I think I'm going to cry.

[Pvt_Larry (DayZ) 98]

I didn't realize that you spawned without a weapon in standalone. So at first I put my batteries in the flashlight, dropped the flashlight because I've been told it's worthless, and said "***** it, let's do this." Well, eight spawns later I haven't even found a basic weapon. I've been killed by zombies, starved once, and one time this guy without pants hit me over the head with a fire extinguisher. I've tried stealth, I've tried just racing around and outrunning zombies, I spent 10 minutes punching a zombie to death, and I've done everything in between. What do I do to get a weapon in this game?

 

I'm sure everyone's gone through the same stuff, and I've read over the guides and all, but I'm still having a hard time. Bad luck or wrong technique?

[King of kong 1117]

Play on servers with less than 12 people.

[intensity (DayZ) 312]

[Tawneey 0]

I haven't watched the video, but I'd advise you to at least check this out and see if it helps you at all.

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/162540-how-to-get-basic-gear-the-easiest-and-fastest-way-and-more/

[Korsbaek 1778]

Just join low-pop servers. Finding weapons will be easy.

[Judopunch 523]

there are about 2 million 'getting started in dayz' videos on youtube. Id start there.

[Mrs. Zealous 12]

I had a really hard time to start with, too.  I read some guides which were helpful, but I was still having trouble.  I finally decided to join a low population server so that I could explore more.  Once I learned where to find things, everything became a lot easier.  I would recommend putting a couple of hours in running around and searching locations on a low-population server, then you will probably have a little more equipment.  Finding a map online can also help though I've found exploring for myself to be most useful.  It will also get you used to some of the survival tactics/mechanics that are relatively unique to DayZ.

 

Then once you find it's pretty easy in the low-population servers, go back to playing on a higher population server.  You should last at least five minutes then. :D

 

Just kidding, of course, but I you will still die every once in a while.  Learning where to find stuff will help give you a fighting chance, though.

[escobert 112]

low pop servers and get to the NWAF and work your way down hitting whatever you can along the way.

[bobbyb85 3]

Also use the dayzdb map. Shows where weapons, foos etc spawn. I still use if, trick is working out where you are.

[TD808 71]

Once you figure out the loot tables for the current build you will be all set, certain buildings spawn certain loot and each build it changes around a bit. Most of the spawn points have buildings that spawn melee weapons and a place to find water pretty close to them. It's just a matter of figuring out good starting strategies. Also don't hang about at the coast use the dayzdb map and head to the more inland towns.

 

Also as loot only spawns on a server restart, when you look for a server to join pick one that is early morning the majority (but not all) of the servers are 8am after a restart so pick one that is morning when you join, as it will increase your chance of finding loot.