Zomboid New Towns: Irvington, Brandenburg, Ekron Guide

Short answer: of the three new western towns in Project Zomboid (Ekron, Irvington, Brandenburg), visit Irvington first, Brandenburg second and Ekron last. The PZwiki rates Irvington medium difficulty, Brandenburg medium-hard, and Ekron a town where nearly everything dangerous sits in the loot-rich south. The order is my own judgement, not something the wiki recommends.

This guide targets Build 42.21 Stable (released 28 September 2026; I confirmed it was the latest on Steam on 17 October 2026), but the town data comes from older wiki pages. The Irvington and Brandenburg pages are tagged 42.18.0, individual shop pages 42.10.0 to 42.11.0, and the Ekron page is still tagged 42.11.0. Meanwhile the official "Big Glow Up" post says seven towns, Ekron included, were reworked in 42.20. So Ekron's shop list and danger notes may describe the town as it was before the rework. I have not checked any of this in game; read every wiki claim below as "the wiki says".

The three towns at a glance

The official Art Director's note says the first expansion of the Build 42 map added three towns to the far west: Brandenburg on the banks of the Ohio, Ekron (a small agricultural town) and Irvington in the south-west with its race track. The wiki also lists Echo Creek as a Build 42 town, which this guide does not cover.

The "can you start there" row is what each town's wiki page says. A 42.21 Unstable note mentions updated Spawn Point Selection preview videos, but I did not check whether the selectable towns changed.

All three sit on the western edge of the map, far from the usual starting towns. The wiki tells you on every page to bring extra supplies when travelling in. Go once you have a base, a vehicle, food and medical supplies. For the early game read our Muldraugh routing guide, and for restocking bandages and painkillers our medical supplies guide.

Route 1: Irvington (go here first)

The wiki calls Irvington a medium town, about as hard as Muldraugh. Its biggest danger is being surrounded with nowhere to run, because buildings are far apart. The same open ground makes it good for killing groups and hard to be ambushed in.

1. Irvington Gun Club (north-west): the wiki says that few zombies, distance from other locations and no metal shutters make it "one of the best locations to come for guns and ammo". The back room holds firearms, ammo, weapon parts and key rings; the range behind has a few more guns and ammo; the rec room has food and the locker rooms clothing. I put it first as my own judgement.
2. The south-west plaza (Well Regulated Militia Gear & Supply, GigaMart, The Wizard's Keep and others): many of the town's key shops are on its southern edge, which the wiki says makes it good for supply runs, though the zombie count is a bit higher there. Well Regulated Militia is an army surplus store stocked with tools, weapons, backpacks, firearms and ammo, but every entrance has metal shutters, so you need a sledgehammer or a propane torch.
3. Irvington Speedway (north-west): vehicles and other supplies, but a large zombie presence. The wiki's method is to lure them onto the track with a loud noise such as an emergency vehicle and burn them there; the track is large, so the fire risk to nearby buildings is small. Indoors, the stands have many stairwells and the upper floors are easy places to get trapped. The emergency response building in the middle of the track holds medical supplies and firefighter gear (axes, clothing), and the garages hold gas cans and maintenance tools, with one fuel pump nearby that can contain fuel.
4. The north of town (fire station and U-Store It): more zombies here, and the buildings are close together, so use fire with care.

The Pharmahug pharmacy is in the town centre shopping street (wiki coordinates 2475x14478). Use the medical guide above for what pharmacies hold.

Route 2: Brandenburg (once you are prepared)

Brandenburg has a lot of zombies. The wiki says the main danger is exhaustion from constant fighting and advises that you do not try to clear a large area in one day. The eastern side is urban with poor sight lines, and kiting a group can lead you into another one, so do not fight far from where you started.

1. Pondview Shopping Center (southern commercial district): one building with GigaMart, Nails & Nuts (hardware), Grow Haven (farming supplies), Awl Work and Sew Play (sewing), American Tire, Spiffo's and more. The wiki says the area has moderately many zombies and many windows, so they can break in on you. Approach from the east and use the exterior double doors into a back hallway that connects most stores' rear exits. GigaMart and the northern side are entered from the north, American Tire from its own rear door in the south. An in-game brochure shows the store layout.
2. Memento Ammori (gun store, directly south of the P.S. Delilah): the shop and storeroom hold firearms, ammo and attachments. Both entrances have metal shutters, so bring a sledgehammer or torch. The wiki also notes Brandenburg has more reliable ammo spawns than most towns.
3. The military blockade (north-west, at the bridge): a medical tent, a storage tent with a large number of firearms, and sleeping tents. Military zombies here can carry M16s and military backpacks. But the nearby prison (Brandenburg Detention Center) and the bridge approach hold some of the densest zombie crowds in town. I put it last as my own judgement.

The steamboat P.S. Delilah on the north shore is a base candidate. The wiki's pros: surrounded by water with one bridge to land, and no windows so almost no barricading. Cons: one way in is also one way out, many zombies nearby, nowhere to farm, and no radio spawns on it. I have not lived there. The river also makes fishing easy, and from Riverside you can reach the town by following the shore west.

Route 3: Ekron (last, and treat the data as old)

The wiki describes Ekron as small, with a quiet northern residential area (plenty of food and cooking supplies, few zombies) and a southern commercial strip along Kentucky 144 where the zombies gather. A railway splits the town with tall barbed-wire fences you cannot climb; there are two crossings, the southern one blocked by a wrecked train, so until that blockade is cleared, only the northern road lets a vehicle cross.

• Barrel o' Gun (gun store): in a plaza west of the tracks. The wiki says it has no metal shutters, so it is far easier to enter than other gun stores. But it has no back entrance, so you go in and out through the front and should be ready for a long fight.
• Ekron Community College: the wiki says 500 or more zombies are commonly in or near it. Its many stairwells make it easy to be swarmed. The wiki's method is to draw them out with a siren or other loud noise to the large empty field to the south and kill them with guns or fire. The library has skill books, and the basement has a metalworking workshop and a storeroom with tools and skill books.
• Approach: the wiki says to come into the commercial strip from the north and use rear doors where there are any, and not to bring a loud vehicle in. Sneaking and Lightfooted help.

The zombie counts and shop layout above may predate the 42.20 rework. Ekron's shops and zombie placement may have changed, so check the map and surroundings yourself before committing. The wiki also notes that the name "Ekron" was used by the community for the town now called Fallas Lake, so check which town an older guide means.

Which town for which goal

What I have not verified

• I have not checked any of this in Build 42.21 in game. Shop layouts, zombie counts and loot all come from the PZwiki.
• Ekron was reworked in 42.20 but its wiki page keeps the pre-rework 42.11.0 tag. Irvington and Brandenburg are not on the 42.20 rework list, but I did not check whether they changed by 42.21.
• Zombie numbers depend on population and migration settings; the wiki figures are default-setting estimates.
• Per-item spawn chances are not covered; I did not find them on the wiki.

Sources

• Steam announcement "42.20: The Big Glow Up" (28 July 2026): the three new towns and the seven reworked towns
• Steam announcement "Build 42.21 Stable Released" (28 September 2026)
• PZwiki: Ekron, Irvington, Brandenburg (checked 17 October 2026)
• Steam announcement "Re-population of the Dead: Build 42.21 Unstable Released" (24 September 2026): updated Spawn Point Selection preview videos
• PZwiki location pages: Well Regulated Militia Gear & Supply, Barrel o' Gun, Irvington Gun Club, Irvington Speedway, Pondview Shopping Center, Memento Ammori, Military blockade, P.S. Delilah, Ekron Community College