Acis

You sum it up nicely when you say "Honestly, there is nothing to do except promote your combat efficiency and test your skills/gear on other players. " I started off just trying to survive the zed. Once you get the hang of it though, it's pretty easy. Even in the latest patch. I 've gotten vehicles a few times but they're hard to keep when you log out. So that just leaves pvp. And nothing else in the game beats the thrill of it.

It's made the game too much of a slow starter IMO. But once I find that first gun it's pretty fun just running up to survivors I see have no weapon and shooting them point blank. Then I just run through buildings till I shake the zed and go back to see if player I just killed had any loot.

If we're going to go along with the "realism" that a survivor wouldn't have found a firearm by the time the game starts then I think most all military and police zed should have firearms and ammo. Seems "realistic" to me they would have very likely been armed during this time. As it is now, it's like they all decided to empty their pockets and unstrapped their holsters when they turned.

NO It doesn't make the game more challenging. It just forces you to spend some extra time scavenging for a sidearm. Which would just slow things down enough to begin to make it monotonous and boring. The zed aren't the real threat in the game. If you can crawl, you can avoid them. Surviving against other players in a lawless world is the real challenge. The zed just add a layer of complexity to it. Taking the starting pistol away (or reducing the ammo) just gives already established players a huge edge they don't need. Thus making the game less challenging to them. IMO, the focus should be on challenging established players who have military grade weapons and vehicles. Making starting/respawing players less effective counters that.