Wooden materials play an essential role in Project Zomboid. They act as fuel for fires, ingredients for campfires, materials for building structures, and are part of leveling up the Carpentry skill.
One of the fastest methods to obtain wooden materials is by cutting down trees. In this guide, we’ll show you how to cut down trees in Project Zomboid.
Recommended Read: How to Attach Weapon Parts in Project Zomboid
In Project Zomboid, you can use tools and melee weapons to cut down trees by right-clicking on each of them, selecting “Cut Down Tree”, then choosing the tree you want to chop. Alternatively, you can set yourself in combat position by holding the right-click button and left-clicking to swing at a tree to cut it down, as long as you make it shake.
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How to Cut Down Trees in Project Zomboid
Trees in Project Zomboid are one of the limitless available resources, along with water. Trees have a lot of usage, but you need to cut them down first to take advantage of them.
If you want to bring down a tree, you’ll need a melee weapon or suitable tools. It’s important to note that using bare hands or shooting trees won’t work. So, sticking to melee weapons is the only way to cut trees down.
If you have some tools or melee weapons in your inventory, then you can chop a tree by using either of these methods:
- Right-click on the tree and select “Cut Down Tree”, then choose the tree you want to chop.
- Hold the right-click button to enable combat stance, then left-click when you stand near the tree to cut it down. If the tree shakes, then you’re successful.
Each method mentioned above has its own advantages. For example, the first method allows you to select a tree that is farther from your current position, providing better precision.
Cutting down trees makes noise, which can attract nearby zombies. So, the second choice keeps you in a combat position, allowing you to defend yourself if zombies are nearby.
On top of that, not all tools or weapons are equally effective at damaging trees. Some may even deal zero damage, such as Broom, Wrench, Hammer, etc.
You can check out the table below to see the top 10 melee weapons that are most efficient at damaging trees:
| # | Melee Weapon | Damage to Trees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wood Axe | 55 |
| 2 | Barbell | 55 |
| 3 | Axe | 35 |
| 4 | Pick Axe | 35 |
| 5 | Hand Axe | 15 |
| 6 | Stone Axe | 15 |
| 7 | Meat Cleaver | 15 |
| 8 | Sledgehammer | 10 |
| 9 | Guitar/Keytar | 10 |
| 10 | Machete | 10 |
Our top recommendation for chopping trees is axes, thanks to their high damage output. Given that the HP of a tree is 165, it takes 3 swings to chop it down using the Wood Axe.
To make the most of this task, the Lumberjack occupation is highly recommended. Lumberjacks use axes, which allow them to work 25% faster and deal 50% more damage to trees, making it an optimal choice.
That’s how to cut down trees in Project Zomboid.
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