The Indie Stone released Project Zomboid Build 42.22.2 to the stable branch on November 9, 2026, adding ladder support and a crowbar mechanic that forces locked doors and windows, according to the studio’s Steam post.
The Details
These are the additions that change play the most:
- Ladders. The notes say “Added ladder support,” with new footstep sounds that vary by ladder material and footwear.
- Crowbars. A crowbar can now “force locked doors and windows.”
- Sleep. The sleep option is disabled, with a tooltip explaining why, while a Bad Smell moodle is active.
- Lighters. A new recipe refills lighters using gasoline, a funnel, and a surface to put them on.
- Walking actions. You can now rip clothing and sheets, open boxes of bullets and shotgun shells, swap batteries, and put out a candle or hurricane lantern while walking.
The fix list is long. The ones that matter most for a long-running game:
- Multiplayer. Damage calculations moved server-side, and the studio fixed the “doppelganger character” bug, which could duplicate a character at the edge of a chunk. Fixes also cover moving vehicles that could disappear for good after a reconnect or restart, and player-built structures that could vanish with their contents.
- Animals. They should no longer die while you are away from their zone or get deleted from full hutches, and female rabbits now produce milk for their kits.
- Doors. You can lock external doors from inside without a key again. In the studio’s words, “Deadbolts are working again.”
- Power. Toasters and coffee machines no longer run without grid or generator power.
What This Means for Players
The crowbar gives you another way into a locked building, but the notes do not say what forcing a door costs in noise, skill, or wear. They also do not say where ladders come from or what they can reach, so try both somewhere safe before you rely on them in a bad spot. The notes do not mention save compatibility either, so back up a long-running save before you update.
Modded saves need a closer look. Our best Project Zomboid mods list includes Ladders!? and Common Sense, which adds crowbar prying, and both now overlap with the base game, so read each mod’s Workshop page first. The build also adds integrity checks that show alterations to the Java Runtime Environment in the version watermark. That is worth knowing if you run the kind of Java mods the studio warned about, though the notes do not say which ones trigger it.
Car keys also stop appearing next to untouched cars after you leave and return, so our hotwiring guide is worth a read if you relied on that. The notes list no trait or occupation cost changes, so our best traits guide still fits a new character. Everything else is on our Project Zomboid hub.
Source: The Indie Stone, “42.22.2 STABLE Released,” Steam, November 9, 2026.