Stealth System

## Description

The stealth system in 7 Days to Die allows one to move about and explore without drawing the unwanted attention of the various zombies lurking about.

## Stealth Mode

Stealth mode is activated by crouching, which can be toggled on or off using the Toggle Crouch key (default **Left-ctrl**) or by holding down the Crouch key (default **c key**). A yellow stealth meter will be shown in the lower-left corner, bearing an eye, which reflects the light level and noise being generated. Smaller numbers indicate you are being very stealthy, and higher numbers indicate the player is in a brighter lit area and/or making noise, thereby being less stealthy. Your ability to remain undetected in stealth mode is based on several factors: your **stealth ability**, **proximity** to an enemy, **light levels** in the area, and **noise generated** by the character. Moving, sprinting, opening doors, using objects, and using weapons can all generate noise and lead to you being detected by one or more enemies.

Being detected does not deactivate stealth mode; you remain crouched even if you are being hunted or damaged. Stealth mode is deactivated automatically when you use a ladder or enter a vehicle.

Once an enemy detects you, moving out of the line of sight of that enemy will cause you to become hidden from that enemy again. The enemy will usually continue to travel to the point where it last detected you, so if you remain in place, you will eventually be detected. An enemy can be distracted by the sounds of thrown objects. A zombie may pursue the sound of a Small Stone or other item thrown away from the character.

## Advantages and Disadvantages

While crouched, you are in stealth mode, and sounds you generate will be reduced, including sounds from moving, using weapons or tools, opening doors, or opening chests. Stealth is an alternative to the standard Run & Gun Strategy of exploring and, with enough patience, can pay off in different ways. You can remain hidden while a wandering horde passes you by. While exploring, you can stealth past an enemy undetected in order to avoid a fight. When the time is right to fight, attacking an enemy that has not detected you while in stealth mode provides a damage multiplier (2x) to your first hit. It should be worth noting that knives have a higher damage multiplier than normal weapons (5.5x). This might be enough to kill your enemy before they are even aware you are there.

The main disadvantage of stealth mode is a decrease in your movement speed. You can sprint while in stealth mode, which will increase your speed a little, but this drains your stamina and generates a lot of noise, which will make you easier to detect. To mitigate sprint stamina usage when stealthed, find the skill book: "The Great Heist: Stealthy Sprinting". Jumping height is also reduced while in stealth mode.

Stealth mode also does not have any effect on Blood Moon Hordes, as these hordes always can detect a player at all times during the Blood Moon night. Some higher tier POI's will also have some triggered spawns that ignore stealth.

## Modifiers

Armor has inherent penalties to stealth, increasing with heavier armor types. There are Mods that can be placed on armor items which increase stealth ability.

There are 2 Stealth Perks (under the **Agility Attribute**) that influence your stealth ability: **Hidden Strike**, and **From The Shadows**.

* From The Shadows allows you to more effectively hide in the shadows and muffles noises from actions.

* Hidden Strike increases the first hit damage multiplier up to 4x.

## Alternate Stealth

* Additional Stealth abilities can be attained by attaining Volumes 1-8 of The Night Stalker.
* Also Equipping Military Stealth Boots can add some very minor Stealth.