Navezgane is the hand-made 7 Days to Die map. It is the same layout every time, so it is much easier to follow routes, find towns, plan a base, or meet up with friends than it is on a random generated world.
The centre of Navezgane is usually the best place to start. The Forest and Burnt Forest areas run through the middle of the map and are easier to survive in than the harsher biomes. You will still need food, water, tools, and a safe place for night one, but you are not fighting the map as much as you are in the Snow, Desert, or Wasteland.
The Snow biome is further north, the Desert is to the south east, and the Wasteland is the one to be most careful with, especially early on. The Wasteland can have better late-game rewards, but it is rough if you go in undergeared. For most players, it is better to build up from the middle of the map first, get a trader route going, then push into the harder areas once you have armour, weapons, and transport.
Good places to loot
Navezgane has fixed towns and points of interest, including places such as Diersville, Gravestown, Perishton, Departure, the Trailer Park, and the Old Western Town. Because these locations do not move around like they do on Random Gen maps, you can learn a route and keep improving it each time you play.
For early looting, look for houses, small shops, garages, and low-tier town buildings. These are usually safer than diving straight into larger POIs, and you can still find food, basic tools, clothes, pipes, ammo, and books. Cars, bins, mailboxes, kitchens, bathrooms, and worksite areas are all worth checking while you move between buildings.
If you are looking for specific loot, the named stores are usually the places to prioritise. Crack-A-Book is useful for books and schematics, Working Stiffs is good for tools and building supplies, Pop-N-Pills is worth checking for medical supplies, Shamway can help with food, Pass-N-Gas is useful once vehicles and fuel matter, and Shotgun Messiah style locations are the kind of places you want to hit when you are ready for weapons and ammo.
Diersville is a good town to learn because it has a lot packed into one area. It gives you houses, town loot, roads, and nearby places to branch out from. Perishton and Gravestown can be good too, but they are less forgiving if you are still in very early gear.
Where to build
A good base spot on Navezgane is usually close enough to roads and traders that you are not wasting half the day travelling, but far enough from a busy town that screamers, wandering hordes, and POI zombies are not constantly on top of you.
For a first base, the Forest area near a road is normally the easiest option. You can reach loot, traders, and resources without dealing with the worst biome pressure. Once you have a bike or minibike, you can afford to live a little further out and use roads to travel between towns quickly.
If you are playing with friends, it can help to keep your main crafting base separate from your Blood Moon base. Navezgane makes this easier because the map is fixed, so you can pick a crafting area near roads and then build a horde base somewhere with more room to repair, expand, and fight.
How to approach the map
On a fresh server, spend the first few days learning the centre of the map, finding traders, and marking useful POIs. Do smaller buildings first, take trader quests when they are nearby, and keep anything that helps with transport. Once you have better gear, start pushing into the Desert, Snow, and Wasteland for tougher loot routes.
The main downside is that Navezgane becomes familiar once you know it. If you want a fresh layout with different towns each wipe, Random Gen is usually better. If you want a stable world that is easier to learn, explain, and navigate, Navezgane is a good choice.
If you are changing an existing server to Navezgane, take a backup first. Changing map or world settings can make the server load a different save, so it is always worth having a copy before you move anything around.
Map reference image sourced from the Steam Community Navezgane map guide by FeiJian/Curbolt: Navezgane Map. You can also check the 7 Days to Die Wiki Navezgane page for biome and location notes.
If you want to run a Navezgane world with friends, you can order a 7 Days to Die server from LogicServers and pick the map you want to use once your server is online.
