Armas

Once duping is fixed, better gear = more paranoia. Having something like NVGs in the game actually add to the depth of the game. Also when the game gets harder and people actually start grouping up as well as using flashlights/flares/chemlights more the actual edge of NVGs narrows down while at the same time people will be less willing to risk losing their NVGs if they have actually managed to find a pair. I agree that flares need to mess up NVGs though.

You obviously didn't read http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6487-wtf-is-happening-to-the-server-community/page__st__40#entry67159 that was linked before in this thread. Since I don't trust you to do that this time either... "...the fact is, they operate under the same rules and restrictions as you guys and if anything, they have MORE to loose than you. When you spawn you have everything you need to survive, but you can't PK too easy."

I've played foer almost a month now and I haven't seen a single hacker on the server I play on yet.. Server does insta kick when you open the script interface tho... So that might have something to do with it?

I forgot to mention that considering how easy duping is right now, there's alot of people who ruin the game for themselves and most likely end up hunting new characters at the coast in a lack of anything better to do since gearing is no longer an issue. In any regard, you are judging a book by its covers. We are just alpha testers and all of the things you have brought up are things that have been announced to be under developement and coming out once the test hits that phase. I also recommend reading through what rocket's posts. It's a good thing that threads like this exist. I just wish they had a different tone to them so the discussion would be more constructive.

I didn't get any of that stuff when I started and I thought that was awesome..

So.. your problem isn't really bandits (against whom you either get outplayed or you outplay them, it's that simple), but rather the fact that people assume that everyone is hostile/trying to get their stuff and thus prefer to shoot instead of risking it? There is no gear in this game that makes you bullet proof. I'm just as pumped up if I'm going against a guy with a lee enfield as against someone with a higher tier weapon and I've never had a problem when I'm the one who has lower tier gear nor does it bother me that they might get a slight advantage from it which I can overcome by playing smarter than them. So then there are cases where the other guy might be new to the game and I outplay him so hard it makes me feel a bit bad, but then again how could I know it beforehand? How are they supposed to learn the game if not through trial and error? Your post makes you look like you've never had to learn anything the hard way. You are right about endgame. There is none except PvP. But then again there's no game either, just a testing platform? If we want to speculate, adding more endgame content to the finished product (which has been already confirmed to be under developement) will deter all byt the most hardcore of griefers away from preying on those who are new to the game. Regardless of that, there will always be a point when a newer player will get stomped on by someone more experienced. That can never be avoided since everyone wants to progress in the game. Endgame content will also not take away the fact that new spawns will still be fighting over loot at the coast and the same "shoot them before they shoot me" -mentality is sure to stay in the game. All of the choices are made by people. The game is a sandbox. There are many good examples on this forum of how people have changed their way of playing (I know, I should use the world "testing" at the moment) the mod to counter the problems you are have listed and are enjoying it. Why don't you give it a try as well?

Honestly spawns could be bigger still.. just to give more incentive for group play. Zombies are currently ridiculously easy to run away from. If you are having problems with it, I suggest you take a moment to study how their line of sight and aggro works (or go back and think about what you did wrong). EDIT: Also wanted to add that imo at some point Rocket should look in to making helicopter crashes harder from the Zed perspective because atm they are way too easy for a solo player like me, considering you get pretty much the best loot from them. Perhaps not indefinitely, but just to test it out. Maybe faster spawn rate or something.. so you would need someone to cover when looting.

I'm repeating a bit here, nut anyway... Get: hatchet, hunting knife, matches. * so that you can get food without having to go to towns. also carry meat in excess and drop it if you need to loot something, because you get 800 blood out of a single piece of meat and sometimes a firefight can leave you in a bad situation unless you are able to stack your blood back up. More morphine, bandages and painkillers. *I tend to carry 3 morph, 4 bandages and 3 painkillers, but it's up to your personal preference. Water bottles * Get 2-4 depending on your usual routines when running around Chernarus (= how often you run to water locations). Fill the bottles at safe ponds if possible, again enabling you to avoid towns completely. Although I wrote about avoiding towns, it's more about not having to make zombies spawn. You can still hunt for players around towns, but you get an advantage when they don't see you coming. The easiest way to spot players is by the zombies their presence spawns in. I don't really see the need for a smoke if solo.. regular grenades are ok for those rare oh shit -moments.

All you need to do is spot 1 guy in a ghillie suit up north and kill him to get loaded. So much duping going on that about half the people I kill are stacked with the best gear around. Ofc some of those kills are me killing the same guy more than once and they keep coming back with their duped gear, but I do my best to upset the balance until it's unbearable (=everyone has the best gear) and leave the bodies for the less fortunate to loot. Only real moral problem of the story is that I've become a bit paranoid about items being duped unless I've actually found them myself so I can't be arsed to loot bodies that are completely stacked out.

Considering that the game is still in developement stages, all gear will eventually be wiped anyway. So what does it matter to anyone when that happens? There will be a point when testing will focus on droprates etc and people seem to be very efficient at forgetting that we are actually TESTING the game and helping with developement at the moment. A wipe after fixing dupe problems would also actually make it more rewarding when you find stuff that is actually rare. And then there will be a wipe at some point again (atleast at launch).

funny how some people think it must be fake because "nobody would be that stupid". I'd go for that ride. So what if I lost my gear? There's so much potential for having fun in that scenario.. And we're talking about a GAME. why would you disconnect when you find out it's a trap if you think the situation is fun? You can clearly hear the guy laughing out loud when the others "roleplay" in the bus and when it turns out to be something else instead.

You learn to recognize the most lethal bugs and then just avoid them.. having an inventory full of meat also helps to survive what you haven't figured out yet.

I've been alive for 8 days so far and been helicopter hunting for a few days now. About a couple of hours ago I was passing Vybor from the South, going westwards. I was feeling a bit lazy myself (I'm usually extremely paranoid, sprinting from bush to bush and doing a 360 after each sprint) and got spotted by a guy in a ghillie suit who had started hunting me. He was basically running into me and I saw him for the first time about 60 meters in front of me when he was crossing the road and I instantly noticed he had an L85A2 AWS, a gun I also carry as my secondary. So I saw him set up in the line of bushes ahead of me and from experience I knew that the human psyche makes you rely too much on the thermal scope of that gun, even during daytime, if you know there's a guy at a certain direction, but you can see him. So.. I proceeded to make a quick crwaling flank to the right and ended his life with my silenced M4A1 CCO SD before he managed to ALT+F4. Had the last stuff I needed.. rangefinder, NVG, coyote PB. Anyway.. just thought I'd share because I got the exact same feeling as you did.. my heart was pounding so freakin' fast as I was silently hoping he wouldn't turn his thermal scope on me before I had the flank. Also a good lesson about a ghillie and all that other high end gear not making you bullet proof.. movement is the enemy of stealth! ;)

Since when has it been bad publicity when people make a video about how great the sandbox experience in this game can be? :/ Seen this vid a while back and I still think it's the best Day Z video out there.

I've only done solo so far, but I run with: 4x water bottles 3x painkillers 3x morphine 4x bandage After that I fill the rest of my slots (after ammo and 2nd weapon in backpack) with as much meat as I can carry for those instant 1k->12k blood moments when shit hits the fan. Toss meat out when I need room for loot. Yeah.. I'm a bit paranoid I guess

Disclaimer: This was all written in one go as I'm waiting for the sun to set before I start moving again. English is not my first language, apologies for possible typoes. The following is written in a kind of RP -mode as an experiment, because I have not done anything like this before. I assure you though that the events are real and it has been a blast so far. **EDIT: AND I JUST REALIZED IT'S FRICKEN' LONG!** I am Mikael, originally born on the isle of Chernarus, in a small town called Vybor. Later in life I moved to the mainland, where I have worked as a police officer for the past 7 years. If you are reading this, you have either found it on my dead bod or you have found one of the several copies I have made and scattered around the island. How did I end up back in Chernarus? My home town in the mainland was quickly overrun as those who did not get eaten by the zombies turned on each other in a widespread panic, grasping for chances at survival. There were a few of us who stayed in the line of duty as long as we could to help people evacuate the city, but eventually we had to face the fact that the longer we lingered, the more we risked our own families to the perils of the outbreak. You see, I have a wife and and a small boy, Nemi and Kaspar. I made a plan with a few of my colleagues. We would board one of the larger fishing ships and head out to Chernarus, because not only was it possible that the outbreak had not hit the isolated island, but I also remembered from my boyhood years that it had a formidable military presence due to it's strategic importance in national defence. The plan was solid and we would have made it if not for our own inexperience in navigation. The weather was rough, but nothing the boat couldn't have handled. We strayed off course and hit shallow waters. All I can remember is trying to calm my son down in one of the cabins, when cold water suddenly flooded and boat was torn into pieces. DAY 1 I woke up on a beach the next day, unharmed. I ran along the beach for what felt like hours without finding anything - not even pieces of the sunken ship. I ran till I was exhausted both mentally and physically, when I suddenly saw two familiar looking factory chimneys ahead and thought it must be Chernogorsk, a larger city by the sea where I had visited a few times as a boy. When I got closer I was sure it was Chernogorsk and at the same time I knew for the first time, that I had in fact reached Chernarus. The island has a long beachline and my wife and son could very well have gotten to the island as well! As I made my way into the city it became clear that we were wrong to think that the outbreak wouldn't have reached the island. There were Z's walking on the streets of chernarus and no signs of living people anywhere. I was overcome with grief as I realized that there was very little chance my family could stay alive for long if they had been washed ashore on Chernarus. I quickly made a short plan of action. I would scavenge whatever I could find from the city and make my way towards inland, where I might still find an operational military base and try to mount a search and rescue operation for those who were on the ship. I went around Chernarus from the north, scouting for opportune buildings for scavenging. I made my way to the apartment buildings next to the hospital as I was wishing someone might be held up there, but all I found was Zeds walking around. I found some basic supplies from the first apartment building, including an old Lee Enfield rifle, although I didn't see much use for it at that time as it seemed more like a dinner bell for the Z's. I was just about to leave the building as I heard a car driving down the road at a high speed. I quickly ran back to one of the apartments in the top floor to see what was happening outside. There was a white pickup van driving by the apartment buildings! I felt a flicker of hope as I knew it could even be someone from the ship who had found a car! I was just about to shout outto the car from one of the balconies when suddenly a violent series of assault rifle shots exploded through the air. Someone was shooting at the car! Time stopped. For what felt like an eternity, I saw the driver of the car panic. I also saw the shooter, a single man on the roof of a neighbouring apartment building. All I could think about was the chance that my family could be in that car! So I took aim - and I fired. Madness had come to Chernarus as surely as it had come to the mainland.I had killed the man in one shot and now I felt like a part of that madness. The car had driven off at a high speed and I had been left alone in the bedroom of that deserted apartment, grieving for the choise I felt I had had to make. I felt I should atleast go over to the dead mans body and see who I had killed, so I could say a silent prayer for him. I felt like a thief and a murderer as I ransacked through the dead man's Alice pack and took the AKM assault rifle along with all his other wordly possessions from the grasp of his dead hands. Mind full of dark thoughts I fled to the forest north of chernarus. I ran like a man chased by demons, only to stop at remote barns and villages to find food and other supplies. I knew I could make it to the military airfield northeast of Vybor before sundown if I kept moving. It was my best bet for finding civilization, because I remembered from my boyhood years it was heavily fortified with walls and watchtowers. It was almost sundown when I saw the walls of the airfield and I could clearly see they had been breached. I Picked up my pace and entered the compound, quickly finding what seemed like a cluster of barracks, surrounded my military personnel who had fallen victim to the outbreak. I suddenly realized how alone I was. There was no help. There was no civilization. Chernarus had fallen to the outbreak and it was just another hell on earth. It would be up to me to find my family and comrades, if they were even alive... DAY 2 I made camp close to the airfield walls, although I did not feel rested at all when the sun came up. As the sheer impossibility of what I was facing was too much for me, I decided I would have to set small goals for myself if I was ever going to find the others. I had plenty of supplies and I was reasonably well armed, so I decided I would scout around the airfield and see if I could find other survivors or a vehicle to aid me in my search. I did not run for long along the airfield wall when I saw a red tractor in the forest. Without thinking about it too much, I unloaded my backpack into the tractor and started driving with the intention of going around the airfield from the north and proceeding to the eastern coast to do a sweep of the coastline to find the others. I had not driven for long when I started hearing sounds like bullets clipping the tractor. I couldn't hear any shots, but the damn tractor was so lound, how could I have! So I drove to the nearest treeline, parked the tractor between some pine trees, hopped out and hid. I waited, but heard nothing. After a few minutes I was finally able to ease my nerves and I took out my map to figure out where I was located. I only looked at the map for a few seconds, but as soon as I lowered it from my hands I could see from my hiding place that a man was next to the tractor and he was looking through my supplies, shouldering a large M107 sniper rifle. I paniced. That tractor was my last hope of finding my family and I was sure this was the same man who had tried to gun me down earlier, so I said my prayers and gunned him down. I felt like I had become what I have fought against my whole life. Despite my frail thoughts of justification, I still felt like a murderer. I felt so sick that I could not even remember the faces of my friends and family. There was no consolation. I drove the tractor deeper to the woods and set up camp and clear my head. On the way there I realized that the sounds I heard before came from the tractor. I had not been shot at. DAY 3 The tractor was gone. I had slept far away from the tractor to avoid the attention it might get and woke up to find someone had taken it. I found I didn't care anymore. My hands were dirty. How could I ever face my family again even if they were alive? How much can a man do to another man in the name of survival? I had none of the answers. I had no plan. I was aware of my deteriorating mental state and I thought it best that I would hike back south along the eastern forestline to Vybor. Maybe my old home town could cure my scars. Maybe someone I once knew would be alive there. There was a deep valley ahead and I knew that after the incline on the other side I should be able to see Lopatino from the forestline. After the climb I hunched down to catch my breath and when I looked up I could see the tractor in front of me with the silhuette of distant Lopatino behind it. Whoever had stolen the tractor had driven it this far until it had run out of fuel, so I grabbed a couple of empty jerry cans from the back and decided to go along the forestline to Vybor, get some gas and then make a plan on sweeping the coastline with the tractor. I didn't get far when I saw a tent in the forest, with no-one around. A quick check through the tent showed a silenced M4. At this point I no longer had any moral quarrels regarding theft. The owner of the tent could be dead for all I knew, so I promtly rearmed myself and put all my other guns in the tractor. The silenced M4 proved very useful as I quickly stormed the gas station in Vybor. There was no-one alive in Vybor, although some of the Zeds looked distantly familiar. I shut those thoughts out of my head and put them to eternal rest. I also cleaned up my old home from Zeds and scavenged some paper so I could write this journal and copy it. Once I had the tractor refueled, I decided I would head south through the forest and go along the coastline once I hit it. Day 4 I didn't make it to the coast before nightfall so I made camp and slept far from the tractor again. I woke up to a firefight in the night. It was pitch black and I couldn't see anything - how the hell could those people see what they were doing? I packed my things in a panic and fled on foot until I was far enough to not hear any shots again. *later addition: I never went back for the tractor. I was too afraid! It might still be out there because the firefight was so far away. The next day I came to the conclusion that the military must have nightvision gear that enabled those people to function during the night. As I was moving alone I thought it would be a critical tool for me as then I could move in the cover of darkness without fearing other survivors as much. A couple of days earlier I had run past Stary Sobor and seen some crashed helicopters in the fields, so I thought it would be the logical place to look for night vision goggles. That, and the bad memories from before, kept me from going back to the airfield. I hiked through dozens of forests, keeping my head down and trying to survive. At this point I had not seen another survivor in ages, but I didn't see a way I could trust anyone either. I had the best tools I could wish for in terms of tools and firepower, thus most people would be trying to gun me down, like that man on top of the apartment building in Chernarus... At sundown I finally saw Stary Sobor in the horizon. I was approaching the town from the south, but it was getting too dark to look for anything. I thought I would set up camp in the forest southwest of Stary Sobor, when I practically ran into a crashed helicopter when crossing a small open field. I silently cleared out the reanimated pilots wandering around it and was able to secure some camo clothing for myself as well as a DMR. I proceeded sneaking into the forest southwest of Stary Sobor and spent my night there. Day 5 I heard no noises last night. Everything seems so silent and... so dead. This journal is the only thing keeping me sane during the hours of waiting when I cannot sleep. In a way it is like the crafts that soldiers do on the front to keep themselves busy. I had just managed to pack up my camping gear when a rapid series of shots echoed from Stary Sobor. I tried scouting the town with my binoculars and DMR scope, but I saw no-one except Zs trotting on the streets. I wanted nothing to do with whoever was shooting so I quickly started making my way east around Stary Sobor through the forests south of it. Every now and then I would hear more shots and I would try to see what was happening with my binoculars, but there was nothing but the dead walking the streets. When I had gone past Pop Ivan, I headed north towards Stary Sobor. I still heard shots coming from the town and I wanted to get eyes on whoever was shooting there and make sure I would not run into them. For a time it was silent and I made my way to the treeline. Then suddenly I heads shots ripping through the air extremely close to me. Whoever it was, was not shooting at me, but was running directly from Stary Sobor towards me and shooting Zeds while retreating. I frantically got into position and took out my DMR to see what was happening. At first glance the town was full of dead Zeds. There must have been over 20 of them at the barn doors, next to the military tents! When looking back, what happened next is only a blur in my mind. I kept scanning through my scope and suddenly saw a survivor 50 meters away, running in the open field straight towards me with Zeds tailing him. I instantly dropped my DMR and clutched on tightly to my assault rifle. I could see the man was firing at the zeds with a large light machine gun and I was silently hoping he would change direction at some pointand run past me. It was not meant to happen. There were alot of shots fired and then the world got quiet. I thought he had passed me as I lay still in the bushes when I suddenly heard the sound of a can being opened from the other side of the bush. I was close enough to the man to have taken items from his backpack! I felt my heart race as I was sure the man would soon notice me, as we were close enough to each other to hear the other man breathing. I tried to make a decision in that split second. Could I talk him down? Could I get o....? My thought was cut short as suddenly the man spun around and laid fire blindly through the bush. There were literally tens of bullets in the air. I rolled to the right as I heard the first shots and got on my knees. I saw his head through my scope. I squeezed the trigger in a panic, firing one shot followed by time stopping for a split second. I had left the fire selector on semiautomatic. I didn't have time to adjust it now so I started pulling the trigger again and again until the man went down as at the same time he was ripping through the bush left of me, literally ripping out all of the leaves of the bush with his bullets. I had once again bloodies my hands, although the man had fired first and as if by some divine intervention, I had not even been grazed. Day 6 I am finding it harder and harder to remember what is at stake for me. My family. My friends. Where are they? I have seen so much blood during these last days that everything seems surreal. I found a crashed helicopter and I am now literally armed to the teeth, but what good does that do for my family? Every second their chances of survival diminish and every day I spend alone on my mission eats away at my humanity. Is there no-one out there who I can trust and can trust me enough to help me in my search? If you are reading this and are like me, leave a message at the hill of Veresnik and light a torch on top of the hill during midnight as a signal. This will be our way of communicating with each other without having to see face to face.

Tervehdys Armas reporting in. Been playing for a couple of weeks now and would like to think that I have all the stuff down that comes to solo play, but it's kind of getting lonely. I've mostly been playing on FI1 and have some stuff there, but it's nothing I can't depart with if given the option to play with a group if need be. Have a working mic and I'm not afraid to use it. Add me on steam if you're interested in grouping up. Profile is here