In Project Zomboid, skills are pivotal in character progression and survival. They represent a character's abilities and are designed to advance over time, reflecting their growing proficiency. Each skill is quantified through skill levels, which increase by accumulating experience points or XP. This XP is earned by undertaking and completing specific tasks related to the skill. The game currently organizes skills into six categories: Passive, Agility, Combat, Crafting, Firearm, and Survivalist. Each category encompasses a diverse range of skills, providing a comprehensive set of abilities to navigate the game's challenges and survive within the treacherous zombie-infested world.
Passive
Icon
Skill
Description
Strength
Increases melee damage, knockback, knockdown chance, maximum encumbrance, and improves chances of forcing locked windows and climbing tall fences.
Fitness
Improves attack speed, increases chance of pushing zombies away, reduces tripping chances, affects endurance loss/recovery, increases exercise speed, and reduces fall damage.
Agility
Icon
Skill
Description
Sprinting
Increases movement speed, including when running, sprinting, or sneaking. Experience is gained through movement, even if the player is not directly engaging with zombies or is moving slowly due to overexertion or overburden.
Lightfooted
Reduces the volume of all types of footsteps, making it harder for zombies to hear and locate the player. The skill stacks with "Nimble," further reducing footstep noise. At higher levels, zombies may not hear a sprinting player even from a few tiles away.
Nimble
Increases movement speed while in 'combat stance' and reduces footstep noise. The noise reduction stacks with "Lightfooted," making sprinting much quieter. Experience is gained by walking in combat stance, but the player's position must be changing to earn points.
Sneaking
Reduces both noise and detection chance while sneaking. Zombies are less likely to spot the player, and their footsteps are quieter. Experience is gained by successfully sneaking near zombies without being detected.
Combat
Icon
Skill
Description
Axe
Increases attack speed, damage, critical chance, and the chance to push away zombies during front grabs when using axes.
Long Blunt
Increases attack speed, damage, critical chance, and the chance to push away zombies during front grabs when using long blunt weapons (e.g. baseball bats, crowbars).
Short Blunt
Increases attack speed, damage, critical chance, and the chance to push away zombies during front grabs when using short blunt weapons (e.g. wrenches, nightsticks).
Long Blade
Increases attack speed, damage, critical chance, and the chance to push away zombies during front grabs when using long blades (e.g. katanas, machetes).
Short Blade
Increases attack speed, damage, critical chance, and the chance to push away zombies during front grabs when using short blades (e.g. kitchen knives, hunting knives). Also improves the chance of jaw stabs with stabbing attack types.
Spear
Increases attack speed, damage, critical chance, and the chance to push away zombies during front grabs when using spears.
Maintenance
Reduces the chance for a melee weapon to lose condition on each hit.
Crafting
Icon
Skill
Description
Carpentry
Allows the construction of wooden structures and furniture. Affects item repair chance and durability, health and construction speed of wooden barricades, noise made while building, and the quality and health of constructed buildings.
Cooking
Allows the creation of more nutritious and filling food. Affects the player's ability to detect poison and safely use rotten ingredients.
Farming
Improves the player's ability to check crop status and health, providing more detailed information as the skill level increases.
First Aid
Improves the player's ability to evaluate injuries and increases the speed of medical actions. Also affects the effectiveness and lifespan of applied medical treatments, such as poultices, splints, and bandages.
Electrical
Allows the player to perform electrical-related actions, such as hot-wiring vehicles, converting lamps to battery power, and crafting devices from disassembled electrical items. Higher skill levels improve success rates and efficiency.
Metalworking
Allows the crafting and repair of metal structures and items, including vehicle parts. Higher skill levels result in stronger and more durable constructions.
Mechanics
Improves the player's ability to work on vehicles, increasing the success rate of installing/removing components and the effectiveness of repairs. Also allows hot-wiring vehicles when combined with a level 1 electrical skill.
Tailoring
Allows the application of fabric patches to clothes, increasing their defense. The skill level and type of fabric used determine the amount of defense added. At level 8, players can completely repair holes in clothes.
Firearm
Icon
Skill
Description
Aiming
Affects five key statistics for firearms: accuracy, precision, range, firing angle, and aiming time. Experience is gained when landing successful shots on enemies with firearms.
Reloading
Reduces the time taken to perform various reloading tasks, including inserting/removing magazines, loading/unloading rounds, and loading weapons with cylinders.
Survivalist
Icon
Skill
Description
Fishing
Reduces the time to catch fish, decreases the chance of breaking the line or losing bait/tackle, and increases the size of caught fish. Experience is gained through casting lines or spear fishing, with larger fish providing more experience.
Trapping
Increases the chance of successfully trapping animals and unlocks crafting recipes for traps. Experience is earned when retrieving animals from traps.
Foraging
Improves search mode by increasing its radius, item detection speed, and the chances of finding items. Higher skill levels also unlock the ability to find specific items. Experience is gained when items are found and additional experience is earned when the player chooses to collect or reject those items.