Health

## Description

**Health** is one of the main Player Statistics. A player's current health status is represented by a red horizontal bar at the bottom-left corner of the player's screen. The maximum Health is determined by the Max Health of the player. Max Health is limited by the Max Health Cap. Reaching a Health of zero results in Death.

A player must actively maintain his Health through the use of Food and Medical Supplies. For example, failing to drink or eat will result in thirst and hunger, which if left unchecked, will eventually result in losing Health and ultimately in death. Eating or drinking the wrong thing, such as Raw Meat or Bottled Murky Water can result in Dysentery, which can also reduce a player's health to zero, resulting in death.

Health and Max Health can be restored by consuming certain Food items or by using Medical supplies such as Painkillers.

## Health Depletion

A player can lose Health by receiving damage from hits by Zombies or other players, falling from heights, splash damage from explosions, drowning, and falling blocks. The types of damaged received are as follows:

### Zombie Damage

The amount of damage depends on the type of Zombie, with the stronger zombies delivering more damage per hit.

Damage dealt to the player is also affected by the level of the player, the amount of armor and what kind they are wearing, as well as the quality level of the armor.

Damage dealt to the player from zombies is also affected by the current game difficulty of the world. Please see Difficulty for further information.

Furthermore, there is a small chance every time the player gets hit, a de-buff could be acquired leaving the player with a negative status effect. These can vary from being Stunned, Bleeding, and/or Infection, with the latter two capable of killing a player if not treated.

See also List of Zombies and List of buffs.
### Fall Damage

Falling from a height will deplete a player's Health with the amount lost proportionately to the height of the fall. Falling from a great height will result in a high loss of Health or even death.

There is also the possibility of a (Sprained Leg or Broken Leg) incurred during the landing. Leg injuries reduce movement speed and may require the use of a Splint. Although a splint is not *required* (or not usable, in later versions) for a sprain, it will decrease the time required to heal a sprained leg and will also help protect against breaking the leg.

A Hay Bale, an area of at least two blocks deep water or a pile of zombie remains, will break the fall and prevent damage from any height.

### Weapon Damage

All Weapons can inflict damage, with varying levels delivered depending upon the Weapon used, the quality of the weapon, what kind of ammo, and various skill levels of the player using the weapon.

Some Weapons are fairly weak and will take a small amount of Health per hit. Others, especially some firearms, are powerful enough to kill a player with a single hit.

See also List of firearms and List of weapons.
### Splash Damage

This is caused when a player is caught within the blast radius of an explosion. The severity of the damage received is reduced the further away the player is from the source of the explosion.

See also List of explosives
### Drowning

Drowning occurs when the player spends too much time underwater. At this point the player's character can no longer breathe and will start to suffocate, twenty seconds later they will start to drown. Drowning will quickly deplete the health bar and will ultimately kill the player if they do not resurface for air in time.

### Negative Status Effects

A character can also lose Health as the result of a negative status effect caused by a de-buff. However, rather than taking a set value per hit a de-buff usually drains Health over a period of time.

See also List of buffs
## Health Restoration

Natural healing occurs when a character eats. Different food items restore different amounts of fullness. Some medical supplies and positive status effects also restore the player's health.

### Food

Many food items will restore small amounts of health when consumed.

See also Food
### Medical supplies

There are a number of medical supplies available through looting, crafting and cooking. Although function and effectiveness vary, each item is useful in some way in maintaining or improving a character's health.

See also List of medical supplies
### Positive Status Effects

A player can also gain Health as a result of positive status effects caused by a buff. The effects of a buff usually increase Health over a period of time.

See also List of buffs

## Video Guide

The video below walks through damage taken to the player from zombies when wearing different types of armor.

## Increasing max health

* Before alpha 17 you had to increase your Wellness and get the Health Nut (Perk)
* After alpha 17 you need to increase your Character Level each level gives 1 health and caps at 200. Having someone with the Charismatic Nature perk at level 1 is around you, you get an extra 20 health on top of your current health. In alpha 19 and beyond you can get health bars Candy from vending machines to give another 10 health.

## See Also

* Stamina
* Fullness
* Hydration
* Integrated Survival System
* Game Mechanics