7 Days to Die – Your First Days (Alpha 17)

Learn how to survive your first 7 days and what skills to invest to get to end game quicker. All for the new Alpha 17 version.

Intro

Have you ever wanted to play Alpha 17, get stupidly strong and level up fast? But when you try the grind it’s to slow? It seems you are not getting anywhere? You want to know how to level up and not waste any points so you can get to the end game quicker as a solo player?

Well, this guide is for you. This is the Solo Guide to starting out in Alpha 17 as ranged player.

First a few tips on what we are going to do. We are going to specialize in range combat. This is because we can kill our enemies without the risk of getting to close to get hit. Plus with weapons being much more common in this version AND you do not want to get close to a horde on Blood Moon nights. The faster we eliminate the enemy, the quicker we level. The quicker we level, the more powerful we can become, and the more choices are open to us without the risk of death slowing us down.

If you read my other guide then you know we are NOT going to craft anything except the basics. If we need gear, we loot it, buy it, get it as a reward or get someone else to make it for us. Why? Because we will need to put points into crafting and we don’t want to do that as once the item is made, all we need to do is repair it. And with this new build, repairing doesn’t reduce quality. So you only need to make one piece which can last a lifetime.

What Perks or Attributes to Invest in?

Which perks or attributes to invest in? Which is worth it and which is not?

Since we are focusing on ranged weapons, we’re going to focus on mostly PERCEPTION. To start off with, fighting with bows is the best choice as it is very cheap and easy to maintain. All you need for ammo is stones, wood, and feathers. You will also find plenty of iron and steel arrows or arrowheads to help when you’re looting.

Tip: If you find a gun and ammo. Don’t use it. Only use it if there are dogs or vultures or if you are nearly dead and don’t want to die. Ammo is limited, and you won’t have the skills to make more. You also will need it for when the Blood Moon Horde comes.

By 7 days you should have at least the following skills and more.

• Perception: 5
• Boom! Headshot!: 3
• Lucky Looter: 3

• Fortitude: 1
• Healing Factor: 1
• Slow Metabolism: 1
• Pain Tolerance: 1

Walkthrough

Do the starting quest and see the trader. You should have around 6 skill points and be level 2 if you been killing zombies before getting to the trader.

Put everything into PERCEPTION if you’re not good at aiming for the head. Or put what you can in BOOM! HEADSHOT! You will want to go for the head as you’re going to be doing some severe damage and this skill will still work with ANY ranged weapon as it’s a shared skill.

Since we are not going to craft any items as it will just slow us down. You will need to put 3 points into LUCKY LOOTER. That will give you more and better loot. By doing this, you have a higher chance of getting what you want.

If you find yourself being encumbered, then you will also want to put a point into PACK MULE. Being encumbered means you will be moving slower. The more items outside of your comfort zone mean the slower you will get. Make sure you combine your items, salvage things you don’t want and throw away junk you don’t need or very easy to find (like plant fibers). Do not put too many points in here as you are going a PERCEPTION build and you can’t be wasting it in Fortitude. Unless you’re getting hit a lot.

Remember it’s okay to be slightly encumbered as your penalty is only small. However, it does add up with the higher the load. Remember to use your belt as well for storage.

As a ranged user, you should not find yourself using too much stamina except maybe for sprinting or being encumbered. To fix that put a point in encumbered and/or agility

You will eventually want HEALING FACTOR under FORTITUDE at least at level 1 for the passive healing. It’s slow, but it helps, especially when you’re hiding out at night waiting, and every point of health will improve to survive that little bit longer. Save it till you start getting hit.

Zombies snuck up behind you and stunning you? Put a point into PAIN TOLERANCE for a MASSIVE 20% stun reduction. This skill will be worth putting two points in for the double effect and having almost half stun immunity is nothing to cough at.

Perks to Avoid!

Perks that I would completely avoid is any of the craftings under INTELLIGENCE. Why? Because you can find them, buy them or get someone else to make them for you or be offered them as a reward. With a few points into LUCKY LOOTER under PERCEPTION, you will be able to get better gear. And with the new system where repairing your tools don’t lower the quality, you only need one of the items anyway. The only thing you will be looking for when you get the object is to get a higher quality item. The highest level is 6.

Other Skills Worth Considering?

Better Barter: Not a bad skill but not at the start. Your survivability is much more critical, and you want to gain XP faster.

The Daring Adventurer: I would get one point into this. An extra choice of reward is always excellent.

Salvage Operations: Putting points in here will help salvage cars for LOTS of extra $$$ and decent enough experience. This skill alone I can do a whole new guide on getting rich quick.

Rest of the skills you don’t need to start off with. Get strong, kill Zeds for experience, do quests to get gear and loot for the same. When you have the basic survivability done then do whatever you want to do.

Extra Tips and Hints

Here are some extra tips to help you level up and play better.

Daytime Horde

You can farm experience from hordes during the day. You can do so by making a lot of camp fires and building up the heat map. You will eventually get a screamer that spawns zombies, keep her alive and she will get more screamers who will get more and you will get more and more walking XP boosters.

Hunger and Thirst

Eat to increase max health and stamina. Drink for faster stam regen. (And health?)
If you’re in a desert biome, get as much Yucca as possible and make Yucca juice from it. You can do it directly from the character and all you need is 2 yucca plants and a jar of water. If refreshens you, increases your stamina regen and a very good, easy to make and cheap product. Get it. It helps.

Build Your First Base Near a Trader

You’re bound to be encumbered by everything you find and need a place to sell it all. Some traders will have working production tables (Such as forge, work bench, cement mixer etc)
You can use them while they’re open till you can get enough levels to build them yourself.

Doing Quests

Doing quests will help get you exploring, get some extra XP and money as well as a few items you might need to survive. Remember when you’re first starting out, you don’t want to be wasting skill points to craft anything.