In 7 Days to Die, the things you can craft are unlocked by reading a certain number of magazines for the corresponding category. Rather than scavenging blindly, deliberately skewing drops toward the category you want is the golden rule of the V2.x/V3.0 era.
First, understand this: drops can be skewed
- Taking the related perks makes magazines in that category more likely to appear. Example: if you want to upgrade your guns, put 1–2 points into the corresponding perk first, and the drop rate of gun-related magazines goes up.
- If you already know what you want, the perk-first, then scavenge order is the fastest. Invest in the perk before heading out to explore.
Next, understand this: where you scavenge changes what you find
- Magazines come mostly from bookshelves, book piles, mailboxes, and cardboard boxes. Open the bookshelves in residential POIs first.
- Genre-specific POIs are prime targets. Gun shops yield gun magazines, garages/workshops yield tool and vehicle magazines, and pharmacies yield medical magazines at skewed rates. Choose your destination based on the recipes you want.
- You can also buy them individually from trader stock or as quest rewards. When you’re just one magazine away from an unlock, filling the gap with a purchase is fast.
Conclusion: explore with a shopping list
- Rather than grabbing everything at random, narrow it down to the 1–2 categories you want right now.
- With the three-step approach of “raise the odds with perks → tour the relevant POIs → cover the remainder at the trader,” you’ll be able to craft the gear you want all at once.
Related: List of Strategy & Tips articles