Real Life Skills You've Learned from DayZ

[Tatanko 5591]

There are no mushrooms in Chernarus :/

 

I know my myshrooms. I've been mushroom picking every summer/atumn for ages now. My first time was when I was 3 years old.

 

I want mushrooms.

Those are coming in the next patch or two. They're already in the files ;)

[hekp 223]

That any kind of apocalypse would be over in two days. Super retarded infected humans? Oh no, what can we possibly do?

Probably a line, so everyone can shoot at least once.

 

 

 

Sadly trust no one.

^^ This.

Edited April 13, 2015 by halp

[Inception. 9443]

DayZ has supported my belief that the moment you choose to trust no one is the very same moment in which you destroy the possibility of finding someone worth trusting. 

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

I can safely say orienteering. In dayz as in my forest nearby now, I always want to know where exactly I am, where North is, etc. And I don't mean - "take the road to the right" but rather "past that hill there's a groove, turn NE from there, etc." This also made me realize that the ingame map is actually a piece of shit compared to your real 1:40k tourist maps.

 

 

 

Not even touching that the environment that Day Z takes place in is the environment that I specialized in (which is what you really should do, when it comes to wilderness survival), so I usually wander through Chernarus looking at various plants/terrain features thinking "cordage material, food, shelter material, fire-starter, water-proof bark, effective place to build a shelter, there totally should be a stream there and isn't,  why is there a stream there?, etc etc etc".

 

I'd love to pick more survival skills as inspired by dayz, however I don't know where to start. How did you learn of all this? On your own, from a mentor or some course/camp? I must say I'm a bit wary of commercial surviving courses, fearing they teach stuff like 'wear warm clothes to prevent cold'... But maybe I'm wrong.

[Whyherro123 2283]

I can safely say orienteering. In dayz as in my forest nearby now, I always want to know where exactly I am, where North is, etc. And I don't mean - "take the road to the right" but rather "past that hill there's a groove, turn NE from there, etc." This also made me realize that the ingame map is actually a piece of shit compared to your real 1:40k tourist maps.

 

 

 

I'd love to pick more survival skills as inspired by dayz, however I don't know where to start. How did you learn of all this? On your own, from a mentor or some course/camp? I must say I'm a bit wary of commercial surviving courses, fearing they teach stuff like 'wear warm clothes to prevent cold'... But maybe I'm wrong.

I am an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, and when I was younger I took the Wilderness Survival merit badge. Now, the WS merit badge is actually rather basic, and doesn't really develop any real skills besides "stay where you are, build a fire, and sit under a bush", but it got me interested.

 

Beyond that initial "bump", I basically taught myself everything I now know. I went out into the woods and did .... everything I could. I bought survival guides, plant identification guides, "mountain man" project guides, etc, and just generally played around with the knowledge until I developed my current skill base. On campouts with my Scout Troop, when they slept in tents, I would build a shelter, etc etc. I eventually ended up running my local Scout camp's advanced wilderness survival/youth leadership course.

 

I've never taken a class, and I am rather leery about them in general. From what I've watched on Youtube videos, they definitely know their stuff, but paying $200+ for the 3-day "introduction class", which consists of things like basic shelterbuilding, basic firelays, etc etc, AKA all stuff that you can easily learn on your own with some trial and error, seems rather.... not dishonest, but not something I would do.

[thewire 88]

Real life skills..hmm

 

Trust no one, kill everyone on sight...and constantly sneak around the building stalking your next victim! 

[Death By Crowbar 1213]

What have I learned?

1. You can't trust anyone.
2. Anyone who stops and stares at you for more than 5 seconds without saying anything is going to attack you.
3. Zombies have magical powers and can walk through things.
4. Stairs are dangerous, when you walk on them you might just die.
5. Swords don't exist. Yes, I see people carrying them, but if they claim to have looted them from a castle they're full of crap.
6. I now tear up my tshirts because they're more useful for bandaging myself, making splints, or making fire. My wife hates this.
7. It's ok to steal from any house you can enter, or steal any vehicle you find that's working and has keys.
8. I've learned I can't actually walk around and see myself in 3rd person and it upsets me because sometimes I want to peek around corners.
9. I purchased a sledge hammer the other night, going to use it next time I need to open tuna or canned peaches at home.
10. I've learned I can't walk up to someone and force feed them from behind. I tried that with my 4 year old who was refusing to eat dinner and it didn't work, the food just fell on the floor - he doesn't have a mouth on the back of his head apparently.
11. When I golf now I stick to the tree line so I don't get seen or shot.
12. Diving into bushes IRL doesn't really work to conceal oneself so well, neither does pine trees. Pine trees hurt and make me all sticky too.
13. I'm yet to find enough beer in game to throw up. I'm not sure it's possible.
14. I've learned that the first thing I should do is throw away any flashlight I have... and any battery too. The other night my wife threw me a flashlight and I immediately threw it out. She was not amused.

[WilliamTheConqueror 81]

I am an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, and when I was younger I took the Wilderness Survival merit badge. Now, the WS merit badge is actually rather basic, and doesn't really develop any real skills besides "stay where you are, build a fire, and sit under a bush", but it got me interested.

Beyond that initial "bump", I basically taught myself everything I now know. I went out into the woods and did .... everything I could. I bought survival guides, plant identification guides, "mountain man" project guides, etc, and just generally played around with the knowledge until I developed my current skill base. On campouts with my Scout Troop, when they slept in tents, I would build a shelter, etc etc. I eventually ended up running my local Scout camp's advanced wilderness survival/youth leadership course.

I've never taken a class, and I am rather leery about them in general. From what I've watched on Youtube videos, they definitely know their stuff, but paying $200+ for the 3-day "introduction class", which consists of things like basic shelterbuilding, basic firelays, etc etc, AKA all stuff that you can easily learn on your own with some trial and error, seems rather.... not dishonest, but not something I would do.

Hi Boston

[BCBasher 2465]

I can safely say orienteering. In dayz as in my forest nearby now, I always want to know where exactly I am, where North is, etc. And I don't mean - "take the road to the right" but rather "past that hill there's a groove, turn NE from there, etc." This also made me realize that the ingame map is actually a piece of shit compared to your real 1:40k tourist maps.

 

 

 

I'd love to pick more survival skills as inspired by dayz, however I don't know where to start. How did you learn of all this? On your own, from a mentor or some course/camp? I must say I'm a bit wary of commercial surviving courses, fearing they teach stuff like 'wear warm clothes to prevent cold'... But maybe I'm wrong.

 

Pick up a copy of the SAS survival guide, lots of basic to advanced stuff and generally a good read.

[Munson_fry (DayZ) 312]

don´t get attached to your gear.

 

but i knew that allready, because after getting divorced its the first thing you will learn the hard way  ;) 

[Tatanko 5591]

I am an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, and when I was younger I took the Wilderness Survival merit badge. Now, the WS merit badge is actually rather basic, and doesn't really develop any real skills besides "stay where you are, build a fire, and sit under a bush", but it got me interested.

Fellow Eagle Scout here :) Ironically, I never took the Orienteering merit badge, hence why I learned a good bit about that topic from this game. I had 3 freaking palms for merit badges and somehow never took Orienteering  :lol:

 

Agreed on the WS merit badge being rather basic. Was it fun? Yes, but I wouldn't count on it saving my life. Way more likely that I'll use knowledge gained during one of the medical merit badges.

[PlasticAssasin8 (DayZ) 78]

I can cook punkins 30 different ways

[lee83 21]

I've learned to wait for new patch > :(

 

Christ waiting for and downloading the new patch fills me with dread it causes nothing but chaos on here and in the game. ;)

 

Dayz has learnt me to not walk into the middle of the city and look around because every thing will slow down to a horrible mess.

Edited April 16, 2015 by lee83

[sgtpotatoes@gmail.com 30]

I'm basically hardwired to give people the benefit of the doubt and be trusting, so DZ helps me practice my 'Waitaminute' reflex.

It also helps with indecisiveness.  Can't muck about if you want to live a long time.

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

@ Whyherro123 and BCBasher - thanks for your replies, I'll bear them in mind.

 

@Tatanko, I need to hook up with you at your social meetings; I still have this on/off relation with dayz and currently I'm going a bit off. I love this game, but the current crafting/survivalist issues (fishing, cooking, etc.) frustrate me a bit. ;)

[Tatanko 5591]

@Tatanko, I need to hook up with you at your social meetings; I still have this on/off relation with dayz and currently I'm going a bit off. I love this game, but the current crafting/survivalist issues (fishing, cooking, etc.) frustrate me a bit. ;)

This Saturday, my friend! :)