Evil Minion

With seeing all those "Which gun is better?", "Gun A vs. Gun B", "Why gun XY is the best/worst." topics I decided to make a ranking of the firearms in DayZ. I tried to stay as objective as possible using mainly data from the game files but also the two votes about rarity I started earlier. The only values made up based off my personal experiences/perception is the gunshot noise heard by players and the audible range for the new 5.45x39mm round that I set to the same as the 5.56x45mm. Of cause the rating details are somewhat subjective as well and if someone spots a flaw or has a better idea on rating I am happy to hear. All weapons are put into four tiers and also got a slightly more detailed rating on their own (Offense/Defense/Utility) and the ranking does not take into account weapon rarity or coolness factors (as those would warp it in chaotic ways). TOP TIER The very best weapon ingame. And... its not the AKM. M4A1 CQB - O: 6/9 D: 9/9 U: 3/9 High accuracy, high rate of fire, good damage and a turn rate that is otherwise only reached by the humble Derringer this gives probably the best comabt performance. So well actually that it outweights its low utility. The CQB buttstock is vital because it gives this massive boost to dexterity while only being slightly worse in dispersion than the Magpul buttstock. Without this the M4 would drop to about the same level as the AKM. HIGH TIER Very powerful weapons and most likely the top end of what survivors will use. Every M4 variant not using the CQB stock goes here as well. All those weapons and there magazines are pretty rare but definitely worth the search. AKM - O: 7/9 D: 5/9 U: 3/9 The most powerful assault rifle in terms of damage output - with a drum magazine it can shoot forever - and very accurate when used with the right attachments. Its also the easiest to find magazines and ammo for but not by a significant amount (its still relatively rare). On the downside it provides less dexterity than an M4 and is very loud. MP5-K - O: 4/9 D: 6/9 U: 5/9 The strongest submachine gun by far. Cannot rival the firepower of any assault rifle but it relatively small, provides good dexterity and easier to find ammo for. Not magazines though - but if you manage to find some you got a very powerful weapon for self-defense that can be surprisingly accurate as well. AK101 - O: 6/9 D: 5/9 U: 4/9 The little siste of the AKM. Just as accurate, similar handling, same attachments. It doesn't have the punch nor the stamina only using 30 round magazines but ammo is only marginally more rare and only used by the extremely rare M4A1 which means there will be more for you left. It seems to be less loud than the AKM and features slightly les recoil and bullet drop. MID TIER All perfectly usable weapons but usually not as powerful as the high tier models. Much more common so many survivors might end up with them. This tier could be divided into two the first group is the group performing above average in the great picture. FNX45 - O: 4/9 D: 7/9 U: 3/9 The very best handgun in game. For a handgun firing the powerful .45 ACP round (that is even more powerful in DayZ) it has a very high dexterity and magazine size making it a good choice for self-defense or even general close quarters combat. Can mount a Red Dot Sight for better overview and even shooting at greater distances as the gun wont hide your target as the other pistols do. Too bad both ammo and magazines could be easier to find. And its still a handgun, which means it requires extra space and its range is still limited. Mosin 9130 - O: 9/9 D: 1/9 U: 4/9 If you want to go for long range precision shooting this weapon is the only true choice. With the right attachments its extremely accurate reliably itting targets at up to 800 meters and it fires the most powerful round ingame. It also comes with an internal magazine that can be filled by using clips. Tjough on the other side its quite cumbersome and has a very low rate of fire making it ill-equipped when caught up close. Repeater - O: 5/9 D: 3/9 U: 6/9 A solid weapon with its quite large internal magazine and uses a fairly common round. Damage and accuracy are good and its rate of fire - while still slow - is much better than the Mosins. Its kept down by only using ironsights limiting the effective range to 300 meters and it is not a very good choice for close quarters. Sawed-off IZH-43 - O: 5/9 D: 3/9 U: 6/9 Mafia-style. The weapon is small and concealable but packs a hell of a punch in close quarters. Firing both shots in quick succession offers a burst only reached by the non-sawed-off version of this weapon - which is somewhat more cumbersome and while offering more effective range this advantage is not that great if compared to other weapons. Now having only two shots makes it a poor choice for self defense - miss them and you are screwed. Note that the score is identical to the Repeater but for vastly different reasons. SKS - O: 7/9 D: 3/9 U: 4/9 This weapon offers high damage, rate of fire, a fairly big internal magazine and good range in one package. However its the most cumbersome weapon after the Mosin, ammo is relatively hard to find for a hunting rifle type and its pretty damn loud. The PU Scope can only be zeroed to 300 meters but just as with the FNX45 it allows for shots beyond that - though those end up being less accurate compared to the Repeater or Blaze 95. Sporter 22 - O: 2/9 D: 5/9 U: 7/9 The king of utility - it might have a poor range and pitiful damage but once you found a magazine - not too hard when compared to other weapons - it can be quite strong. Very accurate within its range, ammo is abundant, its silent and fast firing and a headshot will drop people nonetheless. Its not a weapon you want to use when actively hunting down your targets but its quite good in defensive situations and is very reliable. The second group is slightly weaker than average but still pretty viable. Blaze 95 - O: 7/9 D: 3/9 U: 3/9 For mid range burst this is the go-to weapon. More accurate and reliable than the IZH-43 with a much greater effective range. For firing such a powerful round the weapon is relatively quiet. Now you only have two shots and those do not spread out for the better or the worse. Just as the Repeater the Blaze 95 is quite accurate but suffers from being limited to ironsights. Derringer - O: 4/9 D: 5/9 U: 4/9 Small and handy with very high dexterity. It fires a quite powerful round while being both relatively quiet and relatively accurte - in fact more accurate than a SKS is the right hands. However, you got only two shots and have to cock the hammer after each shot. Also the basic ironsights make it difficult to actually use its great accuracy. IZH-43 - O: 5/9 D: 3/9 U: 5/9 The long version is similar to the short one with slightly increased range but also more cumbersome. Good burst bot to use it to full effect you need to be very close. And if you miss you are standing close to your opponent with an empty gun. At least its very easy to get your hands on some additional shells and a speedloader might help getting ready again. Longhorn - O: 7/9 D: 5/9 U: 1/9 You got a scope, quite good accuracy, the most powerful round in game, very good dexterity - and only one shot. Its literally hit or miss with the Longhorn and the very high noise level and long reload make you a sitting duck if you miss. Magnum - O: 3/9 D: 5/9 U: 5/9 For a handgun the Magnum has quite a low rate of fire as well as low dexterity but you can fire six rounds without having to find a magazine - rounds which are easy to find and deal quite some damage. The whole process can be sped up by using a speedloader. Accuracy is nothing special but it works quite well in self-defense or when relatively close. Makarov IJ70 - O: 1/9 D: 7/9 U: 5/9 It might not be the most powerful handgun with its eight .380 rounds but it offers high dexterity, is not too loud and both ammo and magazines are plentiful. Purely a weapon for self-defense but practical and viable in this role. MP-133 - O: 5/9 D: 3/9 U: 5/9 This one is the sustained fire counterpart for the IZH-43. It holds more rounds but needs to be cocked after each shot reducing burst potential but by holding 6 rounds it offers more sustained damage. Otherwise the handling is very similar with the same advantages and disadvantages as the double barreled model. Ammo is abundant but the pump action does not allow for a speedloader. PM73 RAK - O: 2/9 D: 6/9 U: 5/9 The DayZ unicorn and rarely ever seen even in Youtube videos. But if you actually manage to find both the weapon and the magazines the ammo won't be a problem - unless we are talking damage. At a lower rate of fire than the MP5-K and without any attachments the PM73 RAK is generally a weaker choice. The low damage and range also make it better suited as a defensive weapon. Dexterity is good but not too good compared to other weapons. LOW TIER Those weapons are worse than the usual choices either characterized by lack of clear advantages or glaring disadvantages. They are still firearms and can be deadly in the right hands - but those hands could create even more success with the weapons listed above. AK74 - O: 5/9 D: 5/9 U: 2/9 Its an assault rifle - but in case of the AK74 thats actually a bad thing as it gets the full drawbacks of this status with only few of the benefits. Compared to the other assault rifles its damage and accuracy are quite low - and its even less practical with very rare magazines and ammo. AKS74U - O: 3/9 D: 6/9 U: 3/9 This weapon combines the disadvantages of submachine guns (relatively low damage and range) and those of assault rifles (very rare ammos, high noise level). It works quite well as weapon for self-defense but is way to impractical to be prefered over a handgun. Colt 1911 - O: 3/9 D: 6/9 U: 3/9 This pistol works okay for self-defense but only if you manage to find both the ammo and the magazine. Good damage but only mediocre dexterity for a handgun. It works but its performance falls short of most rifles - while you have to spare four more slots as you cannt carry it on your back. CR75 - O: 2/9 D: 6/9 U: 4/9 The CR75 is similar to the Colt 1911 but trades damage for a bigger (and more common) magazine and rounds that are somewhat easier to find. Just as the Colt 1911 it actually works fine in self defense but comes with the full list of drawbacks attached to handguns. Obrez - O: 6/9 D: 2/9 U: 4/9 By sawing of your mosin you will sacrifice a lot of accuracy for a little bit of dexterity. Yes, it is easier handle an close quarters but it still falls short to most weapons in this regard and its rate of fire is still painfully slow. Do not saw off your Mosin. Amphibia S - O: 1/9 D: 6/9 U: 4/9 Where the Sporter 22 is practical the Amphibia S is not. High dexterity, easily available ammo and a low noise signature do not counter the low damage, bad range and the fact that it needs both a moderately rare magazine and four additional slots in your inventory. CR527 - O: 6/9 D: 2/9 U: 3/9 This little rifle is notorious for missing ammo and missing magazines. Other than that its basically a weaker Mosin that is much less accurate and cannot mount a scope. P1 - O: 2/9 D: 5/9 U: 3/9 Eight warning shots and a well aimed throw. The P1 deals low damage, is inaccurate, seldom comes with a magazine and has an abysmal dexterity value for a handgun. Its the worst weapon currently in game - but still perfectly capable of killing a fully geared player. Data: Basic method:

Everything is everywhere courtesy of disabled persistence. Now because of this tents are also completely useless.

The SVD currently only spawns on server hopper corpses.

PVK II has an achievement that requires you to kill 5/10 enemies in a single life and in CS:S there is an achievement to score 5 headshot kills in a single round. It's definitely possible and probably also more interesting if Steam doesn't show your process before. For the same reason when achievements were to be added there should only be a few in very late beta to test whether they are working (maybe as special beta achievements) while the majority should only be available after release. In this case I would like to see the following types: Newbie achievements for doing certain things for the first time (e.g. Kill your first zombie.)Joke achievements for getting yourself in a very special situation (e.g. Get back up after one hour of coma*.)Real achievements for completing a certain task in one life (e.g. Bring back 10 survivors from coma.)I couldn't care less about "grinding achievements" (e.g. Kill 10000 zombies.) and think they might even conflict with the games concept causing achievement hunters to get reckless in their pursuit. Also they are boring. *Being unconscious due to low blood.

Such confidence... It's not a bad idea at all introducing a cost to using inter-server connections. But I think it might not be enough: You could also server hop for food so you should lose enough to make this unviable as well.You could hoard food and water and then go into a hopping spree using the resources amassed while still getting the fast, low risk travels between high loot areas.So by just draining energy/water server hopping might be less viable for most players but still completely viable for clans or as some kind of "endgame" feature. I can see it work as part of a switching system though. In general server hopper do it because: it is fastit is low riskit has low resource costsYour idea only counters the last part which becomes less important if the player in question has the resources to spare. I really don't get this argument. Private servers force you to start a new character every time which seems like much more of a debuff or punishment to me. Why do people complain that counter measures for server hopping would also hurt "innocent server switchers" and then argue in favor of private servers that do not allow "innocent server switching" at all? I can see that the timer prevents you from playing but here you have other options: Join a private server for the time being and return to the public hive when your punishment has expired. Implement an option where people can skip the punishment completely at the cost of losing their character and having to respawn.

I would like it if there were more real achievements and less "you will eventually get there" medals. For example every achievement might only count for a single life. If you die you have to start anew. This way achievement hunting fits into the general concept of the game and gives you yet another reason to try and stay alive.

Combat logging is not playing the game. So if they killed you on sight... weren't you dead anyways? Yes you can - and that's a bug.

I posted my general ideas in two separate topics (also covers the hoarding of ultra-rare items on your character). In short: prevent quick server switching with a moderate waiting timeprevent frequent server switching by increasing waiting timeallow to skip waiting times by starting a new characterprevent players from spawning too close to other (active) playersprevent characters from despawning when close to other (active) playersallow players to take over not-despawned bodies upon relog

The inventory screen could show your character as he/she is seen ingame with stance and motion instead for standing still no matter what. The the V3S seat should be adjusted - currently the driver seems to sit way too high. And of course it should get working mirrors. Then the free look could get some improvements mainly the introduction of "inverse free look" where you can toggle free look (double tap alt) and still move your character as usual by pressing/holding alt to turn.

Here is an update for patch 0.57 (actually experimental but it should be accurate for stable as well). I abandoned the star system for a more accurate continuous version using normalized rankings from -1 to 1 and weighted the categories according to the numbers next to them. Furthermore the rating now includes gun rarity (included in Drawbacks as third aspect) and recoil (merged with Dexterity into the new Handling score). Tiers are determined by score: more than 25% above average is top tier, more than 10% above average is high tier and more than 10% below average is low tier. Effective range is a rounded value determined by dispersion only (with bows/crossbow getting a heavy penalty because of the projectile drop) - it's roughly the distance where the weapon has a 50-100% chance to hit a 45cm target. What are all those numbers and what do they mean? I provided the numbers to give some more detail about the ranking. I used data from the gamefiles and calculated the distance to the respective average then normalized the values to get within [-1,1]. In some cases I used a monotone transformation first to get the values more spread out (e.g. dispersion) and inverted some to get the "1 is best, -1 is worst" part. Why are there no red dots in the Magazine category? Firearms can be chambered so the worst possibility (1 round magazine) is actually closer to "below average" than "horrible" especially as many guns don't have huge magazines. Why did handguns get those awful Inventory scores? All weapons are in this list as "primary" weapon as in "your main tool to engage combat, hunting etc.". Here handguns have the disadvantage of always requiring inventory space while longarms got a free magic slot on the players back. Where did you get your data? Mainly from the gamefiles though it's often a matter of intepretation where I used ingame experiences (mine and those of others including youtube videos/guides). For example rarity is determined by assigning numbers to specific loot tags whereas the optics value is a combination of magnification, zeroing and the quality of the reticle/ironsights. Where are the different possible setups for weapons? I only used the setup with the highest score so this is basically a representation of potential power. Other setups usually score lower because they are more specialized (e.g. assault rifles with bipod) or simply inferior (e.g. hunting rifles without hunting scope). Why didn't you include weapons as sidearms or weapon combinations? That's advanced gameplay and way too complex and might heavily depend on your playstyle and the situation. And even then you might end up having a "primary" weapon for the majority of time. PVC Bow? Desert Eagle? Those weapons were in the gamefiles and provided enough data to be used in the list. When they are finally included in the games their values might be different but that might also be true for existing weapons. I disagree with your ranking/method! Feel free to post criticism here.

Did you really write this sentence in a post that Is basically about "I want the zombies to be trivial to get rid off"? So what do you want? A zombie survival where zombies pose an actual threat? Or just a survival game that happens to feature some easily dispatchable zombies?

Have we ever met before? Server hopping is one of the greatest issues in DayZ as it has massive impact on player dynamics and thus loot distribution and overall gameplay (aside from being one of my pet issues). Having connections between servers is not a bad thing - them being far easier to use, faster and less risky than traveling from place to place on a single server is not. This needs to be changed but is not really the topic here. And I think that's not what you really want. You don't want to spend a lot of resources on a mechanic that basically causes players to have roughly the same experience every time regardless of their actions or the actions of other players. Instead you want a dynamic system that is highly dependent on the actions of the players with a little bit of randomness.

I actually think this is an intended effect (server hopping aside). You want loot to work a little bit like grass in a savannah or steppe - if lots of players grazed over it thee won't be much left but when left alone it will slowly grow back. You do not want to provide loot for players but instead you want them to work for it. Any dynamics resulting in player movement and looting have an impact making gameplay more diverse - in fact not providing "the same experience for everyone" might be the better option. Now currently the loot system lacks in the consistency department. Loot is not "growing back" at an equal rate but rather ends up in piles at very few locations. This way you can reduce the instances where players either find tons of loot or noithing at all. A ntaural progression is still given by the existance of spawn areas that are naturally visited by more players while further away player density tends to drop while gear state tends to increase so you end up finding better and better gear just by the place getting looted by fewer people who are less interested in basic items.

I think there could be some settings in the game options that change how the character behaves in certain situations. Players should be allowed to opt in those features if they like or just leave them depending on how they like it. Speed smoothing: While in walking mode and sprinting up/downhill movement speed will not immediately drop to walking speed but instead to jogging speed if sprinting speed is not available. Combat mode: Raising your weapon while in walking mode will automatically put you in jogging mode. Lowering your weapon may or may not put you back in walking mode (select option). Hotbar reloading: Pressing the hotbar button for a round or magazine will attempt loading it into the weapon you have in your hands. Will never attempt to take magazines/ammo in your hands unless they are empty at the moment. Hotbar activation: Pressing the hotbar button for a worn/held item that can be turned on/off or put in a different state (e.g. a light source) will attempt to perform this action. Grab mode: Using "Take" while aiming on an object lying on the ground (not in inventory screen) will put the item in your characters hand instead of storing it in your inventory. The item held before may be dropped or put in your inventory if possible (select option). Drop mode: Using the hotbar to take an item in your hands will drop the item previously held to the ground in front of you. Switch and spawn: Players can avoid the cost for server switching and spawn instantly if they decide to start a completely new character instead (gear will be wiped completely) - options should be never (always wait/pay the cost), select (you may choose on server switch if you have to wait/pay) and always (never transfer your character to another server but allow to "cancel" the server change to keep him/her). Gathering options: Gathering and similar actions should allow for one option where your character gathers until he is stopped by the player and one where your character gathers until he was successful once. Item drop: Select whether items gathered/created/crafted should appear on the ground, in your hands or in your inventory.Additional ideas and criticism welcome.

Actually a funny statement as RPG's are usually the games to get away with the most blantant violations of weapon balance where you will find tons of trash tier items, straight upgrades and little in terms of tradeoffs (which is mainly put in skills and abilities instead). The main focus here is on progress and leveling up. On the other side we have "arena style" games (most FPS and TPS, strategy games, MOBA's) with a huge focus on balance and relatively limited gamplay options. Now I think in DayZ it's proabably best to follow a hybrid route: Make sure weapons have their realistic properties including logisitics and maintenace. Make sure every weapon has a place where it can be useful.The game does not need classical balance because it adds many more dimensions that make it more complex and focus more on detailed and authentic representation. This would result in some kind of "real life balance" as the game progresses and by nature of DayZ having different power levsl is completely fine.

For added value you could simply change the (0.57) third person camera to rotate around it's own horizontal axis instead of the characters head so you cannot lift it higher by looking downwards. Now applying the same principles to corner peeking does not work as you would need to more the camera forward to a point where it is basically first person anyways. I don't really see any other way but adding some kind of fog of war here (not showing characters, loot and effects if your character has no line of sight) but the former proposal might make it possible to reduce this part to two dimensions which might make it significantly easier to implement.

So if I understand correctly: If you log back into the game and there is a player close to your location you will spawn 1000 meters away from them. If you log out with another player in 200 meter radius your character will stay ingame and not disappear.Now I would say the core idea is not bad (in fact it's close to the one I posted a while back) but the specific values are a little over the top. With up to 50 players on one server and the map being ~15 km in every direction there is a good chance that most respawns would place you in the middle of the ocean.

Which also causes the Stone Knife to be the single most effective item ingame. Stone Knife OP!

"End game" as a phase doesn't really imply an end as in "you won". It simply implies there is no phase after it which mean no matter how well you do and many resources you amass you will still stay in this phase. Keeping this in the current "now what?"/"yolo lets fight to the death" state does not make for a good and diverse survival sandbox. There should always be a reason to not die. And at some point "satisfying your basic needs" and "improve your gear" does not cut it anymore. Then you should have the tools to get creative. It's about providing reasons to cooperate and things to do/goals beyond basic survival. It's not about causing a global power creep. That's why the "loss", "effort" and "maintenance" parts are so important. Playing with a bunch of buddies should by no means give you a ticket and basically free power. Average groups/clans (and especially those mainly focussing on PvP) should still be "stuck" in what I would call "mid game". Now the public hive/server switch part is twofold. There are positive effects in having a greater loot economy and in being able to "change your island" and even groups popping up togther can be a good thing as it prevents one group from dominating one server without having to fear competition. There is always the risk the resident clan might be victim of some kind of "viking raid" if they are doing too well. And the "vikings" won't have the same impact if they aren't allowed to bring their base/vehicles/farms etc. (as those things are server-bound). Now the issue with server switching is how fast and easy it is right now (and meeting up on a low pop/empty server and then jumping to your "target server" is actually quite close to ghosting). This can be solved by simply adding a significant cost to "changing your island" - something like "wait for X hours or start anew". This would significantly nerf hopping for loot and add some more required effort to starting a raid as it's no longer "meet up and go" but more "meet today, raid tomorrow, return the day after".

I think in order to provide a complete sandbox experience end game elements are necessary. Otherwise you would reduce the game to easily accessible early/mid game features - which is actually pretty far from a "complete sandbox". There should be features only really available if you have the time, resources or manpower needed and that might actually change the environment. Base building/barricading is definitely a thing especially if it actually takes time and effort to pull off in contrast to magically spawning walls or buildings on the map.Vehicles and other machines you need to get your ands on, get going and maintain. This shouldn't be easy and for some machines/vehicles extremely hard or almost impossible for lone survivors.Horticulture should also be more of a endgame feature with crops growing over extended periods of time and needing regular care as opposed to the "quickly generate some food" we got right now.Companion animals were discussed as well. Taming and maybe even training dogs/horses might be interesting.Improved character/player identification features could make it possible to form communities and incorporate improved social elements like renting or bounty hunting.In the same vein advanced player communication options could open up social options: drawing on paper, spraying walls on pinning notes on them, in game photography where you can give the pictures to other survivors or leave them behind.The crafting system could be expanded on so you can create specific valuable items from rare resources (like some types of medicine). The difficulty might be in getting the right resources, the right tools in the right condition or doing it just right.Applying a significant cost to server switching while keeping the connections and introducing items/parts of extreme rarity might allow for trade to evolve where some players loot through servers in search for rare items while others try to get specific parts together. Would also fix the current server hopping issue.A greater variety in environmental hazards and PvE threats might expand on the survival part and allow for a diverse and challenging experience even if you decide to go full hermit.In any way going beyond the early/mid game elements should be an option and require significant effort all while being vulnerable to loss (destruction, takeover, decay from lack of maintenace). However they should persits enough to be worth putting effort in. Example: Basebuilding - Actually building a base should require quite some investment in time and resources. Otherwise bases would just pop up all over the place and in the end Chernarus would look like it was subject to trench warfare. Now this significant effort should somehow pay off which means base destruction/takeover should require quite some effort as well. Now we basically got two end game elements: Building and raiding where the latter might be closer to burglary unless the owers put in the additional effort of having guards around. A lone wolf who just happens to stumble across a completed base somewhere should usually not be able to get anything off it unless there is a significant weakness. He might come back later though bringing friends and dedicated equipment...

What are those? What about:Find someone to help fixing your legs because it's not a deathmatch gameCrawl around trying to find what you need instead of giving up because it's not a trivial taskNot giving up on the resources you have in hopes of dying because it's a survival gameAnd of course: Avoid breaking your legs in the first place to avoid getting in those situationsTeam up with somebody who might be able to help you laterKeep a morphine stick or splint for emergency situations No need for a respawn option here (I also think you should not be allowed to respawn if unconscious but not in coma*) - more like the opposite as it would provide an "easy way out" and might help those freshspawn suiciders (speak: coast teleporters) as well. *Coma here means the state where you are below 500 blood and cannot wake up on your own.

I doubt it. If there was only 1pp there would be a discussion whether or not to add a 3pp view.

It does not. What it does is reducing the additional overview and awareness you got from the higher camera position. Might somewhat reduce the amount of "peeking by accident" but does little to prevent intentional peeking.

Obviously. That's why we never see topics or posts about it.

No - just fix the issues with third person (also fix the issues with first person like sitting too high in the V3S and not having any working mirrors). There are many people out there who play third person for other reasons than exploiting the camera.