Bitten? Project Zomboid’s Turn Timeline Exposed (B41 vs B42)
Quick Answer:
On default settings in Project Zomboid, a bitten character will die in about 2-3 days (Build 41 and Build 42 both). Scratches or lacerations can infect you too (small chance), but if infected, you'll typically see the Queasy moodle within 1 day and succumb by day 2–3. After that, you will reanimate as a zombie – so plan accordingly!
Table of Contents
If you get bitten in Project Zomboid, you've got around 2–3 in-game days before the Knox Infection kills you and your character turns. In both Build 41 and Build 42, the timeline hasn't changed – on default settings, expect roughly 48–72 hours from infection to death. Feeling queasy already? Below we break down the exact infection stages and what you can do in those last days. For comprehensive survival strategies, check our complete bite survival guide. But first, let's cover the basics:
- Bites = Death: A zombie bite has a 100% chance to give you the Knox Infection. Sorry – there's no surviving a bite in vanilla gameplay. However, mods like The Only Cure allow amputation as a last resort.
- Scratches/Lacerations = Maybe: Scratches carry ~7% chance of infection; lacerations ~25%. You won't know immediately if you got unlucky.
- Death Timeline: Once infected, your character will die in ~2 days (± some hours). You'll see symptoms within a day and get progressively worse. There is no cure in the base game – death is inevitable (barring mods or sandbox tweaks).
Infection Timeline Breakdown (Build 41 vs Build 42)
How long do you have to live after a zombie bites or infects you? In both B41 and B42, the answer is effectively the same. The Knox Infection will kill an infected survivor in about 2–3 days on default settings. There is some slight randomness – one character might last just shy of 48 hours, another might push 72 hours, but three days is the absolute upper end in most cases.
Infection Progress Timeline
Day 0 (Injury Occurs)
You got bitten (or scratched/lacerated) by a zombie. If it was a bite, infection is 100% certain. For a scratch/laceration, the clock only starts if the virus was transmitted. At this moment, you feel fine except for the normal pain of the wound.
First 6–12 Hours
A few hours after the attack, you'll start to see the first warning sign: the Queasy moodle. Your character "feels a little sick." If you have no other reason to be queasy, this is a strong indicator that the zombie infection has taken hold.
Hour 12–24 (Next Day)
The sickness escalates. Queasy turns to Nauseous, then Sick. Your character's health starts to decline, no matter what you do. You'll also become Anxious. Being well-fed gives a health boost that can temporarily offset the health drain.
Hour 24–48 (Day 2)
Now the Fever hits. Your character is delirious, severely weakened, and losing health rapidly. Combat is extremely risky in this state. By the end of Day 2, most infected characters collapse and die.
Death & Reanimation
Death comes quietly, often during sleep or as you're resting, around the 48-hour mark. Within moments (by default), your character's body reanimates as a zombie. In sandbox you can set "Reanimate Time" to range from instant up to 12+ hours.
Bottom Line: On a standard playthrough, two days is the rule of thumb. Build 42 has not changed the speed of the virus, so all your Build 41 knowledge carries over.
What to Do if You're Bitten (Turning a Death Sentence into a To-Do List)
So you've been bitten, and the clock's ticking. There's no curing it – but "game over" can be on your terms. Instead of quitting immediately, consider making the most of your character's final day or two. Here are some gamer-to-gamer suggestions:
Stash Your Gear
Gather your best weapons, tools, and food and stash them in a safe, memorable spot. Future you (your next character) will greatly appreciate inheriting that supply cache.
Lure Zombies Away
Use your dying character as a decoy. Load up on noise-makers (guns, honking car, alarms) and lead a big horde far from your base. A last heroic act to make life easier for survivors after you.
Scout & Explore
Got places you've been too cautious to check out? Now's the time. Explore new areas and uncover map knowledge. If you're afraid to check out that police station, go nuts – the worst has already happened.
Go Out in Style
Sometimes, you just want a memorable end. Drink a bottle of whiskey and charge into a zombie mob with a molotov – blaze out, literally. Or find a tall building for a dramatic finale that denies the virus its satisfaction.
Finally, take a moment to write down any lessons learned. Every death in Project Zomboid is a learning experience. Use that to your advantage next run. In Zomboid, knowledge truly is power – both knowledge of mechanics and map knowledge. Dying is the beginning of getting better!
How to Know If You're Infected (Signs You've Got the Knox Virus)
One agonizing aspect of Project Zomboid is not knowing for sure if that last zombie scratch spelled your doom. The game is deliberately subtle – there's no big pop-up that says "You have the zombie virus." But there are definite signs to look for:
1. Check the Wound Type
Bite (100% Infection)
If your health panel shows "Bitten," you are infected. Full stop. Bites carry a 100% transmission rate. Start your end-of-life plans immediately.
Laceration (25% Chance)
A laceration gives you a 1-in-4 chance of infection. You'll need to monitor for symptoms in the next day to know for sure.
Scratch (7% Chance)
A scratch has only a 7% infection chance. The odds are in your favor, but you still need to watch for symptoms.
Important Note About "Infected" Wounds
If it says "Infected" under the wound, that is NOT the zombie infection. It means regular infection (like pus in a wound). You treat it with disinfectant and clean bandages. The Knox virus is sneakier - you'll know it by the moodles described below.
2. Watch Your Moodle Status (Queasy is Key)
The progression if you are infected is:
Key indicator: If you get Queasy out of nowhere after a zombie hit (usually 6-12 hours later), start getting your affairs in order. Make sure it's not because of something else: Did you eat rotten food? Are you sitting among corpses? If none of those, it's likely the Knox Infection.
If you see the sequence Queasy → Nauseous → Sick → (fever) in a span of a day or so, it's confirmed: you have the Knox Infection. At fever stage, your fate is sealed.
3. Use a Testing Method (Mods)
Infection Scanner Mod
In the unmodded game, there's no direct test item (no blood test kit). However, the Infection Scanner mod provides a lore-friendly solution: a military-grade scanner that can tell if you're infected on the spot.
Another approach: if you're in single player and desperate to know, you can temporarily enable Debug Mode to check your character's health data.
TL;DR: Detection Summary
The queasy/nausea progression is your main indicator of Knox Infection. The health screen's "infected" text on a wound is not the zombie infection. Long-time players often know they're infected the moment that queasy moodle appears – that's when they mentally "write off" the character and start planning their finale.
Build 41 vs Build 42 – Did Infection Mechanics Change?
If you're a returning survivor coming to Build 42, you might wonder if the devs tweaked the infection system. The short answer is no – nothing fundamentally changed with zombie infection in Build 42 compared to Build 41. The transmission chances (100% bite, etc.) are the same, and the time until death is the same.
New Diseases?
Build 42's main focus was crafting and animals, but it has laid groundwork for more complex hygiene and disease mechanics. Animals cannot carry the Knox Infection, but you now have farming and livestock – with that comes the possibility of food-borne illnesses if you eat raw eggs or poorly cooked meat.
This means you should be more mindful of water cleanliness, raw food, and general sanitation in B42. Knox virus is still the big bad, but B42 might make the world more lethal in other subtle ways.
Medical and First Aid Changes
Build 42 expanded the medical system slightly, especially with new professions or crafting. You can craft herbal remedies, poultices, etc. There are now more ways to treat symptoms (teas or herbal cures for colds and food poisoning).
None of these cure the Knox Infection, but they can alleviate some symptoms. High First Aid skill in B42 will help you heal normal injuries faster, but it has zero effect on the Knox Infection outcome.
Protective Gear and Crafting
Build 42 lets you craft armor and clothing from scratch. This indirectly affects infection because you can gear up to prevent bites. You can tan leather from hunted animals and craft your own sturdy leather jackets, gloves, etc.
A good set of leather clothing can make a huge difference – a scratch might not even penetrate to your skin, saving you from the RNG infection roll entirely. So, while B42 didn't change the virus, it gave players more tools to avoid getting infected in the first place.
Summary
Build 42 should not change your fundamental approach to the Knox Infection. All the knowledge you built in Build 41 about how infection works is still valid. Use B42's new features to your advantage (better gear, more medicine for other illnesses). And don't rely on any rumored "cure" – there isn't one.
Preventing Infection (Staying Alive as Long as Possible)
The best way to deal with zombification is not getting infected at all. Easier said than done, but here's a mini refresher on prevention, because that's part of the toolbox too:
Dress for Success
Always prioritize protective clothing when looting. Thick jackets, long pants, gloves, boots – these can turn a potential bite into a bruise or prevent a scratch entirely.
In B41, police or fireman gear, military camo, or even a leather jacket are life-savers. In B42, craftable armors or reinforced clothing (using the Tailoring skill to add leather strips or patches) are a must-do.
Smart Combat
Avoid melee swarms, use fences and windows to your advantage (attack through them where zombies can't reach you), keep a backup weapon so you're not caught reloading at the worst time.
Don't fight when heavily fatigued or panicked if you can help it – those states dramatically increase the chance of a zombie landing a hit on you. And keep an eye on your surroundings; most bites come from behind.
Sandbox Tuning
If you find the infection mechanic more frustrating than fun, remember you have options. Turning transmission to "Bites Only" will eliminate random scratch deaths.
You can also disable the infection entirely (set transmission to None), meaning you'll never die from a zombie wound directly. It's your game, so tailor it to your liking.
By focusing on prevention, you ideally never have to worry about "how long until I turn" because you plan to never get turned in the first place. Ambitious, yes, but many players manage months of survival by playing carefully. And if you do slip up – well, you now know exactly what's coming and how to handle it.
Patch History
Click to Expand Patch History
| Date (Build) | Change Note & Context | Impact on Early-Game Priorities |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2021 (Build 41 Stable) |
Major "Animations Overhaul" update. Confirmed that zombie bites are intended 100% fatal (devs removed any old bugs allowing survival). Introduced new combat and clothing systems. | Avoiding bites became paramount. Early game shifted to stealth and one-on-one fights – players learned that a single bite means game over, reinforcing careful play from the start. Clothing now mattered for defense. |
| Jan 13, 2022 (Build 41.5 Patch) |
Fixed an old bug where dying before infection fully set in could prevent reanimation. In other words, self-harm or other death no longer cheats the system – infected characters always rise as zombies now. | No easy way out. Early-game infected players could no longer drink bleach or leap off a building to "escape" zombification. The emphasis moved to making those last moments count (since you'll leave a zombie). |
| Apr 14, 2022 (Build 41.69) |
Disinfectant exploit fixed: Applying disinfectant to a wound that wasn't infected no longer grants immunity from Knox infection for that wound. (Previously, some players believed a pre-disinfected scratch couldn't turn them – this patch closed that loophole.) | First Aid is about comfort, not cure. It ended a false early-game strategy of over-disinfecting every scratch to avoid zombification. Alcohol wipes still help normal wound care but no longer gave a misleading safety net against bites/scratches. |
| Dec 18, 2024 (Build 42 Unstable) |
Build 42 released to Unstable branch, focusing on crafting, animals, and balance. No direct changes to Knox infection behavior (transmission or mortality). Added many craftable items (e.g. stone tools, pottery, brewing) and livestock farming. | More tools, same threats. Early-game priorities broadened – players can pursue farming and crafting sooner – but in terms of infection, the strategy remains: don't get bit. |
| Upcoming (Build 43+) |
(Planned: NPCs and more medical depth.) While not out at time of writing, dev updates suggest NPC survivors and possibly expanded medical systems. Knox Infection cure not planned, but NPC doctors could offer help for non-zombie illnesses. | Keep an eye on NPCs. Once implemented, early-game may involve teaming up with or avoiding NPC survivors. They won't change the infection fundamentals, but they could steal supplies or help fight zombies. |
Conclusion
In Project Zomboid, death by infection is both a mechanic and a storytelling device. It's the game's way of saying "This is how you died" – but it's up to you to decide how you live until then. Think of the Knox Infection like a cruel teacher: it punishes mistakes without mercy, yet pushes you to improve each run.
Remember, knowledge is your best weapon. Now you know exactly how long you've got when the worst happens, what signs to watch for, and that Builds 41 and 42 won't throw any curveballs in this department. Use that knowledge to stay calm and make the best of a bad situation.
As a final action step: plan ahead. Assume every encounter with a zombie could be your last and have a contingency. If you set up safety nets (stashes, escape routes, understanding infection mechanics as you do now), you turn a lethal surprise into a manageable setback. The difference between a newbie and an experienced survivor is preparation and poise under pressure. With the info in this guide, you're well on your way to being the latter.
Stay safe out there, and may your next death be a long, long ways off – or at least truly epic when it comes!
Further Resources
- Project Zomboid Wiki – Knox Infection (for lore and mechanics)
- Steam Workshop – "Antibodies" mod or "Zombie Cure Medical Cocktail"
- The Indie Stone dev blog posts ("Thursdoids") for upcoming features
Remember
The first time you get bit, it feels like the end of the world. The tenth time, you'll be saying, "Alright, I know the drill," and executing a plan with grim determination. This is how we all get better at surviving the apocalypse!