Initial Infection VS Apocalypse VS Survivor VS Builder VS One Week Later VS Survival VS Six Months Later

Different game modes in Project Zomboid and what they entail

There are four different game modes in Project Zomboid: Apocalypse, Survivor, Builder, and Custom Sandbox.

Different game modes in Project Zomboid offer different experiences for players. The “Apocalypse” mode is the default when building a custom sandbox, and offers a realistic and deadly combat experience that is often best avoided. The “survivor” mode is more focused on combat and offers a more challenging play style based on the game’s previous Survival mode. The “builder” mode is more focused on construction, exploration, and farming, and offers a more relaxed experience with fewer zombies.

The tutorial mode is a short introduction that covers the basics of movement, looting, and attacking, as well as teaching players about the yelled mechanic. Once a player completes the tutorial, they can choose from a variety of different play styles, each with its own unique set of difficulties. The play styles include survival, sandbox, and story. In survival mode, players must try to survive for as long as possible while scavenging for resources and avoiding zombies.

Initial Infection VS Apocalypse VS Survivor VS Builder VS One Week Later VS Survival VS Six Months Later

Population:

Difficulty	Zombie Count
Initial Infection	Low
Apocalypse	Normal
Survivor	Normal
Builder	Low
One Week Later	High
Survival	High
Six Months Later	Insane

World:

Difficulty	Water Shutoff	Electricity Shutoff	House Alarms Frequency	Locked Houses Frequency	Food Spoilage	Refrigeration Effectiveness	Initial Gas Station Amount
Initial Infection	6–12 Months	6–12 Months	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Slow	High	Full
Apocalypse	0–30 Days	0–30 Days	Sometimes	Very Often	Normal	Normal	Normal
Survivor	0–30 Days	0–30 Days	Sometimes	Very Often	Normal	Normal	Normal
Builder	0–30 Days	0–30 Days	Sometimes	Very Often	Normal	Normal	Normal
One Week Later	0–2 Months	0–2 Months	Rare	Rare	Normal	Normal	High
Survival	0–30 Days	0–30 Days	Sometimes	Very Often	Normal	Normal	Normal
Six Months Later	Instant	Instant	Never	Never	Normal	Normal	Normal

Nature:

Difficulty	Farming Speed	Plant Resilience	Farming’s Abundance	Nature’s Abundance	Erosion Speed
Initial Infection	Fast	Very High	Very Abundant	Very Abundant	Normal (100 Days)
Apocalypse	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal (100 Days)
Survivor	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal (100 Days)
Builder	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal (100 Days)
One Week Later	Normal	Normal	Abundant	Abundant	Normal (100 Days)
Survival	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal (100 Days)
Six Months Later	Normal	Normal	Normal	Abundant	Very Fast (20 Days)

• Farming Speed: Controls the speed of plant growth.
• Plant Resilience: Will influence how much water the plant will lose per day and its ability to avoid disease.
• Farming’s Abundance: Controls the yield of plants when harvested.
• Nature’s Abundance: Controls the abundance of fish and general forage.

Loot Rarity:

Difficulty	Fresh Food	Canned Food	Melee Weapons	Ranged Weapons	Ammo	Medical	Survival Essentials	Mechanics	Literature	Other
Initial Infection	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant	Abundant
Apocalypse	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare
Survivor	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare
Builder	Rare	Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare	Extremely Rare
One Week Later	Common	Common	Common	Common	Common	Common	Common	Common	Common	Common
Survival	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare
Six Months Later	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare	Rare

Survival Essentials: Seeds, Nails, Saws, Fishing Rods, various tools, etc…

Character:

Difficulty	XP Multiplier	Starter Kit	Rear Vulnerability	Weapon Multi–Hit	Stats Decrease	Player–built Construction Strength	Clothing Degradation	Injury Severity
Initial Infection	2.0	Yes	High	No	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Apocalypse	1.0	No	High	No	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Survivor	1.0	No	Low	Yes	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Builder	1.0	Yes	Low	Yes	Fast	High	Fast	Low
One Week Later	1.0	No	High	No	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Survival	1.0	No	High	No	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Six Months Later	1.0	No	High	No	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal

• Starter Kit: Spawn with chips, water bottle, school bag, baseball bat, and a hammer.
• Player-built Construction Strength: Gives player-built constructions extra hit points so they are more resistant to zombie damage.
• Injury Severity: Increase and decrease the impact injuries have on your body, and their healing time.
• Clothing Degradation: Governs how quickly clothing degrades, becomes dirty, and bloodied.
• Rear Vulnerability: Chance of being bitten when a zombie attacks from behind.
• Weapon Multi-Hit: When enabled certain melee weapons will be able to strike multiple zombies in one hit.

Vehicles:

Difficulty	Recent Survivor Vehicles	Car Spawn Rate	Chance Has Gas	Initial Gas	Locked Frequency	General Condition	Car Alarms Frequency
Initial Infection	High	High	High	Very High	Extremely Rare	High	Extremely Rare
Apocalypse	Low	Low	Low	Low	Rare	Low	Extremely Rare
Survivor	Low	Low	Low	Low	Rare	Low	Extremely Rare
Builder	Low	Low	Low	Low	Rare	Low	Extremely Rare
One Week Later	Low	Normal	High	Normal	Rare	Normal	Rare
Survival	Low	Low	Low	Low	Rare	Low	Extremely Rare
Six Months Later	Low	Low	Low	Low	Never	Very Low	Never

• Recent Survivor Vehicles: Governs whether a player can discover a car that has been maintained and cared for after the infection struck.
• Car Spawn Rate: Governs how frequently cars are discovered on the map
• Chance Has Gas: Governs the chances of finding vehicles with gas in the tank.
• Initial Gas: Governs how full gas tanks will be in discovered cars.
• General Condition: General condition of vehicles discovered on the map
• Car Alarms Frequency: How frequently cars will be discovered with an alarm.

Zombie Lore:

Difficulty	Speed	Strength	Toughness	Cognition	Memory	Sight	Hearing	Environmental Attacks	Drag Down
Initial Infection	Shamblers	Weak	Fragile	Navigate	Short	Poor	Poor	Yes	Yes
Apocalypse	Fast Shamblers	Normal	Normal	Basic Navigation	Normal	Normal	Normal	No	Yes
Survivor	Fast Shamblers	Weak	Normal	Basic Navigation	Normal	Normal	Normal	No	No
Builder	Fast Shamblers	Weak	Fragile	Basic Navigation	Normal	Poor	Poor	No	No
One Week Later	Fast Shamblers	Weak	Normal	Navigation	Short	Poor	Poor	Yes	Yes
Survival	Fast Shamblers	Normal	Normal	Basic Navigation	Normal	Normal	Normal	No	Yes
Six Months Later	Fast Shamblers	Weak	Normal	Navigation	Normal	Normal	Normal	Yes	Yes

• Speed: Controls the zombie movement rate.
• Strength: Controls the damage zombies inflict per attack.
• Toughness: Controls the difficulty to kill zombies.
• Cognition: Controls zombie intelligence.
• Memory: Controls how long zombies remember players after seeing or hearing.
• Sight: Controls zombie vision radius.
• Hearing: Controls zombie hearing radius.
• Environmental Attacks: Zombies that have not seen or heard players can attack doors and constructions while roaming.
• Drag Down: When enabled if multiple zombies are attacking they can drag you down to feed. Dependent on zombie strength.

Advanced Zombie Options:

Difficulty	Population Multiplier	Population Start Multiplier	Population Peak Multiplier	Population Peak Day	Respawn Hours	Respawn Multiplier	Follow Sound Distance	Rally Group Size	Rally Travel Distance	Rally Group Radius
Initial Infection	0.5	0.5	1.0	50	240.0	0.1	100	5	5	5
Apocalypse	1.0	1.0	1.5	72.0	0.1	100	20	20	15	3
Survivor	1.0	1.0	1.5	72.0	0.1	100	20	20	15	3
Builder	0.2	0.6	1.5	72.0	0.1	100	20	20	15	3
One Week Later	1.0	0.9	1.2	30	144.0	0.2	120	30	10	7
Survival	1.0	1.0	1.5	72.0	0.1	100	20	20	15	3
Six Months Later	3.0	2.0	1.0	5	72.0	0.5	300	200	30	10

The number of zombies will grow over time regardless of the initial infection.