Reach a stable apartment before the water cutoff
Your first survival objective in 30 floors up is not to search every room or chase a long-term day count. Establish a defensible apartment, secure enough clean water for the first outage, and keep Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue, and Health out of their danger states. For the physical locks, braces, and repairs that make the apartment usable, follow the base defense guide. The practical deadline is Day 3: fill containers while taps still provide Clean Water, then prepare a way to treat later water.
This plan is for a first Survival run. It gets you from spawning into the building to a repeatable pattern of collecting supplies, returning home, resting safely, and responding when the apartment or your meters become unsafe. Some records describe a 15-day campaign, while another survival target is described as 100 days, so treat those as different goals or modes until the current game objective confirms which one you are playing.
How days, outages, and nights move the run forward
The run advances through a day-and-night structure rather than a simple pause-and-search loop. Early days are a preparation window: taps work, apartments can be searched for food and medical items, and you can move between the building and your shelter. After the water service stops, survival becomes a resource-management problem. You must consume stored supplies, collect rain or reserve water, treat unsafe water, and choose when a trip is worth the risk.
Night does not freeze the simulation. Hunger and Thirst continue to fall while you sleep, and threats can remain active. Fatigue makes a bed valuable, but sleeping is safe only after the door and immediate room are secure. Zombies can gather in numbers, damage doors, and turn an otherwise successful scavenging trip into a forced retreat. Use daylight to search and prepare; use night for a controlled rest, not for assuming danger has ended.
The supported structure is therefore a preparation-to-outage transition followed by survival decisions. Each day, check your meters and water situation, select one necessary task, return before the trip becomes desperate, and verify that the apartment still protects you. Do not assume that an apparent final day is universal: follow the objective or mode shown in your current session.
Water, food, meters, and shelter that keep you alive
Water containers and Clean Water
Buckets, pots, bottles, and other containers let you move or store water. Before the cutoff, fill every useful container from a tap and move the reserve into a practical storage location such as the bathtub. Clean Water from a working tap is different from water gathered later. Keeping the categories separate prevents you from drinking unsafe water by mistake.
Player calculator
Water fill time calculator
Estimate how long a container takes to fill from each tap or from steady rain.
Estimated result
- Estimated fill time
- 10 sec
- Published flow rate
- 2 L/s
This is collection time only; rain water still needs treatment before drinking.
Assumptions and sources
Assumptions
- Tap and rain flow remain constant for the full fill.
- Container capacity, spills, interruptions, treatment, and travel time are not included.
- Rain collection requires an open container on the balcony or at a valid rooftop collection point.
Sources
- https://30-floors-up.fandom.com/wiki/Water_%26_Containers · reviewed 2026-11-04
- https://30-floors-up.fandom.com/wiki/Rain_Collection_%26_Treatment · reviewed 2026-11-04
Rain, Roof Tank, and Basement Cistern
Rain collection and building reserves extend the run after taps stop. Rainwater, Roof Tank water, and Basement Cistern water require boiling or Treatment Tablets before drinking. Treat only what you need when fuel or tablets are limited, and keep a visible reserve of untreated water so you know what still needs processing.
Prepare water and supplies before the cutoff
These moments support the water-preparation section by showing the survival meters, stored water, apartment food, and the need to fill containers before the taps stop.
Hunger and Thirst
Hunger and Thirst are continuously falling meters, not one-time checks. Below 20, each becomes dangerous; related damage can reduce Health to 5 without directly killing the character. That does not make low values safe: the resulting weak state can leave you unable to travel, fight, or recover. Drink and eat before a trip pushes either meter toward the threshold.
Rations and apartment food
Food found while scavenging is your early buffer. Conserve it instead of eating every item immediately, but do not wait until Hunger is already critical. Choose a ration level that leaves enough food for the next necessary outing and remember that stored food cannot replace water after the taps fail.
Fatigue, Sleep, and Stamina
Fatigue affects how long you can operate, while Stamina supports movement and difficult actions. A bed reduces Fatigue, but sleep does not stop Hunger, Thirst, or night threats. Secure the room first, then sleep long enough to restore your ability to move without spending the entire night unaware of a damaged entrance.
Manage water, food, and rest in the apartment
These moments support the shelter routine by showing water and food conservation, securing the apartment, and managing fatigue while looking for a safe place to rest.
Health, infection, and Treatment Tablets
Health is the margin left after hunger, dehydration, injuries, or infection. Treatment Tablets are especially important before Day 3 because they make collected water usable and help you recover from the consequences of unsafe conditions. Keep them with your emergency supplies rather than leaving all treatment items in a room you may not reach during a retreat.
Doors, light, and defense materials
Your apartment is a shelter only while its entrance and visibility are manageable. Secure the door before resting, watch for damage, and keep lighting supplies such as candles or batteries for dark movement and emergencies. Defense materials buy time when zombies gather; they do not remove the need to retreat or manage your meters.
Your first water-and-shelter run
- Read the meters and identify home. At the start, check Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue, Stamina, and Health. Locate the apartment you will use as a return point, a bed, the entrance, and a safe place for supplies. Checkpoint: you can get back to the door without relying on a map search while exhausted.
- Secure the first clean-water reserve. Before spending time on distant loot, fill available buckets, pots, and bottles from working taps. Keep the water identifiable as Clean Water and carry only what you can return with safely. Checkpoint: several containers are full before the Day 3 service cutoff.
- Move excess water into shelter storage. Bring the containers home and place the reserve where it will not be confused with untreated water. The bathtub is useful for consolidating a larger haul. Leave enough carrying capacity for food, bandages, or treatment supplies on the next trip. Checkpoint: the apartment contains a reserve and your character is not forced to carry every container constantly.
- Search nearby rooms for food and medical items. Work outward from the apartment instead of crossing the building while your meters are low. Take rations, bandages, Treatment Tablets, and useful light or defense materials, prioritizing items that support the next return. Checkpoint: you have food for the next activity and at least one recovery option before pushing deeper.
- Prepare for water that is not clean. Before the taps stop, collect or set aside the tools needed to boil or treat Rain, Roof Tank, and Basement Cistern water. Do not mix those sources with the clean reserve. Checkpoint: you know which water is drinkable now and which water needs processing.
- Return at the first safe margin. Turn back when Fatigue, Stamina, Hunger, or Thirst begin to threaten the return, not after a meter reaches its danger range. Close and secure the door, check for damage, then sort food, water, light, and treatment supplies. Checkpoint: every essential item is inside before you sleep.
- Rest only after checking the entrance. Use the bed to reduce Fatigue, but remember that meters continue to drain and threats remain active at night. If zombies are gathering or the door is damaged, repair or reinforce the immediate defense before committing to sleep. Checkpoint: the room is defensible and your next action is clear when you wake.
- After the cutoff, spend water deliberately. Use stored Clean Water first when appropriate, then treat reserve water before drinking it. Recheck Hunger and Thirst before every outing, carry a light and treatment option, and make short trips for only the supplies that solve the next problem. Checkpoint: each return increases your usable reserve or restores your ability to act rather than merely postponing a collapse.
Priorities when supplies or safety fall apart
Use this order when several needs compete: water, safe shelter, health recovery, food, then optional loot. Water has priority because taps become unavailable and untreated sources cannot be consumed immediately. Shelter comes next because a broken door can turn stored supplies into an unsafe room. Protect Health with bandages and Treatment Tablets, then use rations to keep Hunger above its danger range. Only after those needs are covered should you extend a scavenging route.
- You leave before filling containers: Return to the nearest safe apartment, use the remaining clean water for the trip home, and make the next outing a short collection run. Do not spend the reserve on optional loot.
- You drink rain, Roof Tank, or Basement Cistern water untreated: Stop consuming that source, switch to confirmed Clean Water, and boil or use Treatment Tablets on the remaining supply before relying on it.
- Hunger or Thirst falls below 20: Eat or drink immediately if the item is safe, then cancel the current search and recover in shelter. The meter can damage Health down to 5, so treating the problem after one more room is risky.
- You sleep while the door is damaged: Wake and inspect the entrance, secure it with available defense materials, and move critical water and treatment items away from the exposed area before resting again.
- Fatigue makes the return unreliable: Stop searching, use the shortest route home, and sleep only after the room is secure. A bed helps Fatigue, but it does not pause the other meters or night threats.
- Zombies gather faster than you can fight: Break contact and return to the apartment rather than trading Health for extra loot. Reassess light, door condition, and supplies after the threat moves away.
- You cannot tell whether the run is a 15-day or 100-day objective: Follow the current mode’s objective and treat the longer target as unconfirmed for that session. Continue the same water-and-shelter priorities until the game gives a clear completion condition.
First-time 30 floors up survival questions
Can Hunger or Thirst kill you immediately?
No. Below 20, either meter becomes dangerous and hunger or dehydration damage can reduce Health to 5, but the condition is not an immediate direct kill. Treat the low meter as an emergency because the resulting weakness can leave you unable to travel or recover.
Should you sleep as soon as Fatigue is high?
Only after checking the apartment entrance and nearby threats. Sleep helps Fatigue, but it does not pause Hunger, Thirst, or night activity, so a damaged door or empty water reserve can make resting worse than a short preparation task.
Which water is safe to drink after the taps stop?
Water filled from a working tap is Clean Water. Rainwater, Roof Tank water, and Basement Cistern water must be boiled or treated with Treatment Tablets before drinking, so keep those sources separate from your ready-to-drink reserve.