PSA - Version 1.0
Greetings survivors!
Version 1.0 has been released for 7 Days to Die! That's reason to be excited, but I can go into that later. The point of this section is for the guide after all.
I'll be honest. When I made this guide, it was because it was a random fixation for the time. I spent a few weeks tirelessly testing and fleshing out what I had been thinking on for a while, during my playthroughs of 7 Days. That being said, I can't really promise that I'll ever update this guide going forward, as 1.0 and so on release. If I end up having a lot of free time, then there's a chance I can get around to updating the sections that need it, but I won't make any promises. I'm extremely thankful nonetheless for all your support, and I hope this guide will continue to be a useful resource to those looking for the info.
TL;DR: As of now, the guide is not updated to 1.0. I cannot promise it will ever be updated going forward, but if I do decide to, I will make it evident.
Cheers,
Memjahmin M. Mutante
Introduction
Since A17, 7 Days to Die has been updated to have a revitalized skilltree and perk loadout. There are five attributes in the game; Perception, Strength, Fortitude, Agility, and Intellect. Each tree has its own unique set of perks, as well as having a unique playstyle and weapon set. Several skilltrees can be used together to create a stronger, more versatile build.
This guide is subject to change as new updates release.
Skilltree Calculator [Currently Outdated]
Need some assistance measuring what you want in a build? Use the Skilltree Calculator below for a visualizer of the 7 Days to Die skills system. The Calculator shows you every skill in the game, its requirements, and how high of a player level you need to unlock all chosen skills (including the four you get from the tutorial quest).
http://www.jacksay.com/perks/
Most Recent Update: A19
Disclaimer: I did not create this skilltree calculator. The ownership of this site belongs to its respective creator.
The Perception Skilltree
One shot, many kills. The Perception Skilltree focuses on precision and high-damage shots, while keeping a secure distance away from enemies. Perception builds quickly eliminate single targets, while clearing out hordes with explosives and penetrating shots. Out of combat, the Perception Skilltree assists in avoiding traps, salvaging, tracking animals, and getting the best out of loot.
Perception starts at Level 1. As the Perception Tree is leveled up, the headshot damage and dismember chance of rifles, explosives, and spears is increased. Headshot damage starts at +100% (double damage), and each level increases it by +10% (+15% for levels 9 and 10), up to a maximum of +200% (triple damage) at level 10. Dismemberment chance starts at +5%, and each level increases it by +5%, up to a maximum of +50% at level 10.
As Perception level increases, so does the amount of skillpoints required. Levels 2-5 cost one point, levels 6-8 cost two, and levels 9-10 cost three. Perception can be increased by one level for free with Shades, an uncommon clothing item.
RankHeadshot DamageDismemberment ChanceSkillpoints Required1+100%+5%02+110%+10%13+120%+15%14+130%+20%15+140%+25%16+150%+30%27+160%+35%28+175%+40%29+190%+45%310+200%+50%3
Perception - Combat Perks
Dead Eye
- Boom, Headshot. Improves the overall effectiveness of rifles. Each level increases damage, reload speed, weapon handling, decreases stamina usage while aiming, and unlocks a unique ability: killstreaks. Additionally, each level will tailor your loot, increasing the odds of you finding rifles, 7.62 ammo, and Rifle crafting skill magazines!
RankEntity/Block DamageReload SpeedHandlingStamina DrainSpecial AbilityLoot ProbabilityPerception Level Requirement1+10%+10%+10%N/AN/A+200%12+20%+15%+20%N/AN/A+400%33+30%+20%+32%-10%Killstreak - Up to +30% Damage+600%54+40%+25%+45%-20%Killstreak - Up to +40% Damage+800%75+50%+30%+60%-30%Killstreak - Up to +50% Damage+1000%10
Killstreak Ability - Precision is power! The first kill with rifles grants a +10%/+20%/+30% damage bonus, with each subsequent kill giving you an additional +10% damage bonus, up to a maximum of 3 stacks. The bonus is lost after a 5s duration, and this timer is reset upon each new kill.
Loot Probability - For the perk Dead Eye: Increases your odds of finding Rifles and Rifle parts, 7.62 Ammo, the perk magazine Sniper (if you haven't read them all already), and Sniper Crafting Magazines (if your crafting skill is not already maxed out).
Handling - Increases the rate at which your accuracy stabilizes (reaches its highest value) when aiming and after firing.
Demolitions Expert
- EXPLOOOSIOONS! Improves the combat potential of all throwables (molotovs, pipe bombs, grenades, etc...) and the rocket launcher. Each level increases damage, reload speed, handling, stun chance, dismember chance, and the odds of finding explosives in loot.
RankEntity/Block DamageReload SpeedHandlingStun ChanceCripple ChanceDismemberment ChanceLoot ProbabilityPerception Level Requirement1+10%+15%+10%+50%N/A+5%+200%12+20%+20%+20%100%N/A+10%+400%33+30%+25%+30%100%+33%+20%+600%54+40%+30%+40%100%+66%+30%+800%75+50%+35%+50%100% and Longer Stuns+66%+45%+1000%10
Loot Probability - For the perk Demolitions Expert: Increases your odds of finding Rocket Launchers and Rocket Launcher parts, Pipe Bombs, Molotovs, Grenades, Timed Charges, Dynamite, Lockpicks (for some reason), and Explosives Crafting Magazines (if your crafting skill is not already maxed out).
Stun Chance - Increases the chance of stumbling an enemy, lowering their attack speed by
-50% and movement speed by -80%. Stuns gradually wear off overtime, and grant enemies 3 seconds of stun resistance after its duration.
Cripple Chance - Increases the odds of maiming an enemy, decreasing their movement speed by -30% for 5 minutes. Tougher enemies have cripple resistance.
Dismember Chance - Increases the odds of severing a limb on an enemy. Decapitations are instant kills. Armless zombies have decreased attack strength and range. Legless zombies are slowed to a crawl. Tougher enemies have dismember resistance. The dismember chance from the Perception attribute itself and the Demolitions Expert perks stack, totaling to a maximum of 95% dismember chance on normal zombies.
Handling - Increases the rate at which your accuracy stabilizes (reaches its highest value) when aiming and after firing.
Javelin Master
- Sharp sticks and metal pokeys. Increases the damage of spears, decreases how much stamina you use on each swing, increases cripple chance on every hit, and increases your odds for finding spear-related loot. Later levels will grant you stamina back on every kill!
RankEntity/Block DamageStamina Loss (Normal Attack)Stamina Loss (Power Attack)Stamina Regen on KillCripple ChanceLoot ProbabilityPerception Level Requirement1+10%-8%-15%N/A+20%+200%12+20%-15%-30%N/A+40%+400%33+30%-20%-40%+10+60%+600%54+40%-25%-50%+20+80%+800%75+50%-25%-50%+30+100%+1000%10
Loot Probability - For the perk Javelin Master: Increases your odds of finding Spears and Spear Parts, the perk magazine Spear Hunter (if you haven't read them all already), and Spear Crafting Magazines (if your crafting skill is not already maxed out).
Cripple Chance - Increases the odds of maiming an enemy, decreasing their movement speed by -30% for 5 minutes. Tougher enemies have cripple resistance.
Quick and Perceptive
- Fly like a Valkyrie! Increases the swing speed of all spears.
RankAttack SpeedPerception Level Requirement1+10%42+17%73+25%10
Perception - Combat Perks (cont.)
The Penetrator
- Out the slim end. Applies armor piercing on all ranged weapons and spears. Provides additional piercing bonuses to all AP ammunition. It also grants AP 7.62 Ammunition more penetrations.
RankFirearm/Archery Armor PierceAP Round Bonus Armor PierceSpear Armor PierceMaximum PenetrationsPerception Level Requirement1+10%+10%+20%112+15%+15%+30%243+20%+20%+40%364+20%+30%+50%48
Target Penetration - By default, AP rounds can penetrate up to one target. Every enemy counts as one target, and blocks will count as one target for every 250 Maximum Health the block has (e.g. a block with 500 health counts as 2 targets). After penetrating a target, the bullet will continue in its original line of fire, dealing the same damage throughout its travel. Upgrading The Penetrator will increase the number of targets that can be penetrated. See Target Penetration under Stat Mechanics (cont.) for more info
Armor Piercing - Some enemies in the game have an Armor Rating, which means they can resist incoming damage. Armor Pierce negates a percentage of this Armor Rating. See Armor Piercing under Stat Mechanics cont. for more info
Notes:
AP Rounds, by default, possess an Armor Piercing of +50%. With The Penetrator maxed, it is possible to have an Armor Piercing of +100%, which means you ignore all armor on your targets. This is also possible with the Steel Spear, which similarly possesses +50% Armor Piercing. Steel Arrows and Steel Bolts are considered AP ammunition, meaning they benefit from the AP Round bonus piercing.
Perception - Looting/Tracking Perks
The Infiltrator
- The solid choice for crooks looking to stay in one piece. Decreases damage taken from landmines, and increases the detonation delay of traps. Comes in handy for points of interest and creating your own traps.
RankMine DamageTrigger DelaySpecial AbilityPerception Level Requirement1-20%+0.5sN/A12-35%+1.0sN/A43-50%+2.0sPick up Landmines7
Landmines are Mine - You can pick up landmines that were placed by you, or ones that were generated by points of interest. Very useful if you intend on laying traps.
Animal Tracker
- Hunting wabbits. Grants the ability to track animals. After crouching for three seconds, the perk activates for 20 seconds, and all animals within 20m are displayed on the compass. Crouching again refreshes the timer. Each new rank keeps the previous rank's benefits. Also increases your odds for finding Hunter's Journal perk magazines.
RankPreyPredatorsLoot ProbabilityPerception Level Requirement1Rabbits and ChickensSnakes+200%12Deers and BoarsWolves and Coyotes+600%43N/ABears and Mountain Lions+1000%7
Loot Probability - For the perk Animal Tracker: Increases your odds of finding Hunter's Journal perk magazines (if you haven't read them all already).
Lucky Looter
- All that glitters is gold. Improves the quality and speed of looting. Loot bonus affects the gamestage loot for all containers you open. You will tend to find higher tier and higher quality items. Each rank increases your chance of finding Lucky Looter perk magazines
RankLoot BonusLooting SpeedLoot ProbabilityPerception Level Requirement1+5%+10%+200%12+10%+20%+400%23+15%+40%+600%34+20%+60%+800%55+25%+80%+1000%7
Loot Bonus - Increases the loot gamestage of all containers you open. This means you can find higher tier loot than you would normally.
Loot Probability - For the perk Lucky Looter: Increases your odds of finding Lucky Looter perk magazines (if you haven't read them all already).
Treasure Hunter
- Where the hell is that damn chest?! Grants a heightened ability to find treasure chests, as well as upping the amount of loot inside of them.
RankBlocks to DigLoot QuantityPerception Level Required17+10%125+20%433+30%7
Diggy Diggy - By default, once the player removes 10 blocks within a treasure chest, the given radius of the chest decreases by 1 meter. This helps determine the precise location of a chest. The Treasure Hunter perk decreases the number of blocks required to decrease the radius.
Note: Loot Quantity is separate from Loot Bonus. Quantity adds more of an item, whereas Bonus provides higher rarity/tier items.
Salvage Operations
- Shy cars are patched. Again. Increases the efficiency and resource gain of salvaging with wrenches, ratchets, and impact drivers. Unlocks salvage tool crafting and improves their quality with each rank.
RankEntity/Block DamageAttack SpeedResource GainStamina Drain (Normal Attack)Stamina Drain (Power Attack)Loot ProbabilityPerception Level Required1+20%+20%+20%-8%-15%+200%12+40%+40%+40%-15%-30%+400%23+60%+60%+60%-20%-40%+600%34+80%+80%+80%-25%-50%+800%55+100%+100%+100%-50%-50%+1000%7
Salvaging Basics - Mechanical and electrical devices such as cars, lights, panels, machine parts, and monitors can be salvaged using wrenches, ratchets, or impact drivers. You will know when an object is salvageable by a unique tool animation (on normal attacks only). Depending on what you salvage, you can find mechanical parts, electrical parts, forged iron and steel, engines, batteries, and more.
Loot Probability - For the perk Salvage Operations: Increases your odds of finding Salvage Tools and Salvage Tool Parts, the perk magazine Wasteland Treasures (if you haven't read them all already), and Salvage Tool Crafting Magazines (if your crafting skill is not already maxed out).
Perception - Crafting
Crafting Skill Magazines are a new mechanic introduced in Alpha 21. Rather than acquiring your crafting recipes through perks or schematics found randomly in loot, your crafting progression is controlled ultimately through magazines.
As you level up a perk, you are more likely to find magazines related to that perk!
Reading a Crafting Skill Magazine increases your crafting skill for the related category.
As your crafting skill increases, you can craft related items at higher qualities, and unlock new crafting recipes. Once you have maxed out your crafting skill, you will no longer find Crafting Skill Magazines for that category.
Perception - Weapons (Rifles)
Rifles - The Perceptionist's main weapon of choice are high-caliber, long range sniper rifles. Rifles take 7.62 ammunition, and can deal some of the highest damage per shot in the game. Rifles are very accurate when aimed, but are less wieldy when hip fired.
All Rifles are semi-automatic by default. Holding the trigger will only fire one bullet
Pipe Rifle
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 44.0-66.0 Damage, 1 Clip Size, 120 Rounds/min (Fast), 50m Effective Range, 150m Max Range, Very Low Hipfire Accuracy, Very High Aim Accuracy, 100-200 Durability, 3.5s Reload
- Though rudimentary, the hand-crafted Pipe Rifle can make a fair implement for the early-game sniper. Its accuracy and damage is just high enough to kill most weak zombies on normal difficulties. Be wary, however-- you get only one shot, followed by a lengthy reload.
Hunting Rifle
- Unlocked: Dead Eye Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 46.8-85.3 Damage, 1 Clip Size, 114-126 Rounds/min (Fast), 56-84m Effective Range, 150m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, Very High Aim Accuracy, 136-348 Durability, 2.8s Reload
- Once meant for hunting animals-- now meant for hunting zombies. The Hunting Rifle can be found in early-gamestage loot, and plays similarly to the Pipe Rifle, only with more damage and a faster reload.
Lever-Action Rifle
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 50.2-91.5 Damage, 4-6 Clip Size, 78-86 Rounds/min (Average), 48-72m Effective Range, 150m Max Range, Very Low Hipfire Accuracy, Very High Aim Accuracy, 160-432 Durability, 3.0s Reload
- Formerly known as the Marksman Rifle, the revamped Lever-Action Rifle is an excellent firearm, with an uncommon loading mechanism. Though it fires slower than its brothers, the Lever-Action makes up with a higher damage, and a clip greater than one bullet.
Sniper Rifle
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 54.4-99.2 Damage, 11-13 Mag Size, 133-147 Rounds/min (Fast), 56-84m Effective Range, 150m Max Range, Very Low Hipfire Accuracy, Very High Aim Accuracy, 200-540 Durability, 3.4s Reload
- The Sniper Rifle is the most powerful rifle in the game, sporting the highest damage, magazine size, and effective range. Best equipped with an 8x Scope for maximum sniping action. Keep those heads rolling!
Perception - Weapons (Explosives)
ExplosivesDangerous, volatile, and satisfactory. Explosives are meant to gib your enemies to pieces, or perhaps even help with mining and terrain destruction. No matter your intentions, always practice good safety precautions-- stand back, keep cool, and walk away slowly from the explosion without looking at it (sunglasses optional).
Thrown explosives can be lit with M2, and thrown with M1. The longer you hold M1, the further the explosive will travel. Some explosives may detonate if held onto for too long!
Explosive damage is applied as splash damage, meaning it is applied in a radius. The further an enemy is from the center of the explosion, the less damage the explosive will do, with the exception of Molotovs.
Molotov Cocktail
- Unlocked: By Default
- Stats: 250 Fire Damage, 16s Burn Time, 3m Radius
- An anarchist's classic. While not exactly an explosive, this thrown Molotov will ignite enemies in a small radius. If you're lucky enough to find some gas and oil, consider making a Molotov or two.
Pipe Bomb
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 1 or Schematic
- Stats: 230 Explosion Damage, 5 Block Damage, 4m Radius, 4s Fuse Time
- Cheap, efficient, explosive. Pipe bombs will do the trick for most scenarios, but compared to other explosives, they aren't the greatest in damage. Do not light a pipe bomb and hold onto it. You will explode.
Dynamite
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 2 or Schematic
- Stats: 500 Explosion Damage, 3000 Block Damage, 6m Radius, 4s Fuse Time
- Out of all the thrown explosives, Dynamite does the highest damage, with a larger explosion radius and a normal fuse time. While its effective in blasting enemies, its even more effective in blasting terrain! If you plan on using dynamite, make sure you use it in a spot you don't mind being blasted to schmithereens. Like the pipe bomb, you will explode if you hold it out for too long.
Grenade
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 3 or Schematic
- Stats: 310 Explosion Damage, 10 Block Damage, 5m Radius, 3s Fuse Time
- One of the most well-wounded explosives, grenades deal great damage in a good radius. Unlike pipe bombs, you can pull the pin on a grenade and it will never explode until thrown.
Contact Grenade
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 5 or Schematic
- Stats: 310 Explosion Damage, 10 Block Damage, 5m Radius, No Fuse Time
- Though it has the same stats as the normal grenade, the contact grenade has a unique quirk. When making contact with an enemy or tile, it will explode instantly, making it superior for fast horde clearing.
Timed Charge
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 5 or The Great Heist Volume 3
- Stats: 727 Explosion Damage, 3000 Block Damage, 1m Radius, 4s Fuse Time
- While not exactly suitable for combat, the Timed Charge is an explosive device used to bust into safes, vaults, and locked chests. When thrown, it sticks to a surface and activates, detonating after 4 seconds, applying a massive amount of damage to the block or object it was placed on.
Rocket Launcher
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 357-651 Explosive Damage, 1 Clip Size, 56-84m Effective Range, 100m Max Range, 46-54m/s Projectile Speed, Extremely Low Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 64-163 Durability, 2.5s Reload
- A beast of a weapon, the Rocket Launcher fires devastating RPGs and decimates anything in its path. The Rocket Launcher is a precision or crowd control weapon, used to clear hordes or annihilate dangerous enemies. It deals massive explosive damage to both enemies and blocks, but can only hold one shot at a time.
Landmines
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Only
- Comes in many shapes and sizes. See Perception - Traps for more.
Perception - Weapons (Spears)
Spears - Perceptionists use Spears as their melee weapon. Spears have longer range than other melee weapons, and can be thrown using the Power Attack button (M2). The longer the button is held, the further the spear will travel and the more damage it will do. Spears also have natural armor piercing, allowing you to take out bulkier threats with more ease.
Spears can be thrown by holding M2. The longer M2 is held, the farther the spear will travel. Throws can be canceled by tapping the reload button
Stone Spear
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 10.3-15.5 Damage, 39.7-44.8 Power Attack Damage, 55 Attacks/min (Average), Long Range, 18.5 Stamina/Attack, 36.9 Stamina/Power Attack, 60-88 Durability, +30% Armor Piercing
- A caveman classic. Stone spears aren't the best, but they're cheap enough to be crafted in bulk, allowing you to throw several in quick succession. Stone spears deal decent damage, and pierce through armor.
Iron Spear
- Unlocked: Javelin Master Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 2
- Stats: 10.5-19.2 Damage, 45.9-54.6 Power Attack Damage, 55 Attacks/min (Average), Long Range, 20.3 Stamina/Attack, 40.6 Stamina/Power Attack, 212-423 Durability, +40% Armor Piercing
- A bit more sophistication. The Iron Spear is superior to the Stone Spear, possessing greater damage and armor piercing, but is rarer to find and costlier to craft.
Steel Spear
- Unlocked: Spear Hunter Volume 2
- Tier 3
- Stats: 15.8-28.8 Damage, 68.8-81.8 Power Attack Damage, 55 Attacks/min (Average), Long Range, 22.4 Stamina/Attack, 44.8 Stamina/Power Attack, 317-592 Durability, +50% Armor Piercing
- A deadly blade with a strong bite. The Steel Spear is the best spear in the game, with the highest damage and armor pierce.
Perception - Traps
As a part of their kit, Perception builds have access to crafting explosive traps, known as landmines. They can be crafted by ranking up the perk Demolitions Expert, which is the most efficient way to obtain landmines. Alternatively, you may rank up the perk The Infiltrator to Rank 3, allowing you to pick up landmines found in points of interests. They are very rarely found in loot and trader inventories.
Notes:
Landmine damage is applied as splash damage. The further you are from the center of the landmine, the lower the damage you'll take. Beyond the explosion radius (ex. 4m for the Candy Tin Mine), no damage will be taken.
By default, landmines can not be picked up. You need to rank up the perk The Infiltrator to Rank 3 to do so. The Infiltrator will also decrease landmine damage, by up to -50%.
Landmines can do block damage, but it is low enough to be considered negligible. Landmines do no damage to wood or earth elements. Stone and metal blocks only take 1 block damage, but only if within half of the explosion radius.
Shooting or hitting a landmine will destroy it, subsequently blowing it up. Landmines destroyed by other explosions have a 33% chance to explode.
Candy Tin Mine
- Unlocked: By default
- Stats: 251 Damage, 4m Radius, 0.5s Trigger Delay
- A cute little landmine that blasts anything that steps on it into a pile of meat. Candy Tin Mines can be easily crafted in bulk, but stick out blatantly from the environment. These are best used against zombies in tight corridors, or planting in your base for your friends to step on.
Scrap Iron Plate Mine
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 1
- Stats: 251 Damage, 3m Radius, 0.5s Trigger Delay
- While they seem identical to the Candy Tin Mine, only with less range, these Plate Mines are much harder to avoid by enemies. They cover up an entire block, and can even be painted to blend into the environment. If you want the ideal mine to catch unsuspecting prey, go Plate Mines!
Cooking Pot Mine
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 1
- Stats: 272 Damage, 3m Radius, 0.5s Trigger Delay
- Can you smell what's cookin'? It probably isn't healthy. These Cooking Pot Mines deal a bit more damage than their predecessors. Since they are larger, zombies have higher odds of stepping on them, but players have a higher chance of seeing them. Use them how you will, but I plan on reheating my chili.
Hubcap Mines
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 2
- Stats: 409 Damage, 5m Radius, 0.5s Trigger Delay
- The vehicle owner probably won't need these anymore. Hubcap Mines hold a significant damage bonus compared with the previous mines, as well as possessing a larger radius. They are also flat, and stand out less.
Air Filter Mines
- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 5
- Stats: 627 Damage, 5m Radius, 0.5s Trigger Delay
- By far the deadliest trap in the game, Air Filter Mines deal incredible amounts of damage, and are very hard to escape. Even if you start running when you hear the heart-stopping tick of the mine setting off, you'll still take an immense blast, due to the large damage and radius of this mine. Watch your step!
Perception - Playstyle
Overall OpinionDifficulty: Intermediate
Combat Viability: Great (A)
Survival Viability: Good (B)
Perk Synergy: Agility (see Skilltree Synergy below)
Strategy
Pick off high-health targets with sniper rifles
Clear hordes with explosives
Use spears for close-range targets
Track and hunt animals for food
Lockpick containers and get better loot
Salvage devices for resources
General Playstyle
Perception builds are sighted for medium to long-range combat, picking off enemies at a distance. When in close range, snipers are more difficult to use, especially if equipped with scopes. Instead, spears should be used in close quarters.
Explosives should be used at a careful distance, or used with good timing to allow yourself to escape the blast radius. Grenades can also be used to clear out a small room. For example, if you want to make a tactical entrance, open the door to a room and toss in a grenade. After the explosion, make an entrance and take out any surviving enemies.
Often, Perception builds rely on a strategic approach. For example, when entering a Point of Interest, it's best to first find a vantage point: a high-ground where you can see enemies ahead, while staying out of attack range. While on a vantage point, you can utilize stealth by staying crouched, granting you bonus damage and a lower detection chance.
On occasion, zombies will be hidden behind cover, or sleeping out of view. Often, you are able to maneuver around your vantage point to get your sights on them. You can also shoot down breakaway doors to reveal zombies.
In the event that zombies are drawn to your vantage point, you can still use this to your advantage! They will often flock directly below you, giving you the critical moment where you can drop a grenade on them.
Optimizing Weapon Usage
Sniper Rifles - Use in mid to long range situations. Rifles are harder to use in very close ranges, due to their low hipfire accuracy, high aim accuracy, and slow fire rate. If you want to clear out enemies from afar without them noticing, spec yourself for stealth. Equip a silencer, unequip armor, and hide in the shadows. If zombies can't see or hear you, you gain the advantage to pick them off one by one.
Alternatively, you can use a rifle for closer range if you use iron sights or a dot sight. It overall depends on your experience with FPS games. You can also watch doorways and chokepoints, especially if you have The Penetrator ranked up, and are using AP rounds.
Explosives - Using grenades and explosives to your advantage can help soften up or completely blow away a crowd of zombies. Utilize chokepoints such as doors and hallways, where zombies bunch together tightly, making explosives more viable. You can also throw inactive grenades or bombs on the ground as traps, where enemies will tread. Active explosions will trigger inactive grenades, dealing potent area damage.
Rocket Launchers are more dangerous to use indoors. I suggest that if you plan on using one, you keep a safe distance. You can lure enemies behind doors, where you can blast them on the other side with a well-placed rocket shot.
Of course, always be careful while using any explosive. They can seriously injure you if too close, and can cause buildings to collapse.
Spears - When all else fails, your trusty spear will do the trick! Spears can still keep enemies at bay with their long attack range, while dealing good damage, even against armored targets. Only throw your spear if you have a good angle, or very good aim. Tossing your only melee weapon away can screw you over, especially outdoors. Hitting a zombie's legs or torso can stun them, giving you a chance to get some breathing room.
Surviving
The perk Animal Tracker helps greatly in finding animals to hunt. Once ranking it up, crouch for a few seconds to reveal the locations of all animals in a radius. Apart from that, Perception builds rely on looting and scavenging for food/water. With perks such as Lucky Looter and Lock Picking, you're likely to find what you're looking for, without much trouble getting inside.
Obtaining resources is best done through the perk Salvage Operations. Traverse the area, looking for salvagable devices, to help find core materials such as brass, lead, and iron. Many items you salvage, such as radiators, batteries, and engines, can readily be scrapped or incinerated for its respective raw material.
Blood Moons
Early game, you're likely starting out with just a pipe or hunting rifle, and perhaps a few molotovs or pipe bombs. Because early hordes aren't the biggest threat, you shouldn't have any significant problems. Use your rifle; go for headshots. When enemies stack up, toss in a pipe bomb or two. Use spears sparingly.
When late game comes, and hordes are more intense, you have a wider selection of options to choose from.
Use your sniper rifle to pick off as many enemies as you can. If you have Dead Eye ranked up, go for weak enemies first to build up a quick killstreak, and then target higher health enemies. Try your best to take out high-priority targets. Typically, Demolition zombies and Fat Cops should be taken out as soon as possible, as they have the most potential to ruin your base.
When enemies bunch up, obliterate them with explosives. Later game, you have better choice weaponry for explosives, such as contact grenades. If you want to stack extra explosive damage, throw inactive grenades and trigger them with an active one. This easily wipes out hordes of enemies, but the toughest may survive. Do not use explosives against the Demolitionist zombie! It will immediately trigger their C4.
Place landmine traps. As you level up Demolitions Expert, you will unlock recipes for several explosive traps. Craft and plant some around your base to clear out early groups.
Rocket launchers can be used for high-priority targets. Rocket Launchers do insane amounts of damage, especially upon direct hits. When in dire need to kill a dangerous enemy, use your RL to quickly take them out. Rockets launchers can also be used to clear hordes if not too close.
Skilltree Synergies
What perks mix best with Perception?
Because of how Perception builds play, Agility is one of the best skilltrees to mix with Perception, if you plan on going full combat.
Previously, I mentioned vantage points and their usage for taking out enemies. Because the stealth mechanic is valuable for this, as it allows you to remain undetected, Hidden Strike and From the Shadows are excellent perks to pick up, as they improve your stealth damage and decrease detection risk. Stacking stealth damage upon the already massive damage of rifles results in one-shotting just about anything that moves.
Parkour can also help reaching new vantage points, as it increases jump height.
When it comes to the best armor type for Perception builds, I recommend light armor. For the exact same reason, its a good idea to pick up Light Armor in the Agility tree.
Alternatively, if you have completed the Sniper series, you can craft Ghillie Suits. If you enjoy staying hidden and sniping threats from afar, Ghillie Suits will become your best friend. They decrease noise and visibility. Combined with stealth perks from Agility, it is possible to become completely invisible.
As for every build, I recommend picking up Mother Lode, Sexual Tyrannosaurus and Miner 69'er from the Strength tree. These perks are extremely good for early game progression, and will help you immensely in gathering the main resources you need.
The Strength Skilltree
Rip and tear, until it is done. The Strength Skilltree is primed for close quarters combat and crowd control, sporting heavy weapons such as shotguns, clubs, and sledgehammers. To defend a heavy offensive line, Strength focuses on tankiness and heavy armor, with the added support of unyielding stamina. Out of combat, the Strength Skilltree glances at carrying more loot, cooking better food, dealing more tool damage and higher resource yield.
Strength starts at Level 1. As the Strength Tree is leveled up, the headshot damage and dismember chance of shotguns, clubs, and sledgehammers is increased. Headshot damage starts at +100% (double damage), and each level increases it by +10% (+15% for levels 9 and 10), up to a maximum of +200% (triple damage) at level 10. Dismemberment chance starts at +5%, and each level increases it by +5%, up to a maximum of +50% at level 10.
As Strength level increases, so does the amount of skillpoints required. Levels 2-5 cost one point, levels 6-8 cost two, and levels 9-10 cost three. Strength can be increased by one level for free with a Cigar, a rare clothing item.
RankHeadshot DamageDismemberment ChanceSkillpoints Required1+100%+5%02+110%+10%13+120%+15%14+130%+20%15+140%+25%16+150%+30%27+160%+35%28+175%+40%29+190%+45%310+200%+50%3
Strength - Combat Perks
Boomstick
- Chk-chk! Improves the combat potential for shotguns by raising damage, fire rate, and reload speed. Each rank adds a special debuff improvement, for crippling and weakening your enemies. All unlocked buffs are kept, even after ranking up.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageFire RateReload SpeedShotgun BuffCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityStrength Level Requirement1+10%+20%+10%+10%Stun for +2s (6s total)Double Barrel Shotgun212+20%+40%+20%+15%N/AN/A333+30%+60%+30%+20%Stun for +2s (8s total)N/A454+40%+80%+40%+25%N/AN/A575+50%+100%+50%+30%Leg Shots Cripple EnemiesN/A510
Stun - Stuns decrease enemy movement speed by -80% and attack speed by -50%. As the stun wears off, the enemy gradually returns to their normal movement and attack speed. Once the stun has completely worn off, the enemy is granted 3 seconds of stun resistance.
Crippling Leg Shots - Shooting an enemy in the legs with any shotgun will guarantee a cripple, no matter the zombie's strength. Crippling an enemy decreases their movement speed by -30% for 5 minutes; this debuff cannot be refreshed until the time has run out.
Dismember Chance - Increases the odds of severing a limb on an enemy. Decapitations are instant kills. Armless zombies have decreased attack strength and range. Legless zombies are slowed to a crawl. Tougher enemies have dismember resistance. Dismember chance from the Strength attribute stacks with Boomstick.
Pummel Pete
- Batter up. Increases the strength and stun potential of wielding bats and clubs, while improving their crafting quality. Each rank raises damage, adds a knockdown damage multiplier, increases knockdown chance, and unlocks a unique ability: chain attacks.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageKnockdown Damage BonusKnock-back-down ChanceSpecial AbilityCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityStrength Level Requirement1+10%+20%+40%60%N/ABaseball Bat212+20%+40%+80%70%N/AN/A333+30%+60%+120%80%Chain Hits - 5 AttacksN/A454+40%+80%+160%90%Chain Hits - 4 AttacksN/A575+50%+100%+200%100%Chain Hits - 3 AttacksN/A510
Knockdown Damage Bonus - While an enemy is knocked down, deal additional damage with power attacks.
Knock-back-down Chance - After knocking down/stunning an enemy, power attacks are given a chance to knock an enemy back down while they are attempting to recover.
Chain Hits - Chaining 5/4/3 hits in a short duration grants the final hit +100% bonus damage.
Skull Crusher
- Heaviest metal. Improves the damage and crafting quality of sledgehammers, while providing a few boosts to knockdown powers as well. Unlocks a unique ability: AoE knockdowns.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageKnockdown ChanceAoE Knockdown ChanceCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityStrength Level Requirement1+10%+20%15%N/AIron Sledgehammer212+20%+40%30%N/AN/A333+30%+60%45%20%N/A454+40%+80%60%35%N/A575+50%+100%75%50%N/A510
Knockdown Chance - Gives power attacks with hammers an increased chance to knock down enemies.
AoE Knockdown Chance - Striking an enemy with a power attack has a 20%/35%/50% chance to knockdown all enemies within a 1.3m/1.3m/1.4m range. Excellent for disabling a crowd and making a getaway.
Sexual Tyrannosaurus
- Just like me. Decreases the stamina drain caused by attacks, and regenerates stamina upon killing an enemy.
RankAttack Stamina DrainPower Attack Stamina DrainStamina Regen on KillStrength Level Requirement1-8%-15%N/A12-15%-30%+1033-20%-40%+2054-25%-50%+307
Heavy Armor
- TOWER. OF. POWER. Increases the durability of heavy armor, and decreases its stamina and speed penalty. Also improves heavy armor crafting quality.
RankStamina and Movespeed PenaltyDurabilityCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityStrength Level Requirement1-5%+50%Iron Armor212-10%+100%N/A333-17%+150%N/A454-25%+200%N/A57
Strength - Cooking/Construction Perks
Pack Mule
- Hoarder's choice. Increase the number of items the player can carry before becoming encumbered.
RankOpen SlotsStrength Level Requirement1+3 (30 total)12+3 (33 total)23+4 (37 total)34+4 (41 total)45+4 (45 total)5
Encumbrance - By default, the player can hold 27 items in their inventory (not including the hotbar) before becoming encumbered. Every point of encumbrance decreases movement speed by 3%.
Note - While Pack Mule is useful early game, it is eventually outclassed by clothing/armor mods and vehicles.
Master Chef
- Bon Appetit! Unlocks several new crafting recipes for cooking, while increasing the speed and efficiency of cooking. Higher end foods restore more stamina, apply unique buffs, and grant a temporary maximum stamina bonus.
RankFood Recipe UnlocksDrink Recipe UnlocksCooking SpeedStrength Level Requirement1Bacon, Baked Potato, Grilled Meat, Boiled Meat, Corn on the Cob, and Corn BreadTea and Coffee+10%12Meat Stew, Vegetable Stew, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Bread, Steak and Potato Meal, and Blueberry PieN/A+20%33Sham Chowder, Chili Dog, Fish Tacos, and Hobo StewBeer and Yucca Juice Smoothies+30%54Gumbo Stew, Shepherd's Pie, Spaghetti, and Tuna Gravy on ToastN/A+40% and use -20% main ingredient used in recipes75N/AGrandpa's Moonshine, Grandpa's Awesome Sauce, Grandpa's Learnin' Elixir+50% and use -20% main ingredient used in recipes10
Grandpa's Ass-Kicking Recipes - Grandpa's drinks apply very unique buffs which help tremendously in several different situations.
Grandpa's Moonshine - For 45 seconds, gain +400% melee damage, +50% damage resist, +100% stun resist, +60% stamina regeneration, and regenerate 20 health/second, up to a maximum of 900 health regenerated. In short, you become an unstoppable killing machine. Useful in a pinch when you're almost dead, especially during a horde.
Grandpa's Awesome Sauce - +20% Bartering for 2 min (All trader costs are 20% less, and all sales are 20% more). Useful when you're trying to make bank on Dukes.
Grandpa's Learnin' Elixir - Grants a +20% XP Boost for 4 min. Great for horde nights, mining, and building to gain loads of XP!
Note - All recipes can be learned via schematics found in loot.
Miner 69'er
- Break it down! Increases the entity/block damage and crafted quality of all tools, except salvage tools.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityStrength Level Requirement1+10%+30%Iron Tools (Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, Claw Hammer)212+20%+60%N/A323+30%+90%N/A434+40%+120%N/A555+50%+150%N/A57
Mother Lode
- Is that enough? Increases the yield of all resources, such as wood, stone, ore, clay, and more (doesn't affect salvaging or hunting). Applies to all tools.
RankResource GainStrength Level Requirement1+20%12+40%23+60%34+80%55+100%7
Strength - Weapons (Shotguns)
Shotguns - For what they lack in range, they make up for in power. Shotguns are excellent for close-range combat, able to tear through anything made of meat. Standard Buckshot shoot out 10 pellets, which gives shotguns a greater chance of hitting multiple enemies.
All Shotguns will always apply a stun debuff for 4s to enemies hit
All Shotguns are semi-automatic by default. Holding the trigger fires only one round
Pipe Shotgun
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 7.9-11.8 Damage/pellet, 1 Clip Size, 120 Rounds/min (Fast), 4m Effective Range, 10m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, Low Aim Accuracy, 100-200 Durability, 5.6s Reload
- A hand-crafted, break-action style shell shredder. The Pipe Shotgun is the earliest shotgun you can craft, and is pretty haphazard to use, with its considerable reload time. Still, it may save your skin early-game. In Loving Memory of the Blunderbuss
Double Barrel Shotgun
- Unlocked: Boomstick Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 8.6-15.7 Damage/pellet, 2 Clip Size, 950-1050 Rounds/min (Insane), 4m Effective Range, 10m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, Low Aim Accuracy, 120-324 Durability, 3.0s Reload
- Much better than the Pipe Shotgun, but still not the best in the pack. The Double Barrel makes a fine weapon for fighting, obliterating most early enemies in close range. Because it has a ridiculous base fire rate value, the Double Barrel will virtually shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger.
Pump Shotgun
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 8.6-15.7 Damage/pellet, 7-9 Clip Size, 57-63 Rounds/min (Slow), 4m Effective Range, 10m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, Low Aim Accuracy, 2.6s Reload, 128-374 Durability
- One of the most well-rounded guns in the game, the Pump Shotgun will suffice in many situations. A large clip, good modding potential, and decent reload time; this weapon is a beauty! However, it is still succeeded by the next tier...
Auto Shotgun
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 8.6-15.7 Damage/pellet, 14-19 Mag Size, 66-73 Rounds/min (Average), 4m Effective Range, 10m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, Low Aim Accuracy, 128-518 Durability, 3.0s Reload
- Added in Alpha 19, the Auto Shotgun is by far my favorite addition to the game. It packs a large magazine size and superior fire rate, but has one key feature: It can use the Drum Barrel and Autofire Trigger mods, which can double its magazine size and make it fully automatic. Definitely a weapon suited for the Shotgun Messiah himself.
Strength - Weapons (Clubs)
Clubs - Well-rounded melee weapons with overall good stats. Damage, range, swing speed, you name it. Clubs have unique modding potential as well: equip your bat with spikes to decrease armor rating on enemies, or a chain to increase knockdown chance.
Wooden Club
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 13.8-20.7 Damage, 27.6-34.5 Power Attack Damage, 55 Attacks/min (Average), Average Range, 17.4 Stamina/Attack, 26.1 Stamina/Power Attack, 60-110 Durability
- In the earlier Alphas, this was the melee weapon everyone had to use. The Wooden Club is extremely simple to craft and use. For that reason, it is also a very low performing weapon. For the aspiring Strongman, you'll have to make do with this.
Baseball Bat
- Unlocked: Pummel Pete Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 14.8-27.0 Damage, 32.2-44.4 Power Attack Damage, 52 Attacks/min (Average), Average Range, 20.9 Stamina/Attack, 35.6 Stamina/Power Attack, 200-500 Durability
- In the past, these were used for gladiatorial combat, held in huge arenas. The Baseball Bat is much better than the Wooden Club, sustaining better stats and viability overall. Bonus: Killing an enemy with a power attack will result in stupid ragdoll physics. Batter up!
Candy Cane Club
- Unlocked: Looting Only during Christmas
- Tier 1
- Stats: 16.3-29.8 Damage, 35.5-49.0 Power Attack Damage, 52 Attacks/min (Average), Average Range, 20.9 Stamina/Attack, 35.6 Stamina/Power Attack, 200-500 Durability
- A festive alternative to the Baseball Bat! Actually, the Candy Cane Club deals a bit more damage, oddly enough. It must be a Christmas miracle! Hooray!
Steel Club
- Unlocked: Batter Up Volume 6
- Tier 3
- Stats: 22.3-40.6 Damage, 48.5-66.8 Power Attack Damage, 52 Attacks/min (Average), Average Range, 23.7 Stamina/swing, 40.3 Stamina/P-swing, 300-700 Durability
- The highest tier club, and a hard-hitting weapon; the Steel Club has great damage potential and excellent durability.
Strength - Weapons (Sledgehammers)
Sledgehammers - Hulking sledges suited for cracking skulls. Hammers are the hardest hitting melee weapons in the game, but are also the slowest-swinging, and have a hefty stamina cost.
All Sledgehammers gain +10% Dismember chance on all attacks, and an additional +30% Dismember chance on power attacks
All Sledgehammers do not benefit from stealth; they cannot deal bonus sneak damage
Stone Sledgehammer
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 17.5-26.3 Damage, 39.4-48.1 Power Attack Damage, 50 Attacks/min (Average), Good Range, 22.3 Stamina/swing, 44.7 Stamina/P-swing, 55-112 Durability
- Easily crafted early into the game, and common to find in loot. The Stone Sledgehammer is a decent weapon, but has a larger stamina cost than other weapons, which can especially be troublesome early on.
Iron Sledgehammer
- Unlocked: Skull Crusher Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 26.2-47.7 Damage, 64.7-86.2 Power Attack Damage, 34 Attacks/min (Slow), Good Range, 36.7 Stamina/swing, 73.4 Stamina/P-swing, 133-363 Durability
- More power, but more demand. Iron Sledgehammers pack more damage, but are slower and more costly to stamina.
Steel Sledgehammer
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 39.3-71.6 Damage, 97.0-129.4 Power Attack Damage, 34 Attacks/min (Slow), Good range, 40.5 Stamina/swing, 81.0 Stamina/P-swing, 207-581 Durabiltiy
- Practically 50kg on a stick. Steel Sledgehammers dish out the highest melee damage of any item, but also cost the greatest stamina per swing.
Strength - Heavy Armor
As mentioned in Strength - Combat Perks, the Strength skilltree specs into heavy armor, improving its durability and decreasing its stamina and movespeed penalty. Heavy armor has much greater armor rating and effect resistance, but has a larger stamina, movespeed, and noise penalty. Overall, heavy armor is perfect for the players who are looking to tank through damage, and aren't too wild on moving fast or making a quiet entrance.
How Armor Stats Work:
Armor Rating refers to your direct damage resistance
For example, 50 Armor Rating means you take 50% less damage from attacks (capped at 90)
Explosion Resist works the same way, but applies to only explosive and splash damage (likewise capped at 90)Crit Resist increases the chance you will resist receiving a critical hit, such as abrasions and sprains, while fighting zombies
Stamina/s (Regen) refers to how much less stamina is regenerated while not running
Stamina/s (Drain) refers to how much additional stamina is drained while running
Mobility refers to how much an armor pierce decreases your movement speed
Noise refers to how much additional noise you make when performing actions. This is an important stat for stealth
Durability refers to the number of hits armor can take before breaking. Once armor breaks, it will have 0 stats until it is repaired
Each armor set has five pieces, all of which carry the same stats. The stats below are per piece of armor.
Scrap Armor
- Unlocked: By Default
- Tier 1
- Stats: 7.5-10.7 Armor Rating, 7.5-10.7 Explosion Resist, +5.4% Crit Resist, 175-350 Durability, -4.5% Stamina/s (Regen), +9.0% Stamina/s (Drain), -6.0% Mobility, +20% Noise
- Unlocked by default, and with relatively cheap crafting, Scrap Armor makes good protection for early game. It's also common to see in loot. Though it may save you some health a few times, you can't rely too heavily on it for long.
Iron Armor
- Unlocked: Heavy Armor Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 2
- Stats: 7.3-14.0 Armor Rating, 7.3-14.0 Explosion Resist, +5.5-6.8% Crit Resist, 200-400 Durability, -4.5% Stamina/s (Regen), +9.0% Stamina/s (Drain), -6.0% Mobility, +20% Noise
- Rusted iron and a masked face gives you the look of a true wastelander. Iron Armor can be looted in mid-gamestage, and is fairly common to find. More strength, more power.
Steel Armor
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 8.2-16.0 Armor Rating, 8.2-16.0 Explosion Resist, +6.1-7.6% Crit Resist, 250-500 Durability, -4.5% Stamina/s (Regen), +9.0% Stamina/s (Drain), -6.0% Mobility, +20% Noise
- A faceless knight, constructed of steel. Steel Armor is the tankiest set in the game, with stats potential for massive resistance.
Firefighter's Helmet
- Unlocked: Firefighter's Almanac Vol 7
- Tier 2
- Stats: 7.3-14.0 Armor Rating, 7.3-14.0 Explosion Resist, +5.5-6.8% Crit Resist, 200-400 Durability, -4.5% Stamina/s (Regen), +9.0% Stamina/s (Drain), -6.0% Mobility, +20% Noise, +15 Heat Insulation, -5% Health Loss (with Firefighter's Almanac Vol 7)
- In game, the Firefighter's Helmet is the Mining Helmet dyed red. Other than having identical stats to the Iron Helmet, this piece has a +15 Heat Insulation bonus, which can be a nice bonus for early game. If used alongside the Firefighter's Almanac Vol 7 bonus, it will decrease health loss from damage by -5%, effectively giving it +5 Armor Rating.
Swat Helmet
- Unlocked: Looting Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 8.2-16.0 Armor Rating, 8.2-16.0 Explosion Resist, +6.1-7.6% Crit Resist, 250-500 Durability, -4.5% Stamina/s (Regen), +9.0% Stamina/s (Drain), -6.0% Mobility, +20% Noise
- The Swat Helmet is a miscellaneous armor piece, only coming with this helmet. While you may find a Swat Helmet better than your Steel Helmet, the stat ranges are identical. Its cosmetic appearance may give it an appeal to some players.
Strength - Playstyle
Overall OpinionDifficulty: Easy
Combat Viability: Great (A)
Survival Viability: Decent (C)
Perk Synergy: Fortitude (see Skilltree Synergy below)
Strategy
Decimate crowds with shotguns
Disable tight hordes with sledgehammers
Take out single threats with clubs
Chain melee kills to retain stamina
Mine ore and destroy blocks for resources
General Playstyle
Strength builds are best suited for players who want close-quarters, aggressive combat, while not giving a damn about taking damage. Shotguns can annihilate crowds in close ranges, while sledgehammers can knockout entire groups, as long as Skull Crusher is ranked up. Clubs are best used to take out single targets, or chaining melee kills between multiple, spread-out zombies.
While using Strength builds, there is no need for a strategic approach. As long as there's zombies falling before you, you're doing your job right. In addition, heavy armor helps you tank through damage and resist critical hits. Healing might be a problem later, but combat won't be a problem for you.
Though Strength builds are powerful up-close, they are lacking heavily in range. Shotguns have an effective range of only 4m with buckshot, and a range of 9m if using slugs. Though zombies out of range are often no significant problem, special infected like policemen can be problematic, as they have a ranged attack.
In addition, due to heavy armor, strength builds are often slow. All heavy armor will decrease movement speed, increase stamina drain, and make you louder (the louder part being arguably beneficial for your playstyle). However, this can be counter-acted with the perk Heavy Armor and armor modifications, such as custom fittings and muffled connectors.
Optimizing Weapon Usage
Shotguns - Use for close ranges while using buckshot. Shotguns are devastating when used correctly, and can clear small hordes in only a few shots. To deal more damage against armored targets, or gain a bit of range, utilize slugs. See Ammunition for more.
Shotguns also have the added benefit of being able to shred through wooden blocks. You can use this to your advantage: "wall-bang" your enemies by guessing where they stand behind walls, or tear your way through a house to get better positioning. Do be aware of where you're shooting, however; something you may want to keep intact could get blasted to pieces with just one misfire.
Sledgehammers - Can be used in two different ways. The first option is to deal massive damage to a single target. Though this will often kill weak enemies in one hit, the sledgehammer family is slow to swing, and very costly to stamina.
Alternatively, sledgehammers may be used to disable crowds via power attacks. If Skull Crusher is leveled up to at least rank 3, all power attacks with sledges will have a chance to stun enemies in a radius. This can be incredibly useful for making breathing room to reload, or taking out tough enemies while they're vulnerable. It can also be very amusing to watch a group of enemies drop to the floor.
Clubs - Akin to sledges, clubs can be used in two different ways. The first tactic is to simply use them to take out lone targets. This is more effective than sledgehammers, as clubs are more efficient to stamina and swing speed. It's also useful for conserving ammo.
If Sexual Tyrannosaurus is leveled up to at least Rank 2, Clubs can be used to chain attacks between multiple zombies. Because you will gain stamina on each melee kill, clubs can be a great option to eliminate a spread group of zombies.
Surviving
Though the Strength skilltree grants new cooking recipes with the perk Master Chef, there is no Strength-related perk for finding food in the first place. For that reason, it's often harder to find food in a Strength build, compared to other skilltrees.
However, Strength builds flourish in mining and resource gain. The perks Miner 69'er and Mother Lode increase resource yield and block damage, surging the player's ability to acquire raw materials such as wood, stone, iron, and more. This extra resource gain can help in crafting ammunition, base-building, and more.
Blood Moons
When in early game, you're likely suited with a pipe shotgun and some low-quality scrap armor. If you're lucky, you may have found a double-barrel. Your best option is to find/build a sturdy house, and pick off zombies with whatever you've got. You'll need to keep a somewhat close range if you want to deal damage.
When late-gamestage arrives, you'll be better equipped, but limited to dealing ranged damage with your shotgun. Here's your routine:
Go for collaterals. When enemies bunch up, use your shotgun spread to hit several enemies with one shot. This helps with crowd control and conserving ammo.
Utilize ammunition types. Buckshots are best used for weak targets, or hitting multiple enemies. When bulkier, armored targets arrive, hold R to switch ammo types, and choose slugs. Slugs pierce straight through armor, and deal heftier damage per shot. You can keep multiple shotguns on you, making it even easier to switch between ammo types.
BERSERK! Using Grandpa's Moonshine, which can be unlocked at Rank 5 Master Chef, you can attain Godlike melee strength and near immortality (but don't push it). If you find yourself at dangerously low health, Grandpa's Moonshine is especially useful for making a quick, emergency recovery.
Skilltree Synergies
What perks mix best with Strength?
Because Strength builds spec into cooking recipes, Fortitude is one of the best options for surviving and obtaining food. The Fortitude perks Living off the Land and The Huntsman allow for improved farming and hunting. This helps you get the ingredients you need to make a hearty meal. In addition, you can extend the duration of consumable buffs with Iron Gut, which is especially nice on Grandpa's recipes.
In addition, Fortitude unlocks perks that further improve your tanking potential. Pain Tolerance decreases damage taken, and Healing Factor improves healing overtime. If you never want to feel pain again, spec into a Strength + Fortitude build.
The Fortitude Skilltree
Survival of the fittest. The Fortitude Skilltree is all about survival, while supporting a versatile and self-sufficient playstyle. Fortitude builds specialize in unarmed combat and assault rifles, supplying ways to take down enemies at any range. Out of a fight, Fortitude builds help in hunting, farming, shrugging off injuries, and improving the player's vitality.
Fortitude starts at Level 1. As the Fortitude Tree is leveled up, the headshot damage and dismember chance of fist weapons and assault rifles is increased. Headshot damage starts at +100% (double damage), and each level increases it by +10% (+15% for levels 9 and 10), up to a maximum of +200% (triple damage) at level 10. Dismemberment chance starts at +5%, and each level increases it by +5%, up to a maximum of +50% at level 10.
As Fortitude level increases, so does the amount of skillpoints required. Levels 2-5 cost one point, levels 6-8 cost two, and levels 9-10 cost three. Fortitude can be increased by one level for free with Tough Guy Glasses, an uncommon rare clothing item.
RankHeadshot DamageDismemberment ChanceSkillpoints Required1+100%+5%02+110%+10%13+120%+15%14+130%+20%15+140%+25%16+150%+30%27+160%+35%28+175%+40%29+190%+45%310+200%+50%3
Fortitude - Combat Perks
Machine Gunner
- Locked, cοcked and ready to rock! Raises the damage, fire rate, and reload speed of assault rifles, while unlocking the crafting recipes to new ARs and improving their crafting quality. Additionally decreases incremental spread and recoil. Later ranks unlock a new ability - Commando Adrenaline.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageFire RateReload SpeedMax Recoil and Incremental SpreadSpecial AbilityCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityFortitude Level Requirement1+10%+20%+5%+10%-3%N/AAK-47212+20%+40%+10%+15%-6%N/AN/A333+30%+60%+15%+20%-9%Regenerate 2 Stamina per Successful Shot with ARsN/A454+40%+80%+20%+25%-12%Regenerate 4 Stamina per Successful Shot with ARsN/A575+50%+100%+25%+30%-15%Regenerate 6 Stamina per Successful Shot with ARsN/A510
Max Recoil - The maximum amount of kick that can be received from firing a gun. Decreasing this value lowers recoil and improves firing stability.
Incremental Spread - The amount of accuracy gradually lost with each shot fired. Decreasing this value keeps accuracy stable for longer while firing.
The Brawler
- Put 'em up. Increases the damage of fighting unarmed or with knuckles. Also unlocks special abilities that are kept which each rank, and improves the quality of crafted fist weapons.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageSpecial AbilityCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityFortitude Level Requirement1+10%+20%Punches to the Head Permanently Negate Zombie/Animal Infection AbilityIron Knuckles212+20%+40%+30% Chance to Stun with Power AttacksN/A333+30%+60%+20% Chance to Knockdown on Power Attack HeadshotsN/A454+40%+80%+10% Chance to Knockdown on Power Attack Headshots (+30% total)N/A575+50%+100%+20% Dismember Chance against HeadsN/A510
Stun - Enemy has their movement decreased by -80% and attack speed decreased by -50%. The effect lasts four seconds, and as the debuff timer runs out, the enemy gradually approaches their original stats. Once the debuff is over, the enemy gains 3s of stun resistance.
Knockdown - Enemy is knocked to the ground, vulnerable and unable to attack.
Dismember - Enemy has a limb removed and abilities hindered. Decapitations will instantly kill zombies.
Pain Tolerance
- Ha! I barely felt that! Reduces the amount of HP lost from attacks, and reduces the chance to be stunned.
RankHP LossStun ChanceFortitude Level Requirement1-5%-20%12-10%-40%33-15%-60%54-20%-80%75-25%-100%10
Stun (Player) - A debuff occasionally received from attacks. When stunned, the screen will become blurry, and your movement and attack speed will decrease significantly. Renders the player very vulnerable to incoming attacks.
Healing Factor
- Good Deadpool! Grants the ability to slowly regenerate health, while also speeding up the healing of critical injuries, as long as you're not starving or dehydrating.
RankRegenInjury Healing SpeedFortitude Level Requirement1+1 HP every 90s+20%12+1 HP every 45s+40%33+1 HP every 20s+60%54+1 HP every 10s+80%75+1 HP every 6s+100%10
Fortitude - Survival/Metabolism Perks
The Huntsman
- Let nothing go to waste. Increases the resource yield from skinning animals. Gain more meat, fat, bone, feathers, and leather from skinning.
RankResource GainFortitude Level Requirement1+20%12+40%33+60%54+80%75+100%10
Well Insulated
- Arizona Man attempts to walk to Shamway. Heightens your resistance to inclement weather, and use less food/water while freezing/overheating!
RankCold/Heat InsulationWeather Food/Water LossFortitude Level Requirement1+10-15%12+20-30%43+20 and Immune to Severe Weather (Sweltering/Freezing)-30%7
Extreme Weather - While cold, your food bar will drain faster. While hot, your water bar will drain faster. These rates are further increased while under severe weather (sweltering/freezing).
Living off the Land
- It ain't much, but it's honest work. Harvest more crops, unlock new seed recipes, and decrease the cost of crafting farm plots.
RankCrop YieldCrafting UnlocksFortitude Level Requirement1+100%Seeds for Goldenrod, Chrysanthemum, Aloe, and Yucca. Farm Plots cost 30% less resources.12+100% + 1 Bonus Crop (50% Chance)Seeds for Blueberries, Corn, Cotton, Mushrooms, Hops, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Coffee, and Super Corn. Farm Plots cost 50% less resources.33+200% + 1 Bonus Crop (50% Chance)N/A5
Iron Gut
- My stomach is rolling from eating that onion and rotten garlic salad. Decrease food/water loss overtime, hold your breath underwater longer, resist dysentery, and lengthen the buffs from consumables!
RankFood/Water LossBreath TimerDysentery ChanceBuff DurationFortitude Level Requirement1-5%+24s (84 total)-1%+10%12-10%+24s (108s total)-2%+20%33-15%+24s (132 total)-3%+30%54-20%+24s (156s total)-4%+40%75-25%+24s (180s total)-5%+50%10
Rule 1: Cardio
- Ready for a Triathlon. Increases your stamina regen while running (or while riding a Bicycle). Basically, you can run (and bike) longer.
RankStamina Regen while RunningFortitude Level Requirement1+10%12+20%43+30%7
Fortitude - Weapons (Assault Rifles)
Assault Rifles - The perfect line of versatility. Assault Rifles use 7.62 ammo, have great damage, fast fire rates, good accuracy, large magazine size, and effective ranges from short to semi-far. However, ARs have higher recoil compared to other guns, and rapid fire gradually decreases accuracy with each shot, making them harder to control. Nevertheless, ARs will rarely disappoint.
All Assault Rifles are fully automatic by default, with the exception of the Tactical Assault Rifle. Holding the trigger will continuously fire bullets
The Tactical Assault Rifle is burst fire by default. Tapping the trigger will fire one bullet. Holding the trigger will fire up to three bullets in rapid succession
Pipe Machine Gun
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 30.4-45.6 Damage, 15 Mag Size, 335 Rounds/min (Very Fast), 40m Effective Range, 90m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 100-350 Durability, 3.0s Reload
- MacGuyver's finest work. The Pipe Machine Gun is an early-game rapid-fire assault rifle, which oddly enough, can fit 7.62 ammunition, despite appearing like a machine pistol. Its stats are considerably lower than the rest of the AR family, though its appeal mostly attracts new survivors.
AK-47
- Unlocked: Machine Gunner Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 30.6-55.8 Damage, 26-33 Mag Size, 342-378 Rounds/min (Very Fast), 40-60m Effective Range, 90m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 200-588 Durability, 2.85s Reload
- In prior Alphas, this weapon was cherished as MadMole's greatest gift. In the present-era, the AK-47 still makes for a potent weapon, sporting a greater magazine size and overall better versatility than the Pipe Machine Gun.
Tactical Assault Rifle
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 34.0-62.0 Damage, 26-33 Mag Size, 385-425 Rounds/min (Very Fast), 40m-60m Effective Range, 90m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 180-534 Durability, 2.55s Reload, Comes with Burst Fire
- A unique member of the AR family; the Tactical Assault Rifle puts on a great performance, with better stats compared to the AK-47. Unlike other weapons, the Tactical AR comes with a built-in burst fire. Holding down the trigger releases three shots in rapid succession, and won't fire again until M1 is released and tapped again. Pressing M1 once fires a single bullet, like normal.
M60
- Unlocked: Automatic Weapons Handbook Volume 7 or Schematic
- Tier 3
- Stats: 37.4-68.2 Damage, 52-67 Mag Size, 418-462 Rounds/min (Extremely Fast), 40m-60m Effective Range, 90m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, Good Aim Accuracy, 240-696 Durability, 5.0s Reload
- Another personal favorite, this hulking LMG has the largest magazine of any weapon, and boasts some excellent stats. While it is long-lasting in combat, the M60's weakness lies within a lengthy reload time. May cause war flashbacks.
Fortitude - Weapons (Pugilism)
Pugilism - KO! Fortitude's melee weapon of choice are your own two hands. Knuckles swing fast and cost little stamina, but deal less damage and are lacking in range.
All Fist-weapon damage can be tripled by consuming Beer
Finger Stubs
- Unlocked: About eight weeks into pregnancy
- Primordial
- Stats: 5.0 Damage, 10.0 Power Attack Damage, 60 Attacks/min (Average), Short Range, 10.5 Stamina/swing, 15.8 Stamina/P-swing, Unlimited Durability
- Well... It's better than nothing, but then again, it technically is nothing. For the aspiring Brawler, your bare fists will do poorly, unless combined with a beer buzz. For the most part, you're gonna want something to add to your fists.
Knuckle Wraps
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 6.2-9.3 Damage, 12.4-15.5 Power Attack Damage, 100 Attacks/min (Fast), Short Range, 9.1 Stamina/Attack, 15.5 Stamina/Power Attack, 109-200 Durability
- Better, but not great. Knuckle Wraps are incredibly simple to craft, costing only leather and iron, and are easy to obtain early game. They deal much better damage than your finger stubs, and have faster swing speed than other weapons.
Iron Knuckles
- Unlocked: The Brawler Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 7.7-14.1 Damage, 16.8-23.2 Power Attack Damage, 100 Attacks/min (Fast), Short Range, 9.6 Stamina/Attack, 16.3 Stamina/Power Attack, 385-961 Durability
- Your loan is overdue. The Iron Knuckles are the middle ground for brawling, and are a good weapon for mid-gamestage.
Steel Knuckles
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 11.6-21.1 Damage, 25.2-34.7 Power Attack Damage, 100 Attacks/min (Fast), Short Range, 10.2 Stamina/swing, 17.3 Stamina/P-swing, 577-1346 Durability,
- Brutality reimagined. These knuckles have the best damage, almost on par with other melee weapons! Their blades are also useful for harvesting animals and breaking stuff, like wood and skulls (but mostly skulls).
Fortitude - Playstyle
Overall OpinionDifficulty: Intermediate
Combat Viability: Great (A)
Survival Viability: Excellent (S)
Perk Synergy: Strength or Agility (see Skilltree Synergy below)
Strategy
Pick off targets from any range with your assault rifles
Go berserk and brawl down enemies with your fists
Hunt animals and grow crops for food
Ignore pain and heal slowly overtime
Worry less about food and water
General Playstyle
Fortitude builds are renowned for their versatility and survivability. Fortitude makes use of the AR family of weapons, which are effective at any and all ranges. They have great damage, fast fire rate, well-rounded accuracy, and excellent moddability. Depending on how you play, your combat may range from dynamic and focused to fast-paced and intense.
One of the weaknesses of Fortitude builds, especially early game, is its primary melee weapon. Knuckles are short range and hard to use at first, thus encouraging risky combat. You can greatly improve your damage by drinking beer.
As for surviving, Fortitude significantly improves player vitality and longevity. Perks such as Iron Gut and Pain Tolerance decrease the rate at which you starve, dehydrate, and perish, making each life last longer. Other perks, like The Huntsman and Living off the Land, greatly improve your hunting and farming, surplussing your food supply.
Optimizing Weapon Usage
Assault Rifles - ARs are accurate when aimed, inaccurate when hipfired. How you fire is very dependent on an enemy's distance. If they're far away, aim your shots and go for the head. If they're too close for comfort, don't feel the immediate need to aim down sights. Try not to spray and pray (unless you get jumpscared). 7.62 ammunition is more expensive to craft, and spraying an enemy down is often ineffective. Instead, shoot the enemy's torso once to stun them momentarily, giving you the chance to aim for a headshot. Always go for the head, whenever possible.
Knuckles - Your fist weapons are best used to take out single, weaker targets, as to conserve ammo. If you REALLY feel like going berserk, however, your best option is to booze up. Drinking beer will triple your brawling damage, allowing you to punch hordes to death. It's risky combat, but it's a feeling that'll make you melt.
Surviving
As mentioned, the Fortitude skilltree is all about survival. You'll never be out of food or water again. With food still in mind, the perk Living off the Land improves your farming harvest and efficiency. You can craft farm plots cheaper and get much more yield from crops. The perk The Huntsman greatly increases the amount of meat, fat, and other resources you get from skinning animals.
Perks like Iron Gut will decrease the rate at which you starve and dehydrate, while also giving you a lesser chance to contract to dysentery. Well Insulated gives built-in insulation points to both the heat and cold, which can help immensely depending on where you roam.
Finally, the perk Healing Factor allows you to heal slowly overtime, so long as you aren't starving or dehydrated. It also speeds up the healing rate of critical injuries, like abrasions and concussions!
Blood Moons
Early game, you're very limited for options. Your best friend will likely be the Pipe Machine Gun, paired with a few mags worth of ammunition. Before you find out the hard way, let me tell you that your fists will not do much against a blood moon horde this early. That being said, you will be mostly reliant on your Assault Rifle of choice.
Remember to use your ammo sparingly, especially early-game, and even when you can craft ammo in bulk. It's best to be stingy with your ammo; since your AR is your one ranged weapon, you're gonna wanna make sure you don't fry all your bullets before the horde is over.
Try the following tactics:
Keep those heads rolling! Try your best to go for only headshots (remember the aforementioned "shoot the torso" tactic). Mod your AR to have a red dot sight (or scope, if you prefer). If you're still early game, try to use as little ammo as possible. If you've reached late game, and can craft 7.62 ammo in bulk, don't be afraid to burst a little on tougher enemies. Utilize ammo types as well, such as hollowpoint, or better yet, armor piercing rounds. Your assault rifles will be your best and only friend when the horde comes, so put some trust in them!
Forbidden Move. When all else fails, you're out of ammo, and you're ready to kiss your αss goodbye, there is only one option. Booze yourself up and do your best to beat the horde to death. I only recommend you try this when you have a good armor set and weapon, alongside plenty of first aid. Beer will also give you stun immunity, making it more effective when you take multiple hits. It's also good to stack other drugs or candies, like Skull Crushers or Health Bars, for those extra stat ups.
Skilltree Synergy
What perks mix best with Fortitude?
Previously, Fortitude had the Heavy Armor perk, and Healing Factor granted even more insane healing, which made it arguably the best skilltree in the game. Though the Fortitude skilltree is still very strong, a great build needs reliable armor. Strength and Agility both have armor perks, as well as unique advantages over the other. The choice is based on your preference to playstyle.
I mentioned this before, but Strength and Fortitude really compliment each other. Heavy Armor is great for creating a full-pledged tank build, with the bonus of having ARs. In addition, Master Chef has great synergy, as Fortitude's perks help considerably in acquiring raw food materials. The perks Miner 69'er, Sexual Tyrannosaurus, and Mother Lode are also extremely beneficial, improving your resource gain and melee combat. I highly recommend you pick them up, no matter what build you go for.
If you enjoy fast-paced action, Agility is a great skilltree to mix with Fortitude. Though stealth sounds gimmicky with ARs, the perks Light Armor and Run and Gun can improve your fast-combat potential, allowing you to stay mobile and hipfire at will. Flurry of Blows also works great with brawling.
Fortitude - Gameplay Montage
https://youtu.be/RVGA97VyEhY
Wanna see how a Fortitude build plays like, in glorious montage fashion? Check out this edit-heavy, combat-focused series of clips I've made, spiced with some music from MGR Revengeance!
If you like my 7 Days video, consider subscribing and leaving a comment! The better feedback I get from this video, the more likely I'll do montages for every attribute (Strength, Agility, etc...)!
The Agility Skilltree
The unseen strike, swift and deadly. The Agility Skilltree specializes in stealth and mobility, allowing the player to move more fluidly and avoid enemies. When they need to fight, Agility players are experts in archery, handguns, and knives, while also utilizing light armor. As an alternative to loud combat, Agility specs into stealth, allowing the player to deal greater damage without alerting other enemies.
Agility starts at Level 1. As the Agility Tree is leveled up, the headshot damage and dismember chance of bows, handguns, and knives is increased. Headshot damage starts at +100% (double damage), and each level increases it by +10% (+15% for levels 9 and 10), up to a maximum of +200% (triple damage) at level 10. Dismemberment chance starts at +5%, and each level increases it by +5%, up to a maximum of +50% at level 10.
As Agility level increases, so does the amount of skillpoints required. Levels 2-5 cost one point, levels 6-8 cost two, and levels 9-10 cost three. Agility can be increased by one level for free with Ski Goggles, an uncommon clothing item.
RankHeadshot DamageDismemberment ChanceSkillpoints Required1+100%+5%02+110%+10%13+120%+15%14+130%+20%15+140%+25%16+150%+30%27+160%+35%28+175%+40%29+190%+45%310+200%+50%3
Agility - Combat Perks
Archery
- Right between the eyes. Get better damage, handling, reload and draw speed with all bows and crossbows. Unlocks new bow/crossbow crafting recipes, and improves their crafting quality.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageHandlingReload/Draw SpeedCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityAgility Level Requirement1+10%+20%+10%+10%Wooden Bow and Iron Crossbow212+20%+40%+20%+20%N/A333+30%+60%+30%+30%N/A454+40%+80%+40%+40%N/A575+50%+100%+50%+50%N/A510
Handling - The rate at which your accuracy stabilizes (reaches its highest value) before and after firing.
Gunslinger
- High noon. Master the use of handguns such as pistols, revolvers, and the SMG. Each rank improves damage, fire rate, reload speed, lowers spread, and unlocks a unique ability: Critical Damage. Unlocks new handgun recipes, and improves their crafting quality.
RankEntity DamageBlock DamageFire RateReload SpeedIncremental SpreadSpecial AbilityCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityAgility Level Requirement1+10%+20%+5%+10%-5%N/APistol212+20%+40%+10%+15%-10%N/AN/A333+30%+60%+15%+20%-15%Critical Damage - 5 ShotsN/A454+40%+80%+20%+25%-20%Critical Damage - 4 ShotsN/A575+50%+100%+25%+30%-25%Critical Damage - 3 ShotsN/A510
Critical Damage - After landing 5/4/3 successful shots, the last shot will do +100% damage.
Incremental Spread - How much accuracy is lost while and after firing. Lowering this value helps stabilize accuracy.
Deep Cuts
- Bleeding like a stuck pig. Inflict Bleeding Wounds with all knives and machetes, while increasing their damage. Each rank increases the maximum number of Bleeding Wound stacks, while adding new debuff applications.
RankEntity/Block DamageMax Bleeding StacksPower Attack Bleeding StacksGlancing Blow Bleeding ChanceDebuff while BleedingCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityAgility Level Requirement1+10%32N/A-10% Movespeed. Every attack refreshes bleeding duration.Hunting Knife212+20%43N/A-10% MovespeedN/A333+30%5440%-15% MovespeedN/A454+40%6470%-15% MovespeedN/A575+50%75100%-20% MovespeedN/A510
Bleeding Wounds - Every bleeding wound causes an enemy to lose 1 health per second, for 20 seconds. By default, normal attacks with knives cause 1 wound, and power attacks cause 2, with 2 bleeding stacks maximum. Each stack of bleeding increases the damage done overtime (2 stacks will cause 2 damage per second). Bleed damage ignores armor.
Glancing Blows - When you hit an enemy you weren't necessarily aiming at. Hitting an enemy just within your reach (at the end of the swing hitbox) is a glancing blow.
Light Armor
- Float like a butterfly... Specialize in light armor, improving its durability and greatly decreasing its stamina and movespeed penalty. Unlocks new light armor crafting and improves its crafting quality.
RankMovespeed PenaltyStamina PenaltyDurabilityCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityAgility Level Requirement1-15%-10%+50%Leather Armor212-30%-20%+100%N/A333-50%-35%+150%N/A454-75%-50%+200%N/A57
Run and Gun
- Spray and Pray. Improves your hipfire accuracy with all firearms, and decreases the movement speed penalty of reloading.
RankHipfire AccuracyReloading Movespeed PenaltyAgility Level Requirement1+10%-30%11+17%-60%43+25%-100%7
Flurry of Blows
- Seeing stars. Each rank increases the attack speed of clubs, brawling, knives, and stun batons.
RankMelee Attack SpeedAgility Level Requirement1+10%12+17%43+25%. Bonus: +30 Stamina on Melee Kills7
Agility - Athletics/Stealth Perks
Parkour
- Jump! Increases the height of jumping and safe fall distance. Also reduces the stamina cost of jumping, and later ranks grant you unbreakable legs.
RankSafe Fall DistanceJump HeightJump Stamina CostSpecial AbilityAgility Level Requirement1+1m (6m Total)1m-10%N/A12+1m (7m Total)2m-20%N/A43+2m (9m Total)2m-30%Never get a broken leg while falling64+2m (11m Total)3m-40%Never get a sprained or broken leg while falling8
Note: Ranks 3 and 4 only protect breaking/spraining legs from falling. You can still get a broken or sprained leg from combat, even with these ranks unlocked.
Safe Fall Distance - By default, the player can fall 6m without any harm. At 7m, At 7m, the player starts taking damage, and has a 25% chance to sprain their leg. Each additional meter increases the odds of spraining a leg by +25%. At 8m, the player has a 20% chance to break their leg, which increases by +20% for every meter over 8. Having a sprained, sprinted, or broken leg lowers all distances by 2m. See Fall Damage Mechanics for more info.
Jumping - By default, the player can jump 1m, and jumping costs 20 stamina.
Hidden Strike
- ...sting like a bee. Greatly increases the damage bonus from stealth strikes.
RankStealth DamageAgility Level Requirement1+50% (+100% Total)12+50% (+150% Total)33+50% (+200% Total)54+50% (+250% Total)75+50% (+300% Total)10
Stealth Damage - When crouched and no enemies are aware of your presence, attacks will deal +50% damage by default.
From the Shadows
- Super sneaky. Enhances your stealthing ability. Each rank improves the effectiveness of hiding in the dark, muffles the noise of all actions, increases crouch speed, and decreases the time enemies will search for you.
RankVisibilityNoiseSneak MovespeedZombie Search PeriodAgility Level Requirement1-13%-10%+10%50s12-26%-20%+20%40s33-39%-30%+30%30s54-52%-40%+40%25s75-65%-50%+50%20s10
Stealth Explained - While crouching, a bar will appear above your stamina meter. This measures your total stealth, through a combination of your visibility and noise. The lower this value is, the harder it is for zombies to detect you.
Standing still improves stealth ability.
Hiding in the darkness greatly improves stealth. Bright light from the environment will decrease your stealth ability.
All noises you create affect your stealth. This includes footsteps, hitting blocks, gunshots, reloading, and looting. Some guns create more or less noise than others. Stepping on trash piles will create more noise.
By default, when enemies are alerted, they will search the origin of noise for up to 60s. If they cannot detect where the noise came from, they wander at random. Stay quiet, and zombies won't become alert. If they begin to wander, stay hidden and wait for them to lose attention.
See Agility - Stealth for more in-depth info.
Agility - Weapons (Handguns)
Handguns- The Gunslinger incarnate. Of all the skilltrees, Agility has the widest ranges of options for ranged weaponry. Handguns include pistols, the rapid-firing SMG, and the .44 handcannons Magnum Revolver and Desert Vulture.
All Pistols are semi-automatic by default, with the exception of the SMG-5. Holding the trigger will fire only one bullet
The SMG-5 is fully automatic by default. Holding the trigger will continuously fire bullets
Pipe Pistol
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 25.6-38.4 Damage, 6 Clip Size, 126 Rounds/Min (Average), 12m Effective Range, 40m Max Range, Good Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 75-135 Durability, 5.5s Reload
- A crude revolver, loaded with 9mm ammunition. The Pipe Pistol is the earliest obtainable weapon for those making new Agility builds, though its performance is lackluster, limited by a small clip size and a long reload.
Pistol
- Unlocked: Gunslinger Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 25.5-46.5 Damage, 13-16 Mag Size, 171-189 Rounds/min (Fast), 14-21m Effective Range, 50m Max Range, Good Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 200-492 Durability, 2.0s Reload
- With all around decent stats, the pistol makes a trusty weapon for early game combat. It can take out most weak enemies with a headshot. When equipped with a silencer, you're looking at an effective stealth weapon.
.44 Magnum
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 59.5-108.5 Damage, 6 Clip Size, 95-105 Rounds/min (Average), 20-30m Effective Range, 70m Max Range, Good Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 120-324 Durability, 4.0s Reload
- Though its only a Tier 2 weapon, the Magnum can deal some of the highest damage of any firearm, and will blow your head clean off. In addition, this revolver sports some high accuracy and range. The Magnum's limits, however, are its low clip size of 6 and lengthy reload time. It is also very loud and benefits less from silencers.
SMG-5
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 28.1-51.2 Damage, 26-33 Mag Size, 456-504 Rounds/min (Extremely Fast), 24-36m Effective Range, 65m Max Range, Good Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 280-756 Durability, 4.0s Reload
- Unique to the other handguns, this Submachine Gun has the fastest fire rate of any weapon. Its damage and utility makes it an excellent weapon to use with an Agility build, especially when combined with Gunslinger ranked up.
.44 Desert Vulture
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 57.8-105.4 Damage, 8-9 Mag Size, 123-136 Rounds/min (Fast), 20-30m Effective Range, 50m Max Range, Good Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 200-444 Durability, 2.0s Reload
- The Desert Vulture serves as a Tier 3 alternative to the SMG-5. Its damage may be slightly lower than the Magnum, but its reload speed and mag size are superior. In addition, it can use silencer mods, but is still very loud. With stealth or not, this little handcannon will annihilate anything you point it at.
Agility - Weapons (Archery)
Archery- Bows may only be single-shot, but they are the most silent of any ranged weapon, while dealing average to good damage. Apart from the usual hitscan of other weapons, arrows are shot as projectiles. In addition, all bows and crossbows gain additional sneak damage.
All Bows and Crossbows have +200% Sneak Damage
All Bows and Crossbows can only hold one arrow / bolt
Primitive Bow
- Unlocked: By default
- Primitive
- Stats: 29.0-43.5 Damage, 31.5m/s Projectile Velocity, 20m Effective Range, 100m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, Good Aim Accuracy, 60-150 Durability, 0.9s Reload
- Baby's first ranged weapon. The Primitive Bow is incredibly easy to craft, only requiring wood and plant fibers. However, it is also a very poor-performing weapon, dealing low damage and having a slow projectile speed.
Wooden Bow
- Unlocked: Archery Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 29.8-54.3 Damage, 41.4-48.6m/s Projectile Velocity, 16-24m Effective Range, 100m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, Good Aim Accuracy, 144-379 Durability, 0.9s Reload
- A more refined bow, this piece will do better damage and has a faster projectile velocity. If you're lucky enough to find some Bow/Crossbow parts, it's also relatively simple to craft.
Iron Crossbow
- Unlocked: Archery Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 42.5-77.5 Damage, 55.4-66.2m/s Projectile Velocity, 20-30m Effective Range, 100m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 80-216 Durability, 2.8s Reload
- As an alternative to the Wooden Bow, this Iron Crossbow is a similarly-built weapon. It deals greater damage and shoots faster projectiles, but takes more time to reload, as opposed to the quick draw of bows. Unlike the other bows, this weapon has actual ironsights, making it easier to aim.
Compound Bow
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 37.5-68.4 Damage, 50.4-57.6m/s Projectile Velocity, 24-36m Effective Range, 100m Max Range, Average Hipfire Accuracy, High Aim Accuracy, 160-432 Durability, 0.9s Reload
- A very strong bow, capable of high damage and projectile speeds. The Compound Bow is unique to the other bows, having a greater zoom magnifier and ironsights. With these features, the Compound Bow can make an excellent choice for long range.
Compound Crossbow
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 54.0-98.4 Damage, 62.1-72.9 Projectile Velocity, 20-30m Effective Range, 100m Max Range, Low Hipfire Accuracy, Very High Aim Accuracy, 96-269 Durability, 2.8s Reload
- A mechanical beauty, and a powerful weapon. The Compound Crossbow deals the highest damage of any bow, but is also the slowest to reload. Its ironsights and high accuracy make it a very effective weapon for long ranges.
Agility - Weapons (Blades)
Knives and Blades- For melee weapons, Agility builds specialize in razor-sharp blades. Knives may deal lower damage and have less range than other melees, but attack much faster, cost less stamina, and can apply stackable bleeding wounds to enemies, causing them to lose health overtime (see the perk Deep Cuts under Agility - Combat Perks).
Normal attacks with Blades afflict enemies with one stack of Bleed. Power attacks inflict two stacks of Bleed
Each stack of Bleed deals 1 Damage per second, ignoring armor, for 20 seconds. By default, a maximum of two Bleed stacks can be applied to one enemy. Bleed stacks can be improved by the perk Deep Cuts All Blades have +400% sneak damage
Blades are the fastest tool for skinning animals
Bone Knife
- Unlocked: By default
- Primitive
- Stats: 5.1-7.7 Damage, 20.4-26.0 Power Attack Damage, 120 Attacks/min (Very Fast), Short Range, 7.3 Stamina/Attack, 10.9 Stamina/Power Attack, 120-220 Durability
- A poor weapon for direct combat, but a reasonable choice for stealth strikes. The Bone Knife can be crafted very early game, as long as you can kill an animal. You're best off looking for an upgrade.
Hunting Knife
- Unlocked: Deep Cuts Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 5.2-9.5 Damage, 22.4-30.9 Power Attack Damage, 120 Attacks/min (Very Fast), Short Range, 8.2 Stamina/Attack, 12.3 Stamina/Power Attack, 462-1154 Durability
- Dealing better damage than the bone knife, this Hunting Knife makes a better weapon for stealth strikes. It is a reasonable choice when it comes to direct combat, but don't expect it to save you every time your stealth goes awry.
Candy Cane Knife
- Unlocked: Looting Only During Christmas
- Tier 1
- Stats: 5.6-10.2 Damage, 24.6-33.9 Power Attack Damage, 120 Attacks/min (Very Fast), Short Range, 8.2 Stamina/Attack, 12.3 Stamina/Power Attack, 460-1200 Durability
- Someone sucked this candy cane into a sharpened blade for you! Woohoo! The Candy Cane Knife is a slightly improved version of the Hunting Knife; use it to celebrate Christmas and slice your enemies!
Machete
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 16.8-30.7 Damage, 36.6-50.5 Power Attack Damage, 55 Attacks/min (Average), Average Range, 19.2 Stamina/Attack, 32.7 Stamina/Power Attack, 288-673 Durability
- With stats considerably greater than the knives, the Machete is a macabre testament to melee weapons. It deals much better damage at longer range, but is more costly to stamina and swings slower. Excellent for both stealth and loud combat.
Agility - Light Armor
As mentioned in Agility - Combat Perks, the Agility skilltree specs into light armor, improving its durability and decreasing its stamina and movespeed penalty. Light armor has a lower armor rating than heavy armor, but has a lower stamina and movespeed penalty, while also being much quieter. For the aspiring stealth players, light armor can provide protection in the event that you get caught.
How Armor Stats Work:
Armor Rating refers to your direct damage resistance
For example, 50 Armor Rating means you take 50% less damage from attacks (capped at 90)
Explosion Resist works the same way, but applies to only explosive and splash damage (likewise capped at 90)Crit Resist increases the chance you will resist receiving a critical hit, such as abrasions and sprains, while fighting zombies
Stamina/s (Regen) refers to how much less stamina is regenerated while not running
Stamina/s (Drain) refers to how much additional stamina is drained while running
Mobility refers to how much an armor pierce decreases your movement speed
Noise refers to how much additional noise you make when performing actions. This is an important stat for stealth
Durability refers to the number of hits armor can take before breaking. Once armor breaks, it will have 0 stats until it is repaired
Each armor set has five pieces, all of which carry the same stats. The stats below are per piece of armor.
Cloth Armor
- Unlocked: By default
- Tier 1
- Stats: 5.1-7.3 Armor Rating, 5.1-7.3 Explosion Resist, +4.1% Crit Resist, 75-150 Durability, No Penalties to Movespeed, Stamina, or Noise
- Crafted from cloth, this armor set grants semi-decent protection against attacks. It is especially useful for stealthing, as it is the only armor set that does not have a noise penalty. At the risk of having low armor value, you gain the reward of greatly improved stealth.
Leather Armor
- Unlocked: Light Armor Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 2
- Stats: 5.3-10.2 Armor Rating, 5.3-10.2 Explosion Resist, +4.3-5.3% Crit Resist, 110-225 Durability, -2.81% Stamina/s (Regen), +5.62% Stamina/s (Drain), -4% Mobility, +10% Noise
- Though it has improved stats compared to padded armor, Leather Armor has penalties to stamina, mobility, and noise, as do all other armor sets. However, compared to heavy armor, these penalties are much smaller, making Leather Armor a great option to mix between stealth and resistance.
Military Armor
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 6.2-12.2 Armor Rating, 6.2-12.2 Explosion Resist, +5.0-6.1% Crit Resist, 200-400 Durability, -2.81% Stamina/s (Regen), +5.62% Stamina/s (Drain), -4% Mobility, +10% Noise
- Standard issue ballistic armor, given to soldiers. Granting the best armor rating out of any light armor, Military Armor makes for the best balance between stealth and protection.
Military Stealth Boots
- Unlocked: Urban Combat Vol 1
- Tier 3
- Stats: 6.2-12.2 Armor Rating, 6.2-12.2 Explosion Resist, +5.0-6.1% Crit Resist, 200-400 Durability, No Stamina Penalty, -4% Mobility, No Noise Penalty
- With stats equal to its normal military armor equivalent, these Stealth Boots have the added bonus of no noise nor stamina penalty. This makes it an optimal choice for remaining quiet. They cannot be found in loot, and must be crafted.
Santa Hat
- Unlocked: Looting Only During Christmas
- Tier 2
- Stats: 5.3-10.2 Armor Rating, 5.3-10.2 Explosion Resist, +4.3-5.3% Crit Resist, 75-150 Durability, No Penalties to Movespeed, Stamina, or Noise, +21.5-25.5 Cold Insulation,
- Merry Christmas! Show off your holiday cheer with this authentic santa hat! Forget all your troubles; they'll be miles away when you put this on!
Football Helmet
- Unlocked: Looting Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 7.5-10.7 Armor Rating, 7.5-10.7 Explosion Resist, +5.4% Crit Resist, 110-225 Durability, -2.81% Stamina/s (Regen), +5.62% Stamina/s (Drain), -4% Mobility, +10% Noise
- The Football Helmet is a lootable, miscellaneous piece, often found in schools and lockers. It has stats slightly better to that of the Leather Hood. If you find one early, you've found a decent piece of early-game armor. Go Navezgane!
Mining Helmet
- Unlocked: The Art of Mining Vol 7
- Tier 2
- Stats: 7.5-10.7 Armor Rating, 7.5-10.7 Explosion Resist, +5.4% Crit Resist, 110-225 Durability, -2.81% Stamina/s (Regen), +5.62% Stamina/s (Drain), -4% Mobility, +10% Noise, Comes with Helmet Light
- The Mining Helmet has stats similar to the Football Helmet, with the addition of having a built-in helmet light. The helmet light provides modest radiance, and can be activated with F. Keep in mind that your visibility is affected negatively by the light, decreasing your stealth.
Agility - Stealth
Better than any other class, Agility builds take advantage of the stealth mechanic. Stealth allows you to remain undetected, as well as muffling the noises of all actions. Stealth allows you to deal extra damage to unaware enemies, often killing them in one shot, or at least greatly weakening them.
The Stealth Meter
While crouched, stealth mode activates, and a new bar appears on your UI, above your health and stamina. This bar shows a hybrid measurement of your visibility and noise. The value directly converts into the distance at which enemies can detect you. The higher the value, the further zombies will find you. The smaller the value, the closer you have to be for them to detect you. At 0, you are completely undetectable (until you make noise).
The environment affects your stealth greatly. Hiding in the darkness will dramatically decrease your visibility, while hiding in the light will increase your visibility. While stealthing, avoid lights and coming into contact with enemies. For riskier but more effective gameplay, enter points of interests at night.
Tip: Points of interest will randomly generate active floodlights, light bulbs, and other sources of light. It is best to avoid these while stealthing, but they can be destroyed with a pickaxe or a silenced pistol (may take a few shots depending on block health.
In addition, staying still for a few seconds will further decrease your visibility. Moving again will increase it. Other actions, like aiming down sights, can increase your visibility. You can also "sneak-sprint" by sprinting while crouched. You will move faster but make slightly more noise.
How much noise you make also affects your stealth. Though noises are muffled while in stealth mode, your visibility will be increased by performing certain actions. These actions include making footsteps, aiming, shooting, reloading, looting, opening doors, and hitting tiles. Noise will not be increased by swinging weapons or power attacking.
Tip: Points of interest will often have small, breakable piles of trash laying around (glass shards, trash piles, and paper shreds. Avoid stepping on these, as they will make more noise than regular footsteps. Try to maneuver around or break these hazards.
Noise stacks with multiple actions. Actions such as walking too quickly causes multiple sounds from your footsteps to add up, lowering your stealth. It is imperative that you take your time to let each sound decay, allowing you to retain stealth. Try to "flutter step," by tapping W. Monitor your stealth while crouch walking in order to maintain maximum stealth.
Sneak Damage
While in stealth, enemies that are unaware of your presence will take bonus damage from all of your attacks. By default, this value is +50%, and can be increased with certain weapons, perks, and books. With a good weapon and modifiers, you can reach up to 8x (and higher) damage, which will often kill enemies in one shot.
Weapons - Bows and Crossbows have +200% sneak damage. Knives and the Machete have +400%.
Perks - Hidden Strike increases base sneak damage by up to +250%.
Books - The Night Stalker is a set of volumes specializing in dealing extra sneak damage, especially at night.
In the event that an enemy does not die in one hit to a stealth attack, they will momentarily search the area they last heard noise from. During this search period, your stealth attacks will be on cooldown for that specific enemy. The search period is 60s by default, but can be decreased to 20s with the perk From the Shadows.
Improving Stealth
Most armor sets (with the exception of Cloth Armor) will increase the amount of noise you make for all actions. To optimize your stealthing capabilities, unequip all armor. If the heat gets too high, put your armor back on and go loud.
In opposition, some clothing items can increase your stealth. The Ghillie Suit, which can be crafted after completing the Sniper series, decreases your base visibility and muffles noise from all actions. Combined with the From the Shadows perk, you can reach a visibility of zero.
Because light should be avoided, and you're going to be stealthing mostly at night, it can be hard to see enemies ahead. Your best choice to resolve this is by using Night Vision Goggles, which can be found most often in military loot and from traders. Night vision will give you full lighting, while not increasing your visibility.
Stealth against Enemies
When invading points of interest, zombies will always spawn as sleepers. Sleepers will not wake up until they are alerted by sufficient noise or light (or when you get too close). The most important thing you need to know is that sleeping zombies will make noises when close to waking up. If you hear a sleeper make a soft groan or snore, they are becoming alert and will soon wake up! Stop moving, and wait for them to calm down before approaching any further.
When you've found a sleeper, make a decision on how to kill them. If they're alone and in an open spot, make a slow approach, and use your melee to quickly dispatch them. If they're among a crowd with multiple zombies, using melee is too risky. Instead, find a corner or dark spot to hide in, and snipe them out with your bow. Start with the weakest zombies, then make your way up to the toughest.
If a zombie becomes alert, they will actively search the last spot they heard noise from. For example, if you shoot a zombie while stealthed, but don't kill them immediately, the zombie will search the area you were last in. Make a slow retreat and find a new spot to hide. It is vital you do this as to remain hidden.
Alert zombies will also make specific sounds when they have detected you. Once you are detected, stealth damage no longer applies. Listen closely for zombie speech patterns, as to know when to fight. You do not always need to stand up when this happens. Standing up in a fight will greatly increase the chance of alerting the room.
Occasionally, zombies will be hiding in closets and behind breakaway doors. You will have to open these, whether it be by breaking it or making sufficient noise. Rocks will not awake sleeping zombies. You can always break open these doors with an arrow, without alerting the zombie inside.
Rocks and Stealth
Rocks can be used as distractions on alert zombies. This can provide you with a massive advantage, especially in close corridors, where the odds of you bumping into an enemy are likely.
When you alert a zombie, and they start chasing after you, try to get as much distance as possible. Close doors behind you, and find a hiding spot. Once your stealth is up, and the zombie does not have direct sights on you, toss out a rock to distract them. They will walk towards the spot the rock landed, and will become oblivious to your presence, as long as you stay hidden. Utilize this situation to either evade or kill the threat.
A very important note to consider: Rocks only work on awake zombies. If you throw a rock at a sleeper, even if you hit them, they will not wake up. Sleepers and jumpscare zombies (ones behind closets) will only wake up through significant light or noise.
Agility - Playstyle
Overall OpinionDifficulty: Hard
Combat Viability: Excellent (S)
Survival Viability: Poor (D)
Best Perk Synergy: Strength and Fortitude (see Skilltree Synergy below)
Strategy
Two modes of combat
Stealth Combat
Crouch and stay hidden to deal extra stealth damage
Utilize knives and bows for their low noise and higher stealth damage multiplier
Hide in dark places, locate escape points
Unequip armor to further decrease noise, if necessary Loud Combat
Break out louder weapons to take care of a crowd
Utilize high-caliber handcannons or the fast-firing SMG-5
Equip Light Armor to stay mobile and protected
Reload without movement penalty
General Playstyle
The Agility skilltree is the most mechanically complex of all the other attributes. With two ways to fight enemies, Agility builds are fully primed for combat. Stealth allows you to remain undetected and sneak by threats. While in Stealth, you deal greater damage and have a lesser chance of being hit by enemies.
If you're caught sneaking, and need to go loud, you can break out powerful, high-caliber weapons that will send your enemies back to the grave. In combat, Agility builds are highly mobile and fluid, able to reload at full movement and jump incredible heights. Light Armor provides further protection without slowing you down as much.
While Agility may seem like heaven's God-sent warrior, it has one major flaw. The Agility tree has no perks for survivability. While this may not be a problem to a veteran player, Agility builds alone miss out on bonus resource gain. To fully maximize your potential, you're best off investing into other skilltrees.
Optimizing Weapon Usage
Bows and Crossbows - These weapons are intended to be your ranged choice for stealth missions, though they still make great weapons for open combat. Bows are silent, and deal even greater bonus damage while sneaking. If you find a dark spot to hide, try picking off as many enemies as you can see with your bows.
Pistol - If used with a silencer, pistols are a good option for stealth missions. In the event that you are caught by a single enemy, and you still don't want to alert the horde, a silenced pistol will do the job against one enemy, much better than a bow. Bows only hold one arrow/bolt, so a pistol with a full magazine can quickly dispatch a zombie. If unsilenced, pistols will still make a decent weapon against most targets.
SMG-5 - Though it can be silenced, I recommend using the SMG for loud combat. Its fast fire rate gives it great synergy with the perk Gunslinger, which can trigger multiple critical hits in quick succession. The SMG's large clip size also allows it to take out large crowds with relative ease.
.44 Magnum and Desert Vulture - Even when silenced, these weapons are still very loud, so I would recommend against using them for stealth. No, the Magnum and Desert Vulture are much more suitable for loud combat. These .44 handcannons deal extremely high amounts of damage, making them optimal against high-health targets. If used with AP rounds, and in tight chokepoints like corridors, you can kill multiple enemies with one shot.
Blades - Lower tier knives like the Bone Knife and Hunting Knife are best used for stealth, but can be used in direct combat if need be. The Machete is the best option for both loud combat and stealth. While stealthed, use knives to deal massive sneak damage, often taking out enemies with one hit. When in loud combat, stab the hell out of your enemy, stacking as many bleeding wounds as possible. The perk Deep Cuts can increase bleeding stacks and blade combat potential. After inflicting 28 stab wounds, use your mobility to evade your enemy, and let them slowly bleed out. Think hit and run-type playstyle.
Stealth
See the previous section, Agility - Stealth for information on stealthing.
Surviving
Agility has no initial perks for surviving. Depending on how many hours you have in 7 Days to Die, most of your surviving in an Agility build will rely on your own gamesense.
The least I can say, other than basically telling you to get good, is that Agility builds can rely on looting for resources. By stealthing through points of interest, engaging in combat or not, you can open containers and find some goodies to help you thrive.
Blood Moons
First thing's first. Stealth will not help you on horde night! Zombies automatically have your scent and will track you down, no matter your visibility. You have to rely on loud combat only.
Early game, you're likely to have found a pipe pistol with a few rounds. Be resourceful with your ammo, and try going for headshots to quickly eliminate zombies. If you run out of ammo, you'll be able to fall back on your bows. They may be single shot, but they'll help you last.
When late game arrives, and you have a few more perks and guns, you'll be more set for fighting the horde. Follow these tactics and never feel fear again.
Use your SMG-5 for crowds. The SMG is fast firing and deals excellent DPS. Easily drop a crowd by spraying them down. Even the tankier targets won't survive a barrage of 9mm from the SMG, especially with Gunslinger ranked up.
Utilize ammo types for bows and crossbows. Explosive arrows are excellent at single-target elimination and crowd control, whereas flaming arrows are good for dealing a bit of extra damage to a single target.
Use .44 weapons to blast high-priority targets. Fat cops and irradiated zombies can take a beating. Use your most powerful weapons to take down the most powerful zombies. And of course, always try for headshots. You want to deal the most damage, right?
Ascend to Godhood. If you're feeling ballsy, the movement you can gain from the Agility skilltree can actually let you fight a horde without a base. I only recommend you try this if you have Run and Gun maxed out, and Urban Combat Vol 6 read (combat adrenaline). In addition, with Parkour maxed out, you can even jump over enemies. Though it is extremely risky, it's an incredible feeling, and a whole new way to take on the horde.
Skilltree Synergy
What perks mix best with Agility?
Because of Agility's low base stats for survival, I recommend going with Fortitude. The Fortitude tree has a plethora of perks for acquiring food, water, and supplies. Agility is already specialized highly into combat, so there's no need to branch off into other trees specifically for combat.
If you want to live up to the fullest extent of a stealth master, also consider grabbing Lucky Looter and Lockpicker from the Perception tree. Not only will your looting experience improve, but you can remain hidden while opening locked containers.
As for every build, I recommend picking up Mother Lode, Sexual Tyrannosaurus and Miner 69'er from the Strength tree. These perks are extremely good for early game progression, and will help you immensely in gathering the main resources you need.
The Intellect Skilltree
Knowledge is power. In opposition to other builds, the Intellect Skilltree is made for support builds, granting you and your allies greater combat potential and game progression. Intellect builds unlock stun batons, which can electrocute and disable enemies, as well as automatic robotic turrets. While outside of combat, the Intellect skilltree helps in bartering with traders, getting better quest loot, improving healing with medicine, and boosting crafting speeds.
Intellect starts at Level 1. As the Intellect Tree is leveled up, the headshot damage and dismember chance of stun batons and robotic turrets is increased. Headshot damage starts at +100% (double damage), and each level increases it by +10% (+15% for levels 9 and 10), up to a maximum of +200% (triple damage) at level 10. Dismemberment chance starts at +5%, and each level increases it by +5%, up to a maximum of +50% at level 10.
As Intellect level increases, so does the amount of skillpoints required. Levels 2-5 cost one point, levels 6-8 cost two, and levels 9-10 cost three. Intellect can be increased by one level for free with Nerdy Glasses, an uncommon clothing item.
RankHeadshot DamageDismemberment ChanceSkillpoints Required1+100%+5%02+110%+10%13+120%+15%14+130%+20%15+140%+25%16+150%+30%27+160%+35%28+175%+40%29+190%+45%310+200%+50%3
Intellect - Combat Perks
BONUS:Robotics Inventor
- Use more gun. Enhances the combat prowess of all robotic turrets. Each rank increases their damage, fire rate, magazine size, and active deploy range, while also improving the crafting quality of all turrets.
RankEntity/Block DamageFire Rate (SledgeFire Rate (Turret)Magazine SizeActive Deploy RadiusCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityIntellect Level Requirement1+10%+12.5%+30%+10+4m (14m Total) Robotic Sledge232+20%+25%+70%+20+1m (15m Total)N/A353+30%+37.5+110%+30+1m (16m Total)N/A464+40%+50%+150%+40+1m (17m Total)N/A585+40%+50%+150%+50+1m (18m Total) Deploy up to two active turretsN/A510
Turrets Syndrome - By default, the player can deploy one turret, which remains active as long as you are within 10m. The turret can also be wielded like a gun, but becomes much more inaccurate, and has a hefty recoil.
Electrocutioner
- BZZAP. Improves the damage of the Stun Baton, as well as increasing the duration it electrocutes enemies. Increases the crafting quality of stun batons.
RankDamageBlock DamageStun DurationCrafting UnlocksCrafting QualityIntellect Level Requirement1+10%+20%+1s (5s Total)Stun Baton212+20%+40%+1s (6s Total)N/A333+30%+60%+1s (7s Total)N/A454+40%+80%+1s (8s Total)N/A575+50%+100%+1s (9s Total)N/A510
Electrocution - Stun Batons build charges by attacking enemies.
Normal attacks build 1 Charge
Power attacks build 2 ChargesUpon reaching 4 Charges, the Stun Baton will glow and emit electricity. Hitting an enemy will consume 3 Charges and Electrocute them.
Electrocution deals 6 damage per second for a default duration of 4 seconds
Electrocuted enemies cannot attack nor move
Electrocuting an enemy again resets the durationNote that hitting a tile will cause you to lose all charges. Missing attacks or switching weapons does not consume any charges.
Intellect - Support/Crafting Perks
BONUS:Better Barter
- Cha-ching! Thanks, buddy. Increases the amount of Dukes you get from selling goods, while decreasing the price of buying goods. Later ranks will unlock better secret stashes from all traders.
RankBarteringSecret StashIntellect Level Requirement1+5%Normal12+10%Normal33+15%Better54+20%Even Better75+25%Best10
Bartering - Increases the gain from selling goods by the given percentage. Also decreases the price of bought goods by the same value.
Secret Stash - At the last tab of a trader's inventory, there is the Secret Stash option. By default, it displays rare items, including armors, weapons, schematics, magazines, and more. Upgrading Better Barter improves the quality and quantity of loot found in the Secret Stash, but not the gamestage value (e.g. you can't find a shotgun on Day 1).
The Daring Adventurer
- Never going back to the Shamway Factory. After completing trader quests, gain more Dukes and reward options.
RankDukes GainReward ChoicesIntellect Level Requirement1+5%+112+10%+243+15%+364+20%+3. Claim 2 rewards8
Quest Rewards - By default, the player can claim one reward and has two reward choices. The amount of dukes is determined by the difficulty of the quest.
Charismatic Nature
- What's gonna work? Grants you, your allies, and your party members improved stats, as long as you stay grouped together. Buffs activate when within a 15m radius of a friend, and persist for 5 minutes after leaving the range. All buffs gained from each rank are kept as the perk is leveled up. This perk is only effective in multiplayer. Allies can be added and Parties can be made through the Players list.
RankAlly BuffsIntellect Level Requirement1+20 Max Health and Stamina12+20% Block and Melee Damage33+10% Damage Resist, -50% Bleed Damage, -50% Bleed Duration54+1 to All Attributes7
Physician
- Don't be such a baby. Ribs grow back! Gain more health and XP from using medicine and first aid. Unlocks several new crafting recipes with each rank.
RankHealingXP GainCrafting UnlocksChemistry Station Crafting SpeedIntellect Level Requirement1+25%+40%Chemistry Station, First Aid Bandages, Plaster CastsNormal32+40%+60%N/A+20%63+55%+80%First Aid Kits, Steroids+20%84+75%+100%Fortbites, Recog, Antibiotics+40%9
Drugs - Physician unlocks the crafting recipes to drugs such as Steroids, Recog, and Fortbites. These probably legal substances will grant you stat boosts for a moderate duration, though at a cost. Using drugs greatly increases thirst, and has a chance to cause withdrawal. Withdrawal will decrease your stats temporarily, and will only go away with time, or with more of the drug that caused your addiction.
Steroids - Increase movement speed by +10%, and removes encumbrance. Lasts 10 minutes.
Recog - Enhances all ranged damage by +50%. Lasts 5 minutes.
Fortbites - Grants +50% damage resistance. Lasts 2 minutes.Note: The XP Bonus only applies to bandages, first-aid bandages, first-aid kits, splints, and plaster casts. All learned crafting recipes can be learned via schematics, with the exception of Recog, Steroids, and Fortbites.
Advanced Engineering
- Practical problems. Unlocks many new recipes while improving crafting speed, reducing cost, and gaining more XP from trap kills.
RankCrafting UnlocksCrafting SpeedForge Recipe CostForged Steel/Electrical Devices CostElectrical Trap XPIntellect Level Requirement1Forges. Glue costs one less Bone/Super Corn to craft.+20% w/ ForgesNormalNormal0%12Workbenches and Cement Mixers+20% w/ Forges and Cement MixersNormalNormal0%43Generator Banks, Chemistry Station, Mining Helmet, Blade Traps, Dart Traps, Electric Fence Posts, Military Fiber, all other Electrical Devices +20% w/ Forges and Cement Mixers-10%-15%20%64Shotgun Turret, Nailgun, Battery Bank, all Powered Doors+20% w/ Forges and Cement Mixers-15%-25%35%85SMG Turrets and Crucibles+20% w/ Forges and Cement Mixers-20%-35%50%10
Other Electrical Devices - Basic Light Bulbs, Spotlights, Industrial Lights, Industrial Light Bulbs, Electric Relays, Speakers, Motion Sensors, Tripwire Posts, all Trigger Plates
XP From Traps - By default, the player gains no XP from killing enemies via traps. At higher ranks, the percentage is the fraction of XP normally earned from killing an enemy.
Note - All learned crafting recipes can be unlocked via schematics.
Grease Monkey
- Vehicle update is here! Unlocks the crafting recipes for vehicle parts, while also reducing the cost of crafting them. Later ranks unlock new recipes such as gas cans and car batteries, and additionally improve the crafting quality of lead car batteries.
RankVehicle Part RecipeAdditional Crafting UnlocksBattery Crafting QualityIntellect Level Requirement1Bicycle Parts (33% Cheaper)WheelsN/A12Minibike Parts (33% Cheaper)Gas Cans, Lead Car Batteries243Motorcycle Parts (33% Cheaper)Oil3644x4 Truck Parts (33% Cheaper)Gas Can Stacks485Gyrocopter Parts (33% Cheaper)N/A510
Vehicles - Of the five drivable vehicles, each one is unique and has its benefits over the others. Vehicles at higher ranks are more costly to craft. See Intellect - Vehicles for more.
Note - All vehicle part recipes can be learned via schematics. Gas Can recipe can also be learned through a schematic.
Intellect - Weapons (Turrets)
Turrets - The Intellect skilltree can deploy two types of automatic turrets, both of which have unique functions and attack patterns. Turrets can also be wielded in the hotbar, but are very inaccurate and heavy in recoil. If you're ever in a spot where you need some extra firepower, place a turret down and watch science do its work.
Both turrets have -65% Degradation. This means that their durability is effectively increased by +35%.
Robotic Sledge
- Unlocked: Robotics Expert Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 9.8-17.8 Damage, 27-33 Attacks/min (Slow), Long Range (deployed), Average Range (wielded), 200-636 Durability
- The Sledge Turret is a gimmicky, albeit occasionally useful weapon. In terms of a melee weapon, it does very poor damage, but has a very high chance of staggering and stunning enemies when deployed. It also has the unique effect of pushing an enemy backwards, making it useful for getting breathing room. Apparently there's also something where you can propel your friends and send them flying.
Robotic Turret
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 10.0-18.3 Damage, 54-103 Magazine Size, 95.0-116.2 Rounds/min (Fast), 8-12m Effective Range, 15m Max Range, Very Low Hipfire Accuracy, AI Controlled Deploy Accuracy, 200-636 Durability, 3.5s Reload
- While it won't clear an entire room on its own, the Robotic Turret makes for great support fire. It can detect zombies from a range equal to its effective range, and is moddable to increase its power, even while deployed. While deployed, the Turret will always hit its shots, usually aiming for center of mass, and occasionally hitting headshots.
Intellect - Weapons (Batons)
Batons- Batons currently include the Pipe Baton and the Stun Baton. While the Pipe Baton acts like a standard melee weapon, the Stun Baton has a unique feature over any other melee weapon: the ability to electrocute and disable enemies. Hit enemies to build Charges, allowing you to temporarily stun your attackers.
Pipe Baton- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 13.8-20.7 Damage, 27.6-34.5 Power Attack Damage, 38 Attacks/min (Slow), Average Range, 14.8 Stamina/Attack, 23.0 Stamina/Power Attack, 60-110 Durability
- A nighstick crafted from scrap metal and pipes. The Pipe Baton acts as a precursor to the Stun Baton, giving Intellect users a melee weapon to use early game.
Stun Baton
- Unlocked: Electrocutioner Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 2
- Stats: 9.2-16.7 Damage, 20.0-27.5 Power Attack Damage, 70 Attacks/min (Average), Average Range, 15.5 Stamina/Attack, 26.4 Stamina/Power Attack, 269-673 Durability
- When compared to other melee weapons, the Stun Baton does relatively lower damage. However, its true potential lies in its ability to electrocute enemies. Successful attacks will build charges, and once enough charges are acquired, the next strike will stun an enemy temporarily, allowing you or your team to attack them.
Electrocution - Stun Batons build charges by attacking enemies.
Normal attacks build 1 Charge
Power attacks build 2 ChargesUpon reaching 4 Charges, the Stun Baton will glow and emit electricity. Hitting an enemy will consume 3 Charges and Electrocute them.
Electrocution deals 6 damage per second for a default duration of 4 seconds
Electrocuted enemies cannot attack nor move
Electrocuting an enemy again resets the durationNote that hitting a tile will cause you to lose all charges. Missing attacks or switching weapons does not consume any charges.
Intellect - The Drone
Robotic Drone
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 200-636 Durability, 16 Inventory Size
- Completely unlike the other turrets, the Robotic Drone utilizes no weapons; it cannot shoot, nor does it attack enemies in any way. Instead, the Drone's purpose is to fully support the player and their allies.
On its own, the Drone carries a modestly-sized inventory, allowing you to carry more items on that massive loot haul. The Drone will follow you everywhere; through the wilderness, while driving vehicles, and even indoors! Enemies will not aggro on the Drone, and your attacks will not harm it. The Drone can still be harmed by enemy gunfire, zombie attacks, and explosions. Upon reaching 1 Health, the Drone will become invulnerable, and will power down until repaired. The Drone will despawn in one hour if it is not repaired.
Only one drone can be deployed at a time, even with Turrets Syndrome at Rank 5.
Drone Features:
Follows you everywhere!
Speaks in a vaguely British accent!
Comes with a Quiet Mode if that's not your thing! Alerts you when enemies are near!
Carries 16 inventory slots!
Up to 48 with Cargo Mods! Calls you Master!
Heals you! (with Medic Mod)
Boosts stamina regen! (With Morale Booster Mod)
Lights up the darkness! (With Headlamp Mod)
Roasts Trader Jen!
May develop abandonment issues!
The Drone has five unique modifications, each of which with their own function. They are not mutually exclusive and can be combined in any way. All mods can be looted or crafted after finding schematics.
Cargo Mod
- Increases Drone inventory size by +8 Unlike most mods, this mod can be applied multiple times on the same Drone.
Morale Booster
- While Drone is active, gain +10% Stamina Regeneration
Armor Plating
- Increase Drone damage resistance by +50%, and decrease Drone degradation by -50%
Headlamp
- Gives your Drone a headlamp, which provides light wherever the Drone faces. Can be toggled on and off by accessing the Drone (hold E while facing the Drone)
Medic Mod
- When you or one of your allies are at 75% Health or below and are not currently healing, your Drone will automatically heal you, so long as the Drone's inventory contains first aid bandages or first aid kits.. You can also manually heal yourself by accessing the drone. Drone healing has a cooldown of 15s
Intellect - Traps
Alongside typical electrical devices, players that spec into Intellect can construct unique electrical traps, ranging from Electric Fence Posts to Fully Automated Turrets. As long as they are connected to power, they will do their job, enhancing your base's defensive parameters, and keeping the undead dead.
Note: Electrical Devices, by default, do not grant the player XP upon zombie kills. Ranking up the perk Advanced Engineering will give a percentage of XP from kills, up to a maximum of 50% at Rank 5.
Electric Fence Post
- Unlocked: Advanced Engineering Rank 3 or Schematic
- Stats: Applies Shocked Debuff, 5W Requirement, 20 Block Health, Functionality Determined by Health
Shocked will deal 6 Damage per second, for 4.5 seconds. It also decreases movement speed by -90%.- Connect two or more posts together to create an electric fence link. Zombies that step in this link will be electrocuted, taking damage overtime and becoming immobilized. These traps are excellent for placing around the base! Shocked zombies will have an animation-lock, allowing for easy headshots. Read below for information on functionality.
Each electrocution event causes the terminal (end) fence post to lose 0.5 Block Health
Once an Electric Fence Post reaches 50 Block Health (300 Shocks), it will stop functioning
This is indicated by the fence post emitting sparks when it would normally shock an enemy. The wire connecting the fence posts will also sag. Because fence posts are fragile, keep them protected with blocks or plates!
Dart Trap
- Unlocked: Advanced Engineering Rank 3 or Schematic
- Stats: 45 Damage, 55m/s Projectile Speed, Fast Fire Rate, 10W Requirement, 2500 Block Health
- Must be locked and loaded with Iron Darts. When powered, Dart Traps will constantly shoot out two darts every second. The darts themselves have very precise hitboxes, and may not hit a zombie if aimed at the feet. Dart Traps are optimally placed in tight corridors, aimed at a zombie's center of mass. Not the best ranged trap, but it does its job in the right circumstance.
Blade Trap
- Unlocked: Advanced Engineering Rank 3 or Schematic
- Stats: 20 Damage per Collision, 20W Requirement, 2000 Block Health, Functionality Determined by Health
- These gristly Blade Traps spin with a devastating velocity, enough to turn zombies into a fine red paste. The closer an enemy is to the center of the Blade Trap, the more collisions and the more damage they will take. Very effective when placed close to the base. However, these electrical traps require supervision, as they deteriorate in function as they deal damage. The information below describes this mechanic in detail.
Blade Traps will take 4 Block Damage for every Collision it has with an Entity
As a Blade Trap loses Block Health, it spins slower (deals less DPS)
The Blade Trap has unique sound loops depending on its health, such as scraping mechanical parts and a slowed whirring sound Once a Blade Trap reaches 500 Block Health (375 Collisions), it will break down and stop spinning
Shotgun Turret
- Unlocked: Advanced Engineering Rank 4 or Schematic
- Stats: 9 Damage per Pellet, 8 Pellets, Fast Fire Rate (4 Round Burst, then 2s Cooldown), 15m Detection Range, 15W Requirement
- Equipped with motion-detection technology, this fully-automated Turret will blast zombies within its detection radius, trying its hardest to go for headshots. Of course, its performance is optimal when placed within close quarters of zombies, so be sure to strategize your turret placements. Must be locked and loaded with Shotgun Shells. The Turret's camera can be set while the device is powered on. While using the Camera Preview, you can manually aim and shoot the turret.
Auto Turret
- Unlocked: Advanced Engineering Rank 5 or Schematic
- Stats: 32 Damage, Fast Fire Rate (15 Round Burst, then 2s Cooldown), 30m Detection Range, 15W Requirement
- Designed by you, built by you... Auto Turrets are the deadliest, most versatile ranged trap in the game, and with enough of them, no creature will ever set foot in your territory, without getting a mouthful of bullets. Like the Shotgun Turret, it will always try to aim for headshots. Excellent for placing around the base, and activating for constant defense, or on horde nights. Must be locked and loaded with 9mm Ammunition. The Turret's camera can be set while the device is powered on. While using the Camera Preview, you can manually aim and shoot the turret.
Intellect - Vehicles
As mentioned in Intellect - Support/Crafting Perks, the Intellect skilltree has a certain perk that unlocks vehicle crafting. For convenience, those vehicles and their stats will be kept here.
Vehicles can be driven with two control sets. By default, the vehicle will drive in the direction you face. By tapping M1, you can switch the driving controls to WASD. Hold Shift to activate turbo (faster speed but more gas consumption), and press F to activate your headlights. All vehicles have 90% damage resist. You can also "hop" with most vehicles by pressing C. This works most effectively with the Bicycle and Minibike, and slightly with the Motorcycle. The 4x4 Truck cannot hop.
All Vehicles can travel through water without taking damage, though are slowed when doing so. When a vehicle is destroyed, it deactivates and cannot be interacted with until repaired. During this time, it is invulnerable, however, it will despawn in one hour if not repaired. Vehicles are borderline invincible though, so don't worry too much about this.
The stat km/Tank refers to how much distance the vehicle can travel maximum, from full tank to empty tank. If you convert Base/Turbo speed to km/s (divide by 1000), and then divide km/Tank by that km/s, you can find out how long each tank lasts in seconds, if constantly in Base/Turbo speed respective to your calculations. (Ex. The Motorcycle's Turbo speed is 14m/s = .014km/s. It can travel 24km with one tank total. 24km / .014km/s = 1714.29s or 28.57 minutes total, suggesting you drive only in Turbo mode).
Bicycle
- Unlocked: Grease Monkey Rank 1 or Schematic
- Stats: 1500HP, 5m/s Base Speed, 10m/s Turbo Speed, 1 Seat, 9 Item Slots
- An excellent vehicle for early-game, especially if you're often encumbered, or using heavy armor. Still, the Bicycle is the most underwhelming vehicle of the five. While in turbo speed, the Bicycle uses stamina (at a rate slightly less than running). Perks and items that reduce stamina drain while running will also work on the bicycle!
Minibike
- Unlocked: Grease Monkey Rank 2 or Schematic
- Stats: 3000HP, 1000G Tank, 7m/s Base Speed, 10m/s Turbo Speed, 16km/Tank, 1 Seat, 27 Item Slots
- Brings me back to A16... The Minibike is much superior to the bicycle, especially for the loot-hoarders. It requires gas to run, and holds a small tank compared to the other vehicles.
Motorcycle
- Unlocked: Grease Monkey Rank 3 or Schematic
- Stats: 6000HP, 3000G Tank, 9m/s Base Speed, 14m/s Turbo Speed, 24km/Tank, 1 Seat, 36 Item Slots
- My personal favorite of the vehicles, particularly because of its appearance and offroad capabilities. The Motorcycle is all-around a great vehicle, with a modest gas tank and inventory room. It's also considerably faster than the minibike, and has excellent turning speed. In addition, its small size makes it great for offroading.
4x4 Truck
- Unlocked: Grease Monkey Rank 4 or Schematic
- Stats: 7500HP, 10000G Tank, 9m/s Base Speed, 14m/s Turbo Speed, 40km/Tank, 2 Seats, 72 Item Slots
- If you're going on an errand-run, you better drive one of these. The 4x4 Truck is incredibly powerful, containing up to 72 items and sporting a massive gas tank, all while running at the same speed as the Motorcycle. In addition, if you're playing Co-Op, this will be your #1 choice, as it can carry two players! Due to its size, however, it is not the best at offroading (driving on uneven terrain).
Gyrocopter
- Unlocked: Grease Monkey Rank 5 or Schematic
- Stats: 3000HP, 2000G Tank, 9m/s Base Speed, 15m/s Turbo Speed, 12km/Tank, 1 Seat, 45 Item Slots
- Though it has a smaller health pool and gas tank, the Gyrocopter is the fastest of all the vehicles, and has the added ability of flying. By default, holding SPACE raises the Gyrocopter's height, while holding C decreases it. If you ever need to get to Point A to Point B as fast and safely as possible, the Gyro is your prime pick. The inventory room is nice, too. However, its smaller gas tank means that you will need to stop more frequently to refill, compared to other vehicles.
Intellect - Playstyle
Overall OpinionDifficulty: Intermediate
Combat Viability: Poor (D)
Survival Viability: Decent (C)
Best Perk Synergy: Any (see Skilltree Synergy below)
Strategy
Use your stun baton to disable and mark enemies
Place turrets for additional fire support
Support your teammates by healing, applying buffs, and crafting
Speed up gameplay progression by learning new recipes
Significantly improve trader bartering and quest loot
General Playstyle
The Intellect Skilltree, on its own, is very unequipped for combat. Your Stun Baton is very ineffective at killing enemies, and Turrets must be placed strategically before becoming usable. When held as a gun, Turrets are unwieldy, slow, and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. In addition, you don't have many perks to help you survive. You may have new crafting recipes and workbenches, but no efficient way to gain the resources necessary to craft them.
So why choose Intellect?
Intellect is a very unique skilltree, not meant to be leveled on its own. The Intellect skilltree is intended to support; Intellect improves game progression, unlocks new workbenches faster, provides healing and stamina support, and has automatic turrets intended for supplementary firepower. Depending on how you play, and who you play with, Intellect can be played in two different ways.
In Singleplayer, Intellect skilltree can be used as an auxiliary attribute, allowing you to accelerate the progression speed of your own game. Unlock crafting recipes faster, that would have otherwise been unlocked through looted schematics. Place turrets for more firepower when you need it. Get better results from trading and questing. Intellect doesn't have to be what you spec into first, but it can make all the difference in a build.
In Multiplayer, you're more free to spec into Intellect, without the need to combine it with any other attribute. With that in mind, however, you are completely reliant on your team for resources, defense, and offense. If you're a good coordinator, you can support your team with turrets, drones, crafting, and trading, while they bring you the materials you need. If you love being a team player, and playing support, then make an Intellect build.
Optimizing Weapon Usage
Turrets - With the Sledge Turret, place in tight corridors where zombies bunch up. The Sledge can be wielded as well, and has a very high chance to stun enemies. With any ranged Turret, place in similar areas, with the premonition of approaching enemies. Make sure your turrets are placed with sights on the enemy. If possible, deploy your Turrets on a high ground.
Drone - While not exactly a weapon, the Drone is incredibly useful still. It can help you carry more loot during quests, and can provide additional support with specific mods. Medic Mod lets the Drone automatically heal you, and the Morale Booster gives additional stamina regen (especially useful for Mining). Keep in mind, these boosts provide to your allies as well!
Stun Baton - Though it isn't as effective at killing, the Stun Baton can be used for personal defense, allowing you to disable tougher enemies within uncomfortable distance. If in Multiplayer, make call-outs to your team, informing them about your stunned target. Consider it a mark for death.
Traps - While inside your base, your traps can be very potent at keeping enemies at bay. In direct combat out of your home, however, it's incredibly clunky and inefficient to bring a portable electrical setup. Bringing a few spikes to barricade yourself from zombies isn't a terrible idea, however, it's best to leave the trapmaking at home.
Other Weapons - If you've spec'd into a different skilltree, make sure you utilize its weapons as well! You can further enhance your personal combat viability by combining skilltrees. See the respective attribute's playstyle for more info on its weapon usage.
Survival
In Singleplayer, you are reliant on your main skilltree and its survival perks, if you've spec'd into another tree, as well as your own gamesense and knowledge.
In Multiplayer, you are reliant on your team for resources and protection. A good team treats their support with care. Likewise, you are integral for your team's survival. Spec into healing and crafting perks, and be their Medic/Engineer.
If you're a quest-junky like me, you can improve your survival by getting better quest loot through Intellect perks. In addition, as you unlock new crafting recipes and workbenches, you can further enhance your own and your teammates' survival, with the new recipes those workbenches bring you.
Blood Moons
As mentioned for Singleplayer, you can invest into other attributes and their skilltrees before starting a full Intellect build. Early game, it is much rarer to find turret and stun baton parts, so you're less likely to have Intellect weapons, even in Multiplayer. Utilize your current weapons, or rely on your team's offense.
Once late game arrives, you're more likely to have Intellect upgraded, a good Turret or two, and a strong team composition.
Turret placement is key. On Horde nights, enemies will typically approach from only one direction. Deploy your turrets facing the direction of the horde's approach. Be sure to reload them often.
Stun straggler enemies. Sometimes, an enemy might get past the base defenses, and will come too close for comfort. Utilize your stun baton to disable the enemy, and make a quick takedown. If in Multiplayer, make call-outs whenever you're in danger.
Eat Nerd Tats candy. Nerd Tats will give your stun batons area of effect! Not only does this disable a tight group of zombies, but it can deal impressive damage to them as well, softening the crowd for you or your teammates to take out!
Play doctor. Injured? Teammate screaming for help? You can do something about it. Bring plenty of medical equipment before horde night, and use it on yourself and your friends. You can heal other players by using M2 on them, while holding a medical item.
Set up electric traps and utility. With earlier access to new electric devices, Intellect builds can set up electricity in a base. You can place spotlights to light up the area, or make SMG and shotgun turrets that automatically shoot enemies in their cone of vision. Electric traps stun enemies that walk by them, and blade traps can chop enemies to bits! Craft or find a Wire Tool, and hook up devices to a battery or generator bank to power them.
Design and engineer a clever base. Unsurprisingly, Intellect builds will also flourish in creating the materials needed for making a base. With the right design, and the best trap placement, it is possible to make an impenetrable base. Hell, you won't even have to shoot your own gun! Sit back and let your trusty machines do the work.
Skilltree Synergy
If you haven't figured it out already, Intellect will mix and match with any other skilltree. It's completely up to you on what perks and weapons you want. In Multiplayer, it doesn't have to be you who specs into different skilltrees. Form a plan with your friends, and decide on an effective composition that will benefit everyone. Somebody can make a Strength build to mine resources and be the team's offense, or somebody can use Perception to snipe out threats from a safe distance... The choice is up to your team.
Tools And Ammunition
Below are the stats for every tool and ammo type currently in the game. Both have a similarly-styled evolution to ranged and melee weapons, where the later versions of an item are typically stronger than the early ones. So load up some AP rounds, and fire up your auger. We're going for another ride!
Tools
This section will cover every tool in 7 Days to Die, from wrenches to pickaxes and axes to shovels. Every tool's crafting quality and power is governed by the perk Miner 69'er, with the exception of salvaging tools, which are governed by Salvage Operations. For the sake of keeping things short, only Block Damage will be shown, while Entity Damage will not.
Repair Tool - If a tool is a Repair Tool, its M2 ability is replaced by a slower swing that repairs blocks on contact. To repair a block, you need to have the correct material (it will appear in the bottom right when you try to repair). The HP value is the amount of block health repaired with each M2 swing.
Efficacy - Efficacy is a new section for each tool, detailing its damage against certain block types. If a Tool does 50 Block Damage, but is only 50% Effective against Metal, then that tool will deal only 25 Block Damage to any metal object.
Primitive Tools - Tools that we all started out with. These Primitive tier tools can be crafted very simply (with the exception of Taza's Axe), with unrefined stone, wood, and plant fibers.
Stone Axe
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 21.5-32.3 Block Damage, 105 Attacks/min (Fast), 8.0 Stamina/Attack, 112-300 Durability, Repair Tool (100 HP)
- Efficacy: 100% vs. Wood, 15% vs. Earth, 67% vs. Stone, 50% vs. Metal
- Everyone's first and "favorite" tool. The Stone Axe is a very general tool; it is suitable for destroying any material, disregarding dirt and gravel. Through a bit of looting, you may eventually find something better.
Taza's Stone Axe
- Unlocked: Looting Only
- Tier 1
- Stats: 22.6-33.9 Block Damage, 99-110 Attacks/min (Fast), 8.6-9.5 Stamina/Attack, 120-375 Durability, Repair Tool (100 HP)
- Efficacy: 100% vs. Wood, 15% vs. Earth, 67% vs. Stone, 50% vs. Metal
- This Apache artifact is an extremely rare variant of the normal stone axe. Taza's Stone Axe can only be found in Apache chests, which are hidden within obscure points of interests, such as Indian Burial Grounds. Would do better in a collection than an actual tool, unless you find one very early on. May be cursed.
Stone Shovel
- Unlocked: By Default
- Primitive
- Stats: 38.4-57.6 Block Damage, 86.4-105.6 Power Attack Block Damage, 50 Attacks/min (Average), 16.2 Stamina/swing, 32.5 Stamina/P-swing, 75-200 Durability
- Efficacy: 30% vs. Wood, 100% vs. Earth, 20% vs. Stone, 20% vs. Metal
- Though it isn't the best shovel, it can be crafted on a whim when you need to do a buried treasure quest.
Repair Tools - These Repair Tools are intended for fixing, maintaining, and upgrading bases. Instead of a power attack, M2 is replaced with the repair ability. Aim at the block you want to repair, if you have the right materials. Their low block damage makes them less suitable for destructive operations.
Claw Hammer
- Unlocked: Miner 69'er Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 18.7-34.1 Block Damage, 66-73 Attacks/min (Average), 16.2-18.0 Stamina/swing, 238-955 Durability, Repair Tool (400 HP)
- Efficacy: 50% vs. Wood, 25% vs. Earth, 100% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- A superior tool for base repairs, compared to the Stone Axe. The Claw Hammer is common to find in Working Stiffs crates, and can make a sub-decent tool for breaking blocks.
Nail Gun
- Unlocked: Advanced Engineering Rank 4 or Schematic
- Tier 3
- Stats: 1000 Durability, Repair Tool (1000 HP)
- Nail Guns are the apex repair tool. They can completely restore blocks in a few clicks, and can often outheal the damage from a zombie horde. The Nail Gun also behaves like a firearm, but we're not gonna talk about that. The Nail Gun has abysmal combat stats. It can load 10 Nails and be fired at enemies, but has horrid accuracy and damage. If you're in a high enough gamestage to find a Nail Gun, surely you've found a better weapon, right?
Pickaxes - Pickaxes are the prime tool to use against stone and metal, whether it be for destroying a house or mining ore. All pickaxes also have an additional +80% Efficacy towards gravel.
Iron Pickaxe
- Unlocked: Miner 69'er Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 30.2-55.0 Block Damage, 65.7-90.5 Power Attack Block Damage, 61-68 Attacks/min (Average), 17.5-19.3 Stamina/Attack, 31.3 Stamina/Power Attack, 221-886 Durability
- Efficacy: 20% vs. Wood, 20% vs. Earth, 100% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- Crafted from early forged iron, this simple handpick can do the trick against most blocks and ores. Its swing speed is slightly higher than the other pickaxes, though its damage is far less.
Steel Pickaxe
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 53.4-97.3 Block Damage, 131.9-175.8 Power Attack Block Damage, 52-57 Attacks/min (Average), 25.1-27.7 Stamina/Attack, 52.7 Stamina/Power Attack, 297-1287 Durability
- Efficacy: 20% vs. Wood, 20% vs. Earth, 100% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- The same kind used by roughnecks to mine for coal. This hefty Steel Pickaxe deals massive block damage to stone and metal, making it perfect for busting into ore and base alike.
Auger- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 17.6-32.1 Block Damage, 263-336G Tank, 285-315 Attacks/min (Fast), 1120-4368 Durability, 3.5s Reload
- Efficacy: 20% vs. Wood, 100% vs. Earth, 100% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- Put the power in Power Tool! This gas-powered Auger may have low block damage, but it makes up for its fast fire rate. In addition, it has a bit of a kick to it, so expect to require some recoil control. Overall, the Auger is the ultimate mining tool, and is the top tier tool for quickly breaking down any material.
Tools (cont.)
Axes - From heavy fire axes to the lumbering chainsaw, these Axes are built for chopping down trees and breaching wooden barriers. They may look sharp enough to hunt heads with, but sadly, they aren't primed for combat. Always bring one with you for on-the-spot chops.
Iron Fireaxe
- Unlocked: Miner 69'er Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 40-72.9 Block Damage, 98.7-131.6 Power Attack Block Damage, 57-63 Attacks/min (Average), 18.9-20.9 Stamina/Attack, 39.9 Stamina/Power Attack, 159-641 Durability
- Efficacy: 100% vs. Wood, 20% vs. Earth, 25% vs. Stone, 25% vs. Metal
- A traditional fireaxe, made for breaching doors and splitting floors. Helps significantly early game for gathering wood, and is much superior to the stone axe.
Steel Axe
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 73.3-133.6 Block Damage, 181.0-241.4 Power Attack Block Damage, 44-49 Attacks/min (Slow), 29.4-32.4 Stamina/Attack, 61.7 Stamina/Power Attack, 255-1100 Durability
- Efficacy: 100% vs. Wood, 20% vs. Earth, 25% vs. Stone, 25% vs. Metal
- A dual-edged wastelander's axe, built with sharp scrap metals and mechanical pieces. Each swing deals a massive amount of damage to trees and wooden blocks, and even more so on power attacks.
Chainsaw
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 20.7-37.7 Block Damage, 263-336G Tank, 285-315 Attacks/min (Fast), 1120-4368 Durability, 3.5s Reload
- Efficacy: 100% vs. Wood, 15% vs. Earth, 15% vs. Stone, 15% vs. Metal
- Akin to its power-tool brother, the Auger, this wicked Chainsaw is fueled by fear (and fossil fuels). Trees will quiver and fall the moment you take out this chain-bladed machine, making it the optimal choice for gathering wood. Enemies will not drop a surplus of ammo when you kill them with this.
Shovels - Spades for digging holes and trenches. Though you might not dig on every quest, they come in handy for gathering clay and sand, as well as buried treasure missions.
Iron Shovel
- Unlocked: Miner 69'er Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 43.4-79.1 Block Damage, 107.1-142.8 Power Attack Block Damage, 47-52 Attacks/min (Average), 19.3-21.3 Stamina/Attack, 40.6 Stamina/Power Attack, 187-750 Durability
- Efficacy: 30% vs. Wood, 100% vs. Earth, 20% vs. Stone, 20% vs. Metal
- A simple two-handed shovel, with great block damage against dirt, sand, and clay.
Steel Shovel
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 58.7-107.0 Block Damage, 144.9-193.2 Power Attack Block Damage, 47-52 Attacks/min (Average), 23.5-25.9 Stamina/Attack, 49.3 Stamina/Power Attack, 255-1100 Durability
- Efficacy: - 30% vs. Wood, 100% vs. Earth, 20% vs. Stone, 20% vs. Metal
- This Steel Shovel is a direct upgrade to the Iron Shovel, perfect for trench-digging and demolishing the ground. Sadly, it doesn't have its own model yet. Ingame, its icon is a slightly blue version of the Iron Shovel.
Salvage Tools - When used on mechanical and electrical appliances, such as cars, these Salvage Tools will break apart the device to give you resources, such as iron, pipes, radiators, batteries, generators, and more. Aim at the device you wish to salvage. You will know if its salvageable by a unique tool animation.
Wrench
- Unlocked: Salvage Operations Rank 1 or Schematic
- Tier 1
- Stats: 32.7-59.7 Block Damage, 71.2-98.2 Power Attack Block Damage, 50 Attacks/min (Average), 18.3 Stamina/Attack, 31.1 Stamina/Power Attack, 180-640 Durability
- Efficacy: 50% vs. Wood, 25% vs. Earth, 50% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- Once a repair tool, and once the only salvaging tool. With the introduction of new salvage tools in Alpha 19, the Wrench is no longer alone. In turn, it became the lowest tier salvage tool, though the Wrench is still a reliable piece of equipment!
Ratchet
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 2
- Stats: 41.2-75.2 Block Damage, 89.7-123.7 Power Attack Block Damage, 50 Attacks/min (Average), 21.8 Stamina/Attack, 37.0 Stamina/Power Attack, 300-900 Durability
- Efficacy: 50% vs. Wood, 25% vs. Earth, 50% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- Pop some sockets with this forged iron Ratchet. It does much better damage than the wrench, allowing you to dismantle devices faster.
Impact Driver
- Unlocked: Schematic Only
- Tier 3
- Stats: 49.3-89.9 Block Damage, 107.3-147.9 Power Attack Block Damage, 50 Attacks/min (Average), 24.7 Stamina/Attack, 41.9 Stamina/Power Attack, 500-1100 Durability
- Efficacy: 50% vs. Wood, 25% vs. Earth, 50% vs. Stone, 100% vs. Metal
- The best of all the salvaging tools. This Tier 3 Impact Driver will shred cars and appliances to pieces you can use for at-home projects.
Miscellaneous Tools - Paintbrushes, light sources, wire tools, and more. These tools don't fit anywhere else in the list, and have very specific applications.
Torch
- Unlocked: By Default (And you begin with one)
- Stats: 10.2 Damage, 50 Attacks/min (Average), 21.8 Stamina/Attack, 30% to Ignite, +7 Cold Insulation when Held, Modest Light
- A flickering torch to help you light the way in the darkness. As a weapon (or tool), it does pretty poor damage, with a slight chance to ignite an enemy, engulfing them in flames for a few seconds. While held, it also applies some insulation against the cold. In radiance, may we find victory.
Flashlight
- Unlocked: By default (Workbench)
- Stats: 7.2 Damage, 65 Attacks/min (Average), 11.4 Stamina/Attack
- British "people" call this a torch, too. The Flashlight can also be used as a melee weapon, but does some pretty cruddy damage. It can be toggled with F, and radiates a good amount of light.
Paintbrush
- Unlocked: By Default
- Used to paint blocks different textures. To use the paintbrush, first hold R to select your painting mode and texture. M2 will paint blocks the selected texture, as long as you have paint. M1 will clear the texture of a painted block, returning it to its normal appearance.
Wire Tool
- Unlocked: By Default (Workbench)
- Use to connect two electrical devices together, as long as they're placed by you. Right click will attach an input/output wire, and left click will cancel the placement. Wires have limited range, so remember to use Relays!
Ammunition
Here is the complete cover and overview of every ammunition type in the game. In the endgame, the choice of ammo you use makes the biggest difference, and can help you take down enemies you normally would have a struggle with.
Notes:
The damage ranges for all firearms is given by their standard ammunition.
Changing ammo types can increase/decrease the weapon's damage, depending on the ammo used.
By default, all ammunition (with the exception of Shotgun Shells, Arrows, Bolts, and Turret Ammo) deals +200% Block Damage to wooden blocks, but only 20% Block Damage against terrain.
7.62 Ammunition- Used by: Pipe Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Marksman Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Pipe Machine Gun, AK-47, Tactical Assault Rifle, M60
Standard 7.62- Unlocked: By default
- Stats: 47 Ranged Damage, 8 Block Damage, Normal Degradation
- Standard-issue 7.62 ammo. Does its job against any target effectively.
HiPower 7.62- Unlocked: Sniper Vol 7
- Stats: 52 Ranged Damage (Rifles), 50.5 Ranged Damage (Assault Rifles), 9 Block Damage
- HiPower bullets pack a bigger punch, though at the expense of more resources. Deals slightly less damage in Assault Rifles than it does in Rifles.
Armor Piercing 7.62- Unlocked: Sniper Vol 6
- Stats: 57 Ranged Damage (Rifles), 54 Ranged Damage (Assault Rifles), 10 Block Damage, +50% Armor Piercing, 1 Target Penetration
- Ideal for heavy targets and hitting collaterals, these AP rounds will penetrate through armor and enemies alike. Each AP round can pierce through one enemy of up to 250HP, continuing its line of fire and hitting the enemy behind for the same damage. This penetration can be improved with the Perception perk, The Penetrator.
Rockets- Used by: Rocket Launcher
HE Rocket- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 4 or Schematic
- Stats: 420 Explosion Damage, 2500 Block Damage, 50m/s Projectile Velocity, 5m Radius
- The standard rocket used by launchers, these massive shells will deal more damage to the terrain than it would to enemies. If you wanna do some blast mining, these will come in handy. However, if you're looking to preserve the natural environment, better use some Frag Rockets.
Frag Rocket- Unlocked: Demolitions Expert Rank 4 or Schematic
- Stats: 700 Explosion Damage, 20 Block Damage, 50m/s Projectile Velocity, 6m Radius
- With a larger damage and explosion radius, these rockets are considerably better for combat, especially if you're fighting on your home turf. They deal very little block damage, making them ideal for keeping the ground intact, and enemies in pieces.
Shells- Used by: Pipe Shotgun, Double Barrel Shotgun, Pump Shotgun, Auto Shotgun
Standard Buckshot- Unlocked: By default
- Stats: 10.1 Ranged Damage/pellet, 5.4 Block Damage/Pellet (+20 Block Damage/Pellet vs. Wood), 10 Pellets, 2 Target Penetration (51 Block Penetration)
- Most effective in close ranges, these shells will release a blast of 10 buckshot, obliterating enemies and destroying weaker blocks. In addition, each buckshot has penetrative properties, allowing you to hit enemies through walls and through other enemies!
Armor Piercing Slug- Unlocked: Shotgun Messiah Vol 4
- Stats: 102 Ranged Damage/pellet, 80 Block Damage/pellet (+200 Block Damage/Pellet vs. Wood), 1 Pellet, +50% Armor Piercing, 2 Target Penetration, +5m Effective Range, +8m Max Range, Improves Shotgun Accuracy
- These slugs can make your shotguns deal some of the highest damage in the game, while also increasing the shotgun's accuracy and effective range. Slugs are best used against armored targets and long-ranged threats. Unlike typical AP ammunition, slugs can penetrate up to two targets.
Breaching Slug- Unlocked: Shotgun Messiah Vol 2
- Stats: 96 Damage/pellet, 80 Block Damage/pellet (+1000 Block Damage/Pellet vs. Wood and Doors), 1 Pellet, -2m Effective Range, -6m Max Range, Improves Shotgun Accuracy
- While very unsuitable for combat, these utility slugs make busting into safes, vaults, and homes a cakewalk. One shot can crack into a desk safe, two shots a gun safe, and four shots a hardened chest. If you ever want to break open locks in a pinch, use these slugs.
9mm Ammunition- Used by: Pipe Pistol, Pistol, SMG-5, SMG Auto Turret
Standard 9mm- Unlocked: By Default
- Stats: 32 Ranged Damage, 6 Block Damage
- Typical rounds loaded into small firearms and handguns. Very easy to craft in bulk.
HiPower 9mm- Unlocked: Pistol Pete Vol 5
- Stats: 35 Ranged Damage, 7 Block Damage
- High power ammunition deals slightly more damage at the cost of more resources.
Armor Piercing 9mm- Unlocked: Pistol Pete Vol 6
- Stats: 38 Ranged Damage, 8 Block Damage, +50% Armor Piercing, 1 Target Penetration
- The most effective type of 9mm ammunition; AP rounds deal the highest damage, can pierce armor, and penetrate up to one target.
.44 Rounds- Used by: Magnum, Desert Vulture
Standard .44
- Unlocked: By default
- Stats: 70 Ranged Damage, 12 Block Damage
- Bullets used by the high-powered Magnum and Desert Vulture handguns. They are deadly against any target, and deal some of the highest damage per shot of any bullet.
HiPower .44
- Unlocked: Magnum Enforcer Vol 6
- Stats: 77 Ranged Damage, 13 Block Damage
- The same bullet, now stronger. These HP rounds will deal even greater damage than regular rounds.
Armor Piercing .44
- Unlocked: Magnum Enforcer Vol 5
- Stats: 84 Ranged Damage, 14 Block Damage, +50% Armor Piercing, 1 Target Penetration
- These AP bullets will shred through armor and enemies alike. Ideal for tougher zombies and hitting collaterals. Each AP round can pierce through one enemy of up to 250HP, continuing its line of fire and hitting the enemy behind for the same damage.
Ammunition (cont.)
Arrows- Used by: Primitive Bow, Wooden Bow, Compound Bow
Stone Arrow- Unlocked: By Default
- Stats: 35 Ranged Damage, 1 Block Damage, 45m/s Projectile Velocity
- Primitive, but very easy to craft. As you level up and get a forge, you can craft much better, more refined arrowheads. These are the standard ammunition for all bows.
Iron Arrow- Unlocked: By Default
- Stats: 38 Ranged Damage, 3 Block Damage, +20% Armor Pierce, 50m/s Projectile Velocity
- A bit better than the stone arrows, dealing slightly more damage and flying a tad faster. Iron arrows can pierce through armor, unlike their stone counterpart.
Steel Arrow- Unlocked: Ranger's Guide to Archery Vol 4
- Stats: 42 Ranged Damage, 5 Block Damage, +50% Armor Pierce, 55m/s Projectile Velocity
- Razor sharp and designed to tear through flesh. Steel Arrows fly the fastest, hit the hardest, and can pierce armor.
Flaming Arrow- Unlocked: Ranger's Guide to Archery Vol 5
- Stats: 25 Ranged Damage, 6 Block Damage, 120 Fire Damage, 14s Burn Time, 40m/s Projectile Velocity
- An offshoot of steel arrows, these Flaming Arrows will ignite enemies on contact, dealing extra fire damage overtime. Due to their weight, they fly much slower, and cannot be recovered after landing.
Explosive Arrow- Unlocked: Ranger's Guide to Archery Vol 5
- Stats: 180 Explosion Damage, 2 Block Damage, 4m Explosion Radius, 40m/s Projectile Velocity
- While they don't seem conventional, Explosive Arrows can easily take out a tightly-grouped crowd of zombies. Their explosive nature causes them to fly slower, and they cannot be recovered after landing.
Bolts- Used by: Iron Crossbow, Compound Crossbow
Stone Bolt- Unlocked: By Default
- Stats: 50 Ranged Damage, 1 Block Damage, 67.5m/s Projectile Velocity
- Compared to arrows, these crossbow bolts are stronger and faster. Stone Bolts are the standard ammunition for all crossbows.
Iron Bolt- Unlocked: By Default
- Stats: 59 Ranged Damage, 6 Block Damage, +20% Armor Piercing, 75m/s Projectile Velocity
- Considerably faster than its stone counterpart, and dealing a bit more damage, and piercing some armor.
Steel Bolt- Unlocked: Ranger's Guide to Archery Vol 4
- Stats: 63 Ranged Damage, 6 Block Damage, +50% Armor Piercing, 82.5m/s Projectile Velocity
- Like its arrow counterpart, these Steel Bolts have armor penetration, making them more effective against tougher targets.
Flaming Bolt- Unlocked: Ranger's Guide to Archery Vol 5
- Stats: 38 Ranged Damage, 6 Block Damage, 120 Fire Damage, 14s Burn Time, 50m/s Projectile Velocity
- Flaming Bolts deal immense amounts of damage overtime, as they ignite enemies on contact. They travel much slower than steel arrows, however.
Explosive Bolt- Unlocked: Ranger's Guide to Archery Vol 5
- Stats: 250 Explosion Damage, 2 Block Damage, 4m Explosion Radius, 45m/s Projectile Velocity
- Dealing the most damage per single shot, these Explosive Bolts blast away enemies in a small radius. They can be great for clearing small hordes.
Turret Ammo- Used by: Robotic Turret
Standard Turret Rounds- Unlocked: By default
- Stats: 11.8 Ranged Damage, 3 Block Damage
- While it isn't the strongest ammunition, Turret Ammo is extremely simple to craft, only requiring raw iron. Turrets have large magazines, so expect to craft a lot of ammo if you plan on using robotics.
Turret Shell Rounds- Unlocked: Tech Junkie Vol 4
- Stats: 2.1 Ranged Damage/Pellet, No Block Damage, 8 Pellets, 1 Target Penetration, -4m Effective Range, -5m Max Range, -30% Fire Rate, Increases Turret Spread
- These Shell Rounds have a shorter range, but turn your turrets into short-range shotguns! Great for placing robotics around tight chokepoints. Using them decreases your turret's fire rate and accuracy, however.
Turret AP Rounds- Unlocked: Tech Junkie Vol 4
- Stats: 14.1 Ranged Damage, 1 Block Damage, +50% Armor Piercing, 1 Target Penetration, +1m Effective/Max Range, Decreases Turret Spread
- AP Rounds allow for your turret to pierce through armor and enemies, as well as boosting effective range and accuracy.
Extras
Want to know more about how the world works in 7 Days? Or maybe you didn't understand a word, and need to check the Glossary? Whatever your curious heart desires, I probably wrote about it somewhere below. The next few sections are miscellaneous, but can still provide substantial information to your process of survival!
Prioritizing Your Perks (The "Meta")
Disclaimer: This section will only really apply to Singleplayer. If you're in multiplayer, I recommend everyone sticks to their own personal attribute skilltree, and goes by their recommended playstyles:
Perception players scout the area and loot
Strength players cook, mine, and gather resources
Fortitude players gather food
Agility players can... uh... shoot stuff...
Intellect players craft, build, trade, and heal
When making your build, it is usually a bad idea to go full-out into just one attribute. Even in early game, it is optimal for you to branch off into other skilltrees; some perks are so good they can't be ignored, no matter what build you're going for. Below is a heavily opinionated priority list for what perks you should use to supplement your main attribute with.
Important Note: Use clothing items, such as the Cigar or Nerdy Glasses, to increase your main attribute level without spending skill points!
Other Important Note: Even if a perk is not that high of a priority, but it's still a part of your main attribute's skilltree, don't be afraid to pick up the perk! Lower priority does not mean a perk is bad.
One Last Important Note: To reset your skillpoints, you can purchase Grandpa's Fergettin' Elixir, only found in traders' secret stashes (for a hefty price).
Top Priority Sexual Tyrannosaurus (Strength)
Stamina is extremely important, especially during early game. Picking up just one or two ranks into Sexual Tyrannosaurus can greatly decrease the amount of stamina used when swinging, which assists in gathering resources and, most importantly, melee combat, which you'll probably be doing a lot of during your first few days of survival. Advanced Engineering (Intellect)
Only if you have not found schematics for forges, workbenches, cement mixers, or crucibles (or have not physically found any of the crafting stations). Otherwise, drop to High priority
To begin any kind of real gameplay, such as weapon building and base construction, one must begin with the basic crafting stations. Forges are required to smelt metals, workbenches to craft better items, cement mixers for base building, and crucibles for forged steel.
Even if you have found the schematics, Advanced Engineering provides very significant bonuses to crafting speed and resource efficiency.
High Priority Miner 69'er (Strength)
Simply put, dealing more block damage saves you a lot of time. Beyond that, being able to craft iron tools, or just higher quality tools, is a massive step from primitive tools, like the stone axe. Mother Lode (Strength)
Gaining more resources from chopping wood and mining ore is another excellent way to improve your progression. The Daring Adventurer (Intellect)
Getting more options and dukes out of questing is especially useful. For gaining skill points, doing trader quests is a must, so having a perk that improves your payday makes life all the better. Better Barter (Intellect)
Being able to buy for less and sell for more, while it is great, isn't the only highlight of this perk. The Secret Stash section of a trader's inventory shows higher and higher tier loot in ranks 3, 4, and 5 of Better Barter, which can help you find rare items in a pinch. Physician (Intellect)
Only if you have not found schematics for chemistry stations (or found one physically). Otherwise, drop to Medium Priority
Chemistry stations are more of a luxury for crafting important resources, such as gunpowder and glue, as opposed to using a campfire. But it's a damn-well needed luxury! All you need is one rank to craft chemistry stations.
Even without this perk, medications and first aids typically heal enough to fix most boo-boos. Still, even if you already know how to craft chem stations, ranking Physician can allow you to improve and craft medicine. It also provides large bonuses to chem station crafting speeds, which is especially useful for bulking up on gunpowder.
Medium Priority Light Armor or Heavy Armor (Agility or Strength)
Only if you don't already own an armor-related perk. Do not buy both (please )
Having a lowered stamina/movement-speed cost to armor is excellent, for any combat situation. Extending the lifetime of your armor before repair is likewise very useful. However, it is not required to use an armor perk with its respective armor type. Grease Monkey (Intellect)
Only if you have not found a vehicle through trading yet, or have not found schematics for vehicle parts.
Unless you are strictly making an Intellect build, you are most likely to find your first vehicle through trading (often from the trader's Secret Stash) or to craft one yourself by finding the parts. However, if you have not found a vehicle or its part schematics yet, and have the resources, picking up some ranks from Grease Monkey is useful to give yourself a boost. Vehicles make looting and resource gathering much easier.
Even if you already have a vehicle, you may not have the schematics to make gas from oil shale. Rank 2 will allow you to make gas, and rank 4 will allow you to make gas efficiently (-20% resources used), which is excellent for late-game gas hoarding. Pack Mule (Strength)
Only if you do not own physically or do not have schematics for armor/clothing pocket mods. Otherwise, do not buy.
While encumbrance is annoying early game, it isn't going to last for very long. Pocket mods are easy to come by (and can completely negate the need for Pack Mule, and vehicles allow you to carry more in the first place. Lucky Looter (Perception)
Looting extra fast is nice. Getting more loot is also nice.
Low Priority Pretty much everything else that isn't mentioned in the next category
You're free to do whatever you'd like with your perks! Everything in this category is your own choosing; perhaps you would like to pick locks faster with Lock Picker, or run and reload quicker with Run and Gun.
"Do Not" PriorityAKA the perks I don't recommend picking up, or what you SHOULDN'T do with your skill points.
Rule 1 - Cardio (Fortitude)
This perk allows you to run longer. As you level up, you naturally gain more stamina, allowing you to run longer anyways. Also, seldom will you ever have to run distances so long you need to catch your breath (except in early game). Mixing Weapon Perks
Except anything with Intellect combat perks
For example, trying to be the Shotgun Sniper with both Boomstick and Dead Eye. Even if the combo is appealing, mixing weapon perks is usually unnecessary; every attribute was built to have its own pros and cons. Of course, if you are already spec'ing into two different skilltrees, or are extremely late-game that you have too many free points, it isn't a terrible idea. Stealth Shotguns
WE TRIED. IT DIDN'T WORK. IT JUST DOESN'T WORK OKAY?
The "Meta" Cont.
For Perks:
Grandpa's Fergit'n Elixir is a rare, expensive item found only in Trader's Secret Stashes (you will never find it in loot!) It automatically unspecs all spent skill points, meaning that you lose all unlocked perks, but regain all your original points. They are very useful for redesigning builds!
You can use your points to pick up skills you only need temporarily (ex. Workbench recipe), and use the Elixir to gain your points back
Alternatively, it gives you a chance to spec into perks that are better for early-game, but less good for late-game, like Pack Mule.
Equipment Meta:
Best Accessories: Cigar, Nerdy Glasses, College Jacket, BDU Top/Bottom
Cigars provide an easy strength bonus plus a bit of bartering, which is very useful for picking up perks like Miner 69'er. The only other "mask" accessories are Bandanas and Piercings, both of which Cigars beat out by a longshot.
Nerdy Glasses are among the four other "attribute glasses," the others being Goggles (Agility), Sunglasses (Perception), and Tough Guy Sunglasses (Fortitude). Overall, Nerdy Glasses are the best because, not only do they increase intelligence, they increase crafting speed universally and provide an XP bonus, both of which are some seriously game-changing bonuses
The College Jacket, while not technically an accessory, is still an incredibly useful clothing item. It increases sprint speed by +10%, while providing reasonable insulation against cold and heat. If you aren't too worried about freezing/overheating (where a Leather Duster would be more appropriate), then equip the College Jacket for that extra run speed.
BDU Clothing typically provides the best all-around bonuses to heat/cold insulation; they are good for just about any environment. However, if you find yourself travelling in fewer weather-extreme areas, spec your clothing to your heart's desire.
Glossary
Want more context on a certain game mechanic? Don't know what something means? IS MY VOCABULARY TOO DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO COMPREHEND? This alphabetically-sorted list will explain terms I used throughout the guide, with additional descriptions.
Accuracy (Aim) - The spread of a firearm while aiming down sights (holding M2). A higher accuracy indicates a closer spread.
Accuracy (Hipfire) - The spread of a firearm while not aiming down sights. A higher accuracy indicates a closer spread.
Armor Piercing - Some weapons and ammo groups have Armor Piercing, which reduce the Armor Rating of players and zombies alike by a certain percentage.
Armor Rating (Player) - The amount of armor a player is equipped with. Armor Rating is directly converted into damage resistance (50 Armor Rating = 50% damage resist). The maximum Armor Rating is 90. This Armor Rating does not affect explosive damage.
Armor Rating (Zombie) - Certain zombies, such as Hardhats, Soldiers, Bikers, and Demolitionists, have their own Armor Rating. Likewise, this value grants them damage resistance against all attacks, except explosive damage. Zombie Armor Rating can be reduced through ammunition and weapons with Armor Piercing.
Biker, Football, Hardhat - 20 Armor Rating
Soldier - 50 Armor Rating
Demolitionist - 60 Armor Rating
Attribute - A skilltree's main perk (ex. Fortitude).
Bleed - Status effect: Zombie takes 1 Damage per second, for 20 seconds. All knives will inflict one bleeding wound on regular attack, and two on power attacks. Bleeding wounds can stack, dealing more damage overtime (2 Stacks = 2 DPS). Bleed damage ignores armor. See the perk Deep Cuts under Agility - Combat Perks for more info on bleeding stacks.
Cripple - Some attacks and perks can allow weapons to Cripple enemies. Crippled enemies have -30% movement speed for 5 minutes. Additional cripples do not refresh the debuff's duration; the cripple must completely wear off before the enemy can be crippled again.
Critical Hit (Player) - Status effects applied by zombie attacks. Critical Hits will decrease your maximum health, and inflict various debuffs. All Critical Hits heal slowly overtime, and can be cured or healed faster with specific treatments. When receiving a Critical Hit, inspect the debuff through the Player Menu to learn more about its details.
Crit Resistance - Have a decreased chance to receive Critical Hits. Critical Resistance is increased by wearing armor.
Damage - The amount of health damage a weapon will deal. Every weapon has a damage range, showing the minimum and maximum value it can deal. Minimum values are only seen in very low quality crafting. Maximum values can only be achieved through high quality crafting (see Stat Mechanics.)
Damage (Block) - Damage dealt to blocks, props, and furniture. Essentially any non-entity. If the damage is applied in a radius (explosion), then damage decreases as distance from the center increases.
Damage (Explosive) - Damage dealt by explosions, applied in a radius. An explosion will do less damage as distance from the center increases.
Damage (Fire) - Damage dealt by fire weapons. Fire Damage causes slow health loss overtime, and gradually does more damage the longer an target is on fire.
Damage (Impact) - Damage exclusive to the Rocket Launcher. Impact Damage is caused by a direct hit with a rocket.
Damage (Melee) - Damage dealt by any melee weapon. Does a set amount of damage, specific to the weapon used.
Damage (Ranged) - Damage caused by any firearm (except the Rocket Launcher). Ranged Damage is determined by the weapon's base damage and the loaded ammunition, as well as the target range.
Damage (Stealth) - A damage multiplier applied while crouching and undetected. You will see a message popup when dealing Stealth Damage, stating your damage multiplier.Degradation - The rate at which an item decays as it is used. For tools and melee weapons, a use is considered any successful hit (block or enemy). For firearms, a use is one shot. For armor, a use is one hit taken.
Dismember - A zombie has a limb removed, limiting their abilities. Dismembering a leg will drop them to a crawl. Dismembering an arm will decrease their attack range and strength. Decapitations are instant kills, and are more likely the stronger the attack. Tougher enemies (irradiated and armored) have higher dismember resistance.
Durability - The total number of uses an item has. The value given is the number of uses before the item will require repairs. Durability scales with item quality, and can be increased with mods.
Effective Range - The range at which a firearm will deal its normal damage. At distances past a weapon's Effective Range, the weapon will deal a fraction of its normal damage, until it reaches zero at the Maximum Range.
Explosion Resist - Damage reduction aimed towards explosions, increased by wearing armor. Explosion Resist is directly converted into damage resistance (ex. 50 Explosion Resist = 50% Explosion Damage Reduction). The maximum Explosion Resist is 90.
Gamestage - An in-game scaling mechanic that affects enemy spawns, loot tier, and overall game difficulty. Gamestage increases as your player level and total days survived increases. Low Gamestages will see Primitive/Tier 1 items, Mid Gamestages will see Tier 2 items, and Late Gamestages will see Tier 3 items. As Gamestage increases, tougher zombies spawn more frequently (ex. feral and irradiated types).
Handling - The rate at which your accuracy stabilizes (you will gain accuracy faster overtime). Because of this, you also lose less accuracy while rapid firing.
Health (Block) - The amount of hitpoints a block has. Can be increased by repairing and upgrading the block.
Health (Player) - Your health is the red bar in the bottom left of your UI. It increases as your player level increases. Lose it all, and you're dead.
Health Loss - A buff that reduces health loss upon taking damage. This is applied separate from Armor Rating.
Knockdown - Powerful attacks can knock zombies down, either ragdolling or putting them in a "falldown" animation. Knockdowned zombies are vulnerable and unable to attack for a short duration.
Power Attack - While pressing M2 with any melee weapon/tool, you will perform a power attack. Power attacks deal additional damage, but are 30% slower than normal attacks, and cost more stamina. Some specific tools do not have power attacks (ex. Repair Tools).
Schematic - Allows you to unlock the crafting recipes for items, that would have otherwise been unlocked by perks, or only found in loot. Can be found in almost any kind of container.
Stamina - Your stamina is the blue bar below your health. It increases as your player level increases. It drains overtime while sprinting and aiming down sights, and drains instantly when melee attacking. When running out of stamina, your sprint is put on cooldown, and you cannot melee attack. While walking or consuming certain drinks/foods, you slowly regain stamina.
Glossary (cont.)
Stun (Player) - The player's movement speed is slowed significantly, and has their vision blurred, for 5 seconds. Can be received in combat with Zombies.
Stun (Zombie) - Status debuff. When stunned, enemies have their movement speed lowered by -80% and their attack speed by -50% for a short duration. As the stun wears off, the enemy will gradually return to their original movement and attack speed. Additional stuns refresh stun duration. Enemies that were stunned receive stun resistance for 3s.
Tier - Refers to an item's overall ranking among other weapons in its group. Primitive (Tier 0) items are craftable by default, and have the lowest combat efficacy. Tier 3 weapons are the best of their kind, and can only be found in late Gamestage.
Stat Mechanics
These last few sections will be an in-depth explanation of how various mechanics work in 7 Days to Die. For those who aren't very math-savvy, this will probably get confusing. The information below is predicted based on patterns with in-game items, as well as coding for weapon stats in the files.
Quality
TL;DR - Looting gives you more consistent item stats. Crafting items can give you higher damage and durability, but at random.
For all items in the game, Quality is an important factor in determining an item's stats, especially entity/block damage.
Quality is internally regarded as a positive integer, with a range from 1 to 600. In game, the displayed level of an item is single-digit and rounded to the nearest whole value (ex. An item with Quality 574 will be shown as Level 6).
The higher item Quality is, the higher stats such as Damage (entity and block) and Durability will be. For weapons and tools, Quality applies a damage multiplier (see table below). Damage multipliers are set to a weapon's base damage.
An item with a Quality of exactly 600 will receive the maximum damage bonus of +50%. An item with a Quality of between two levels will have a damage bonus proportionally between the two multipliers (ex. If an item has a Quality of 324, it's damage bonus is +22.4%).
For ranged weapons, the base damage is a set value PLUS the damage of the loaded ammunition. The set value varies for each weapon. For example, the Hunting Rifle has a base damage of 8. 7.62 Ammo has a base damage of 47. When added together, the new damage of the Hunting Rifle becomes 55.
QualityColorItem LevelDamage BonusMod SlotsFaultyGray1+0%1PoorOrange2+10%1FineYellow3+20%2GoodGreen4+30%2GreatGray5+40%3FlawlessMagenta6+50%4
This table demonstrates the relationship between Quality and Damage Multiplier. The function is linear, with the expression f(x) = 0.1x - 10, f(x) being the Damage Multiplier, for all f(x) ≥ 0, and x being the Quality, where 1 ≤ x ≤ 600. To find the multiplier of a certain Quality value, plug in Quality for x.
Crafting vs. Looting
Weapons, tools, and armor can be obtained through either crafting or looting. Looted items will tend to have more concentrated values, whereas crafted items are affected by additional multipliers, which can be negative or positive.
Looted items have a randomly chosen Quality value (ex. 547, 239, etc...). You will find higher Quality items as your gamestage increases.
Items found in loot are only affected by the Quality Bonus multiplier. They are not affected by any random factor.
Crafted items have a fixed Quality value. By default, all items are crafted with a Quality of 100, and can be raised to a maximum of 500, through their respective perks.
Alongside the Quality Bonus multiplier, crafted items are affected by an additional factor. For almost all weapons, this factor range is from -15% to +15% damage. This gives crafted items more inconsistent stats, but the potential for greater damage than a looted, perfect Quality 6 item. Primitive tier items are unaffected by this random factor.
So, here's an example:
Hunting Rifle - Base Damage of 55
If you manage to loot a perfect Hunting Rifle, it would have a Quality of 600. This would give it a damage multiplier of +50%. Thus, its total damage will be 82.5.
If you rank up Dead Eye (ignoring the damage bonuses the perk gives) to craft a Hunting Rifle with Quality 500 (maximum quality from crafting), it will have a damage multiplier of +40%. IN ADDITION, it has the random damage multiplier from -15% to +15%. The total value is additional, not multiplicative (the percentages are added together, then applied).
So if you were to get lucky, you can craft a Quality 500 Hunting Rifle with a damage multiplier of +55%, giving a total damage of 85.3! However, the odds of this occurring are somewhat low (about 1 in 30 chance).
On the other side of the Crafting Factor, you may receive a negative multiplier, which goes as low as -15%. This would mean your Hunting Rifle has a damage bonus of only +25%, and a damage of 68.8. If the Rifle were of Quality 100 (no bonus multiplier), it would have a damage multiplier of -15%, and damage of 46.8, the absolute minimum damage a Hunting Rifle can have.
If you've understood anything of what I've said so far, you'll realize that crafting can give you higher damage than items from loot. Items of lower crafted quality are less likely to have higher damage than a looted item of equal quality.
Something to keep in mind - Level 6 weapons have one extra mod slot than Level 5 weapons. Every mod added to a weapon increases its damage by +10%. You will still get the most damage from of a Level 6 weapon if you fully mod it, but a crafted Level 5 weapon can have a higher damage than a Level 6 without mods.
Durability
Durability is scaled linearly with an item's quality. The higher the Quality, the higher the base durability. All weapons, tools, and armor, have unique minimum and maximum durability. Typically, items of higher tier will have more durability than the previous tier (ex. a Steel Spear has greater durability than an Iron Spear).
Items from loot will have a durability chosen directly from its respective scale. Perfect items (Quality 600) will have the highest durability value.
Crafted items will have a random factor for durability, similar to damage. This only affects non-primitive tier ranged weapons and tools. The range is from -20% to +20% for all ranged weapons and power tools, and -15% to +15% for all non-power tools.
Armor Rating
This section will cover Armor Rating. Explosion resist is measured in the same way. Armor Rating is given a base value range, which is chosen at random, and an additional quality bonus range.
For example, Military Armor has a base armor rating (and explosion resist) value. This value ranges from 6.23 to 8.93, and is chosen at random.
In addition, Military Armor gets an additional quality bonus. This bonus ranges from 0 to +3.27, and is governed by the armor's quality. Quality 600 would receive the maximum bonus of +3.27, whereas Quality 1 would receive no bonus. Qualities in-between receive a proportional bonus (ex. Quality 540 receives +2.94 armor rating).
So for Military Armor, the maximum armor rating possible is 12.2. This, however, is extremely unlikely. Hitting the highest random armor rating is roughly a 1 in 270 chance, and hitting a perfect 600 quality armor piece scales with gamestage, but is still very rare.
Stacking Stat Bonuses
Stat bonuses, like damage from perks, mods, and magazines, are all additional. This means the percentages are added together, and then applied to a weapon's base damage. Below is an example, using the previous Hunting Rifle stats.
Hunting Rifle has 55 Base Damage. Let's say we find a perfect one, 600 Quality; +50% Damage Bonus. This totals to 82.5 Entity Damage.
If we have the perk Dead Eye at Rank 5, that's an additional +50% Damage Bonus. In unison, this makes a +100% Damage Bonus, which totals to 110 Entity Damage. All stat bonuses apply this way, be it degradation/durability, fire rate, etc...
Stat Mechanics (cont.)
Quality/Durability (Primitive Items Only)
I mentioned in the previous section that Primitive tier items (e.g. Pipe Rifle, Stone Sledgehammer) do not receive stats the same way that other items do. Below are the rules for Primitive tier items.
Primitive tier items do not receive "in-between" quality bonuses
This means that every primitive item, crafted or looted, always has a quality of multiple 100 (e.g. 100, 200, 300...). This means that primitive tier items will only receive the respective flat damage upgrades (+0% for 100, +10% for 200, +20% for 300, up to +50% for 600), and similarly for durability. Remember, these quality values are displayed as single-digit item levels (1, 2, 3...).
A more simple way of explaining: Every primitive item of the same name and item level will have exactly the same stats. Primitive tier item do not receive randomized stats from crafting
This goes for durability and damage. All other stats are constant.
Armor Piercing
Some ammunition and weapons have a stat bonus known in-game as "Target Armor," which details how much less effective enemy armor is when using the aforementioned weapon/ammo type, usually by a percentage. For the sake of consistency, we are going to refer to the inverse of Target Armor: Armor Pierce. Armor Pierce represents the same stat, but with positive values instead.
With that out of the way, let's explain:
Armor piercing is a multiplier applied to armor rating, rather than being a subtracted percentage. For example, this means that a +20% armor piercing will reduce armor rating by 20% (80% of its original value).
Let's say an enemy has 50 Armor Rating. This means they resist 50% of damage.
A weapon which does 100 Damage will instead do 50 Damage to this enemy. We have some AP Rounds which have 20% Armor Piercing. This reduces the target's armor rating by 20%, down to 80% of its original value.
50 Armor Rating * .8 = 40 Armor Rating (40% Damage Resistance, or receives 60% of all Damage)
Now, our weapon that deals 100 Damage deals 60 Damage to this enemy.
Target Penetration
A unique feature of AP Rounds is that they can penetrate through enemies and blocks, continuing to deal damage after already hitting a target. The effectiveness of this penetration can be increased through the perk The Penetrator, up to a maximum of 4 penetrations. This means that, if you max out the perk and are a good shot, you can hit 5 enemies with one bullet!
The logic behind penetration, however, is somewhat complicated.
Let's focus on normal AP Rounds for now, without any ranks from The Penetrator. These bullets can penetrate one target, with a maximum health of 250 HP. As of now, this maximum health only refers to blocks. Actual entities, like zombies and animals, can have any maximum health.
I'm gonna use a few diagrams beautifully crafted in ms paint to explain block penetration, just to make things easier.
The Penetrator Rank: 0
This is the standard penetration of any AP round, without blocks in the way. Two enemies are hit (after the first is penetrated), and the last 3 are unharmed.
The Penetrator Rank: 0
When a block is involved, the single block becomes a target of its own. For every Maximum 250HP the health has, the block counts as an extra target.
What this means is that higher health blocks "count" as more targets.
Max HP = 0 (Air/nothing) ---> Does not count as target
0 < Max Block HP < 251 ---> Block counts as 1 Target
251 < Max Block HP < 501 ---> Block counts as 2 Targets
501 < Max Block HP < 751 ---> Block counts as 3 Targets
751 < Max Block HP < 1000 ---> Block counts as 4 Targets
Max Block HP > 1000 ---> Block cannot be penetrated
Note: If you are shooting through a block with gaps/holes, such as bars, it will not count as a penetration.
To find out how many enemies you can hit after shooting through a block, subtract the block's target equivalence from how many targets you can hit maximum. For higher health blocks, normal AP rounds will not do; you require higher ranks of The Penetrator. Below is a table to better explain.
Note: Penetration bonuses begin at Rank 2 of The Penetrator
This table shows how blocks absorb penetration targets, with respect to the change in maximum block health. Again, it's just a restatement of: for every Max 250HP a block has, it counts as one target.
However, there are a few more rules about block penetration that I've come to notice, and some are useful to know if you want to maximize your collateral game.
The Penetrator Rank: 0
Only the first block in a row counts. It does not matter the number of blocks or their maximum hitpoints; the first block is seen as the only target.
Infact, this rule will remain until there is two or more blocks of space between the two original blocks. This means that:
The Penetrator Rank: 0
One block of space between the two blocks; the first block is still the only one that counts.
Once the blocks are spaced two blocks apart, they begin acting as separate targets. The first block is penetrated, as shown by the red arrow, but the bullet cannot penetrate the second block.
There are a lot of possible scenarios for what kind of targets you're dealing with. These pictures just explain the most simple examples of target penetration. If you want to understand a more specific situation better, I leave it for you to calculate.
Stat Mechanics (cont. 2)
Value (Dukes)
TL;DR - The higher an item's level, the higher its economic value. Items lose value as they lose durability. Mods increase item value.
Items that are governed by quality can have varying sell prices at Traders. Value will scale proportionally with quality. Additional factors can also affect how high your item's value is, such as mods and bartering (Bartering is separate but still counts towards item value. It increases all item sale values by the given percentage).
As for items not governed by quality, such as basic resources, the value of the goods will scale with quantity.
All items have a Base Economic Value (see List of Base Economic Values)
Every mod added to an item increases its Base Economic Value by +300 Dukes.
This is a really good way to get rid of unwanted mods and items! Traders will always sell their goods for 10x the item's Economic Value.
An item worth normally 300 Dukes will be sold by a trader for 3000 Dukes. The Bartering stat will increase all sold goods by the percent value, and decrease the price of all Trader goods by the same percent value (calculated separate from Base EV).
The actual Economic Value of an item is determined by its Level. Item Level refers to the displayed value, 1 - 6, which is governed by quality (see Quality above). There are no in-betweens; Dukes will scale discretely rather than continuously (you can't have an Economic Value between levels 2 and 3, for example).
Economic Value (NOT Base Economic Value) of an item will scale proportionally with durability. An item will have 100% of its Economic Value (normal price) at 100% durability. The percentage of remaining durability applies directly to the Economic Value.
So if an item worth 1000 Dukes has 500 Max Durability, and you use it 5 times (-5 Durability), the new Economic Value is (500 - 5) / (500) * 1000 = 990 Dukes.
Item LevelPercent of Base Economic Value18%238.4%368.8%499.2%5129.6%6160%
This table represents the linear relationship between Item Level and the Percent of Base Economic Value. The Percent refers to the fraction of an item's Base EV you're getting, which can be either an increase (>100%) or a decrease (<100%).
Let's use an example. The Chainsaw has a Base Economic Value of 1500 Dukes. A Level 1 Chainsaw will sell for 8% of that, giving it a price of 120 Dukes. At Level 6, the Base Economic Value is at 160% of the normal, giving it an Economic Value of 2400 Dukes.
But let's say you also used this Chainsaw a bit. The Chainsaw's durability is 5040, and you used it 1020 times. Therefore, it's durability is 4020/5040, and it's Economic Value is multiplied by this fraction. Now, the Economic Value is 2400 Dukes * 4020/5040 = ~1914 Dukes.
Player Level
This one is simple but I like to complicate things because calculus is fun.
Player Level is capped at 300. Once reaching Lvl 300, you will no longer gain experience or skill points.
This means that, from maxing out Player Level and completing the Tutorial Mission (4 SP), you can gain a maximum of 303 Skill Points.
The formula to find the XP interval between two levels is:
f(x) = 9999.5(1.05)^x, where x is the player level for all 1 < x ≤ 300, and f(x) is the total XP interval.
The equation is exponential, so the XP interval between levels increases as player level increases. What this formula finds is the amount of XP it takes to get from one level to the next (x). For example, at Level 5, it takes 13400 XP to reach Level 6, written as f(6) = 13400.
To find the Total XP Requirement to Reach a Certain Level (what most people are looking for), sum the formula using this new equation:
You can plug this into Desmos Graphing Calculator[www.desmos.com] if you wanna try it
Set n as the level you wish to reach (upper limit)
x = 1 sets the interval as 1 (cannot be a perfect integral, since the XP milestones are discrete and non-continuous, i.e. there is no level 1.1, 1.2, etc...)
-10499.475 is technically the amount of XP required to reach Level 1. Since it does not really exist, we subtract it from the equation.
Keep in mind, this always finds the Total XP Requirement from level one. If you want to find the XP Requirement between two levels, with the lower level being higher than 1, instead take the difference of the two XP Requirements.
Example: It takes 47,517 XP to reach Level 5 (from Level 1). It takes 121,562 XP to reach Level 10 (likewise, from Level 1). To Reach Level 10 from Level 5, it takes 121,562 - 47,517 = 74,045 XP.
Here are some pre-calculated answers for you:
To reach Level 10, it takes a total of 121,562 XP (121.6 Thousand).
To reach Level 50, it takes a total of 2,187,545 XP (2.187 Million).
To reach Level 100, it takes a total of 27,393,394 XP (27.39 Million).
To reach Level 200, it takes a total of 3,631,039,910 XP (3.631 Billion).
To reach Level 300, it takes a total of 477,515,089,560 XP (477.5 Billion).
Now as you can clearly see, it takes a pretty absurd amount of experience to reach the highest levels. You'll never really need that many skill points to optimize a build, even if you plan on going into other skilltrees for miscellaneous perks. Still, if you really insist on getting to Level 300, try playing around with the XP Multipliers. You can set them before loading into a world, under World Settings.
Other Stats
Some additional stats, such as fire rate and effective range, can have fixed multiplier ranges, that are applied to a base value for each stat. These multipliers are unaffected by crafting, looting, or weapon quality. Instead, they are chosen at complete random.
For example, most guns have a variable fire rate. We'll use the Hunting Rifle again as an example.
The Hunting Rifle has a base fire rate of 120 Rounds/min.
The range of multipliers for fire rate start at -5% to +5%. The minimum fire rate for the Hunting Rifle is 114, and the maximum is 126. Once again, this value is completely random, not governed by how the loot was obtained.
Hidden Stats
Some stats are hard-coded into certain weapons, but cannot be viewed or otherwise reliably known in-game. The only stat I have come across that is 'hidden' is Weapon Handling in firearms. Almost every firearm (with the exception of the Primitive tier) possesses a ±8% Weapon Handling, meaning a range from -8% to +8% Weapon Handling. This modifier is unaffected by any modifiers; it is completely random.
Fall Damage Mechanics
After a bit of searching, I was able to uncover exactly how fall damage works. This section of the guide will give an in-depth detailing of falling in 7 Days to Die, including the safe fall distance, breaking/spraining legs, and mods and perks such as Parkour and Impact Bracing. Like the Stat Mechanics page, this part requires a basic understanding in algebra.
So falling itself is not strictly determined by distance. Rather, the end value is regarded as a falling speed, which does scale based on distance, but is also affected by other factors, such as your current status effects, perks, and mods. The greater your fall speed, the higher damage you will take upon landing (and higher chance of receiving sprained/broken leg).
There is no perfect formula for fall speed. The in-game XML files state that every meter adds a fall speed of .01414 (plus an initial constant), but this is not true. This value is more of an average fall speed per meter. Fall speed also caps at 1.0 (but this takes an absurdly massive height to fall). To keep things short, I just got the fall speed values directly via the debug window ingame.
For reference, one block is one meter in-game. The falling speed is not actually your in-game velocity, otherwise it would be very slow. You still accelerate while falling, however.
Fall damage scales linearly with fall speed, and has a definite expression. The formula for fall damage is f(x) = 300( x - .189), where f(x) refers to the total health damage, and x refers to fall speed, for all x ≥ .189.
With these two factors, we are able to determine a full table to display a relationship with fall distance and damage. Before we do that, there are three last things to mention.
By default, the safe fall distance (max height you can fall without damage) is 6m.
At 7m (and every 1m above), the chance of spraining a leg increases by +25%.
At 8m (and every 1m above), the chance of breaking a leg increases by +20%.
Height (m)Fall SpeedFall DamageSprain ChanceBreak Chance6.188400%0%7.20404.525%0%8.21979.250%20%9.231512.875%40%10.247217.5100%60%11.25921100%80%12.270824.5100%100%
This table displays a full chart for fall damage scaled with height, from the normal safe fall distance up until a 100% leg break chance. Breaking a leg will override spraining a leg. Note that damage always rounds up to the nearest whole health point (4.2 will appear as 5 Damage). The damage is also not resisted by armor.
Increasing/Decreasing Safe Fall Distance
There are also several other factors that can change fall speed, both negatively and positively. Such factors include the perk Parkour, blocks such as Hay Bales, certain perk books, having a sprained/broken leg, and even jumping vs. walking off edges. You can also lower fall damage altogether (which also lowers leg sprain/break chance).
These factors will simply add or subtract a certain value from your end fall speed, thus reducing damage and increasing the safe fall distance. They can all be combined to make your safe fall distance ludicrously high. I'll show you the maximum height you can fall once I finish listing the different modifiers.
Increase Safe Fall Distance
Fully jumping (holding space) before landing effectively increases safe fall distance by 2m. This increases your total safe fall distance by 1m. Jump before you fall off!
This scales with the perk Parkour. Jumping will always increase your safe fall distance. Hay Bales will halve your fall speed. This also lowers the fall speed cap to .5 rather than 1.
The perk Parkour lowers fall speed by .0162/.0304/.0587/.0782 (Perk Rank 1/2/3/4). This raises safe fall distance by roughly 1.0m/1.9m/4.0m/5.6m.
Impact Bracing lowers fall speed by .02121. This raises safe fall distance by roughly 1.4m.
The perk book The Great Heist Vol 5 lowers fall speed by .114. This raises safe fall distance by roughly 8.7m. This effect only occurs when you are carrying 5000 or more Duke Coins.
The candy Oh Sh!tz Drops makes you fully immune to fall damage.
Decreasing Safe Fall Distance
Having a Splinted, Sprained, or Broken Leg increases fall speed by .02828. This lowers safe fall distance by roughly 2.0m.
Note that you can't have both a sprained and broken leg at the same time.
So if you add up every possible factor, you can lower your fall speed by about .22755. This allows you to fall about 21.5m without taking damage! If you land on a Hay Bale, your fall speed is cut in half, allowing you to fall up to about 43m!
Extended Chart
To help with extreme heights and more calculations, refer to the chart below. Currently goes up to 30m. I'll extend it more if you ask nicely :)
Height (m)Fall SpeedFall Damage13.282528.114.294331.615.306135.116.313937.517.325741.018.333543.419.345346.920.353249.321.361051.622.372855.123.380657.524.388559.925.396362.226.404264.627.412066.928.419969.329.428871.930.435674.0
List Of Base Economic Values
This section will list an extraneous stat for all items previously listed: Base Economic Value. This value (measured in Dukes/trader currency) is the base value of an item's worth. I'm listing this stat in a separate list, because I ran out of characters for the other, respective guide sections. Values will be listed in order of item appearance.
Weapons and Armor with an item level will have a scaling Economic Value, their price being higher or lower than Base Econ Value depending on item level.
Items with no item level are instead the same price per unit.
See Value (Dukes) under Stat Mechanics (cont.) for more information on how Economic Value works.
Perception - Weapons
Pipe Rifle - 100 Dukes
Hunting Rifle - 500 Dukes
Lever Action Rifle - 1000 Dukes
Sniper Rifle - 1500 Dukes
Molotov - 8.16 Dukes per unit
Pipe Bomb 8.16 Dukes per unit
Dynamite - 20 Dukes per unit
Grenade - 8.16 Dukes per unit
Contact Grenade - 8.16 Dukes per unit
Timed Charge - 8.16 Dukes per unit
Rocket Launcher - 1000 Dukes
Landmines
Candy Tin - 19.4 Dukes per unit
Plate - 23 Dukes per unit
Cooking Pot - 24 Dukes per unit
Hubcap - 29.2 Dukes per unit
Air Filter - 36.4 Dukes per unit
Stone Spear - Does not sell
Iron Spear - 350 Dukes
Steel Spear - 700 Dukes
Strength - Weapons
Pipe Shotgun - 100 Dukes
Double Barrel Shotgun - 500 Dukes
Pump Shotgun - 1000 Dukes
Auto Shotgun - 1500 Dukes
Wooden Club - Does not sell
Baseball Bat - 350 Dukes
Candy Cane Club - 350 Dukes
Steel Club - 700 Dukes
Stone Sledgehammer - Does not sell
Iron Sledgehammer - 350 Dukes
Steel Sledgehammer - 700 Dukes
Heavy Armor
Scrap Armor - 250 Dukes (each piece)
Iron Armor - 500 Dukes (each piece)
Steel Armor - 1000 Dukes (each piece)
Fortitude - Weapons
Pipe Machine Gun - 100 Dukes
AK-47 - 500 Dukes
Tactical Assault Rifle - 1000 Dukes
M60 - 1500 Dukes
Fists - Varies depending on which black market you go to
Leather Knuckles - 45 Dukes
Iron Knuckles - 350 Dukes
Steel Knuckles - 350 Dukes
Agility - Weapons
Pipe Pistol - 100 Dukes
Pistol - 500 Dukes
.44 Magnum - 1000 Dukes
SMG-5 - 1500 Dukes
.44 Desert Vulture - 1500 Dukes
Primitive Bow - Does not sell
Wooden Bow - 500 Dukes
Iron Crossbow - 500 Dukes
Compound Bow - 1000 Dukes
Compound Crossbow - 1000 Dukes
Bone Knife - Does not sell
Hunting Knife - 350 Dukes
Candy Cane Knife - 350 Dukes
Machete - 700 Dukes
Light Armor
Cloth Armor - 75 Dukes (each piece)
Leather Armor - 250 Dukes (each piece)
Military Armor - 500 Dukes (each piece)
Intellect - Weapons
Pipe Baton - 100 Dukes
Stun Baton - 350 Dukes
Junk Sledge - 700 Dukes
Junk Turret - 500 Dukes
Junk Drone - 700 Dukes
Intellect - Vehicles
Bicycle - Does not sell
Minibike - Does not sell
Motorcycle - Does not sell
4x4 Truck - Does not sell
Gyrocopter - Does not sell
Tools - Primitive
Stone Axe - Does not sell
Taza's Stone Axe - 1000 Dukes
Stone Shovel - Does not sell
Tools - Repair
Claw Hammer - 500 Dukes
Nail Gun - 1000 Dukes
Tools - Pickaxes
Iron Pickaxe - 350 Dukes
Steel Pickaxe - 700 Dukes
Auger - 1500 Dukes
Tools - Axes
Iron Fireaxe - 350 Dukes
Steel Axe - 700 Dukes
Chainsaw - 1500 Dukes
Tools - Shovels
Iron Shovel - 350 Dukes
Steel Shovel - 1000 Dukes
Tools - Salvage
Wrench - 350 Dukes
Ratchet - 700 Dukes
Impact Driver - 1500 Dukes
Tools - Miscellaneous
Torch - 2 Dukes per unit
Flashlight - 40 Dukes
Paintbrush - 40 Dukes
Wire Tool - 40 Dukes
Conclusion
Thank you for checking out my absurdly long guide. If you have any questions, or want to know more about 7 Days, let me know in the comments. I'll do my best to continue updating this guide as new updates are released.
Coming Soon:
Interpreting Weapon Statistics - A section which will describe what each value in a weapon statistic means (i.e. Entity vs. Block damage, accuracy, durability...)
The Enemy Almanac - Another massive project, which will become a separate guide. The guide will discuss:
Every mob (zombies/animals) in the game, their health, and their damage
Optimal methods to fighting/countering enemies
Difficulty scaling (Adventurer, Nomad, Warrior, etc...)
Gamestage (May not be a numerical explanation, and more of a conceptual)
Speculative Lore (Just for the hell of it)
Change Log
1.0.0 - Creation1.1.0 - First (Recorded) Update2.0.0 - Alpha 20 UpdateIf I update anything to this guide, it'll be listed here, with a date and version (arbitrary number I chose, based on the magnitude of changes). This is the best place for you to keep in touch with this guide, incase I add anything new.
Note: At the time of adding this changelog, the guide had already been out for around 5 months. Only until now I decided to add one, for quality of life sake. The five-month gap you'll see below is therefore probably normal.
July 20th, 2020
Guide finalized and published.
Maybe I should add a change log...
November 8th, 2020
Added the Change Log section
Displays new additions and updates to the guide Added Perception - Traps section
Added Intellect - Traps section
The goal of these sections is to detail the mechanics/stats of landmines (Perception) and electrical traps (Intellect) Added Player Level to Stat Mechanics (cont.) section
Discloses the player level cap, as well as information on experience required to level up Updated information directories
1.1.1November 9th, 2020
Fixed: Perk Javelin Master does not affect thrown spear damage
Thanks, Pekiti! Updated math examples to be 9.9% more accurate
1.2.0November 23rd, 2020
Added the Skilltree Calculator section
Includes a link to a visualizer for the 7 Days to Die skill system Updated attribute descriptions
1.2.1March 12th, 2021
Removed two broken promises (Coming Soon in Conclusion)
...and replaced them with two new ones.
1.2.2March 25th, 2021
Updated Strength - Playstyle descriptions
1.2.3June 20th, 2021
Fixed Agility - Playstyle error with perk names
Thanks, Taotiegames!
1.3.0July 20th, 2021
Added Notable Bugs/Discrepancies section
Details all the currently non-functional features of the current alpha (what doesn't work).
Removed all Bug footnotes from the other sections Revised Intellect - Playstyle
Thanks, CHIPOLLINO! Messed around with more math-related stuff
1.3.1July 22nd, 2021
Added another DOOM reference
Revised some information
1.3.2August 9th, 2021
Updated Notable Bugs/Discrepancies
Thanks, Droante!
1.3.3October 7th, 2021
Added PSA: Alpha 20
Explains what will happen to the guide when A20 releases Added new promise (Coming Soon in Conclusions)
1.3.4November 24, 2021
Added tier-style ranking (SABCD) to all Attribute Playstyle viability sections
1.4.0November 26, 2021
Added Prioritizing Your Perks (The "Meta")
A section to describe which perks I highly suggest any player picks up, no matter their build. Also details what not to do with skill points. Fart ed around with some numbers (again)
1.4.1November 28, 2021
Fixed: Perk Javelin Master does increase thrown spear damage
Fixed: Armor piercing and target penetration are functional
1.5.0November 30, 2021
Added more to Stat Mechanics
Explanations for Armor Piercing
Needlessly-in-depth explanations for Target Penetration
1.5.1 - A20 Experimental ReleaseDecember 6, 2021
Updated PSA - Alpha 20
December 27, 2021
Friends and fellow survivors, I am happy to announce that the guide is now fully updated to the current installment of Alpha 20. Almost everything has been revisited, from new weapons to perk changes, to mechanics and readability. My other guides are next to be updated for A20. Below is a debriefing on the major additions to the guide
Updated to Alpha 20
Added stats for all new weapons
Pipe Rifle -- Primitive Tier rifle
Pipe Shotgun, which replaced the Blunderbuss -- Primitive Tier shotgun
Pipe Machine Gun -- Primitive Tier AR
Pipe Pistol -- Primitive Tier handgun
Pipe Baton -- Primitive Tier baton weapon Added a description of the new Robotic Drone and its mods
Divided Weapon categories into more specific sections (i.e. Fortitude - Weapons was split up into Fortitude - Weapons (Assault Rifles) and Fortitude - Weapons (Pugilism)
Miscellaneous changes
Ammunition completely overhauled -- HP rounds are now HiPower rounds, and simply do more damage, and no longer have negative armor piercing. AP rounds have increased piercing power, and are a direct upgrade from HiPower rounds (in terms of raw damage, Standard < HiPower < AP).
The Penetrator has been changed -- Now gives more armor piercing to all firearms and spears, and gives bonus armor piercing to any AP round.
Living off the Land has been changed slightly -- Rank 2 grants a 50% chance to harvest a bonus crop. Super corn seeds are unlocked at Rank 2 instead of Rank 3.
Updated all other item stats (too many to record)
Damage values are now rounded to the nearest tenth of a decimal place Updated directories and added a few extras to make the guide easier to read and understand
2.0.1January 17th, 2022
Updated List of Base Economic Values i forgor
2.1.0January 20th, 2022
Added Quality/Durability (Primitive Items Only) to Stat Mechanics
Repaired grammar
2.2.0March 14th, 2022
Added The "Meta" cont.
Includes section about Grandpa's Fergit'n Elixir
Thanks, Inspector Gadget! Includes section about the best accessories/equipment
2.3.0 - The "I-promise-I-still-care-about-this-guide" UpdateFebruary 16th, 2023
Added Fortitude - Gameplay Montage
The first montage, perhaps of many? I promised in the "Coming Soon" section that I would do a montage featuring one of the five skilltrees in 7 Days, and after a few months, it finally released! Go check it out! Updated Playstyle sections
Re-added all the pictures that Steam deleted
Rant warning: This is by far the most frustrating thing I've ever had to deal with. It wasn't writing out the guide, or going through pages and pages of xml files. No, it was something as mundane as getting pictures. You can find all the item and perk icons in the 7 Days folder, so it's super easy. But for seemingly no reason, Steam corrupts and deletes images at random. AND THIS HAS BEEN A BUG FOR YEARS APPARENTLY. Once the image is corrupt, there's no bringing it back. You have to manually re-add it. BUT HERE'S THE KICKER: Even after you delete the image, Steam WON'T let you upload the same image if it has the SAME FILENAME. So you have to GO BACK and CHANGE THE FILENAMES so YOU CAN ACTUALLY UPLOAD IT. THEN you have to CHANGE THE FILENAMES BACK TO NORMAL so your 7 Days can run without issue. If you ever, EVER consider making a guide, please, for the love of all that is holy, KEEP a backup folder of all your images. It will save you unquantifiable amounts of pain.
Change Log (cont.)
3.0.0 - Alpha 21 Update
Coming soon!
Currently updated:
Perception Perks
Additional Guides
Still want more customization for your build? Check out my Mod Stats guide, which talks about the uses and exact statistics of every firearm, weapon, tool, and armor mod currently in the game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2186742344
Because you can never have too much customization! Check out my newest guide, Crack-A-Book -- The Guide to Magazines to read about 7 Days to Die's perk books, and how to incorporate their effects into your build.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2206203609
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2147570212
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- Hidden Achievement Guide
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