What Are the Best Traits in Project Zomboid?

(Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes)

Traits in Project Zomboid are available from the start. Players choose which modifiers they start with when they enter the undead apocalyptic world of Knox County. But which traits should you pick? Continue reading to find out!

Ranking the Best Traits in Project Zomboid

Note that not all traits in Project Zomboid offer benefits. Some provide drawbacks, but adding points to them can increase the number of points to spend on other traits. So, here are the best positive and negative traits to choose from in the game.

Best Negative Traits in Project Zomboid

Let’s start with the negative traits. The following modifiers will provide negative effects on your character. However, it’s often fairly easy to work around these drawbacks.

1. Pacifist

Adding a point to this trait makes your character less effective with various weapons. In particular, your character only gets 75% of the skill XP when using weapons like axes, spears, firearms, and blades. But you’ll get an additional +4 points for your positive traits in return. Tip: Offset this negative trait with the Fast Learner trait to mitigate the adverse effect.

2. Short-Sighted

As the trait’s name implies, this negative modifier reduces your character’s view distance. It also reduces the foraging radius by two while in search mode. On the upside, you get two more points to add to other traits. Tip: Choose the Eagle-Eyed to compensate for the shorter field of vision encountered with the Short-Sighted trait.

3. Slow Reader

Choosing this negative trait reduces reading speed by 30%. Although detrimental, it’s not as bad as it looks or feels for single-player enthusiasts. If you’re not playing online, simply fast-forward time to finish reading quickly. Plus, highlighting Slow Reader gives you two more points for other traits.

4. Weak Stomach

Select this negative trait, and your character has double the chance of becoming sick when eating spoiled or rotten food. However, you can easily avoid this detriment by making smart choices on your character’s food consumption. You also gain an extra three points for other traits when you select Weak Stomach.

5. Slow Healer

Pick this negative trait, and your character’s disease or illness will be more difficult to eliminate than normal. But, in doing so, you can have six more points for other traits. Warning: This trait may not be ideal for beginners.

Best Positive Traits in Project Zomboid

Now that we covered the bad traits, it’s time to get to the good stuff. Here, check out the best positive traits you may want to include in your new Project Zomboid character.

1. Dextrous

Are you not fond of gathering items in Project Zomboid slowly? If so, consider adding to the Dextrous trait. It adds a 50% increase in inventory transferring time, making for speedy item allocations. Plus, this trait only costs two points, making it a no-brainer choice for any Project Zomboid character.

2. Keen Hearing

Project Zomboid has jump scares, and you might be more prone to them than you first expected. If you’re having trouble with zombies popping up from your character’s blind spot, invest in the Keen Hearing trait. It doubles your character’s perception radius, revealing the undead before they can reach you.

3. Stout

Despite its expensive 6-point cost, the Stout trait increases your character’s strength by 2 points. Doing so also increases carry capacity, push knockdown, and melee damage.

4. Fast Learner

Need a quick way to level up most in-game skills? The Fast Learner trait can be a good trait for your character. It increases XP acquisition for all skills except Strength and Fitness by 30%. Adding a point to this trait also helps offset the negative Pacifist trait.

5. Brave

Panic can consume you in Project Zomboid. If your character panics, it brings various other detrimental effects like decreasing critical hit chance, accuracy reduction, and a decrease in vision. With the Brave trait enabled, it takes longer than normal for your character to panic. This trait costs four points and can be vital to increasing your survival time.