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Freedom251 › Blog › 7 Days to Die

How to Fix Blood Moon Day Variance on a 7 Days to Die Server

By Freedom251 Team · · 6 min read

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To make a 7 Days to Die Blood Moon occur on an exact seven-day cycle, set BloodMoonFrequency to 7 and BloodMoonRange to 0 in the configuration your server actually loads. A nonzero range deliberately allows the horde night to move later, and the next interval is counted from the previous Blood Moon, not from a fixed calendar anchored to day one.

The direct fix for a precise seven-day cycle

Stop the dedicated server, edit its active gameplay configuration, and use these values on versions that still read the legacy property list:

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<property name="BloodMoonFrequency" value="7" />
<property name="BloodMoonRange" value="0" />

After saving, restart the server if your host requires a restart. The next Blood Moon should be scheduled exactly seven in-game days after the previous one. If the interval still moves, check that you edited the file loaded by the launch command, that the running version uses legacy XML, and that no host-panel setting is overwriting the file.

Why the Blood Moon moves to a different day

BloodMoonFrequency is the base interval. BloodMoonRange adds a permitted delay to that interval. A range of 0 removes the delay; any positive range creates a window in which the event may happen later.

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The calculation is relative to the previous Blood Moon. For example, with a frequency of 7 and a range of 1, an event can occur on day 7 or day 8 after the preceding event. If it occurs on day 8, the following event is then calculated from day 8, so it can arrive on day 15 or day 16. A late event therefore shifts every later window forward instead of the game automatically returning to the original weekday.

Setting What it controls Relevant values
BloodMoonFrequency The base number of in-game days between Blood Moons 7 targets a seven-day interval; 0 disables Blood Moons
BloodMoonRange How many later days the event may be allowed to occur 0 makes the interval exact; a positive value introduces variance
BloodMoonWarning The hour when the HUD day number turns red as a warning -1 hides the red warning indicator; it does not choose the horde-night day

Check the server version before editing anything

The correct configuration location depends on the game version. A setting can appear to be ignored simply because the server is reading a different format than the one you edited.

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Legacy versions using the property list

Older dedicated-server setups read Blood Moon settings from the active XML property file. In that format, edit the existing BloodMoonFrequency and BloodMoonRange entries rather than creating duplicate entries elsewhere. Keep the XML syntax intact, including the self-closing slash and quotation marks.

Newer V3.x versions using SandboxCode

In newer V3.x releases, gameplay rules were moved out of the old property list and into SandboxCode. On these versions, adding legacy XML properties may have no effect. Use the host’s SandboxCode editor, or the documented setgamepref method supported by that version, to change the Blood Moon frequency and range. Do not assume that an old XML file remains authoritative after an upgrade.

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Identify the file the process actually loads

The dedicated-server guide documents a -configfile=... launch argument. Locate that argument in the startup command and edit the file it names. Hosts that provide a control panel may instead expose a selected world or SandboxCode editor; the panel’s active world must match the world you are playing. Editing a similarly named file in another profile, save, or installation will not change the running server.

Step-by-step procedure

  1. Record the running version. Check the server console, host panel, or installation information and determine whether the instance is a legacy XML setup or a V3.x SandboxCode setup.
  2. Stop the server, unless the host documents a safe live-setting workflow. Stopping prevents the game from rewriting the file while you edit it. If the host explicitly supports live updates, follow that workflow instead of manually changing a locked file.
  3. Find the active configuration. Inspect the launch command for -configfile=..., or identify the world and SandboxCode editor selected by the host panel.
  4. Set the interval and variance together. For an exact seven-day cycle, use frequency 7 and range 0. Changing frequency while leaving a nonzero range will still permit a later Blood Moon.
  5. Use the format required by the version. Edit the two XML properties on legacy versions. On V3.x, change the corresponding SandboxCode options or use the documented setgamepref procedure; do not add obsolete XML properties and expect them to override SandboxCode.
  6. Apply the change. Save the file or commit the panel change, then restart if the host requires one. No single restart rule applies to every hosting environment, so use the host’s documented behavior.
  7. Validate against the previous event. Note the in-game day of the next Blood Moon and compare the following event with that day, not with the original world-start day. With range 0, each interval should be exactly seven days.

Examples that show how the schedule is calculated

Frequency Range Previous Blood Moon Next possible event What happens afterward
7 0 Day 21 Day 28 only The following event is day 35
7 1 Day 21 Day 28 or 29 If day 29 occurs, the next window is day 36 or 37
14 2 Day 30 Day 44, 45, or 46 The next window starts from whichever of those days occurred

The examples illustrate why a server can appear to “keep moving” after one late horde night. The movement is the intended result of a nonzero range combined with a schedule measured from the latest event.

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Do not confuse the red warning with the Blood Moon date

BloodMoonWarning controls the hour at which the HUD day number changes to red. It does not select the day on which the horde arrives. If the red indicator appears at an unexpected time while the Blood Moon itself follows the configured interval, the warning-hour value is the setting to inspect.

Changing the warning value cannot correct a day-variance problem. Conversely, changing frequency or range will not alter the hour at which the warning indicator appears.

How to disable Blood Moons or only hide the warning

Disable the events

Set BloodMoonFrequency to 0. This disables Blood Moons; it is separate from setting the range to zero.

Hide the red HUD indicator

Set BloodMoonWarning to -1 to hide the warning indicator. Blood Moons remain enabled unless the frequency is also set to 0.

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Troubleshooting a setting that appears to be ignored

The event still occurs on different days

  • Confirm that BloodMoonRange is exactly 0, not a positive value inherited from the previous configuration.
  • Check the interval from the previous Blood Moon. Comparing dates with the start of the save can make a correctly relative schedule look wrong.
  • Verify that the server restarted or that the host completed its supported live update.
  • Check for a second configuration file, another world profile, or a panel value that overwrites the file when the server starts.

The XML values have no effect

  • Verify that the server is a newer V3.x build using SandboxCode. If so, move the change to the SandboxCode editor or the version’s documented setgamepref method.
  • Inspect -configfile=... in the launch command and edit that exact target.
  • Make sure the XML remains well formed and that you changed the existing property rather than adding a misspelled key.

The HUD turns red on an apparently wrong day

  • Check whether you are observing the warning indicator rather than the Blood Moon event itself.
  • Inspect BloodMoonWarning; its value affects the warning hour only.

The next event is still pending after a change

A configuration change does not retroactively move an event that has already been scheduled or completed. Apply the setting, restart or update the server as required, and measure the next interval from the most recent Blood Moon. If the server had already generated a late event while the range was nonzero, the old date is the correct baseline for checking the new cycle.

Operational checklist for administrators

  • Record the game and dedicated-server version before changing settings.
  • Determine whether the installation uses legacy XML properties or V3.x SandboxCode.
  • Identify the active file through -configfile=..., or select the correct world in the host panel.
  • Set frequency and range as a pair: 7 and 0 for an exact seven-day cycle.
  • Leave BloodMoonWarning unchanged unless the problem is specifically the red HUD indicator.
  • Apply the change through a supported stop/restart or live-update workflow.
  • Write down the next Blood Moon day and use it as the reference for the following interval.

What a correct result looks like

On a legacy configuration, the active XML contains frequency 7 and range 0, and the server is launched with that file. On a V3.x configuration, the equivalent SandboxCode values are set in the active world. After the change is applied, each Blood Moon occurs seven in-game days after the preceding one. The HUD warning may still appear at its configured hour, because that indicator is independent of the event-day calculation.

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7 Days to DieBlood MoonDedicated ServersSandboxCodeserver configuration

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