Graveyard Keeper 2 Zombie Limit: Excessive Zombies, the PR Machine and How to Raise the Cap

Raise too many zombies in Graveyard Keeper 2 and your sermons start paying less. This page explains what the zombie limit is, when the game checks it, how to get and load the PR Machine, and where the written guides disagree.

TL;DR — Zombie limit in six lines

• The limit = your Resurrection Lab's quality. Every zombie you raise adds one to your count.
• Over the limit → Excessive zombies. In short: Excessive zombies cuts sermon rewards.
• Does it block the table? Wikily says no; Fextralife lists a "Zombie limit reached" message. Both versions are below.
• The PR Machine raises it. It takes loads on Gluttony only: +10 to +80 for 1 to 5 weeks.
• You get the machine from Gunter's Congregation Trouble quest.
• Hypno Prayer clears the debuff when its blessing is granted.

Part of the Corpses hub — More corpse & zombie guides · Zombies hub: unlock → work → optimize

What counts toward the limit

• The zombie limit is your Resurrection Lab's quality. Written guides don't give a starting number or a list of what raises the lab's own quality. Check the value in your game; the PR Machine is the documented way to raise it.
• Each zombie raised adds one to your zombie count.
• Albert's special zombie doesn't count. In the Personal Zombie Zone quest, Albert asks for a zombie with at least 8 red skulls in a spot in his lab. Once it's there, it no longer counts toward the limit. The quest also hands you 2 Golden Zombie Collars and 2 Reanimation Liquids. Golden collars need Smithing mastery 8 to craft yourself, so this quest is a cheap way to get two; see build a 5 or 10 red skull worker.

Does the limit stop a resurrection? (guides disagree)

What to do:

• If Prepare is refused, read the message first. Missing organs, liquid or collar each have their own message. The full list is under resurrection table errors.
• If the message mentions the zombie limit, load a PR Machine program on the next Gluttony and try again.
• If the table accepts the body, raise it. Just expect Excessive zombies at the next check if you are over.

Patch 1.005 also fixed cases where zombies could not be resurrected even though every requirement was met. Update before you debug.

Excessive zombies: what the debuff does

The debuff text reads: "You have too many zombies, and it's creeping people out. Your sermons are less effective."

• Sermons pay less. Wikily's zombie and sermon pages say it cuts what every prayer pays, so your Wrath sermon earns less Faith and bronze.
• Attendance. Fextralife describes the same problem as parishioners losing interest. If attendance stays low, also check your Likes and church quality, since the lower of the two sets how many people come.
• Decorations won't fix it. More church decorations don't solve a zombie-limit problem.

The sermon side, prayer choice and Likes are covered in Faith & sermons.

When the game checks your count

The count is compared with the limit only at these moments:

1. A PR Machine program starts.
2. A PR Machine program ends.
3. God of delusions (the Hypno Prayer blessing) ends.
4. Two steps of Congregation Trouble.

Being over the cap applies Excessive zombies; returning to the cap clears it at the next check. Raising a zombie is not itself a check. Raising one on Envy does not add the debuff straight away, but the next check will.

How to get the PR Machine: Congregation Trouble

The quest opens after Friendship Written in the Stars (Gunter's three free zombies).

1. Meet Gunter after your next ceremony.
2. Ask him in the Astrologer's Tower why parishioners are losing interest.
3. Buy a Hypno-device from Gunter, charge it at a Formulation Bench (1 Hypno-device + 1 Faith, Anatomy 2), and return it. The Formulation Bench is built once Church Lighting I is researched.
4. Hold a sermon to test the device.

Rewards: new stock at Gunter, +10 reputation with him, and the PR Machine. Wikily lists it as a Resurrection Lab station; Fextralife says it's placed at your home area.

PR Machine programs

Load it on Gluttony only, the first day of the week. Each program runs on its own once started.

Upgrades are done at the machine itself:

Patch 1.007 fixed "the PR machine not working". If a load did nothing on an older version, update and try again on the next Gluttony.

Supplies: hypno-devices and newspapers

Charged hypno-device

• Formulation Bench: 1 Hypno-device + 1 Faith → 1. The Alchemist perk gives a 50% chance of a second one.
• Gunter sells Hypno-devices. Wikily lists 10 in his stock from trader level 3, and they're worth 50 bronze each.
• Every device costs Faith, so the +10 program really costs 2 Hypno-devices + 2 Faith a week.

Newspaper

• Printing Press (Book writing 8): 1 Story + 10 Clean Paper → 20 Newspaper (30 with Paper maker).
• It's a star craft: 6 successful ticks make silver, and 10 make gold.
• Improve newspaper I turns 20 bronze Newspapers + a silver Story into 20 silver.
• Improve newspaper II turns 20 silver + a gold Story into 20 gold.
• The Printing Press needs the Newspaper technology.

A Book writing zombie can take over the printing. Dead King starts Story and Newspaper crafts with 2 successful ticks, and Dead press adds +3 at the Printing Press. See zombie mastery & perks. For the Clean Paper, see how to get tech points.

Hypno Prayer: clear the debuff for a sermon

The Hypno Prayer's blessing, God of delusions, clears Excessive zombies the moment it's granted. The debuff only comes back when Excessive zombies ends and starts again.

The attendance bar is high, so this is a mid-to-late fix. Early on, the PR Machine is the practical one.

A weekly plan that avoids the debuff

A 1-week program ends after a week, and the end is a check too. Reload every Gluttony, or move to the longer Newspaper programs once the machine is upgraded.

Common mistakes

FAQ

Q: What is the zombie limit in Graveyard Keeper 2?
A: It equals your Resurrection Lab's quality. Each zombie you raise adds one to your zombie count. Above the limit, the Keeper gets the Excessive zombies debuff, which makes sermons pay less.

Q: Does the zombie limit stop me from resurrecting?
A: The guides disagree. Wikily says a resurrection is never refused for the number of zombies and the limit only triggers Excessive zombies. Fextralife lists a 'Zombie limit reached' table message that tells you to use the PR Machine. If you see that message, run a PR Machine program.

Q: How do I get the PR Machine?
A: Finish Gunter's Congregation Trouble quest. Buy a Hypno-device from him, charge it at a Formulation Bench (1 Hypno-device + 1 Faith), hand it back, then hold a sermon. The PR Machine appears afterwards.

Q: How do I raise the zombie limit?
A: Load the PR Machine on Gluttony. Its first program adds +10 for 1 week for 2 Charged hypno-devices. Upgraded machines run longer programs up to +80 for 5 weeks, paid for with Newspapers.

Q: How do I remove the Excessive zombies debuff?
A: Get your zombie count at or under the limit at the next check, which happens when a PR Machine program starts or ends. A successful Hypno Prayer also clears it the moment its blessing is granted.

Q: Does every zombie count toward the limit?
A: Each zombie raised adds one. The one documented exception is the 8-red zombie you place in Albert's lab for Personal Zombie Zone; it no longer counts.

Also read

• Zombies hub — resurrection table errors and the pipeline
• Faith & sermons — what the debuff costs you
• Zombie mastery & perks — fewer, better workers
• Red skull zombies — the 8-red zombie for Albert
• Corpses hub — more corpse & zombie guides

Reference

• Wikily — Zombies (zombie limit and the PR Machine)
• Wikily — Congregation Trouble
• Fextralife — Zombie Limit and PR Machine
• Fextralife — Zombie Resurrection