Project Zomboid B41 Max Skills Carpentry Guide

This is a pretty heavy RNG run like most of them, but unlike certain categories such as Fishing% we need to worry way less about food and water. We also have a much earlier reset window than other runs.

The goal is to be done with Carpentry within about 30-32 in-game hours. We accomplish this by taking advantage of the XP multiplier from books (x8, x12, x16), the +25XP modifier from the Fast Learner trait, and the +125% XP modifier from choosing Carpenter.

**Positive Traits:**

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcv7YxhwYbGpEQbYwnt5UZgLLYLFwQk5gO6mdyT6m8wUkGIqK5avswXkS-VS0Mg2Af39v5r5o2ZwHRBvrWtg9RM69FiRjfMCW8eHNNqia9nJg6O7nYYTwBbLffiHPw9XzCJlzGfqw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

**Negative Traits:**

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXceZK7tX1g935CzN7jPeUGIe6GH0Gu5xpxCJdTecPdRXrq1ROfrF_WuttyxMiWyHBbt74psy3MO2fE9mV7vadN2T-VqA6QivWJr-kiCGPuVWInW4khYdP2yB6ZNQZ5LJfjF1JS51g?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe_F07iazzRxoq0Zw4EsgOsVb9dDs-obvf-So8OX4VaLHx44IfA0nHrh9rUeqm33y15y26H21WC_7oaIOYPgsm-XFUe_sz0rJjgpMYWbW9hKdeyyzaSUdMEKbaEyy37yw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

I would imagine most traits are very self explanatory. Speed demon isn’t needed since the chance of a car being a time-save is *VERY VERY* low. But, there was nothing else that was better to take. The most important ones are to choose the Carpenter profession and Handy. As this will let us start with level 4 Carpentry with a +125% XP bonus.

**At the beginning:**

Try to get a water container of some kind and a little bit of food. All spawns except the trailer park / bar are valid. The bar can be played if you high roll and get some Woodcraft VHS tapes from the General Store nearby. This phase should be <1 min preferably. You could try to find a car, but it’s unlikely to be a speed gain unless you find it immediately.

*General Store:*

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcaNaVstf25gcOvjBuInzUQpgulGj46IVZioINOmZ3beQsiG9bKc3c67yA3-lFHTXoJVMhHIhjQ6twtndeAYlNwk8B5gIROGl83pNZPNhI5f_OORCspAbYby-fXOr3SJDjjRWVMNw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

**The VHS Step:**

This is where our first reset point truly happens. We need to loot the Riverside VHS store. I have found that you need a minimum of 5 tapes + 1 episode of Life and Living to efficiently complete this run, but you could just dismantle beds for the last few thousand XP. It’s very fast to do, so 4-5 tapes is what I would go for. 

**Note:** The following videos all give Carpentry XP

Exposure Survival Episode 4: Fire

Exposure Survival Episode 5: Camping

Exposure Survival Episode 8: Water Collection

Woodcraft Episode 1-7

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcFsom1ZSG02J32XDtqQw3xJa33luLVrUE8QaK5gJGsab5ZdFBg5Qd0kzMQeldDL82HLJhmGZ4mbjsAEl_46FI8jKpkL4Dy8GBEq8q6IRPezIctrKidmsRtIi9UShaltYFTY-X3bw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

**TLDR**: Reset if you get less than 4-5 VHS tapes.

**The Books:**

We need the following books.

**Carpentry Volume 3(Level 5-6)**

**Carpentry Volume 4(Level 7-8)**

**Carpentry Volume 5(Level 9-10)**

If you are looking for a top time, reset if the US Mail Supply building does not have all 3.

*Book Locations:*

*Riverside U.S. Mail Service*

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdv7ZYte35OcwxXkEIV3HG1ubMYPTbr-mf4VZR0D1nyolsb07Hskj6NmOxlf6L8Vlu4HGeVhAL-O81g6qtkp1vWnKHYRMO9MDASO-NYkVuxzhHI1ZZwFyZx3RkvfCV9jO3mi5hocw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

*Enigma Books*

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeJsAjcooyFUE5s2bAfuRyIkPPM_WOpv_hSLTF0kbusqrHVDvmJ-wrujTiami9NkSXnsgmu1pVZEz7bDEdY1DWOVE4-id3rEy_WsSP1iNlDOrx3M9QFESOIgO4uVb-eDCXTa0Xivw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

*Riverside School*

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdSRdawZUwPMu7utGVxBASwZdmuPB8zk9y6njOszhsQAb5fKNH60ushxfhWcuycd0x6GxZHcidTDuS8nrxHdJufWwi5-w-k2VZ9fKgA-BQpK8IK7PTcca-H22N8-SXTHfIclVNMQA?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

***Alternative Routes:***

If you are just looking for a GOOD time, but the best time. Feel free to also check Enigma books. If you do not find the books there, the school is the last option. If NONE of these places have all 3 books (it does happen). Then, you should just reset.

**The last step:**

Throughout this whole journey, you should be looking for 3 tools:

A hammer.

A saw.

A screwdriver

If you have all 3. Then head directly to the motel between the US Mail Service and the Enigma Books strip mall. You want to head to a 2nd floor bathroom (grab a TV from the 1st floor first.) If any zombies are pathing to you, you will need to kill them before proceeding.

***If you don’t have the tools:***

If you are short on any tools, run to the left (south) of the hotel and quickly check the hardware store.

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXc70BBUJU3Y2f2u1n5sFS42NowwHwa1cWfH4K1kLT9M2OZTX4D8pB_zXqKmY1mZ9jL42h4edgwBjJW-fEAssFicaY0VByNpvIiOFc3j2FXMBDfdR5LD7A5a0HaC1FDEN8svEJvihw?key=L3nV4vNrnSqV5Z3oY6co5Q)

**In the bathroom:**

We read Carpentry 3. Then watch a VHS until we are nearly level 6. If you are a little short, and have less than SIX VHS tapes. You should disassemble things until you hit level 6.

Then, read Carpentry 4 and watch VHS tapes until you hit level 8.

At this point, we should have enough XP most of the time. So, simply read Carpentry 5 and watch the rest of your tapes. You should be level 10 quite quickly.

***IF you are short on XP:***

This can happen if XP ticks are unlucky or you do not get a life and living episode (e.g. You have watched the tape for that day already). The highest XP is to disassemble double beds -> single beds -> couches. You can actually go from 9.5 -> 10 extremely quickly doing this, so your run is not dead if you are a bit short.

**Full TLDR:**

- **Get Food.**
- **Get Water.**
- **Get Carpentry 3-5**
- **Get Woodcraft VHS**
- **Get Tools**
- **Hide in a Bathroom and Read / Watch VHS.**
- **Disassemble if you need to.**

itsbringr

Check out the Q&A I posted for answers to common questions, if this page looks bad when the embargo ends I apologize as I have never made a page this large before. I will attempt to fix it ASAP! Thank you for your patience. 

Project Zomboid

Ripwel

thesorehead

DrCarfrei

1 Wave

5 Waves

10 Waves

30 Waves

Fitness

Strength

Sprinting

Lightfooted

Nimble

Sneaking

Long Blunt

Short Blunt

Long Blade

Short Blade

Spear

Maintenance

Carpentry

Cooking

Farming

First Aid

Electrical

Metalworking

Mechanics

Tailoring

Aiming

Reloading

Fishing

Trapping

Foraging

1,000

The number of waves to complete in Last Stand Accumulator

Number of Waves

Skill

Number of Zombies

Hello potential Project Zomboid speedrunners! I’ve gotten a lot of messages asking questions regarding this game’s new presence on [Speedrun.com](http://speedrun.com), so I decided to make a Q&A for some questions I am anticipating regarding Project Zomboid’s speedruns. If there are any other 