Starting in the Game

Purpose of this page: Provide tips on how the Valmod Overhaul works versus the vanilla game and how to get started.
The mod developer has changed the unlocking of recipes from books and perks to leveling and perks. The biggest change and challenge is that most recipes for items and materials are unavailable at the beginning. You can't even craft the reliable wood blocks that you are used to using to make a quick base or to shore up a prefab.

Similar to an RPG, you have to level in the relevant skill in order to unlock recipes. You can do this through use of the skill, or by applying acquired skill points. You can acquire skill points through normal leveling, but also through recipe books and survivor notes found on zombies.

From the 7 Days to Die forum post by Valmar the mod developer:

"Many recipes that used to be locked in vanilla by a book are now locked by perks or skill."

Some things are better such as getting the workbench. You only need wood, scrap metal, and nails to make it and no perk! This is much easier than needing the perk and trying to find springs. My guess is that the reason is that you can't make the stuff in the bench unless you have the skills leveled up, so it doesn't gain you as much as it would in the vanilla game.

Tips

 * You can level skills 3 ways:
 * 1) Kill zombies & apply skill points
 * 2) Find survivor notes on zombies to get skill points
 * 3) Practice the skill to level it.
 * Most of the advice that I saw on the official forum and got ingame on a server were to go the zombie kill route.
 * My playstyle is to craft and only do combat when I have to, so I prefer to level the skills naturally.  I decided to put skill points into Axe and Lumberjack.  I figured this would give me two benefits: better logging, higher combat skills with the axe.  It requires that you either find an axe or make one.  Unfortunately to make one you have to level blacksmithing.  As of this writing (1/20/2018) I haven't been able to find a forge in my wanderings to level blacksmithing.
 * Make log blocks
 * Gets you something to use for building
 * Levels Carpentry, need level 10 to get access to the basic wood forms (wood block, wood ramp, wooden stairs, etc.)