Zombie types in Project Zomboid

All zombies in Project Zomboid carry the same infection, which is covered on the zombies page. What changes from one zombie to the next is how it moves, where it waits for you and what it wears. Use this table to identify a threat quickly, then read the section below it.

With default settings, almost every zombie is a shambler, a slow walker in the style of classic Romero films. Speed, strength, toughness and senses are all set in the zombie lore part of sandbox settings, so a server can use fast shamblers, sprinters, or a random mix.

Shamblers are dangerous in numbers rather than alone. One shambler is easy to push over and finish. Five around a corner can trap you, and a bite is often fatal. Opinion Keep fights to one or two zombies at a time, back away to break up groups, and use the tips on the combat page to manage stamina.

Sprinters walk while idle but run as soon as they notice you, and they easily catch a walking survivor. They are a sandbox option and appear in some challenge modes. They get their own page: sprinters.

A crawler is a zombie that stays on the ground and drags itself toward you instead of standing up. Some zombies become crawlers after being knocked down, and others start out that way. Crawlers move at roughly a fifth of standing speed (one source), cannot break doors or windows and cannot climb fences.

They are still dangerous for three reasons. They are low and easy to miss in tall grass, dark rooms or a pile of bodies. They grab at your feet while you are busy with standing zombies. And because they stay down, many players forget about them after a fight and walk straight over one.

Fake-dead zombies lie still like corpses and get up when they hear or see you. They are common at car crash scenes and among bodies left after a fight. In Build 42 (since update 42.7) lying zombies show visible chest movement, which makes a fake-dead zombie easier to tell apart from a real corpse if you look closely.

Sitting zombies slump against walls. They have to stand before they can attack, which gives you a moment to strike first or walk around them.

Opinion Make stomping every body you pass a habit, especially in narrow spaces. A stomp is cheaper than a bite. Real corpses that pile up also need handling, covered on the corpses page.

Many zombies wear the uniform of whoever they were before the outbreak. Police officers, riot police, soldiers, firefighters, prisoners, doctors and construction workers all appear, usually near their workplace. Expect clusters of soldiers at military bases and police around stations.

These zombies often wear helmets, vests or heavy jackets. Whether that gear reduces the damage you deal to them in Build 42 is not something we could confirm from current sources. The pages we checked describe armor only as protection for the player, and the official patch notes we read do not mention zombie armor. Treat claims about exact damage reduction with suspicion until they are confirmed in game.

Opinion Plan as though a helmeted zombie may take extra hits. Fight it alone, keep your stamina topped up, and pick a weapon from the best weapons list that does solid damage. The upside is the gear itself: once the zombie is down, its helmet, vest or jacket can be worth taking. See best clothing for what is worth wearing.

Zombies spawn inside buildings as well as on streets, including small rooms such as bathrooms and closets. A zombie shut in a room will bash at the door, and that noise draws others nearby. Given enough time or enough zombies, doors break.

Listen before you open anything. Groaning or banging behind a door means at least one zombie is inside. Open the door with your weapon ready and a clear path behind you, and fight in the doorway so only one can reach you at a time. Before you sleep in a house, check every room; the barricades page covers sealing a building once it is clear.

Wrecked cars are a classic ambush spot. Crash scenes often have fake-dead crawlers lying around them, so stomp the bodies near a wreck before looting it. Running vehicles also attract zombies, so a car left with its engine on draws a crowd. Whether zombies can spawn sealed inside vehicles in Build 42 is something we could not confirm; check a car's windows before opening a door. The stealth page explains how noise spreads.

Zombies decay as the months pass. Their bodies putrefy and lose mass, and the rate differs from one zombie to the next, so a late-game crowd looks noticeably thinner and darker than the fresh dead of the first week.

Sources we found say this decay is cosmetic: a rotted zombie does not move slower, hit softer or die on its own. That statement was written for Build 41 and we found nothing saying Build 42 changed it. We also could not confirm whether zombies ever reach a fully skeletal look during a normal game. Do not wait for the dead to rot away; plan around zombie respawn and migrating hordes instead.

A zombie's outfit hints at its loot. Most carry little beyond worn clothing, but some uniforms are worth a closer look. Each corpse is a small container you can open from the loot panel; the looting guide covers the routine.

Keys found on zombies can open locked homes and vehicles, and police zombies are one of the safer ways to pick up a first handgun. Zombies can also wander around with a weapon stuck in them, such as a knife or axe early on and spears or machetes later, which you can pull out. See gun locations for other places to find firearms.