How to Join After the Fall: Project Zomboid PvPvE Server

Before you start

You need Project Zomboid on Steam, updated to Build 42. That is the only purchase involved. The server itself is free, has no subscription, and sells nothing that affects gameplay. If you are still on Build 41, switch branches first, because a Build 41 client cannot see the server at all.

Set aside fifteen minutes or so for the mod download. Most of that is Steam working in the background while you read the rules.

1. Join the Discord

   Everything starts in the Discord: the rules, the connection info, wipe and season announcements, event schedules, trade posts and admin tickets. Read the rules channel and agree to them before you connect. Knowing where PVP is switched off will save your first life.

   Join the After the Fall Discord →

2. Find the connection info and join the game

   The current server address is pinned in the Discord. Launch Project Zomboid on Build 42, choose Join, and connect to that address. You can also search the in-game server browser for "After the Fall".

   Check the server status on BattleMetrics →

3. Let the mods download

   The server hands your game its mod list when you connect, so Steam fetches all 70 or so of them for you. Let the download finish and let the game restart when it asks. This is the slow part of joining, and you only do it once.

   Browse the After The Fall Steam Workshop collection →

4. Survive one hour, then claim your safehouse

   You need an hour of survival before you can claim a safehouse, so treat that first hour as the tutorial. Outside settlements and claimed safehouses, every other survivor can kill you. Find shelter, stay quiet, and claim it once the hour is up.

   New to the ruleset? Read how PvPvE works here.

5. Have fun

   That is the whole process. From there the server is yours: trade in the player market, join a settlement, take a bounty off the board, or go it alone.

   Browse what players are currently selling, or see everything the server runs.

Troubleshooting

The server rejects my connection over mods

This is almost always an incomplete download. Close the game, let Steam finish syncing, and check you have not left an old mod subscribed from a previous season. Unsubscribing from everything and re-subscribing to the collection is the reliable fix.

I cannot find the server in the browser

Confirm you are running Build 42 and not Build 41. The two have separate server lists, and a Build 41 client will never see us. If you are on the right build, use the direct address pinned in Discord instead of searching.

Something else

Ask in Discord. Admins are active and there is a support channel for exactly this. The FAQ covers the questions that come up most.

What happens next

Once you are in, the systems that make this server different start to matter: automatic PVP zones, safehouse and car claims, and a player-driven economy whose real numbers we publish. The features page covers all of it, and the roadmap shows what is being built next.