How I have stayed alive for 6 weeks on a single character

[knar33 158]

- When coming into a town find a place that you can observe the town from a distance from cover. Spend about 5-10 minutes observing it, use this time to check windows doors and surrounding area. While doing this plan which buildings you are going to hit and locate exits and avenues of fire.

 

Edited OP to include something along these lines, didn't think to add it while writing the post. :)

[SolidOwlPL 37]

I feel too safe in a group, I always find myself playing with much less care and attention. One of these days it's going to bite me in the arse.

 

The guy I was with wasn't half bad, which gave me a bigger sense of being protected.

 

But the thing that pulls you (and it happened in this case) was the communication - it wasn't just us 2 talking on ts but there was another 5 people talking about nonsense all the time...

 

Only thing i regret is losing my pristine blue beret.

[merlointhesky 20]

I always look around for any movements in any place I'm going to, if I think it's a popular area, i.e. airstrips, military buildings etc... 

What I look for is also:

- presence of Zeds

- behaviour of Zeds

 

If there is none, the place has been pillaged already, most likely. If there are, there will be loot (good to know if you are looking for food or equipment). If there are and they are running somewhere, there will be another player around making noises.

[Traveler (DayZ) 27]

My last character which I had running around the whole map 2 times since the server wipe died yesterday. It was because basically I hung out at the NWAF for about 3-4 hours, looting and then engaging 3 groups of players. I was tired of ruinning around on lonely hills, and wanted some action. Did my 1st player kill in Standalone there. Guys we met were not friendly. Killed one of my mates with no warning. Of course I had to kick their butts!? Well, one but was kicked, two more badly wounded, then I was down. My friends did the mop-up. But I can relate to OP: If you deliberately keep out of trouble and are careful, you can survive for insanely long times. It just gets boring after you have everything...at least at the game's current state.

[xAtrocity 47]

I've been alive for 4 weeks. 180+ hours. I'd also like to add that im a bandit that kos's and is always around popular areas.

Edited February 2, 2014 by xAtrocity

[leviski 2152]

I have had a character alive since the first character wipe and have survived 13 fire fights with him.

 

And Im am very proud to say he has saved a few lifes here and there.

[Mao Zedong 48]

This has to be the most boring way to play dayz ever

[YassirX 54]

All I can say is... don't get too addicted to your characters it will ruin the fun.

Don't drink the Kool Aid guys xD

[Hetstaine 10852]

Hunting down players is really easy as well. The most dangerous game is going into major cities to help people you've just met, all while following strict rules of engagement. Anyone looking for a real challenge in DayZ should give it a try.

 

Agreed. Finding and killing people is easy, finding and interacting and surviving the meet and greet is the hard part..

[Danny_Boooy 61]

Sounds like a bloody boring 6 weeks.

[Grimey Rick 3417]

I just wanted to give some tips for people struggling to survive in DayZ. I have been alive since the 23rd of December on a single character, I have not killed a single player (except one time I killed my friend to test something with his permission) and I have done 20+ medic runs as a Trusted Medic of the Wasteland, which has put me in the line of fire multiple times. As a friendly medic, I never shoot unless I am shot upon and absolutely HAVE to return fire. I have 250+ hours logged on DayZ, and before you ask: I don't sit in the forest hiding all day....unless I am milking my type o- blood with a friend :P

 

Here are my tips for survival:

 

• Get the "Healthy" status ASAP and keep it. This is the only way to regenerate your health. Eat all food as soon as you find it, and drink at every pond/well you find until your stomach is full.
• Don't play on 40/40 servers. Most of the people joining these servers are just looking to kill other players. I tend to stay around 20/40 servers (but never empty, that is boring).
• Leave the coast as soon as you find a melee weapon. Everything you need to survive can be found inland, and murder spree junkies hang out on the coast camping fresh spawns for fun(?).
• DONT climb ladders, DONT go upstairs. These are both recipes for death, especially ladders. You can run straight through walls, doors can push you through walls, and players can push you through walls....and you will fall to your death. Hopefully these will be fixed, but even when they are I will still follow these rules.
• If you see a player in your town and they don't see you, leave if you can. People fail to realize that they don't have to stay in a town, and instead they rationalize KOS with "if I don't kill them, they will kill me". Usually the situation can be avoided altogether.
• If you like to do player interaction as I do, make sure you make vocal contact before showing yourself. Speak to the person and listen to their voice. Usually you can tell a bandit by the way they speak (but some sound deceivingly friendly). Always assume the worst, and never turn your back and let your guard down. Don't run up to an armed player yelling friendly and hope for the best...9 times out of 10 you will get shot. If you want to see how NOT to play friendly, watch DevilDogGamer's "Friendly?" video, where he fails entirely at player interaction in order to make a point that KOS/Bandit is the only way to play the game and survive. He is wrong.
• Before entering a town/city, take a few minutes to observe the town from a high vantage point. See if you spot movement or hear any shots fired then make the decision if you want to take the risk. Usually players who shoot zombies tend to be trigger happy with players as well. If the area has popular sniper spots, approach them from behind and clear the spot before you consider entering the town.

Hope these tips help someone in their survival. Some claim that the friendly play style is not fun, but it is in fact a far greater challenge that is much more rewarding in the long run. If I want to get in big gunfights, I hop onto arma 2/3 wasteland and have a blast. When I want to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, I play Dayz :)

 

Uh, how did you survive the wipes?

 

It doesn't sound like you have much fun when you play. Creeping around out of sight and avoiding interactions (whether they're friendly or not) with other players isn't hard. If you're not on a full server, you're robbing yourself of a lot of fun. My current Regular character hasn't died since the last patch, but I've probably lost ten Hardcore characters running around partaking in general mischief and mayhem with DeatHTaX. Until they add more content, there isn't a whole lot else to do. I've 200+ hours logged on DayZ:SA, and I couldn't imagine playing like that.

 

Ah well, different strokes for different folks.

 

Also,

 

[Old_Crow_Whiskey 119]

 

 

 If you want to see how NOT to play friendly, watch DevilDogGamer's "Friendly?" video, where he fails entirely at player interaction in order to make a point that KOS/Bandit is the only way to play the game and survive. He is wrong.

:thumbsup:  Agreed. Here's the link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfPstXBq92c

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

I must be missing something because even if you avoided all glitch deaths you still would have gotten hit by a character wipe...

 

I didn't get my character wiped with the last update. I still have the same Mosin I found on a dead guy weeks ago. It isn't impossible.

[WrecklessMEDIC 129]

So you basically dont interact with anyone, run when you see players, and loner it in empty towns.

Cool story, bro.

In a real zombie apocolypse I'm pretty sure you'd be avoiding potentially hostile humans every single day.

And in DayZ all players are extremely likely to be hostile. Much more so than the real world.

[raezion420 97]

:thumbsup:  Agreed. Here's the link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfPstXBq92c

Yeah I woulda killed this guy for being fucking annoying.. 

[doomdesire86 16]

Just watched the video and you are right. It seems the only friendly about him is his yelling "Friendly", he does everything possible to come off as the most threatening and annoying person ever. I like the video The Austin Experience made "Operation Friendly", which is basically a spoof off of that (or at least he ridicules that kind of behaviour, while still making it clear that most people are actually rather nice even with the abuse going on).

 

DDG's video is there to make a point. Obviously he knows acting like a jackass is going to get him killed. The point is that you can never trust anyone because they are "friendly". If they don't like the way you talk they'll shoot you. If they could throw you in the dust they will. The point is that no one is ever truly friendly and you'll be better off playing bandit.

 

He's right, you know. 8/10 times playing friendly always ends up screwing you over.

[Danny_Boooy 61]

In a real zombie apocolypse I'm pretty sure you'd be avoiding potentially hostile humans every single day.

And in DayZ all players are extremely likely to be hostile. Much more so than the real world.

STOP comparing Dayz to real life for fucks sake. It's a game...

In real life I wouldn't shoot a cop. In GTA I would.

In real life I wouldn't choose burglar as my career path. In The Sims I would.

In real life I wouldn't kill someone for the clothes they wear. In Dayz, that's exactly what I fucking do.

[hells high 676]

drink at every pond/well you find until your stomach is full.

 

I find myself following the gameplay style you have laid out here, and have become very good at surviving and indeed thriving easily after my ~120 hours.

 

However I do not agree with filling your belly with water, because it doesn't contribute to your energy levels which ultimately lead you to that "Healthy" state. You do need water, but soda and even some of the food has water in it. With most of my characters I don't even drink any water, unless I've gone for a run and still have high energy levels. Filling your belly with water takes up that very valuable space for calorie rich foods like spaghetti, beans, and soda that keep you going.

[Good Greef 29]

Problem I have with medics is they are only helping Bambi's stay stupid. If you need medical assistance from a random medic, your not doing it right.

[Judopunch 523]

Hey, if he likes running around by himself he can go nuts. I mean, there is much more to do than to run into the forest and hide until you only see one unarmed guy that you may go talk to. But if he wants to play hiking simulator 2014 he can go nuts.

 

However, I do have to say I dont have much respect for your 'guide' because you basically say 'stay away from populated servers, less people means less chance to have a situation you dont like'. May as well play with 0 other players at that point.

[knar33 158]

Hey, if he likes running around by himself he can go nuts. I mean, there is much more to do than to run into the forest and hide until you only see one unarmed guy that you may go talk to. But if he wants to play hiking simulator 2014 he can go nuts.

 

Please try taking a minute to read through a post before responding.

 

For those asking how I haven't been wiped, the only hive-wide character wipe that has happened so far was on December 18th. I avoid the wipes that most people encounter by simply having a list of known "safe" servers that I log onto which I know will never reset my character data.

[Hagon94 74]

Good post! Dont mind the people dissing you. I think its cool what you do. I'd like to play with you sometime :)

Edited February 3, 2014 by Hagon94

[ThePieKing 17]

There was 1 character wipe where everyone got hit so far, it was the middle of december.

 

http://www.incgamers.com/2013/12/dayz-standalone-security-vulnerability-fixed-but-all-characters-wiped

 

So 6 weeks is possible... might be off by a day or 2 but still right about 6 weeks.  Of course this sort of brings up the question... is it really 6 weeks if you just go by the days since the character started and not by the number of hours that you have played that character?

 

EDIT:  The most recent character "wipe" was actually a roll back of a few days.  There have also been a ton of people who have had characater wipes, but those were not official ones and ended up being bugs, glitches, and what ever else.

Edited February 3, 2014 by ThePieKing

[Grimey Rick 3417]

Good post! Dont mind the people dissing you. I think its cool what you do. I'd like to play with you sometime :)

 

Me too, I could use some target practice.

[Kerwyn 77]

People say that man is the hardest game to hunt, and they may be correct, in some small ways. What those perpetuating this belief fail to consider, however, is that functionally, killing a man is no harder than killing any other animal. We can debate for days the ramifications of the act itself, the psychological trauma and other disorders associated with taking human life. But if we strip away all of that, and get right down to the pure mechanics of the kill, then we find that in today's modern age, killing a man is as easy as pulling a switch.

 

We don't need to worry about psychological ramifications, because this is a simulated environment, and we are (hopefully) detached enough from the experience that we will not forget that. Anyone, man, woman, or prepubescent squealing twelve year old is capable of killing in this game, especially when their victim is unaware. You can justify it, reason out why killing is the best course of action, but the fact remains that every time you take a life, you are playing the game on easy.

 

If you want a challenge, if you want to try out the hard part of this game, then take a page from Knar's book, and try helping people. I've kept tabs on the Trusted Medics since the first post way back in the Mod days. These people are the truly hardcore players, who stick their necks out for complete strangers, not because they are getting rewarded, but because they can. I've seen videos of the medics wading into fire-fights hopelessly out gunned to help people just because they asked nicely. In this game, the true measure of a man is not in how many he kills, anyone can pull a trigger, it's measured by how many times you don't make the easy choice. So ask yourself, how many times have you spared someone?

 

Poetry aside though, seriously, playing KoS is like putting training wheels back on your game. To everyone saying Knar is playing the game wrong, go back to the first post and read it a bit more carefully. And to Knar, I apologize, I seem to have fanboy'd on your thread, but to you and all the Medics, keep up the good work.