Because of how important skills and progression are in Project Zomboid, it’s important to know how to improve your character. The zombie-filled environs are pretty dangerous, so you don’t want to get caught unprepared. You need to have weapons and a safe place to retreat to, at a minimum. That means you’re going to need tools and materials. But all the supplies in the world won’t help you if you can’t build anything.
Like any other skill in the game, players are limited to what they can craft based on their skill levels. With building a base, you need to get some pretty high Carpentry. This guide will teach you the basic ways to level up Carpentry in Project Zomboid.
This guide is written for the Build 41 version of Project Zomboid and will include information specific to that version. The mods that change or improve the core behavior around Carpentry will also not be covered.
What is the Carpentry Skill Used for?
The basic premise behind Carpentry in Project Zomboid is that it has 10 total levels, and each one unlocks certain recipes for crafting. You can modify your starting position on the skill tree with various starts and traits, but generally, your skill will start around 3 or 4 with the best possible skills. All that assumes you don’t cheat though, so you could just do that if you want to.
Each level in this skill will make your character faster as well. As you unlock new recipes, you can also build and disassemble them faster. As you craft and break down items, you gain XP in the stat. You can also use a few other methods as well to raise the level.
You need to have tools to craft most items. Hammers, saws, drills and more are all useful for this skillset. You will want to head around and find furniture that you can break down. Tearing apart the doors an furniture of various empty houses is a great way to get starter materials for your base. Keep an eye out in sheds and storage facilities for these items. If you plan on leveling the carpentry skill, you are going to need a good source of tools. And that means getting things like the Sledgehammer.
How To Level Up Your Carpentry Skill in Project Zomboid
Build 41 has a few different ways to increase your skills. As you craft walls and basic storage in your base, you will increase your skills slowly. There are a few other says to do it though. Each action has a certain amount of XP with it, so things can be done quicker and quieter by using the other methods. Here are the most common ways that you can level up carpentry in Project Zomboid build 41:
- Building items through the Carpentry menu
- Breaking down furniture and buildings
- Read Carpentry books to increase experience gains
- Watch the Carpentry TV Program
So let’s talk about each method in detail and let you know how to make them work for you.
Building Items To Level Carpentry
This one might be the most obvious way to level up carpentry but it must be included anyway. Once you have some resources and an idea of what you’d like to build, you can start creating! If your carpentry level is quite low you are probably going to be limited on what you can achieve to begin with. build whatever you can at the start and then move onto more complex items as your level advances.
Just building items can be a great way to level up Carpentry. Gather some basic wood planks, nails and a saw to get started. Maybe you will want to build up a large stock of supplies back at your base first. When you have the tools and wood, check below for more methods. It’s actually a good thing to do some light reading first.
Reading Books
Although this doesn’t increase experience on it’s own, it does have a major benefit. Combine reading skill books you find with other methods, and you get a bunch of bonus XP. There are 5 book levels, and each one corresponds with a certain tier of progression. Carpentry for Beginner will get you the first two levels at a faster rate, for example.
Carpentry books do have a downside, namely that they take forever to read and can only be used with specific skill levels.
Watch TV
While the power is still on, you have another option. TVs in the game world will regularly feature shows that you can watch. These shows are randomized, and are meant to raise the basic levels of a skill. You might want to mute the TV though, as the noise can draw zombies to you.
When you want to learn skills, just interact with TV sets to change the channel, and set it to the Life and Living channel. The shows will run for a few days, and then be pulled off the air as the town is overrun. You can level up multiple skills as long as you catch the TV channel at the right time.
| Day | 06:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/9 | Cooking (At 09:00, game start) | Carpentry | Fishing |
| 7/10 | Cooking | Carpentry | Farming |
| 7/11 | Cooking | Carpentry | Fishing |
| 7/12 | Cooking | Carpentry | Campfire recipe (no skill gain) |
| 7/13 | Cooking | Carpentry | Foraging |
| 7/14 | Cooking | Carpentry | Trapping |
| 7/15 | Cooking | Carpentry | Foraging |
| 7/16 | Cooking | Nothing | Carpentry |
| 7/17 | Cooking | Nothing | Nothing |
After 7/17, there is nothing but static on the Life and Living TV channel.
