Gathering
Everything has its use in this game, so make sure to pick up everything you find. Punch grass wherever you see it, punch the twigs, and collect feathers from the birds’ nests. These are the basic materials that you will need throughout the game.
Starting Quests
Starting the quests has lots of benefits: they are easy to do and they don’t take a lot of time. These quests will show you how crafting works in this game, as well as you will be rewarded with skill points. Apart from that, you will also be able to get some tools and weapons that will be very helpful in the future.
Bedroll
When you craft a bedroll, make sure to place it as soon as possible: the world is a dangerous place and you will die a lot. Having a bedroll placed makes you re-spawn on that same spot. Otherwise, you will re-spawn somewhere random, and you would lose a lot of time walking back to that same spot to get your stuff. I would recommend placing a bedroll in an abandoned house if you found one.
Map
You can open the map by pressing M on your keyboard, or if you play on console, open your inventory, and press R1, until you find the map. Looking at the map you can see the coordinates in the upper part. Move your cursor and you will see coordinates change depending on your cursor’s position.
Try finding 0.0 coordinates, and when you find them, make a waypoint by pressing right-click on that same spot or press a set button on the console. At that spot, you will find a city. Finding a city ensures you fresh supplies every time you visit. After you have got your waypoint set, start walking towards it.
Hunting
While collecting things on your way to the city, you will stumble upon wild animals. There are five types of wild animals you can find: chicken, pig, rabbit, deer, and beer. You will also find a zombie bear and a zombie dog, and you are advised to stay away from these. These animals are the best source of meat. On top of that, chickens are the best source of feathers. You can outrun animals like chicken, rabbit, and pig, and you can kill them with your melee weapon. To take down a deer and a beer, you will need a ranged weapon.
When you see a deer, make sure to crouch. Crouching puts you in a stealth mode, and while undetected, you will deal bonus damage. After you kill your prey, use your stone ax on the corpse to skin it.
Crouching
Previously said, when you crouch, you enter in a stealth mode, and stealth can help you a lot in this game. Sometimes it is best not to draw unnecessary attention. For instance, if you see a group of zombies ahead that will definitely see you if you try going ahead, then it’s better to enter into the stealth mode by crouching. Try crouching because it will allow you to sneak around them in plain sight. Just don’t get too close; otherwise, they might see you. Also, make sure that you don’t have any such food that emits smell because that can also blow your cover. Apart from that, doing any activity like scavenging and foraging while in a stealth position makes less noise. Making less noise reduces the radius of which zombies and other players can hear you.
Point of Interest
If you haven’t found a city yet, and it’s starting to get dark, you will have to find a quick shelter. If you have some points of interest, these can prove quite useful to spend a night in. Following a road, you can find various stores, and following a side-path can lead you to a cabin. Try finding a shack that’s two stories high. Once you have reached the second story, knocking the ladders and breaking the stairs makes you unreachable for the rest of the night.
Nights
Nights in 7 Days to die are terrifying and ruthless. When the night comes and wolves start howling, you don’t want to be outside. At night, zombies become rabbits and start to run towards you when they see you. That’s why crouching helps a lot. Go all the way up to the attic and crouch. Make yourself a campfire and prepare yourself for the following day.
Skills and Perks
While playing the game, you will level up and acquire skill points. Levels are gained by crafting items, cutting trees, mining rocks and using tools: basically doing everything. Going into your perk tree, you will see various perks that can be learned. In the upper right corner, you will see how much skill points you have got to spend. Take a look and learn perks that you think are the best for you. I would recommend quick crafting and forest run because these perks are extremely useful.
City
Entering city can be fulfilling but be cautious because zombie dogs are roaming around. Getting face to face with zombie dog can be fatal, so make sure to put a bedroll before you enter the city. But if you do see a dog, do not use melee weapons on him. Dogs move very fast, and they are very hard to hit.
Use range weapon instead and use crouching to your advantage. After that, you will have a whole city to explore. I’d recommend setting up a base right away. Just go round, find the house you like, and make it your own. Use your stone ax to repair blocks and to upgrade them to a next tier. If you want to build your own house, use these houses to stash your loot while you go and gather enough to make your own.