I still say a pistol, Makarov specifically, and all the other items (bandage, clips, morphine, painkillers) that you started with in 1.6 was the best. The game does seem to have become increasingly worse with these updates, although that's just my opinion.

Zombies with guns huh...*uninstalls, burns hard-drive and all computer components, ties a noose* to be continued...

I usually crouch into buildings every time and I am fine. Also quick question, have you downloaded the most recent Arma2 Beta Patch? Just curious if this helps or not, I'm not sure but since I've downloaded it I've been just fine.

I agree Hydra. The zombies need huge reworking and twinking. It is becoming far too tedious trying to prone to a building then having to stand up to get in, pulling a few zombies and wasting much needed ammo. It happens 90% of the time. As of late I've been sprinting into buildings knowing that I'm going to pull Zombies any ways. Needless to say I am out of ammo. LOL. One thing Rocket really needs to implement is the SIMPLENESS factor. Not simple to survive and etc, but simpleness of the intricacies of the game itself.

Good ideas, I like this a lot.

If you want to go around and find loot, look for servers that are just starting up again

I was just introduced and started to play this game 2 weeks ago (I bought ArmA2 OA for this game). I absolutely love it. I started out with version 1.7 which was great in my opinion. I just recently installed the latest ArmA2 Beta and downloaded the new patch. Personally I feel that DayZ should remain along the simple path. Currently zombies in 1.7.1.4 are really hindering my ability to loot any thing worthwhile while I start off with a flashlight only and one band-aid. Proning is the only way to go while looting, and I've used it quite often, but when I need to get up to get into a building or up a deerstand, zombies are instantly on me, which is OK and risk should come with reward. But starting off with only a flashlight severely hinders my ability to defend myself, specifically in this patch now that zombies seem to chase you forever and the only line of defense I have is running, which obviously attracts more zombies (thus, extreme lag as of late which is new) and attention from bandits etc. I believe there are a few simple fixes for this. First, every player should start off with a Makarov and the 6 clips. I think the game played much better for first time spawners and gave the spawner many more options as to what path to follow. Secondly, the zombies in this patch seem to follow you for way too long, and this is hindering the ability of a new player (specifically new players who are starting off with only a flashlight and one bandage) to do much at all without extensive knowledge of the game. I think this is pushing new players away from the game and possibly never giving it another shot. And third, I know this is an alpha. Yes I've been lurking the forums for a while and know the at least one person will comment with the 'stop complaining it's Alpha' line. However, seeing as this is an alpha, I (along with many others) are giving constructive criticism on how to proceed in the development of this mod. So basically, these are my thoughts on the current patch and I'm hoping Rocket can take this into consideration. I absolutely love the game and it has extreme potential, so I think everyone should pitch in with opinions and constructive criticism to make this game the best it can be. And I do NOT want the game to become easier and noob-friendly (as an ex-competitive Halo player I know how much this completely destroys games). I just want every player to at the very least have a legitimate defense off of spawns, and considering that many brand new players have downloaded Arma2 simply to play this game, many (including myself) are NOT very skilled at computer FPS shooters, and starting with a Makarov will at the very least give new players a chance to practice their aiming.