7 Days To Die: Best Builds For Damage

Key Takeaways

• Update your strategy with the best armor sets in 7 Days To Die as enemies get stronger.
• Consider a well-rounded build and focus on key attribute trees for optimal damage.
• The new patch changes enemy behavior and damage output, impacting meta-builds for combat.

At some point, while playing 7 Days To Die, players will eventually encounter some of the strongest zombies in the game. They’re not only bullet sponges, but they also cause some serious damage and run very fast. Stopping them will require more than the average bullet to the head, so equipping the best Armor Sets to improve damage output can make a considerable difference.

In the long run, players want to go for a balanced build and focus on a couple of attribute trees, even though the game encourages players to level up until they unlock everything. This list contains some of the best armor to hunt down the undead, with some tips on how to become a bona-fide zombie exterminator.

Updated November 4, 2024, by Lucas Simons:With the arrival of patch 1.1 b14, 7 Days to Die has suffered significant changes to the way enemy behavior works, as well as how much damage Zombies cause to construction blocks, which also alters the strategies needed to defend bases during the Blood Moons. Every time the devs tweak the game, there is bound to be some ripple effect throughout the meta builds. Especially those dedicated to causing damage. The latest patch also introduced some changes to stealth, and the “perma invisibility” build from the Assassin’s Set is no longer viable, since enemy AI has been tweaked to respond dynamically to certain stealth patterns. However, the stealth ratio of the Rogue and Assassin Sets has increased overall, making them good options for normal sneakiness. Most of the other builds remain viable, with no changes to damage ratios or mitigation.

5 Assault Commando Build

Grab An Assault Rifle And Clear Them Out

• Pros: High Mobility and Damage
• Cons: Rifle Ammo is expensive to craft
• Main Weapons: Assault Rifle, LGM
• Min Level Needed: 45

For those players who enjoy spray-and-pray tactics, the Assault Commando build gets the better of two main Perk Trees and combines them into a powerful mobile fighter, able to deal with hundreds of zombies without losing mobility or having to deal with too much stamina restriction. They will need to invest in the Fortitude and Agility trees to create the perfect synergy. For the Fortitude tree, they’ll need at least 26 Perk points; 16 will be Invested in 10 levels of Fortitude, 5 in the Machine Gunner Perk, and 5 in Rule Nº1: Cardio Perk. For the Agility attribute perk tree, players will need to invest another 19 points. 16 to take their agility score to level 10, and 3 more perk points to raise the Run and Gun Perk to maximum level.

Players should also invest their time looking for the Urban Combat and Automatic Weapons Handbook manuals since these carry a lot of bonuses and useful book perks to complete the build. In the case of Urban Combat, one of the main perks from Book 7 grants 5% damage resistance and 10% more damage when fighting inside buildings. This includes their base, which means they will always have this boost activated when defending it during Blood Moons. Complete the build with a full Commando set, which has a Ranged Damage increase of 50% (Tier 6 Gloves) and other useful boosts to healing and mobility. It is important to mention that Zombie damage to blocks has increased, so having a good base-defense build like this one is now critical to survive higher tiers of the Zombie base raids that happen every 7 days.

4 Exterminator Build

For Those Want To Go On A Quest To Destroy The Undead

• Pros: Great Area Damage and At Wave Clears
• Cons: Can Be Overwhelmed In Open Spaces
• Main Weapons: Shotguns, Explosives
• Min Level Needed: 42

This build’s main highlight is taking advantage of the Preacher Set damage boost and combining it with the stopping power of shotguns and explosives, causing serious area damage and mowing down the zombie horde. Players will need to invest in Strength and Perception to complete this build. For the Strength tree, they’ll need at least 21 Perk points; 16 will be invested in 10 levels of Strength and 5 in the Boomstick Perk. For the Perception attribute tree, they will need to invest another 21 points; 16 to take their PER score to level 10, then 5 more Perk points to raise Demolitions Expert to the maximum level.

As mentioned before, make sure to equip a full Preacher Set to enjoy its many useful Perks and set bonus — especially that juicy damage boost to undead (from all sources). This will not only boost players’ damage to zombies with the shotgun but also the area damage and block damage caused by explosives and their respective terrain effects. This build is incredibly efficient at clearing out zombies by the hundreds.

The Perks from the Shotgun Messiah books are a great investment and will boost damage considerably.

3 Assassin Build

Silent And Deadly With A Sniper, A Bow, Or A Pistol

• Pros: Maximum Stealth, Stay Always Hidden, Great At One Shooting
• Cons: Bad With Crowds, Squishy
• Main Weapons: Bow, Pistols, SMG, Snipers
• Min Level Needed: 44

The Assassin build is for those who want to strike from afar without enemies noticing them. This build relies on a combination of Agility and Perception and can cause critical damage by using the Sneak Attack mechanic. Players will need to invest 16 Perk points to maximize Agility. From there, invest another 10 Perk points in Archery and Hidden Strike, then another 5 in either Gunslinger or From The Shadows.

For the Perception attribute tree, players will need to invest another 21 points; 16 to take their PER score to level 10, then 4 more Perk points to raise The Penetrator to the maximum level. Optional: Players can invest an extra 5 points (for a total of 49 Levels) in the Deadeye Perk, which will increase the damage they do with Snipers. Combine these Perks with the Assassin Set and the Ranger’s Guide, Sniper, and Night Stalker Perk Books for maximum damage. Sneak attacks will do 6.6 times the damage of each shot — in addition to the armor penetration from the Penetrator Perk. The stealth ratio for this build has overall increased, but enemy detection, especially sensibility to light and sound has increased, so keep that in mind.

2 Crazy Bat Build

Squash Their Heads Like Rotten Pumpkins

• Pros: Super Fun To Play, Great Crowd Control, Lots Of Damage
• Cons: Buff Reliant, Stamina Reliant
• Main Weapons: Bats, Clubs
• Min Level Needed: 50

For this melee-focused build, players should invest in the Strength Perk tree, especially in the Pummel Pete Perk. Maximizing Strength has a total cost of 16 Perk points, while Pummel Pete will cost a total of 5 (for a total of 21). Then, they should also max out Fortitude (16 Perk points), then 3 points in Rule N1: Cardio, and 5 points in Healing Factor. Finally, another 5 points should be spent on Pain Tolerance. The ideal set for this build is the Biker Set, with its 60 % increase in melee damage and Melee Stamina depletion decrease.

To maximize damage output with this build, equip Bats or clubs with the Spikes mod, and read the Batter Up books, since these will boost not only the damage but also utility, decreasing stamina consumption, buffing attacks, increasing knockback, and, finally, when completing the collection, the best buff: restoring stamina on kill. Complete the build using Grandpa’s Moonshine and Fort Bites to get the following buffs: +400% Damage, +100% Stun Resist, +60% Sta Regen, +20 H/Sec, and +40% Damage Resistance.

1 Ranger Build

Old School Cowboy Goes For A Zombie Hunt

• Pros: Great at Long Range and Mid Range
• Cons: Static, Poor Mobility
• Main Weapons: Lever Action Rifle, .44 Caliber Guns
• Min Level Needed: 47

Combining the best of the Wild West and the bonuses of the Ranger Set, this build will turn every survivor into a legend of gunslinging. Players want to get Agility and Perception to max (32 Perk points total), then invest in The Penetrator (4 Perk points), Gunslinger (5 Perk points), and Deadeye (another 5 Perk points). This is a simple but effective build that relies on the Ranger set’s increased reload speed and extra damage.

Players should also invest in finding all Urban Combat Perk books for extra utility, mobility, and more damage from inside buildings (or bases). The Sniper book Perks are also tremendously useful, and the Magnum Enforcer and Pistol Pete book Perks can pair up nicely with their .44 Magnum or .44 Desert Vulture. If they add the buff from the Recog, which adds 500 % ranged damage, they can become human turrets. Certain Perks from the Magnum Enforcer Perk Books now stack with Pistol Pete’s (previous to Patch 1.14b some Perks weren’t working properly) creating even more powerful single shots from weapons that use .44 Ammo.