Abundance of weapons versus abundance of ammunition

[AlexLM 31]

As I see it, the situation in DZSA currently is that there is a large surplus of weaponry (in before i can't find a gun, they are everywhere) and ammunition is mildly common but magazines are rare, especially for pistols. In my opinion this is a favourable situation, for the following reasons.

 

a) realism - (assuming we are keeping with the original idea of an equipment list heavily biased toward civilian weaponry) guns in Europe are actually quite common. Finland, Switzerland and Serbia all have very high levels of gun ownership per capita, the majority of them being civilian-military, sports or work guns. They are fairly cheap and easy to come by. In these countries, it is the ammunition that is heavily taxed and regulated. Territorial defence forces in Switzerland are forbidden from unsealing their box of ammunition but are able to openly carry their rifles all over. In Serbia, you can only purchase 60 rounds per rifle per year (also there are caliber restrictions). Presumably in the early days of the outbreak people would take their guns and ammo to the hills or whatever. With the majority of the population armed, extra guns could be discarded with ammunition being the real prize to hunt for.

 

b) atmospheric tension - imagine coming across another player on the road. You're armed, he's armed. You only have one bullet left for your AKM, but how does he know that? Conversely, how do you know if his gun is loaded or completely empty? Do you take the shot and hope to claim he and any ammo he may have, or do you back off and save your bullet for another time? Ever watch the Road, when Viggo Mortensen continuously counts his dwindling stock of bullets throughout the movie? In an environment when ammunition is such a commodity players will be forced to think twice about gunning down randoms and wasting their shots unless it makes them more vulnerable themselves. When firefights do break out it will add an extra dimension to the fight knowing that you are more likely than not going to be finishing the guy off with your trusty shovel.

 

c) levels the playing field - a mix of both really. The consequence of few guns and much ammunition will be the concentration of ranged power into the hands of a few bandits who can stomp around like walking munition dumps and shoot people at will with little fear of retaliation. When everyone only has two or three bullets each, or none at all, it prevents any one sniper from taking potshots into downtown Elektro without the certainty of a kill.

 

That's my thoughts on the matter, anyhow. Would welcome other players' opinions.

[mercules 1290]

What you are most likely running into is server hopping. 

Go to a big military loot point. Grab a gun, grab all the magazines. Change server. Well, you can't really use a second gun so you grab all the accessories and magazines. Next server, Grab Magazines, Next server... 


So now you have 1 server where the gun is gone and 6-8 where the ammo is gone but the gun is still sitting there. 

[LigerNoir 4]

What you are most likely running into is server hopping. 

Go to a big military loot point. Grab a gun, grab all the magazines. Change server. Well, you can't really use a second gun so you grab all the accessories and magazines. Next server, Grab Magazines, Next server... 

So now you have 1 server where the gun is gone and 6-8 where the ammo is gone but the gun is still sitting there. 

 

I did that for awhile and it became more trouble then worth.  I would constantally lose gear and ammo between server hoping.  I gave up and learned it wan't worth it.  I finally convinced myself that it's cheating too.

[Chips- 58]

Balota army tents are a goldmine for ammo. They are nearly invisible in the grass but if you open the inventory tab and walk around once per side once in the middle you can find lots of hidden loot.

I currently have 4 magazines for the M4, carrying 150 bullets (2x30rnd, 40rnd, 30rnd, 20rnd) and I have looted the military base north of Kamenka, Balota barracks and tents (was in ACT taking heavy fire without a weapon, managed to run taking a shot in the leg), and south barracks at NWAF. Haven't fired a single shot yet. Was lucky with NW as we had a server restart a few hundred meters away.

Other times have not been so lucky. Early bird and so on, eh?