Starting weapon

[aversionfx 63]

First thing: Before you pile in this thread to froth about the game only being in alpha, and that this topic has been done to death, know that I have been doing a lot of reading through the forums, the news posts and the game's changelog.

My suggestion is two-fold.

Suggestion #1: Create a pool of low-end weaponry. This could comprise such weapons as the Makarov PM, melee weapons (which would include current melee choices, as well as a few others, mostly for variety). Other weapons in this pool could include a single-barrel, break action shotgun, and over/under and side-by-side shotguns. None of these weapons are particularly "good" : the shotguns suffer from low ammunition counts and the constant need to reload, and the Makarov is a low-capacity, low-damage handgun. And all of the weapons have short ranges, especially the melee weapons.

Suggestion #2: Assign values to each tier 1 weapon that would serve as the chance to spawn with a given weapon. For example, in order from "best" weapon to "worst":

- Over/under & Side-by-Side shotguns: 5 - 10% chance

- Makarov PM: 10 - 15% chance

-Melee weapon: 100% chance, but only if you do not start with a firearm

My reasoning is this:

A) From a game design standpoint: Currently, players spawn with absolutely no means of defending themselves in any form, especially from other players. Weapons should not necessarily be considered weapons with which to attack others, but tools with which to defend themselves.

B) Another game design point: While scavenging recently, I found a hunting knife. But I had no "weapon," despite the fact that a hunting knife would make an obvious real-world weapon. So, although I encountered animals that I could theoretically harvest for food, I could not kill them. Starting with, at minimum, a melee weapon, I would be able to put my hunting knife to use.

C) A "logical" perspective: In the event of the zombie apocalypse, it's true that not everyone will have a firearm, and that should stay true in Day Z. However, some will. It's very unlikely that people would be without even improvised weapons - a chair leg, a screwdriver, a kitchen knife, a frying pan, anything. There's no way I, or anybody else would leave their home empty handed. Sure, a frying pan isn't much compared to a handgun, but it's still a weapon, and it's still better than nothing.

A melee weapon isn't going to let you fight off a lot of zombies, but it will give you a better chance of avoiding a swarm by fighting off the one zombie that spots you. Othewise, the only defense is to run away, which almost surely guarantees drawing the attention of more zombies.

[messageboy 0]

People would abuse this with respawn spams until they got the weapon that they want from spawn.

Any kind of random gift upon spawn shouldn't be added since it can be abused by respawns.