Mods

7 Days to Die Mod Guide – The Wasteland

November 4, 2022

What do you get when you combine 7 Days to Die with one of the biggest open-world survival franchises of all time? You get The Wasteland, an overhaul mod that aims to create the ultimate post-apocalyptic wasteland experience ever.

By combining the fun and creative vibes of the Fallout series with the world of infinite possibilities of 7D2D, this overhaul mod makes for an absolute blast. By stacking on a few more modlets, you can create a feature-rich experience that goes well above the vanilla one.

If you’re looking to get a head start on playing The Wasteland, then check out our guide below to get yourself fully prepared before you dive in.

What is The Wasteland?

The Wasteland is an overhaul mod that does the one thing that a lot of 7D2D players have been craving: a crossover with the Fallout franchise. It’s a match made in heaven when you consider how similar the two games are.

A post-apocalyptic wasteland? Check. Mindless enemies? Check. Scavenging for resources and weapons? Check. Both games have all of the ingredients for the perfect survival setting. However, if there’s one area where Bethesda’s title stands out, it’s in story and flavor.

The Wasteland is the mod that brings a good chunk of everything that makes Fallout’s world so great and adds them into 7D2D. Beyond that, you’ll find a bunch of new mechanics and toys to play around with.

What Makes The Wasteland Different?

What separates The Wasteland from other overhaul mods is its penchant for giving you more of the good stuff, namely more enemies and more weapons. The mod is definitely for those who’ve been a bit sick of dealing with zombie hordes and want something different to gun down. But that isn’t to say that The Wasteland isn’t more than that.

It uses a lot of the flavor and themes of Fallout to make the entire experience more than just “7D2D with more pew pew”. From cool little items to unique buffing mechanics, The Wasteland is a mod that’s great for both long playthroughs and short escapes for the usual.

The Wasteland Features

As with any overhaul mod, it’s all about the extra mechanics, items, and systems, and The Wasteland packs a punch in that department.

Nuka Drinks Everywhere

It wouldn’t be a Fallout-inspired world without the beverage that permeates throughout its dead landscape. The Wasteland takes the beloved Nuka brand and makes it a mechanic within 7D2D. The mod adds several different colas, each acting as its own buff. In some cases, you may even be rolling the dice as getting a side effect as well.

You can loot the following Nuka drinks from anywhere you’d usually find water. However, you’ll find that they can be quite rare:

Nuka Cola
Nuka Cherry
Nuka Quartz
Nuk Quantum

Beyond the drinks, the Nuka brand also adds some more cool features to the mod. You can craft a Nuka Grenade using the Quantum variant of the drink. Be aware, though, that it’s extremely rare compared to the others.

You can also craft a Bottlecap Mine. To make one, you’ll need the caps from your Nuka drinks and lunch boxes.

Finally, you’ll also find scattered around the world Nuka vending machines. Some of them will be functional, allowing you to grab a drink or two. Others, though, will be broken. Bear in mind that these machines replace the placeholder block in POIs that support so these may not appear in existing saves.

New Enemies and Enemy Variants

A big part of what makes The Wasteland such a great overhaul mod is enemy variety. Sure, you’ll have the usual smattering of zombies and zombie hordes to deal with, but you’ll also get to add a whole host of other freaks and baddies to the mix.

Starting off, we’ve got Raiders. These NPCs come in both melee and ranged variants, as well as a boss type. What makes these guys different is how much more health and resistance they have compared to other enemies. Therefore, they’re like bullet sponges that’ll need more than a bit of firepower to take down. The good news is that they carry more loot than zombies, with bosses carrying something unique at a 50% drop rate. You’ll find them within The Wasteland’s exclusive POIs.

Next, we’ve got Soldiers. These are quite similar to Raiders in that they pose a greater challenge than zombies while also dispensing better loot. They also come in melee and ranged variants. What’s different is that you may find them popping up in regular POIs as well.

Finally, this wouldn’t be a Fallout-inspired mod without mutants. These guys really up the challenge with their higher health and scarier appearance. They come in various shapes and sizes and are predominantly melee-based.

Power Armor

If you thought that The Wasteland was going to leave Power Armor out of its Fallout love letter, then you’re greatly mistaken. The mod includes the coveted armor from Bethesda’s franchise and it’s absolutely glorious in 7D2D. It can be found on Power Armor Stands that appear randomly in POIs.

They can only be looted once but they can spawn in a variety of paint jobs. On top of that, there are unique mods you can use to upgrade your Power Armor. And you’re going to need to have a powerful rig if you want to face the mutants in their native POI, the Behemoth’s Abode.

Tons of Ranged and Melee Weapons

As we’ve mentioned already, The Wasteland brings a lot to the table in terms of tools of destruction. They’re mostly inspired by Fallout weapons and come in distinct categories based on the ones you’d find in that franchise.

Here are all the weapons you can find in The Wasteland:

Melee Weapons
- Banjo
- Baton
- Cleaver
- Crowbar
- Cuestick
- Nail Board
- Pipe Hammer
- Pipe Wrench
- Rebar Club
- Rolling Pin
- Supa Sledge
- Tire Iron
Legendary Melee Weapons
- The Break
- Mad Bean’s Club
- Duke’s Judgement
- Open Breaker
- Navezgane Slugger
Pipe Guns (these can break when they degrade)
- Pipe Pistol
- Pipe Rifle
- Pipe Shotgun
Energy Weapons (scale with Advanced Engineering, can be quite rare)
- Laser Pistol
- Laser Shotgun
- Laser Rifle
- Plasma Pistol
- Plasma Rifle
Guns
- 10 mm Pistol
- 10 mm Revolver
- 10 mm SMG
- Railwavy Rifle
- FatMan Launcher
- Lever Action Rifle
- Triple Barrel Shotgun
- Service Rifle
- Heavy Sniper
- Incinerator
- Flare Gun
Legendary Guns
- Silent But Deadly
- Long Distance
- Firestarter
- Linconln’s Repeater
- Maria
- Pew Pew
- AER-15 Prototype
- Alient Blaster
- Cryolator
- Arizona Campaign Scout Rifle
- Le Fusil Terribles

You’ll also find a ton of mods for most of these weapon categories. These can help you alter the weapons and make them fit your playstyle.

Modlets Used in The Wasteland

While The Wasteland is an overhaul mod for 7D2D, it also makes use of several modlets and other addons built by other modders. These allow for a complete experience:

Bdub’s Vehicles
zAlert
Buggy
Hot Rods
Humvee
GNX
Box Truck
Willy Jeep
Golf Cart
MRAP
Marauder
UAZ 452
Pickup
Work Truck
Nova
BRDM-2
MD-500
Grass Blocks
Duster
Stallion
Charger
Dirt Bike
Cruiser, Junker, Rat Bikes
SHERP
UH-60

The Wasteland Beginner Tips

If you’re not already aware by now, The Wasteland has a lot of stuff to get through which can make it a bit overwhelming when first diving in. You’ll primarily find some of the added enemies, such as the Raiders, a bit of a step up compared to regular zeds.

Here are a few tips to help you make a good start and enjoy everything the mod has to offer:

Apart from the additional stuff that comes with this mod, The Wasteland behaves pretty much like the vanilla 7D2D experience. What you’ll want to adjust is the way you stockpile your ammo as the added enemies are pretty tough so melee may not cut the mustard.
Power Armor is a must if you want to deal with Mutants. These ugly guys are pretty tough and will easily overpower you if you encounter them in groups. They can be an even bigger pain if you enter the Behemoth’s Abode POI. So, spend some time looking for the armor as well as some mods.
The Nuka buffs are pretty good for when you want to deal with tougher enemies. But, because they’re rare, you’ll want to save them for the true challenges that lie ahead, primarily Raider bosses and Mutants. Be aware that some of these drinks grant a bane on top of their boon so tread lightly.
The explosives you can make out of bottlecaps are pretty powerful and are particularly useful when you’re being chased. Be sure to keep all of the caps and lunch boxes you find to make a nasty surprise for your pursuers.