Bombs, Molotovs and traps in Project Zomboid

The Molotov is the only fire weapon that needs no magazine, occupation or skill level. In Build 42 it is crafted in your hands from three things: a full-size glass liquor or wine bottle, 1.0 unit of flammable fluid, and one strip of cloth. The fluid can be gasoline, whiskey, vodka, tequila or rubbing alcohol. The cloth can be a rag or denim strips, clean or dirty. A full bottle of whiskey, vodka or tequila covers both the bottle and the fluid, so that plus a rag is the whole recipe (one source). Small beer bottles do not qualify. See alcohol and fuel for where the fluids come from.

Older guides give a Build 41 recipe. Trust the in-game crafting menu over them.

To throw it, put the Molotov in your primary hand and a lighter in your secondary hand. Matches do not work. Then aim and attack as with any thrown weapon (see controls). The bottle does no impact damage. It starts a fire about 4 tiles across the landing point, and the burning tiles do the killing over time. Throw range is about 8 tiles (one source), so a short throw can put you inside your own fire.

The five craftable devices sit in the Electrical category of the crafting menu. Each needs its recipe learned first, from a magazine or from the Engineer occupation. Ingredients below come from one Build 42 recipe database. The item called Flame Trap in Build 41 appears as Fire Bomb in Build 42 recipe lists.

The full titles are Real Spy Secrets - June 1993, and The Cheapskate's John Spiral - Chemical Warfare and Homemade Explosives. The skill books page covers how recipe magazines work.

The Engineer occupation costs 4 points and starts with +1 Electrical, +1 Carpentry and +1 Masonry. One site that reads the 42.22 files says it knows 13 recipes from the start, mostly explosives (one source). Guides agree it starts with the pipe bomb and aerosol bomb recipes; smoke bomb and noise maker are not confirmed. Compare it with other jobs on traits and occupations.

A plain bomb is thrown by hand. Adding a trigger turns it into a device you set down and leave. Each trigger is a separate Electrical recipe with its own magazine.

All figures in this table are from one guide site (one source). That site contradicts itself: it lists sensor levels of 2, 4 and 6 in one place and automatic learning at Electrical 8, 9 and 10 in another. Check the level shown on the recipe in your game.

Whether smoke bombs and noise makers accept these triggers in Build 42 was not confirmed.

• Thrown: equip the plain bomb in your primary hand, hold the aim button and attack to throw. Listed throw range is 10 tiles for pipe and aerosol bombs (one source). Only the Molotov needs a lighter in the other hand.
• Timer: place the device, start the countdown and walk away. The fuse is short and fixed (one source).
• Motion sensor: place and arm it, then leave. It goes off shortly after anything moves inside its range. Do not stand inside the sensor range while arming it.
• Remote: place the device and fire it later with a matching remote controller. The controller's range tier decides how far away you can stand.

The exact right-click menu wording for placing, arming and linking a controller could not be checked against Build 42 for this page. Test one device in debug mode or a safe spot first.

Listed blast values (one source): pipe bomb power 90, range 7 tiles, no fire. Aerosol bomb power 70, range 6 tiles, with a chance to start a fire. Range is not a guaranteed safe distance.

Fire works on a packed crowd because burning zombies keep walking and light the ones beside them. Gather the horde into a tight group on open ground, throw one Molotov into the middle, then walk the group in circles through the flames. A burning zombie can still set you alight, so keep your distance. See zombies for how groups follow sound.

Results in Build 42 are mixed. On the Steam forums one player reported killing hundreds by kiting a crowd around a single fire tile, while another needed about a dozen Molotovs for twelve zombies because the fires went out first.

Noise moves a horde instead of killing it. A noise maker pulls zombies to a spot while you loot or leave another way. Its reach is disputed: one guide gives 17 tiles, and a forum player measured roughly 5 to 7. Neither figure is confirmed for Build 42. Explosions are loud, so expect new arrivals after any bomb. One older guide says smoke bombs block zombie vision but work unreliably (one source).

Opinion Keep Molotovs for open streets and parking lots. To move a crowd, a car horn or gunshot is cheaper than a noise maker. Read stealth and combat before you plan around noise.

Fire burns you, your loot, vehicles and buildings, and it spreads through wooden structures and what is stored in them. Rain does not put out an existing fire; it only makes new burning tiles less likely (one source). See fire for how it spreads.

• Never throw fire indoors, near your base, or near generators and fuel cans.
• Do not lead burning zombies home. They carry the fire with them.
• If you catch fire, get out of the flames at once and treat burns as described under first aid.
• Timer and remote bombs are reported to hurt the player more than thrown ones (one source). Stay well outside the listed range.

XP: crafting a pipe bomb gives a small amount of Electrical XP (one source). Kills by fire give no weapon skill XP, according to one player report from 2023.

Do kills count? This could not be confirmed for Build 42. The same 2023 report says fire kills were not added to the kill counter, and no Build 42 source found for this page states the rule. To test it, note the counter, burn a small group, and compare.