dnk

Yeah, as much as KoS can be frustrating for people who want to play cooperatively, that's the game basically. If you do want to play cooperatively, there will be private hives with TS eventually, plus you can always join a squad/clan. But you guys have to realize that teaming up with randoms in pub servers is always going to be very risky (though in the mods I've had decent luck with it), and everywhere you go you need to assume you're being hunted or walking into an ambush. There's a survival game to be had, but the anti-KOS side has to realize that most of that survival aspect comes from surviving other survivors rather than slow zombies.

My own tips, many of which will repeat others' in the thread: When you're accessing inventory or standing still, be crouched or prone. You make a less visible target. When inside, be crouched. It's harder to see you through the windows that way. Before entering any area, check if zombies have spawned. Take more than 5 seconds to do this. If they have, avoid entering the area unless it's like Cherno where you're guaranteed PvP anyway you go about it. Stick to the less popular locations/trails. Avoiding people avoids KOS, and generally people in these areas are there for similar reasons, so you might get luckier when dealing with those you do come across. Avoid PvP areas, or only enter them when there's a low server pop. Don't shoot, don't make loud noises, don't draw attention to yourself. When you go to loot a smaller town, go in and out quickly, don't wander about, and don't loot every building. Before you enter the town, pick out the high value buildings, then plan a simple and fast route through those and perhaps a few lower value places. Rush in, rush out. The longer you stay, the more likely another player will stumble across your town, see it's spawned zombies, know you're in there, spot you, and set up an ambush. When planning to enter a city, make sure of 2 other things: 1) your entry route is relatively camouflaged by a treeline/bushes/buildings, and 2) your exit is similarly well covered (this is more important than the entrance), plus you will be able to scope out your exit from the city before you leave. Don't move in straight lines for long distances. Don't make your destination obvious (this is more an issue when you're returning to a base, which we don't have yet, but still). Before you finally exit a city, do a slow check of the direciton you're heading in to see if anyone's lying in wait or heading towards you. You planned this, right? Once you have left the city, make sure you have no zombies in tow, and that you lose them if you do. Don't run in the open - at the very least, use lines of bushes/trees. Stick to the forests, and stick to non-obvious routes in the forests (like, don't just follow a ridgeline that everyone going from X to Y popular spots will use). When you do spot another player, it's your choice to interact, but if you don't want to, assess the situation. If you can get away without being seen, do so, otherwise find a well hidden spot that they're unlikely to pass by, and stay low. Whenever you aren't running (like, when scoping out a place), don't move your body. That means use the free headlook. Don't be lazy - movement is a large part of what makes players easily spotted at a distance. If your whole body is swinging around as you look, you're going to be FAR more visible than if it's just a small part of the model (the head). You did remember to lie down or at least crouch, right? Really, though, avoiding high traffic areas and situational awareness (also SA) are the keys. Knowing how to be a minimal target (including clothing) is important as well. A larger, but much more brightly colored backpack isn't always worth it - actually, it's rarely if ever worth it.

Find a private, whitelisted hive with like-minded people. Really, that's it, and yeah it's not an option right now. Fact is you've got one group of people wanting relatively cooperative PvE gameplay, and you've got one group wanting pure PvP in a survivalist zombie apocalypse flavor. So long as the two are forced to play together, the former group is going to be unhappy.

This is basically impossible with carrots. As has been said, the whole idea of making a player's life more interesting to the player will do nada to reduce KOS in the game. KOS types just don't care - hell, the more valuable your avatar is to you, probably the more many of them (the troll ones) get off on killing you. For the paranoid KOS types, making their own character more valuable means they've all the more incentive to kill first and ask questions later. Ultimately, there's not much you can do other than to play on private hives with more cooperative/mature players. You can reduce paranoia (and its related KOSings) with better modes of communication and more obvious means of judging humanity/intent, but only so much. KOS has always been an issue, and will always be an issue. It's a cultural issue here more than a mechanics issue. Good luck fixing those.