Surviving the Extinction preset in Project Zomboid

Build 42.20 replaced the old presets with four play styles: Apocalypse (the default), Outbreak, Rising and Extinction. The Indie Stone describes Extinction as an unforgiving hellscape, and the in-game text warns that it is not meant for new players. For how the four compare as a whole, see game modes. The values below are the stock Extinction settings as listed by two community references that read the preset files.

One source lists Extinction water shutoff as 14 to 30 days, while two others list 0 to 30 days. Plan for the worse case: water may stop on day one. Random cognition means some zombies can open doors. Respawn works as described on zombie respawn, and the sprinters follow the rules on sprinters.

Extinction has the lowest loot in nearly every category of the four presets. Ammo is cut hardest.

Other world settings are tilted against you too (one source): house alarms often, nature abundance poor, injuries more severe, clothing wears out fast, and erosion runs at the normal 100-day pace instead of slow. Cars spawn less often, with low fuel and poor condition, are locked very often and have car alarms sometimes. Gas station tanks start between 0 and 70% full, with a quarter empty. The game starts on 9 July with zero months since the outbreak.

No single setting makes Extinction brutal. The danger comes from how they stack.

• More of everything. The population starts near 1.8 times the default level and climbs to double that by day 28. Respawn then refills cleared areas every few days.
• Every fight costs more. Superhuman strength and tough zombies mean more hits per kill and harder grabs. High injury severity and a doubled wound infection factor turn small cuts into real threats.
• Sprinters break your rhythm. Only about one zombie in seventeen runs, but in a crowd of fifty that is three runners arriving before the rest.
• Noise travels. A follow sound distance of 200 means a gunshot or alarm pulls zombies from twice as far as in Apocalypse.
• Less to fix it with. Food, medicine and tools are at 0.4, so you cannot replace losses by looting harder.

Infection spreads through blood and saliva, and once infected you die within two or three days, with reanimation almost instant (one source).

Opinion In week one the world is at its quietest and power is guaranteed. Use it to set up somewhere small and defensible, away from towns.

1. Water first. Fill every bottle, pot and bathtub on day one. Do not count on taps. See water.
2. Pick a remote base. A farmhouse or cabin with few neighbors beats a town house. Respawn and a 200-tile sound range punish living near crowds. See base locations.
3. Loot quietly and early. Take kitchens, sheds and garages near your base. Skip big stores and police stations until you have a car and an escape route.
4. Fight only at doors and fences. Never fight in the open where a sprinter can flank you. Back off when tired. See stealth for avoiding fights.
5. Start food you can grow and catch. Loot will not feed you for long, so plant early and set traps. See first week for the general order of tasks.

Opinion Weeks two to four are the squeeze. The population is climbing toward its day 28 peak, power can fail from day 14, and respawn is refilling the areas you cleared.

• Before day 14: eat or preserve the freezer food, and gather fuel and a generator if you plan to keep power. See shutoff.
• Stop clearing towns. With respawn on, a cleared street fills again. Make short supply runs instead, and leave before you are seen.
• Build walls. Zombies thump constructions in every preset, so double up barricades and fences around your sleeping room.
• Train skills at home. Carpentry, farming and first aid pay off more than combat XP, because every fight is expensive here.
• Keep a vehicle ready. Cars are scarce and locked, so the first working one you find is worth fueling and parking facing the exit.

Opinion Build for avoiding fights and surviving the ones you cannot avoid. The general advice on character builds applies, with a few Extinction twists.

• Traits: favor fitness and strength traits, plus anything that cuts noise or helps you stay unseen. Skip traits that slow healing or raise infection risk. Check current trait costs in game.
• Occupations: jobs that start with carpentry or farming help most, since you will build and grow rather than loot. See best occupations.
• Weapons: spears are craftable and reach farther, which matters when melee loot is at 0.4. Long blunt weapons and axes are strong when you find them. See spears and best weapons.
• Guns: ammo is at 0.2, and every shot draws a crowd from 200 tiles. Keep a firearm for emergencies only.

If Extinction is too punishing, you can start from it and soften one or two settings. See recommended settings and sandbox settings.