I think it's only natural that life expectancy has gone up based on two reasons: 1) The game BLEW up in popularity. I know it did because I have never played ARMA and I bought this game just to try this mod. I'm almost a month in and my play style has changed dramatically throughout the weeks. You learn how to survive and adapt. You learn that dying sucks, especially when you have invested your time traveling and gearing up. You learn that the zombies are merely obstacles, not the true enemy. In the end, you learn it's you vs the game and everyone in it. 2) The bandit skin is gone. At first I thought this would lead to more chaos, but I have found in my short time that this had led to more 'shoot on sight' tactics. I've learned to stay away from everyone and be incredibly careful and quick if I enter a popular town. Basically, and I say this in chat, I'm friendly but if you approach me head on I will take you as a bandit.