Bandits, Survivors, or Murderers?

[Pseudocide 21]

 What appearance and behavioral patters have you guys observed which instantly had you say to yourself  "This guy isn't dangerous" or "This dude's gonna shoot me the second he sees me".

I tend to steer clear of anyone who's accompanied by 2 or more people. Also no one seems to wear the payday masks without hostile intent. Gasmasks I'm kinda iffy about but still assume hostile.

 

What visual cues do you use to identify someone as neutral/friendly?

Can you also post your character setup and a description of your intent?

 

 

 

 

 

I use no mask, not hat, aviator shades, M4 drawn but not raised with easily identifiable mods like deployed bipod, chrome double mags, green handguard, custom buttstock, and bayonet with the intent of getting the message across - "Neutral but also wont hesitate to plug you if you come at me with a firearm raised; I've been around the block and know what I'm doing". When I see someone that might pose a threat and they see me too, I immediately raise weapon while giving clear instructions. Something along the lines of "You will get one warning and then I'll unload on you. Follow all instructions to the letter and both of us will leave happy." Then question them, figure out their intent and if friendly, assist with some surplus food, bandages and possibly one of the extra water bottles I carry. If suspicious or not sure, cuff them with pristine handcuffs (usually keep two or three), and instruct them on how to break free (some people don't know about the spacebar option). Afterwards immediately exfil area through woodline if possible. If they still draw a weapon after being instructed not to, shoot then and there; If they make a run for it , ditch location in opposite direction. I can understand why a survivor would be afraid after all.

Also, I tend to comply with bandits if they get the jump on me. It keeps me alive and hopefully the bandits steal my delicious disinfectant-laced fruits and canteen for some rightly served karma.

[StaticPop 1]

You need backup? looking for strength in numbers. I am not a clan, just a survivor looking for back up. Steam ID is vStaticPopv

[Pseudocide 21]

Lets just say I put the "L" in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

[elLoCo 154]

everyone who's staying on a crossroads obviously won't kill you on sight :P

[Happy- 41]

judging someone from gear alone is kinda hard. but honesly everyone that ive encountered "no matter of location" thats been geared

in other words they got a rifle and military clothing along with the axe usaly just KOS evertime they see me.

 

me on the otherhand im struggling finding anything. so im usaly in a hoodie and a one of the normal backpacks in whatever color i found it "with my luck its usaly something really bright that sticks out"

a wrench or the smaller axe,

Mask i dont like as you said, douches seem to be the ones to use them,

Gasmask on the other hand i dont mind using and the that little mouth cover (forgot what its called)

i mean its a zombie apocolyps and i for one wanna stay healthy!

 

Clothing wise i mean i get it most people use the army clothing since

a, it blends in with the nature

b, it holds the most slots from what ive seen

 

anyway thats what ive noticed and how i roll for now :P

[Liege 70]

I'm with OP,

 

I am friendly intent but will shoot if you dont lower your weapon or stop where you are, I'll usually confront someone with weapons down and shoot from the hip if i need to.

I won't handcuff people and rely on them being open to discussion, trade or they are just free to run away.. as long as they dont run towards me..

 

I dont wear military gear and will forgo the extra slots to look as nonthreatening as possible.

 

If you are wearing a Payday mask or gas mask.. I will shoot. Why are you hiding your face?

[gannon46 788]

payday mask=bandito in my book. i still won't shoot on site but i stay ready to defend

[Rkelt 46]

payday mask=bandito in my book. i still won't shoot on site but i stay ready to defend

Lol...Same here...any kind of mask=Bandit

Btw...Gas mask, for me, is somehow neutral(so i like to stay away from those people)...

[djporternz 644]

payday mask=bandito in my book. i still won't shoot on site but i stay ready to defend

YES! There is no valid reason to be wearing these atrocities. And the gas mask is also not endearing, and having had to use one of these in anger, I can't for the life of me work out why some one would voluntarily put one on their face, game or otherwise.

 

But back to the OP, I don't carry a gun as I run as a medic. If I see someone, I'm not going to run and hide, but I'll stand up in plain view, and raise a hand in greeting. If they stop and do likewise, probable things aren't going to go too badly. If they've got a gun and its lowered or on their shoulder, no problem. If they're a noob and don't know how to lower a weapon and are unwilling to turn to the side, then we may have a problem.

 

I said I don't carry a gun, I didn't say I was unarmed.

[herrjon 478]

Well I treat everyone the same, in a friendly manner but assume they will always try to make a move.  I get what you mean about judging character off gear, but you can't take it too much to heart.  Things like the gas mask and ballistic helmet provide a health benefit that can be needed in some cases.  And typically the military gear is the most efficient way of maximizing inventory space, save for the mountain backpacks vs. the hunting backpacks.

 

Me, I currently have a ballistics helmet for the protection, and I opted for a respirator over the gas mask, so I at least have .8 biological, compared to the 1.0 from the gas mask.  I keep the glasses off.  I have the typical military pants and vest, and I have a red mountain backpack and a pink hoodie, because fashion is more important than camo :P  I have the fireaxe, because no survivor goes without one, and a Mosin with long range scope an bayonet.

 

I always try to stick with empty hands to be non-threatening, but some may see me take out the axe to dispatch zeds.  I really only use the Mosin as binos atm.  I don't even have it loaded, and would willingly let people pick it up and look at it to confirm this.  I do have loose ammo for it I can load incase I do need to react long range or be a bodyguard for a fellow medic, but I leave it out of the gun for previously stated reason, and so I have no temptation to shoot, as I have to consciously load the gun.  I do keep a loaded magnum in the vest however, incase someone tries to betray my trust and kill me, but I usually don't give them that option.  Haven't had to pull it out yet.

[Awruk 216]

Everyone who wears a camo is a bandit (95%). Only a monkey couldn't figure that out and demand some stupid karma system.

[hells high 676]

No gun? Walk up and say hi, ask if they need anything. Gun? Get low, hide, and prepare to return fire.

 

Very rarely have I met someone with a firearm that won't shoot you either for your stuff or out of fear that you will do the same.

[iwonamathdebate 5]

The fact that gas masks and payday masks come off as hostile is exactly the reason I've never picked them up.  I keep on a green dirt bike helmet, I think it makes me look more friendly/new to the game (which I am).

[Really Old Man 53]

I've started leaning towards more civilian gear as I'm trying to be the friendly survivor that will kill if he needs to. While masks are sexy, they do look threatening and I don't wear them that often. Usually I tend to talk to gun wielders from a distance. If they don't have a gun, I might approach them but I'll still keep my distance. 

[UnicornDroppings 23]

Note to self : do not wear a mask. got it.  I have a hard enought time in the game, let alone if I am perceived as threatening lol

[jayleann 143]

 

I'm friendly, I only kill when I am afraid but everyone knows zombie blood is infected and so I wear respirators and/or glasses. :D

Oh, and camouflage ist important because I don't want people to see me first and because I live in the woods. I will hunt animals and collect berrys and only come to the cities to replace broken or lost items. That's the way I would like it at the moment (with only few zombies).

 

I'm getting quickly afraid of people moving fast in my direction, groups of people, people wearing payday masks or strange behavior.

[mareak 50]

As for me, any humans I see is consider hostile until otherwise was confirmed. I have 51 hours in the game and so far being nice got me killed 3 times. Lesson learn: I will avoid any contact with survivors whether they are arm or not.

[S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Dust 147]

I died but heres my new character, Im running a light sniper / Magnum build and tis fantastic and im not going super heavy on the gear. As for how I play obviously like a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

[gungza 29]

[Ovomaltine 30]

 

 

Hi guys,

 

I have about ~60hrs of playtime in DayZ now, starting about 3 weeks ago. I didnt play Arma that much, but I was a big fan of the Operation Flashpoint branch since the first part. 
So i guess I have the bulky engine in my blood a bit, which made it easy for me to find a start into this game, at least movement/input wise.

 

My first experiences trying to play the social/nice/helping way were mixed. I must say that many people, also (and maybe especially!) the ones with almost full gear had no intent to KOS or be unfriendly towards me which was quite rewarding. And then of course there are those people who just never talk anything and wait behind corners if they hear something and then just shoot you. I had it all and I doubt there is anything that should be surprising in this kind of game.

 

If you play this game mostly FPS, as I do, then sometimes you are not aware of how you appear to other players (i.e. if u intimidate them or s.th. like that). And I never really thought much about that. I myself distrust a guy with almost no equip running around with an Axe in the hand, not responding to anything, more than any fully equipped military style guy who is actually talking to me and also wouldnt be winning anything by KOS or killing me at all, because he already has "everthing".

 

I have to point out how I changed my playstyle through those 3 weeks (intense weeks) of DayZ. 

As I said the first week I was trying very hard to get along with everyone I met, and by that I learned how stuff works... basically I learned that there are no server enforced rules, so you are free to do anything and no one will punish you, except maybe if the same guy has friends or gets back to you in time.

So the second week I stopped giving fucks and started KOS without communicating (not actively, but as soon as someone was directly approaching me) also, because I didnt want to lose my gear over and over again. But this kind of playstyle turned out very dull... and finally I found a role in this game which is quite entertaining to play, for me at least.

 

Since I have really everything by now...I am really stacked, but only with the good stuff, and I really take care of my inventory in terms of aesthetics and space management (many containers with most of the quickslot items in it), so I dont need any gear, apart from that occasional water refill and food and ammo.

I play some kind of avenger style sniper / ranger. Mainly I found myself a nice shack with a water supply where I put my "homebase" to. From that I travel to close cities or military areals and

lay down in my observation spot(s) which are mostly covered by forest or at least a bunch of trees/stones. I scan for movment in around 300-700 metres in a 120° angle from my position.

I do this for as long as needed, 1 hour, 2 hours, without moving myself. I watch new players getting weapons and combat supplies at military bases, I watch 2-4 man squads marching through citysides. I just watch and see what happens. And well... I wait for it to happen, I wait for the "evil" player who shoots down innocent freshmans, or sneaks up to people to PK them without any reason except for the "deathmatch" experience. And then I start my routine.

 

I put my M4 (attachments in picture) on the ground to pick up my Mosin with the Long Range Scope.

 

I deploy my bipod.

 

I zero my sights.

 

And I wait again. For the perfect moment to pull the trigger and put an end to the virtual life of the bandit (bandit is even too much roleplay of an attribute to those kind of players...)

or lets say of the uncreative cheap person who runs around and shoots people without any kind of enriching gameplay happening at all.

 

And thats basically what brings me the most fun I found out by now. Getting rid of any players who think they will get away with what they do. Its not about punishment for me. Its just about not

letting them get away with it. As my Mosin shooting got quite perfect over the last days I can mostly accomplish on the first shot. So its really fun imagining whats going on on their screen... -> Killing innocent, then either walking along or trying to loot the ruined stuff... 5 - 30 seconds later ... BLACK. DEAD. Action. Reaction.

 

I completely stopped killing anybody else than murderers , which makes me of course a murderer (alone in the coded or serverside definition of killing people towards the honor count or whatever that is called). But I think I do play a role which can be seen as somewhat honorable, depending on ones moral standards.

I try to stay our of any other trouble by avoiding direct contact or showing that I am friendly, ofc I would defend myself, but I would NEVER shoot first.

 

Yeah quite a long story. Maybe 50% off topic. But I wanted to share that.

 

Also something completely different. Since I browse these forums I often read about people complaining about not being able to gather stuff because they were killed right after spawning etc...  I REALLY dont understand those guys. It is so easy to get out of the spawn area and just start looting in so many hidden/abandoned places around the map. I really dont get what all the fuzz is about. Just run towards the woods after spawning. You can nearly make it accross the whole map without drinking one swig...

Also as soon as u have an axe... zombies wont even be able to hit you if u just run around them and hit them in the back. They follow you, you let them come, and then u run in circles, you are faster than a zombie, you get to his back... instakill. easy.... And as long as u dont have an axe... just run, where is the problem?

I can put down 3 zombies following me at a time with an axe. Its really just a question of correctly applying game mechanics.

[barcode120x 8]

Also no one seems to wear the payday masks without hostile intent. Gasmasks I'm kinda iffy about but still assume hostile.

 

What visual cues do you use to identify someone as neutral/friendly?

Can you also post your character setup and a description of your intent?

 

 

My group and I used to roll with the Payday masks because it was very easy to identify each other because we saw no one else using them, but my buddy suggested we avoid all masks as they tend to make you look dangerous.

 

As for visual clues, we always take a glance of what they are wearing and if they have a weapon. If they do, we will approach them very cautiously and try to apprehend him and find out what's going on. If it's a group of armed guys, we tend to start a firefight :D. If they are fresh spawns or people with just some gear and melee weapons, we tend to close in on them and just say hi/talk to them and give them some stuff.

 

Character setup:

Pretty simple, M4, vest, pants, hunter's backpack, aviator glasses and a black bandana. My group and I run with no colored shirts (white undershirt is the standard shirt) to easily identify our group and we avoid wearing masks and helmets and we tend to wear black/green clothing. The white shirt does stand out a bit, but with a vest on, it kinda covers it but you can identify us by our shoulders.

 

Bandit, Survivor, Murderer? I think it's a combination of all 3. If you are shooting us, we shoot you. If you leave us alone, we leave you alone (however, we may take some of your stuff but we won't kill you hehe).