How to loot efficiently in Project Zomboid

A loot run starts at home. Leave with an empty main inventory, a worn bag, one reliable weapon and a light source. Every item you carry out is weight you cannot carry back.

These Build 42 figures come from one bag list (one source). The reduction only applies while the bag is worn; a bag sitting in your main inventory gives no reduction. Organized and Disorganized change how much worn bags hold. Full details are on the bags page.

• Weapon: a melee weapon in good condition, plus a spare if it is likely to break. See best weapons.
• Light: a flashlight for dark interiors and basements. See lighting.
• Tools: a pen or pencil for the map, and a screwdriver or crowbar only if you plan to open locked spots.

Opinion Drop off everything you collected on the last run before you head out again. Starting with a full bag is the most common reason a run ends early.

Opening containers takes your eyes off the room, so deal with zombies first. Walk the outside of the house, look through windows, then knock or make a small noise at the door and fight whatever comes out in the doorway, where only one can reach you at a time.

Opinion Clear room by room and close doors behind you as you go, so a cleared room stays cleared. Check upstairs and the basement before you start opening drawers, since basements often hide zombies. If several zombies are inside and you have no clean choke point, skip the building and come back later.

Since 42.4, a building that was raided before you arrived shows it from outside with smashed windows and forced doors, and fewer buildings start raided than before. Those houses are usually poorer, so they make good second-pass targets rather than first picks. Watch for house and car alarms; the alarms page explains how to avoid triggering them, and stealth covers moving quietly.

Each room type rolls from its own loot lists, so you can predict what is worth opening. Exact spawn lists live on the loot tables page and building types on loot locations; this table is only a quick map of a typical house.

Bags in dressers and wardrobes are random and many rolls give nothing. Sheds are poor for sledgehammers, which the shed loot data lists at very low weight. Fridge food is a first-days bonus, since it spoils once the power goes out.

When you stand next to furniture, its containers appear as icons along the side of the loot window, including the floor. Click through each icon, use the Loot All button only on containers where you want everything, and drag single items for the rest. Moving items is a timed action, so a big haul takes real in-game time.

Opinion Judge each item by usefulness per unit of weight. The carry weight page explains the limits and the Heavy Load penalties.

Opinion Leave anything you would have to drop to run. If you are carrying over your limit you lose sprinting, then running, so never start a fight while overloaded.

Build 42 lets you draw symbols and write notes on the world map, as long as you carry a pen, pencil or marker. Reading a paper town map also reveals more of that area; see in-game maps.

Opinion Use one symbol for looted, one for partly looted and one for danger, and mark the house as soon as you leave it. A simple key stops you from re-checking the same street a week later.

For big runs, a vehicle turns one bag of space into a trunk full. Park facing the exit, loot into your bag, then empty the bag into the trunk and go back in. Work vans and other cargo vehicles carry the most; see best vehicles and hotwiring. Engine noise draws zombies, so keep stops short and plan a loop that ends on the road home.

Commercial buildings hold far more than houses but attract more zombies and often have alarms. Grocery stores give bulk food, pharmacies and clinics give medicine, hardware stores give tools and building supplies, and warehouses give heavy bulk stock that only makes sense with a vehicle. Gun stores and police stations are covered on gun locations.

Opinion Clear the back rooms and staff areas first, since that is where zombies corner you. Take one category per trip, such as food on one run and medicine on the next, so you can leave fast without sorting under pressure.

Opinion This order works for most starts. Adjust it to your occupation kit and to the first-week guide.

1. Weapon and a worn bag of 15 capacity or more.
2. Water containers, filled while the taps still run. See water.
3. Non-perishable food and a can opener.
4. Bandages, disinfectant and painkillers.
5. Hammer, nails, saw and screwdriver for a base.
6. Needle, thread and scissors for clothing repair.
7. Skill books for your planned skills, then a vehicle and fuel for longer runs.