A few (hopefull) lessons to new players.

[TheBrassThief 3]

Ive had this game for exactly two weeks today. Over that time my average life span has increased from about 20 mins to near enough 4 hours. My current character has at least 5 or 6 going for him. Ive learned a few valuable things.

1. The pacing in this game changes a lot:

When i first started and had to crawl everywhere to get loot i found myself very bored with how slow paced the game is. This is temporary. Until you find a weapon and learn zombie radius's just crouch walk/run everywhere and keep an eye on when you aggro. After a while you can mentally peg where you can and cant walk. When you get this down you can basically start moving faster in zombie infested areas as you can properly identify "safe" zones. With a weapon or hatchet you will soon find the pace picks up a little bit. The first 20 mins are the hardest to break through. Once you manage that a long life usually follows.

2. NEVER stand:

Always be crouched or crawling. Standing is much louder and more visible than the other options and has a crazy large aggro range.

3. Deer stands and super markets might as well be gods gifts:

Deer stands spawn at most 3-4 zombies. If youre unlucky. And usually yield a weapon. I had an AK in another life from the first deerstand i hit up. After you have a weapon head RIGHT toward a super market. Try and pick a town far from other player infested places like airfields or cities and head for the market. Its usually relatively zombie free and will give you about 3 hours worth of supplies and often a bag to go with them. As an added note ive found pistols VERY often in residential loot spawns. Houses are easy to enter even in LARGE zombie populations by crawling around from the back and crouch walking in. You then exit the same way.

4. Pay attention to zombie movement paths AND sound:

There are two phases of "movement" in zombies:

Outdoor zombies move in a random direction for quite a while then randomly turn around and head somewhere back toward their starting location. If the street looks too clogged to cross look at where everyone is going. You can often find a gap that will open soon that you can dash accross. Dont panic about the zombie noise, use alt to look around and keep an eye on them. Sometimes it sounds like a zombie is breathing down your neck when he is actually a fair few meters away.

Indoor zombies spawn inside and dont move at all. This can be problematic. Before you enter a building move around it and turn your "head" to pinpoint any nearby sounds. Its usually very obvious when a zombie is in that building. If you NEED to get inside you have a few options, ive ranked them in order of efficiency:

1. You can aggro them with a can or by making noise OUTSIDE the building, then crawl/crouch away behind cover. This brings the zombies outside and gets them into the outdoor phase. They will soon move away from the building and its yours for the taking.

2. You can use a hatchet to dispach them, ive found hatchet range to be variable at best, sometimes i hit from far away and sometimes i need to get right up close. Be carefull.

3. You can go in with your gun. Zombies cannot run indoors. They are too polite. If you have the ammo and the positioning to take a slow moving horde take the shot with your pistol. Always aim for the head on stationary zombies. Use the zombie sounds to work out how many zombies are nearby. Ive found as a general rule if you cant hear them AT ALL they usually cant hear you. Zombies are LOUD.

5. Understand and use the aggro mechanics:

Its tempting when youve aggroed a zombie to run like hell and take the entire town behind you. Not only is this worse than one zombie for obvious reasons but getting outside player help with a large horde is basically impossible. If you aggro one zombie (and youre unlucky enough to get a runner) stay crouch walking and get the hell out of there, ive found that zombies pause before attacking meaning you can stay JUST infront of them and make it out ok if youre carefull and dogde their movements. Zombies dont aggro other zombies, only you do. Use this. Lure him far from the others and kill him if you can. If you can, head for a hill or building. Steeply up or down can be a great way to lose them. Ive seriously found that running down a steep hill can even KILL the zombies. They flew out into the air behind me and landed 10 feet below killing them all instantly.

6. Make sure you scrounge every bit of usefull loot you can:

I ALWAYS keep one tin can handy for clearing buildings by throwing it (throw it by right clicking in inventory). ALWAYS loot zombies. They carry food, drinks and even ammo. If you just destroyed an entire horde or watched some zombies fall to their deaths go take a look at what they have. Ive survived on zombie food/water before. If you see a dead player thats TOTALLY unlooted near a zombie area they probably died from zombies. Feel more secure taking everything of value. If they are missing things, like they have ammo for a missing weapon or have a large backpack and no weapon at all something isnt right. No food or water is also a clear sign of banditry. A bandit probably did this. Be cautious and maybe ignore the corpse completely if its lying far away from zombies in an open area. Snipers are lethal to new players. Trees are your friends.

7. Dont let the isolation get to you:

If you see another player dont run over and try to hug them. I know its weird and exciting to see someone else after hours of solo play but dont let that feeling fool you. Its built into you to seek others and want company but in DayZ grouping up with strangers isnt efficient or wise. If you see someone and they DONT see you watch them carefully. If you feel bandity empty an entire clip into their head if you can. Make sure they die before the player can disconnect as many people use this as an escape mechanism. And make totally sure they are alone. If you want to initiate contact always make sure you have the upper hand.

Talk to someone you can see and cant see you to try and guage intent. DONT listen to what they say, focus on what they DO when they know they are being watched. If they make a run for it let them go. If they actively go to search for you creep away. If they buy for time expect more than one of them. The safest option is ALWAYS to stay quiet and hidden. Always have the drop on others. Stick to trees and bushes in crouch walk to achieve this.

8. Until the next patch your character has BRITTLE BONE SYNDROME!: NEVER EVER EVER drop any height as tall or taller than you. In fact dont drop at all. A broken bone is basically insta death to new players. Morphine is rare and ive only ever found 2 sticks. If you see it take it immediately. NEVER risk your bones with jumps or falls.

And thats it. You learn a lot just by trial and error in your first few days. Focus on what you did when you survived a long time. Try and learn from mistakes. I hope this guide helps someone.

[hallgraeme 17]

I like this. Some good advice.

Morphine is found in the hospitals. Lots of it. Its one of the first places i try to get to. As a sudden fall can cause the game to be over without it. Unless you wanna crawl for hours on end. I always carry at least 2 sticks.

[darKneXus 0]

I have to add

If a Zombie is chasing you in a big city and u dont have a weapon, use buildings to get away.

Crouch-run into a building, wait until the zombie(s) enter the building and leave through the other door.

[Disgraced 1123]

Throw and access gear while you have your primary out.

Doing these two things with a pistol in hand results in your character getting up to do them. This can be very dangerous in infested areas.

[Undead (DayZ) 1]

never trust any one ive been playing for 2 weeks straight and have met one player who was friendly this is cod with zombies avoid players like the plague.