Best Perks In 7 Days To Die

Summary

• Choose perks wisely: prioritize Grease Monkey, Salvage Operations, and Daring Adventurer for early-game advantages.
• Utilize underrated skills: The Infiltrator, From The Shadows, and Living Off The Land offer unique benefits for progression.
• Improve survivability: Invest in Pain Tolerance, Physician, and Cardio to enhance healing, stamina, and combat effectiveness.

The release of 7 Days To Die 1.0 has seen lots of new players trying out the game for the first time. As they progress, they’ll need to make smart decisions about which perks will best suit their needs. During the mid to late stages of the game, players will be able to use Grandpa’s Forgettin’ Elixir to re-distribute their perks. However, during the early days, selecting the right perks is crucial for survival.

Players should spend their points wisely. While there are lots of great perks in 7 Days To Die, there are some that stand head and shoulders over others. This article will go over the best perks in the game.

Updated February 6, 2025 by Benjamin Joe: Every skill has its use in 7 Days To Die. While some perks are more useful than others, there are a few top-tier skills that often get overlooked by players. While the original piece covered all of the most popular skills, it missed out on some of the lesser-known ones.

Three new entries will be added to this piece: Living Off The Land, From The Shadows, and The Infiltrator. Each one of these skills has a unique set of uses that can really help the player to progress faster, survive longer, and even make lots of Dukes.

14

The Infiltrator

Survive Long And Make Money While Doing It

The Infiltrator is a bit of an underrated perk. This perk offers players protection from mines and traps. If the player has read Urban Combat Volume 5, then they don’t really need to worry about setting off mines. However, what makes this perk useful is its rank 3 effect. Once the perk is maxed out, the player will be able to pick up land mines. This doesn’t sound like much at first glance, but it is possible to use this perk to make lots of Dukes.

Places like army outposts and the Red Mesa Compound have lots of mines scattered around. Land mines can be sold for a handful of Dukes. Since it’s possible to get multiple full stacks of mines from most military outposts and compounds, players can use this perk to get rich pretty quickly.

13

From The Shadows

Sneak Through Dangerous Situations

Sneaking is a great way to evade enemies. Not only that, but sneak attacks do considerably more damage than standard attacks. Each rank of From The Shadows gives the player some great bonuses:

• Makes The Player More Difficult To Spot
• Reduces Noise From Actions
• Sneak Movement Is Increased
• Enemies Don’t Search For The Player For Very Long

Once maxed out, this skill allows players to sneak through POIs, clearing out enemies without attracting any unwanted attention. When coupled with other things like the Hidden Strike skill and the Assassin’s armor set, the player can sneak their way through most areas with ease. A well-made sneak build ranks among the best builds in 7 Days To Die.

12

Grease Monkey

Craft Vehicles Faster

Grease Monkey is a great early perk. By placing just a single point into Grease Monkey, the player will find considerably more vehicle magazines while out looting various POIs. The faster the player reads 20 vehicle magazines, the sooner they’ll be able to craft the minibike.

Players will be able to pick up the bicycle upon completing the first set of missions and unlocking the second mission tier. While the bicycle is pretty useful, vehicles with an engine are always the better choice. The Grease Monkey perk will dramatically increase the speed at which players will unlock all vehicles, including the Gyrocopter.

11

Better Barter

Save Some Dukes Early On

Dukes are easy to come by during the late stages of the game. However, during the first few weeks, players may struggle to gather enough Dukes to buy items from traders. Initial trader prices are steep. It’s very unlikely that players will be able to afford much from the traders during the first week or so of their playthrough.

By investing a point into Better Barter, the player will gain a 5% discount when purchasing items from traders. While it’s not much, it can be just enough to allow the player to buy some important early-game items like a Cooking Pot and some meds.

10

Living Off The Land

A Fantastic Moneymaking Skill

Farming isn’t very profitable by default. However, if the player invests three points in Living Off The Land, then farming becomes one of the best ways to make Dukes in the game. The first two ranks of this skill decrease the crafting cost of farm plot blocks. This can help players to build up a farming area pretty quickly. They also help to increase the amount of crops the player gets while harvesting both planted and wild plants.

At rank three, players harvest triple the amount of both wild and planted crops. Provided the player has a few Super Corn seeds, they can combine this skill with a full set of Farmer armor to make thousands of Dukes every few days.

9

Salvage Operations

Start Saving Up Resources From Day One

7 Days To Die is a game that encourages players to hoard everything they see. As soon as the player finds a Wrench, they should consider putting a point into Salvage Operations. Rank one of this perk will give the player the ability to find more tools and parts in loot.

This can help to not only build a nice stockpile of resources but also to make some extra Dukes by selling excess items to traders. This perk also increases the amount of damage that salvage tools deal while also reducing their stamina cost.

8

Pain Tolerance

Take A Hit Like A Pro

One thing that players will struggle with during the first few days is stun damage. Stun damage can be deadly. When stunned, the player’s movement speed is virtually reduced to nothing for a few seconds. This allows enemies to get in a few extra swings before the player is able to run away.

The first rank of Pain Tolerance does two things; reduces HP loss by 5%, and it reduces the chance of the player being stunned by an enemy by 20%. This can be incredibly helpful during the first Blood Moon, as the player is most likely going to take several hits throughout the night.

7

A Weapon Perk

An Option For All Preferences

Selecting a weapon perk is very important. Players should try to stick to one melee and one ranged weapon. In the early stages, it will most likely be a bow and one of the lower-tier stone weapons like the spear or a Bone Shiv. The weapon perk options can be seen below:

• Spear Master
• Pummel Pete
• Skull Crusher
• The Brawler
• Deep Cuts
• Electrocutioner
• Archery

The most beneficial ones early on are Electrocutioner, Cuts Deep, and Spear Master, as they offer some pretty great boosts to weapon damage. A boost to damage means fewer hits are required to take down an enemy. The fewer hits the player needs to make, the longer their weapon will last before needing to be repaired.

6

Daring Adventurer

Gain Better Rewards For Completing Missions

Most players will complete missions on a daily basis. Getting through each tier as fast as possible is great for finding out the locations of all the traders in the game. Upon completing a mission, the player will be given an array of reward options to choose from.

For the most part, the early rewards are rather lackluster. The Daring Adventurer perk increases the amount of Dukes the player gets for completing a mission. It also improves traders’ inventory quality. The first tier of this perk gives players 5% more Dukes upon completing a mission. While this doesn’t sound like a lot, it adds up over time.

5

Physician

Heal More Efficiently

Players will sustain countless injuries while exploring and taking down enemies. Players will end up with sprained and broken bones, bleeding damage, and more. Each rank of Physician greatly improves the effectiveness of aid items. Not only that, but players will get more XP for using aid items after investing a point in this perk.

Rank one of Physician, allows the player to heal faster, gain more health from medicinal items, gain 100% more XP for using aid items, and it makes splints and casts cure sprains instantly. This is a must-have perk, no matter the type of build the player is going for.

4

Cardio

Run Like The Wind

On day one, the player will have a shockingly poor level of fitness. They’ll barely be able to run more than a few feet without needing to stop to catch their breath. If the player runs out of stamina, then they will become much more vulnerable during a zombie attack.

Stamina is required to perform almost every action in the game. Running, swimming, aiming, hitting, and mining all cost stamina points. The first rank of Cardio will increase the player’s stamina refresh speed while sprinting by 20%. While 20% may not sound like a lot, it makes a very big difference to the player’s athletic abilities.

3

Motherload

Harvest More Materials

The player will always be stuck in a never-ending cycle of gathering resources, crafting, and upgrading their defenses. Because of this, players will spend a large chunk of time mining for materials like stone, iron, and brass.

The first rank of Motherload gives the player a 20% boost to the amount of materials they harvest while using tools. This applies to everything from stone to wood. The faster players can gather resources, the faster they can build a good quality base that can withstand attacks from the undead.

2

Miner 69’er

The Perfect Addition To Motherload

It’s impossible to talk about Motherload without mentioning Miner 69’er. Each rank of this perk greatly reduces the stamina cost involved with tools. Players can chop down trees and mine rare minerals for longer periods of time thanks to this perk.

Just the first rank of this perk increases tool damage by 10% and block damage by 30%. It also reduces the amount of stamina it costs per swing. Players will get an 8% reduction per standard swing and a 15% reduction for power attacks with tools. Players will also find more tools and parts in loot containers which can be useful for upgrading and modifying their tools.

1

Parkour

Jump Hire, Fall Further, And Much More

Parkour is the number one must-have perk in 7 Days To Die. This perk gives players several abilities. This includes being able to jump higher, jump for less stamina, fall further before sustaining an injury, and it can even completely eliminate the chances of the player breaking a leg.

Rank two of Parkour grants the player the ability to jump higher than the undead. This is ideal for escaping dicey situations. If the player can jump higher than the enemy, then they can easily jump out of harm’s way. No matter what build the player is going for, it’s always worth investing at least two points into Parkour.