ZA-Z Wiki: the Project Zomboid B42 server guide
ZA-Z is a public Project Zomboid Build 42 multiplayer server hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa, and this wiki is its survivor's field manual. The server runs vanilla+: the Knox Country you know, a short list of hand-picked Workshop mods (KI5 cars, a flyable Huey, more guns, more food), and a set of mechanics you will not find on any other Zomboid server: a rare cure for the infection, bitten survivors who sometimes pull through, South African snacks in the loot, a tattoo parlour, boss zombies and an emergency radio that reads you the news. No password, no whitelist, and the mods download by themselves when you join.
#ZA-Z at a glance
| Fact | ZA-Z |
|---|---|
| Game | Project Zomboid Build 42 (the server runs 42.21) |
| Hosted in | Johannesburg, South Africa, with no ping limit |
| Address | 156.38.175.131, port 49685 |
| Slots | 32, open to everyone, no password |
| Day length | 1 in-game day = 3 real hours |
| Zombies | About 8x a default world, 10 % sprinters, no zombie respawn |
| XP | 3x on every skill, skill books read 40x faster |
| PvP | On, with the PvP safety toggle; never inside the Rosewood safe zone |
| Mods | 24 Workshop items (5 of them our own), about 1.2 GB, downloaded automatically |
| Restart | Every night at 00:00 SAST |
| Website | zazomboid.com |
The "Day N" at the end of the server name counts in-game days since the outbreak began on 9 July 1993.
#What's new on ZA-Z
The latest updates to the server, newest first. Every change we have shipped is on the updates page.
- Smoker's Pack, Tracers and mythic lootZA-Z's 30 September 2026 update: Smoker's Pack and Tracers join, mythic gear drops as loot, Rosewood becomes a safe zone and the parlour opens.
- Build 42.21 and the Gold Desert EagleBuild 42.21 reached ZA-Z on 28 September 2026 and every mod downloaded again; the Gold Desert Eagle, 30-magazine holsters and the Micro Torch arrived.
- Mythic gear, Ink 4.0 and boss zombiesZA-Z's 27 September 2026 update: mythic bags, boots and gloves arrive, Ink 4.0 adds new tattoos, two boss zombies appear and the Huey's hold grows to 500.
#New here? Join the South African Zomboid server
Start with how to join and your first hour: the address, the Build 42 version you need, the mod download, and the things that work differently here. Every setting that matters, with its real value, is on Server settings. Quick answers live in the FAQ. The one-click join button is on zazomboid.com/join.
#Surviving on a vanilla+ Zomboid server
- The Rosewood safe zone: a quarantined town with no PvP and no zombies, Knox County's one safe haven.
- The power grid: why the lights are still on, and how long the taps will run.
- The Knox Antidote: the only drink in Knox Country that clears a zombie infection.
- The Immune System: why some bitten survivors live, and how to give yourself the best odds.
- Boss zombies: the armoured horrors that turn up at our events.
- Weather and events: storms, blackouts and other things the server throws at you.
- The AEBS radio: the emergency broadcast, written fresh by the server every hour.
- Safehouses: claiming a building, adding friends, and the 14-day rule.
- Vehicles: cars, trucks, bikes and the Huey helicopter.
#Loot
- Loot: how rich the world is, when containers refill, and the rarest things you can find.
- South African food: biltong, boerewors and the other taste of home hidden in Knox Country.
#Our own Project Zomboid mods
ZA-Z builds its own mods, and every one of them is on the server:
- ZA-Z's Essentials: quality-of-life fixes, from the ammo readout to working elevators.
- ZA-Z's Gear and Clothing: mythic bags, boots and gloves, about one container in ten thousand.
- The tattoo parlour: ZA-Z's Ink, and where to get inked.
- ZA-Z's Smoker's Pack: five strains from seed packet to smoke.
- ZA-Z's Tracers: coloured tracer rounds everyone nearby can see.
#A Zomboid server with mods, done lightly
ZA-Z keeps the game feeling like Zomboid: the Workshop mods add cars, guns, food, clothes and music in the game's own style, and nothing replaces the core. The full list, with what each one adds, is on all mods on the server.
#The website
zazomboid.com reads the live save: the leaderboard, the death roll, a live map, your own survivor page and your safehouse's contents. See the website guide for what each page does and how to put your name on the board.
#Lore
- The substation restart: the night survivors brought the grid back.
- The secret base raid: the night a crew stormed the military base west of Rosewood.
- Timeline: everything that has happened on ZA-Z, in order.
#Help
Can't join, kicked after an update, or a mod acting up? Try Troubleshooting first, then the FAQ. Still stuck? Ask on the ZAGA Discord.