atempleton

Currently the damage of the improvised bow is very low - akin to being shot by a 9mm. Given the mass and surface area of the entry wound, the arrows should do considerably more damage, more akin to the damage previously done, or require a two hit kill on an unarmoured player with bone and composite arrows, and maybe 3 hits with the improvised arrow. Bleeding chance can however be lowered and a higher shock value should be added. The bow as it is already is hard to use. The current low damage is both unrealistic and making the bow too hard for most players to even consider using.

This post is really long, but it contains a heap of survival mechanic suggestions that I think would be great to have to improve the survival aspect of Day Z: Solar Stills: Solar stills are a simple but efficient improvised method of acquiring fresh, pure uncontaminated water. In order to construct one, you will need a shovel/hoe/pick, a stone, a plastic sheet, an empty water container and green foliage. You first use the digging tool on the sheet to dig the still. You then add a water container of some sort into the still, as well as green foliage, which can be acquired from grass, or bushes. Finally, a stone is added to the still to commence the operation. The sunlight's heat directed onto the still will evaporate the water contained within the foliage (which will degrade throughout the process.) This will in turn collect on the sheet, and the weight will cause the condensation to run down into the container, slowly filling the container with fresh water that doesn't need to be purified. This will allow someone thus with the appropriate tools to always have a method of acquiring fresh uncontaminated water, whether they go. It also provides bases a source of fresh water they can always come back to as well - a nice addition to your camp. Signal Fires: Signal fires are fires designed to deliberately attract attention to them to communicate and signal to other players. They are simple to build - all you will need is to add branches and green foliage (as acquired above and explained) to an existing functioning fire and the fire will emit a large amount of smoke and a tall flame - easily spotted from afar during the day or night. Improvised Shelter: An improvised shelter functions in the same way as a tent - providing basic shelter from the elements and safe storage for your equipment. You simply will need a few branches stacked together in a bundle (normally could be several dozen, but for gameplay sakes we will make it a small number of say 4 or 6.) You then would set the branches against one another on the ground into the shape of a shelter, and then use green foliage (again as explained how to acquire earlier) to insulate and complete the shelter. The completed shelter will have enough storage to hold 2 primary weapons, and will be difficult to locate. Improvised Blow Gun: A blow gun is a simple weapon designed to launch dart like projectiles through the use of air, blowing into the weapon. All you require is a branch and a knife to construct (just for simplicity sake and to make the weapon able to compete with the Shortbow.) You can then use darts to load into the weapon (with a range of about 10m) and fire them completely silently, doing a small amount of damage. Darts can either be preacquired (they're going to be used in the air pistol after all) or you can make them yourself with feathers and nails. You can also add to the improvised darts a poison of some sort, or a tranquilizer, and the victim will either acquire chemical poisoning or be rendered unconscious, depending on the substance used. Spear Fishing: Spear fishing is just that, fishing with a spear, trying to impale fish on the spear to catch them. All you require is an improvised spear - constructed out of a sharpened stick, and can have bones added to the tip (like arrows) to improve the damage dealt by the spear, and the chance of bleeding. Obviously of course, spears are going to be added into Day Z, and the spear can simply be used to look into fresh water, and take a stab in the dark to try and catch a fish. The spear has a low chance of catching a fish and may take longer than using a rod, hook and bait, but not everyone can find the appropriate tools for the latter. Also, to increase the chances of catching a fish, you can use a knife on a stick to sharpen it, and then add the sharpened stick to the spear (that hasn't had bones tipped to it) to create a multi pronged spear, increasing the chances of catching a fish by double.

I've built solar stills before and they worked remarkably. Granted, this is in rural North Queensland and not Eastern Europe, but if there is open sunlight it will work, just it'll be slower.

I already do this with canteens. I fill them with gasoline or disinfectant when entering into combat zones. You can fill them with any substance, in any container.

Bling bling time? Hell yeah!

Darryl Dixon claims another soul.

Anyone want to kill some bambis with a Sawn-Off Mosin now?

It wouldn't be good in a gameplay perspective. People wouldn't risk their lives to help their fallen comrades if they knew they're going to get back up in 30 seconds.

I shall paint myself with the blood of my enemies.

You don't need fertilizer, but it takes much longer without it.

Agriculture is great for campers. Hide the garden a kilometre or so away from where you're camping and killing people. When you get hungry, you won't need to rush into town to feed yourself, risking your life. You can take to the hills and woods and seek refuge at your garden for a feed, and water from the nearby slice source. That being said, I do prefer fishing for food survival wise. Fertiliser takes up a heap of space in your inventory, as do shovels and water bottles. A fishing rod on the other hand can be slung over your back and a knife for skinning fish and digging up worms can be stuffed in your boots.

Simple question for snipers - is a sidearm as a backup adequate enough, or should you use an SMG? Does the extra firepower justify the space sacrificed for something you're not intending on primarily using?

How one bullet 7.62mm in diameter manages to break everything in a backpack 1m long and 40cm wide.

I'm an opportunist, as someone who is all about survival. Every player is a threat, and to survive you need to remove all threats to your life, whilst taking as little risks as possible. So I don't always shoot on sight if they have the upper hand. I will let them lower their guard, then I will take them out. Groups I avoid where possible. And I only team up with people on Teamspeak, or naive players who I'm waiting to kill. I also ensure I carry a good knife on me at all times. Human steaks make a great souvenir for your travels.

Well I recently just had a close shave moment saved by a pistol. Was bringing an AK to my friend and dropped it on the ground, and my Mosin was slung over the shoulder. Just as he went to pick up the AK, somebody peaked and killed him with a CR75. I ducked to cover, pulled out my FNX, and we exchanged fire, with me hitting him once and him missing me. I managed to make him withdraw long enough for me to pick the AK back up and finish the job. You never know when that pistol comes in handy.

I confirmed a fox spawn too. The mountain seperating Nizhnoye and Solnichny Factory, with two deer stands on it. They have twice for me spawned at the southern deer stand on the mountain, near Orlovets.

My life is not complete with compact shotguns until the Chiappa 1887 is in. Especially if they add motorcycles and the ability to shoot from vehicles.

Yes please!

Sawed-Off Blaze anybody?

I'd use the Chainsaw if the gas lasted a good 2 minutes and it could be carried over your back, but otherwise I'll stick to the sword.

I'm looking forward to the return of persistence mostly, and vehicle inventories. Those two features are crucial for making Day Z more than just gearing up and heading to the coast to shoot people and throw it all away.

I think a 10 minute default respawn timer would be better to be honest. It will allow players to effectively be able to wipe out an entire player population in a city and face no more competition for a long time. It would also greatly discourage suicide to respawn.

I'm pretty sure that was WOBO you shot at. :p

The key thing the mod had over Standalone's atmosphere was the ambient music and fog. It was legitimately creepy. If implemented into Standalone, the atmosphere would be implemented.

I've tried. Got laughed at by some fresh spawn. He wasn't laughing though when I chased him down and shanked him with the knife hidden in my jeans though.