When you wake up from the realization that all of civilization will become a zombified mess, you better hope you have the skills to be able to survive what is about to come, which leads to the equally important metric of getting your traits done right. Like real life, not everyone has the same starting skillset and quirks, with some being overweight and others being thin and sickly. This provides a unique experience for players as you can go as many or as little of these nuances and changes as you want, offering an already varied gameplay experience and an even bigger depth of immersion and customization. To better understand traits and what it does, we need to know what traits are in Project Zomboid and what it truly is.
Traits in this game are the small bonus and debuffs your character has and can affect your gameplay depending on how useful or severe the limitations and things you get are for this game. Other traits can only be exclusive to some occupations, but that’s for a whole different conversation altogether, but not entirely omitted as lower versions of these can be taken as standard traits in the form of points that are shown in this list. Consider this as a yin and yang of a person with some positive habits being only attainable when a negative trait can afford its points and vice-versa. Given that the only limit you have is the points available, a fine balancing act is necessary, with choosing compromises entirely up to you, which this list aims to clarify.
For this list, the list is made at the time of the games’ latest version (ver. 41.73 Steam) and is based on my experience in a friend-hosted multiplayer server, and the items listed are from the vanilla version of the game, meaning no mod items are included. The traits shown can be stacked, for as long as you have the points to acquire the trait, making your character have as many or few of the choices in a run. This list is a subjective list and the order is in no particular order
10. Smoker
As far as character creation is concerned, this doesn’t seem as bad as it seems.
Why is the Smoker Trait Great?
While it may be negative by name, and certainly for real-life health, the Smoker trait in the game is the best negative trait that you can take by far. It’s a super cheap way to earn back points that can be put into other aspects of your character, which is just one of the few things it’s good for as seen below.
- Plenty of cigarettes to help – Cigarettes are a common item to find
- Cheap to get – Taking this negative trait only uses 2 points
- Lighter access – The lighter needed to get the cigarette lit, can be used for Molotovs
Creating your character with an immediate bonus that is easily amendable is pretty good as the drop rate for cigarettes is good and you’ll only have difficulty if, by a string of bad luck, you’re somewhere far from any zombie corpse or area such as houses to find one. Truthfully, while the cigarette is pretty easy to find, matches and lighters are a little more elusive, but not by much. Those consumables can easily be found in a bar, but zombies can hold either one when you do kill it, and best of all, for the lighter at least, it can also help create a literal volatile weapon in the form of a Molotov.
For a free hit on the smoke and your survival, the Smoker trait is a good choice if you want to build up your character and go from there, with the in-game experience also being relatively easy making this negative just a puff of smoke.
Smoker Trait Details:
- Description – Makes your character more anxious when not smoking
- Cost – 4 points (gives points)
- Effect – Reduces stress that will affect your character’s mood
9. Fast Learner
While this isn’t blazing fast in terms of real time speed, it’s much better than not having it.
Why is the Fast Learner Trait Great?
This is a trait that is best used for those wanting to level up quickly, alongside its complementary trait, the Fast Reader trait, which we’ll get to in a bit. You got time to catch up to those around you in the game, and here’s why getting Fast Learner is beneficial down below.
- Boosts XP Gains – Increases your XP doing applicable skills
- Enables later levels – Having this makes the last few skill levels feel less of a chore
- Useable for any class – A trait that any class can get to switch to a different skill to learn
It’s a pretty flexible trait that is of benefit to any occupation, allowing you, for example, to switch your supposed policeman to be a handy mechanic by learning how to fix cars and such. The 130% XP buff does carry over to some non-learnable skills like Aiming, but not everything can be boosted up as Strength and Fitness don’t carry over on the XP percentage increase.
For all things, it’s an absolute treat as things like Aiming is going to be leveling more often than usual speed, so if you value getting experience to be able to pick up as many things that Project Zomboid offers, having this takes a bit of the grind away, but still have to work for it
Fast Learner Trait Details:
- Description – Increases XP gains
- Costs - 6 points (reduces points)
- Effect – Adds a 130% XP gain for all skills except Fitness and Strength
8. Fast Reader
To partner up with the Fast Learner trait, having Fast Reader allows for some nifty speed stacking on the XP
Why is the Fast Reader Trait Great?
Going hand in hand with the Fast Learner trait, the Fast Reader Trait will give a bigger boost to learning a skill without having to do so much to achieve a level or two on the skill tree. This is especially useful for those wanting to swap their roles in the game fast had they locked in a different profession and/or maxed a certain skill out. For now, you’ll be greeted with a quick read as to the benefits below.
- Boosts reading speed – Takes a boost in reading time for short and long reading materials
- Helps XP increases from VHS and actions – XP buff from reading books will multiply your skill learning gains
- Stacks with Fast Learner – A boost in XP gains as they are stackable
- Cheap to get – Only takes 2 points off your character creation
Give this a shot, and try getting a skill book and try to read it without this trait. If you feel like the world is feeling like a boring math class, then yes, that’s what the Fast Reader helps you negate. It’s not the magical XP farm material you’d expect, as it’s still going to be taking your sweet time, waiting for your character to finish reading, but hey, it helps. Where it helps you is in the aforementioned skill books, as those usually have 240-360 pages to read, which is about 5-10 mins of real-life waiting around.
Having said that, once you do finish the reading, and maybe your restroom break from all the waiting, you’ll be getting a nice bonus of 3x, making the XP gains from Fast Learner also improving, and that’s outside the fact that some skills can be learned through VHS players. Having said all that, the game still is a hard grind to the levels, and when you realize that the XP for later levels is in the high thousands, you’re going to be happy that the books you read, albeit time-consuming, will ironically save you more time than winging it the hard way.
Who says reading books is bad for you? No one, apart from maybe father time, but Project Zomboid does be like that at times.
Fast Reader Trait Details:
- Description – Increases reading speed and takes less time for books
- Costs - 2 points (reduces points)
- Effect – Increases reading speed by 130%
7. Pacifist
When you want to be a peace-loving character, it makes you less likely to kill zombies with a weapon, but it’s a nice trait to debuff your character with.
Why is the Pacifist Trait Great?
Zombies may not know peace as much as their living counterparts but nothing is peaceful in this game except for watching the TV and gardening. Still, why would you consider being friendly in a survival game? It’s simply another sneaky way of letting you think this is a negative but acting as a positive when you look at the bigger picture, as seen below.
- Only slows your gain – Doesn’t hinder your abilities to use weapons all that much
- Gives decent points – Allows you to get 4 points for relatively free
- Later levels can normalize debuff – The more you level, the more this debuff is irrelevant
If you don’t do much combat and have people on multiplayer do the deed to zombies, then this should be a relatively fine pickup given the circumstances. The 75% effectiveness of weapons only means that you are less likely to one-shot a zombie with an axe strike, but the damage is still damage, and if this means having a few more trait points in the bag, this should still work to your advantage.
Now, this isn’t to say this is a get-out-of-jail-free card, because you’re potentially going to still head off to heavily zombie-infested towns, especially, Louisville, but that’s the point of the traits being this give and take system, where you can’t be overpowered and mow zombies down single-handedly, and taking Pacifist, where you have 10 or more zombies, it starts to turn on you very quickly. If you intend on doing a lot of practice with your new gun, then you’ll be slowly, and I really mean slowly, get back some Aiming levels up, but do expect to be massively behind in levels for big raids to someplace like the Army bases where swarms can easily kill the unprepared.
Like I said, this is best for those wanting to do other things in base, like cooking or gardening as those won’t require you to hoist a weapon and unleash hell, so on the bright side of things, as you level and gain experience, you also increase your abilities, which will normalize your characters stat numbers, assuming you haven’t given up on him/her yet for how slow they are at progress, but better to be peaceful than dead I suppose.
Pacifist Trait Details:
- Description – Less effective with weapons
- Costs - 4 points (gains points)
- Effect – Decreases your Melee and Aiming skill to 75%
6. Keen Hearing
When everything is hell all over, cover your backside more often with this trait.
Why is the Keen Hearing Trait Great?
Going to and from places requires you to be on your toes considering all the places you can visit, and on a clear path, you should be fine, but like a backstabbing traitor, your back can be susceptible to attacks from a zombie. Being able to hear what’s going on should give you the advantage of being one step ahead, or in this case, turning behind, to ward off a zombie attack and be able to do some nifty things like the items below.
- Improves sound radius – Allows you to detect enemies much earlier
- Synergizes with Eagle Eyes – Having both can cover so much more vision to spot zombies
- Perception radius on the back – Can detect zombies behind you better than having none of it
It’s not a complicated thing to understand as this simply does what it says on the description, which is improved hearing, which in turn helps get you the info needed as to if the zombies are near or not. A use case for this is having the chance to detect a zombie behind a fence if you happen to be near enough, allowing you to either move around a fence or prepare to take it head-on. When you use this alongside Eagle Eyes, you should be able to cover much, much more vision as they help you with the peripheral vision for both fronts, and for Keen Hearing specifically, the rear.
It may not highlight a zombie as well as you expect it to be, but the vision is just enough to anticipate if it’s near you, with the most important use case for it being when you are looting. Out in the open, you may be able to pick up a zombie is approaching when you are busy transferring items to the back of your vehicle, while in close range or closed room scenarios, the banging of the doors, windows, and such will be pivotal in calculating your time to gather loot and getting out with relative safety.
Again, having this is a nice thing to have, but do keep in mind that the hefty 6-point deduction may hinder or take away other things you may want to fit in, so if you value your ears to give you safety, take this.
Keen Hearing Trait Details:
- Description – Larger perception radius
- Costs - 6 points (reduces points)
- Effect – 200% perception radius, zombies behind you will appear much earlier
5. Underweight
In real life this is something we tend to avoid, in Project Zomboid however, it does have its benefits.
Why is the Underweight Trait Great?
Like the Smoker trait, this is something we don't want to have in real life, but in the game, however, you can take advantage of this negative trait. Not only does it provide a good haul of points for your desired build, but it also leaves more room for creativity with your play style. With the bag of points locked in, you can also survive relatively well as long as you can be mindful of the things below.
- Easier trait to manage - Gaining weight is a lot easier and faster to do than losing weight.
- Generous point distribution - Taking this gives you 6 points for your character
- Combinations - Trait does not lock you out of taking the Fit and Athletic trait compared to Overweight.
Granted that it does reduce your fitness level by 1 and lowers your overall strength, endurance and leaves you injury-prone, this could be negated by taking either Fit or Athletic depending on how you want to balance out the traits of the playstyle of the character you wish to create. For example; taking the Fitness Instructor occupation gives you +3 levels of fitness leaving you with level 8 from the start at the cost of -6 points, slap in Underweight and that leaves you at level 7 fitness and a clean canvass of 0 points.
That thin frame of yours may not be the best when you start, but given the resources available like canned food and growing your vegetables and crops, you can bounce back to normalcy with this negative trait.
Underweight Trait Details:
- Description – Low strength, low endurance, and prone to injury.
- Costs – 6 points (gives points)
- Effect – Starts your character at 70kg
4. Dextrous
For those who want their character to possess the hands of a professional Speed Stacker when it comes to sorting loot, this trait is for you.
Why is the Dextrous Trait Great?
Let's not beat around the bush, in a world where you're constantly on edge because of the fear that at a moment's notice you'll end up being dinner for the living dead, you need to be as fast as you can be. This trait is essential for the kleptomaniacs that can't help themselves from grabbing every possible loot they can find and want to do it as efficiently as possible. For more of an idea as to what you can do with this trait, we’ll hand it off to the key points below.
- Fast Transfer – Quickly transfers the items compared to usual
- Cheap and reliable - A very useful trait for such a cheap price.
- Goes well with Organize – You can transfer more than the usual limit
Adding emphasis to what was stated in the paragraph above, every second counts when your life is within a blink of an eye from ending, cutting even just a second or two when transferring that sweet shotgun resting in a gun locker to your inventory can extend your character's life expectancy by a day or two, or even an entire month. This, alongside the Organize trait, is the quintessential Bonnie and Clyde tandem in terms of hauling loot and quickly going before a zombie can catch you standing around for the items to be finished.
Time is gold and being a slowpoke can cost you your life in the end times.
Dextrous Trait Details:
- Description - Transfer inventory items quickly
- Costs - 2 points (reduces points)
- Effect - Cuts the loading time of transferring items.
3. Organized
For those treasure hoarders at heart who want to use their inventory capacity to the fullest, slap this trait to your character and have fun.
Why is the Organized Trait Great?
Okay, first off, who doesn't want to be organized? When you're organized in real life things go a lot easier for you, in Project Zomboid getting this trait is a godsend; granted it will cost you more points than you want to spend for your character but the benefit of maximizing the capacity of inventory spaces is a luxury worth splurging on.
- Increased inventory - Maximizes the capacity of crates, backpacks, trunks, etc.
- Synergizes with Dextrous - Dextrous + Organized works wonders when looting supplies.
- Fair trade - The points cost needed is worth the trait.
An example that I can live with this trait is with small backpacks; they only have a storage capacity of 15, but with the Organized trait it has 19, when you're playing with this trait you worry less about having to leave loot behind because you already filled the trunk of your car to the brim with supplies, saving you from having to constantly go back and forth which can be a lifesaver.
Not only does this trait go well with Dextrous, but also having traits that add to your character's strength like the Stout or Strong trait makes the most out of your looting session. A combo of cutting and transferring items plus increased carry weight from added strength plus added storage capacity equals a good time looting to your heart's content.
Organized Trait Details:
- Description - Increased container inventory capacity
- Costs - 6 points (reduces points)
- Effect - Increases inventory capacity of crates, backpacks, trunks etc.
2. High Thirst
For a gamble that takes you into the need for water, this can be a freebee if you intend to bring loads of refreshments.
Why is the High Thirst Trait Great?
Having water is essential to both real life and in this game, and taking this negative trait allows you to get points at the cost of being more dependent on your liquids. Water bottles and similar sources of water can be found all over the map, with varying quantites, making you mindful of your drinking habits, albeit with the importance of getting the benefits below.
- Gives a lot of character points – Gives your character 6 points when taken
- Can be easily curbed – If you got a lot of water bottles, this is a non-issue
- Plumbing solves this entirely – Once you do an unlimited water source, removing the debuff is easy when you’re at the base
Once you understand the thirst mechanic of this game, you’ll quickly understand that this may not be as bad as it seems. Granted you’ll need a lot of water bottles to be able to safely move about but that is also at the cost of carrying weight, which can be curbed with a large backpack or having more carry weight in general. Another thing is that the high thirst is mostly punishing for those on the road, meaning if the sink still works in the early game and/or you have the water barrels filled and plumbed to your base’s sink, you can simply grab a drink and be fine immediately.
On the subject of drinks, plenty of areas offer up drinks and bottles that can hold fluids in, such as grocery stores, bars, and even houses. This is a nice negative trait for those who knows what they plan to do in the game, and can manage their carry weight accordingly, giving this high need for water a high necessity to anyone wanting something more substantial to add to their character.
High Thirst Trait Details:
- Description – Needs more water to survive
- Costs - 6 points (gives points)
- Effect – 200% thirst
1. Cat’s Eyes
Ever wanted to see better in the dark? Afraid of what's lurking behind the shadows? Worry not fellow survivor, slap in this trait, and keep your awareness at an all-time high even when night falls.
Why is the Cat’s Eyes Trait Great?
In a world where the dead roam free at no particular time in search of a midnight snack, you're either brave or reckless to wander about the outdoors when the skies are pitch black with nothing but the moon to guide you. Having the Cat's Eyes trait improves your field of vision at night, which could add more time to search for supplies for you and your fellow survivors.
- Increased vision at night - Helps a lot when venturing out in the open.
- Isn't cost heavy - For just two points you get a lot more than it’s worth.
- Blends well with other traits - Add traits like Eagle Eyes or Keen Hearing works wonders for your character.
Time is a resource not worth wasting in real-life and Project Zomboid, say you suddenly need to rush to your nearest Gigamart for food but you were so busy decorating your base that you failed to notice that the sun has already set; no worries, with the bonuses Cat's Eyes provides you can worry less about a zombie sneaking up on you from the darkness, granted that you still need to take caution once you set foot out at night. Time is gold and being a slowpoke can cost you your life in the end times.
Cat’s Eyes Trait Details:
- Description - Better vision at night
- Costs - 2 points (reduces points)
- Effect - +20% better vision at night. Affects foraging.
Conclusion:
While the choice of the perfect traits will be a balancing act, these are the most often traits you should consider if you want to do a meta-type of playthrough. While they are the easiest to recommend for all the reasons listed, if you want to get the full experience, try doing a character based on yourself with all the attributes you feel you associate with, making this a full test as to what these negative and positive traits can do for your run. You can go as light on the traits as possible, or go full hardcore and play with really tough negative traits like being deaf (like seriously, you got no sound other than the jumpscare audio queue) and just go about it on your own little pace.
