7 Days to Die Beginners Guide
7 Days to Die throws you into a zombie-infested wasteland with nothing. Your first week is about finding food, building shelter, and preparing for the blood moon on Night 7. This guide walks you through every step from the moment you spawn.
When You Spawn
- Look around — Identify nearby buildings, roads, and landmarks. Towns are your best bet for loot.
- Punch a tree — Hold left-click on a tree to harvest wood. Get 100 Wood.
- Punch the ground — Harvest 30 Stone and 15 Plant Fiber from bushes.
- Find water — Look for lakes, rivers, or working wells. Dehydration kills fast.
- Loot nearby buildings — Any house will do for starter loot.
Critical First Craft
| Item | Materials | Why You Need It |
| Stone Axe | 10 Wood, 5 Stone, 3 Fiber | Harvest wood/stone faster, melee weapon |
| Stone Shovel | 10 Wood, 7 Stone, 3 Fiber | Dig dirt for resources, grave looting |
| Stone Spear | 10 Wood, 7 Stone, 5 Fiber | Best early melee weapon (range + damage) |
| Campfire | 5 Wood, 3 Stone | Cook food, boil water |
| Bedroll | 20 Plant Fiber, 5 Animal Hide | Set your respawn point |
| Storage Chest | 20 Wood | Organize loot |
CRITICAL: Place your bedroll immediately. Without one, you respawn at a random map location on death. Place it inside a building or your starter shack.
Day 1: Shelter & Basic Needs
Find a Base Location
| Location Type | Pros | Cons |
| Existing house (town) | Pre-built walls, loot inside | Zombies spawn nearby, attracts attention |
| Gas station | Concrete walls, loot, gas | Popular PoI, other players may loot |
| Church | High stone walls, large interior | Common horde target (noise) |
| Self-built shack (wilderness) | Customizable, safe from players | Time-consuming, no nearby loot |
| Trader compound | NPC trader for quests, walls | Can't build inside, must build nearby |
Best for Day 1: Claim an existing house on the edge of town. Clear it of zombies, block the downstairs windows, and set up camp in the second floor or attic.
Day 1 Resource Priorities
| Priority | Resource | How to Get | Why |
| 1 | Food | Loot kitchens, hunt rabbits/chickens | Starvation = death |
| 2 | Water | Loot sinks, vending machines, lakes | Dehydration = death |
| 3 | Medicine | Loot bathrooms, hospitals | Infection ruins runs |
| 4 | Weapon parts | Loot hardware stores, gun safes | Self-defense |
| 5 | Building mats | Chop trees, mine boulders | Shelter upgrades |
| 6 | Ammo | Loot gun safes, military camps | Blood moon prep |
Day 1 Skill Points
You start with 4 skill points. Spend them wisely:
| Skill | Cost | Effect | Why First |
| Sexual Tyrannosaurus | 1 | -30% Stamina usage for melee | Lets you fight 3x longer |
| Miner 69'er | 1 | +20% Block damage, +20% Harvest | Faster wood/stone gathering |
| Mother Lode | 1 | +50% Resource yield | Double your harvest |
| Healing Factor | 1 | +0.5 HP/sec regen | Heal between fights without bandages |
Alternative: If you plan to use guns immediately (rare for beginners), take Bang! (1 skill, +10% gun damage).
Days 2–3: Gear Up
Weapon Progression
| Day | Weapon | Damage | How to Get |
| 1 | Stone Spear | 12 | Crafted |
| 1–2 | Bow + Stone Arrows | 15 | Crafted (require feathers) |
| 2–3 | Pipe Pistol | 25 | Looted (Pipe weapon parts) |
| 3–5 | Pipe Shotgun | 35 | Looted (Pipe weapon parts) |
| 4–7 | Pistol + 9mm | 28 | Looted (Pistol parts) |
| 5–7 | Hunting Rifle | 65 | Looted (Rifle parts) |
Armor Progression
| Day | Armor | Protection | How to Get |
| 1 | Plant Fiber Clothes | 2 | Crafted |
| 2–3 | Scrap Armor | 8 | Crafted (Scrap Iron) |
| 3–5 | Leather Armor | 12 | Crafted (Animal Hide) |
| 5+ | Iron Armor | 18 | Crafted (Forged Iron) |
Skill Points (Days 2–3)
By Day 3, you should have 6–8 skill points. Add:
| Skill | Cost | Why |
| The Art of Mining | 1 | +50% mining XP, unlock steel tools |
| Archery | 2 | +20% bow damage, +10% reload speed |
| Heavy Armor (if crafting iron) | 2 | -20% stamina penalty for heavy armor |
| Light Armor (if using leather) | 2 | +10% movement speed in light armor |
Days 4–6: Blood Moon Preparation
Base Fortification Checklist
| Task | Materials Needed | Priority |
| Upgrade walls to cobblestone | 500 Cobblestone per wall section | Critical |
| Replace wooden door with iron | 20 Forged Iron | Critical |
| Place wood spikes (2 layers around base) | 100 Wood per spike | High |
| Build elevated shooting platform | 100 Wood | High |
| Craft 200+ arrows | 200 Wood, 200 Feathers | High |
| Craft 10 bandages | 30 Cloth | Medium |
| Craft 5 first aid bandages | 15 Aloe, 10 Cloth | Medium |
| Stockpile food and water | 10+ meals, 10+ water | Medium |
What NOT to Do Before Day 7
- Don't explore caves — Spiders and bears will kill you
- Don't raid military camps — Radiated zombies and soldiers are too strong
- Don't use vehicles — Noise attracts zombies; focus on base
- Don't waste ammo — Save ammo for horde night
- Don't dig deep mines — You'll attract screamers (zombies that summon more zombies)
- Don't sleep through nights — You need to craft and prepare
- Don't stay in the same town — Loot respawns are tied to player activity; move to new areas
Day 7: Blood Moon Horde
Pre-Horde Checklist (Day 7 Afternoon)
- [ ] All walls upgraded to cobblestone
- [ ] 200+ arrows and/or 200+ bullets in inventory
- [ ] 10+ bandages in hotbar slot
- [ ] 5+ first aid bandages in inventory
- [ ] Repair tool (hammer + materials) on hotbar
- [ ] Full food and water bars
- [ ] Bedroll placed in safe bunker (not in main base)
- [ ] Well-rested buff active (sleep 1 hour before horde)
- [ ] Backup weapon in hotbar
- [ ] Torches/light sources around base perimeter
During the Horde
| Time | Event | What to Do |
| 22:00 | Horde spawns | Get into position on roof or shooting platform |
| 22:00–23:00 | Wave 1 (slow zombies) | Pick them off, conserve ammo, use bow |
| 23:00–01:00 | Wave 2 (sprinters + dogs) | Switch to gun, headshots only |
| 01:00–03:00 | Wave 3 (ferals + cops) | Focus cops before they vomit (explosive damage) |
| 03:00–04:30 | Wave 4 (demolishers + radiated) | Prioritize demolishers (shoot legs, not chest) |
| 04:30–06:00 | Cleanup | Last stragglers, repair most urgent damage |
Horde Survival Tips
- Headshots only — Headshots do 3x damage. Body shots do 1x. Always aim for the head.
- Kill demolishers from range — Hitting the green glowing button on their chest detonates them, destroying nearby blocks.
- Repair between waves — Use your hammer to repair spikes and walls. Each wave gives a 10-minute breather.
- Don't fall off — If you're on a roof, zombies below can't reach you. Don't jump down to loot.
- Run if overwhelmed — You can survive until 06:00 without killing everything. Kite zombies away from your base.
- Cops explode — When a cop zombie dies, it vomits acid. This damages blocks. Kill cops from 15m+ range.
- Dogs are priority targets — Zombie dogs are fast, hard to hit, and ignore many defenses. Kill them first.
- Radiated zombies self-heal — If you can't kill a radiated zombie fast enough, it regenerates HP. Focus fire.
Day 8+: Next Steps
Post-Horde Priority List
| Priority | Task | Why |
| 1 | Repair base | Fix all destroyed blocks and traps |
| 2 | Re-stock | Craft more ammo, bandages, food |
| 3 | Upgrade base | Move from cobblestone to concrete |
| 4 | Explore new towns | Better loot in harder zones |
| 5 | Find trader | Traders have vending machines with rare gear |
| 6 | Build forge + chemistry | Smelt iron, craft gunpowder |
| 7 | Find vehicle parts | Bicycle > Minibike > Motorcycle > Truck |
| 8 | Build dedicated horde base | Separate from living base |
| 9 | Level up skills | Max Miner 69'er, Sexual Tyrannosaurus |
| 10 | Explore wasteland | Best loot, hardest enemies |
Skill Point Guide (First 20 Points)
| Level | Spent On | Cumulative Total |
| 1 | Sexual Tyrannosaurus | 1 |
| 2 | Miner 69'er | 2 |
| 3 | Mother Lode | 3 |
| 4 | Healing Factor | 4 |
| 5 | The Art of Mining | 5 |
| 6 | Archery (2 points) | 7 |
| 7 | Lucky Looter | 8 |
| 8 | Heavy Armor (2 points) | 10 |
| 9–12 | Salvage Operations, Advanced Engineering | 14 |
| 13–16 | Weapon-specific skills (Pistol, Rifle) | 18 |
| 17–20 | Parkour (jump height + fall damage) | 20 |
Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
- Exploring at night — Night spawns more zombies, tougher variants, and reduces visibility. Stay inside and craft.
- Skipping the bedroll — Without a bedroll, dying on horde night sends you to a random map corner.
- Building with wood only — Wood has 500 HP. A feral zombie destroys wood in 3 hits. Upgrade to cobblestone by Day 7.
- Not looting enough — Loot containers are the primary source of gear, weapons, and schematics.
- Wasting skill points — Specializing is better than generalizing. Pick 2 combat skills and focus on them.
- Forgetting to eat/drink — Hunger reduces stamina regen by 50%. Thirst reduces health regen by 75%.
- No escape route — Always have a hatch, tunnel, or second exit from your base.
- Opening airdrops without checking — Airdrops attract zombies. Scout the area first.
- Ignoring trader quests — Trader quests reward Dukes (currency), skill points, and rare items.
- Getting infected without cure — Infection kills if untreated. Carry honey or antibiotic pills.