Summary
Many zombie games have terrifying hordes to run away from. Like those in7 Days to Die, they can be overwhelming when you’re unprepared, especially when you’re just starting. It doesn’t help when you’re racing against the clock for the Blood Moon either. When the Blood Moon appears, zombies will become faster, stronger, and much more knowledgeable of your position.
There are a few ways to defend yourself when the Blood Moon arrives. Hunkering down in a nicely decorated house can make the wait a little less terrifying. If you’re more confident in yourself, you may build up your skills, head out with your guns held high and hope for the best.
Updated Jul 16, 2025 by Jack Pierik:Blood moons are, in equal parts, terrifying and resource depleting, but also the reason we come back for more; there’s something tantalizing about wondering just how far you can make it in a game that gets exponentially harder as time goes on.
There are all kinds of methods and strategies that players have developed to help deal with weekly mega hordes, but if you need some pointers or goals to work towards, put that weary mind to rest; we’re adding three more ways to help you survive another night against these relentless creatures.
What Is A Blood Moon?
The Blood Moon in 7 Days To Die is a special event that happens every week. No matter where you are, a horde of zombies will spawn nearby and will target you for the entire night. you may defend, fight, or hide, but the zombies will always know where you are until morning comes.
Zombies in a Blood Moon are much faster and stronger than usual, making them much more dangerous. In later days, special zombies will spawn. These are much harder and have special features, so keep an eye out for how they damage your base, so you’re able to be ready for next time.
9Minimize Pathways Zombies Can Take
Whether you’re holding out on a roof for the night or building a more permanent solution to all of your zombie slaughtering needs, do your best to minimize the routes zombies are taking to get to you. Ideally, you’d only allow one pathway to create a fatal funnel.
This way, as many zombies as possible will be concentrated in one place, which in turn maximizes the effectiveness of placed traps, throwable devices like grenades or molotovs, and automatic weapons spraying bullets into the same general area.
8Log Off For Part Or All Of The Night
Let’s be clear from the start; this isn’t a perfect or universally applicable solution, but it is a solution nonetheless. If you happen to be playing on a server with a persistent world where time continues no matter what, you could always just log off for a bit and come back later.
Now, the biggest downside of this method is you’ll be missing out on all the experience you’d normally gain fromobliterating dozens upon dozens of infected, but given the right circumstances, the pros of guaranteed survival could outweigh the cons.
7Build Up A Stockpile Of Molotovs
Molotov cocktails are like magic; they deal potent damage over time in a sizable area where they land and allow you to burn large groups of zombies while focusing on any potential problem areas, like a weak point that suddenly emerged in your base.
This is especially useful during your first few blood moons since these throwables will oftentimes fully kill zombies they’ve landed on, assuming they’ve been burning for the entire duration. For maximum efficiency, only throw a new molotov on the same group once the previous one has burnt out.
6Create A Separate Horde Base
If you’ve built yourself a nice house with fancy walls and pristine furniture, you probably don’t want to watch it get torn down by a horde with no taste for decoration. Creating an entirely separate building for the horde night is a good way to keep that gap between your lives of business and pleasure.
Horde Bases can be created however you like. Usually, having a hallway with a chokepoint is a good way to filter zombies, so you can pick them off easily. Placing spikes and turrets around the rest of the base is another great way to counter the attack.
5Find A Fortified Point Of Interest
If you’re not too fond of building a base from scratch, then picking one of the pre-generated buildings is a good way to shelter yourself. You can fill in whatever holes there are and reinforce the weak points until you’re satisfied that nothing can break through. If you’re still not confident, you can create a bridge and attach two buildings together, so that if one falls, you’ll have the other to fall back on.
There are lots of great points of interest to set up in. If you want to reinforce smaller buildings with better materials, there are lots of small houses that will do the trick. Otherwise, there are many big factories and larger houses that will work just as well but will take more materials and time to make safe.
7 Days To Die hordes have a hive mentality, meaning the entire horde is likely to focus on the weakest point.
Keep an eye on where the horde is attacking, since it’s most likely the weakest part of the structure.
4Move Around Constantly
Hiding away in a building while listening to the horde breaking through your walls might seem boring to you, especially later in the game when you’re more comfortably settled.If you’re looking for a bigger challenge, you can continue with your day like the Blood Moon isn’t even happening.
You’ll probably get chased and attacked, so it can get overwhelming if you’re alone. If you’re with a group it can work quite well, as long as you’ve got each other’s backs. Either way, it’s a good idea to get some good armour and weapons before you head out. If it ends up becoming too difficult, you can find the closest building and put some space between you and the horde.
If you travel in a vehicle during a Blood Moon, be wary of birds. Attacking birds can slow the vehicle down and you can be overrun by a horde easily.
3Reinforce Your Home Base
Standing your ground generally entails putting your horde base and your home in one building. It might not look as pretty, but it’s well-defended. With turrets, spike traps, big walls, and some decent weapons, you can turn your house into an indestructible home.
It’s not the same as finding a great POI or making an aesthetically displeasing horde base, but it means you don’t have to be running around preparing everything before the night hits. If you’re proud of your home, then defend it well, though be prepared for your most prized possessions to be destroyed if they get through.
2Find High Ground
One of the best ways to avoid fighting is to find high ground. Tall buildings in large cities will do the job, though they’re much harder to clear out because of their size. If you do make it up to the top, you can break the staircases and ladders behind you, so you can’t be followed. If the building’s big enough, you can sit there for the entire night.
You could make a separate building, but it’ll take more time and resources, which you might not have. You’ll have to verify the building is strongly attached to the ground as well; otherwise, it’ll be easy for hordes to tear down.
1Create An Underground Base
At the other end of the scale,you’re able to dig down into the groundif you want to bury yourself away from a horde. You can go pretty far down, which can be safer, as long as you can get back out afterwards. You’ll have to make sure you put down supports if you dig larger rooms, since there’s a chance you could cause a cave-in if you dig too much.
Hordes will find it very difficult to get to you if you dig far enough. You’ll need to cover up the gaps behind you as you go, since that’ll be the easiest way for them to get to you.
