Project Zomboid‘s new update, Build 42, is out as an unstable build that you can opt into. The update brings many new features and overhauls existing elements in the game, so there’s a lot to learn whether you’re a returning player from previous builds or new to the game. One of the more challenging features of the latest update is muscle strain. So if you have noticed that your characters are not as strong as they were in previous builds of Project Zomboid, this guide will explain why – and what to do about it.
What Is Muscle Strain?
Muscle strain builds up in different muscle groups of your body as you utilize them. It can decrease your attack and movement speed and cause pain the more muscle strain you accumulate. There are several ways strain will accumulate:
- Using weapons will cause strain on your arms.
- Running will cause muscle strain in your legs.
- Being over-encumbered will cause muscle strain in your back and torso
- Sleeping in bad-quality beds can cause muscle strain in your neck.
The more muscle strain you have on a body part, the less effective it will be and the more pain you will experience. These will drastically reduce your effectiveness in combat, making the early game of Project Zomboid much more punishing. The rate of muscle strain build-up will be reduced the higher your strength and weapon skills are, and at max level, it will be completely negligible. You can also adjust or disable muscle strain in the sandbox options if you don’t like this feature.
How To Deal With Muscle Strain?
The first step to dealing with muscle strain comes during character creation. A character with higher strength will gain muscle strain slower, making the Fire Officer and Lumberjack occupations along with Stout or Strong traits great picks for combat-oriented characters. In addition to strength, your weapon skill will also play a role in reduced muscle strain, so occupations like Construction Worker or traits such as Baseball Player and Brawler can give you an early boost in leveling your weapon skills.
Muscle strain is directly impacted by the skill level of the weapon you are using, so it’s better to focus on one weapon type and level it up as fast as possible. Short, blunt weapons are a great choice as you can get the most starting points with them in character creation and they are a very common weapon type in Project Zomboid. The weight of your weapon also plays a role in how much muscle strain you get, so, even though longer and heavier weapons deal more damage, they also cause more muscle strain.
The longer you use a muscle, the more muscle strain you will get, so alternating between attacking with your main weapon and stomping on zombies’ heads while they are on the ground will spread the muscle strain between two different muscle groups. Take advantage of fences or windows to get zombies down and give your arms a rest during long fights.
Taking painkillers is a great way to reduce the negative effects of muscle strain temporarily. Your attack speed will still be reduced, but your attacks will deal their normal damage. Be careful in longer fights, as the muscle strain will still keep building up and, when the painkiller wears off, it can leave your character in extreme pain and unable to fight effectively.
Finally, resting on the ground or furniture is the best way to relieve muscle strain. When clearing a large group of zombies, try to lure them away in smaller numbers and take a break after fighting each small group. You won’t be able to fight twenty zombies at a time, but, with a little planning, you can easily defeat large groups without exhaustion or muscle strain affecting your character!
