What’s New in 7 Days to Die Alpha 22

7 Days to Die, the game that feels like it’s been in alpha since the dawn of time, and once again, we’re eagerly waiting for the next update, this time in the form of 7 Days to Die’s Alpha 22 update.

As the full release date and entire patch notes are yet to be released, here’s what we know about the 7 Days to Die Alpha 22 update so far.

New Armor & Armor System

The old armor system is having a complete overhaul, with whole new armor sets coming in that will help you survive in 7 Days to Die in style.

While there are whole new armor sets that you can now don to survive the zombie apocalypse, you can also choose to mix and match; however, wearing a complete set will offer a set bonus, making it worthwhile.

Players will now also be able to look at their arms and see the armor they are wearing.

Vehicle Changeable Appearance

We saw visual changes in 7 Days to Die Alpha 21 with items such as the campfire, where placing mods on them would physically change their appearance. Vehicles are now getting the same love and will change appearance depending on what mods are installed on them.

For example, if you place a saddlebag on your motorbike, you will now see that bag on the side of the bike.

It would also seem that the motorbike will now be able to seat two players, instead of one, making this a great vehicle for anyone playing 7 Days to Die in multiplayer with friends. However, it’s likely you will need a mod to be able to seat a second player on your bike.

New POIs

It’s always nice to see new buildings and new areas being added to 7 Days to Die, and Alpha 22 brings us some exciting new areas to explore.

• Tier 4 army camp
• Tier 5 school
• Haven Hotel
• Tier 2 commercial business strip
• Tier 5 football stadium
• Tier 2 apartment building
• More wilderness POIs unconnected to roads to discover
• New POI trigger improvements, like AND/OR logic for doors

The new update brings a good range of new areas, ranging from tier 2 to tier 5, as well as some new wilderness POIs and improvements to POI triggers.

New Character System

7 Days to Die Alpha 22 will also include an improved character customization system. With new base models to choose from and the ability to customize your appearance, players can finally add their own touch to their character.

Animations have also been updated to support the new characters, as well as the new armor system.

Updated Animal Design

Animals now use a new fur shader and have been redesigned. The following animals have currently been confirmed to have new designs in Alpha 22:

• Stag
• Cougar (with new animations)
• Bear
• Pig and/or boar
• Coyote
• Wolf
• Rabbit
• Grace

There is also a new mountain lion coming to 7 Days to Die in Alpha 22, which will add a whole new level of threat to those out wandering the apocalyptic world.

New World Props

Props are also getting some love in 7 Days to Die Alpha 22, including:

• Pallets of recycled cans and cardboard
• Campsite tents
• Road decals

You will be able to find the updated props around the map when A22 drops.

New Zombie Variations

Ever get bored of killing the same zombie over and over again? Well, thanks to the new zombie variations, there are more unique-looking zombies, once again making your zombie head-bashing feel unique with every swing!

While this update doesn’t currently add any new zombies, something as simple as giving them varying clothes can help make them feel more unique, and less copy-paste enemies.

General Improvements

As per previous 7 Days to Die Alpha updates, Alpha 22 also comes with a wide range of fixes and improvements, including some nice new graphical updates.

RWG improvements

• Reduced memory usage
• Improved stamp performance
• Faster road generation
• Improved road-smoothing
• Roads carve through mountains
• Improvements to RWG preview camera
• Improved UI layout for RWG creation
• The new biome generation algorithm places fewer blocky biomes, ensures all biomes are present, and may put one biome in the center
• Burnt forest biome is back in RWG

New graphics & visual effects

• Fire barrel
• New blood effects when bleeding
• New blood effects when dismembered
• New gore art/tech for dismembered zombies
• New contact shadows and ambient occlusion

Optimization & Performance

• A new window tinting system makes window glass opaque until you get close. Occluding the interior improves performance, especially for skyscrapers.
• Game updated to Unity 2022 LTS with better Vulkan and DX12 support
• New lighting update manager
• Ambient occlusion better handles large amounts of props
• Block entities (props) spawn over multiple frames
• Gameplay balancing is ongoing.