Top Base Locations in Project Zomboid – Build 42

[Nick_kennste]

Hey fellow survivors!
With Build 42 bringing a ton of new features and changes to the map, I thought it’d be a good idea to share some of the best (and most underrated) base locations I’ve come across – complete with pros, cons, and coordinates. Whether you’re looking for a cozy bunker, a fully fenced farm, or a tactical location with good loot access, this list has something for everyone. The Text ist translate by ChatGbT German - English
Feel free to add your own favorite spots in the comments – the more the better!

1. Ekron – Fenced Farmhouse at the Edge
📍 x100 y8940
Pros: Large fenced area offering plenty of space for farming and expansion
Cons: Very remote location, far from central resources and other players

2. Ekron – Farmhouse with Basement Forge
📍 x325 y9850
Pros: Stylish interior with a built-in basement forge, slightly more central in Ekron
Cons: Unfenced and exposed, located near a vulnerable cornfield area

3. Ekron – Semi-Fenced House with Outbuilding, Garage, and Basement Workshop
📍 x935 y9915
Pros: Practical layout including garage and basement workshop, partial fencing adds some security
Cons: Still in a remote area, needs additional work to secure fully

4. Irvington – Fenced Warehouse with 2 Garage Doors
📍 x3100 y14470
Pros: Easy to barricade with solid fencing and garage doors, ample storage and workspace for crafting and supplies
Cons: Currently bare, requires furnishing and setup to be livable

5. Echo Creek – Gas Station with Many Options
📍 x3570 y10900
Pros: Cozy apartment above the station offers safe sleeping quarters, nearby garage can be repurposed as a barn, close proximity to Guns Unlimited and a large chicken farm for resources
Cons: Slightly off the main roads, less foot traffic but also fewer immediate neighbors or allies

6. Echo Creek / Ekron – Large Farm with Well Between Two Towns
📍 x1720 y10310
Pros: Spacious farm ideal for quiet, self-sufficient farming with easy access to fresh water from the well
Cons: Open farmland may require extra fencing and vigilance against zombie hordes

7. Echo Creek – Unusual Cultist Farm
📍 x3860 y12320
Pros: Unique building layout provides interesting defensive possibilities
Cons: Remote and isolated location, likely requires extensive fortification

8. Fallas Lake – 1-Man Bunker
📍 x5578 y9372
Pros: Very secure and cozy underground shelter, excellent for solo survival
Cons: Extremely limited space and no established access path, necessitating clearing a trail through the woods

9. Brandenburg – Fenced Tool Shop with 2 Garages, Central Location
📍 x2080 y5880
Pros: Centrally located for easy access to town resources, fenced perimeter with garages for vehicle storage and crafting areas
Cons: Interior likely needs significant improvements for comfortable living

10. Brandenburg – Small Tornado Bunker
📍 x1950 y6140
Pros: Strong defensive position close to town center, easy to defend due to small size
Cons: Very cramped living space, minimal storage and comfort

11. Riverside – Fenced Radio Station, Very Remote
📍 x4915 y6350
Pros: Well-fenced and secure, excellent for players seeking isolation and quiet survival
Cons: Far from major loot spots and towns, long travel times for supplies

12. Rosewood – Police Station (With Helipad if Using Mods)
📍 x8130 y11800
Pros: Large, solid structure with good defensive potential; helipad adds transport options for modded gameplay
Cons: Requires significant effort to fully secure; attracts zombies due to size and centrality
13. Rosewood – Large Fire Station with Extensive Fenced Farmland

📍 x8200 y11800
Pros: Very spacious base with fenced farmland ideal for long-term survival and farming
Cons: Large footprint demands extensive defense and upkeep

14. Rosewood – Cozy Prison Tower
📍 x8120 y11920 (approximate, near prison)
Pros: Can be converted into a cozy tower base; ample surrounding farmland and excellent vantage points
Cons: Requires substantial work to make livable; limited internal space; dangerous due to proximity to the prison and potential zombie hordes

15. March Rich – Massive Underground Bunker Complex -4 (Fenced Entrance)
📍 x9950 y12645
Pros: Impressive bunker with large farming areas; mostly just needs restocking supplies
Cons: High zombie population nearby; many stairs to navigate; monotonous surroundings (Helipad can ease access)

16. Muldraugh – Lakefront House Fully Equipped for Apocalypse
📍 x10135 y8290
Pros: Fully equipped forge, fenced fields with planted crops, fishing access, peaceful setting
Cons: Accessible only via a long field path that can become overgrown and difficult for vehicles; heli or clearing a path can mitigate this

17. Muldraugh – Multiple Fenced Houses, One Unfurnished
📍 x10700 y9560
Pros: Multiple secure homes providing flexibility for storage and shelter
Cons: At least one house is unfurnished and will require setup

18. Muldraugh – Fenced Police Station with Lots of Space and Potential
📍 x10640 y10420
Pros: Central location, easy to barricade, large basement for storage
Cons: High zombie presence; lacks farmland

19. Muldraugh – Fenced Warehouse Complex with 3 Houses
📍 x10640 y10420
Pros: Large storage capacity and easy to defend
Cons: Sparse furnishing, requires furnishing and customization

20. Muldraugh – Cortman Medical 2 Fenced Luxury Houses
📍 x10875 y10027
Pros: Easy to barricade, well-furnished, centrally located
Cons: Limited space compared to other bases

21. Muldraugh – Fenced Radar Station
📍 x10300 y8765
Pros: Easy to barricade, large farmland available, good road access for transport
Cons: Only two small huts on site, you’ll need to build your own main house

22. Muldraugh – Fenced Bar
📍 x10780 y10580
Pros: Well-fenced, great spot for socializing and trading, easy to defend
Cons: Limited indoor space, might require some upgrades for long-term living

23. West Point – Twiggy’s Bar
📍 x12060 y6790
Pros: Cool rustic bar, partially fenced, easy to barricade, adjacent to a large gun store (though marked small on map), close to Louisville
Cons: A bit small for bigger groups

24. West Point – Strip Club by the Raceway
📍 x12670 y6400
Pros: Unique location with strip club and raceway nearby, very close to Louisville
Cons: Large open complex, huge zombie hordes frequent the raceway area

25. West Point – Fenced Lakeside House
📍 x10155 y6620
Pros: Easy to barricade, lakeside fishing, peaceful surroundings
Cons: Small size, somewhat distant from West Point center

26. Louisville – House with 3 Garages
📍 x12040 y2590
Pros: Lots of space, centrally located with manageable zombie presence, walkable looting runs, easy to secure
Cons: Popular base choice, so may be well-known to other players

27. Louisville – Hospital 21st Floor (Heli Base Only)
📍 x12840 y1690
Pros: Stunning views, unique vertical base experience
Cons: Extremely high zombie density, mandatory helicopter access, massive cleanup effort without heli

28. Louisville – Large Fire Station with Helipad
📍 x13685 y1780
Pros: Easy to barricade, spacious, central location
Cons: Large area to secure and maintain

29. Louisville – Small Fire Station with Garden
📍 x13945 y3050
Pros: Cozy size, central, low nearby zombie activity, includes 2 garages and fenced green area
Cons: None notable

30. Louisville – Rustic Hunting Cabin Outside Town
📍 x13100 y5315
Pros: Cozy rustic house, large forest for hunting, shooting range nearby
Cons: Not fenced, remote location, potential high zombie density in forest due to mall proximity

31. Louisville – Large Gas Station Outside Town
📍 x12740 y5030
Pros and cons not specified but likely good for fuel and supplies, with moderate space

Living in a Car or Convoy
Pros: Great way to explore the map, high adrenaline since you never know what you’ll encounter, avoids boredom of staying in one spot, freedom to fight or flee, mobile shelter
Cons: Heavy micromanagement, careful planning required on what to carry, need to set up camp frequently if not sleeping in car, winter cold is a significant challenge

[★Rainmaker★]

Solid list. :)

One of my favorite bases both in SP and MP is the warehouse just south-east of the first traffic jam leading to the military checkpoint towards Louisville.

Fantastic location, and with four generators which act as flycatchers for zombies running outside near each corner, you can power the entire place.
Lots of rooms to customize for a kitchen, bedrooms, living areas, etc.
Empty out and move the crates however you please, some on the roof perhaps - and the 1st floor becomes a yuge garage for your vehicles.
Build a staircase between the roof and the 2nd floor, and you can do some agriculture up there safely with lots of space for crops.

All around just a *chef's kiss* base.

[BitterSwede]

I love the list, well structured and with great details.

With that said, my go-to for most non-nomadic runs will be any of the U-Store locations. They are all fully or nearly fully fenced in with high chainlink fences so you can get a good view well past your "domain". They contain the base materials, tools and furniture you'll need. They got plenty of already built-up indoor space, made even better if you manage to find the mythical sledgehammer to knock down some walls. There's usually some green space within the fenced-in area if you want to farm. The buildings are already 1 story tall with flat roofs, so you only need to build stairs in order to place down your rain collectors for that OP sink. You can usually find at least one big freezer there, so you don't need to haul one from far away. Sometimes you can even find yourself a generator.
ALL of these things can be achieved elsewhere as well, but with U-Store you don't need to memorise locations, you just need to spot them on the map. Most towns will have at least one mailbox with a U-Store flyer, so finding one won't be hard, even if you're new to the game.

My second favourite is the medical clinic in Muldraugh. It is central, got high see-through fences on 3 sides and you got one massive building to call your home as well as a smaller side building to convert into a workshop. The big building has several fireplaces, if you have trouble finding a generator, and the kitchen already has a room with several big freezers already set up for you.

Then you can also go into the forest, if you want to stay away from Z's. But then you'll have to get a good level of carpenting and bring your own nails and screws, or get a good level of blacksmithing and get a forge running quickly. It will also be harder to get supplies, especially if you don't have direct road access. But it is easily defensible, and aside from the Helicopter event, you shouldn't have any risk of Z's wandering in after you've cleared out the immediate area.

[vondous]

if youre creative enough the Rosewood Motel is an amazing foundation to build especially in multiplayer, has a premade fence surrounding, knock in the walls downstairs to create a garage, upstairs you have multiple rooms for storage/ living space. and it right next to the highway which is always useful.

[Armagenesis]

Originally posted by vondous:

if youre creative enough the Rosewood Motel is an amazing foundation to build especially in multiplayer, has a premade fence surrounding, knock in the walls downstairs to create a garage, upstairs you have multiple rooms for storage/ living space. and it right next to the highway which is always useful.

That's baby game.
Turn the entire town into a stronghold. With layered walls on the perimeter and multiple airlocks inside the town.

[Sage-of-Six-Mon]

The cul-de-sac below the LV mall next to the river. Once you clear the few stragglers there is zero zombies, all the loot you could want is a short drive but dangerous drive away, 2 gas stations, parking lot full of cars, fishing, unlimited dense forest.

[Regular jackoff]

23. Twiggy's bar, my spot right now
with relatively little work it's possible to add a second layer of fences and double the secure plot size
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3529486986

[Bubba]

Originally posted by ★Rainmaker★:

Solid list. :)

One of my favorite bases both in SP and MP is the warehouse just south-east of the first traffic jam leading to the military checkpoint towards Louisville.

Fantastic location, and with four generators which act as flycatchers for zombies running outside near each corner, you can power the entire place.
Lots of rooms to customize for a kitchen, bedrooms, living areas, etc.
Empty out and move the crates however you please, some on the roof perhaps - and the 1st floor becomes a yuge garage for your vehicles.
Build a staircase between the roof and the 2nd floor, and you can do some agriculture up there safely with lots of space for crops.

All around just a *chef's kiss* base.

I prefer Ruby Gas, which is less than a block away from there. Though it's smaller, it has many added benefits.
First, it's one of the only gas stations in game with two floors. The first floor is basically just your average gas station, one significant difference, though, is it's larger than average storage room. The storage room comes with a dozen or so wooden crates, but whenever I need more, I like to get some from that warehouse of yours. The crates come pretty jumbled, so it's good to line them all against the back wall. The second floor comes with all the accommodations of a house and more. A living room, a dining room, a kitchen, two bathrooms (there's also two downstairs), a closet that I like to make into a balcony, and two bedrooms can all be found upstairs.
Another benefit of Ruby Gas is, obviously, the gas. Though there's only two pumps, they provide plenty of gas for generators and cars.

[★Rainmaker★]

Originally posted by Christian"Bubba"Wurtzbacher:

I prefer Ruby Gas, which is less than a block away from there. Though it's smaller, it has many added benefits.
First, it's one of the only gas stations in game with two floors. The first floor is basically just your average gas station, one significant difference, though, is it's larger than average storage room. The storage room comes with a dozen or so wooden crates, but whenever I need more, I like to get some from that warehouse of yours. The crates come pretty jumbled, so it's good to line them all against the back wall. The second floor comes with all the accommodations of a house and more. A living room, a dining room, a kitchen, two bathrooms (there's also two downstairs), a closet that I like to make into a balcony, and two bedrooms can all be found upstairs.
Another benefit of Ruby Gas is, obviously, the gas. Though there's only two pumps, they provide plenty of gas for generators and cars.

I totally get where you're coming from, and apparently we're just doing the same thing but in reverse. :) I obviously use Ruby Gas as my gas station while basing at the warehouse.
Apples and oranges. :D

[Bubba]

Originally posted by ★Rainmaker★:

Originally posted by Christian"Bubba"Wurtzbacher:

I prefer Ruby Gas, which is less than a block away from there. Though it's smaller, it has many added benefits.
First, it's one of the only gas stations in game with two floors. The first floor is basically just your average gas station, one significant difference, though, is it's larger than average storage room. The storage room comes with a dozen or so wooden crates, but whenever I need more, I like to get some from that warehouse of yours. The crates come pretty jumbled, so it's good to line them all against the back wall. The second floor comes with all the accommodations of a house and more. A living room, a dining room, a kitchen, two bathrooms (there's also two downstairs), a closet that I like to make into a balcony, and two bedrooms can all be found upstairs.
Another benefit of Ruby Gas is, obviously, the gas. Though there's only two pumps, they provide plenty of gas for generators and cars.

I totally get where you're coming from, and apparently we're just doing the same thing but in reverse. :) I obviously use Ruby Gas as my gas station while basing at the warehouse.
Apples and oranges. :D

Indeed :)