so, dayz is infact mainly pve, not pvp as i thought.

[PhilB 230]

found a machete.  thank you dayz gods (small g).   then, after i find a machete, i find another machete... ,and a hatchet.  go figure..

 

now zombies are easy to kill.  so i find a rifle. and then find out that you have to choose between a rifle and a machete.........????

 

why isnt the machete (or hatchet) a side arm?  it is the replacement for a pistol (close range) so why would it not be designated a side arm?  is this an arma 2 thing or a dayz thing?

As other said, stay with melee and keep safely looting until you find a backpack big enough to hold a gun (ten slots=gun, one slot=ammo clip). The you can store both and switch using the backpack.

 

Also realize the game's loot mechanics, infection and zombie ai changed significantly appx a month ago with far reaching consequences for gameplay. The Dayz you see on 3 month old youtube videos is not the Dayz that exists today. Honestly, I had to relearn how to play! For so long the zombies were super easy. Used to be I'd go into a shed and see 3 axes on the ground. Nowadays, I'm lucky if there's a pepsi.

 

I salute you Johnny Trigger, you've got quite the battle on your hands. If I were you, I'd hang around the outskirts of Cherno or Elektro with direct mic open, and just ask passersby for help. People are way nicer in Dayz than people think. Especially if you're completely unarmed. I suggest letting some friendly dude take you around to help go directly to good loot sites and explain how stuff works and how to play. With someone showing you what to do in game, shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to get the jist of Dayz. 

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

DayZ is definitely what you make of it.

 

I have personally played mostly PVE solo survival horror style. I avoided all contact with other players, at all costs.

 

Last summer I had a 28 day character (no pun), with 1,000+ dead zombies killed.

 

I had camps and built vehicles on multiple servers, all maintained by myself.

 

Only when I began to get cabin fever, and tried to help a random player did I get killed.

 

This game has a learning curve, but once you get comfortable gearing up, it requires some imagination to sustain replay value.

[PooPoo 13]

Strange that you think it's mostly PvE, I think most people would agree that it's mostly PvP. I was actually disappointed when I found this fact out, I tried to play the nice guy, but it just got me shot at and killed. I bought the game initially because I wanted that sh*ts hitting the fan zombie apocalypse feel, however after I got the hang of things, zombies weren't really a threat.

 

I still love the game, the PvP element is really unlike any other experience I've had, but it would be nice to have a game where you can work together with people you meet against a hard environment since I tend to play games alone. 

[plexico 386]

Zombies are only a threat when you first join, most players can get the hang of them after an hour and then players become the threat.

[Johnny Trigger 3]

Strange that you think it's mostly PvE, I think most people would agree that it's mostly PvP. I was actually disappointed when I found this fact out, I tried to play the nice guy, but it just got me shot at and killed. I bought the game initially because I wanted that sh*ts hitting the fan zombie apocalypse feel, however after I got the hang of things, zombies weren't really a threat.

 

I still love the game, the PvP element is really unlike any other experience I've had, but it would be nice to have a game where you can work together with people you meet against a hard environment since I tend to play games alone. 

i come from eve online.  where when you leave highsec everyone is your enemy.  I personally love that feeling/environment...

[prote 0]

 

• Welcome to the forums.

• You probably need to dedicate more than a few hours play to obtain a reasonable grasp of the mechanics & loot spawns.

• The game can be about PvE or PvP or a combination of both. Play how YOU would like to play.

• There is also a crowbar & baseball bat available as melee options, & engine limitations mean you can't break off tree branches, lead pipes, etc. but that is a splendid suggestion. Loot spawns are divided into different categories: military, residential, farms & industrial. If you can't find an axe easily you're doing it wrong, so check this map because clearly you're not having fun 'earning' your gear. http://dayzdb.com/map

• After a while you'll know which buildings are props, and adjust your route through towns to compensate. Loot can spawn on the ground around (some of) these buildings too.

• DayZ is about survival. That's all. It is unforgiving, and you won't be greeted by playful little tooltips or a tutorial fairy holding your hand the whole way. You're a grown-up & if you're not then you probably think you are so I'm sure you can work the rest out.

• Bullet points rock.

 

• You Rock!! couldnt say better my self, accept: 
• try get some friends (out of game on the forums, then go in together) (join channels teamspeaks, poeple in there will help you) you will find the game very hard without some one there to show you the ropes

[PooPoo 13]

i come from eve online.  where when you leave highsec everyone is your enemy.  I personally love that feeling/environment...

Yea, at first I was disappointed by all the PvP. But then I started to fall in love with the PvP aspect. It's so exhilarating and gives me an adrenaline rush that I've never felt before. I mean in CS + other FPS games, you see a player, you shoot, maybe you kill him, maybe you don't. But if you die, you respawn, rinse repeat. 

 

In DayZ there is no quick respawn, you die, you lose all your equipment, and you respawn far away while some dude loots your body and hides it. Also when encountering players you get such an adrenaline rush. Should I kill him? Should I be friendly? Is he going to kill me? and when in battle I've noticed that after I'm shaking and my hearts racing. I never expected this to happen, and I really grew to enjoy it. 

[Johnny Trigger 3]

Zombies are only a threat when you first join, most players can get the hang of them after an hour and then players become the threat.

 

hardly an hour.  unless you are a true game geek, like jedi level of geekness.

what you need to understand is:

• know where you spawn.
• use the dayzmod.com map and look closely at where you are.
• don't even think/worry about other people till you at least can handle zombies.  that means a melee weapon.
• use the map to find large buildings that you can run in and out of through a second door. sprint to it. loot. sprint to the next big one. dont consider looting any small structure. it needs to be a big farm or industrial complex. why? because zombies cannot run once inside.
• once you find a axe or machete, you can slow down the pace and relax inside the large building. kill all the zombies as they come in.
• continue your search with the same methods of using large buildings, this time search for a rifle and ammo.  bonus is that you can now loot the zombies themselves after you kill them inside the large building.
• keep your eyes out for a backpack. and a tent, ghillie suite too
• once you find a good rifle (DMR?) and a good amount of ammo, now you can hunt other people.
• pistols suck (maybe the 1911 is good)
• if a zombie is on you apart from a large building, then head to the forest, zig zag between trees and bushes for a while and then after a large bush go prone. you just might lose aggro.
• you will ask yourself, is this all worth it just to setup yourself to kill others.
• after a pvp kill you will probably answer yes
• log for the night in the woods near a few large structures, so you can loot as soon as you log in.

[GoldenPSP 24]

i come from eve online. where when you leave highsec everyone is your enemy. I personally love that feeling/environment...

Greetings fellow capsuleer. I just started with dayz but I do enjoy the same feeling as I get playing eve as well