indalcecio

So I've been doing great now that I've got the hang of things - right now I have an AK-74 Kobra, MP5 in my pack (i just happen to have tons of ammo for it; i know it's not great but it's great for when you're cornered and attract a lot of zombies), and a PDW (I know I'm new but I honestly like it better than the 1911, better chance of a headshot) plus all the "fixins" for survival. But last week when I was still really new, I happened upon a heli crash site and got a SAW. I made it to the woods, was just moving around little towns getting supplies, etc. when I saw a UAZ driving by. I don't think they saw me, but I guess I was bored and wanted to try out my SAW, so I fired a couple bursts at it. I realized it was stupid and pointless, so I stopped. Unfortunately they stopped as well, and since on the server I was on players show up on the map once you spot them (they just have to show up in your FOV's line of sight - it's to help with navigation, but it has the little known side effect of making it really easy to find people), they found me and sniped me pretty easily. It was my own fault for being dumb, but I was wondering....if I had really laid into them with the SAW while they were driving, would I have killed them? They weren't moving that fast so hitting the vehicle would have been easy. I did see a death message around that time, so for all I know I did? I was basically just wondering what kind of damage a regular gun like a SAW does to a vehicle, and whether or not it penetrates to hit the passengers inside.

That sucks. Really, it does. I know exactly how you feel. But it does get better. I will say this: when you looted that tent and got shot, it doesn't sound like a hacker. It sounds like someone else was protecting their tent or they also wanted to loot it. And hiding in trees only gives you concealment, not cover, and if a player is smart and/or lucky they can figure out where you are. It also might not have been a headshot if they had an AS50 or M107. Honestly it sounds like you had really bad luck. It happens too often in DayZ, and as it is right now the game provides an incentive to be an asshole, and no incentive not to be.

Read over everyone's suggestions carefully, then pick a spot that is far away from any of those places.

I'll try and keep this relatively short: been playing for only a week, but I have put a lot of hours into the game just in that week. I think one of the first nights I played for like 8 hours straight - needless to say, I'm liking it. So basically, my strategy is this: immediately after spawning, I go to the nearest city, and loot it. This is because, well I just spawned, if I get killed, no big deal, just respawn. But then, once I get just about ANYTHING worth taking (usually I try and get everything I need to make fire and kill/gut animals), I get the hell out of the city, and head north. I wander around the countryside, only looting the small villages and barns and stuff while staying in tree lines. Eventually I get some decent gear. This is sort of a slow way to play, but I don't get bored. And I've noticed that when I wander around the countryside, sooner or later I have a good chance of finding a heli crash site. I've found three so far already. So I figure since I'm able to get decent gear, I must be doing something right. After that, I do it again: I just keep looting fairly safe villages. You might ask why I don't try anywhere more dangerous once I have better loot....well the answer is I don't try anywhere more dangerous BECAUSE I have better loot. What it adds in protection, having better gear MORE than makes up for in making you a higher value target. This time, though, I try to find a tent. Then I make myself a "kit" - I put survival gear and the best weapon I can find (second best, actually, since I like to actually USE the best) in a hidden tent. This gives me a safety net of sorts, so I can go to Cherno or Elektro and try to find other players to team up with, or occasionally run into bandits and kill or get killed. I'm still really new so I do get killed somewhat often, but the one thing I've noticed I'm pretty good at is hiding tents - none of them have been found so far. I like playing this way because I know I'm going to die eventually, and it's really nice to not lose EVERYTHING when that happens. Makes things really fun, and I'm not so afraid to take risks every now and then. If anyone has any criticism or insight/advice to add, please share.

I know it probably seems like "new player, scared of dying in the big cities" but honestly that's not it. Yeah, I'm new, but I like encounters with other players (when I'm prepared anyway - sometimes it happens when I'm not, that's part of the game). It's more the simple fact that there isn't anything in Elektro/Cherno that you can't get walking North for 20 minutes, with way less risk. And then you have the advantage of being closer to NWAF.

I agree. I only go there right after spawning if I spawn close to one because I have nothing to lose.

IIRC Rocket said that he wants most settings like this to be decided by the server. That would fix it as far as I'm concerned. There could be servers that allow it and servers that don't.

Not a bad idea IMO. I think they would actually make a good BOTTOM tier vehicle though...as in, they're slow and you can't take them where you really want to go, BUT they could maybe have a higher chance of not being damaged or needing less repairs, and easier to find since they obviously have to be on the train tracks.