In a way, 7 Days to Die has been like labor; it’s taken a very long time to reach where it is, it still has a long way to go, and the whole thing is just painful to be involved in. Don’t let that descriptor of it scare you though, or make you think I don’t like it, because I do. The game is awesome, and while it certainly has its problems, every update has brought something significant to the mix.
The problem mostly lies on what to do in between each update, how do you keep a game fresh that’s been in development for over 6 years now? Well, you have a really great modding community that is willing to put tons of hours into it!
Thankfully, the mod community has delivered, and there are some really great mods out there for you to try out and play.
Mods for 7 Days to Die
Before we continue though, I do want to make a bit of a disclaimer. Since the game has had so many updates and they’ve been so far apart, not all mods work on every release. In fact, the majority of mods here were made for A16 or A17, so you might need to revert back to those to check them out (which is pretty normal for the game if we’re honest).
A17 really changed everything when it added modlets, so a lot of current mod creators are in the process of updating their mods to work on the new system, so definitely keep an eye out for most of these, if you don’t want to run A16 for the time being.
#1 War of the Walkers
The first mod on the list is great if you’ve played the game for a while and are looking for something a little different. Similar to some EU4 mods like Imperium Universalis, the mod is a bit like a total conversion mod.
For example, there’s farming with a large variety of crops as well as an associated skill, so that you don’t have to constantly be scavenging (for food anyway). There are also new schematics, now ores and revamped ore mining, tons of new food and drinks, even new biomes and an improved weather system. So really, the mod makes the game a bit more base-oriented, rather than exploration oriented, even though there’s still lots of that anyway.
There are also big changes to the loot and loot system that significantly changes how the game is played. The mod adds a ton of new armor, as well as new tailoring and armor smithing stations, so you can actually build all your gear from the ground up. This also extends to weapons as well, including stuff like Desert Eagle, the M25 Sniper Rifle, Tungsten Club, as well as new ammo for pretty much everything.
Another nice change is that there are now other NPC survivors out there, so you don’t necessarily have to feel all alone anymore: other survivors and bandits. Survivors are people like you; they won’t attack unless provoked, but they will attack zombies and wildlife or any other enemies. Bandits are the baddies, as their name suggests, so you’ll certainly have to keep your eyes open wherever you are.
So as you can see, it’s a pretty significant mod, and it sort of acts as an expansion to the base game, so I’m pretty happy that it’s free.
#2 Valmod
Another total conversion mod, this one gives you a lot of extra stuff with a slightly different flavor to War of the Walkers.
For example, the class system has been altered slightly, with your being able to choose a starting class that dictates what gear you start with (although it doesn’t lock you out of anything, so don’t worry). Similarly, you can find skill books laying around that will give you extra survivor points and you can also scrap recipes you don’t need for extra points as well. Most importantly though, recipes aren’t necessarily learned through . . . well recipes, instead you unlock them as you progress through the skill tree.
As you’d expect, there are also tons of new weapons and probably even more new types of ammo. You also get a few new workstations to build all that out for yourself, plus a craftable vendor and quest board so you don’t have to travel all around the map to buy stuff. Ok . . . the last one might make things a bit too easy, but if you’ve played the game before, it’s fine.
What’s really interesting though is that you can run this mod in two different ways: Expansion and Overhaul. Expansion works by essentially adding all the new items into the game without changing the core mechanics, so you still get the vanilla 7D2D gameplay. Overhauls on the other hand just change everything, giving you the expansion, and the new mechanics included.
Now, in terms of which of these two mods you should get, that wholly depends on you and what you’re after. Both mods add new items and new zombies, so you need to see which flavor of those you prefer. War of the Walkers adds other survivors, so if you’d like to avoid that, then maybe Valmod is a better choice.
#3 Fennec
Moving into a bit of a smaller scope, Fennec still manages to change and add a lot, but it isn’t as all-encompassing as the previous two mods.
Probably the main big change here is how classes are handled, in that it introduces specializations. So what are specializations? Well, basically it allows you to pick three different classes to become really good at while making all the other ones weaker. Yeah, it’s a trip.
Now, that might sound a bit insane but it actually makes sense, especially if there’s a couple of specific skills that you prefer, it allows you to get them much quicker. There’s also specialization-specific quests that have been added, and you can even master a specialization, which just makes the buffs and debuffs stronger. There’s quite a lot of specializations to choose from and master, so I won’t list them here, but you can find them on the mod’s page if you click below.
Fennec also adds 3 new ores, each for different levels of weapons and tools (starter to high-tier), as well as new ore processing, which just makes the whole ore forging much more efficient. You also get new foods, farming changes and steroids, so you can farm faster, and create some cool new things you can inject yourself with (disclaimer: don’t inject yourself with things). It also makes feral zombies waaaay more deadly, plus adds two elemental zombies; Radiation and Frozen, each with their own special knack for making your life difficult.
#4 Survivor’s Pack Starting Gear
This one is a simple mod and is great if you don’t want all the stuff you find in other mods. Basically what this mod does is that it creates a starting bag for when you spawn in that supplies a couple of nice items to get you started. So you get some clothes, water, food and a couple of weapons.
Its nothing fancy, but it’s a nice to have if you don’t want drastic changes.
#5 Food and Water Bars
Another nice little quality of life mod, this one does what it says on the box. Namely, it adds food, water, temperature and level bars to the HUD. It also rearranges the orders of stats to flow better, and it makes the XP bar bigger, so you know by how much you’re constantly falling behind.
#6 SMX
Another UI mod this one makes the UI look more . . . dark. I’m not even kidding, the aesthetic is really grimy and really adds to the atmosphere of the game, it makes you feel as if you really are playing a post-apocalyptic world. SMX even manages to change some of the stats, bars and even the radial menu.
Not only that, it even replaces the games main menu, so from start to finish, you get the same aesthetic and feeling. It’s really cool actually.
#7 Farming
If you took out the farming parts of the two overhaul mods and made it into its own thing, you’d basically get this (especially since this is probably where those mods got the content from).
So, the first part and the one that will probably interest you the most, is that you can now grow and breed your own livestock. There’s everything from chickens to bulls, each with their own food that you can produce and then subsequently process into something much nicer, like eggs or steak. Of course, if you’ve ever had a pet, you know how difficult taking care of animals can be, and since this mod tries to mimic realistic growth somewhat, it will take a bit of time before you can harvest things, so you’re in for the long haul.
An even more substantial addition to farming crops, of which there are nearly a dozen ones you can pick from, such as flax, sugar, and yes, even marijuana. There’s even a couple of new trees, including the hilariously named ‘nut tree’. Much like animal breeding, crops have different life stages they grow through, although with crops you can only harvest them in their final stage before they start regrowing.
Finally, food actually gives some interesting buffs and debuffs here, so it’s important to maintain a good diet (just in real life). There’s actually tons of buffs for pretty much every buff and skill in the game, so you’re going to find something to fit each situation.
So overall, this is a pretty strong mod, and the best part is that it doesn’t change any of the vanilla game, so that remains intact. Oh, and the devs of this mod are working towards an A18 release, so hopefully, that should be out soon.
#8 HDHQ Overhaul
The problem with 7 days to die is that it’s a pretty old game, and that means that it doesn’t really look as pretty as it could, at least compared to other games nowadays. Well, you’re in luck, as a pretty awesome has gone and made both a 2k and 4k retexturing of the whole game, and it really does look pretty sweet.
The most striking thing that comes in this mod though is the changes to lighting, bringing up to par with modern games. Reflections look so much better, and water looks more realistic than before, without spoiling the general aesthetic of the game. I mean, getting the moon shining down on you, reflect off water, surrounded by a lush forest, it’s a pretty amazing experience.
Speaking of forests, there’s been a lot of changes to the biomes as well, including additions such as forests which actually account for a large part of the mod. You can get the new forest in two different packs, either Baseline or Redux. The first doesn’t make massive changes and tries to keep forests close to vanilla so that performance doesn’t take a hit, with Redux doing essentially the opposite and making sweeping changes that might make you take a performance hit.
Other changes to the Biomes include things like new particle effects, such as falling leaves in Pine Forest, and radiation fog in the Wasteland. The modlet also includes some new models for wild plants which look much nicer.
Aside from all that amazing stuff, you also get a new spotline which is more powerful, as well as a torch, which is also more powerful, although only when it’s held in the hand. Finally, you get some new skins to fit in with all these changes, such as ‘desert camo’ and ‘jungle armor’.
If you’ve ever wanted 7D2D to look incredibly pretty, this is the mod that does it.
7 Days to Die: Special Mention Mods
Here are additional 7 Days to Die mods that are worth a download:
#1 The Walking Dead Mod
While I didn’t enjoy The Walking Dead past season 4 or 5, the game by telltale was pretty awesome. Well, if you’ve ever had a hankering to see more of those zombies, this game should help you relive it.
Now, I should warn you that it doesn’t really add story content, as the majority of the changes here are to the zombies. More specifically, they’re made to be a bit more like the zombies on the walking dead, and so they’re slower and die easier, but there’s more of them. Also, special zombies are taken out, since they don’t really exist in The Walking Dead lore.
You might think that makes the game easy, but the mod actually balances out everything else to make it harder. For example, vital supplies might be really hard to find, and bosses are much tougher now.
Overall, it’s an interesting mod to play around with, but I’m not sure about its longevity. Also, it’s built for A15, so I’m not sure how well it will integrate into later releases.
#2 Undead Legacy
This is a pretty big overhaul mod that’s somewhat Fallout-inspired, or at least, that’s the case for the interface. There’s no longer a crafting list, but a crafting grid instead, which admittedly makes things easier. Also, scrap for items has been revalued, and at this point, you might as well just play Fallout.
But hey, that’s not all! There’s 770+ new items, 47 new collectible perks, 5 new workstations, and a partridge in a pear tree. Ok, I made up the last one. Now, I have to warn you again that this mod is made for A16, but the developer on the mod is currently working on A18 release, so you could hold off on this one until then.
#3 Ravenhearst
This is another mod that’s a pretty massive overhaul, but as the main list is already saturated with a lot of overhaul mods, I thought I’d put this one here (as it’s the least used of the three).
In essence, Revenheast rebalances the game a lot, with some stuff being harder than before and some being easier. One example of this is farming, which is essentially completely removed from the game the way you’d expect it to be, but instead is something you can access all the crops from the first level you buy. You get the plot, you find the seeds, you fertilize it and then you harvest, with each giving you one seed and one plant.
Another interesting change is to Night Walkers and Terrors, the latter of which don’t despawn so you will have to deal with them at some point. Of course, you also won’t have to deal with them until you’re ready, because they’ve game staged the mod so that only certain things happen at certain game stages (for example, bosses don’t come in until GS300). This change actually makes the game much more dynamic, and it’s not so much a race as it is the game reacting to your own growth.
Honestly, though, there are tons of changes from starvation, how drinks work, certain aspects of the mechanics, trader rework so they don’t sell to you, and tons of new quests. If all that piques your interest, you should check out the full mod below. Oh, and this mod’s creators are also working on updating it to A18, or at least, one of the A18 versions, we’ll see how it goes.
Conclusion
And there you have it, folks! There are some really great 7 Days to Die mods out there that can change the game drastically, or just add a little spice and flavor. Granted, a lot of these might require a version change if you want to try it, but that’s about on-par for how the game’s been going recently.
Either way, have fun modding your game, and try not to get eaten by a zombie!
Here are some other mods you might enjoy: