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The Mental Toll: Psychological Survival

In Project Zomboid, the psychological state of a survivor is as critical as their physical health. High Panic levels drastically reduce combat effectiveness by diminishing firearm accuracy and melee damage, while chronic Stress leads to debilitating unhappiness and clinical depression. As a server administrator, you can fine-tune these psychological multipliers within your sandbox configuration to create either a “Hardened Veterans” experience or a “Terrified Rookies” atmosphere. This guide walk you through the technical calibration of these mental moodles on your FREAKHOSTING instance.

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

5 Minutes

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Technical Parameter Calibration

These psychological variables are situated within your {ServerName}_SandboxVars.lua registry.

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1. Combat Panic Dynamics

The engine calculates panic based on proximity to the zombie horde and individual character traits (e.g., “Brave” vs. “Cowardly”).
  • PanicIncreaseValue: Determines the intensity of the initial heart rate spike when a character first observes an undead entity.
  • PanicDecayRate: Dictates the speed at which a character regains their composure once they have broken line-of-sight with the horde.
  • Optimization Strategy: For roleplay-heavy servers, we recommend slightly increasing the decay rate to simulate survivors becoming accustomed to the apocalypse over time.

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2. Longitudinal Mental Health

Extended periods of isolation or stagnation can lead to long-term moodle degradation.
  • UnhappinessIncrease: Scales the velocity at which “Unhappy” moodles develop into full depression.
  • BoredomDecrease: Calibrates the effectiveness of interactive activities (e.g., reading books or using exercise equipment) in neutralizing the “Bored” state.

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Strategic Community Management

A primary source of chronic stress in multiplayer is the Smoker trait. Since the engine lacks a global toggle to disable trait-specific stress, we recommend using a Starter Kit that includes Cigarettes and a Lighter. This prevents initial player frustration and reduces early-game attrition.

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: January 2026 | Project Zomboid: Mental health settings set.