How to Install Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls is the most popular overhaul mod for 7 Days to Die, adding a class system, tiered progression, demon enemies, custom world generation, and significantly increased difficulty.

Requirements

Step 1: Download Darkness Falls

Download the latest Darkness Falls version from the official source:

• Darkness Falls on 7daystodiemods.com
• Or the mod’s official forum thread

The download is several hundred MB.

Step 2: Prepare Your Server

1. Set the correct game version - Contact WinterNode support to set your server to the V1.x version that matches Darkness Falls requirements
2. Disable EAC - Edit serverconfig.xml via File Manager or SFTP and set EACEnabled to false
3. Set RAM to 8GB or higher - Darkness Falls needs more memory than vanilla. Upgrade through your billing panel if needed

Step 3: Upload via SFTP

Darkness Falls is too large for comfortable File Manager uploads. Use SFTP instead.

1. Connect to your server via SFTP
2. Navigate to the server root directory
3. Create a Mods folder if one doesn’t exist
4. Extract the Darkness Falls download on your computer
5. Upload the Darkness Falls folder into Mods/

The folder structure should be:

Mods/
└── DarknessFallsV6/      (or whatever the folder is named)
    ├── ModInfo.xml
    ├── Config/
    ├── Resources/
    └── ...

Step 4: First Launch and World Generation

1. Start the server through the Game Control Panel
2. Wait for world generation to complete - This takes 15-30+ minutes on first launch

The server console will show world generation progress. Do not restart the server during this process. Interrupting world generation will corrupt the save and you’ll need to start over.

Step 5: Client Installation

Every player needs to install Darkness Falls on their PC:

1. Download the same version of Darkness Falls
2. Place the mod folder in the Mods folder of their local 7DTD game installation
3. Launch the game without EAC (select “Play without anti-cheat” at the launcher)
4. Connect to the server using the IP and port

All players must have the exact same Darkness Falls version installed.

Troubleshooting

World generation seems stuck

Darkness Falls world generation is slow by design. Check the server console for progress messages. If the console is still showing generation activity, it’s working - just wait.

Server crashes during world gen

This usually means insufficient RAM. Upgrade to at least 8GB (10GB recommended) and try again.

”Mod version mismatch” on connection

Server and client must have the exact same Darkness Falls version. Verify both are using the same download.

Custom POIs not appearing

If the world generated before the mod was properly installed, the custom POIs won’t be present. You’ll need to wipe the world save and regenerate.

For general mod installation help, see our mod installation guide. For other overhaul mods that are compatible with V2.x, see our server mods blog guide.