Project Zomboid is a difficult game. Even at the start of the game you are greeted with the message, “this is how your died”. This really sets the scene for the whole game. In Project Zomboid, finding a place to lay low can be important. As there are many mechanics including rest and weather effects, it’s a good idea to have somewhere secure to lay low.
Finding a great location however, can be difficult. In the game your enemies are generally drawn to the city areas. The problem is that all the supplies you’ll need are also in these areas. Today i’m going to go through some of my top base locations across the Project Zomboid map. These are in no particular order and are just based on my personal preferences. They may not be the most secure or smart, just good locations I’ve found and set up camp. Without further ado, lets get to the list. Maybe the list will show you some great spots you’ve never seen before. It will be divided up into different areas on the map.
This guide will focus on locations around the map for the Build 41 beta version of Project Zomboid. Each of the base locations will include a link to their location on the Project Zomboid map project. For those unaware, this resource is an interactive map of the entire Knox County. Check it out in one of the link below.
Jump-To Links
West Point Base Location
Rosewood Base Locations
Muldraugh Base Locations
Riverside Base Locations
Best Starting Location
West Point Base Locations
As West Point is one of the densest locations on the map you generally want something a little further out. It really isn’t the best idea to go into town unprepared here. I believe this is the town with the highest population density of zombies across the entire map. That being said there are some good opportunities for bases here.
West Point Base Location 1: Storage Facility
We are starting with one of my favorite locations we have the U-Store it facility in West Point. This large base area includes a huge amount of loot. This is my favorite part about it. The storage facility has a large fence going almost all of the way around it to keep those zombies out. There are a couple of places that have to be blocked or built to secure the area. Once these holes have been filled this makes for a great, large area with heaps of loot inside. Once you get a sledgehammer you can break down walls and access every storage unit and room.
Plus, there’s a good chance to find a vehicle here either in the parking lot, the parking lot of the warehouse next door or the gas station down the road. The three places that are vulnerable to enemies are the two low fences at the front and the narrow alley between the two buildings. Check out the image below to see what has to be patched up.
West point Base Location 2: Small Lakeside Cabin
Found on the complete opposite side of West Point is this small, secluded cabin. This is a great place to fall back to if things are going south somewhere else. Although there isn’t a fence of any kind around it, you’re secluded enough that you won’t have to worry too much about neighbors. The lake provides you with water for farming and drinking. Plus you can fish to sustain yourself if you have a rod. This is a great little safehouse on the outskirts of West Point. The only problem is that it is a little too far and annoying to travel to town by foot.
Another great thing about this location is the houses nearby. If you travel north around the lake you will come across 3 large family homes. These are also very far out of the city. you should only have to deal with a couple of enemies given the distance from the city.
Rosewood Base Locations
Rosewood is a smaller town located on the south west of the map. Considered relatively rural you will find some nice spread out farmhouses on the outskirts which are great spots for setting up camp. One of the more interesting buildings in this town is the large prison that can be found on the west side of town. There are a bunch of great base locations here within the town of Rosewood and on the outskirts.
Rosewood Base Location 1: Two Large Warehouses to the North
Travel far enough north out of town and your will come across two great little buildings to set up. When you first arrive here you shouldn’t have to do too much clearing out. Due to the fact these are far out, you might want to secure a car first. There isn’t really too much to say about these ones. They are best used as indoor bases. You could even build a hallway connecting them if your construction skill is up to it.
Apart from the obvious safety of the base, you can get some really great loot from the wooden crates. This base location has the added benefit of being close to both Dixie and Rosewood.
Rosewood Base Location 2: House With a Garden
In the south-east of Rosewood’s residential area is a small house with a bit of potential. Check out this one-story house for yourself. There are high wooden fences surrounding the property. That being said they aren’t tall enough to keep zombie out. There is already some farm plots here and you already in town. This is a great spot for a temporary base. At least the wooden fence will slow them down a bit if a horde finds you. This property also features a small garden shed which might heave something useful.
By all means not the best long term base setup but a great place to have as a safehouse in town. There are also two houses to the south-east that would be better suited to a permanent location. I just thought this was a nice unique property. I always like coming here when I’m in Rosewood.
Rosewood Base Location 3: Construction Site
The next base location is a little further out from Rosewood. That being said you are still very close to the main town. The construction site is located just south east of the last house I mentioned. You’ll find it just to the south of Rosewood. The construction site is great as it comes with high fences. These cannot be scaled or destroyed by the dead at all. You only have one small entrance and otherwise you are protected from all sides. There is a couple of small buildings to keep you out of the weather. Plus, you have a lot of logs straight away.
See the log piles in the image above? You can loot these to get some free logs. Stop looking for that axe, you’ve found all the wood you need for now. At least if you’re planning on building a shelter from scratch, this is the perfect place!
Rosewood Base Location 4: Gated Community Houses
To the north of Rosewood you can find a rather wealthy looking gated community. This street all has double story houses with large fences around them. All of the fences around this community are unable to be scaled by zombies. This is a staple from the old Project Zomboid multiplayer days. Everybody used to come here and try to take it over on every server. The great thing used to be that you can create a wall with cars around the gaps in the fences. Zombies could not get through cars or have any way of breaking them. Since a later update to the game has given NPCs the ability to crawl under cars this is no longer an option. Still, it’s a great place to set up a base. Especially if you are playing with a few people.
Muldraugh Base Locations
Muldraugh is a small town that mainly follows a highway. Rather than being all clustered together the town is kind of all built in a line. This gives it a unique layout and a great one to slowly loot and clear. Muldraugh has a lot of great, interesting buildings to rummage through. Although it can seem dense and dangerous at first there is a lot of easy ways to lose a herd here.
Muldraugh Base Location 1: Muldraugh Self Storage
Don’t judge me. Maybe I’ve just been watching to many of those terrible ‘reality’ store wars shows. There’s something cool about going through and staying in these. Hear me out. This storage lot is smack bang in the center of Muldraugh. It has high fences all of the way around it and only one entrance. Once you get that one low fence area figured out this one is a fantastic base. You’ll never have to worry about the dead again. The best part is you can just climb over the high fences whenever you want. Simple!
As mentioned with the last storage, once you get a sledgehammer you can access every unit. You can even break all the inside walls down to create a kind of ‘megabase’. Cool hey?
Muldraugh Base Location 2: Farm in the North
On the north end of Muldraugh you’ll find this fantastic base location. This farm on the north end of Muldraugh has a lot going for it. It’s far enough out of town that you don’t really have to worry about enemies. Also it has a chicken coop, AND a stable! What more could you want?
Jokes aside this is a really great area to set up a permanent base. There is enough land to do something with and you have the benefit of being pretty close to the town of Muldraugh.
Muldraugh Base Location 3: Isolated Cabin in the Woods
This one is for the real survivalists among us. There is a very isolated cabin in the forests near Muldraugh. Make sure you bring supplies if you plan to come out here. The cabin is literally as it sounds.. There’s woods. There’s a cabin. The best thing about this location is that there is a well that can be found here. This means you’ll never want for water again! Now just figure out a source of food and you’re golden for a long, albeit boring, playthrough.
Riverside Base Locations
On the north of the Project Zomboid map you’ll find the sleepy town of Riverside. You’ll find out very quickly where the town got it’s name. The town is built along the river bank to the north. A great place for fishing or grabbing a drink, the river provides many valuable assets to the player.
Riverside Base Location 1: The Scrapyard
Kicking things straight off with my absolute favorite base location in Riverside. Here we have the scrapyard. As I love the mechanics system and changing car parts I always like to come hang out here. The great thing to note is there are large fences surrounding the entire yard. If you love leveling the mechanics skill you have to check out this location. Although there isn’t really too much in the way of buildings, there is plenty of room to build!
You can find the junkyard on the north-west end of the town.
Riverside Base Location 2: Gated Community
This one I’m going to leave as pretty broad because you know, there are so many places here. On the south east part of Riverside there is a large gated community. Here you can find a whole bunch of two-story houses with large fences. These are all great little places to hold up for a while. You can always break down the stairs in a second story house and then use a sheet rope to get in and out. Basically any house will do. In particular there are two houses that have a nice little fence structure around them. Due to the fact that the fences are so far apart, it will be hard to barricade it up though. Your best bet is to stay unseen indoors here.
Riverside Base Location 3: Multiple Rural Houses
Riverside also features a selection of nice little rural houses. If you take the road out of town to the north (near the church and past the junkyard) you will come across some random houses. These are far enough out of town that you won’t really have too many enemies to deal with. You can basically pick any of the houses here that you wish. The one I usually pick is the first house on the north side of the road as it has a nice little farm area out the back. Plus, I have that sweet chicken coop in the back,
Another benefit is that there are two or three houses here that are pretty damn close to the town of Riverside.
The Best Starting Location For Beginners in Project Zomboid
This part of the article is completely my opinion. Others may disagree but my favorite place to start a slow game is in Muldraugh. Due to the open, large, rural nature of the town, you won’t have too many enemies to deal with straight off the bat. As everything is rather spaced out, there are plenty of little building to camp in on the outskirts of town. Riverside would be my second best starting location for beginners for the same reason.
The worst starting location would definitely be West Point. You will find yourself immediately surrounded by a dense population of zombies. Only choose to start here if you really like the challenge or are pretty experienced with the game and mechanics. That being said, everyone has a favorite spawn location for different reasons.
So that was my favorite base locations in Project Zomboid Build 41. Where are you favorite places to hold up? Do you think there’s any great locations that deserve a spot on this list? Let me know in the comments below!
With my friends, we took the big building near the river in Riverside, it’s a cool spot, with some downsides (Has some glass walls in the main building, but as I was a skilled carpenter and there’s plenty of trees around, I just built some walls there). We ended up scrapping that playthrough because once we built a wall around the perimeter it just got so easy it became boring!
Luckily I don’t seem to run into the same issue with my friends. There’s always someone that gets inpatient and starts shooting.
Nice to see there are still nice guides for PZ in 2021!
We’re only missing one location: Valley Station (North of Riverside, far right corner on the map)
This tiny town has a perfectly located warehouse by the map border, filled to the roof with crates, not too far nor too close from the residential sector, and quite close to a nice selection of shops.
It’s also very close to the river, though you can easily build a dozen of water collectors and crops to feed 10 players on the roof of that warehouse.
To me that’s the absolute best starting location, give it a try!
Location on map: https://map.projectzomboid.com/#0.8715435606060606,0.22578125000000002,6.191736422399999
Thanks for the comment! I know. Crazy how the game hasn’t blown up even more at this stage. I also didn’t realize how little PZ content there is on the web. It’s one of the reasons I even started the site.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve never even explored that area myself.