The truth about heroes, bandits, survivors, KOS, and friendlies.

[Etherimp 1323]

From the perspective of an experience DayZ Mod player, former Hero (11k humanity in the mod), and about 1 year total playing DayZ Mod/Standalone combined.

 

The first thing that you must understand about DayZ, is that it is NOT a quality First Person Shooter. If what gets you your kicks is tight gun mechanics and fast paced game play, then there are better FPS games that do it better. Insurgency and CS:Go, as example. If what gets you off is driving around in military vehicles firing heavy weapons, again, you should look to games like the Battlefield franchise or even ARMA III. If zombie apocalypse games are your fancy, DayZ probably isn't the best for that either.

 

What makes DayZ unique is the role playing element of player interactions. In other games, the lines between "good" and "evil" are easily distinguished by "Red team vs Blue team". In DayZ, the lines are blurred between friend, foe, hero, bandit, and survivor. Odds are, none of us fit into any one of these labels perfectly at all times.

I think I can speak for most heroes when I say; sometimes we make questionable calls and we may kill someone who didn't deserve it.. Or maybe we should have killed someone when we didn't.. True bandits steal from people and hold them up, but the word "bandit" has become synonymous with "murderer". People who camp the coast shooting fresh spawns aren't "bandits", as the traditional definition of the word would imply. They are just bored players looking to get their thrills by bullying fresh spawns. Not that Fresh Spawns are innocent. Anyone on the coast (except for a first timer), go there by dying somehow.. Many of them probably at an airfield or within Elektro or Berezino where they may have been trying to kill someone else who may or may not have had it coming.

 

The reality is, everyone makes their own justifications for why they did things and rationalizes why it was the right thing to do. There's a lot of people on these forums (and in game) who have this "trust no one" mentality, and take a cynical view of the entire community, assuming that everyone is out to get them. This may actually be true in their world.

 

There are KOS murderers out there, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. There are also "bandits" who will hold you up, take your pants and shoes, feed you disinfectant spray, then laugh and torture you, beat you up, and leave you handcuffed and sick in the middle of the road... If you're lucky, they might kill you. There are also epic heroes which will counter-snipe the Elektro/Kamy/Solnichny/Berezino campers, and even come give you food and medical attention. These people do exist, for better or worse.

 

But... These are the extreme ends of the spectrum, and the odds are the majority of the players you meet in game fall somewhere in between these extremes.

 

What defines skill in DayZ is not your ability to kill other players, or how long you survive. It's not difficult to survive for 6 months, if all you do is camp out in the woods and loot unoccupied servers. It's also not difficult to wrack up 20+ kills on a single character life if all you do is snipe from a hill, shooting people who don't even know you're there. It's not difficult to murder someone who has no gear, or who has their back turned, or who is outnumbered 5 to 1. 

 

Skill in DayZ is the ability to balance risk, and make an impact on the world. If you never see anyone then there's no point in even playing on a multi-player server.. And if all you do is camp fresh spawns, how does that make you skilled? It's clearly an unfair fight, and you're a bully.

 

You have to ask yourself what is more rewarding for you, and what is more rewarding for the people around you. I have had amazing gun fights with geared players that dragged on for several hours, and even though I may have died (sometimes more than once), I felt blessed to be involved in such an epic battle.

 

People usually will KOS you if they feel you are a threat and they have an advantage on you. If you are a good player, you can mitigate the chances of people KOSing you by outwitting everyone on the server and not putting yourself in harms way to start with. Likewise, you can avoid being held up by being the one on your toes and avoiding the situation before it begins.

 

 

Here are a couple rules of thumb to help you avoid unnecessary deaths and KOSing..

 

1. DO NOT depend upon anyone else but yourself. It is good to have friends, but you should carry/have access to everything you need without having to beg, borrow, or steal from anyone else. 

 

2. DO NOT loot bodies. Really.. Unless you are 100% sure you are safe to do so, DO NOT loot bodies. One of the major mistakes inexperienced players make is running up to a body and attempting to grab some quick loot off of it. You do not know who else could be watching or where from. If you stop to loot a body, you're taking a risk. Sometimes this risk may be worth it, but it's usually not.

 

3. DO have a clean and organized inventory. Have your important items on your hotbar. Personally, I set it up as follows:

1. Primary, 2. Secondary, 3. Melee, 4. Bandage, 5. Compass, 6. Canteen, 7. Morphine, 8. Handcuffs, 9. Handcuff Keys, 10. Misc (Map, med kit, carry case, etc)

 

4. Learn the map. Know the hot spots, cold spots, good loot spawns, wastes of time spots, and know the lay of the land. Hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, water pumps, tree lines, etc.

 

5. Know the common sniper/ambush locations and the angles you can scout them/counter snipe them from.

 

6. Carry your weapon in your hands as often as possible, if you are in high/medium traffic areas.. Zelenogorsk and Cherno would be considered Medium traffic.. Elektro/Berezino would be considered high traffic.

 

7. Use 3rd person.. If you're on a normal server. IF not, then use your peek function and have high fidelity headphones with proper settings.. 

 

8. Pay attention. Open doors, left-over loot, lack of zombies, active zombies that you didn't aggro, gunshots,  eating/drinking sounds (when they get sounds fixed!), etc.. All of these and more are important cues you should take note of when entering and operating in an area. If you see a magazine on the airstrip 20 minutes after server restart that has been left empty in a closed door barracks.. you know there is a person on the airstrip within the last 20 minutes that has an M4 and is smart enough to close doors behind himself.

 

9. Close all doors behind yourself when you leave a building. Never leave empty cans/ammo behind. Leave them in your inventory until you are out of an area then drop them in a field/wooded area somewhere.

 

10. Never stand at the crest of a hill. Just don't.  Never stand still inside of towers/on top of roofs. You're an easy shot for a sniper.

 

11. Communicate with people. If you come across a fellow survivor, or someone comes across you.. Try to communicate with them in a polite manner. Some are bad people, some are good people, most are just people who are looking for something entertaining in the game. Whatever the result of the encounter is, do not take it personally. Be happy you had it. You never know who you may run into.

 

12. If you're not geared, take big risks.. if you are geared, stick to the tree lines and be a ghost. 

 

13. If you are sniping or shooting from 1 location, whether you kill your target or not, change positions as soon as reasonably possible. Retreat into the tree line/through town, and loop around to another position. Never stay in 1 place for too long.

 

14. Don't run across open fields.

 

15. Check your 6 every minute or less.

 

16. Don't jump the gun. Be patient. Don't fire the second you see someone. If you miss, and don't secure the kill, then it becomes a gun battle that you may lose, especially if you're not in a superior position. Think things through tactically.. If you're ambushing someone you want to wait until they are out of cover and in the worst position possible before you engage/communicate with them. They're less likely to shoot back/run if they are out of cover, and you are in cover and have them pinned. 

 

17. Know when to retreat. 

 

18. Never put yourself in a position you cannot get out of. The top of the firestation sounds like a good idea, until a sniper pins you down... then your only options are to combat log like a pussy, or attempt to climb down a ladder and hope they miss every shot... or simply outplay them and win from a disadvantage, which is unlikely. Better to avoid those positions all together.

 

19. Never over-estimate yourself/your group. Good players, good shots, and large groups die all the time. Don't become one of them. Nothings more embarrassing than having you and 3 of your closest friends camping the ATC at Balota looking for fresh meat, just to be completely wiped and taken out by a single sniper. 

 

And finally..

 

20. Have a code. Every man must have a code.

 

 

 

(Edit): A few other tips:

 

21. Stay healthy. (Bag O Rice + Water fountain = good to go.)

 

22. Always double-tap a target you've downed (If you wish to kill them.) IF not, remove their weapons/ammo.

 

23. The berries are a lie.

 

24. I've heard that haste can be folly, but I've never seen delay that was wise - Sun Tzu.

 

25. Don't carry too much food.. Eat it as you come across it and only keep enough on you to replenish your supply after long treks.

 

26. Try to avoid eating/drinking in highly populated areas. People can hear your food/drink sounds and track you down.

 

27. Always carry a morphine/splint, and have it on your hotbar.. Never know when you'll break your legs.

 

28. Don't press "respawn" right after you go unconscious.. A lot of times, you can come to.. Sometimes to the surprise (and demise) of your attacker.

 

29. Split ruined ammo to make it pristine again.

 

30. Pristine or Worn.. Nothing else is worth your time.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Etherimp

[DropBearChick 1216]

Nice tips good work, i always stick to these rules

#nevereatblueberries

[wild_man 4442]

some good tip for noobs you should put in New Player section ;)

[leefriendfield 438]

Too many people have become devoted to the FPS market that when something comes along like DayZ that when some people on youtube play this game they jump into the bandwagon only to jump off then complain or start using expliots. 

Edited March 7, 2014 by LeeFriendField

[Window Licker 504]

Just sticky this please mods,

 

Mr Etherimp, thank you for the well put together and well thought out excellent advice your a champion.

[Etherimp 1323]

I am sorry. I am not going to read all of that.

 

 

Then GTFO.. Nobody cares if you know how to read or not.

[xRann 126]

Other than leaving 0% drinks and foods around to mess with people, well said sir.

[rickyriot 1009]

Sort of disagree with #2.

 

Yes, it's a risk, and you need to be careful, but it's all about risk/reward ratio. If you are a new spawn you are risking very little from looting bodies, but you could gain considerably.

What I would do is change #2 to read, "Immediately go into paranoia mode when seeing a dead body, it's dead for a reason."

 

 

I'm also a little debatable about 9. As a general rule, yeah, I can go with it, however it's too contextual to be a hard and fast rule, imo.

 

 

btw, not knocking the OP, for a first time player these are pretty decent tips.

Edited March 7, 2014 by ricp

[Spiderdude20 32]

*Applauds* You sir get my beans. These are 20 awesome tips that I think everyone should follow. The code one is especially important. It lets you and others know what kind of person you are.

 

My code is a simple one. Don't try to kill me, you live. Don't try to rob me, you live. Don't threaten me, you live. You do any of these three, you better think it through, and accept my offer to back down, or you will die.

[Paule2934 7]

LeeFriendField.... that GIF of the governor and national guardsmen made my day LOL

[Etherimp 1323]

Sort of disagree with #2.

 

Yes, it's a risk, and you need to be careful, but it's all about risk/reward ratio. If you are a new spawn you are risking very little from looting bodies, but you could gain considerably.

What I would do is change #2 to read, "Immediately go into paranoia mode when seeing a dead body, it's dead for a reason."

 

 

I'm also a little debatable about 9. As a general rule, yeah, I can go with it, however it's too contextual to be a hard and fast rule, imo.

 

 

btw, not knocking the OP, for a first time player these are pretty decent tips.

 

 

#2 is balanced with #12.. If you're a fresh spawn, you might as well try to loot it.. But usually a body found in the middle of a road isn't going to have much on it. I'm referring more to situations where you shoot and kill someone, and then run over to loot their body. Unless you're absolutely sure the area is reasonably clear, you should just leave it.. It also goes along with #1: Have everything you need. 

 

If I have a kitted M4, a Mosin, and all the clothing/med supplies/food/drink I could possibly need, I have no reason to be looting people I just killed. Most of their stuff is probably ruined anyway. There's not much in the game that's so incredibly rare you can't find it yourself. 

Obviously, rules are meant to be broken, and I will occasionally loot the body of someone I killed, but A LOT of times it's really just not worth the risk, especially in high population areas.

[finnpalm 312]

Lot's of my thoughts there that I haven't been able to put into words. Thanks for that. Great list.

 

Please sticky.

[rickyriot 1009]

Obviously, rules are meant to be broken, and I will occasionally loot the body of someone I killed, but A LOT of times it's really just not worth the risk, especially in high population areas.

It's always the problem with generic rules, they aren't specific. I take your point.

I would however say if I have killed someone and even if I don't need anything and I know the coast is clear, that body is getting hidden and if I'm doing that I'm going to check what loot they have. It goes along with keeping your trail covered idea.

Of course a body is also a wonderful honey trap. ;)

[loud3803 2]

This is a well put together post, excellent rules to live by.  You sir, have my beans.

[pillock 850]

I don't want to sound too critical, because I know this is a well-intentioned thread, but I don't agree with or follow very many of your rules of thumb.

 

I think they're only really relevant if you're playing as a gunfighter - and not everyone does. The great thing about DayZ is that you don't know what other players you meet are up to - you don't know their motivations or intentions. If everyone's following these bland guidelines - or any specific guidelines at all - , then it diminishes the potential variety.

 

As I said, I don't want to criticise too much, as I'm sure these rules of thumb work well for your playstyle - I just wanted to point out that they are in no way necessary for everybody who plays the game, even if they are new to DayZ.

 

EDIT: I do like this one, though:

 

20. Have a code. Every man must have a code.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2014 by Pillock

[Window Licker 504]

I don't want to sound too critical, because I know this is a well-intentioned thread, but I don't agree with or follow very many of your rules of thumb.

 

I think they're only really relevant if you're playing as a gunfighter - and not everyone does. The great thing about DayZ is that you don't know what other players you meet are up to - you don't know their motivations or intentions. If everyone's following these bland guidelines - or any specific guidelines at all - , then it diminishes the potential variety.

 

As I said, I don't want to criticise too much, as I'm sure these rules of thumb work well for your playstyle - I just wanted to point out that they are in no way necessary for everybody who plays the game, even if they are new to DayZ.

 

EDIT: I do like this one, though:

I don't see where you're coming from with this, maybe if you go into more detail about how it doesn't apply to your playstyle or what your tenants to live by are it would help us. 

 

I find the advice useful and it articulates some things that I do very well, from my perspective it's about visiting area's where players might already be looting or camping and ensuring that the player takes suitable precautions to safeguard themselves. Then leaving without a trace to make it hard for people who follow to distinguish how long it's been since you where there.  Also some of the tactics serve to delay any person who is following the same loot route as you ensuring they don't catch up and get you with your pants down so to speak.

[xRann 126]

...I think they're only really relevant if you're playing as a gunfighter - and not everyone does...

 

I don't see where you're coming from with this, maybe if you go into more detail about how it doesn't apply to your playstyle or what your tenants to live by are it would help us.

I'd like to hear more too. And I mean nothing negative. I do most of the above out of tactical necessity and self preservation and other than shenanigans leave as few clues as to my presence anywhere. I don't see how it falls under gunplay/gunfighting but longevity.

Edited March 7, 2014 by xRann

[pillock 850]

I'm not dismissing any of the 20 rules of thumb as useless - I'm just saying that I don't follow very many of them and I haven't died to other players very much. I don't think they are all particularly necessary unless you are deliberately going looking for gunfight action in the populated towns and airfields - and that is only one of many ways to play DayZ.

 

Things like "Don't stand still for long on top of a tall building" are obviously sound advice. Getting to know the map and where the hotspots are is sound advice. But the main thing I would emphasise from the whole post is this one single point:

 

What makes DayZ unique is the role playing element of player interactions. In other games, the lines between "good" and "evil" are easily distinguished by "Red team vs Blue team". In DayZ, the lines are blurred between friend, foe, hero, bandit, and survivor. Odds are, none of us fit into any one of these labels perfectly at all times.

 

That is, you don't know what other players intentions are - they are strangers in a lawless scenario. You don't know what they are going to do, and you should never expect anyone to conform to any particular standard of behaviour, because there is no reason for them to. That doesn't mean I never trust anyone, but it does mean I'm on my guard if I'm particularly worried about dying (and, to be honest, dying is not much a set-back as the game stands currently).

 

I've only died at the hands of another player twice in my ~110 hours. The first time I spawned in the middle of a gunfight and found myself standing next to a guy with a shotgun within about a minute. He told me he'd protect me, gave me some food, then inexplicably blasted me dead a few seconds later. The other time, I met a fellow fresh spawn on the coast, talked to him for a bit before he suddenly said, "I want your pants" and punched me unconscious before I could react - I chose to respawn rather than wait until I woke up.

 

The whole of the rest of the time I've played DayZ, I've managed to avoid getting killed by other players, and I've barely followed 2 or 3 or Etherimp's 20 guidelines. I just wanted to point out that you don't need to play at being a commando in order to avoid being killed. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and not take for any situation for granted. Also: it's more difficult to hit a moving target. I honestly don't think it's any more complicated than that.

[real meatshield 424]

As much as I disagree with your own choice of playstyle, and the fact I almost quit reading after seeing "11k humanity in the mod", Im glad I didn't. Excellent list, and despite your interjecting a 'good guy' overtone to the opening I concur that this ought to be a sticky in the new players forum. Everything on this list is relevant and solid knowledge regardless of which path you choose to walk in the game.

 

Beans where beans are due.

[Crooked Hauser 258]

It's always the problem with generic rules, they aren't specific. I take your point.

I would however say if I have killed someone and even if I don't need anything and I know the coast is clear, that body is getting hidden and if I'm doing that I'm going to check what loot they have. It goes along with keeping your trail covered idea.

Of course a body is also a wonderful honey trap. ;)

would be pimp if you could "play dead." Then let a buddy drop your looter. Or try to draw on him.

[rickyriot 1009]

would be pimp if you could "play dead." Then let a buddy drop your looter. Or try to draw on him.

 

You'd have to say it's possible to play dead already. It's a bloody dangerous strategy of course, but as it is if you were to lie down unarmed and not moving I think it would catch most people out. 

[xRann 126]

The whole of the rest of the time I've played DayZ, I've managed to avoid getting killed by other players, and I've barely followed 2 or 3 or Etherimp's 20 guidelines. I just wanted to point out that you don't need to play at being a commando in order to avoid being killed. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and not take for any situation for granted. Also: it's more difficult to hit a moving target. I honestly don't think it's any more complicated than that.

 

I don't think it's so much as playing as a commando, but limiting and understanding the subtle things around you that can either give you information or give someone else information. As survival tactics go, this becomes very important and it starts to all get processed very quickly. Tracking and counter-tracking methods are all very important principles to use and understand. Along the same vein as being good at landnav. While not entirely necessary, it is a valuable skillset to grasp, use, and understand.

[pillock 850]

I don't think it's so much as playing as a commando, but limiting and understanding the subtle things around you that can either give you information or give someone else information. As survival tactics go, this becomes very important and it starts to all get processed very quickly. Tracking and counter-tracking methods are all very important principles to use and understand. Along the same vein as being good at landnav. While not entirely necessary, it is a valuable skillset to grasp, use, and understand.

 

All of it is useful - in no way would I dispute that. The only reason I felt compelled to reply to this thread in the first place was that I consider the overall theme of these 20 rules of thumb to be promoting a particular sort of playstyle, and some people were touting it as a definitive list for all new players to follow - and I don't agree with that in principle. I just wanted to point out that there are other ways to play the game that don't require following these suggestions at all.

[xRann 126]

All of it is useful - in no way would I dispute that. The only reason I felt compelled to reply to this thread in the first place was that I consider the overall theme of these 20 rules of thumb to be promoting a particular sort of playstyle, and some people were touting it as a definitive list for all new players to follow - and I don't agree with that in principle. I just wanted to point out that there are other ways to play the game that don't require following these suggestions at all.

Very true, but I would recommend players unfamiliar with the mod or sa to at least consider and look of his list as it very well could save them the time of learning the hard way and have some useful tools to bring to the table now rather than after they've been killed and adjust a negative attitude.

 

Happens, tons of threads posted about "turning to the dark side" bs. When, had they considered implementing useful tactics they might never have been in that position to get all butthurt and feel the need to resort to a "fuck it" mentality and grief because they've been griefed.

[Window Licker 504]

I understand, but the key difference between you and a new player is that you have a body of experience in the game, so for you discarding guidelines that don't apply to you is not an issue. From your experience of play you have "the odds" in your favor and innately know where and how you are likely to encounter trouble.  A new player lacks this advantage and accordingly either learns from a post like this or by running about getting shot, as they develop as players they will discard the guidelines that don't work, keep the ones that do and make their own resulting in their own unique playstyle.

 

Starting from a template such as the OP they can avoid some of the pitfall's of learning the hard way and maybe they will be generally nicer players and willing to share their wisdom and experience with other's they meet in game, I'm not saying thats going to happen but it might.