Bandits — Human Threats for Project Zomboid

A secure food supply and a fenced compound can keep the undead at bay. Armed survivors create a different problem. With Bandits, the people approaching your shelter might steal your supplies, wreck essential equipment, or turn a quiet afternoon into a firefight.

The mod introduces NPC groups with different equipment and behaviour, adding human opposition to Project Zomboid Build 42.20 and later. Both single-player and multiplayer are supported.

More than another enemy to fight

Bandits can damage your ability to survive without killing you directly. They may raid storage, sabotage generators and vehicles, or destroy crops. Doors, windows, and furniture blocking their route can also be broken down.

Their equipment includes melee weapons and firearms, and they can collect supplies from containers and corpses. Some are capable of tracking the player, making an encounter harder to escape than a routine brush with zombies.

Friendly NPCs can appear as well, although the base mod gives them limited interaction rather than a fully developed companion system.

A world that grows more dangerous

Early encounters usually involve small groups carrying melee weapons, with initial spawns beginning after roughly one in-game day. As the world gets older, larger groups and armed opponents become more common.

Other NPC groups travel between notable locations. Their routes can intersect with yours, bringing encounters to supply runs and journeys between settlements.

Spawning is based on distance from the player, at approximately 55 tiles. Because the system does not reliably identify enclosed compounds, a sufficiently large fenced base may occasionally have NPCs appear inside its boundaries.

Adjusting the experience

Sandbox settings let you change spawn chances, general behaviour, and equipment.

For finer control, the optional Bandit Creator provides tools for editing clans, appearances, loadouts, and AI settings. It also helps tailor the number of bandits to your preferred difficulty.

Debug mode allows you to spawn selected clans for testing. Manually spawned NPCs may not behave exactly like groups introduced through the normal spawning system.

Existing saves and multiplayer setup

Bandits can be introduced to an ongoing game. Keep the world’s age in mind: adding it to a long-running save can immediately bring in tougher groups intended for a later stage of survival.

For single-player, enable the mod for the relevant save. When hosting multiplayer, check all three server configuration areas:

• the server’s mod selection page;
• the Mods tab;
• the Steam Workshop tab.

If you also use Bandit Creator, make sure it is enabled in the relevant server settings.

No bandits appearing?

Allow at least 48 in-game hours and spend some time around populated areas. If encounters still do not occur, check that the mod is active, look for conflicting modifications, and confirm that zombies have not been completely disabled.

Custom clan configurations are another possible cause when using Bandit Creator. Invalid settings can prevent the expected groups from appearing.

Bandits also supplies the NPC foundation for projects such as Bandits: Week One and The Ark. On its own, it adds uncertainty to ordinary survival: the next person you meet may be a passing stranger or a serious threat to everything you have built.