My new topic and thoughts : Ways to survive DayZ [Tips and tricks]

[tandwan 250]

I'm making this thread to just feed some info and ideas to those new players who just don't think they can make it. I'm no pro to this game, but I do think I have a lot of experience playing DayZ, so here goes.

Tip 1: The crossbow, the best non-PvP starter weapon ever.

The crossbow is one of the most underrated weapons in the game if you're fighting against zombies. It's silent, has an ammo capacity that rarely runs out if you're smart and is completely silent. If you're not expecting to run into players then I honestly recommend this gem as part of your load-out. It's fairly easy to find one of these in normal spawns, the ammo as well (barns are a good place, grocery stores, most residential and commercial) and the ammo spawns damn near anywhere. 5 bolts for this will actually take up 5 inventory slots BUT the ability to kill 5 zombies with zero danger is beautiful. If you get more then 5 on you, drop it and switch to your hatchet. With these two items (both of them very common) you can LITERALLY go through a city, hide the corpses of zombies you kill, and nobody will even know you're there.

[SoulHunter (DayZ) 233]

I'm making this thread to just feed some info and ideas to those new players who just don't think they can make it. I'm no pro to this game, but I do think I have a lot of experience playing DayZ, so here goes.

Tip 1: The crossbow, the best non-PvP starter weapon ever.

The crossbow is one of the most underrated weapons in the game if you're fighting against zombies. It's silent, has an ammo capacity that rarely runs out if you're smart and is completely silent. If you're not expecting to run into players then I honestly recommend this gem as part of your load-out. It's fairly easy to find one of these in normal spawns, the ammo as well (barns are a good place, grocery stores, most residential and commercial) and the ammo spawns damn near anywhere. 5 bolts for this will actually take up 5 inventory slots BUT the ability to kill 5 zombies with zero danger is beautiful. If you get more then 5 on you, drop it and switch to your hatchet. With these two items (both of them very common) you can LITERALLY go through a city, hide the corpses of zombies you kill, and nobody will even know you're there.

ive been playing the game for 2 days and ive seen no crossbow at all c.c

[tandwan 250]

Tip 2: Can drinks and food vs. Water Bottles and Meat.

While many people swear by meat and water, let's be honest, its kinda hard to find animals when you need them. So what do you do? Well, personal experience (now) I carry at least 1 can of food to use if I need to boil water. Can drinks are useful BUT when you use them there is always the chance you will aggro a zombie. Water bottles are easy to refill (boiled water is cheap) and they don't attract zombies when you eat them. Cooked food is also a wonderful thing to have on you specifically if you get shot. If you get shot, get to cover, and immediately eat your inventory of food. Then try to make your way out of the situation, note this applies to friendlies or bandits. Don't try to be Rambo, he already has sight of you and therefore has a clear LoS on your position. You still have to find him and engage him so he already has the upper hand on that engagement. Your best bet is to leave, or move off and see if you can pick him up as he moves off. As for food and water? I find it best to carry three food, and three water, especially if I am searching towns. This way I can eat everything I come across and keep my levels high and still have an inventory I can use as an emergency stash.

[BwobBwub 660]

Don't Die, BOOOOM.

But in all seriousness, I would avoid Cherno at all costs.

[tandwan 250]

Tip 3 : Pan.

Pan (scan) is something a lot of people don't realize they can do honestly. I didn't know you could pan your camera until I actually watched a stream. Panning is the ability of using the alt key to look around the area while moving. This gives you the ability to move in one direction and have your attention focused on something else. If you're moving anywhere, look around and keep an eye on your surroundings because looking around can and will save your life. Keeping alert for zombies, bandits, and whatever else is around you is what elevates a novice to a more experienced level. When running in a straight line, press your alt key and swing your mouse left and right, this will move your characters head to give you a look in the direction it's facing. Notice things such as terrain around you, cover, ways to move and areas where you will be exposed. Always pan / scan before you enter a town for things like zombies, corpses and loot that shouldn't be in certain places. Things like this can honestly keep you alive for another day.

[TheKingpin 19]

Nobody sane picks up the crossbow, hatchet ftw.

[tandwan 250]

Nobody sane uses just a hatchet due to the fact you have to be within striking distance to attack with it and it only takes one good zombie hit to break your leg.

[xstewart 0]

Nobody sane uses just a hatchet due to the fact you have to be within striking distance to attack with it and it only takes one good zombie hit to break your leg.

I survived 3 days with a hatchet - only because I never had bolts for the crossbow that I found. having done that... there is no way I would take a hatchet over a cross bow. I may be a noob at this game but even I can tell you - hatchet sucks if you can find a crossbow, USE IT

[herrjon 478]

You can go around with a hachet and take little to no damage from zeds, it just takes practice and understanding of mechanics. Most people will backup and swing right before the zombie does the attack animation, and while this does work most of the time with propper timing, on average 1 of every 5 zeds will get a swipe on you, the trick is to sidestep. Let them run or walk in, and as soon as they start the attack animation/lunge step to either side and swing your axe. You will get hit at some point due to some quirks in the game, but not any more that 1 out of 20 if you know what you're doing.

As for the crossbow, it is a lovely weapon to have to kills zeds at a range provided you know how to not aggro zeds and pick them off while they're docile. However, if you do aggro, the fire-rate is far too low to handle even a small crowd, on hand ammo is limited even if you do take all 12 slots, and hip fire aiming with it is difficult, especially for novice players. Your only option really is lead them into a building so they'll walk single file for you and hope you have enough bolts, or as you said, drop it and take out the hatchet.

My main gripe with the crossbow is the ammo per inventory slot (1:1 compared to typical 20:1 or 30:1), however this will be fixed in the next patch with quivers(5:1 I believe, which is acceptable considering the damage). All other issues people have really just comes down to unfamiliarity with the weapon and it's mechanics and tactics. I don't think I'd personally recommend it as a first pickup for a new player, but definitely something to look into for any player.

Edited February 26, 2013 by (TMW)HerrJon

[AshleyP 121]

If you get more then 5 on you, drop it and switch to your hatchet. With these two items (both of them very common) you can LITERALLY go through a city, hide the corpses of zombies you kill, and nobody will even know you're there.

In practice they will know you're there - the zombies won't have spawned otherwise. And when you stop to bend over and look for the discarded bolt, the sniper on the roof or in the treeline will shoot you. Or he'll realise what you're doing, and wait until the next time you stop next to a dead zombie. The quiver that was introduced in the most recent patch alleviates this to an extent, but the crossbow is still a short-range precision weapon that doesn't work too well unless you stop to aim. Which puts you at risk.

My tip - when you're outdoors, run past the zombies. Don't attempt to engage them. Run past them. Keep moving. The other players want you to stop, so that they don't have to lead their shots. I want the other player to stop moving, so that I can get up close and really pump him full of bullets. You've got a choice between briefly having a small number of zombies running behind you, or spending ten minutes carefully moving very slowly out in the killing zone.

Instead, lure the zombies indoors, then kill them. You get cover, you get the chance to search for bolts and loot their bodies at your leisure, and it's not your house anyway. It's a shame the game doesn't have a zombie disguise that you can put on - the game has raw meat, you could smear yourself in that - because then you could blend in with them as you exit the building.