But the main selling point of the game is the ever-increasing population of the zombie horde. You will have to collect resources, find and build a base, and hunt for food during the day, whereas at night, you have to defend yourself from the sprinting hordes of zombies. With each passing night, the number of zombies gets bigger, and when you reach the 7th day, they become much stronger and faster than your past encounters due to the blood moon. Each blood moon makes the zombies harder to kill and difficult to outrun.There is no need to be intimidated by the game mechanics if you are thinking of getting into the game. Whether you are a beginner at the game or someone seeking to play 7 Days to Die to enter the survival genre, we have some points below for you that can help you get a headstart.
Complete The Basic Survival Quest
When you start the game, you will have very simple quests that will guide you through the basics of survival. The quests include building a campfire, crafting a bedroll, a stone ax, and a primitive bow and arrow.Once you complete that, you will be rewarded with skill points. Skill points are crucial in the game as they help you improve your strength, knowledge, etc.It is best to distribute the points equally among all the perks in the list. Of course, your playstyle will determine how you use them. However, we found buying the perks for stamina, packed mule, healing factor, and loot bonus with the first four points most useful.
Finding a Good Base
Whether or not you have a strong base changes the whole gameplay of any survival game. So, as soon as you level up your skills, it is best to find a sturdy building and hold your grounds there. You can travel (and gather resources on the way) for a while and find a city to haul up. The town has strong stone buildings compared to the weaker wooden ones found elsewhere. Wooden houses are good for the first few days, but you want something that can take a hit as you progress the game.Usually, a gas station or a department store would be a great place to build your base. It has strong walls, and you can reinforce the windows and doors with the resources you gather. These buildings usually have access to the roof, which is a great place to scope and kill enemies.
Light Up Your World
The nights get pretty dark. So you can craft some torches and place them around your base so that you can see the incoming zombies. Make use of the roof and the bow and arrow you prepared to send the undead back to their grave.But you have to be careful with the light because it can attract zombies to your base. Better to stock up on some arrows for the nightly showdown.
Defend The Land
Setting up traps around is another way to avoid the zombies damaging your property. The easiest thing you can do in the early stages of the game is to dig a moat and place wooden spikes all around. But make sure to leave a way for yourself; the spikes can also hurt you.
Bonk Zombies With The Sledgehammer
Another essential item in the game, especially the beginning, is a sledgehammer. It does really good damage overall. The sledgehammer is rather easy to craft, and you need very few materials. It can also break blocks much faster than the regular stone ax. However, you will have to keep in mind that the sledgehammer yields little to no resources when breaking any blocks. It also does more damage to the enemies. One drawback this weapon has is that it drains your stamina very quickly. Keep your attention to the stamina while using it, and back up to regain your breath.
Don’t Know What an Item Can Do? Horde It
Seriously, if you do not know what an item does, it is best to craft a couple of chests and store them. They will come in very handy when you find out what use you have for them.Whether it is an electric part, gasoline, pipe, or even a simple paper magazine, they will always come in handy to craft complex items like motorcycles and other powerful weapons.
Keep The Green Stash Close
The paper money you find in the game may not present real value to you initially. It could be crafted as paper or used for fuel. But do not waste such precious material like that.If you go to a trader with a stash of paper money, you can trade it with them for the in-game currency. The trade ratio is not always 1:1, and it can vary depending on the amount of money you bring. You can always use the coins you trade to buy more stuff from the traders.
Pocket Mods; Make Sure You Are Not Encumbered
You can find different variations of pocket mods lying around. If you find one, make sure to add it to your inventory. You can select the clothing you are wearing from the inventory menu by pressing ‘Tab’ and selecting the modify option. Here you will be able to access your inventory. Take the mod and place it in the slot on the ‘Modifiers’ section. It will add one more inventory space.Having more inventory space means you will not be encumbered. You have to be mindful that encumbrance is a big issue; it slows you down and drains your stamina.
Mine Till I Make It Mine
One of the things players can initially miss when mining is there might be more to dig. If you see any ore pop out of the ground, use your stone ax or a pickaxe and start mining. When you destroy the block above the ground, make sure to look at the bottom.There is a good chance you will see the same material on the ground level, and when you dig it, you will gather more of what you were digging. Ore veins are a good source for collecting raw materials such as nitrate, iron, coal, lead, and oil shale. These materials are found in different biomes as well. Keep exploring further and further every day.
Some Important Tools
As you traverse the lands for your survival, it is of utmost importance to have the right set of tools. Hence here are a few tools that you might not want to let go of in this game.
Knife
A knife may not do as much damage as a sledgehammer. However, it can harvest resources very well. If you come across a boar and kill it, you should use your knife to gather its meat, skin, and bones. You get many more items when you use a knife to harvest a corpse or a carcass. Using it on enemies deals more slash damage if it is a high-tier knife, making them bleed.Another great use of the knife is that it collects more bones from a corpse. Bones are used to crafting glue in this game. And glue, in turn, makes duct tape. Duct tapes are the most important items in this game. So, make sure to use a knife to harvest your hunt.
Wrench
A trusty wrench is the best tool to gather electronic and metal components. If you come across a vehicle or a bed, use your wrench and see the magic unfold. Wrench yields maximum electronic parts, springs, and other items, and they are very handy to create your motorcycle, weapons, and armor later on. So next time you find a wrench, don’t let it rust in your chest.
Primitive Bow
At first, the bow may not seem very powerful when slaying zombies. But be patient. Gather resources to craft different arrows and increase the damage dealt with the classic bow and arrow.
Blunderbuss
A shotgun from the old times. This primitive gun does good damage, whereas you might be frustrated by the loading time. But give this old guy a chance.Blunderbuss is easy to repair, and its ammo is also easy to craft. Since it deals a good amount of damage to the dead walkers, it is a very handy weapon to keep by your side for when it gets rough.It also does splash damage, so the zombies around the one you aimed for also get hit if they are in range. Until you get a proper gun, keep the blunderbuss by your side and pump the bullets in it.
Supply Crates
The game drops supply every few days (depending on the settings), so look for a drop whenever you hear a plane fly above you.The drop is denoted by an orange smoke coming out of it. It has a time limit, so gather your essentials and head to the drop zone once you see the orange smoke rise.The drop zones are usually close to you, so you do not have to run for miles. Supply crates provide good loot and sometimes even offer you high-tier weapons and tools. So keep an eye out for a plane.
Level Up; Gather Skill Points
The best way to move forward in the game is by gathering skill points that can be used to unlock different perks from the skill tree. You get skill points by crafting, looting, exploring, hunting, and building things.However, the best way to gather skills is to go all out on the brain-eaters. You can hold grounds from the roof of your base and snipe all the zombies with a bow and arrow. Or you can grab your sledgehammer and bonk every zombie that runs towards you.The game shows you how many skill points you have accumulated when you level up. But be careful when you are grinding those creatures; you might get overrun and face terrible consequences.
Explore And Find OP Weapons
The game’s main idea is to explore and find resources. And sometimes, you might even get lucky and find yourself an assault rifle or a turret gun. Keep exploring and find weapons that and one-shot kill all the creatures that came for your flesh.
Finally, Farm Above the Land
Since you will have access to the roofs, setting up farming plots there can help you big time. Zombies do not go to the top until you stay over there. And thus, your valuable crops can be saved from the horde, no matter how large they are.
