The 7 Days To Die 2.0 Storm’s Brewing update adds dynamic storms and completely changes how biomes work on the map. This update is significant enough that even returning players will need to learn how to survive and explore all over again. The experimental beta build is currently available to play on PC, and we’ve gathered some tips to help you get started at launch.
These tips are great for new and returning players. If you’re a complete beginner, we also have starter tips to help you survive in 7 Days to Die, including how to get armor sets, level up skills, and get started with basic horde night prep.
Start earning biome badges ASAP
It’s important to note that the 2.0 update locks biomes behind challenges. You are now limited to exploring the forest biome (where you first spawn) until you complete a series of challenges to earn another biome’s survival badge.
You’ll want to start progressing through these as soon as possible, so you can unlock new areas to loot and places to build camps. If you try to venture into these biomes without earning the necessary badges, you will take deadly environmental damage in the form of smoke, heat, cold, and radiation.
Here we guide you through all the details on how to unlock each set of 7 Days To Die 2.0 biome challenges and survive the environmental effects of each.
How to survive storms
As you can probably guess by the name, the 2.0 Storm’s Brewing update adds deadly storms to the game. Each biome has its own unique storm, and each features a different scale of difficulty to survive. These storms will occur at random and can last for several minutes.
Now more than ever, it’s crucial to travel by vehicle instead of exploring on foot. You can’t survive walking around in these storms, as they deal severe elemental damage. You will only get a small warning siren and 60 seconds to seek shelter.
Here we guide you through how to craft vehicles and get a free starter bike in 7 Days To Die.
How to survive new enemy types
2.0 adds new biome-specific and late-stage enemy types to the game.
Plague Spitter: A new special infected desert zombie that can vomit a swarm of insects, which attacks the playerFrost Claw: A new special infected snow zombie that has a long-range boulder throw attack that does splash damageCharged Blue Zombies: A new higher-tier radiated blue class of zombies that turn, attack, and run faster than the radiated green zombiesInfernal Orange Zombies: A new higher-tier radiated orange class of zombies that are slower & tankier than the radiated green zombies
For the Plague Spitter, make sure to use melee weapons against the swarm instead of guns.
The biggest thing to remember about the Frost Claw is the enemy’s long-range boulder throw attack. Always be aware of your surroundings and stay moving in the snow biome. You don’t want to be standing still while mining coal and get hit in the back with one of those boulders. It is an insta-kill in early stages of the game.
Charged Blue zombies are fast and have a lot of health. You’ll likely want to use a gun like an assault rifle or LMG to take these out fast. Just beware that electricity doesn’t seem to keep them stunned as long as other zombie types, meaning traps and stun batons won’t be as effective.
The Infernal Orange zombies are slow and built like tanks, but they are scariest when approaching your base. They do a lot of block damage, so you want to take them out fast before they can damage your structures.
Unlock new mastery perks
Each Attribute now has a Mastery Perk set. These become available at attribute level 6, and a few of these sets provide huge benefits.
Some to consider unlocking are:
Perception Mastery: Let’s you deal 50% more damage with riflesIntellect Mastery: Gives you a 50% change to earn an additional skill point when reading books, and it also gives you a 25% boost on finding books, magazines, and schematicsStrength Mastery: Gives you a chance to gain brass while harvesting ore blocks, as well as provides benefits when wielding sledgehammers
Sledgehammers are now great weapons
Sledgehammers weren’t a popular pick in 1.0, but they’re way more powerful and useful in 2.0. This is thanks to the addition of mastery perk benefits mentioned above and a new book series for the sledgehammer weapon class.
If you’re interested in swinging some sledgehammers, you’ll want to look out for all of these new books:
Sledge Saga Vol 1: Adds 10% knockdown chanceSledge Saga Vol 2: Sledgehammers degrade 20% slowerSledge Saga Vol 3: Power attack kills weaken and slow nearby enemies for 10 secondsSledge Saga Vol 4: Adds 25% more damage to enemies below 30% healthSledge Saga Vol 5: Gain double XP from sledgehammer headshot killsSledge Saga Vol 6: Adds a 10% chance to knock enemies unconsciousSledge Saga Vol 7: Sledgehammer Power attacks bypass 50% of armorCompletionist Bonus: Refill your stamina with each power attack kill (This is a bonus for reading all the books in the series.)
Beware of crawling zombies
Zombies can now crawl through small gaps. You’ll want to make sure any bases you build don’t include any single block or partial block gaps that the zombies can reach. A lot of popular horde base designs in 1.0 used small gaps to shoot or view from. In 2.0, you’ll want to modify these areas in your horde base build by covering the gaps with pieces like scaffolding blocks. This provides enough of a gap for you to look and shoot without worrying about crawlers getting in.
You’ll also want to be alert when entering POIs, as some locations have been adjusted to allow for buildings to have these small spaces.
Where to find specific ore
Harvesting ore is an essential part of the game. The 2.0 update has redistributed the various ore deposits types to specific biomes. You can still find low volumes in all biomes, but you’ll want to go to a specific biome to mine an abundance.
These are found as follows:
Iron – Pine ForestPotassium Nitrate – Burnt ForestOil Shale – DesertCoal – Snow biomeLead – Wasteland
Loot caps for biomes
The developer has added loot caps to the biomes, so if you want to ensure you can scavenge for better quality loot in 2.0, you’ll want to advance through the biome challenges and earn all the badges. Continuing to progress and unlock more biomes will keep raising the loot stage cap in the previous biomes you’ve unlocked.
