Best 7 Days to Die Server Settings and Configuration Guide

The serverconfig.xml file controls every aspect of your 7 Days to Die server, from difficulty scaling to Blood Moon intensity. Choosing the right settings makes the difference between a server your group loves and one that feels either trivially easy or unfairly punishing. This guide covers the most impactful settings and the values that work best for different group sizes and play styles.

Difficulty Settings

GameDifficulty

Range: 1 (Scavenger) to 5 (Insane). Default: 2 (Adventurer).

Scavenger (1): Best for brand-new players learning the game’s systems
Adventurer (2): Balanced for most groups — challenging fights without constant death
Nomad (3): The sweet spot for experienced players. Resource scarcity and enemy damage feel meaningful without being punishing
Warrior (4): For groups that have mastered base building and horde defense
Insane (5): Zombies hit extremely hard and take significant damage to kill. Best for coordinated groups looking for a hardcore experience

For most multiplayer servers, Nomad (3) provides the best balance. It keeps both veteran and newer players engaged without trivializing the survival loop.

DayNightLength

Default: 60 minutes per in-game day. Range: 10-120 minutes.

Longer days give players more safe time to build and explore. Shorter days increase the urgency of horde preparation. For multiplayer servers where players have varying play schedules, 60-90 minutes works well. It gives enough daylight for meaningful progress without making nights feel endless.

DayLightLength

Default: 18 (hours of daylight per in-game day). Range: 0-24.

This controls how much of each day-night cycle is daylight. Reducing it to 14-16 hours creates longer, more threatening nights. Increasing it to 20+ makes the game more casual. Keep it at 18 for a standard experience.

Blood Moon Configuration

Blood Moon hordes are the defining feature of 7 Days to Die. Getting these settings right is critical to server enjoyment.

BloodMoonFrequency

Default: 7 (every 7 in-game days). Range: 1-30 (0 disables).

Every 7 days is the classic experience. Shorter intervals (3-5 days) create a frantic pace where players barely have time to recover between hordes. Longer intervals (10-14 days) give more preparation time and suit groups that prefer the building and exploration loop over constant combat.

BloodMoonRange

Default: 0. Range: 0-6.

This adds randomness to Blood Moon timing. A range of 2 means the horde can arrive up to 2 days early or late. This creates tension because players cannot predict the exact night. A range of 0 keeps it predictable. Set to 2-3 for a more suspenseful experience.

BloodMoonEnemyCount

Default: 8. Range: 1-64.

This sets the maximum number of zombies alive at once per player during a Blood Moon. Key recommendations:

Group size	Recommended count	Notes
1-2 players	8 (default)	Standard challenge
3-4 players	8-12	Slight increase keeps pressure on
5-8 players	6-8	Lower per-player count to prevent server lag
9+ players	4-6	Essential for server performance

Doubling this value doubles the simultaneous zombie count. This has a direct and heavy impact on server CPU. If your server lags during horde nights, reducing this value is the first setting to adjust.

Zombie and Spawning Settings

MaxSpawnedZombies

Default: 64. Controls the total number of zombies that can exist in the world at once.

For smaller groups (1-4 players), 32-40 is sufficient and reduces server load. For 5-8 players, 64 is appropriate. For larger servers (9+), 80-100 increases the presence of zombies in the world, but monitor performance closely.

MaxSpawnedAnimals

Default: 50. Controls wildlife spawns.

Reducing this to 30-40 on performance-constrained servers frees CPU cycles. Wildlife is less critical to gameplay than zombies, so this is a low-risk optimization.

EnemySenseMemory

Default: 4 (seconds). Controls how long zombies remember a player after losing line of sight.

Higher values make stealth less effective and create more persistent pursuits. Lower values make sneaking a more viable strategy. Keep at default for standard gameplay.

Loot and Economy Settings

LootAbundance

Default: 100 (percent). Range: 1-1000.

At 100%, loot containers yield standard amounts. For multiplayer servers where players compete for loot, increasing to 125-150% ensures everyone can find useful items. Setting below 100% creates a scarcity-driven experience.

LootRespawnDays

Default: 7. How many real-time days before looted containers respawn their contents.

A 5-day respawn keeps the resource flow steady for active servers. A 14-day respawn forces players to explore further for fresh loot. For most servers, 5-7 days is the sweet spot.

DropOnDeath

Options: Nothing, Everything, Toolbelt, Backpack, Delete All.

For PvP servers, “Everything” creates high stakes. For cooperative PvE servers, “Toolbelt” or “Nothing” prevents frustrating gear loss. “Backpack” is a middle ground where players must retrieve their dropped bag.

Performance Settings

MaxPlayerCount

Default: 8. Keep this at or slightly above your expected player count. Each additional slot reserves server resources.

EACEnabled

Default: true. Required for crossplay. Disable only if you run mods and do not need crossplay support.

PersistentPlayerProfiles

Default: false. When true, player profiles are tied to the server save. This prevents players from resetting their character by deleting local files. Recommended for serious multiplayer servers.

V2.0+ Specific Settings

The Storm’s Brewing update added new configuration options:

Weather and storms

Storm frequency and severity can be adjusted. Biome hazard intensity is tunable for servers that want the new content without punishing difficulty.

Biome progression

The biome progression system is optional. Disable it for groups that prefer the classic freeform exploration style, or enable it for structured difficulty scaling across regions.

Smell system (V2.5)

The V2.5 Survival Revival update introduced tunable AI smell modes. Configuring how aggressively zombies track food and carcasses adds a new layer to base defense strategy.

Recommended Starter Configuration

For a new multiplayer PvE server with 4-8 players:

<property name="GameDifficulty" value="3"/>
<property name="DayNightLength" value="60"/>
<property name="BloodMoonFrequency" value="7"/>
<property name="BloodMoonRange" value="2"/>
<property name="BloodMoonEnemyCount" value="8"/>
<property name="MaxSpawnedZombies" value="64"/>
<property name="LootAbundance" value="125"/>
<property name="LootRespawnDays" value="5"/>
<property name="DropOnDeath" value="1"/>
<property name="MaxPlayerCount" value="8"/>

Adjust from this baseline based on your group’s feedback after a few Blood Moon cycles.

Host with Reactor

Want full access to every serverconfig.xml setting without managing server hardware? Reactor’s 7 Days to Die hosting provides instant setup, automatic backups, and SFTP access to all configuration files. Tweak your Blood Moon settings and get back to surviving.