Dagwood

I will be the first to say what I think a lot of other players are thinking: the south eastern corner of the map is the new ideal region for stashing tents. This is for three reasons 1.) limited locations of value or interest in the area. The towns north of elektro and west of solichny are of limited value to both newspawns and geared players. 2.) this region has the most extensive forest on the map. The western and northern forests of the mod have been extensively reduced. Nuff said. 3.) the south eastern corner of the map is easily within reach of east coast spawns while not being a common destination or transitory area for coastal players. In the mod (southern spawns), the forest along the western edge of the map was an area with very similar characteristics to the south eastern corner of the map in the SA: low value, low traffic, dense forests, and within reach of player spawns. For these reasons, I believe that the south eastern corner of the map will be a fairly popular spot for large stashes. Of course, most of this scheming and subterfuge is unneccessary as the majority of the high-yield stashes will be tucked away on consistently empty servers away from prying eyes until private hives are implemented.

Sisterhood of the traveling pants much?

Because soldier of fortune and dayz are completely different games. That's like saying, why can't my 2014 dodge pickup truck go from 0-60 in 3 seconds when sports cars from 10 years ago could do it? Yes, technology and software/hardware have improved, but not on a level that would make what you're asking for possible. For instance, take a look at the difference in graphics and performance between skyrim and elder scrolls online. ESO probably doesn't have the level of graphical detail that skyrim, an older game, has. But instead, it allows hundreds of people to interact in the same environment at the same time (which would be impossible with skyrim). I made a post about zombies beating upon unconscious players last summer and razor informed me/us that it was already a confirmed feature for the standalone. Don't forget that all of the tweaks and fixes that are being made to the current zombies will be completely irrelevant once the new zombies (which are being completely redone by a separate studio and team) are incorporated. The navmesh thingy they did recently brings us one step closer to the new zombie AI. Patience, my brothers.

Or when we're sick and/or have a poor diet we have reoccurring diariah. This would punish players that don't properly take care of their avatars

If you don't have the upper hand, communication should not be your first priority. You wanna do everything you can to put less control of the situation into the stranger's hands. If you bump into them coming around a corner with no way to immediately put him down, by all means, communicate away as you bolt for cover. But putting yourself into a vulnerable position and gambling on someone's reaction is not a smart move.

I'm sorry I called her a witch, orlok... But my local pastor was pretty adamant on the subject.

Improvised leather backpack is the biggest you should need (same number of slots as the taloon interesting enough). The ammo box is unnecessary if you're truly going for the minimalist approach. One six-stack of rags plus alcohol tincture in the bottom of your pack should suffice for bandages. Your medkit should only contain 1X morphine, 1X saline bag, 1X IV starter kit, and 1X blood bag if you have O- blood like my tune. I also carry antibiotics in my pack just for shits and giggles (epinephrine would be the more practical alternative to antibiotics). A sidearm of your choice with one extra mag (2 total) and a loose stack of the corresponding ammunition should be plenty for a backup. Binocs, map and compass are also nice pieces to carry for exploration and scouting purposes. With a vest and 6-10 slots of pant and shirt space, you'll have plenty of room for your removable optics, mags, and other accessories associated with your primary rifle setup. I also carry a woodcutters axe, matches and machete for hunting and cooking purposes.

In the later days of the mod, elektro and Cherno still hosted the majority of a server's population. The other two common hotspots were the NWAF and stary military camp (two highest yield military areas of the map). With the addition of several new military bases, I think increasing the server population will be necessary to prevent the map from being too sparsely populated.

M4 all day. Forgiving bullet trajectory (less bullet drop) coupled with various optics and a high rate of fire make the M4 the most versatile weapon in the game. And the recent shortage of ammunition has made me play the game like I used to during the mod. The recent revision of the attachment mechanic has made my stock M4 into a effective all-arounder.

If you want to find players in the west at the military bases, join low pop servers. If you want to loot them uncontested, do so on high pop servers. Not a perfect rule without exceptions, but definitely the trend. Full servers are concentrated near the spawn points. Allows squads to respawn and regroup quickly to get back into the fight. Increased player count will help, but I think varying levels of difficulty from location to location will be what drives player movement around the map (small villages being easier and cities being more dangerous).

She's a witch she's a witch, she turned me into a newt!

Hardcore: Anybody got a CZ75 with mags lying around? I'd be willing to negotiate for a trade

Found 2 AK 101 mags in one balota loot run with my buddies the other day. And I don't hate you. Just pity. Like I pity players that need to hack to get enjoyment out of a game.

Hate to be that guy but... Server hopping karma can be a biotch :)

I think ideally we should die as fresh spawns more often than we are able to gear up and get to a point where we are self sufficient. We should die from zombies, starvation, infection, hypothermia, AND other players. Currently, the only consistent threat is other players this must and will change

This may have been discussed here already, but I would be interested to hear some other perspectives. I normally play hardcore, but before class this morning I decided to hop onto a regular server and fuck around in berezino. I helped some fresh spawns out, and we headed off toward the police station (muggers alley). While looting the pub down the street, I found a painted CZ527 sitting in the last room on the top floor. Upon picking it up, a hail of AK fire wizzes by me through the window to the north. Long story short, a pair of identical players toting fully loaded M4s charged up the stairs and gunned us all down. I'm only assuming they were duped M4s because of the context. I know that I would never risk a gun as rare as an M4 to kill fresh spawns in betezino... My question is, how common is it to encounter players with fully loaded M4s these days? I have one on hardcore and I am afraid to lose it. I would think that anyone with a legitimately acquired M4 would be more careful with it...

I was legitimately surprised that my character didn't wipe after the first update. I think the map would be far more explored if characters were wiped after every update. Kind of off topic, but still something to think about...

Autorun? Roll of quarters or...?

Well it depends on what you are trying to accomplish playing dayz. Are you here for the adrenaline pumping firefights? The socializing/player interaction? Roleplaying? Exploring? Collecting the rarest/best equipment? The dayzdb map is a double edged sword. On one hand, it can very quickly teach you where to go to get the gear you want. On the other, it will basically remove any excitement or challenge that comes from getting lost and then finding your way. If you're in it for the pvp, by all means use the online map. But if you want a more "immersive" experience, I suggest you collect the map fragments in game and use those to find your way. Not looking up roadsign names online and having to orient yourself with the topographical map on game can actually teach you a good life skill (land navigation). But above all, mix it up to keep things fresh. Repeating the same effective looting route over and over again is boring and will teach you very little in the long run.

Accidental double post. Damn phone.

Dayz aftermath had the best base building of any dayz mod I played. To break into other player's bases you had to smash through the gates with consumable sledge hammers. If you were willing to layer enough walls and gates, your base was protected while you logged out as it could take hours to bust down all of the gates if they even had enough sledgehammers.

Found 2 AK101 mags looting balota with my buddies tonight. No server hopping required. You server hoppers should be able to find 5.56 rounds easy enough

HARDCORE: I've got an FNX with pristine RDS and flashlight that I wouldn't mind trading away. I also have a CZ527 mag (don't know how rare these are) that I'm willing to part with. The only things I'm looking for are an ACOG scope (derp) and a combat knife.

When I first started playing the mod early in 2013, the average lifespan was about 15 minutes. You spawned without a weapon or a makarov (I can't remember) and you would get ravaged by zombies over and over. At this point, there were no melee weapons so until you found another gun, you were lucky if you spawned in with 8 bullets to fend off the undead. The zombies being broken is a shitty way to increase the difficulty, but get used to it and try to adapt. Eventually (fingers crossed) the zombies will be so numerous that spawning over and over again until you get somewhat geared will be the norm. IMO, dying over and over again is better than running around hour after hour with impunity because the zombies are 0 threat.

Can people please specify whether they are on regular or hardcore...