7 Days to Die: Guns and Ranged Weapons Tier List

The days of muskets and throwable spears from past alpha builds of 7 Days to Die are long gone, yet there are still plenty of ranged weapons and guns for players to choose from in the latest 1.0 version of the game. So, especially when the Blood Moon horde night comes around in 7 Days to Die, players should consider packing a few ranged weapons for when things get crazy.

The distinctions between the different classes of ranged weapons aren’t quite as in-depth as they are for the melee weapons in 7 Days to Die, so it typically boils down to personal preference in playstyles, instead of one type of ranged weapon being the undisputed meta. However, there’s still a bit to consider in the investment cost of certain ranged weapons when grouping them by their associated skills and perks.

S-Tier Guns in 7 Days to Die

• Bows/Crossbows
• Machine Guns
• Shotguns

Bows/Crossbows: The biggest advantages of bows and crossbows are how easy their initial tier of ammo is to craft and how overpowered stealth builds in 7 Days to Die are, so these weapons can make a huge difference in overcoming the early game difficulty curve. However, in the late game where stealth isn’t always an option, bows and crossbows are typically outperformed by just about any other ranged weapon, regardless of how much players have invested in higher-tier weapons and their related skills.

Machine Guns: When it comes to ranged weapons, high-capacity full-auto machine guns are a naturally reliable weapon type in a zombie apocalypse. With just a little investment in the Machine Gunner perk in the Fortitude skill tree to improve their damage and reload speed, machine guns can dish out high amounts of sustained damage.

Shotguns: Apart from their range limitations, shotguns are in the same boat as machine guns, as a little investment in improving their reload speed can turn the shotguns into top-tier tools for killing zombies. It’s worth mentioning though, that shotguns have a rough accessibility curve due to the weak performance of the initial tiers of shotguns that players can get access to, specifically the pipe and the double-barrel shotguns. However, getting a pump or an auto shotgun from looting or buying it from the traders in 7 Days to Die is oftentimes a major progression milestone.

A-Tier Guns in 7 Days to Die

Handguns: Pistols are one of the only types of firearms that can consistently utilize the silencer weapon mod, so even though they don’t innately have a stealth damage bonus like bows and crossbows, a suppressed pistol is a great option for stealth builds. Another benefit of investing in skills related to handguns is how diverse this weapon class is, considering that it includes the SMG, magnum, and the desert vulture hand cannon, as well as the standard pistol, so players can expand their arsenal with several guns in the handgun class without having to invest skill points across multiple skill trees.

Rifles: Overall, the superior range of rifles compared to other firearms is arguably more useful in PvP than it typically is in PvE, at least until raider NPCs get added to the game. However, rifles have the highest per-shot damage of any gun, so they are still useful for dealing with powerful zombies in 7 Days to Die with better ammo efficiency than any other ranged weapon type.

B-Tier Guns in 7 Days to Die

Rocket Launchers: Explosives in 7 Days to Die are useful for crowd control, except the ammo can be costly, and they can accidentally destroy loot containers and/or inflict friendly fire. When players reach the point where ammo cost is no longer a pressing issue, rockets can be a lot of fun for Blood Moon horde nights or raiding players’ bases in 7 Days to Die PvP servers, though they aren’t very practical otherwise.