ieatplaydo@gmail.com

That's not reasonable- and to declare it as if you're the authority on anything, much less something as ridiculous as "loot etiquette", motivates me to ensure I never pick up a tin can again.

I think 'need-based loot' sounds a bit too easy mode. I'm not having problems finding loot, whether it's on populated or unpopulated servers. Look at your map, pick a spot to go to with a goal in mind (ie I need morphine, so my next goal is to visit the hospital). So, you arrive to the place and the stuff you need isn't there- move away from the spot and come back to it five minutes later. Don't server hop- that's lame and I'm inclined to believe it doesn't really work that well. The loot system is fine- find a weapon (crowbar, hatchet, pistol, AK etc) to defend yourself with, get food, medical gear, and then start looking for luxury items.

The game is tough. It took me 2 days to find my first pistol, and I died a lot in between. I get great loot now simply because I know where to look, and I carefully manage risk/reward. When I start now, I look for a hatchet. The hatchet is great because it's easy to find (low yield industrial or farm areas) and you can melee kill zombies silently with it. Armed with a hatchet, you can now find food and soda in residential areas, and if you get caught by zombies, you can take 'em out. OR, you can just run straight into a bigger city like Berezino, Elektro, or Cherno. Those cities constantly have great loot, and you can avoid some major risks by starting on a lower population server. Supermarkets, fire stations, hospitals, deer stands, high yield barns, apartment buildings. Visit those places on a low population server and you will have no problem finding great starter gear. Once you have your starter loot, if you're thirsty for more, you can visit high yield military areas- that is risky, but the weapons and equipment are great. Watch out for people camping those spots.