Project Zomboid: PZ Weapon Build Guide

Firstly i would really recommend turning on Multi-hit im pretty sure most PZ vets turn this one on. Its a bit confusing why its not on by default as multi hit was a thing since the demo in like 2011 and is the more popular option.
it enables the larger weapons to hit 2 zombies (3 for a select few) and shove up to 3 zombies.

So its a bit confusing but Default Exp gain is 25%
if you have one bar of skill in the Character creator it becomes 75%
with 2 bars its 100% with 3 its 125% (it caps out at 3)
So effectively having one bar of skill gives you 3 times the amount of EXP compaired to baseline
this makes starting weapon skills very Important

Next i think its Important to talk about what effects damage real quick

First Strength apply a damage bonus. (Well fed buff , gotten by eating, temporarily boost strength increasing damage and knock back)

You also have Weapon Proficiency that increases damage and crit (includeing other buffs)

For example a Construction Worker (+3 short blunt) is gonna have 2ice the effective damage, better crits, better attack speed, (and even better durability at the 4th skill but we will talk about that later) Then someone with 0 short blunt Proficiency

Panic Up to -5.2 Crit -.3 damage

Stressed Up to -.3 damage

Endurance Starts at -50% damage -7% attack speed to -95% damage -28% attack speed

Tired Starts at -50% Damage to -95% damage

Pain Attack speed and damage depends on injury location & level of pain

Arm injury’s it depends on the severity but it lowers damage and attack speed (penalties are less without pain but are still existent)

Encumbrance lowers attack speed and stamina regain but not damage

(Often it was assumed that base shotgun shots will always kill and pistol crits will always kill but this is not always the case)

Panic -5.2 critical and -25 damage ( this is ignored at lv 6 gun skill )

Stressed -.3 damage

Arm Injury’s also lower ranged damage

Panic gain is eventually lowered over the time of months.
But more effective ways to deal with panic is the brave perk or taking Beta blockers prehand,
this making shooting much more effective unless you have a very high gun skill

Maintenance is pretty important depending on your weapon type. Every weapon has a 1 out of x chance to lose durability, Your weapon skill and maintenance skill Adds to the chance to not consume durability
Weapons like Knifes and Spears can have chances as low as 1/2 chance to lose durability. So having just 2 levels in Maintenance can make the chance 1/4, Makeing fragile weapons last Much longer

its trained by not losing durability (so by using durable weapons)
The crowbar has a 1/70 chance to lose durability (15) so it can be used around 1050~ times on base durability, But also because it has such high durability it dosent get much benefit from your high maintenance skill
(short blades are gonna wana train with the meat cleaver)

This is probably the most Generic Specialized Weapon type. Its decent and abundant enough to be used in mass.
Your most common blunt weapons would be the crowbar and baseball bat (maybe metal bars), The crowbar has exceptional durability and the base ball bat has good early stats ( the crowbar and kind of out-scale it)
Also later in blunt skill when you have more blunt & maintenance you can use items like shovels as its Upper damage grows faster then the baseball bat and its durability will last longer.

Maintenance Unnecessary, can get away with it and the crowbar is fantastic
Multi hit can Hit 2 zombies a once
Crowd Control Decent
Availability Common

Brawler The Basic pick for 2h blunts and axes. a pretty common pick with firefighter

Baseball Player +1 long blunt pretty basic

Strong/Stout Due to 2h blunt having less damage then Axes id argue early they benefit more from knocking zombies back because early axes will end up just one hitting at 4 axe skill

This is often a Carpentry build, Car build, Or high Str looters, As you often already have a hammer / Pipe Wrench or have one hand free for a flashlight or an extra duffel bag. Also allows you to have a large gun on your back (like a shotgun) your most common weapon will be hammers and Night sticks ( slightly better then hammers )
An added bonus is that short blunt is likely to be the first meaningful weapon you may obtain. A frying pan on a 3 blunt skill user is not bad at all.

Maintenance Unnecessary, hammers and such are pretty common with decent durability
Availability Very Common,
Crowd Control Okay, Good attack speed

Construction Worker The go to be the Hammer Man king

Carpenter Builder with blunt skill

Repairman Builder with blunt skill tho is Arguably better suited for other weapons

Mechanic Pipe wench in hand defending your car

Gymnast with the shorter range, Movement speed in combat stance is pretty importent

Handy If your using 1H blunt its likely your a builder and this perk pairs well with that

A bit of a premium weapon category these do great damage and can be used to chop trees. you might want to save these for people with axe proficiency and it gets alot out of the axe swinger perk.

Maintenance Is not needed but is Preferred to make these premium weapons last even longer / make makeshift axes last Much longer.
Multi hit Can Hit 2 zombies a once (wood axe & pick axe is 3)
Crowd Control Excellent, Good damage and durability
Availability Uncommon
Wood axes with Axe man is VERY strong but a limited resource

Fire Officer A very Meta pick. Probably the most picked profession

Lumberjack the Pure Axe Melee Build, Swings much faster with axes

Park Ranger A builder / Support class that functions with axes. late game can mass craft stone axes, Handy really pairs well with park ranger IMO

Brawler Only way to get more Axe skill. Not needed but nice to have.

a weapon that works better in stealth & isolation, can kill zombies one after another if in low density

Maintenance very much required as knifes have low durability (Can train Maintenance with the Meat cleaver, also Meat cleaver can not instakill)
Strength is Alot less of a factor due to the insta kill effect
Stamina is generally consumed less when attacking
Insta-kill Chance scales with skill, Can instakill Isolated zombies (wont work when other zombies are close)
Backstab If you are quiet and fast enough you can backstab zombies, Resulting in a insta-kill
Crowd Control Very Poor when zombies are clumped up as base stab damage is poor.
Attack Speed if your default attack speed is low enough you can get bit during animations, shoving before a jaw stab on an alerted zombie can help prevent this.
Availability Abundent but low durability, Hunting knifes, The Preferred Short blade is Uncommon at first (more will spawn in zombies in later days)

Burger Flipper the best profession by far for knifes. You get maintenance and blade and 2 skill points

Repairman Paired with hunter is not too bad

Gymnast Movement speed in combat mode is vital

Graceful being quite is really important. For Knife Builds being quiet is much more effective then having the inconspicuous perk

Handy Having at least one Maintenance is Vital

Hunter Only way to get more blade skill, is not really required but is helpful

Not really super viable, very rare, Their is a way to infinitely repair the machete but its alot of work and is pretty high maintenance

These for the most part need to be crafted if you want it to be your main stay weapon but is not too bad, But have good range and can stab though fences and such.
You would probably also want a crowbar in your backpack as a Durable back up or a hammer on your belt.
Maintenance is really needed, Also crafted spears durability depends on carpentry skill (need carpentry lv3 to max out)
Insta-kill has a sweet spot range where it has a chance to insta-kill if no other zombies are immediately near by, Sweet Spot crit dose not scale with skill
Sprint charge attack insta kill zombies (left alt by default)
Crowd Control Poor when clumped up
Strength is a bit less of a factor due to the insta-kill chance
Skill boost Dose not have any way to boost skill gain so you may want fast learner
Availability uncommon and low durability outside Garden Fork

Repairman Makes spears last much longer and you need Carpentry to make durably spears anyway.

Handy Fits the style of the build

Gymnast Movement speed is nice with Spears to pick of insta kills

Fast Learner Only way to get extra Spear Exp

So a lot of people argue that guns are useless without Aim skill but thats only partly true.
Firearms when Combined enough ammo can clear highly contested areas like shopping districts, While also being a good tool to lure zombies away from locations. But is often a pretty poor panic weapon unless you have fantastic gun-skill or maybe the JS-2000 Sawed-Off Shotgun. But being panicked with or stressed really lowers the effectiveness. (also worth mentioning exp gains drop off HARD at lv5. a non boosted character shouldn’t ever expect to get above lv5 reasonably)

The weapon of choice for people without gun skill.
the Sawed-off JS-2000 Shotgun has 100% hit chance with 0 aim skill when you wait long enough (it turns green) but with its lower damage and crit chance it can not one tap. But will often kill several zombies with one shot with lv0 aim skill
Id have to say the king is Double Barrel Shotgun when you have 2 aim skill. Easily killing 4 zombies with most shots with good range. turning a box of 24 ammo into a quick 80~ kills

Rifles have the ability to penetrate one zombie and kill another, And the line up is pretty generous Sometimes getting 2 kills per shot with 4-6~ aim skill. But often have high scaling like the .223 rifle haveing 27+17 per level accuracy (reaching 95% at lv4) While worthless without aim skill. They also often benefit from weapon mods

The m14 and m16 are VERY skill dependent (im talking 8-10 aimskill) and you really want a laser sight and recoil pad to get the best bang for your buck

More aim dependent to max then Bolt rifles but less so then Assault Rifles, If you somehow manage to get 6-10 aimskill you can walk and spam fire and end up melting zombies but are horrible in the hands of someone without aimskill (level 6 starts to reduce the penalty for moving and removes panic penalty)

The M36 Revolver is the Most noob friendly pistol

Police Officer The go to pick if you wana use pistols, You really want that base 3 aim skill. Nimble really helps with Running and gunning.

Veteran A bit costly for 2 aims-kill and the Desensitized perk is pretty overkill as brave is often enough but is not a horrible pick.

Hunter A big cost but comes with blade skill. id think you be much better off just being a police Officer if you really want guns but it can help make you into a knife gun hybrid

Keen Hearing Guns in PZ at the moment dont damage your hearing and hearing increases the Radius you can see zombies behind you so it really helps from getting grabbed from the back when running and gunning.