Master 7 Days to Die: Beginner's Guide

AntMag.NET

This extensive guide assumes that you are playing the game on the default preset Nomad and have little or no experience of playing [7 Days to Die](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/7_Days_to_Die "7 Days to Die"). If it's your first time playing, here's a [First Steps](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/First_Steps "First Steps") guide instead.

Description

[7 Days to Die](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/7_Days_to_Die "7 Days to Die") is an open-world horde survival/crafting game with many ways to play it. Below you can find useful advice for an inexperienced player.

Terminology

[Zombies](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/Zombie "Zombie") refers to all humanoid NPC enemies.
Early Game is a loose term often used to refer to the time around when a player has just started in a world.
Mid Game is a loose term to refer to the time around when a player has established a safe place to stay overnight, in addition to a fair stash of resources and sufficient weaponry.
Late Game is a loose term to refer to the time around when a player is nearly fully self-sustained and can pretty much deal with any threat without much trouble. Typically has a well-defended horde base
End Game refers to when a player has a well-defended fortress and is completely self-sustained.

Controls

The controls used to play [7 Days to Die](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/7_Days_to_Die "7 Days to Die") combine keyboard keys, the mouse, and the mouse buttons. All key bindings and mouse settings can be changed using the Controls tab found in the Options tab on the main game menu accessed via the Esc key.

Basic Game Controls

WASD – Movement ( W: Forward A: Strafe left S: Strafe right D: Backward)
SPACE - Jump
Left Shift - Hold to run; no, there is no run toggle
C - Crouch/stealth - hold to continue crouching
Left Control - Toggle crouch/stealth mode
Left Click - Primary Action: uses held item, or basic attack with fists if no item held
Right Click - Secondary Action: power attack / aim ranged weapon / place block or item
E - Interact key, press & hold to access an object's radial menu instead
R - Reload held item/weapon, press & hold to bring up radial menu instead. Alternately will take all items from a container that has been opened.
Q - Drops the currently held item
Tab - Opens the [Crafting Window](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/Crafting_Window "Crafting Window"), press & hold to open the Main UI radial menu
B - Opens the [Character Window](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/Character_Window "Character Window")
M - Opens the [Map Window](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/Map_Window "Map Window")
Esc - Opens the main game menu. Pauses game if playing single player.

Refer to [Controls](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/Controls "Controls") for a more detailed description.

First Steps

It is recommended to play the prefab map [Navezgane](https://7daystodie.fandom.com/wiki/Navezgane "Navezgane") for beginners. Anything higher than "Low" spawn settings is likely to be too overwhelming as large groups of zombies may spawn around a player in the open, causing the player to become trapped as the zombies tighten their circle.