Beginner's Guide and Tips for Getting Started - 7 Days to Die Guide - IGN (2024)

In the post-apocalyptic world of 7 Days to Die, the goal is to survive as long as humanly possible. But with quests to complete, loot to find, and materials to collect, it can be difficult to know where to start. Our beginner's guide offers a selection of tips and tricks for getting started in 7 Days to Die to help you live past that harrowing first week.

• Complete the Basic Survival Quests
• Search for Homes with Kitchens
• Claim a Base Using the Land Claim Block
• Loot Tree Stumps and Bird Nests for Key Materials
• Complete Trader Quests
• Place Points in Survival Skills
• Follow the Lights and Check Weak Points
• Loot for the Future You
• Prepare for Your First Blood Moon Horde Night

Complete the Basic Survival Quests

"Follow the tutorial" may seem like an obvious tip but, in 7 Days to Die, the starter quests in Navezgane are critical when learning tricks of the survival trade. You begin with a mysterious note from a person going by Noah, who asks you to follow a set of Basic Survival quests. The quests teach you the ropes, such as how to build a Stone Axe and a Campfire.

You'll learn the ins and outs of the game, with the quests highlighting gatherable resources such as rocks and grass so you know where to look. The quests show you how to craft weapons and tools, along with a Bedroll so you can choose your respawn point.

Weapons and tools you should have in your inventory at the end of day one:

• Primitive Bow (with Stone Arrows)
• Wooden Club
• Stone Axe
• Bone Knife (to get Raw Meat and materials from slain animals)

Once you finish the quests, the game points you toward the closest Trader who offers you more jobs for cash and experience points.

Search for Homes with Kitchens

After clearing Basic Survival, you should immediately seek out a nearby building — preferably a house. You begin the game with two jars of fresh water and a can of chili, but that's not going to last. Look for a kitchen and check inside cabinets, the coffee pot, and the refrigerator for these items:

• Murky Water
• Food
• Cooking Pot
• Cooking Grill
• Skill Magazines

To avoid dysentery, look for canned food. They don't restore your food meter by much, but they can help stave off hunger. Some canned food, such as canned soup, will also help alleviate thirst.

Out of the two cooking tools on the list, the most important one to find early is the Cooking Pot. You can install the pot on the campfire by placing it in the Tools section of the Campfire menu. With the pot, you can boil Murky Water for fresh, clean Water. The Cooking Grill is also a great early find (it's not as common), but you won't be able to do much with it until you learn some recipes.

For those, look for Home Cooking Weekly magazines in kitchens. Skill Magazines, when read in number, unlock new recipes and blueprints. Home Cooking Weekly teaches you new food recipes, that way you don't have to only eat Charred Meat.

While in a house, you should also search the bathroom for medical supplies and more Murky Water. (Fresh from the toilet, which is just how we roll in 7 Days to Die).

Claim a Base Using the Land Claim Block

The game gives you a Land Claim Block at the start. It allows you to claim space in a large area that you can call your own. It's wise to find a house with some room to claim, as opposed to building a cube home made of flimsy wood. This isn't Minecraft.

Place the Land Claim Block in the center of the house and activate it. Doing so creates a green, cubic border around your home. A claimed area is protected if you play on a PvP server. Most importantly, zombies don't spawn on claimed land. Your territory will show on your map and compass as an icon, pointing you back home. Land Claim Blocks are also cheap, requiring five Small Stones. You can only have three active areas claimed at a time. Place your Bedroll, craft some doors, and settle in.

Loot Tree Stumps and Bird Nests for Key Materials

Your best long-range weapon early in the game is the bow. Keep an eye on the ground for bird nests, which can contain feathers and eggs. Use the feathers to craft as many arrows as possible as often as possible, since Stone Arrows and the Primitive Bow can only do so much damage. Collecting eggs is also a good idea for food recipes you can unlock early, such as Bacon and Eggs.

You face zombies in 7 Days to Die, and the risk of Infection is high. When infected, a percentage number appears on your screen. The higher it goes, the more difficult it becomes to remove the infection. After a week of being infected, your character will die. To avoid an untimely demise, destroy every stump you come across for Honey.

Consuming the sweet substance can cure the Infection at 5% and below. Having Honey on hand early in your adventure is key to staying alive and healthy for as long as possible. If you're wondering, yes, you can stack Honey if your infection is higher than 5%.

Complete Trader Quests

You meet your first NPC Trader at the end of the tutorial quests. Before heading out on a looting spree, speak with the Trader about jobs. After clearing the introduction Quest, start taking more jobs for experience points and Duke's Casino Tokens — the game's currency.

Doing quests for Traders is the best way to spend your first in-game week. Not only do they allow you to learn about the area by sending you on jobs, but they can offer you a plethora of awards. You can get Magazine Skill Bundles, new tools and weapons, ammunition, Perk Books, and more.

Once you successfully complete all Tier 1 quests, the Trader should also offer you a Bicycle as a reward. Take it. Vehicles accelerate the game's pacing, allowing you to see more of the world while also providing more storage for looting.

Place Points in Survival Perks

You gain experience points in just about anything you do in 7 Days to Die, from killing zombies to looting containers. Leveling up gives you a single Skill Point to place in any number of Perks.

You should start off with the best survival Perks (with respective attributes) the game has on offer:

• Lucky Looter (Perception)
  • Loot faster and find better items.
• Pack Mule (Strength)
  • Carry three more items without being encumbered.
• Master Chef (Strength)
  • Use fewer ingredients in recipes, cook faster, and find more Home Cooking Weekly magazines while looting.
• Healing Factor (Fortitude)
  • Heal naturally when you're not starving.

For weapons, choose a Perk that promote weapons you enjoy using. You should find small arms such as pistols before rifles or shotguns, so Gunslinger in the Agility Attribute tab can be a good pick. After clearing the list above, you may also want to put points into Rule 1: Cardio for better stamina regeneration, and Hidden Strike for increased stealth attack damage. Who says you can't cosplay as your stealth archer from Skyrim?

Follow the Lights and Check Weak Points

7 Days to Die has clever looting mechanics. Have you noticed lights on the ground and tables? Those aren't as random as you may believe. Lights such as flashlights shine a path toward loot in Places of Interest (POI) like houses. Seek out flashlights and follow their direction, and you should stumble on some coveted Shipping Crates.

You should also keep an eye out for sections of wall or floor that look oddly flimsy. They may be breakable, with hidden loot lying in wait. These weak sections typically shatter with a single shot or melee strike, so you needn't worry about wasting too much effort.

Loot for the Future You

You may start with a bow and arrow, but sooner or later you'll want to upgrade to something that uses bullets. For that, you should start early by stockpiling as many resources as your future self will need. Bullets, Bullet Casings, and vehicles take materials you may not exactly need right now, but will later require the stuff in abundance.

While looting, be sure to stock up on:

• Lead
• Brass
• Iron
• Clay Soil
• Coal
• Potassium Nitrate
• Duct Tape
• Gas Cans

Your future self will thank you.

Prepare for Your First Blood Moon Horde Night

There is a good reason why the game is called 7 Days to Die. During the night of the seventh day, a Blood Moon rises and a horde of zombies appear to hunt you down. The sky turns red, thunder roars, and lightning flashes light up the area.

Your first Blood Moon will be fairly subdued compared to later, as the longer you live the more challenging they become. At default, you should expect only a handful of zombies to come your way. But the horde can still be a lot for an adventurer early on. Luckily, you can prepare.

Look for a building or house with a second story or, more preferably, an attic with a ladder or stair access. You want to be elevated when the horde arrives. Try and destroy any means to reach your position by using your axe to break up stairs or knock down a ladder.

You can craft ladder pieces to get to and leave your safe spot. If your ladder is floating and not against a wall, destroying the top section can bring it all down, keeping you safe. Yes, because zombies can climb ladders. They can also jump, so make sure there isn't a platform they can use to reach you.

Stock up on as many arrows as you can, and keep a supply of Small Stones and Wood just in case you need quick repairs. When the fight begins, you should try and kill as many zombies as possible for experience points and possible Loot Bag drops.

The Blood Moon begins at 22:00 and ends at 04:00. You get warnings early in the morning, with the day appearing on your screen in red. Around 18:00, the sky darkens and you'll start hearing thunder.

At a high position with plenty of arrows, you should be able to survive your first Blood Moon. But if you're having trouble, you can adjust the game server's settings to change the amount of enemies and Blood Moon frequency (or disable it altogether).