If you’re “ready to craft” but blocked on Long Sticks, the source note recommends stabilizing at 6–12 Long Sticks (more if you’re building stations, fewer if you’re just feeding spears).
Checklist (stop when stable)
Quick decision
10-minute Long Stick loop (town edge)
Timer:
00:00
Repeatable route from the source note: industrial sweep → log piles → forest-edge forage → return and carve.
The three reliable sources (from the note)
Long sticks feel random in houses; they stop feeling random when you route them.
Source
Speed
Risk
Why it works in B42
Log piles & industrial clutter
Fast
Medium
Repeatable “builder loot” logic; log piles reported as a consistent hit.
Saplings → Carve Long Stick
Medium
Low–Medium
Turns “nature RNG” into a craftable pipeline.
Sports gear (hockey sticks) → carve
Medium
Low
Town-friendly backup source; reduces dependence on wilderness RNG.
Industrial / log-pile hit list
Warehouses / storage units / backrooms
Big garages and work sheds
Construction yards and material stacks
Log piles when you spot them
Carry rule from the note: if you’re out for sticks, carry light and carry long.
Forage + carve micro-checklist
Search along forest edges (safer, faster traversal).
Do one focused pass (5–10 minutes), then go carve.
Bring a carving tool (knife class).
Convert immediately so inventory “tells the truth”.
Sports gear salvage tip
If you can carve long sticks out of hockey sticks, routes that touch schools, sports shops, gym storage, or sports-junk homes become long-stick routes.
What “Long Stick” means in B42 (and why the name matters)
The note highlights a B42 rename pitfall: “Very Long Stick” was renamed to “Long Stick” in a B42 hotfix. Older videos/posts can mislead your crafting searches.
Crafting UI habit (from the note)
CRAFTING UI HABIT (B42):
1) Open crafting
2) Search: "long stick"
3) If nothing shows, search: "carve" or "spear"
4) Then ask: "Do I lack TOOLS, MATERIALS, or SKILL?"
Spear workflow (and why it becomes a supply chain)
If your spear “disappears”, the note frames it as a failure pipeline:
B42 SPEAR PIPELINE:
Long Stick + (tool) → Spear
Spear breaks → Broken Long Stick
Broken Long Stick breaks → Broken Stick
Practical strategy (from the note)
Carry one spear, stash two shafts (base or car trunk).
Don’t waste fresh shafts on training; save spear use for when reach matters.
Assume breakage and plan exits; bring a fallback weapon that doesn’t need a long stick.
Fire-hardened spear note
The note mentions community advice about fire-hardening (with a crit chance bump) as a “quality craft” if spears feel more fragile than B41 muscle memory.
When to hoard Long Sticks instead of burning them on spears
The note’s core framing: in B42, Long Sticks are “infrastructure currency” as much as weapon material.
If you’re building…
Why it matters
Long-stick stance
Drying/tanning racks and similar stations
Unlock food/leather workflows that stabilize mid-game
Hoard first, spear later
Lean-to shelter / early outdoor setups
Note says long sticks/saplings became more expensive in B42.1 era
Hoard if you’re living rough
Pure weapon progression
Spears feel disposable in the note’s B42 framing
Craft only from surplus
Troubleshooting: why Long Sticks feel “bugged”
Four common mistakes called out in the note:
Mistake 1: Treating branches like sticks
Note’s takeaway: if you have branches but no Long Sticks, you’re probably not missing a secret recipe; switch inputs (saplings/log piles/hockey sticks) instead of brute-force branch farming.
Mistake 2: Searching houses like it’s B41
Note’s fix: do one intentional “builder loot” pass through industrial/garage spaces.
Mistake 3: Expecting spear recipes/attachments to behave the old way
Search crafting for “spear” and “attach”.
If you’re running mods, reproduce in vanilla.
If you’re on unstable MP, the note echoes the official advice: disable mods first, then add back one-by-one after vanilla works.
Mistake 4: Thinking you’re unlucky when you’re unrouted
The note’s answer is a loop you can repeat:
10-MINUTE LONG STICK LOOP (TOWN EDGE):
1) Industrial building / warehouse sweep (containers + floor clutter)
2) Detour to any visible log piles
3) Forest-edge forage pass (single direction, no spiraling)
4) Return and carve immediately
Minimalist early-game plan (so Long Sticks don’t derail you)
Day 1 (setup)
Day 2 (stabilize)
FAQ (fast answers from the note)
I can’t find Long Sticks anywhere. Are they removed?
Note’s answer: switch to in-world sources that make sense—log piles/industrial loot, saplings + carving, and hockey sticks as a town backup.
Why do my spears keep turning into broken long sticks?
Note’s framing: it’s the B42 failure chain. Treat spears like consumables—carry one, stash spare shafts.
Can I craft Long Sticks from tree branches?
Note’s hint: players ask for it, which suggests it’s not a standard conversion. Use saplings/“Carve Long Stick,” or carve hockey sticks.
Are spear attachment crafts removed in B42?
Note’s guidance: treat it as “changed until proven otherwise”—verify in vanilla; if modded (especially unstable MP), disable mods first.
Patch-history (collapsible in the source note)
Dates and notes below are copied from the local source text.
Date
Change Note
Impact on early-game priorities
December 20, 2024
Hotfix 42.0.1 renamed “Very Long Stick” to “Long Stick” (plus other rename cleanups).
Old advice/search terms can mislead; update crafting-search habits.
January 21, 2025
42.1 UNSTABLE increased long sticks/saplings required for lean-to shelter.
Outdoor survival setups cost more; bank sticks earlier if you live rough.
January 21, 2025
Build 42.1.0 summary notes “Carve Long Stick” and hockey-stick carving into long sticks.
Adds a town-friendly sourcing option and reinforces carving as the intended pipeline.
June 30, 2025
42.10 UNSTABLE includes map usability improvements (e.g., street-name support).
Easier routing to industrial/log areas makes targeted stick runs less painful.
December 11, 2025
Unstable 42 MP Released (mods discouraged during testing).
Recipe/attachment confusion is harder to debug when modded; verify crafts in vanilla first.
Project Zomboid B42 Long Stick Helper
Log piles & industrial clutter
Saplings → Carve Long Stick
Construction yards and material stacks
Bring a carving tool (knife class).
