you early warning of two of the above events.
2 days before Power shutoff, it'll say something about "Knox Grid: fluctuations detected".
1 day before, it says "Knox Grid: Systems failing"
Day of, and thereafter it says "Knox Grid: Blackout."

It will also foreshadow the Helicopter event. The day the helicopter event will happen, It will announce "Air Activity Detected"- This is your warning to go pre-emptively rest up and recuperate and get your bugout bag.

These warnings happen AFTER all the weather chatter, so be sure to wait for a bit after the weather report to see if there's additional info to come.

very useful information, but main question to the helicopter what if i stay in my starting home that i have hauled in since day 0 and close all curtains and completely isolate myself will it work?

[Nephilim]

Originally posted by Steve:

For power:
>Read the ''How to use Generator'' magazine. (You can do this at any point but it's crucial)
>Find a generator and place it outside, hugging the wall of your base.
>Connect the generator to the house by right click on the generator and "connect generator"
>Fuel the generator (The more electronics are active inside the house, the more fuel it consumes)
>"Turn on generator" And you should be all good for a while.
PD: Always keep an eye on the condition of the generator, you can always repair it with "Electronics Scrap".


For water:
>Reach level Carpentry 4
>Have x1 Hammer + x4 Planks + x4 Nails + x4 Garbage Bags = Low Tier Rain Collector Barrel
>Place it outside (Preferably on your roof above the sink, That way you can plumb the rain collector to the sink so you can get purified tap water.
>Pray to the gods for it to rain.
>If you haven't plumped your sink, boil the water first if you want it for consumption.

Regarding the plumping: Place the Rain collector above sink, right click on the sink with a ''Pipe Wrench'' in hand and ''Plumb sink". And again, "Pray to the gods for it to rain"

PD: There is the best Rain Barrel Collector which you get at "Carpentry level 7", steps still apply, you just get more water units.

Good luck survivor.

i still haven't found the generator magazine and im only halfway through level 1 carpentry i wonder how will i get to build the rain collecter earlier than the power shutting off but i get by since i stored many canned food and live on fresh ones, good thing i thought i can live on fresh food before it gets spoiled.

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by FM24:

Originally posted by Shurenai:

-snip-

very useful information, but main question to the helicopter what if i stay in my starting home that i have hauled in since day 0 and close all curtains and completely isolate myself will it work?

Sortof answered this, but I'll elaborate. If the helicopter does not see the player when it arrives, It just randomly paths around your general area luring zombies around- Isolating yourself on the second floor and staying absolutely silent might let you go unnoticed, but, zombies will almost definitely wander into your house breaking windows/doors as they try to follow the helicopter noise- Which is why I said 'on the second floor'. If you're in a one story house, trying to stay hidden within might just be a recipe for death.

Moreover, afterwards, an entire area worth of zombies will have been attracted to your general vicinity. It might be doable- But I personally would recommend against it. Much better idea (again, imo) to use the zombie-magnet nature of the helicopter to lure a massive horde of zombie far away from your home and other points of interest.

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by FM24:

Originally posted by Steve:

For power:
>Read the ''How to use Generator'' magazine. (You can do this at any point but it's crucial)
>Find a generator and place it outside, hugging the wall of your base.
>Connect the generator to the house by right click on the generator and "connect generator"
>Fuel the generator (The more electronics are active inside the house, the more fuel it consumes)
>"Turn on generator" And you should be all good for a while.
PD: Always keep an eye on the condition of the generator, you can always repair it with "Electronics Scrap".


For water:
>Reach level Carpentry 4
>Have x1 Hammer + x4 Planks + x4 Nails + x4 Garbage Bags = Low Tier Rain Collector Barrel
>Place it outside (Preferably on your roof above the sink, That way you can plumb the rain collector to the sink so you can get purified tap water.
>Pray to the gods for it to rain.
>If you haven't plumped your sink, boil the water first if you want it for consumption.

Regarding the plumping: Place the Rain collector above sink, right click on the sink with a ''Pipe Wrench'' in hand and ''Plumb sink". And again, "Pray to the gods for it to rain"

PD: There is the best Rain Barrel Collector which you get at "Carpentry level 7", steps still apply, you just get more water units.

Good luck survivor.

i still haven't found the generator magazine and im only halfway through level 1 carpentry i wonder how will i get to build the rain collecter earlier than the power shutting off but i get by since i stored many canned food and live on fresh ones, good thing i thought i can live on fresh food before it gets spoiled.

Look for a 'Carpentry for Beginners'/'Carpentry for Intermediate' type books; Theres one book for levels 1-2, one for 3-4, one for 5-6, etc. When you read them, it gives you an exp gain multiplier that helps gain levels much faster.

From there, grab a hammer, screwdriver, and saw if you can, and just go to town dismantling random things- tables, doors, chairs, couches, etc; anything you think you won't care about in the future. You'll gain that exp fast. Use any wood and nails you get from this to build walls/fences/etc at your base if you're so inclined for a bit of extra exp.

[Nephilim]

Originally posted by Shurenai:

Originally posted by FM24:

very useful information, but main question to the helicopter what if i stay in my starting home that i have hauled in since day 0 and close all curtains and completely isolate myself will it work?

Sortof answered this, but I'll elaborate. If the helicopter does not see the player when it arrives, It just randomly paths around your general area luring zombies around- Isolating yourself on the second floor and staying absolutely silent might let you go unnoticed, but, zombies will almost definitely wander into your house breaking windows/doors as they try to follow the helicopter noise- Which is why I said 'on the second floor'. If you're in a one story house, trying to stay hidden within might just be a recipe for death.

Moreover, afterwards, an entire area worth of zombies will have been attracted to your general vicinity. It might be doable- But I personally would recommend against it. Much better idea (again, imo) to use the zombie-magnet nature of the helicopter to lure a massive horde of zombie far away from your home and other points of interest.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2901328876

Was a good run until i died of afking and then this real death..

was a good first playthrough to be honest

[caleb]

Go to a school. Find the library. Read carpentry 1. Take apart half the tables in the cafeteria. Once you clear level 2 read carpentry 2. Dismantle the rest of the tables until you hit level 4. Make collectors. Takes about a day.

[Gena Cider]

niche tip: with 5 LEVELS in electrical you can attach a device to power table lamps with batteries

[Quill]

Originally posted by caleb:

Go to a school. Find the library. Read carpentry 1. Take apart half the tables in the cafeteria. Once you clear level 2 read carpentry 2. Dismantle the rest of the tables until you hit level 4. Make collectors. Takes about a day.

I usually just go "♥♥♥♥ it" and rush the Louisville Checkpoint with all the firepower I can loot from Gun locations along the way to get the Metal Barrels from the Refugee Camp

A much bigger risk but greater reward lol