Playing 7DTD for the first time can be a daunting experience, to say the least. I will teach you here from my own personal experience the best approach to use when playing 7DTD for the first time.
Starter Tasks
- Quickly do the required startup tasks and run straight to your Trader. These are the ones related to making a bedroll, clothing, axe, fire, etc. The last one is to locate the trader.
Tip: Do not stop and loot along the way due to Dire Wolf’s, stray dogs, or vulture zombies that may spawn in and may attack, kill or infect you if you are 400 meters plus away. - Once you are at the trader and complete the trader quest walk around the trader’s compound and loot everything you can find and sell what you do not need. At this stage do not hoard any materials. Sell it all so you can make some money.
Initial Survival
You now need to learn how to survive before you go off wandering and doing your own thing.
To do this you need a few things.
- You need a way to heal zombie infections because this can eventually kill your character in-game.
To cure infections you need honey which cures 5% of infections. So if your infection rate goes up to 9.5% you will need 2 honey jars. Finding honey in A20 is a tad harder than prior versions. To find honey you need to chop down tree stumps. Expect to find on average 1 honey every 7 to 8 wooden stumps chopped down on average. This needs to be a primary objective you need to be doing when playing this game so eventually you have a few saved up. - You need a weapon to kill Bears, Stray Dogs, Flying Vultures, and Dire Wolves.
Keep a lookout for a weapon when looting and keep checking if the Trader has a cheap pipe gun for sale. Pipe guns are great early on in-game due to how simple they are to repair and can be made as long as you have the required parts. Pipe pieces are all that’s needed to repair a pipe gun. - You need food & Water.
Water is abundant on the maps, cheap food can be purchased at vending machines at the traders and across the map and you can also cook your own food or find food while looting kitchens in houses.
Presuming you have a weapon and ammo you need to constantly keep an eye out for Antibiotics eg honey, food and make sure you have lots of water.
Once you have all of these things you are ready to venture out.
Basic Base Build
Your next priority is to find a temporary home. I generally build a temp structure up the top of a large water container where I can craft the basic stuff and store gear. I make sure this is near the first trader I have discovered and where I will be completing quests.
Making Money & Levelling UP
The best way to do this is by completing Trader quests. Start with those closest to the trader and work your way out of the long distant quests. Moreover if you are new to the game you can always reset Skill Points in 7 Days to Die.
7 Days to Die is a survival and crafting-based game that has become popular over the years.