Possible new player

[Alot 0]

So yes... I have been hearing a lot of positive rumors surrounding DayZ and after doing a little bit of research on the mod I think that I'm going to buy Arma II.

But I've still got a few questions regarding DayZ:

1. How is communication between players handled?

I often see people referring to microphones, but I haven't got a microphone and I would gladly stick to typing if a mic isn't required.

2. How large is the presence of hackers in DayZ?

The only negative thing I've heard about DayZ so far (apart from the complaints about difficulty) is that hackers are widespread throughout the servers, supposedly hundreds of them got banned, but is the change in the amount of hackers noticeable?

3. And finally, the mod is currently in Alpha, how long do you think it will take before it is able to enter Beta?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, and I hope I'll see some of you guys ingame (please don't kill me).

[Legacy (DayZ) 1091]

1. Teamspeak/Vent/Mumble. Or in-game Direct communiation. (It's local. Think DarkRP. 40m. Also you need the beta patch. It's possible to type sure...)

2. Recently died down due to BattlEye mass banning everyone. Read the ban appeals.

3. No god damn idea, be glad you can help us test it. For science, you monster.