You can no longer die to a tree in Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid rules in its Build 42, and you should play it, but there’s a reason why this massive update is still in its “Unstable” version. Much of it is broken still, and bugs rear up where you least expect them. Trees, for example, could straight-up slit your throat.

Please note that I am being very literal here: there was a non-zero chance for you to get sliced up into ribbons while exploring forests in Project Zomboid. It was every bit as hilarious as it was disturbing and painful to see, and it may or may not have happened to me while testing out Zomboid‘s new intercity wilderness systems. This probl🌸em has thankfully now been fixed as ♔part of Build 42.1.0, which you can (and should) download at your earliest convenience.

Project Zomboid Build 42.1.0 fixes the infamous killer trees, adds awesome new features

Specifically, Project Zomboid‘s killer trees came about due to the possibility for your avatar to get scratched up while pushing through dense forest canopies. And hey, if a tree can scratch you, why not make it possible for it to straight-up slit your throat while you’re mucking about? That’s precisely what would occasionally happen, and the odds naturally grew the more time you spent prowling about Project Zomboid‘s many, many cool forests.

Build 42.1.0 resolves this bug by “[removing] death-by-tree,” as per . “Scratches no longer bleed. Erroneous lacerations taken out,” it continues. Excellent news, of course, but there’s lots more where that came from. The full patch notes are downright massive, but here are some of the most important and notable highlights I’ve spotted so far:

• Firearm damage reworked: Chance-to-Damage system introduced, making it so that each successfully aimed shot hits.
• Purify Water recipe added, allowing you to purify up to one liter of tainted water using Water Purification Tablets.
• Various new Blacksmithing recipes added, including Iron Bands, Mace and Spear Heads, Spiked Clubs, etc.
• New “Report Bug” button added to the main menu screen.
• Planks can now be carved from Large Branches.
• “Discomfort Modifier” option added to Sandbox Mode.
• Maintenance XP gain doubled.
• Zombies climbing through windows become visible as soon as their heads are visible.
• Boiling water now takes ten times as long.
• Safe House loot has been adjusted, allowing skill books, recipes, and firearms to spawn late-game.
• Lowered the default number of zombies prowling through the forest biome.
• Hot water can once again be used to disinfect bandages.

This is just a very truncated list of all the improvements, tweaks, and fixes delivered as part of update 42.1.0, but it should illustrate my point that it ♛is an excellent release across the board.

If you’ve been playing Project Zomboid with mods even after it’s been updated to B42, it may take a while before they’re all brought fully up-to-speed with the new release. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal, however, given how quick the modding community has been as of late.

On that note, if you’d like to experience Project Zomboid from an entirely different point of view, boy do I have a recommendation for you. The ridiculously amꦉbitious (and astonishingly janky) W๊eek One mod begins the game a full seven days before the outbreak, allowing you to experience actual human beings doing their ow♉n things in Knox Country. Give it a shot, and you can thank me later.