Clay’s going to be one of the most important materials to have in7 Days To Die. It’s not only needed for several smaller recipes, like Farm Plots, but plenty of higher-tier ones like Iron Arrowheads and Nails. You’ll even need some to make metal bars like Forged Iron, and you’ll want plenty of those.

Finding Clay Soil itself is pretty easy to do, either by getting it yourself or looting it, but Clay Soil and Clay are considered two different things. Clay Soil isn’t going to make those metal bars, so we’ll show you how to get both and start upgrading your arsenal.

Player character using a Stone Shovel to dig Clay Soil up from the ground in 7 Days To Die.

How To Get Clay Soil

To get large amounts of Clay consistently, you’ll first need a Shovel, and you’ll likelyget your first Shovelby getting the tutorialquest for jobs from Trader Rektat the start of the game.

You can also occasionallyfind small amountsof Clay in lootables liketrash cans and piles of trashthroughout the world.

Player character putting Clay Soil into a Forge to smelt in 7 Days To Die.

If youscrap it or left it behind by accident, you may alsocraft them with five Small Stones,three Plant Fiber, andthree Woodonce you’veread at least one Tools Digest magazine.

From there, justfind any terrain and start diggingwith the Shovel. You’llget small amounts of Clayand some Small Stoneseach time you dig, though you’ll get the best amountsonly by digging through the topsoil. Once you hit theground with 500 HP, you’vegone too far.

You canincrease the amount of Clay you getwhen digging by reading Tools Digest magazines and increasing the tier of Shovels you can make.

How To Make Clay

Now you’ve got some Clay Soil, but thisisn’t the same Clay you’ll needfor certain recipes likeForged Iron and Forged Steel– for this, you’llneed a Forge, which is made with:

Place the Forgesomewhere, theninteract with itandfill its fuel inventory with some Coalyou’ve found. Next,put the Clay Soilin theSmelting Inventory, beneath where the fuel goes, and turn the Forge on. It willbegin convertingat a rate ofone Clay Soil into five Clay every five secondsif you don’t have any Forge upgrades.

All of the materials smelted down in the Forge willstay inside its own Smelting inventory, including the Clay, and they’ll be available to use from therewithout needing to take them in or out.