Climbing and vertical movement in Project Zomboid

Almost every climb uses the interact key (E by default, see controls). The table sums up how to cross each obstacle and what usually goes wrong.

Low fences (roughly waist height) are vaulted. Press E while standing next to one, or simply jog or sprint into it. If you carry too much to run, or your endurance moodle is showing, you cannot use the running vault and must press E.

Tall fences can only be crossed by standing next to them and pressing E. This is a real check that can fail. Build 42 sources agree that Strength, Fitness and moodles matter, but none of the guides we checked gives an exact formula. One Build 41 player report puts the floor at about Strength 3 and Fitness 2 (one source), with every negative moodle lowering the odds. A Build 41 guide says Heavy Load can push the chance of failure to about 52% (one source). Neither figure has been confirmed for Build 42.

Empty your secondary hand before a tall climb, because players report dropping what they hold. Train Fitness and Strength early if you rely on fence routes, and watch carry weight.

Opinion Treat a tall fence as a gamble while zombies are within a few tiles. A failed attempt costs you time you do not have.

Open windows can be climbed through with E. Smashing a window to get in is loud and leaves glass in the frame. Climbing through that frame can cut you, so right-click the window and remove the broken glass first; gloves and long sleeves help. Cuts need cleaning and bandaging, see first aid.

Since 42.22 a crowbar can force a locked or jammed window from the right-click menu. Strength improves the odds and Burglars get a bonus, but a failed attempt can break the glass anyway.

Jumping out of a window is possible from any floor, but it is a fall. The sources we checked give no Build 42 damage table, so treat anything above the first upper floor as dangerous. More on wounds and fractures is on the health page.

A sheet rope is the standard way to reach an upper floor you have cut off from the stairs.

• Craft: one Sheet makes one Sheet Rope, with no tools. Regular Rope also works. Ripped sheets are bandages, not rope.
• Length: one segment per floor you need to drop. A second-floor window takes about two segments in practice, so carry a spare.
• Attach to a window: stand on the upper floor, right-click an openable, unbarricaded window and nail the rope. You need a hammer and one Nail.
• Attach to a railing or fence: a separate tie option, no nail needed.
• Climb: press E on the rope square. Climbing costs endurance.

Build 42 change: in Build 41 only drunk characters could slip. In Build 42 anyone can fall after a short grace period, with checks repeated during the climb. Going down is checked more often than going up, and longer ropes mean more checks. Strength, Fitness and Nimble help equally; Gymnast, Dextrous and the Burglar occupation help; Clumsy, All Thumbs, Overweight, Heavy Load, pain, low endurance and drunkenness hurt. Nearby zombies attacking you also lower your odds. The sandbox option Easy Climbing removes the fail chance for ropes and wall climbs (see sandbox settings).

Ladders had been on the map for years as scenery. The 42.22 update (stable as 42.22.2) made them climbable. This is a first step, not a full system.

Two concrete changes: empty swimming pools are no longer traps, and the top floor of the Rosewood fire station can now be reached (see Rosewood). In multiplayer, a base with a map ladder now has a second way in for raiders.

Falling. A failed rope climb or a jump drops you to the ground, and the higher you start, the worse it gets. We could not confirm a Build 42 damage table by height. Players report that a fall from the third floor or higher can kill outright (one source). Expect injuries such as fractures from shorter falls, and never test it with zombies below.

Zombies. Zombies can climb over low fences, which slows them only briefly. A Build 41 guide says they cannot get over tall fences, and we found nothing saying Build 42 changed that. They do not climb sheet ropes or ladders, but they climb stairs, and they can damage or pull down a hanging rope over time. See zombies.

Opinion The safest setup is an upper floor with the stairs removed or blocked and two ropes on different sides, so one torn rope does not trap you. Read safehouses and barricades for the rest of the plan, and keep spare sheets upstairs.