In 7 Days to Die, a “keystone” is the player-made Land Claim Block. You craft it, place it, and use it to reserve a roughly 41-block area where strangers cannot normally place or destroy blocks. The owner and allied players can build there. Protection is strongest while the owner is online, weakens after logout, and normally expires after seven real-world days offline. A player may have only three active claims at once, and server settings can change almost every number involved.
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What is a keystone in 7 Days to Die?
“Keystone” is the name many players use for the Land Claim Block. They are the same object; the in-game function is land claiming, not a separate resource or structure. The block marks an area as protected and tells the game which player owns that protection.
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A claim is mainly a multiplayer protection tool. It prevents unrelated players from placing or destroying blocks inside the protected area. The owner and players listed as allies are exempt, so a group can build, repair, and remodel a shared base without fighting the claim system.
Claims do not make a base invulnerable. Zombie damage, environmental hazards, server rules, and the claim’s online/offline durability behavior are separate concerns. On a server, an administrator can also change the size, delay, expiry, decay mode, and offline durability multiplier.
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How land claims protect an area
Owner and allies
The player who places the block becomes its owner. That owner can build in the area and use the claim’s protected interactions. Allied players can also place and destroy blocks inside it. Everyone else is blocked from those block actions while the claim is active.
When a friend cannot edit a base, check the alliance relationship first. A player can be physically standing inside the claimed area yet still be treated as an outsider if they are not allied with the owner.
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Claim footprint
The commonly reported default for LandClaimSize is 41 blocks. Sources disagree on whether that value represents the full horizontal width or a radius used to calculate the footprint. Because of that unresolved difference, do not assume that “41” means a guaranteed 41-by-41 square on every version or server.
Use the visible claim boundary in your current game as the practical authority. Server operators can change the value in serverconfig.xml, so two servers running different configurations can show different protected footprints even on the same game build.
Online versus offline protection
While the owner is online
The claim is fully active while the placing player is in the game. This is the strongest protection state and is the reason a player can safely work on a multiplayer base while logged in.
After logout
After the owner leaves, the claim eventually switches to an offline durability rule. The setting LandClaimOfflineDelay controls how many minutes pass before that transition. Until the delay ends, the claim remains in its online state; after it ends, the offline modifier and decay mode apply.
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Offline protection is therefore weaker than online protection by design, but “weaker” does not mean “immediately unprotected.” The exact number of hits or damage required depends on the server’s modifier, decay mode, game version, and the type of damage being applied.
When does a land claim expire?
LandClaimExpiryTime controls how long offline protection lasts. The commonly reported default is 7 real-world days, not seven in-game days. The countdown matters only when the owner remains offline under the server’s claim rules; logging in can restore the owner’s online state.
Administrators should communicate the expiry policy clearly on a persistent server. A player who logs out for a week may return to a claim that has expired even though the block is still physically present or the base has not visibly changed.
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Land claims are governed by several server configuration values. Exact defaults have changed between releases, so read the active server’s serverconfig.xml rather than relying on a guide written for another version.
| Setting | Reported meaning | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
LandClaimSize |
Default reported as 41; sources disagree on radius versus full width | Changes the horizontal area protected by each claim |
LandClaimExpiryTime |
Default commonly reported as 7 real-world days | Sets how long offline protection can remain before expiry |
LandClaimOfflineDelay |
Minutes after logout before offline durability begins | Determines when the claim leaves its strongest state |
LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifier |
Default reported as 4, but community explanations conflict with a 4x versus 32x interpretation | Changes how resistant claimed blocks are while the owner is offline |
LandClaimDecayMode |
0 = slow/linear; 1 = fast/exponential; 2 = none | Controls how offline protection degrades over time |
Decay mode 0: slow or linear
Mode 0 is described as a slow, linear reduction in protection. The claim loses durability progressively rather than dropping rapidly at the beginning of the offline period.
Decay mode 1: fast or exponential
Mode 1 uses faster, exponential decay. This is the more aggressive choice for servers that want abandoned bases to become vulnerable sooner.
Decay mode 2: no decay until expiry
Mode 2 is described as no durability decay during the protection period. The claim keeps full protection until the expiry rule ends it, making the expiry time the critical setting.
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The special case of a zero offline modifier
Community documentation reports that setting LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifier to 0 makes claimed blocks unbreakable rather than removing protection. An older, unconfirmed forum report says player damage may still apply in that configuration. Because that interaction is not firmly established, test it on a private server before using zero in a public rule set.
How many Land Claim Blocks can you have?
There is no reported hard cap on the number of blocks a player can place over the life of a game. The important limit is the number that can be active at once: three.
When a player places a fourth claim, the oldest active claim is deactivated. The deactivated claim is reduced to 1 durability, so placing a new block is not a harmless way to keep four protected bases. Track which three claims are current before moving to a new location.
This limit is per player, not a guarantee that a group can protect an unlimited contiguous area. Each owner’s active claims follow the same server rules, and allies do not inherit the owner’s active-block allowance.
What happens when a claim block is destroyed?
Breaking the physical Land Claim Block does not instantly make the exact spot available for a replacement. A forbidden border zone remains after destruction, preventing immediate re-claiming. The restriction is intentional: it stops players from breaking a claim and instantly placing a new one in the same location to bypass the claim lifecycle.
Plan relocations with space around the old position. If you are moving a base, wait for the server’s restriction to clear rather than repeatedly trying to place a replacement inside the remaining border.
How to craft and place a keystone
Craft the block
- Collect five small stones.
- Open the crafting interface and search for Land Claim Block.
- Craft the block, then move it to an accessible hotbar slot.
Older versions gave the player a claim block as a starting item. That changed with version 1.0; in current version-1.0-and-later play, plan to craft it instead of expecting one in the starter inventory.
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Choose the location
- Stand near the center of the area you intend to protect.
- Check for existing claims, server-protected locations, and enough clearance for the uncertain 41-block footprint.
- Place the Land Claim Block on a stable surface where you can defend and access it.
If the visible boundary does not match the size you expected, the server configuration is the likely explanation. Do not rebuild around a presumed radius until you have checked the actual boundary.
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Build and share the area
- Remain allied with every player who needs editing access.
- Build, place, and destroy blocks inside the boundary while the owner is online for maximum protection.
- Before logging out for an extended absence, tell teammates when the offline delay and expiry rules could make the base vulnerable.
Picking up workstations inside your own claim
The placing player can pick up workstations inside the claimed area by holding E on the object. This is useful when remodeling or moving a base. The interaction is tied to the claim owner; a teammate may still need the owner to perform the pickup even when that teammate is allied.
Common problems and fixes
Another player can still edit the base
- Confirm that the Land Claim Block is active rather than the oldest claim displaced by a newer one.
- Check that the player is not an ally who is supposed to have access.
- Verify that the block has not expired after the owner’s offline period.
- Ask the administrator whether the server changed claim settings from their defaults.
The claim stopped protecting the base after logout
- Check the configured
LandClaimOfflineDelay; the claim may have entered offline mode sooner than expected. - Check
LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifierandLandClaimDecayMode. - Confirm the owner has not exceeded the three-active-claim limit.
- Check whether the seven-day expiry was shortened by server policy.
A replacement block will not place
The old claim may have left its forbidden border zone. Move outside that zone or wait until the server permits re-claiming. Placing the block directly where the previous one was destroyed is specifically the situation most likely to fail.
The footprint is not 41 by 41
“41” is not a universal promise of a 41-by-41 square. Sources disagree about whether it is a radius or width, and administrators can edit LandClaimSize. Use the in-game boundary and the active server configuration as the final authority.
Choosing settings for different server styles
Private cooperative world
Keep the default-style behavior if players log in regularly. A moderate offline delay and a seven-real-day expiry allow short absences without making abandoned bases permanent. Make sure every regular builder is allied before construction begins.
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Publish the values for claim size, offline delay, offline modifier, decay mode, and expiry in the server rules. Mode 1 and a shorter expiry reclaim abandoned areas faster; mode 2 protects established bases until expiry but can leave unused land locked for the full period.
Event or test server
Test unusual settings, especially an offline modifier of 0, in a disposable world. The reported “unbreakable” behavior and the unresolved question about player damage make that value unsuitable for a live ruleset unless the administrator has verified it on the exact build.
Version and default-value cautions
Claim settings are version-sensitive. The change from a starter claim block to a five-stone recipe is confirmed for version 1.0, while numeric defaults and the interpretation of offline durability remain inconsistent across community references. No single set of values should be treated as universal for every 7 Days to Die release, console edition, or dedicated server configuration.
For a reliable answer on a specific world, inspect the server’s current serverconfig.xml, place a test claim, log out for the configured delay, and observe the boundary and durability behavior. That test is more dependable than assuming that a guide’s “default” matches the server you joined.
Quick Recap
Key takeaways
- A keystone is the Land Claim Block.
- The owner and allies can place or destroy blocks inside an active claim; other players normally cannot.
- Protection is strongest online, changes after the offline delay, and commonly expires after seven real-world days offline.
- Only three claims can be active at once; placing another deactivates the oldest and reduces it to 1 durability.
- Destroying a claim leaves a no-reclaim border zone.
- Server settings control size, delay, offline durability, decay, and expiry, and several published defaults conflict.
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