Learn how to get Nitrate Powder and what it can be used for
What two things make a zombie so dangerous in 7 Days to Die? The first is that they can take a lot of bullets to kill, and the second is that their bites can cause deadly infections. The solution to those problems can be found using Nitrate Powder. As a key ingredient in both Gun Powder and antibiotics, this valuable resource is one you’ll want to stock up on as soon as possible.
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about how to scavenge and mine for Nitrate Powder in 7 Days to Die and walk you through several ways it can be used.
Where to find Nitrate Powder in 7 Days to Die
You won’t often find Nitrate Powder while scavenging, but it can be harvested from rotting remains and farm plots or mined from deposits and stalagmites.
Rotting Remains
While exploring Navezgane, you often encounter the rotting corpses of dead animals or humans. It may sound gross, but carving up these carcasses with a knife can yield a fair quantity of nitrate. It turns out rotting flesh makes for great fertilizer.
Fertilizer
Occasionally, while exploring farms or similar locations, you may find farm plots or fertilizer bags. Digging at either of these items with a shovel can score you a few handfuls of Nitrate.
Mining
Mining potassium nitrate or stalagmites is definitely the quickest route for farming this resource. Deposits can be found anywhere but the snow biome and can be identified from the surface as clusters of white crystals. Stalagmites and stalactites can only be found in underground caves, of which only five are on the map.
Building a Nitrate Mine
Mining potassium Nitrate is your best bet for farming powder quickly. To build a mine, you will need to locate an underground deposit. Look for a small boulder made of white crystals on the surface in the Pine Forest, Burnt Forest, Wasteland, or Desert biomes.
To protect yourself and keep your mine from collapsing, we recommend integrating a couple of structures into your mine. The first is an enclosed shaft with a reinforced hatch at the entrance. This will keep your entrance from being destroyed and prevent wandering zombies from sneaking up on you. The second is a set of supports such as pillars or arches. This will help prevent a cave-in and give you somewhere to anchor other structures.
Nitrate deposits usually form in cylindrical clumps, so much of your digging will be straight down. To avoid creating a dangerous pit, try building a spiral staircase or catwalk around the outside of the deposit. Doing this provides a safe route to descend and gives you an angle from which to extract the crystals safely.
Tips and tricks for using Nitrate Powder
You likely already know that potassium nitrate (or Saltpeter) is a key component for making Gun Powder. Still, several other uses for this material you may not have known about exist.
Gun Powder
Of course, saltpeter is necessary for making Gun Powder. You must have a functioning Chemistry Station and a Beaker to make your own ammunition or explosives. You will also need plenty of Coal to combine with your niter if you want to produce ammo or explosives in any real quantity.
Antibiotics
More than likely, you’ll get an infection sooner or later. These serious infections will drain your vitality and kill you if not properly treated. Antibiotics are a rare and valuable commodity you can make at home if you know how. Whether cooking up Herbal Antibiotics with mushrooms and herbs or making proper meds, you will need nitrate powder to use as a chemical base.
Farming
Tired of constantly running out of food? Want to grow your own veggies so you can cook up something tasty? You’re going to need to craft Farm Plots. With some locally sourced Clay Soil, rotting flesh, and Nitrate Powder, you can create blocks of enriched soil guaranteed to properly grow whatever you plant on it, regardless of the biome you are in, with no watering required.
FAQs
While Nitrate Powder can be found in any biome but snow, it appears most commonly in forest and burnt forest biomes.
There are only five caves on the map; two are located in the forest, one in the burnt forest, one in the desert, and one in the snow biome.
Nitrate Powder can be collected into stacks of up to 6000 units.
Final thoughts on getting Nitrate Powder
Food, Medicine, Bullets. All of these are key to staying alive in the zombie apocalypse. Coincidentally, Nitrate Powder can help you acquire all three! Don’t sleep on just how useful a little chemical engineering can be.
The Fun Pimps clearly put some thought into the different uses for saltpeter in the apocalypse, and we’re just glad we can take advantage of it. If you’re looking for more tips to make your life in the apocalypse easier, check out our 10 Tips for Getting Started, or if you’re looking for a deep dive, check out our 7 Days to Die Beginner’s Guide.
