Help on Surviving (Getting good gear, etc)

[iwoundpwn 0]

Hello, I got Arma 2 a while ago as well as this mod, and I am wondering if you guys could give me some tips because I am not near decent at this game I can barely go 20 minutes surviving. Tips on what to do if I get zombies mad and they chase me etc and best way to loot, how to get really good loot, and what to do when encountering players. I die a lot either by players shooting me straight up or getting killed by blood loss from zombies. Detailed responses and videos would be appreciated!  :)

[IkaikaKekai 1957]

Get used to it, your gonna die a lot.  But there's two approaches to doing it, sneaking around, or running around like a jackass looking for gear and not giving a fuck about zombies.  I would recommend looking for a melee weapon first, more than likely you come across a gun in the process, either a pistol or a civilian weapon (shotgun, lee enfield, winchester, crossbow).  Crossbow takes some getting used to (iron sights suck) and shotguns/the Lee are pretty much dinnerbells for zombies, you'll run out of ammo before you run out of zombies, so melee's the way to go for silently taking out zombies.  You'll find Axes in industrial spawn buildings as well as farm spawns (sheds, warehouses, barns, factories, ect) machetes in farm/hunting spawns (deer stands and occasionally in barns) and crowbars in civilian buildings (homes and the like).  Stores are the 'top pick' for loot like matches, flashlights, canteens, ect.  Though you should never turn down any building to find loot, there's been times I've found nothing but empty tin cans and waiting bandits/KOSers in Stores, and found everything I needed in surrounding buildings (maps, matches, compasses, canteens, weapons, ammo, ect ect ect).  After a while you'll learn what spawns in what types of buildings, and start searching thous for what you need.  Just takes time.

[dulix11 731]

Tbh, the easiest way I find is to absolutely avoid any players at all costs, and ignore the zombies.

 

Run around and search through buildings until you find a crowbar or hatchet, then you pick off the zombies that are chasing you. Then you are all set, and implying you can avoid other players.

 

Supermarkets are your best source for consumables, fire stations and airfields are your best source of weapons.

 

Be sure to keep at least 2 or 3 bandages with you at all times.

 

That should get you started.

[iwoundpwn 0]

Thanks guys! For the tips!

[Korsbaek 1778]

Also: Until you have the basic supplies, stay at the coast.

 

You don't have to stay around Elektro and Cherno (The two largest cities). You can try looting some of the smaller towns too.

Houses there usually spawn loot on the doorstep.

[enforcer1975 1111]

NEVER use a rifle to fend of a zed if you have time to switch to a secondary or even better a hatchet and if you have to shoot a secondary do it in a house because the noise will be dampened. It saved me more that i can count to just drop my rifle on the ground in a house grab the hatchet and hack away at what's following me. I hope this will be a lot easier to do in the SA since you have the hotbar. I know of a couple of players attracting more zeds than they have ammo while being cornered in a house and forget what they have in their tool belt in their panic.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Enforcer

[IkaikaKekai 1957]

Yeah, Say if you spawn at Kamenka, hit all the towns along the coast till you get 'enough' gear to start heading north.  I've been quite lucky a few times in getting what I need before even getting to Cherno and having to deal with anyone in the city.  After you leave the coast I would avoid going back if at all possible, except for maybe a hospital run (and even then you might be better off looking elsewhere).  I generally keep 2-4 Bandages on me as well as 2 morphine pens, 2 painkillers, and a bloodbag in my pack.  Canteens are the way to go int he mod for water, but make sure you boil it before drinking (an empty tin/soda can and a fire is all you need).

 

If I have a hunting knife, matches, and an Ax I'm pretty much set to survive off in the woods.

[dulix11 731]

Also, play a couple of hours worth of ArmA II first. Try out the scenarios, boot camp, armory etc until you have a basic idea of the map, weapons, movement etc

 

That way you'll know how to properly use weapons / menus etc

[iwoundpwn 0]

Thanks for all the great responses will do when I play tomorrow! 

[TMWMarijke 282]

Hi there!

If you need help getting around, you can sign up to take a class with the Trusted Mentors.They host different classes to get you in tip top DayZ shape!

Here's a thread about it:

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/153082-need-some-help/

[darkking74 7]

try a pve server to start out with

[tommy290 941]

Are you playing vanilla DayZ or a mod of DayZ (e.g. Epoch)? Your strategy will probably be very different depending on what you're playing.

[s1rGr1nG0 81]

I've been playing about 4-5 days now. All the advice mentioned already is absolutely true. ESPECIALLY the part about avoiding other players. I started out playing on very low pop servers just to get a feel for the game. Now, I pretty much run through town looking for loot. Just run inside of a building and let the zombies come int a bit, then all you do is run out the back door. You will lose a lot of zombies that way. Also, try to locate the firehouses as soon as you can. They usually have some nice weapons, (M4, AK, etc...).

Once you get comfortable with the game then you can move to a higher pop server. I still try to play on servers with 20 or less people until I get better. Also, another thing is to make sure you learn the inventory system. This game has the worst inventory management ever and it takes a bit to get used to!