ZMV

Pretty much this. While there were semi-auto sniper rifles prior to the design of the SVD in the late 50s, such as the M1D Garand and Tokarev SVT-40, their usage was in the same role as those rifles of the non-sniper variety. WWII battles were fought from longer ranges, and scoped versions of those rifles were very rare. Then in the 50s, with the adoption of medium caliber assult rifles (AK-47, for example), military commanders around the world started looking at support weapons for close- to medium-range battles. Thus, the SVD was created as a support-class weapon, not as an accurized sniper rifle. The rifle was referred to as a sniper rifle simply because they didn't know what else to call it at the time. Consider that an SVD is considered in-spec and working up to par if it shoots a 6cm (2.3") group at 200 meters, and the effective range of an SVD is between 400-600 meters, while the effective range of a dedicated sniper rifle like the US Marine Corps M40 is 1000-1400 meters.

Just a minor gripe, the SVD is basically a DMR. It's not really accurate to categorize it as a "sniper rifle."

How about an Ishapore Enfield? It's a bolt action Enfield in 7.62x51mm.

I am not a big fan of military weapons, because they change the dynamic drastically. Once you reach a certain point, it becomes standard operating procedure to KOS people for their gear, which in turn makes the people with those weapons also KOS to protect their gear. High end military type weapons, like PKP machine guns or an M24 rifle, are game changers. Everyone wants either a super accurate sniper rifle with a scope that can count how many hairs are in your nose from 500 yards, or a large caliber machine gun with massive barrier penetration and belted rounds. Low-end civilian weaponry makes the game more interesting. Bolt action guns like the Mosin reduce your rate of fire and make every shot count (for the record, I believe the current Mosin accuracy is ridiculous and very different from the real world...), and the SKS gives you just enough rounds to cause some damage, but also get into trouble. Handguns should be relatively common, and if all you have is a handgun you're more likely to just use it for self defense instead of assaulting a compound. So, that being said, these are the weapons I would like to see in game... Lever action rifle in 357/38: Marlin 1894 Pump action shotgun: Remington 870, Mossberg 500 Semi-auto shotgun: not a tactical one, just a run of the mill duck hunting shotgun like a Mossberg 930 or Remington 1100/11-87 Survival over/under shotgun/rifle combo: Baikal MP94, 12 gauge + .223 Remington Revolver, 22 Magnum, 7-shot: Taurus Tracker Revolver, 38 special, 5-shot: Smith & Wesson J-frame Single-shot hunting rifle: Ruger No.1 in 45-70 Government Blackpowder muzzleloading rifles. This would make for some very interesting combat Also we need to see more slugs in game for 12-gauge. There is no reason they should be super rare, it's a common hunting choice. I could see adding an accurate military-grade sniper rifle (like an M24, M40) if they reduced the accuracy of the Mosin by a lot, say 3-4 inches at 100 yards. I am not looking forward to the SVD in game, and I've already decided if I see one I'm going to carry it off into the woods and drop it forever. Finally, the only military weapon I'd want to see added would be an Uzi. Pistol caliber sub-machine guns are vastly under represented in DayZ.

I agree that there should be more incentive to stay alive longer. However, dupers will always dupe because they have nothing to lose. If your entire purpose in the game is to kill people, you don't care about skills and perks. You simply dupe gear, find someone, shoot them, and move on. If you die, it means you get to dupe again and get more ammo. While an incentive to live longer and learn more skills would benefit the regular player, it has no effect on the KOS'ing, duping, CoD-style bandit.

While boredom is a major problem in early access, the biggest problem is the devaluation of playing the game. I'm talking about hacking and duping. Dupers, in particular, are ruining this game because there is very little (and most likely, nothing) happening to solve the problem. If you dupe, you never have to find gear again. You never have the sense of fear of losing equipment, because if you die, you simply dupe again and start over. Duping is a minor inconvenience, and takes 10 minutes to outfit 2-3 players with full duped gear. Dupers play the game like it's Call of Duty, running around and wildly shooting at anything and everything without fear of death. Death to them, after all, is simply a way to refill your ammo supply. Duping goes against everything this game once stood for, and there isn't a single mechanic in-game to stop it. AFAIK, there hasn't even been a response from the devs about the issue and what they're doing to stop it, but correct me if I'm wrong on that one. While content is good, there are other, bigger issues to worry about. Removing dupers once and for all is actually a content adjustment, because the players are a content resource. It ruins the game when cheaters run around with full gear, unafraid to die, and simply want to ruin the day of people who play the game as intended.

I only play hardcore. I have everything from last night on video. The hackers, glitchers, and dupers are game breaking, because the game is built around player interactions. When those interactions are molested by hackers and dupers, what else is there to do in game? You can only loot on low-pop or empty servers so much, you know, and the duping issue has not been addressed, even though it's been a problem for months now. Regarding my feelings toward SOE reps statements, those thoughts are best expressed on another forum.... But know this: H1Z1 will kill this game if the devs don't do something about the hackers and dupers.

The duping is game breaking. I'll give you an example from last night. Two guys running around Berezino like they were playing COD, shooting everything that moves. We took them out, and found they were wearing exactly the same thing. M4s, four 60-round magazines, same clothing, same bags, even down to the same contents and food in their hunter backpacks. Victory, right? Fifteen minutes later the same two guys wearing the same exact thing find us again. We killed them again, wearing the exact same thing as they had before. Dupers are ruining this game. At this point, I'm just wasting time in this game until H1Z1 comes out. Wahh wahh, it's alpha, I get it.... But it's been months upon months and we've been lied to constantly about the development of the game.

Found a makarov in the junkyard east of Chernaya Polana. I haven't seen any ammo for it, and didn't have a magazines, so I left it where it was. Wish I could be more help.

Something is up with melee hit detection. I've been forced to fight zombies for up to 2 minutes in some cases because my axe won't connect. Movement is a bit wonky. Vaulting is definitely more clumsy. Oh, and dupers are still running rampant. The problems aren't quite game-breaking, but they're close.

I still have my M4 and four 60-round magazines on my regular hive character... But that's because I started playing hardcore exclusively many moons ago.

My apologies. If they could move it over there, that would be great. Thanks! Awesome, thanks! I'll check out your blog. Take care!

I recently started a new gamer channel on YouTube, and my first video ever is from DayZ. Since this is my first video, I'd like some feedback and suggestions on how I can make it better. I'd like to do more of these in the future, and community input is extremely valuable. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCaQiISfi4 Thanks for watching.

Agreed. The problem isn't just about 22lr, it's about the entire damage system. Do we want realism, or do we want balance? I personally prefer realism, but I don't think the game can handle the calculations required for realistic terminal ballistics. To do so, a player's head can't just be one entity or hit location, it would have to be three (or more). Perhaps the best solution would be a RNG for effects. For example, a 22lr head shot could be 70% chance of one-shot death, 15% chance of knockout with massive bleeding, 5% chance of knockout with no bleeding, 5% chance of just bleeding, and a 5% chance of no effect (like if you got shot in the ear or something). A 5.56 NATO would have much higher chance of death and a much lower chance of knockout with no bleeding. I know this is wishful thinking, but like I said, without a very complex hit-location system, there really isn't a way to make the game realistic in the first place.

A 22lr does not have to do "shock damage" (otherwise known as hydrostatic shock) to surrounding muscle to kill. Hydrostatic shock is the ability of a penetrating projectile to cause waves in tissue to ripple through vital organs. For example, if you are shot in the stomach, the theory* states the ripples in water-based flesh and tissue can transfer to the heart and stop it. (*I say theory, because it has not been proven that hydrostatic shock has measurable lethal ability.) Ultimately, you can not count on hydrostatic shock to cause death. The only thing required to stop the body from moving is the loss of blood or loss of nerves in specific areas. Blood loss alone is often not enough to kill someone, and there have been several instances of a person being shot over a dozen times and surviving because the blood loss was not severe enough. However, blood loss can also happen with the smallest penetration in a vital organ or blood vessel. Taking a 22lr in the femoral artery in your leg, for example, will result in your death in seconds. A person can also die from internal bleeding. For example, a person could be shot in the chest, and the blood fills various cavities and areas between the organs and the muscle. This lack of blood in the cardiovascular system has the same effect whether the blood is bleeding internally or externally. In fact, an internal injury will be more deadly than an external injury because you can't easily stop the blood loss. Finally, leaving a projectile in your body is very dangerous. The projectile does not remain in one area. A bullet left in your chest, for example, could migrate over time to your heart or lungs, causing death. A bullet left in your leg could migrate to the femoral artery, causing death. It may take a day for migration, or it may take several years. In a zombie-apocalypse world without access to surgical services, a bullet left in your body may eventually kill you. Of course, this doesn't count infection, as another poster already stated...