Try this Stealth Burglar Build in Project Zomboid. Great for beginners. Sneak past zombies and hotwire cars from the start.

Negative Traits to Pick

  • Very Underweight (+10)
    -2 Fitness, but this will get balanced out by the Fit trait. Very Underweight is easy to fix, plenty of high calorie food available.
  • High Thirst (+6)
    A bottle will make this a non issue.
  • Slow Healer (+6)
    Just try not to get injured.
  • Pacifist (+4)
    75% XP of Melee and Aiming skill. This will be offset with the Fast Learner trait.
  • Prone to Illness (+4)
    Just stay dry and warm.
  • Unlucky (+4)
    Plenty of loot to go around in single player.
  • Weak Stomach (+3)
    Just don’t eat rotten food.
  • Short Sighted (+2)
    Affects foraging radius in search mode. This is basically free.
  • Slow Reader (+2)
    You may want to switch out Slow Reader if you are on multiplayer.

If you need more points or want to switch a trait out Smoker (+4) is a great alternative.

Positive Traits to Pick

  • Stout (-6)
    With this build you will start with 7 Strength. Giving you a base carry weight of 15.
  • Keen Hearing (-6)
    See better behind you.
  • Fit (-6)
    +2 Fitness. This offsets your Very Underweight trait giving you the default starting Fitness of 5.
  • Fast Learner (-6)
    130% XP for all skills except Strength and Fitness. One of the best traits in the game for any occupation.
  • Inconspicuous (-4)
    50% chance of zombies spotting you.
  • Graceful (-4)
    60% footsteps sound radius. 90% chance to trip while run/sprint vaulting a low fence or lunging zombies.
  • Dextrous (-2)
    Transfer items faster.
  • Speed Demon (-1)
    Drive faster. This is the only positive trait for 1 point and its actually quite good. Even better for burglars since you’ll be able to hotwire cars from the start.

Customising your character? Check out the best traits to pick.

Stealth Build

The Burglar occupation is great for sneaking around undetected by zombies. Therefore it’s not that great for multiplayer where you’re playing with friends that are making noise and attracting zombies, nor is it effective in PvP.

Not Built For Combat

This Burglar Stealth build isn’t built for combat. The additional strength is more just for the carry capacity (it makes a big difference). The build doesn’t really have anything to boost melee or gun combat. If anything this character is more made for avoiding fights.

For gun combat check out this Veteran build. Prefer melee? See this Lumberjack build.