7 Days to Die – Best Perks List

The Fun Pimps’ popular survival horde crafting game has finally hit 1.0! 7 Days to Die offers a lot of depth, especially in its RPQ-esque systems. To make sense of where to spend those precious Skill Points, here are the best Perks in 7 Days to Die.

Every Perk Category in 7 Days to Die

Perks in 7 Days to Die typically occupy skill categories, called attributes. Attributes can be leveled up with Skill Points and will give boosts to an associated trait. In addition, within each Attribute category there are several Perks, which can be purchased separately of leveling up the specified Attribute. 7 Days to Die has five Attributes, with three sets of perks within each. The list includes:

• Perception Attribute with Combat Perks, General Perception Perks, and Scavenging Perks.
• Strength Attribute with Combat Perks, General Strength Perks, and Construction Perks.
• Fortitude Attribute with Combat Perks, Survival Perks, and Recovery Perks.
• Agility Attribute with Combat Perks, Athletics Perks, and Stealth Perks.
• Intellect Attribute with Combat Perks, Influence Perks, and General Intellect Perks.

Perks can also be upgraded, with each having between three and five tiers to progress. Additionally, you can unlock and progress Perks by finding Perk Books, which can be found within the world. Perk Books are single use, consumable items, and reading them unlocks or evolves certain skills. However, a Perk Book will need to be found and read seven times to unlock its maximum potential, so finding the same book repeatedly can be beneficial.

There are also Crafting Skills, which improves the skill level for tools when crafted. The higher quality tool, the more skill levels it will have. Increasing the skill level of tools is also done by finding and reading books. For example, Harvesting Tools can be increased by reading the Tools Digest Magazine.

Crafting Skills also have associated Perks in 7 Days to Die, which compliment that item to increase loot odds. For example, the Miner 69’er perk will boost loot odds when using Harvesting Tools.

The Best Perks in 7 Days to Die

With those explanations out of the way, here are the best Perks in 7 Days to Die:

Lucky Looter

Lucky Looter is one of the most helpful Perks in 7 Days to Die and far and away the best under the Attribute Perception. Lucky Looter does just as it sounds and helps players track down better loot. Lucky Looter has five Perk Levels and each allows players to find better loot than the last. Lucky Looter’s Perk Levels are as follows:

• Slim Chance: Adds 5% loot bonus for containers you open and makes looting 10% faster.
• Potluck: Adds 10% loot bonus and makes looting 20% faster.
• Good Fortune: Adds 15% loot bonus and makes looting 40% faster.
• Blessed: Adds 20% loot bonus and makes looting 60% faster.
• Lucky Looter: Adds 25% loot bonus and makes looting 80% faster.

This is a great Perk to invest in, as it increases the amount and quality of loot, and also decreases how long you’ll be defenseless when looting.

Related: How to Get Water in 7 Days to Die

Skull Crusher

While many players may prefer to use clubs and bats and choose the Pummel Pete perk in 7 Days to Die, Skull Crusher can yield better results. Especially in the early game, having a weapon that doesn’t require ammo is essential. The Skull Crusher perk will boost the effectiveness of the powerful Sledgehammer, which can be used to kill enemies and destroy structures.

Each additional tier of the Skull Crusher perk increases Sledgehammer damage, increases the chance of knocking down enemies with a power attack, reduces stamina costs, and increases how many Sledgehammers you’ll find in loot. This Perk is a great option for players looking to take down Zombies early and often. Sledgehammers can be crafted within the first few minutes in a 7 Days to Die world, so investing in this Perk ensures you’ll always have a powerful weapon which doesn’t need ammo.

Pack Mule and Miner 69’er

Both of these Perks occupy slots under the Strength Attribute, and they pair extremely well together. Sinking Skill Points into both will allow you to find better loot from mining, lose less stamina from doing so, and carry more items.

Pack Mule purely boosts the amount of items you can carry in your inventory before becoming encumbered. For long-term loot runs or mining sessions, this is essential. There’s nothing worse than finding excellent loot but not having the space for it, and the Pack Mule Perk solves that issue.

Each Level of the Pack Mule Perk allows you to carry more items than the last. Skill Level 1 will boost the amount of items you can carry by 3, but boosting the Skill all the way will allow you to carry 18 more items than a default character.

Miner 69’er improves the effectiveness of Mining Tools. Upgrading this Perk’s Level can increase damage, improve block, and reduce stamina costs.

Iron Gut and Rule 1: Cardio

Recovery Perks greatly boost a player’s survivability. At the start, characters in 7 Days to Die are fairly frail, draining their stamina fast and being highly prone to disease. Iron Gut and Rule 1: Cardio help with these faults immensely.

Iron Gut improves gastrointestinal health to get more out of the food you eat in 7 Days to Die. Progressing this skill reduces food and water loss, increases hold breath duration, reduces the chance of dysentery, and increases the duration of buffs from consumables.

Rule 1: Cardio is a cheeky reference to the film Zombieland. The rule in that movie also applies when playing 7 Days to Die. Being able to stay on the move is vastly important to survival in the game’s Zombie Apocalypse setting. While the best offense is often defense, so is running out of harm’s way. This Cardio Perk has 3 Skill Levels, with each increasing stamina regen more than the last. Level 1 increases regen by 10% when sprinting, with the next two upgrades also increasing this stat by 10%.

Related: Is 7 Days to Die on Game Pass? Answered

Parkour

The Parkour Perk is vital for the same reasons as Rule 1: Cardio. That being, it allows you to outrun, evade, and escape Zombie threats. Parkour has 4 Skill Levels with the following benefits:

• Tumbler: Increase safe fall distance by one meter and reduce stamina cost of jumping by 10%.
• Stuntman: Reduce stamina cost of jumping by 20%, increase safe fall distance by 2 meters, and jump 1 meter higher.
• Adrenaline Junkie: Reduce stamina cost of jumping by 30%, increase safe fall distance by 4 meters, and never get a broken leg when falling.
• Parkour Master: Reduce stamina cost of jumping by 40%, increase safe fall distance by 5 meters, jump 2 meters higher, and never get a sprained or broken leg when falling.

The more Perk Points players invest into Parkour, the better they’ll be at getting away from Zombies in 7 Days to Die. As an added benefit, this Perk also just makes movement more fun and interesting, and can be especially exciting to use in daring getaways in Urban Areas.

And those are the best perks in 7 Days to Die.

7 Days to Die is available now.