Project Zomboid Traits and Occupations: Full Point List
Short answer: the most valuable thing to understand at character creation is that some traits erase themselves. Strength and Fitness traits swap automatically as you level those skills. So you can take Puny (Strength -5) for +10 points and Unfit (Fitness -4) for +10 points, then train them off. Going the other way, the two most expensive traits in the game — Strong (-10) and Athletic (-10) — are things you can earn for free by exercising. That single decision is a 40-point swing.
Written against Build 42.20.4, the stable release of 26 August 2026 (confirmed in the Steam news feed). Numbers come from pzwiki.net: Trait (verified against 42.19.0) and Occupation (42.18.0). They may have moved by 42.20.4, so trust the character creation screen over this page where they disagree. Some of this behaviour is adjustable in Custom Sandbox; everything below assumes defaults.
How the points work
- You start with 8 points. That is exactly what Custom Occupation gives you.
- Your occupation moves that number. Veteran starts at -8, so you must claw back 8 points in negative traits before the game will let you start. Burger Flipper and Tailor start at +2, giving you 10 to spend.
- You cannot start in the negative. Points to spend must be zero or above.
- Mutually exclusive traits cannot be combined. Deaf, for instance, cannot be taken alongside Hard of Hearing or Keen Hearing.
The XP multipliers shown in game are wrong
Starting a skill at a higher level makes that skill level faster afterwards — but the multipliers printed in game do not match the real values.
| Starting level | Actual XP rate | Shown in game |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (default for every skill) | 25% | — |
| 1 | 100% | 75% |
| 2 | 133% | 100% |
| 3 or higher | 166% | 125% |
The wiki flags this as a bug present as of Build 42.13.1. The mismatch matters less than what the real numbers say: the gap between level 0 and level 1 is 25% to 100% — a factor of four. A "+1" in a skill is not one level of head start; it changes how that skill grows for the rest of the run. That is why occupations and traits that sprinkle +1 across several skills punch above their apparent weight.
All 25 occupations
Sorted by starting points. Anything negative has to be paid for with negative traits.
| Occupation | Starting points | Skills | Free trait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Occupation | 8 | — | — |
| Burger Flipper | 2 | +2 Cooking / +1 Maintenance / +1 Short Blade | Keen Cook |
| Tailor | 2 | +4 Tailoring | — |
| Doctor | 0 | +6 First Aid / +1 Short Blade | — |
| Farmer | 0 | +4 Agriculture / +1 Animal Care / +1 Strength | — |
| Firefighter | 0 | +1 Axe / +1 Fitness / +1 Running / +1 Strength | — |
| Lumberjack | 0 | +2 Axe / +1 Maintenance / +1 Strength | Ax-pert |
| Nurse | 0 | +3 First Aid / +1 Fitness / +1 Lightfooted | Night Owl |
| Rancher | 0 | +1 Fitness / +4 Animal Care / +3 Butchering | — |
| Carpenter | -2 | +4 Carpentry / +1 Carving / +1 Maintenance / +1 Masonry / +1 Short Blunt | — |
| Chef | -2 | +2 Butchering / +4 Cooking / +1 Maintenance / +1 Short blade | Keen Cook |
| Construction Worker | -2 | +1 Carpentry / +1 Long Blunt / +1Maintenance / +2 Masonry / +2 Short Blunt | — |
| DIY Expert | -2 | +1 Carpentry / +2 Maintenance / +1 Masonry / +1 Short Blunt | Inventive |
| Electrician | -2 | +5 Electrical | — |
| Fishing Guide | -2 | +1 Butchering / +3 Fishing / +1 Foraging | — |
| Security Guard | -2 | +1 Lightfooted / +2 Running / +1 Short Blunt | Night Owl |
| Engineer | -4 | +1 Carpentry / +1 Electrical / +1 Masonry | — |
| Mechanic | -4 | +4 Mechanics / +1 Welding | Vehicle Knowledge |
| Park Ranger | -4 | +1 First Aid / +1 Foraging / +1 Knapping / +1 Carving / +1 Trapping | Herbalist |
| Police Officer | -4 | +4 Aiming / +1 Nimble / +1 Reloading | — |
| Welder | -4 | +4 Welding | — |
| Blacksmith | -6 | +4 Blacksmithing / +1 Maintenance / +1 Short Blunt | Blacksmith Knowledge |
| Burglar | -6 | +2 Lightfooted / +2 Nimble / +2 Sneaking | Burglar |
| Fitness Instructor | -6 | +3 Fitness / +2 Running / +1 Strength | Nutritionist |
| Veteran | -8 | +2 Aiming / +2 Reloading | Desensitized |
Two things to read for. Occupations that dump a lot into one skill — Doctor at First Aid +6, Electrician at Electrical +5 — are worth most when that skill is hard to top up from books. And check the right-hand column: Lumberjack, Nurse, Security Guard and others hand you a trait for free on top of their skills.
All 49 positive traits
Most expensive first. The number is what it costs you.
| Trait | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Athletic | -10 | +4 Fitness. +20% running/sprinting speed. -20% running/sprinting endurance loss from the trait itself. |
| Strong | -10 | +4 Strength, +40% knockback power (damage does not increase). |
| Handy | -8 | +1 Carpentry / +1 Carving / +1 Maintenance / +1 Masonry / +100HP to all constructions. / Increases building speed (≈11%). |
| Hunter | -8 | +1 Aiming / +1 Short Blade / +1 Sneaking / +1 Tracking / +1 Butchering / Improves foraging. |
| Thick Skinned | -8 | Multiplies the chance of not being injured by a zombie attack by 1.3 (base 15% chance, modified by character's weapon skill). Additionally, alters the chance of clothes being damaged by walking through trees to 1 in 13. |
| Bushcrafter | -8 | +1 Carving / +1 Foraging / +1 Knapping / +1 Maintenance / Improves foraging. / Start a fire on campfires with notched plank faster. |
| Blacksmith Knowledge | -6 | +1 Maintenance / +2 Blacksmithing |
| Brawler | -6 | +1 Axe / +1 Long Blunt |
| Fast Healer | -6 | Does not apply to exercise fatigue. Recently inflicted injuries have less severity. Including Scratches, Lacerations, Lodged Bullets, Deep wounds (with/without glass), Bites and Fractures. (Check Health for more details.) |
| Fast Learner | -6 | 130% XP for all skills except Strength and Fitness. |
| Fit | -6 | +2 Fitness. |
| Former Scout | -6 | +1 First Aid / +1 Fishing / +1 Foraging / Knows how to make and fix a fishing rod / Improves foraging. / Start a fire on campfires with notched plank faster. |
| Keen Hearing | -6 | 200% perception radius. Zombies that approach from behind will be visible much earlier. |
| Stout | -6 | +2 Strength |
| Gymnast | -5 | +1 Lightfooted / +1 Nimble |
| Hiker | -5 | +1 Foraging / +1 Trapping / Improves foraging. |
| Target Shooter | -5 | +1 Aiming |
| Adrenaline Junkie | -4 | Adds a flat bonus of 0.20 or 0.25 for the character's base speed at Strong or Extreme Panic, which increases walking, running, and sprinting speed. |
| Angler | -4 | +1 Fishing / Knows how to make and fix a fishing rod / Improves foraging. |
| Baseball Player | -4 | +1 Long Blunt |
| Brave | -4 | 30% panic except for night terrors and phobias. |
| Eagle Eyed | -4 | Character has a wider field of view / Improves foraging. |
| Graceful | -4 | 60% footsteps sound radius. |
| Herbalist | -4 | +1 Foraging. Able to find herbal medicines, make poultices from them, and identify poisonous wild food. Improves foraging. |
| Inconspicuous | -4 | 50% chance of zombies spotting you. |
| Organized | -4 | 130% capacity for all containers, including boxes, cupboards and cars |
| Resilient | -4 | 75% zombification progression rate, 45% chance of catching a cold, 80% cold strength and 50% cold progression speed. |
| Runner | -4 | +1 Sprinting |
| Sewer | -4 | +1 Tailoring |
| Tinkerer | -4 | +1 Maintenance |
| Cat's Eyes | -3 | +20% better vision at night / Improves foraging. |
| Crafty | -3 | 130% XP for all crafting skills |
| Keen Cook | -3 | +2 Cooking / +1 Butchering / Improves foraging. |
| Vehicle Knowledge | -3 | +1 Mechanics, can repair standard and heavy-duty vehicles. |
| Wakeful | -3 | -30% Fatigue increase rate, +10% Sleep efficiency |
| Artisan | -2 | +1 Glassmaking / +1 Pottery |
| Dextrous | -2 | 50% inventory transferring time. |
| Fast Reader | -2 | 130% reading speed. |
| First Aider | -2 | +1 First Aid |
| Gardener | -2 | Increases the player's agriculture skill by 1 / Improves foraging. |
| Inventive | -2 | - |
| Iron Gut | -2 | 50% chance of food illness. Food illness lasts shorter. Check Health for more details. |
| Light Eater | -2 | 75% hunger. |
| Low Thirst | -2 | 50% thirst. |
| Mason | -2 | +2 Masonry |
| Nutritionist | -2 | Allows the player to see the nutritional values of any food, even those that aren't packaged. Improves foraging. |
| Outdoorsy | -2 | 10% chance of catching a cold. 1% or 1.25% chance of getting scratched/lacerated while walking or running through trees. / Improves foraging. |
| Whittler | -2 | +2 Carving. Can craft Bone Fishing Hook, Bone Sewing Needle, and sharpen animal bones / Improves foraging. |
| Speed Demon | -1 | 200% Gear switching speed, 115% top speed for all vehicles |
All 32 negative traits
Most generous first. What you take from this table is what actually decides your build.
| Trait | Points returned | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Deaf | +12 | You can't hear any sound and you can't listen to the radio; you can still watch TV with subtitles, but the dialogue won't be displayed on the screen. |
| Illiterate | +10 | Cannot read any text except comic books, illustrated books, and HottieZ magazine. Cannot write notes in notebooks or on survivor maps; any existing writing is displayed as a row of question marks |
| Puny | +10 | -5 Strength,-40% knockback power (damage does not decrease). |
| Unfit | +10 | -4 fitness |
| Thin-skinned | +8 | Multiplies the chance of not being injured by a zombie attack by 0.7 (base 15% chance, modified by character's weapon skill). Additionally, alters the chance of clothes being damaged by walking through trees to 1 in 3. |
| Disorganized | +6 | 70% capacity for all containers, including boxes and cupboards. |
| Feeble | +6 | -2 Strength, reduced carrying capacity to 9 (instead of the standard 12), decreases the chance to push Submis, does not affect melee weapon damage. |
| Out of Shape | +6 | -2 Fitness |
| Restless Sleeper | +6 | If you recover slowly from fatigue while sleeping, the chance of waking up to a zombie banging on doors or windows is higher. |
| Slow Learner | +6 | 70% XP in all skills except strength and fitness. |
| Asthmatic | +5 | 140% running/sprinting endurance loss. 130% increase in swing endurance lost. |
| Fear of Blood | +5 | He gets stressed when he's bleeding, panics when administering first aid to himself, but only when the wound is bleeding; he can't perform a medical assessment on other players. |
| Pacifist | +5 | 75% of skill XP for short blade, long blade, small blunt, long blunt, axe, spear, maintenance and aiming. |
| Agoraphobic | +4 | Panic increases when outdoors. Foraging search radius decreased. |
| Claustrophobic | +4 | Panic increases in enclosed and cramped spaces; the smaller the environment, the greater the panic. |
| Conspicuous | +4 | 200% chance of getting spotted by zombies. |
| Hard of Hearing | +4 | With a smaller perception radius, the game audio becomes muffled. |
| Hearty Appetite | +4 | 150% hunger. Gives a +3% bonus to packaged foods, mushrooms, berries, and animals for foraging. |
| Prone to Illness | +4 | 125% progression rate of zombification. 170% chance of catching a cold, 120% cold strength, and 150% cold progression speed. |
| Sleepyhead | +4 | +30% increase in fatigue -10% decrease in sleep effectiveness; you need to sleep at least 12 hours a day to recover. |
| Slow Healer | +3 | Does not apply to exercise fatigue. Recently inflicted injuries have more severity. Including Scratches, Lacerations, Lodged Bullets, Deep wounds (with/without glass), Bites, and Fractures. (Check Health for more details.) |
| Smoker | +3 | Stress will constantly slowly rise. Smoking cigarettes will lower the stress level. |
| All Thumbs | +2 | 400% inventory transferring time. |
| Clumsy | +2 | 120% footsteps sound radius (results in 144% footsteps sound area). |
| Cowardly | +2 | 200% panic except for night terrors and phobias. |
| Fast Metabolism | +2 | Has a persistent tendency to lose weight, starting with a weight below 70 kg (154 lb). |
| High Thirst | +2 | You feel twice as thirsty as normal when you're dying of thirst, and your health bar drops faster. |
| Short Sighted | +2 | Anything more than 4 tiles away becomes blurred. The effect can be removed using any type of eyeglasses, whether dark, round, square... |
| Slow Metabolism | +2 | Has a persistent tendency to gain weight, starting with a weight above 95 kg (209 lb). |
| Slow Reader | +2 | 70% reading speed. |
| Weak Stomach | +2 | 200% chance of food illness. Food illness lasts longer. Check Health for more details. |
| Sunday Driver | +1 | Accelerates vehicles 40% slower, has a maximum speed of 30 mph (50 km/h). If the easy-to-use option is enabled in the sandbox settings, the speed is not limited to 30 mph (50 km/h). |
The negatives you can train away
Strength and Fitness traits are not fixed. They swap automatically based on your current skill level.
| Strength level | 0–1 | 2–4 | 5 | 6–8 | 9–10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trait | Puny | Feeble | None | Stout | Strong |
| Fitness level | 0–1 | 2–4 | 5 | 6–8 | 9–10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trait | Unfit | Out of Shape | None | Fit | Athletic |
Puny (+10) and Unfit (+10) together hand you 20 points at creation. You will be weak early and carry less, but Strength and Fitness are among the few skills you can raise by exercising in the safety of your own base. Train them up and the negative traits disappear on their own, eventually replaced by Stout and Fit.
Two caveats. First, losing a negative trait does not refund the points — the trade is one-way. Second, the early game genuinely does get harder: Puny is Strength -5 with -40% knockback, and Feeble drops your carry capacity from 12 to 9. Whether you can survive the first weeks unable to shove zombies back is the whole question.
One naming note: the wiki's adaptive-trait table calls the Strength 2–4 band "Weak", while its own trait list calls the same trait "Feeble". The two pages disagree; this article follows the trait list.
Panic negatives get cheaper over time
There is a second class of negative trait that costs less than it looks. Panic recovery speed increases every day you survive, capping at 150 days.
The wiki states that Agoraphobic (+4) eventually stops adding panic at all, because recovery outpaces what the trait applies. The trait remains, and outdoors you still recover from panic more slowly. Claustrophobic (+4) does keep biting, since it scales with room size — on a fresh character, panic gain in a sealed room appears to plateau around 63 floor tiles, and that number falls as your character acclimatises.
If you just want a build
- Pick an occupation at 0 points or better. Firefighter (Axe +1, Fitness +1, Running +1, Strength +1, at 0) covers both fighting and running away. Custom Occupation at 8 points is a fine answer too.
- Start your negatives with Puny and Unfit. That is +20. Take only one of them if the early game worries you.
- Buy reading speed early. Fast Reader (-2) is the one that shortens every skill book you open, at 130% reading speed. Fast Learner (-6) does not touch reading speed — it raises XP, at 130% on everything except Strength and Fitness. They solve different problems. Avoid Illiterate (+10) for a long run — it locks you out of skill books entirely.
- Pay to not be seen. Inconspicuous (-4, 50% chance of being spotted) and Graceful (-4, 60% footstep radius) suit a play style built on avoiding fights. Conspicuous (+4) and Clumsy (+2) do the opposite.
- Fill the rest with cheap negatives. Skip Slow Reader (+2) if you took Fast Reader — they cancel. Sunday Driver (+1), Fast Metabolism (+2) and Slow Metabolism (+2) have limited reach.
Before you commit
- These numbers assume default settings. Zombie count, toughness and sight range are all sandbox options, and they change what each trait is worth.
- Press J to check your traits in the Character Info window at any time during play.
- Inventive has an empty effect column on the wiki. It is also the DIY Expert occupation trait, but with no documented effect this article will not guess at one.
- Build 41 saves are not compatible with Build 42, so a B41 character cannot simply be carried over.
Bottom line
Eight points, moved by your occupation, and Strength/Fitness negatives that train themselves away. Hold those three facts and the tables above will carry the rest. When in doubt, spend toward reading faster and being seen less — neither is ever wasted, whatever style you end up playing.
Sources
- pzwiki.net — Trait (every trait's points and effects, the XP multiplier bug, adaptive traits; verified against 42.19.0)
- pzwiki.net — Occupation (starting points and skills for all 25 occupations; 42.18.0)
- The Indie Stone forums — 42.20.4 STABLE hotfix announcement (confirming Build 42.20.4 as the stable release of 26 August 2026)
