An idea about making new chars not soo defenseless without giving them back the guns

[xeredar (DayZ) 0]

Hi guys,

first of all this is not a post complaining about the "i do not spawn with a gun in my hand" issues that so many have but a more general problem i habe for quite a while now.

I'm new to DayZ. I watched a lot of "Lets play's" and read articles about this mod because i'm really into survival and zombie games! i was totally excited and decided to buy arma2:co only for this mod.

so, to describe my problem with the recent changes, let me tell you my first few hours in DayZ:

when i logged in and created my first char, the patch 1.7.1.5 was already live, so i really had no idea how it would feel to spawn with a gun, so i thought i wouldnt miss it. But after a while of crouching and careful approaching i got a bit frustrated ... how was i supposed to find a gun with no game experience? so i tried to search some random houses, because i was nowhere near a big city. as it had to happen i attracted some zombies by accident and ran for my life. during my time fleeing i attracted a lot more zombies but got rid of them eventually. but i found myself in a big forest also. no idea where i was, no weapons, no anything except for the few things i started with. i travelled on and got shot by another player a few minutes later (he had a sniper rifle but missed me quite a few times ^^)

so no big deal. i new i would die in the beginning and really thought i had a bad start with not finding a gun and all that. so i respawned with a fresh char and tried it again. after about two hours of stealth action, i n which i only found some empty cans, ammunition and flares, i got a bit frustrated. i had played the game for quite some time, but hadn't yet found a single way to defend myself against anything. so no wonder i got killed shortly after by some zombies who cornered me in a house.

but as i said i really like survival games with zombies in them so i started again. this time near a city with a big harbor in it. i thought that in this city i will surely find a weapon and went on to adventure and pillage the city. i crouched and crawled, worked for every inch i proceeded, but the only thing i couldn't find was a weapon. i got killed again and got a bit angry.

my last attempt was a bit less careful i admit but i already played DayZ for more than 4 hours without finding a single way of self defence and hadn't killed a single zombie. i mean i like the realism and the surival part a lot but where is the point of being defenseless for such a long time?

i understand that giving new players guns makes the start for these players more dangerous because everyone can kill anyone, but there isn't a point in giving players no means of self defense either.

so here is my suggestion: let new players start with a club or a hatchet. you can't kill other players effectively with it, and neither kill a bunch of zombies, but you can at least defend yourself to some point against a few zombies.

what do you think?

tl;dr: give us a melee/blunt weapon like a club or a hatchet at the start so we can defend ourselves against a few zombies

[wartzilla 182]

How about everyday objects, and make them a part of the generic residential spawn too, for the sake of atmosphere/fun clutter?

Screwdrivers. Box cutters. Bread knives. etc etc

[GodOfGrain 191]

You'll get better at it.

No doubt your impression is right, it is difficult for a new player to find a weapon. But if you know the game (which buildings accessible, what kind of loot to find where) you have a weapon max 30 min after spawn.

E.g. in barns you will find weapons with around 50% probability.

[xeredar (DayZ) 0]

^^ i'm not gonna stop playing even if i won't find weapons any time soon ... i love the game! but i thought about the inability to defend myself, which is quite unrealistic. image you were in a zombie apocalypse: it is really realistic not to start with a gun! but you would just pickup any branch or something to have something against the zombies. someone on reddit told me that they were thinking about allowing fists for fight, so that would solve a lot :)

[dyno0919 0]

Try running inland or to barns like the above poster said. Believe me, I started when 1.7.1.4 was live and I even managed to find a weapon after a couple hours (albeit zombies came running at me from across towns and killed me multiple times). I've gotten to know pretty well which buildings have guns in them now, so you'll get there eventually. Just wait until you find your first gun, food, water, and everything only to go prone through a door, break your bones, and have nothing else to do but respawn. That's a load of fun.

[BurtRaven 20]

Yeah well I accidentally cut myself on the jagged lid of a can of tomatoes today, there was blood everywhere...

just saying, if there's some guy standing in the middle of town wielding an empty can of beans yelling 'come at me bro' I'm backing the fuck off!

[daniel_coates@hotmail.co.uk 4]

i started yesterday, on my 5th life i gave up trying to find stuff in the villages and towns near the coast, and i followed a road inland, i was playing for 2 hours when i found my first weapon, a double barrel shotgun, but i only got 2 slugs for it so i dont even want to fire the damn thing, but finding that weapon has gave the game a whole new feel. I know i can defend myself but i dont want to waste the ammo so im still sneaking. You just gotta be persistent and get used to the game, its gunner take a lot of patience!

[Euphe 1]

That seems very pity that a potential nice player might quit due to finding no gun.

What I suggest you do:

- read some guides on finding loot

- search places for food.and other really needed things mainly( you actually don't require a gun, your legs can do the job)

- head north, deeper inland, avoid big cities.

- search big barns and ambars mostly

- google a deer stand map

I don't think the mechanic of spawn is wrong. For a player with some experience it is not hard. And we are here to share our experience.

p.s. also find a buddy