How do I survive?

Played Project Zomboid for the first time in a year or so. If you haven't played it in a while the difficulty has increased 10-fold. Trying to survive more than a few minutes after leaving the house you spawn in is very challenging. Even though you start with a baseball bat, you cannot handle more than maybe 2 zombies at a time if you're quick. With all the cool end-game stuff I've seen, I would like to know what I need to be doing to survive long enough to be able to handle the zombies.

More specifically, how do I live long enough to get what I need to fight off the horde?

The first thing you need is a weapon.

Secondly, since RC2.9 the game is much harder and you won't be able to take on a horde of 20 zombies at a time. My rule of thumb is that if there's more than 3 zombie I don't engage at all or if they've seen me I run.

Due to the above (harder combat) remember to sneak at all times (unless completely sure that there are no enemies close by) and make sure that you have a good view of your surroundings. Thus, do not round corners closely, give the corners a wide berth to be able to see anything round it.

Be very careful when going into a house, even one zombie can be the death of you (probably from infection), and make sure that you know where to exit in case you need it.

I think that's good for the first few days, after that you will have other problems (such as food etc).

TL;DR:

• Sneak unless you know you're alone or you're chased
• Don't engage more than max 3 zombies at a time
• Check your surroundings when moving about
• Be careful around corners
• Be very careful when going inside houses and always keep an escape route open

1. Scan your surroundings - look around, check behind corners, be careful around trees and bushes
2. Be quiet - shooting, smashing windows, growling zombies, fighting, it will attract close enemies
3. Avoid crowds - you can easily kill zombies one-on-one if they don't get the drop on you, but three or more can easily overwhelm you
4. Plan ahead - check where the zombies could hide, plan for the safest route, don't travel in night
5. Be patient - watch your load, don't exert yourself, you have to be fit to run away when things go awry

Always expect nasty surprises: when opening doors, when moving over open ground, when engaged (zombies love to sneak from behind when you bash heads of their friends), some zombies will even wander into areas you previously cleared.