In Project Zomboid, there are a number of skills you need to master if you want to make it past the first few weeks. From whittling spears from logs to fashioning splints from tree branches, they’re all necessary for survival in a zombie-filled world.
There’s one skill, however, that seems to fly under the radar – and that’s tailoring! Tailoring is the best defense against zombies in Project Zomboid, as it provides you with more bite protection and scratch resistance than anything else.
But getting tailoring levels can be a bit tricky, as you need a needle, thread, and some fabric to complete the task. These items spawn in sewing kits that sometimes spawn in medicine cabinets or other homes, and they also sometimes spawn on their own as you go through the world.
The easiest way to get thread in Project Zomboid is by ripping up clothes that you find around the game, and that you’re not really interested in keeping. This can be done in the clothing store, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and anywhere that clothes are laying around that you’re not particularly interested in keeping.
This is a great way to level up your tailoring, since you’ll gain exp as you repair and patch items, and it’s also a good way to save time in the early game. You can also patch clothes to increase your defense stats if you’re looking for an alternative means of increasing your protection.
Aside from gaining experience, repairing items in Project Zomboid is important for another reason: clothing can start to deteriorate with holes and tears from combat. Holes will damage your protection, making you weaker and more prone to scratches and burns. A hole in your leather duster, for example, could give you a nasty burn or a painful scratch, both of which are dangerous and can even lead to zombification if you’re bitten.
You can also get a scratch from a zombie in Project Zomboid, which will cause you to lose a lot of health and a fair amount of strength. If you have any wounds, you should bandage them as quickly as possible and change the bandage regularly to keep your health from draining too rapidly.
If you don’t, you can easily contract the Knox Infection from a zombie bite or laceration, which will result in death. The only way to prevent the Knox Infection is to avoid being bitten in the first place by stockpiling food and medical supplies before starting a new character.
Once you’re ill, you’ll see moodles in your health menu that indicate how fast your health is losing. These are a handy guide to how ill you’re getting, and they’ll also show you which moodles indicate you have contracted the Knox Infection from a zombie bite, scratch, or laceration.
Bites in Project Zomboid are the most dangerous, as they will infect your character with the Knox Infection, which will make them reanimate after a certain number of days. This will eventually lead to death, so it’s a good idea to quit and restart your character when you’re bitten in Project Zomboid.