There are many Project Zomboid Multiplayer servers to pick from, before you settle and invest time into a character here are a few tips for finding the best server for you.
1. PvE or PvP
The first thing to determine is if you want to play in a PvE or PvP server (or a mix of both). If you just want to fight zombies and not have to worry about a player gunning you down then you’ll want a pure PvE server.
However for those who want the PvP experience there are a couple of choices. Typically this means either a pure PvP server where players can attack eachothere anywhere or a semi PvP server with restrictions.
These restrictions are typically zones where PvP are enabled with other areas PvP free where you can be safe from player attacks.
Alternatively there are servers that have a button that allows players to switch on PvP, allowing themselves to be attacked (but this doesn’t make as much sense to me except for maybe dueling and private skirmishes).
Keep an eye out of the PvP and PvE tag in server names, or better yet check out the server rules typically found in their Discord server.
2. Server Ping
The next thing to look out for is good server stats. The first being low ping. High ping will lead to lag and unwanted deaths, to avoid this find a server close to your location.
You can enter Max Distance in Battlemetrics to filter for servers near you.
3. Server Uptime
Uptime is a great indicator to help you stay clear of bad servers. Again Battlemetrics provides great stats for this.
Low uptime percentage is a red flag. Server’s that are often down are servers that have upkeep issues. Perhaps they have software or hardware issues, or they are simply running the server on their personal computer that they turn off after each gaming session.
What you want is close to 100% uptime, these are typically run on dedicated servers. A much more suitable environment for catering to a long term player base.
4. Player Participation
The whole point of playing multiplayer is so you can interact with other players. Battlemetrics shows details on Most Time Played and Player Count.
These two stats give an indicator on how healthy a server’s player base is. It provides insight into how much time players have invested into their character as well as how many players are on at a time.
5. Invisible Zombies
If you start playing on a server and notice zombies are invisible and only their shadows are showing. Its a sign that the server possibly is server resources.
This is typically more of a problem with high population servers. Dying to an invisible Zombie is pretty frustrating.
6. Skill Journal Recovery (Mod)
Now lets take a look at mods. Some mods can drastically impact game play experience. Skill Journal Recovery is probably one that has the biggest impact.
This mod essentially allows players to recover their skill progress if their character dies. It’s up to you whether you want to join a server with or without this mod.
Playing on servers with this mod ensures that you can recover your skill progress if you die. Saving you from that skill grind that not every one want’s to go through again.
This is great for players who want to experience end game features such as base building and PvP without having to worry about re grinding skills should their character die.
However this does remove the impact of death. As such it takes away from the intense survival aspect that is a core component of the Zomboid experience.
Some servers have the mod set up so that you can only partially recover skill progress. A great in between option.
7. Faction Safehouses (Mod)
The ability to claim a safehouse enables late game base building. Without this feature other players can simply loot and destroy what you have worked hard to build. Luckily the Faction Safehouse mod is commonly found on many Zomboid servers.
If you like the base building aspect of the game, the Safehouse mod is a must. However if you like base raiding then you might actually want a server without this feature.
8. Claim Vehicle (Mod)
Similar to Faction Safehouses except for vehicles this mod allows players to protect their vehicles from other players.
Look out for either the Valhalla Community mod or Another Vehicle Claim System mod.
Basically you won’t have to worry about players stealing from your trunk or your entire vehicle when you are searching for loot or not in game.
Many players like to collect and upgrade vehicles, if you’re one of these this mod is probably a must for you too.
Note: Depending on the mod trailers, roof racks and vehicle storage that isn’t lockable may be lootable.
9. Weapon Condition Indicator
Whilst there are a bunch of Quality of Life Mods for Project Zomboid one you may want to consider is Weapon Condition Indicator.
It’s not essential but being able to see your weapon condition (especially ammo count) is quite handy to have.
10. For The Sims Base Building Players
Mods like the More Builds mod allows players to construct windows and nice looking walls. Great for repairing damaged buildings, making extensions or entire buildings.
These are very nice additions for players who are more focused on the base building aspect of Zomboid.
For more great mods check out our featured mods.
