1st encounter reassuring

[Egg90 7]

 I started off my DayZ days very cautiously, logging into sparsely populated servers while I learnt the mechanics of the game. Dying from zombie related bloodloss, dehydration, drinking too much throwing up resulting in starvation etc. I got pretty well equipped then got reset from an update & decided to play proper where there was a higher chance of running into somebody, as it should be.

 

 Actually come to think of it, this thread should read "2nd encounter" really. In the town I spawned in I climbed a ladder to discover I'd unwittingly cornered a freshspawn wielding a baseball bat, who to be fair was quite justified, given no means of escape, to swing it at my head as I beat a hasty retreat! 

 

 Anyway, I made my way north, feeding my way up to healthy status with an axe on my back & reached the town of Novy Sobor. All the doors I came across were closed & I went merrily looting until I came to a farmhouse complex. I zoomed my sight to a zombie who turned & ran, but not towards me. Zooming back out, another survivor was running head on to the zombie & downed it with a couple of rounds from a handgun.

 He then turned to me & I darted into a barn while hearing some muffled speech I couldn't make out. He had a hiking rucksack on, and wasn't decked out in military gear so I didn't feel too intimidated. I ventured out while still aware of the cover around me & saw his gun wasn't raised and he was keeping his distance.

 I said I was having trouble hearing him and asked if he could hear me ok while turning my volume up. Apparently I was coming through very clearly which was good to hear & we had a bit of a chat on either side of a big pile of farm debris. He said he wasn't going to attack me which I know is no indication, but his manner seemed genuine & he didn't try to flank my cover. He asked if I needed any food or anything which I replied no thanks I was fine & informed me of a water bottle & cereal in a certain house, which was great as I hadn't found any sort of canteen yet. We parted ways, he said he was heading for the airfield & I said I was going to log soon after picking up the bottle.

 

 So after reading so much about the lack of decent players I was pleasantly surprised and hopefully this story might reassure some people. Maybe I was just lucky. I know not every encounter will be like this & I still expect to get attacked & attempted to be tricked in the future, but this makes me think it might not all be as bad as I was made to believe.

 

 I play on hardcore (1st person) servers and this happened between 2 Brits at 3am (utc) if that makes any difference.

 

[agentneo 337]

Yes there are friendlies out there. The bandits would like to turn Day Z into Deathmatch and will claim the only way to survive is KOS. that is BS and the only people who do say and play that way are straight cowards. They are too scared to have possible conflict or have to Communicate and they use the easy and riskless way out. They want everyone else to play that way. F the bandits. Keep up the good work

[ThaMac 24]

My current char (currently decked out in full cammo and an M4) was saved by a fresspawn when i started... I spawned on a looted coast and was almost starving when he gave me some food and thats the only reason i survived. Unfortunatly i lost him as we ran to elektro (where i later foudn the M4) due to a server restart

[dricht1 28]

 The bandits would like to turn Day Z into Deathmatch and will claim the only way to survive is KOS.

Nah, real bandits don't simply kill people on sight unless the situation calls for it (and to be fair, sometimes it does... especially with combat logging). There are plenty of bandits who actually add flavor to the game with holdups, hostages, etc, and it wouldn't be nearly as good without them, even if they do frequently murder their victims.

 

It's mostly the kids and newbies who play like it's a constant deathmatch, because they just don't know any better.

 

I hope to see less KoS and more holdups now that the logout timer is in.

[Landhund 14]

Nice story, i hope you learned from that that its better to talk first when seeing someone. 

 

Good luck in your next DayZ (got it?) and dont let those KoS's discourage you. Just be carefull.

[thelonewarrior 886]

There are friendly people out there, they are just hard to find and people get scared easily

I've run into some and each encounter has been memorable, from a lone armed survivor scared and his voice shaking as he talks to my group to someone in desperate need of supplies to helpful people handing out stuff

[CJFlint 357]

I have played Arma Series and OFP series for years, which I think helps. I have been playing for only Day Z for 2 weeks. Day Z is really hard for fresh spawns.  

 

What I learned is when you spawn gather just enough items to get to were you know weapons are. Fluids, food and some sort of weapon. Then head directly towards were you know weapons are hospitals, fire stations, airports or military bases. I have been going to places I know rifles spawn at that is outside airports and mil bases. Then proceed to the airfeild or mil base using cover as much as posible, and moving fast while out of cover zig zaging. Studying the Day Z map has helped me a great deal. I'm finding the airfields are tricky. I never feel alone there, and I have been shot a few times there. But it is better just to get that big risk out of the way sooner better then later. If successful it is well worth it, if not try again. It much better then just to roam around for hours un-armed just to then get shot. 

 

I have found milling around searching every building in the coastal spawn towns, can lead up to a huge waste of time. The longer you hang around in those new spawn loot towns, the more likely a bandit will get the drop on you. If bandits corner you, your best bet is to take the death root. Because most just want your loot or your blood, and will play with you until you die like a house cat with a mouse for there own amusement. I've seen the you tube videos, were bandits are on a power trip, capturing people, taking their blood and loot laughing the time. I will say I would rather re-spawn then take that crap. 

Edited February 5, 2014 by CJFlint