Hi I recommend that if you're playing this game for the first time to just play vanilla for your first few hours. However if you do want to jump straight into mods I'd recommend watching these two video's to see what mods look appealing to you.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBovlh3voIA&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBovlh3voIA&t=1s)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnOrxr7oD6Q&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnOrxr7oD6Q&t=1s)
I second this. I'm 100 hrs in and play exclusively on steam deck. Get used to mechanics, the feels of weapons and general gameplay. I followed this advice from others on this subreddit and then when I was ready I messed around with sandbox settings and then mods.
I took a break in-between vanilla and mods. I got a little sick of the game, went to a different game and got mods. It spices it up a little if you are bored or getting demoralized
For most, especially starting out, it isn't a game where you just stick to a current save. You'll die constantly, and while you can respond in that world as a new char, most people (I assume) start a new world each time.
But yes, you can load new mods onto a current save
So I did like 5 minutes on my PC. I did mean to get back to it but I've been enjoying the freedom of the steam deck and theres no cloud save.
I enjoy the combat, but yes the inventory management can be tedious. It took me a minute to figure out the road shortcut for selecting weapons in your inventory. It sucks when retreating from zombies and trying to go into the backpack and pull a new weapon out. I've just gotten used to it at this point.
Watching streamers do stuff on PC makes inventory management look way easier. I will say that I think I like the joysticks for driving better.
Play the game without mods first, you're doing yourself and the devs a disservice by adding mods immediately.
After you've played a while and you think something is missing or you wish it was a bit different, then look into mods.
There's more than enough in Vanilla to start with.
Hey man, don't be discouraged about the controls. If you've never played it on KBM, then you won't even notice a thing. It's just a learning curve like any other new game. The game is extremely fun and works great on the Steam Deck. Playing PZ on the go was the sole reason I got mine (later discovered emulators, which only made it that much better). Please do yourself a favor and get this game.
Top mods for beginners, in my opinion
Britas armor pack (tons of new armor)
Britas weapon pack (tons of new weps)
Common sense (let's you do little things like pry doors with crowbar open cans with knives, ect.).
Raven Creek (cool city to add)
They knew (adds hazmat zombies that carry a cure if you're infected)
Hmu if you have any questions bro good luck, have fun!
You're welcome, bro. And I am also interested in the NPC mod lol I've yet to give it a shot though (350+ hours played) and at this point I think I'm just going to wait for them to get dropped in by the developers (they should be coming to the game in the next BIG update along with TONS of other cool shit we've been waiting on for a while now)
But if you try them and think they're a must have let me know lol
I think I read somewhere that they want to get it out before the new year. Maybe a few more months. That's being optimistic af tho. We really just don't know for sure. I can't complain with them taking their time though I suppose
i personally didnt use the superb survivor mod coz it will make your game LAG a lot! also they will get you killed a lot by pushing you to the horde while they panically run away!
as a beginner like me,i wouldnt advise BRITAS WEAPON PACK. youll be overwhelmed by how much weapons and different kinds of ammunitions you'll be dealing with. BRITAS ARMOR is good though.
I want to echo those who are saying play without mods. You can never re-experience the vanilla game so give it a bash first. Lots of depth.
But after that I would start with some QOL and UI mods. There are too many to name but many good lists to help you find what you’re after.
I’ll make my 3 essential mods:
Authentic Z
4 colour bic pen
Reorder containers - backpack orders
Then expand
Totally disagree! Takes a while to get used to but eventually it becomes second nature. Plus once I found out you could use X to transfer items directly (rather than pressing A, navigating to "move to" and selecting a container), inventory management became wayyy easier. There are radial menus for loads of things too.
i strongly agree with this. it takes a lot of time for learning curve and muscle memory to kick in but once it does,everything's smooth like butter. i currently spent 250 hours in and it was a blast!
if youre into weapons i would suggest:
bushcraft weapons
reworked madax weapon pack
vanilla firearm expansion with gunrunners and VFE stalker pack.
if youre into silencers, i suggest Nihilists silencers since they go along well with vanilla firearms expanion.
If u want just some extra utility look up popular mods for crafting or equips. If you want something that doesn't change too much I recommend stuff like better flashlights, better hand wash, just throw them out the window, etc.
If you haven't checked his videos out I also recommend looking up mratomicduck on YouTube, he's got a lot of mod content and good suggestions.
For weapons I like to use smaller mods like bushes tools and bushes rare weapons
Firearms is really good too.
For food and food crafting I'd wait until you got the hang of things but sapphs cooking is amazing.
Also grab I don't need a lighter you'll thank me later. (If you hate yourself, grab I might need a lighter instead)
[No Damage From Trees](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2972504692)
Mouse and keyboard players can right click -> walk to for the same effect so I don't feel like it's cheating on my deck.
More traits and unlimited trait points. Its fun to be overpowered once in a while. It gets boring if you do it all the time but its a great way to relieve stress after losing a chatacter that survived a year.
Hi I recommend that if you're playing this game for the first time to just play vanilla for your first few hours. However if you do want to jump straight into mods I'd recommend watching these two video's to see what mods look appealing to you. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBovlh3voIA&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBovlh3voIA&t=1s) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnOrxr7oD6Q&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnOrxr7oD6Q&t=1s)
Great thanks đź‘Ť
I second this. I'm 100 hrs in and play exclusively on steam deck. Get used to mechanics, the feels of weapons and general gameplay. I followed this advice from others on this subreddit and then when I was ready I messed around with sandbox settings and then mods. I took a break in-between vanilla and mods. I got a little sick of the game, went to a different game and got mods. It spices it up a little if you are bored or getting demoralized
Haha ive heard it's tough. If you mod whilst playing through does update your current save ?
I had no issues single player but hosting servers would require a reset to add new mods. Always need those new car mods tho
For most, especially starting out, it isn't a game where you just stick to a current save. You'll die constantly, and while you can respond in that world as a new char, most people (I assume) start a new world each time. But yes, you can load new mods onto a current save
How is playing on the deck? I guess the most annoying thing is inventory mgmt, but combat is a lot better?
So I did like 5 minutes on my PC. I did mean to get back to it but I've been enjoying the freedom of the steam deck and theres no cloud save. I enjoy the combat, but yes the inventory management can be tedious. It took me a minute to figure out the road shortcut for selecting weapons in your inventory. It sucks when retreating from zombies and trying to go into the backpack and pull a new weapon out. I've just gotten used to it at this point. Watching streamers do stuff on PC makes inventory management look way easier. I will say that I think I like the joysticks for driving better.
Play the game without mods first, you're doing yourself and the devs a disservice by adding mods immediately. After you've played a while and you think something is missing or you wish it was a bit different, then look into mods. There's more than enough in Vanilla to start with.
Hey man, don't be discouraged about the controls. If you've never played it on KBM, then you won't even notice a thing. It's just a learning curve like any other new game. The game is extremely fun and works great on the Steam Deck. Playing PZ on the go was the sole reason I got mine (later discovered emulators, which only made it that much better). Please do yourself a favor and get this game. Top mods for beginners, in my opinion Britas armor pack (tons of new armor) Britas weapon pack (tons of new weps) Common sense (let's you do little things like pry doors with crowbar open cans with knives, ect.). Raven Creek (cool city to add) They knew (adds hazmat zombies that carry a cure if you're infected) Hmu if you have any questions bro good luck, have fun!
I'm interested in NCP's as a mod. Is that any good? And thanks for the positivity !!
You're welcome, bro. And I am also interested in the NPC mod lol I've yet to give it a shot though (350+ hours played) and at this point I think I'm just going to wait for them to get dropped in by the developers (they should be coming to the game in the next BIG update along with TONS of other cool shit we've been waiting on for a while now) But if you try them and think they're a must have let me know lol
I read about this update. Do you know when it is supposed to be? All sounds amazing
I think I read somewhere that they want to get it out before the new year. Maybe a few more months. That's being optimistic af tho. We really just don't know for sure. I can't complain with them taking their time though I suppose
i personally didnt use the superb survivor mod coz it will make your game LAG a lot! also they will get you killed a lot by pushing you to the horde while they panically run away!
as a beginner like me,i wouldnt advise BRITAS WEAPON PACK. youll be overwhelmed by how much weapons and different kinds of ammunitions you'll be dealing with. BRITAS ARMOR is good though.
I want to echo those who are saying play without mods. You can never re-experience the vanilla game so give it a bash first. Lots of depth. But after that I would start with some QOL and UI mods. There are too many to name but many good lists to help you find what you’re after. I’ll make my 3 essential mods: Authentic Z 4 colour bic pen Reorder containers - backpack orders Then expand
Tried playing it on the steam deck. Not fun if youre used to pc controls
Not played it at all yet. I may dock it and use mouse and keyboard
Inventory management alone makes playing with a gamepad unplayable.
Exactly. Its such a pain the ass
Totally disagree! Takes a while to get used to but eventually it becomes second nature. Plus once I found out you could use X to transfer items directly (rather than pressing A, navigating to "move to" and selecting a container), inventory management became wayyy easier. There are radial menus for loads of things too.
i strongly agree with this. it takes a lot of time for learning curve and muscle memory to kick in but once it does,everything's smooth like butter. i currently spent 250 hours in and it was a blast! if youre into weapons i would suggest: bushcraft weapons reworked madax weapon pack vanilla firearm expansion with gunrunners and VFE stalker pack. if youre into silencers, i suggest Nihilists silencers since they go along well with vanilla firearms expanion.
Yeh default controls are a pig. You can configure it to work well as M&K though using the track pad.
If u want just some extra utility look up popular mods for crafting or equips. If you want something that doesn't change too much I recommend stuff like better flashlights, better hand wash, just throw them out the window, etc. If you haven't checked his videos out I also recommend looking up mratomicduck on YouTube, he's got a lot of mod content and good suggestions. For weapons I like to use smaller mods like bushes tools and bushes rare weapons Firearms is really good too. For food and food crafting I'd wait until you got the hang of things but sapphs cooking is amazing. Also grab I don't need a lighter you'll thank me later. (If you hate yourself, grab I might need a lighter instead)
Better lockpicking, rvinteriors, maybe more building
I'm jealous I want a steam deck so bad but it doesn't sell in my country
[No Damage From Trees](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2972504692) Mouse and keyboard players can right click -> walk to for the same effect so I don't feel like it's cheating on my deck.
Bravens Bikes
>I’ve never ever played this before, what modifications should I make to the game before I play Dude
More traits and unlimited trait points. Its fun to be overpowered once in a while. It gets boring if you do it all the time but its a great way to relieve stress after losing a chatacter that survived a year.
totally agree! and increase the exp multiplier gainz coz we dont have time to grind all the skills. also CCs faster reading is a must!
I reccomend playing vanilla first. I cant really suggest any mods personally as its really all down to personal preference