Creating such a nice situation of survival for yourself requires you to get some things right as early as possible, namely your base, food, and items. With the majority of items being junk in the game, you have to understand which one should be a priority, as bringing some of them can literally anchor you to your doom if you happen to carry other stuff at the same time. That being said, there are only a handful of essentials, each of which has its own purpose and ways of benefiting you, allowing for the best flexibility in your item hoarding ways at the right time and place. These can range from makeshift weapons, single-purpose tools, and essential living commodities.
For this list, the list is made at the time of the game’s latest version (ver. 41.78 Steam) and is based on my experience on a friend-hosted multiplayer server, and items listed are from the vanilla version of the game, meaning no mod items are included. This is a subjective list and the order is in no particular order.
10. Digital Watch
Why is the Digital Watch Great?
While there are standard wrist watches available, if you want more information about the current status of the in-game world, you’ll need one of these in your hands to obtain the benefits listed below.
- Electronics – Digital Watches can be disassembled for Electrical XP
- Lightweight – Barely increases carry weight
- Information – Digital Watches provide the exact time and date of the game, along with the temperature
- Easily Found – Plenty of these are scattered across the game
As stated in the paragraph above, standard wrist watches are available but what sets Digital Watches apart is that they can tell the exact date and time along with temperature, which the other wrist watches cannot, and if you have an abundance of them, you can start disassembling them for experience points to level up your Electrical skills
The more information you get from the in-game world, the better you can improve your life expectancy. Being able to see the temperature of the area you’re in helps you gauge what you need while you’re out and about. Is the heat is too much? Reduce your clothing layers. Weather too cold? Slap in thick layers. Weather and temperature tends to be overlooked but is one of the silent killers of the game.
How to Get Digital Watches?
- Corpses
- Shelves
- House cabinets
- Dressers
9. Flashlight
Why is the Flashlight Great?
With a relatively easy-to-find tool that works wonders, especially during the end of times, if you want to venture out in the night to make the most of your time, you’ll need to carry one of these around with you as they provide the benefits below.
- Light Source – Flashlights help you see clearly in dark places
- Easy to find – Flashlights are not that hard to come by
- Carpentry – You can craft Lamps with them, which can help when electricity goes down
Now that the dead roam free as the world’s new master, the last place you want to be is all alone in the streets at night; obstructed vision by darkness whilst zombies are out and about is not a good combination. With a Flashlight in your hands, it gives you security, and alongside it a better fighting chance in the dark.
This not only works for traversing the streets of Kentucky at night but also when looting inside buildings during the day when the power goes out; spotting danger in the darkness before it gets to you is crucial, as your options will be much more open once you’ve assessed the situation.
How to Get the Flashlight:
- House Cabinets
- Shelves
- Crates
- Glove Boxes
8. Lighter
Why is the Lighter Great?
Whether you’re a smoker in game or not, this item has its uses. Most new players think of this as nothing more than an essential for cigarettes, but believe me, it’s not as niche as it seems. Grab these and make the most of the benefits below.
- Light Source – This item can be used as a substitute for a flashlight if you don’t have one
- Lightweight – Barely increases carry weight
- Combo Item – Can be used to light candles, cigarettes, corpses, and Molotov Cocktails
- Easy to find – Plenty of these can be found in the game
Lighters are more than just one-trick-ponies, as most players make them out to be; they are a tool for enabling your devices. They’re actually more than just that; Lighters can be used with filled gas cans to burn piled up corpses, preventing them from spreading diseases once one too many have scattered all around your base, they can also be used as an alternative to illuminate dark areas if needed to do so, and they’re crucial for igniting Molotov Cocktails; somethings that matches cannot do.
This item is one of those gems that fully shines once you realize its potential, and given the fact that they’re not that hard to come by makes it all a lot sweeter once you have them in your inventory. Look past the initial use of smoking with this item and embrace its versatility in game, and carry it along your journey across Kentucky.
How to Get the Lighter:
- Gas Stations
- Shelves
- Police Stations
- Glove Box
- Corpses
7. Beta Blockers
Why are the Beta Blockers Great?
A simple medical item that plays a vital role as Beta Blockers are great not just for players who carry traits that have phobias but also combat heavy players, grab as many as you can as its benefits will be listed as follows.
- Lightweight – Barely increases carry weight
- Panic Reduction – Beta Blockers keep your character calm
- Necessity – Must have for players with traits like Agoraphobic
- Easy to find – Plenty of these can be found across the game
When your character starts to panic; your field of vision gets narrower, which reduces your critical chances, weapon damage, accuracy, knockdown, and knockback. Panic is induced when you spot zombies, and once you’re in a fight for your life, that’s the last thing you want. Having Beta Blockers controls your Panic and helps your character calm down, as you need to be as composed as you can be to make it out alive and in one piece.
If you’re playing in single player mode and your character panics because of negative traits like Agoraphobic or Claustrophobic, your character will be unable to sleep. This makes Beta Blockers all the more important to have ready at all times in your inventory.
How to Get Beta Blockers?
- Corpses
- Medicine Cabinets
- Pharmacy
- Bathrooms
6. Propane Torch
Why is the Propane Torch Great?
First off, you need to have a Welder Mask to be able to use this, but for the most part, you can find one in your typical looting sessions. With that out, it’s a relatively easy-to-find tool that works wonders, especially during the end of times. If you want to venture out in the night to make the most of your time, you’ll need to carry one of these around with you as they provide these benefits below.
- Disassembles wrecks – Those stationary cars on the road can be removed by this
- Metalworking – The more you use this, the better your Metalworking XP is
- Car repair – Repairing your cars body will help it last longer on bumps and collisions
With a lot of vehicles blocking and causing unexpected damage to your vehicle, it’s better to have it removed entirely if you have the time and the expectation of returning to that road often. By having this with you, not only do you have the wreck disassembled and dismantled, but you also have stuff like Metal Sheets that you can use on your next project, all the while leveling up a necessary skill in Project Zomboid, Metalworking.
Metalworking allows you to, as the name says, fabricate and fix up anything metal. This includes metal reinforcements for your base, and quick, lasting fixes for your car to prevent things like the engine being damaged and the trunk having next to no luggage space. Essential fixes make up the core importance of lugging the Propane Torch around, as long as you can refill it often with a Propane Tank.
How to Get the Propane Torch:
- Logging Factories
- Hardware Stores
- Crates
- Storage Units
- Sheds
- Garages
5. Jack
Why is the Jack Great?
This is more of a niche yet necessary item, especially if you’re moving from place to place. Given the importance of a car in this game, it’s only necessary that you get some replacement pieces for your vehicle, and this is vital for the things below.
- Getting tires - A jack is required for tires to come off
- Getting brakes - Brakes are behind the wheel, and you can get those
- Getting suspension - Like the brakes, it’s accessible after getting the tires out
Niche in its use, the Jack is obviously meant for car maintenance or for your server’s would-be mechanic that services said cars. Alongside the Lug Wrench, and regular Wrench, this is a mechanic’s requirement for a full service of any vehicle, as you’re not going to be able to take the most commonly used parts from a less than desirable vehicle into your trusty motor without it.
That being said, finding one is hit or miss, with one server having a lot of these around, while in a different generated world, it can be near impossible to find. In short, if you find one, make sure you have a lot of available carry weight, as this is a heavy tool for the heaviest of components to service your vehicle.
How to Get the Jack:
- Toolboxes
- Auto Shops
- Car Trunks
4. Hammer
Why is the Hammer Great?
For all intents and purposes, any version of the Hammer is one of those unexpectedly flexible items you have lying around the house. In the context of the game, it does what you think a hammer does, and then some more, like the following things below.
- Carpentry - This is a necessary item to build or disassemble furniture
- Decent weapon - The Hammer has decent damage and durability as a weapon
- Starter item - Immediately in your inventory with a beginner server setting
For the most part, this is a very versatile tool to have around, being a necessity for anything wooden. For those uninhabited houses that have a ton of chairs and cabinets around, partnering this with a saw will get you the raw materials needed to eventually reuse as barricades, fences, and so on.
When in a low difficulty server, the standard Hammer will be in your starter bag, alongside the purpose-built Baseball Bat, giving you the flexibility of bashing any zombie coming after you. Unlike other tools on the list, the Hammer is pretty decent for longevity, and having good Maintenance skill levels will make this one last as long as the trusty nature it naturally possesses. You also have variants like the Ball-peen Hammer that do most of the same thing, meaning you’ll never run out of choices to bash something in with.
How to Get the Hammer:
- Toolboxes
- Crates
- Shelves
- Hardware Stores
3. Wrench
Why is the Wrench Great?
Out of all the wrenches in the game, the regular Wrench is the most commonly found one. While its use is more towards car repair, it also has good enough durability, to allow for benefits beyond its scope, such as those listed below.
- Car repair - The Wrench helps with restoring the Engine
- Decent weapon - The Hammer has decent damage and durability as a weapon
- Commonly found - One of the most common tools to find in the game
With the regular Wrench, its main objective is to fix up cars, but since it’s a metal object, it does fairly well as a makeshift weapon. If you do happen to lose the one in your inventory, a trip to a house’s garage, shed, or any place you expect a Wrench to be is likely going to be there, continuing where you left off, either fixing or fighting.
This one is specifically on the list as the Pipe or Lug Wrench doesn’t have the same usability metric the standard one has, and you can make it even more convenient by binding it to your belt for quick equipping, perfect for those quick repair jobs or odd melee attacks to deny a zombie death.
How to Get the Wrench:
- Sheds
- Garages
- Crates
- Hardware Stores
- Auto Shops
- Car Trunk
2. Screwdriver
Why is the Screwdriver Great?
A simple item for simple use cases if you want something to do with tinkering. For electronics or general creation, you’ll need one of these in your inventory if you wish to do something important like the following.
- Electronics disassembly – Needed to disassemble things like digital watches
- Alternate weapon – You can use a Screwdriver as a weapon
- Lightweight – Barely increases carry weight
- Easily found – Plenty of these can be found almost anywhere
This is one of the more integral items to have, as a lot of items rely on it to be able to proceed further into getting more things for yourself. For example, if you need scrap electronics and have a ton of extra radios, digital watches, you just need a screwdriver to break them down to their basic components.
This is an absolute necessity if you want to achieve two things: one, gather some raw components to make some items like generators work, and two, remove clutter and duplicates from the inventory slot you have. This versatile tool is a keeper for sure and also allows you to equip it as a weapon, but like most make-shift tools, don’t expect it to last long. But for its intended use case, this will turn your Electrical leveling skills around in no time.
How to Get the Screwdriver:
- Toolboxes
- House cabinets
- Shelves
- Auto Shops
- Hardware Stores
- Stock Rooms
1. Water Bottle
Why is the Water Bottle Great?
Perhaps the best thing you should get on the list, regardless of class and circumstances, is water, as your character, like humans, gets thirsty and can die without it. Its priority and importance are dependent on what your character build is, but it shares the same common benefits as the following.
- Automatically hydrates - Water bottles in your inventory doesn’t need manual input to use
- Plenty of choices - Containers can vary in capacity and weight
- Flexible use bottles - If you specifically have glass bottles, you can fill it with water, gasoline, or turn to a weapon
- Molotov and Fire Bomb – Empty bottles can be repurposed into these throwables
Water bottles are what they say they are in the name, they are filled with water that you can drink, assuming the source isn’t tainted. Hydration is very important to survival, especially if you are traveling long distances where stopping isn’t an option. When you do extend the scope even further, you can make this unassuming thing much more beneficial. The type of bottle is important, as they can vary in weight and size, allowing you to stack as little or as many as you want.
You can have glass bottles for alcohol, or regular plastic water bottles, and you can even use a bleach bottle to save your precious drink. For the former, this is also a great thing to have, as you can break the bottle and turn it into a shank of sorts, or, combining with a few items, make a deadly Molotov cocktail that can kill a whole horde of zombies, and possibly you if you’re not careful. Reduce, reuse, and recycle is a definite plus on this item, as you’ll be happy to have it with or without the contents.
How to Get the Water Bottle:
- Refrigerators
- Shelves (Alcohol)
- Gas station convenience stores
- Grocery stores
