Pegasus DayZ Mod tips and tricks, A comprehensive player guide

[Pegasus177 10]

Hey guys,

I have been playing DayZ mod for a long.... LONG time now. During that time i think i have managed to gain a nice little memory bank of tips, tricks, tactics and knowledge about the mod and its offspring.

 ...so i decided to make a guide that can be useful to both new and experienced players.

Not trying to toot my own horn but I have 3000 plus hours on Arma 2 dayz mods. When you think about just how much time that is then it can feel like a lot of time wasted... But i cant say i haven't enjoyed it and if this guide can prove helpful and useful to someone, then all that time spent learning the ins and outs of this game may not necessarily go to waste... right?

so lets get into it....

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1 KNOW THE PHYSICS ( Things about Arma/DayZ that you both need to know and are nice to know )
2 PVP TACTICS (What to do when you encounter another player or find yourself in a fight )

3 TEAM TACTICS (How to operate in a team to be efficient and effective )
4 SHOOTING (Statistics on weapons and some information to make you a better killing machine )

5 BASE BUILDING ( Ideal locations and helpful information when building your fortress of solitude )

6 ADMIN ABUSE AND HACKERS ( How to identify them and bugs often mistaken for hackers )

7 PLAYSTYLE ( What way i suggest to approach the game and the pros and cons of your status )
8 PC EQUIPMENT ( PC peripherals that will make the game that little bit easier for you )
 

 
(Disclaimer: I realize this topic is made with all the PVP mods in focus. Also Vanilla cant apply some of these tips. Too that end I will try keep this very general ).

Biggest tip I can offer....
1 Know the games physics ( knowledge is power).
What I mean by this is learn the physics of the game and how it works. Arma has many hidden attributes that the average player doesn't notice. These can be very helpful in your success at surviving.

Here are some of my best helpful facts.

Zombies or Zeds have a strange path finding motion that operates on last known location.
(Zeds who argo on a player normally run in a zig zag motion at stationary players who are within 50m of them. If they are further away from the player than 50m they normally run in a straight line until they are within the 50m radius or the player. They also run in a straight line after players who are moving.
Obviously when you see a zed agro on someone it helps you locate them but knowing this information about their movements will help you locate the enemy player more effectively.
Knowing the zeds motion paths also helps you too lose them when you dont want to fire that bullet or stop to take care of them. Zeds move to your last known location so use objects and the surroundings to break line of sight. When they have reached your last known location and can not see you..Their sound radius kicks in. So when you break that line of sight and have moved from your last seen position then crouch walk to prevent being heard by them).

know the max range a zed can spawn from you.
(400m. Anything outside this is not yours which means a player is nearby).

What makes zeds spawn and despawn.
(Player In the same area for a period of 5 seconds or more spawns Zeds. Player logs out or spawns into a area with Zeds present they will disappear. This is useful for identifying if a player has logged on you or has just rejoined the server).

What damage a bullet caliber can do and the affect where hit.
( 5.56 average 3000 blood damage/ 7.62 average 6000 blood damage and knockout if on torso. . Head shot is instant death. Leg is broken bone 3/4 blood damage.
338/ 405/ 12.7mm aka 50cal or higher is one hit kill ).

Vehicle armor values and penetration.
( pick up/ lada/ SUV=20
BTR40=40.. Ironically
HUMVEE's=70
Armored SUV/ BRDM2=120
Stryker=150
All the way up to the BTR60=900.
These are just some examples of vehicle armor levels. It is useful to know what you are up against.
Also penetration is important. Different vehicles have different penetration values. Meaning only certain caliber bullets and above can penetrate some vehicles. Also some vehicles can not be penetrated with bullets.
There is no point in you pumping 5 mags of 5.56 into a vodnik when the bullets don't penetrate it's armor. Likewise you don't have to waste a RPG round on a BRDM when a semi capable sniper who knows where to place his shots could take out the occupants and take the vehicle for themselves.
A armored SUV has no bullet penetration below 7.62. Anything higher caliber will penetrate the hull. BRDM2 can only be penetrated by 7.62 or higher but only does half the blood damage. BTR60 can only be penetrated by 50cal or higher and does 3/4 blood damage. BTR90 only has 180 armor but has absolutely no penetration. The occupants can not be shot out. It will serve you well to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of armor and bullet penetration.
*ALL VEHICLE GLASS CAN BE SHOT OUT ARMORED VEHICLE GLASS REQUIRES MORE DAMAGE*

Trees have hit boxes
(Arma trees and vegetation have hit boxes. Sometimes bullets can not hit a player within the branches however 50cal or higher will always penetrate. This makes them useful for cover when you come under fire. They can also be used to bandage when you have zombie aggro or want to dispatch of a zombie without the risk of being hit, as they can not hit you while you are within the branches).

Dark Red brick buildings on Arma have a weak spot.
( you know the red brick building with the arch doorway entry? Go around the outside of the building to the window with a kitchen table just inside the window frame. On the lower part of the frame, slightly right of center is a weak spot. Put enough rounds Into it and the building will take severe damage and eventually collapse. This is highly useful if a player is using it as a base or just to hide from you. You can destroy the building and crush them inside or gain entry. A 20 rnd DMR mag alone can destroy the whole building).

Zed can't come within a certain radius of vehicles
( Zeds generally can't get within a certain radius of vehicles. This includes bicycles. Stand next to a vehicle to bandage and prevent that zed from smacking you while you try patch your wounds. Or want to climb a ladder for a roof or chimney stack sniper position or better view? However the second you pull that trigger every zombie within a 400m radius is going to climb that ladder behind you and ultimately lead to your death. Well place that bicycle or vehicle next to the ladder below and you can snipe in piece. No zombie can get to you).

Heli's that lose power can still be landed safely.
Ever heard of auto rotating? Well its the practice of controlling a heli's decent when it loses power to land it safely. Ok this needs a lot of practice but is very effective when mastered. When you lose power you need to hold down 'Z' and control the heli's decent to keep it level. As you approach the ground you need to let go of Z and quickly hold down Q to spool up any remaining juice in the engine. it will give the heli one final push up to act against gravity and slow it enough to land without destroying it or killing yourself.

Parachuting from a little Bird damages them.
If a passenger parachutes from a Little Bird that is moving 9 times out of 10 the parachute will open immediately and hit the rotor of the heli causing it to get completely damaged. if you are dropping a parachute off do not move forward hold Q to accesnd and then let them eject from the heli. This prevents the vehicle from getting wrecked.

How to fly a heli that is spinning.
Ever got into a heli and it had a damaged v rotor? It just starts spinning round and round as you try to take off.
Well put on your auto hover and turn against the heli's spin direction. Gather a good bit of altitude.. say at least 150 to 200 minimum. Now take off the auto hover and press Z immediately while pushing forward. the sudden change in direction will counter the spin and leaning forward will cause the heli to stabilize.
Landing however is going to be tricky and will take time patience.

HK417 variants take both Stanag/ Stanag SD and DMR magazines. AS50's Take M107 mags.
The HK417 uses all of the mags mentioned above although none of the mag variants change the sound. Also only the Stanag SD is silent to Zombies and AI everything else will agro them to you. AS50's can use both Nato and M107 Mags however the M107 mags have more ammo per mag but pack a much less effective punch when it comes to anti material. the reverse is not possible a M107 will not take NATO mags.

Take inventory items faster
Clicking on the first item in a inventory and spamming the enter key allows you to take items more quickly. It is useful for quickly looting bodies or trying to empty mission boxes in a hurry.

 

Difference between halo jumping and parachuting ( Ejecting )

Halo jumping is base jumping either from a aircraft or on respawn. You can control you character. You can turn him and direct him when you halo jump. You can halo jump from any air vehicle provided it is above 400m in altitude. When you are above this height you will get a option in your scroll wheel menu.

Ejecting from a aircraft below this altitude will just deploy parachute and in this case you have no control over the parachute or your character. You just have to go through the motions and animation until it settles and lets you out of the parachute.

 

Fast travel in Parachute after Halo jump deployment

Ok so only recently discovered this one myself. You know when you halo jump on a restart.. If not its a feature on some servers where you skydive spawn to the server or back in after dying. You can actually push forward or back and have some limited mobility when doing this. After a while you are prompted to open your parachute.

Now often players deploy their parachute early and use the height to travel a longer distance before touching the ground. However i think this is actually slower as you only travel about 5mph through the air... so i tend to depoly it at the last second and go on bike.

BUT what if you could travel about 30 to 40 mph through the air? Well there is a way..

Have you ever checked the player list while in a parachute? It makes you character start spinning and twisting all over the place.

When you are in your parachute point in the direction you want to go and hold ALT and W.

Now spam the P button. Keep spamming it and your speed will start to increase to about 20 or 30 mph if you do it right. When it gets in around 20mph or so leave it go and you should be moving forward almost horizontally at a varying speed of between 15 and 35 mph. 

What happens or at least what it seems to happen is that the spinning twisting animation and the normal falling parachute animation swap positions but it also increases your speed dramatically. Try it out. I managed to go from Kamenka to Lopatino doing this in under a minute and a half.

 

Pavelow tips and tricks

The Pavelow or USMC heli is a Epoch only vehicle. It can withstand a hell of a lot of damage and although it is big and clunky to operate it has its hidden advantages.

Pavelows have open/close ramp at the back of them. This can be operated from any seat inside the aircraft. You can get in the back of the Pavelow using the scroll option at two positions, On the side which will put you at back seat left or at the back by the ramp which will put you in back seat right. If you get in at the side then you will also get out at the side. However if you get in from the back when you get out you will get out of your seat inside the heli and be standing just in behind the ramp. This is very useful when trying to reach elevated heights such as floating safes, Creating a sky base or gaining entry to a area through a elevated gap. For this to work the pilot must auto-hover and stay as still as possible. IF THE PILOT MOVES WHILE YOU ARE STANDING IN THE BACK YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY FALL OUT.  Another nice feature to this is that when you are standing in the back inside the hull of the aircraft there is a invisible wall and it is actually god moded. you can not be shot in here.

One last point. do not ever store important equipment in a Pavelow. they are bugged and if anybody scroll wheels to the gear option on the antenna sticking out from the front of the aircraft they will be able to fully access the gear regarless if the vehicle is locked or not.

 

 

There are literally thousands more tips for game knowledge that I could list but these should see many through against even the most experienced players.

 

 

2 So let's move onto PVP and Tactics.

Arma/ DayZ combat operates on players ability to spot a enemy and how they react.
This game does not operate like your average shooter. One of the biggest things to set it apart is that you can not shoot on the move or strafe shoot. Every time you want to take a shot you must be stationary.
This adds a different dynamic to the game that FPS players are alien too at first.
To that end it changes the play style drastically to any other shooter. Being the fastest wont make you the best. Don't get me wrong.. being quick on the draw helps. However in DayZ tactics and strategy win battles.

So lets look at tactics.
I am in the military and have been a soldier for 8 years. One thing that has always fascinated me about this game is how basic military tactics can be so easily applied to this game and how effective those tactics are.
Everyone in this game shoots to kill. They want to put their target down with the first shot because if they don't then it turns into a battle of wits. "Can your tactics beat my tactics".
If you come under fire and he/she hasn't killed you or knocked you out the immediate reaction is to return fire and run for cover, as it should be.
When you have hard cover you immediately need to assess the situation.
All of the following is remedial and a experienced player goes through this check list in a matter of 5 seconds. However if you are new to the game these are the things you should be doing in any and all encounters and you should do it without having to even think about it.

WHAT YOU NEED TO LOOK AT:

A important thing to understand in DayZ mod (and i cant stress this enough to Standalone players who are trying out the mod.. ) is that bandits kill on sight and bandits shoot to kill because they want that first bullet to disable any threat to their own survival..

 

If you do decide to play the hero style you need to realize the mod version of the game is very bandit heavy and although there are some hero players you should always exercise caution with anyone you meet. Speak to them from solid cover after you have made sure he/she doesn't have any allies around in the vicinity.

Find hard cover and ask if they are friendly or have ill intentions. I would imagine if they start looking for you then they like pose a threat and therefore you should be cautious. Any player who is more concerned with finding you than replying is trying to take that leverage away and wants to have a line of sight on you. The only reason he may need a line of sight is that he has intention to shoot. So be cautious.

 

When you play Hero style you enter any situation at a disadvantage as you are either waiting on the other player to engage on you to know they are a threat or you have had time to observe and measure their character to see if they have ill intent.

 

Regardless weather you play the hero or the bandit... If you get engaged on or engage first then the following kicks in regardless of your play style.

If you are taking the bandit route and are lucky enough to have discovered your enemy before he discovers you then seize the opportunity so scan the area for any possible allies with him, form your strategy on how you are going to kill him and then execute your plan of action to kill him quickly and effectively

if you don't manage to kill him or he manages to get to cover then the battle of tactics begins.

Likewise if he discovers you first and opens fire but doesn't manage to kill you before you get to cover then this too initiates the strategy battle.

When this happens the following should be considered and prove too be effective in dealing with the threat...

Locate the enemy
The first thing you need to know is where and what the threat is. Your attacker knows your location so the first thing you need to do is level the playing field and find theirs.
You also need to know what you are up against. Is it just one guy or a team. is he using a sniper while you are using iron sights. This information is key to turning this attack into a battle.
If you are operating in a team then the person who finds the enemy location needs to inform everyone. You need to make sure everyone knows the enemy location before you react to the situation
A rough location first and foremost.
Use what you know and references to explain where he is.
A rough location, direction, distance, compass bearing if you have one.IE: "i see a guy, in the treeline, SW roughly, about 400 meters.."
Each time you speak you need to give more details. IE: " i see 2 guys one Wearing a ghillie with sniper, other in soldier clothing with assault rifle, compass bearing 210 mils, actually 475 meters, Soldier is running to the right as we look at it.."
You always give more information and update on the location.

Look at your surroundings
Now that you know where the enemy is look at the terrain and ask yourself... Are we in woodland/ Built up areas (towns/city's) and we in open ground. Is their cover to the left or right to try flank them? Is their somewhere to escape the area? How can we best use this terrain to overcome this situation?
Is there somewhere with better cover that will allow us to return fire? are their sniper vantage points we can use or need to be aware of?
All this needs to be taken into consideration and it needs to be done within a split second.

Equipment at my/our disposal
you need to think of what equipment you have available and how it can be used to help the situation.
Do you have a sniper rifle to deal with the threat. Are they too far out to risk it with a assault rifle. Do we have a m203 launcher to take them out quickly. Do we have smoke grenades to use to escape. ( i know smoke grenades are rarely used by anyone in this game but if you are caught in open ground it can give you that cover you need to escape and form a counter attack).
Do we have a RPG should we encounter a vehicle? If it is a vehicle are our weapons powerful enough to take out a front wheel or tire and immobilize it? Are we too low blood to risk a conflict?

Plan of action
How are we going to deal with this situation using all that we know from out check list so far. You and/or your team need to formulate a plan of action to quickly deal with the situation.
Getting to cover breaks your line of sight and immediately takes away your opponents edge. Now he is uncertain of where you are. You then must locate him as fast as possible. when you have done so you study the area. You decide is it better to retreat and return putting you in a much more even playing field. if not you work out how can i get closer or get into a firing position to deal with the opponent. you look for routes to flank behind him without being seen.
Be patient, be sneaky, be aware of all that is going on and you should come out on top.

Dont get locked down in a area.
If for any reason you lose track of your enemy. hes moving around and you lose visual or you turn to take out a zed and he has relocated. Then don't be afraid to relocate yourself or back out of the area and return from a stronger position/ vantage point. The worst thing you could do is turtle in a area and allow them the opportunity to push up on you or flank you.
Rooting yourself in a spot cam often just lead to you prolonging a inevitable death. However at the same time you need to make sure you aren't giving up a great position because of paranoia or risking it for a relocation that may end up going against you.
Its very context sensitive and its up to your good judgment to make the call in any given situation.

 

Other successful methods for PVP.

As stated in a comment below from Fulcrum. Rushing a player is also a effective method of dealing with PVP. To press on a enemy target can set them off balance and unease them. This in turn can lead to them making mistakes. As he stated they probably took their time getting into a comfortable position to shoot so to press on them forces them to 

re-position and to that end also forces them out of their comfort zone. This again falls in line with what i have mentioned above about leveling the playing field. By pressing on the enemy you force them to move and lose their advantage. A very viable and effective tactic.


3 TEAM TACTICS

If you are operating in a team which many do on the mod you keep tabs on each other. always update each other on what you are doing and where you are. Nobody wants blue on blue. If you are on a server that does not have a group system then a good way to distinguish a friendly from a foe is a prone check. when a teammate says prone check everyone prone's. this way you know the person hasn't hit the dirt its probably not a friendly.

If your friend is being lit up by a enemy but you cant see the shooter don't hesitate to put some bullets down in the general area of the attacker. So you may not hit him or be even close but this covering fire will make him duck back into cover and allow your teammate a chance to escape the situation. Covering fire can save lives. Suppressing the enemy keeps him from shooting at your team.
Operating in a team means one of you can play bait. Say you complete a mission one player can drop his valuables and go in to check the mission box contents while the other stays in cover and provides over watch. Should the "bait" get shot at the "over watch" is at the advantage of being able to locate the attacker or wait for him to loot the "bait" teammates body and take him out.
Likewise if you get shot at driving/flying through a area drop a teammate off out of sight and then make you way back through the area. You are now playing bait to draw gun fire from the attacker and allowing your dropped off teammate to locate and deal with the attacker.

Never group up moving through a area on foot. Spreading out but keeping tabs on each other means if one gets taken out the teammate can avenge him/her. You can also set up over watch moving through a area looting. One player post up on a hill with a nice view point over a town or the general terrain. The posted over watch can cover the teammate who is looting, inform him of anything he sees, inform him of other players entering the area... etc.
If you want to see effective military tactics applied to a team on DayZ check out RhinoCrunch and crew's videos on DayZ Standalone. Its a different game but the same principles and they execute their drills well and prove to be very effective.

Its ok playing with your friends and most people want to have fun while playing the game but for many this game has a serious essence to it and it shows.. This game is over 4 years old and is still extremely popular. The reason being many people get caught up in it. They get invested in it... and if you are wondering if you are one of those people who get caught up in the game.. you need only look at how you react to PVP.
If you are all action and in the zone when you hear a gun shot.. then your probably like the rest of us Armaholics. If you are more likely to finish telling a joke after that gun shot interrupted you.. then this game is probably a passing fad to you.
To the same effect its ok having a laugh and a joke but when you get into PVP the last thing you want is a teammate who is just clueless or not tuned into what is happening. Too often PVP battles are lost because that one guy on your team was talking about the latest episode of "game of thrones" or something else completely irrelivant while you have bullets whizzing past your head. You should pick your teammates based on how effective they are in combat and how well they play the game.
I know it sounds harsh... but use these unfocused players as cannon fodder or bait in your plan of attack. They generally arent the guy you should rely on to take the kill shot and if you do.. your probably going to find yourself raging at them anyway.


4 SHOOTING

Again this touches on all aspects of what i have already mentioned. Knowing the physics of the game along with practice and experience will make you a dangerous foe with a weapon in your hands.
Knowing how much damage a particualr gun does.
Knowing the average bullet flight time in ratio to the distance.
Knowing which guns have a slower flight time (MSR/XM2010 slower flight time)
Knowing what the increase in mill dots is when you look through a reticle.( Any zero-able weapon each mill dot down is 50m. However the DMR and the cheytac are unique. DMR has no zero key but each mill dot on a DMR has a set value. these values change when zoomed in or zoomed out as seen here.


Cheytac is a straight shot up to 995m from here on it is up to the shooter to range out the weapon. a rough guide can be found here.




Knowing the recoil ( am i going to lose sight picture when i fire like with the Lapua, M107, AS50, Cheytac)
Knowing how much you have to aim off or ahead of a player running left to right, towards or away for it to hit them.
Knowing how to range effectively and how to apply that to my reticle. ( target is 870 so if i set my range to 800 how much lower on the reticle must i place him or how much higher must i place my cross-hair)
Knowing what particular sounds a gun makes. Ive been playing this game for a long time now and im fairly confident i can tell what type of gun is being fired just from the sound it makes. This is worth familiarizing yourself with.

 

Here is a link with the listing of all Epoch and Overpoch Weapons that can be found and their relative blood damage. Click here for weapon list

 

Few Helpful Hints and tips,

I have been playing a while now and have a fairly good idea of what distance a player is from me just by sight.

when i started out I got into a habit of using a range finder to look at zombies who were 300m away.. then 400m away.. then 500m etc. and using the mill dots in my scope i would place the center line at their feet and see how many dots they were in height. This allowed me to quickly get a rough estimation of the distance.

From practicing this i learned to judge distance without needing a range finder. Those vital few seconds can be very useful when you encounter a player.

 

The Overwatch mod has a little feature that is not in the Epoch or other mods. If you are crouched press 'V' to take a sniper stance. This steadies your scope and your breathing making your shooting more effective. This does not work on mod buidables or on area cover with a plot pole. Depending on the server if the "No building on roads" feature is enabled then you will not be able to take up the stance on roads either. Surprisingly it also works on rocks.

 

Go into your controls and scroll down to find "TURBO KEY" assign this to a key on your keyboard and you can use it to shoot around corners or over walls without exposing yourself. It takes a bit of practice to get used to but it very effective when used correctly.

 

If you get shot and you are bleeding don't stop to bandage. Get to hard cover and if your blood is above 4k then try deal with the threat first. Most players who see the enemy bleeding and running for cover push up as quickly as they can because a lot of players panic and bandage. They use this time to re-position or charge the target because if they trade shots the player with less blood will lose. More often than not players end up getting killed while carrying out the bandage animation as they can not move.This often becomes the downfall of most players in PVP scenarios.

 

Carry fish on you. Rainbow trout restores nearly all of your blood. carry one on you and eat it when you are low blood or injured. its faster to carry out the eating animation than to bandage and or bloodbag.

 

 

 

5 BASE BUILDING

 

Your base is your secure location and your safe haven. When you are building your base you should always look at the following.

Location
I generally go for the high ground. A flat area with no overview from hills or anywhere surrounding it is the perfect location. All the better is if you can find a cliff or nearly vertical edge to that high ground.If you can build your base on the edge of a area that can not be scaled then you just removed a area from which you can be attacked. Water is also effective for this however their is still a chance of attack for armed ribs and boats. Better yet if they do try and scale it there is a good chance they will slide down and die. It also restricts their ability to use the base wall as cover and restrict their movement around the base.
Some of my favorite locations are

Altair Hill
It provides flat ground at the top of a high point with no vantage areas down into it from the surrounding terrain. It allows a good vantage point to see any attackers and has minimal cover for attackers in a large radius around it.

The hills at debug edge west of Myshkino (bandit Trader)
Again Plenty of flat land on a high point with no real vantage points into it. Slightly off the beaten track for those who wish to keep their solitude and easily defended as no real cover for would be attackers.

Zub castle
As a general rule of thumb i never use ARMA buildings to base as they can be destroyed by explosives and leave you vulnerable or allow entry. Also the ground here is anything but flat. However if you have the materials to line the castle walls with cinder etc and completely seal off the area from entry.. then this is a prime location. It provides a natural high point/ vantage point to see attackers from its tower. It has a cliff/ un-climbable edge to its south limiting attackers movement.Its ground is extremely uneven but if you base here you will quickly learn what parts of the terrain can kill you and what cant. It has a dense forest right up to the majority or its walls. This may prevent you from seeing enemies moving around its exterior but trust me.. it is so dense that it prevents them from seeing you a lot more.

these are just some examples.. This can also be applied to the other maps available such as Panthera, Taviana, NAPF, Namalsk etc.

*Remember if you build on the coast or right on the waters edge Arma has a active tide and when it comes in it will destroy any non aquatic-able vehicles.*


The most important part of any base is its plot pole and above all else you must make sure this is secure.
I generally suspend mine in the air in a box.
Making it only accessible by using a garage door as a suspension bridge of sorts.
To further strengthen my securing i place a safe on it to make it harder to access.
To strengthen it even further i place a safe blocking the door should someone Brute force ( Brute forcing is a method of going through all 1000 door codes and is very common ) the door locks they still cant get in the room to access it.
It is the most vital part of any base and you must make sure it is protected.
If some one gets your plot pole.. they have your base.

Security is vital in a base also.
Do not have a excessive amount of entrances. 2 or 3 will do.. any more is overkill and the more entrances you have for yourself... they more entrances you provide base raiders.
I use a system called the governors gate.. or air lock on all entrances.
This is a system used in prisons to prevent convicts escaping.
Place your entry door.. now build a box at least one cinder wall length out from the door and build a second door. If it is a vehicle entrance you will need it to be 2 cinder block walls by one door in size.
When you are returning to the base or entering the base open your first door and enter.. close it and lock it before going through the second door.
The idea behind this method is that if a base raider is camping and waiting for you to open the door before shooting you... it wont do him any good as there will be a second door for him to get through.

Do not leave valuable items in sheds.
There are many glitches in this game and many ways to glitch into bases. Should someone glitch in while you are offline you wont get much justice. Without proof a admin generally cant help you.
However if you keep everything of value in safes and less important items in sheds/crates/tents then even if someone glitches in you wont feel as much of a sting from the meaningless stuff they take.

Do not leave valuables in LockBoxes.
Lockboxes have a possibility of only 300 combinations and again are very easy to brute force. Leaving valuables in them is not a good idea. Use them to store a average gun or items that are nice to have at hand but are easily replaced

Make your base glitch proof
This is near impossible. Glitchers will always find a way to glitch,.. but you can make it harder on them.
Should you make the floor of your base out of metal or wood do not leave a space underneath the base. A common exploit is to crawl under a metal or wooden floor and to stand up. it will break their leg and knock them out for 30 seconds.. but when they come to they can patch themselves up and will be running around inside your base.
Build a cavity wall around the perimeter of your base. Another infamous glitch is wall clipping and dragging people through walls. clipping is to repeatedly run against a wall and spamming the vault or prone buttons while switching from first to third person. eventually the wall barrier will allow the player to clip through the wall.
Dragging is done by two players. One knocks out his friend with a bullet to the chest and then carries out the 'drag' action on him. He can then push him through the wall and drop him inside.
Using this cavity wall means that when a player clips or is dragged through a wall they are trapped between the exterior cavity wall and the base wall and will have no choice but to kill themselves or starve to death.
There are literally hundreds of methods cheaters use to glitch and you cant prevent them all but you can make it pretty damn hard for them to exploit.

 

 

How to start a sky base.

Many players build sky bases.... and why not.

You naturally have the high ground.

You are pre warned of all approaching players as they have to use aircraft to get to you.

They provide a large viewing distance to oncoming treats and if in the right location provide a key advantage in attack.

On the down side if you do get killed on top of your sky base you need to have a consistent plan of action to return there quickly.

Once found they tend to be a focused interest to all players who know the location.

However if done right and the correct defense measures are in place they can prove to be a formidable stronghold.

 

However many players don't attempt to build them because they basically are unsure of how to start one.

Generally admins allow them but they tell you that you have to get it off the ground yourself.

Many players find this a daunting task and i have seen clans build from the ground up using ladders and floors to reach the height they want then removing the ladders and floors after. This is so unnecessary...

There is a far simpler way of doing this. Ok so you need 2 people and a Pavelow. One player will be pilot and the second will carry a plot pole and a floor. Go to the location you want to build and auto hover. Raise up to the height you want the base to be. Settle the Pavelow to be absolutely still. The second player carrying the plot pole should now jump to the back. ( Do not worry its perfectly safe. Pavelows automatically put players into the back area where the ramp is ) Before you jump in the back and until you finish make sure the pilot is not moving at all. You can now open the ramp and place the plot pole in the air. You then place your floor underneath your plot pole and wola!!! You have the foundation of your sky base.

Personally i recommend 2 types. If you are looking for a low and effective sniping platform in your base then keep it under 100m in altitude. I recommend 70m. If you go above the 100m mark your character will fall victim to some basic Arma physic bugs. Sometimes he will appear on the ground and players who happen to run under your base will see him... shoot him and ultimately kill you with minimal effort. Another bug above the 100m mark is that on a rare occasion after you spawn back in.. say after a server restart you may spawn below the floor and fall to the ground. Because of this i also suggest you never log out on your sky base with anything of value in your inventory. It doesn't happen all that often but it does happen and you know it will be that one time your carrying 50 briefs or the only AS50 on a server.

The other type is the hidden sky base. This one should be high up. I recommend 500 to 700m in height. anything higher and its going to take you a hell of a long time to gain the altitude when you are heading back there. This base wont be visible from the ground so it will be a bit covert but will still allow you a good deal of vision on the surrounding area below. Just to add if you are shooting from a sky base that is higher that 500m you will need to over range your rifle when you shoot. I find that if the target is 700m down then you should set your zeroing to 800m to hit them directly on the cross-hair.

 

 

6 ADMIN ABUSE AND HACKERS

Admin Abuse.
Admin abuse is far more common than you would think. Admin abuse doesn't just mean a admin/player using his or her in-game powers as leverage to win PVP fights.

There are far more variations of admin abuse. A Admin giving information on one player to another player is admin abuse.

Infact any interference or influence by admins in player vs player interactions, that are within the servers rules... is admin abuse in my book.

It's like the referee grabbing the ball in a game and throwing it to his favorite player. It just should not ever happen.

These are my guidelines for admins and how they should behave...

A Admin should be a silent enforcer of rules,
A Admin should be a watchful eye on a server.
A Admin should never intervene or interfere with a player unless a rule is or has been broken.
A Admin should never use his powers in or around players for the players benefit or for the admins own entertainment.
A Admin should mediate in player disputes and if it's a question of rule infractions, he should not take action against a player without proof.
A Admin should not ever disclose any information regarding players to any other player. Such as...
position,
Base location,
Wealth,
Possessions,
Allies,
Items,
Donations
Etc...
You are in a position of authority and therefore are privileged to information that a normal player would not have. To disclose any of this information to another player is abusing that authority.
A Admin should never sit and chat with a player or group. Becoming too friendly with a player or group can lead to favoritism and increases the chances of letting private information slip.
A Admin should be appointed based on their ability to make mature, fair and impartial judgments within the perimeters of the guidelines outlined above.

The reason I have listed these guidelines is because if a admin does something that steps outside these guidelines, then they are abusing their position of authority.. and therefore have committed a act of Admin abuse.

Admins generally come in many types...
Player Admins
Biased Admins
Messer Admins
Ghost Admins
Active Admins
Let's have a run down of each..

Player Admins
These are admins who are also players. These are typically the most abusive types of admins. It's all too tempting to pull up a admin menu and heal themselves or to spawn something in rather than go loot for it like a normal player. A TP back from the coast here.. a brief or two there...

They have access to knowledge and information a normal player would not ever have and then they join the general population as a regular player with this information.
They can be spiteful if raided or beaten in PVP and can use their admin powers to get revenge, punish or ban you in retaliation.

Biased Admins
These admins generally help their friends out. They spawn their Friends items. refund them gear.. Generally do favors for friends that the rest of the community could never hope for.
Side with their friends in all disputes. Refund gear to their friend players without a second thought.

Make server changes to prevent friends base being attacked.

Warn their friend when a enemy is nearby, where someone is based, who killed them.. You get where I'm going with this.
This doesn't just count for friends.

Some are driven by money and therefore donators are favored over the general populous. They will want to keep donators happy and therefore make changes to suit donators.

I have seen servers where the most ridiculous items were added because a premium donator requested it. I have even sen a server where thewy allowed players to donate for admin status and abilities.

Run through the list above again and this time....replace the word 'friends' with 'Donators'. The same applies.

Messer Admins
These are admins who can't help but to play with their powers.

Being a admin is actually a very boring monotonous job. When admins get bored they like to mess with their powers. They spawn in jets and have a fly around or show how cool it is to use rapid fire with a RPG. They turn players into animals for the lol's and walk around in stealth talking in direct to try mess with people.
They teleport into the middle of some action in stealth to watch what's happening. They fly a tank across the map at 200mph... Need I say more... They are just childish and don't seem to realise that spamming their powers like this has a ripple affect on the general player base and the server itself.

Ghost Admins.
These admins are one of the two types I find acceptable.
They have a very limited presence which is great actually. They might only be on for a hour once a day.. Some barely come online for one hour every two days. They let the server run itself and if you have a issue that requires admin assistance you take it to the website or forums or Teamspeak. They keep their in game identity secret and operate on a mild presence. The average player then never knows if one of the admins is online or not. This level of uncertainty is what governs the server for them and they only make a presence when required. The problem with this type of admin is that when a hacker strikes the response to dealing with it is slow as they are more than likely not online at the time of the attack.

Active Admins
These are the second type of acceptable admins in my eyes.
They genuinely want the server to be fair and balanced. Normally older than your average admin. They have great presence should anyone need them for anything at all. They try to remain unbiased at all times and the intention is only for a good healthy server with a happy play base.

It can however have a slight drawback.

Since they are so active and only want to keep the player interactions fair they can sometimes make on the fly decisions that can turn a server on its head.
To give a example of this...
I played on a server where base raiding was allowed. The rules on base raiding were simple. It read "base raiding is allowed. To claim ownership of a base dig up the plot pole and place it back down. You may not raid a base if the owner is offline".
On the first day we attacked a base. Gained entry and killed the occupants. They logged off in a rage so we claimed the plot pole.
The following day I logged in to be told by a teammate the base had been returned to the owners. That the owners argument was that they had logged off when we took the plot pole. Which broke the 3rd part of the rule.
Disgruntled by this i confronted the admins. I made the case that if at any stage I was getting raided I simply log off and that ends the raid? That's ridiculous right? i pointed out a key flaw in the rule.
They said they had never actually had a scenario where someone had taken over another players base before and they were unsure of what to do. They asked for 5 mins to think about it and so i left the Teamspeak. They called me back on and invited me to read the new rules. It stated that "base raiding Is not allowed".
When I questioned why they made the change the answer was that they were deeply apologetic and hope it did not turn me off the server.. but.. that our group had experience with raiding and PVP. Something that there regular players were not used too. So in the interest of fairness to other players they were going to prevent base raiding and we could PvP in the open world.
So as you can see at times the active/ helpful admins can have a bit too much presence and a bit of an 'auto-balancing' attitude.
However if you can find a server where the interference is minimum but the staff support is good then you have found yourself a keeper.

 

Any of these types of admins can be found. Simultaneously admins can change to different types above or even be a collaboration of a few mentioned above.

To explain what i mean..

Generally all admins start out as the active admin. They want their server to get popular so they run it well and try and be active and helpful. Over time a server growing a player base can change a admins behavior. Boredom can set in making a active helpful admin become a messer admin or decide he wants to play and then become a player admin.

He may have got his friends to play on the server to help fill it up and given them items to help them.. now hes become a biased admin. The server may have gotten popular and began turning a profit. Seeing potential to make money he could make his server very pay to win and favored donators. Now hes a donator biased admin. Likewise he could have gotten bored and taken a step back .. only coming on to fill donations and check up every once a blue moon.. now hes a ghost admin.

I imagine you see my point.

 

Ideally what you want is a server where the administration staff are made up of the last two types listed above. or a healthy mix of both, while also catering to your mod preferences, rule preferences and script preferences.

The reality is that these servers are few and far between.

So if you find one.... settle there.

 

HACKERS

Too often people scream "Hacker" in side chat when it's actually nothing of the sort. If you randomly break yor leg then it's probably not a hacker
( actually you were more than likely standing on a rock or within range of a destroyed building for a prolonged period of time. If you turn into a women and start dancing around uncontrollably then it's probably a hacker.
If you fire 5 bullets at a guy and don't kill him but he fires one at you and kills you....Then it's probably not a hacker.... ( desync more than likely)
If cows in parachutes start raining from the sky and explode when they hit the ground then it's probably safe to say its a hacker..
The point I'm making is hackers don't do things half measure. They go as big and flamboyant as they can before they get banned. They to everyone to a single area or nuke a server. They don't break one or two guys legs...
Little things like random leg breaks are more likely Arma bugs.

Some Arma bugs which are often mistaken for hackers are...

Building destruction update glitch.
If a building is destroyed it sometimes glitches out and updates the remains and surrounding area to be damaged at irregular intervals.if you walk into this area or even up to 400m from it when it updates it will break your legs. If you remain in the area the next update will kill you.
Players you aren't aware of this often think they are being targeted by a hacker.

High populated server desync.
Desync varies depending on the server specs and the amount of players on a server. You also have to take into account each players ping and bandwidth. All of these factors can cause desync and lag.in some severe cases you may shoot a player 10 times before the bullets register and he finally dies. A good way to combat this is to fire at a player an when you are sure you have shot him enough times to have killed him quickly move or take cover and let the server catch up and register that he is dead. Otherwise he may get a shot or two off on you and when the server catches up it will register you both dead.

Forcing plotpoles.
If you force a plot pole into another plot poles area it will glitch out all of that area for up to 600m around each plot pole. Anyone in that area will see their frames drop to around 1-5 FPS and eventually will crash your game. Anyone else who enters this area the same will happen them.
This will continue right up until restart.

 

When a hacker strikes a server.. trust me... you will know.

Most servers have a rollback feature. they can restore a server to a point in time before the hacker strikes. They down side of this is anything you have done since the hacker entered the server will be undone and your position will rest to where you were at the point in time they rewind the server too.

My best advice for when a hacker strikes is either settle and do nothing in terms of progression in gameplay.. or simply just log out and wait until he is gone.

 

 

Ok so we have mildly touched on some useful Arma physics.. PVP tactics and base building techniques.. so im going to end this with...

 

7 play-style.

Ok first of all let me explain the mindset of players.

If you are generally new to this game you usually hail from one of these category's. Either you (1) have seen videos and found it intriguing, (2) you played the Standalone and decided to try out the mod.. or (3) a friend told you about it and after looking into it you decided to give it a try.

 

HERO

 

Hero style is definitely the road less traveled. You try to be helpful. You try not to engage fire on anyone without cause, you try to play with a sense of morals and you do this in a world where 9 times out of 10 a guy will shoot you for your toolbox and bandages, or just for sport. Its not an easy life to live in DayZ.

I am alien to the hero style in truth and i am hoping Fulcrum will write out a paragraph detailing this play-style. I hope he does so that i may insert it in here for those who wish to take this path and draw some inspiration from it if not some tips and tricks too.

 

*EDIT*

I myself am not nor ever have played the Hero style. I am a all out Bandit. I enjoy it. i embrace it.. and for that reason i asked Fulcrum to provide a small bit of his knowledge on how you should operate as a Hero, and a few tips to the play-style to help you progress on your journey to Heroism.

I am grateful that he obliged and here is what he had to say...

 

(Here is  Fulcrums take on how to play the Hero style and a few tips to help you succeed in your endeavors).

 

This is my survival tactic for a long term hero gamer:

 

1. Work with a goal in mind. 

 

Get thing X, go to place Y, explore area Z and so forth. By focussing on a goal you eliminate wasting time and energy on unneccesary undertakings. Why go to an army base to get guns, if you don't even have enough food to get there in the first place? By not going to unneccesary places you have less chance of being killed by a threat. Which brings me to point 2.

 

2. Work down your priorities.

 

If you want to be a hero, first you need to survive. You got to beat your threats. For that you need tools, supplies and resources. The greatest and nearest threats in DayZ Mod are:

 

a- Zombies and Players

b- Thirst and hunger

c- Disease and hyperthermia

 

To cover these your must work down a list of priorties in the order of the time you have before a threat comes into effect. Personally I go for:

 

Priority tier 1; don't even leave the city without it. 

- Backpack, axe, hunting knife, matches, bandage, antibiotics, morphine, a few food cans and any firearm.

 

Priority tier 2; intercity travel capable.

- Wild food, duct tape, water bottle, a food can empty (or filled) and extra ammo.

 

Priority tier 3; visiting army bases.

- Bigger packpack, binoculars and a map.

 

With this covered you are pretty much ready to go down any route you like and any next item will make life better, easier and less prone to death. However, not necessarily essential (i.e. minimum to have) in order to be a hero and help others.

 

Goodluck!

 

Thank you to Fulcrum for his input and shared experience.

 

As i said i am alien to the Hero play-style. I enjoy PVP too much.

​However Im going to give a quick rundown of the Hero play-style in my eyes and what i perceive it to be.

A Hero in DayZ plays the role of someone who is trying to hold humanity together after the infection spread. The world of DayZ has become lawless. Resources are running thin, humanity has nowhere to turn and everyone is fighting for their own survival. On top of this you have marauders and murders roaming the land who would rather shoot you for your food than risking having to share theirs.

With this in mind a Hero tries to keep some honor in this mad world. They try save those who are struggling with the harsh environment. They try to protect those who cant protect themselves. They try to counter the bandits scattered throughout the wasteland. All in all they try to preserve what little morals and humanity remain in the world. If this is what you want to achieve in the game. If this encompasses you and your ideals in game

Be a Honorable Hero!

That is the Hero play-style as i see it and i imagine it to be.

 

 

BANDIT

However... i play bandit style and quite successfully. Here is my take on it and this is purely my own perspective when playing.

Others may vary or be the complete opposite...
For me....
In DayZ mod the game has moved away from the survival/ interaction aspect it had in Vanilla and now is more so a game of reputation building.
Any bandit who is regular to a server wants to be the guy that everyone knows and the one with all the wealth, the notoriety..
I have been playing DayZ for quite a while as you have gathered and one thing i can say about play-style is this.
Be a ruthless Bandit!
I was on a server some time back and i remember a guy raging in side chat because he had been killed in a act of highway banditry by a player wearing the "hero" skin.
Not to rag on Frankie or RhinoCrunch or any of the other Youtubers who have made videos with a Hero persona,.. ( in truth they helped make this game as popular as it remains today, 4 years on from its creation) ....but in my eyes they have given a false sense of the game to newcomers.
There really are no heroes. Not long term anyway. Generally a hero player is someone who has watched a few too many YT videos and are imitating the ideals of their YT star.
From my experience these players eventually convert to bandit/ PVP junkies like the rest of us when they see what DayZ is really like.. or the game is a passing fad and they are off playing something else the following month.
The point i am making is.. heroes are rare and the ones i have seen don't last long.

For me DayZ rewards the ruthless. The player who is driven by wanting it all,... and is willing to do what it takes to get it all... is generally the player who comes out on top.
You jump onto any server and ask in side chat about the community you will hear about the local "Dangerous bandits", the ones to avoid.. the ones who are trouble. i know it sounds ridiculous but Its intimidating to small scale players.
These guys are generally very well experienced in PVP and probably got to be known as the resident bad guys by either joining, toppling or rivaling the head bandit before them.
They sit on a wealth of resources and they got them through their bandit behavior in the form of base raids mission stealing and seizing opportunities.
Many other players will give them information to stay in their good graces and yield in contention to them.
I have literally seen players apologize to other players for shooting them out of fear of the repercussions.
Generally these guys fight on clan vs clan level and are pretty experienced with the game.
Its good to join them and learn from them. Or challenge them and use the PVP as experience to learn their tactics and tricks. Doing this can be just as effective a learning tool as reading these guides.
I like to challenge them and compare my game skills against theirs. I like to see if i can learn anything new from them.
I like to try and put a dent in their resources and topple them in a manor of speaking.
My end game on any server is to knock this guy off his throne and i play in accordance to that.
I ally with his rivals. Or i ally with him and destroy them from the inside.
... but that's just me.

Back when DayZ first came out players would talk and have interactions with random players. Don't get me wrong these were fun and lead to some strange scenarios... but those days are long gone.
If you want that kind of interaction you need to be looking for PVE servers and they operate with a specific set of rules.
If its normal PVP dayZ you are playing however...
Its kill or be killed these days. KOS (kill on sight) is the law of the land.
If you exchange the opportunity to kill a player and take his stuff for a chance to say "hello.. friendly?" be ready for a long walk from the coast.
the point im making is.. if you see opportunity to profit.. take it! IF you don't someone else will and maybe at your expense.
With all the mods that exist now just being a generic survivor gets real old real fast... try and rise to the top of a server.
That's how you extend the life of this game for yourself.
Be tactful.. be cunning.. be smart.. be ruthless.. be dominant.. strive to be the best.

Now that's my stance on the game... so lets get into Play-style mechanics.

First of all the most distinguishing thing on any server is the humanity status. Everyone starts with 2500 humanity. This is a basic survivor in DayZ Mod.
To gain humanity you kill Zombies, administer First-Aid to other players and kill bandits.
To lose Humanity you kill players and the decrease is excelled if you kill Heroes.

+5000 or higher gives you the Hero status (and the Marksman Skin.)
-5000 or lower gives you the Bandit status (and the Rebel Skin )
*The skin acquisition is server dependent. Some servers have you spawn wearing your status skin as to be identified. Some servers make it a unlocked option. Some dont provide it at all*

Aside from the costume change the only other significant difference and effect from your status is that Heros have more stamina. Therefore they run faster, they recover their breath quicker and can hold their breath longer when taking a shot.
Bandits run slower, take longer to recover their breath after moving and hold their breath for a shorter period when taking a shot.

On building mods such as EPOCH, OVERPOCH and OVERPOCHINS the pros and cons for Hero and Bandit are more elaborate. These mods include economies and traders.
Traders are safe zones where players can take mission rewards or loot to trade in for currency and this in turn creates a economy.
The circumstances, locations availability and amount of trader cities varies depending on the server and any changes the server owner has made.
When this mod is running in its basic form however this is the default rule-set regarding traders.
Chenarus is the most popular map so im going to use it for my explanation. you need to apply it to your relevant map.

On Chenarus typically there are 3 trader cities ( some servers add more trader cities or change the location of the trader cities)
These cities are..
Stary Sabour ( trader city Stary Typically marked with a black curcle and black font)
Bash ( NW Trader city Bash. Typically marked with a black circle and black font)
Khlem ( NE trader city Khlem. Typically marked with a green circle and green font)

Stary and Bash can typically be used by anyone but Khlem can only be used by survivors and Heroes. Bandits are not served here.

As well as having the 3 main trader cities you have some miscellaneous traders like Aircraft Dealer and some that are not protected by a safe zone such as Boat Dealer and Wholesaler.

Where the humanity comes into play is the 2 remaining Traders. Hero Trader and Bandit Trader.
To access these traders you need the correct status. These traders provide items that are typically not forund in regular traders such as armed vehicles, armed helis, High powered weapons etc..
Again depending on the server you join.. some servers make the price of these items more costly in Bandit trader and less expensive in Hero trader to promote a more healthy game play style. This is not the normal though as many servers make the prices equal in both traders.
With the ongoing battle for servers to stay on top many servers create extra traders such and Super Hero and Super bandit traders with special items available in them.
Typically these traders require your humanity to have decreased or increased to a largely inflated number. For example In excess of positive 50,000 humanity or negative 50,000 humanity. You just have to be aware that at all times the lower your humanity the less stamina you have and the higher the more stamina you have. This is basic DayZ and is the case on all servers.

 

8 PCE ( Personal Computer Equipment)

I recommend getting a good quality headset for playing this game. one with directional reaction so as to identify a direction of a sounds origins. Locating a enemy player by honing in on the direction the gunshot can heard is extremely useful when playing this game.

Although it is not a requirement and some systems have them built in i would recommend getting a good quality sound card. i personally have a great sound card ( sound Blaster) and from playing with my group i tend to hear vehicles approaching and gun shots from distance long before any of my group picks up on them.

A MMO gaming mouse. A MMO gaming mouse has many re-mapable buttons. I use the Logitech G700s. DayZ uses many different keys from the keyboard. your typical movement keys are W,A,S,D but your zeroing keys are 'PageUp' and 'PageDown' on the other side of the keyboard.
Even worse is that you can zoom on your weapon by holding down right click on your mouse, However this is also the button to hold your breath which means you typically cant stay zoomed for long. On top of this not all rifles zoom using the right click and require you to use the '+' and '-' symbols on your number pad.
By using a MMO mouse with at least 4 additional buttons you can change your key bindings to use the mouse buttons... and assign these buttons ( PageUp, PageDown, numpad+ and numpad- ) to be your zeroing up and down keys and also your zoom key on your mouse,..for ease of access and without the cost of using losing your breathing to steady the scope.

Hope some of this helps new players out. I also hope some experienced players can find useful information in here too.

If you want to come find me im usually on the DEADCELL Gaming servers.

feel free to add any more tips you want in the comments section.

See you in Cherno!

Edited June 1, 2015 by Pegasus177

[Pegasus177 10]

I will keep updating this guide with info and tips regularly.

Adding in Hero Bandit status pros and cons today.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Pegasus177

[Pegasus177 10]

Adding a section about backing proof of rule breaking and basic Arma glitches that are often mistaken for a hacker presence

[Pegasus177 10]

I have added a link to a complete listing of all weapons found in the varied mods.

It also informs you of the level of damage each weapon does.

 

The link can be found under the shooting section.

[Pegasus177 10]

Added new Halo jump and fast travel parachute in the Know the Physics section 1 

[Pegasus177 10]

Added a section on how to build sky bases under the building section. also my recommendations regarding the height of the base in relation to its function

[vgeurten 15]

Interestinging guide, with many good pointers such as practising estimating distance on zombies with a range finder! However some things I don't a gree with such as:

 

"A important thing to understand in DayZ mod (and i cant stress this enough to Standalone players who are trying out the mod.. ) is that everyone kills on sight and everyone shoots to kill because they want that first bullet to disable any threat to their own survival.."

 

Not everyone kills on sight and neither does everyone turn into a bandit or cares that much about his "reputation". I've been playing this game for quite a time as well and have still never turned bandit, and have found a fair amount of friendly players who helped me out or just engaged in some interaction. Being a bandit is just easier, hence why many choose it. It's the road of least resistance. Being a hero is much more challenging, and more rewarding in my opinion.

 

On a nother note, being in the military as well I have a different approach to PvP than you. In the event I have been discovered - obviously every situation requires a different approach - I more ofthen than not move towards the attacker. Closing in puts him out of his comfort zone (which he was in as he discovered you first and probably got into a comfortable position before firing) which in turn inclines him to making a mistake. Also it keeps him firing making it easier for me to spot his exact location and either cover fire him and make him retreat, or with some luck take him out.

 

Informative guide all in all, I think many will benefit!

[Pegasus177 10]

Interestinging guide, with many good pointers such as practising estimating distance on zombies with a range finder! However some things I don't a gree with such as:

 

"A important thing to understand in DayZ mod (and i cant stress this enough to Standalone players who are trying out the mod.. ) is that everyone kills on sight and everyone shoots to kill because they want that first bullet to disable any threat to their own survival.."

 

Not everyone kills on sight and neither does everyone turn into a bandit or cares that much about his "reputation". I've been playing this game for quite a time as well and have still never turned bandit, and have found a fair amount of friendly players who helped me out or just engaged in some interaction. Being a bandit is just easier, hence why many choose it. It's the road of least resistance. Being a hero is much more challenging, and more rewarding in my opinion.

 

On a nother note, being in the military as well I have a different approach to PvP than you. In the event I have been discovered - obviously every situation requires a different approach - I more ofthen than not move towards the attacker. Closing in puts him out of his comfort zone (which he was in as he discovered you first and probably got into a comfortable position before firing) which in turn inclines him to making a mistake. Also it keeps him firing making it easier for me to spot his exact location and either cover fire him and make him retreat, or with some luck take him out.

 

Informative guide all in all, I think many will benefit!

 

 

Yes you are absolutely right not everyone takes the bandit route. It is the favored route however as you also said. Playing hero brings a whole different perspective to the game that i am unfamiliar with as i crave PVP. It is far more challenging to play the hero. In a game so polluted with bandits its very hard to stay true to the heroes morals. I guess thats also why i said many who ply hero dont last long but i am being unfair to the fact that there are players who do play the hero style and stay true to it quite successfully. I may have leaned a bit more on my own play style and motives on a server for that section. I will do a re write.

 

As for the PVP tactics i speak from my experience and style. I like to break line of sight if possible, formulate my attack and counter them. I agree to rush a player often sets them off balance and to that end causes them to make mistakes. I often have charged a player in zig zag fashion with a melee weapon and witnessed how the panic firing can work to your advantage. The server i play on is fairly sniper heavy and i was writing with the mind set that they would have engaged from distance. All too true however that in close encounters to press on a enemy is a extremely viable and effective tactic.

 

If you have and PVP strategies that use and or would like to share please write a paragraph and i will insert it into the guide with your name. After all i want this guide to grow and sharing contrasting  experience is a vital tool for such a thing to happen.

 

Thanks for the kind words im glad you see use in it.

[Pegasus177 10]

To elaborate on my last comment i was giving Hero players a unfair rap. They do exist they are just a rare breed and you must respect the difficulty of playing the game in that manner. It is quite difficult. Much more difficult than the Bandit play-style and for that reason they are not often seen.

 

I have done some re writes to the guide to rectify my previous stance regarding heroes and hopefully Fulcrum will spare a moment of his time to add a paragraph that i can insert into the guide explaining the Hero Play-style. I also hope he will share some of his PVP tactics as my play-style allows me to engage on anything that moves while he has to take a more elaborate approach to each situation as he needs to discover who is a threat and who is not.

[Pegasus177 10]

Added a piece on the Pavelow and its mechanics under section 1 Know the physics.

[vgeurten 15]

Yes you are absolutely right not everyone takes the bandit route. It is the favored route however as you also said. Playing hero brings a whole different perspective to the game that i am unfamiliar with as i crave PVP. It is far more challenging to play the hero. In a game so polluted with bandits its very hard to stay true to the heroes morals. I guess thats also why i said many who ply hero dont last long but i am being unfair to the fact that there are players who do play the hero style and stay true to it quite successfully. I may have leaned a bit more on my own play style and motives on a server for that section. I will do a re write.

 

As for the PVP tactics i speak from my experience and style. I like to break line of sight if possible, formulate my attack and counter them. I agree to rush a player often sets them off balance and to that end causes them to make mistakes. I often have charged a player in zig zag fashion with a melee weapon and witnessed how the panic firing can work to your advantage. The server i play on is fairly sniper heavy and i was writing with the mind set that they would have engaged from distance. All too true however that in close encounters to press on a enemy is a extremely viable and effective tactic.

 

If you have and PVP strategies that use and or would like to share please write a paragraph and i will insert it into the guide with your name. After all i want this guide to grow and sharing contrasting  experience is a vital tool for such a thing to happen.

 

Thanks for the kind words im glad you see use in it.

 

Good explanation. I agree, breaking the line of sight is quite vital.

 

On sharing tactics, no problem. However honestly, I'm not a gamer nor have ever been so my PvP tactics derive from the real world and don't really apply that well in a game scenario. Plus I'm no great gamer to begin with as I have very little time on active duty. So I'm sure most of your tactics will beat mine by miles and are better suited for this guide. Either way, feel free to copy anything you like you might find useful!

 

With regard to being discovered; like we both say every situation (surroundings, elevation, distance, type of weapons used by enemey etc) all require a different approach. In general, my opinion is that an ambush - especially a well laid one - is pretty much death. Since I rarely get discovered, anyone who ambushes me is pretty good or damn lucky. So I consider myself beaten in DayZ, and in the real world. So the only two chances I think I have is to force the enemy to make mistakes or ALT-F4. The choice is clear to me. So whatever the tactic I use, I try to put pressure on my oponnent and go trough my contact drills hoping my experience and knowledge, combined with his error gives me the upper hand. As I described, pushing up to my enemy FAST is my favorite. Not to be confused with rushing at him. Closing in from cover to cover at a fast rate and using plenty (if not all) of my ammo. Bullets whizzing by WILL discomfort anyone, even if they miss.

[vgeurten 15]

This is my survival tactic for a long term hero gamer:

 

1. Work with a goal in mind. 

 

Get thing X, go to place Y, explore area Z and so forth. By focussing on a goal you eliminate wasting time and energy on unneccesary undertakings. Why go to an army base to get guns, if you don't even have enough food to get there in the first place? By not going to unneccesary places you have less chance of being killed by a threat. Which brings me to point 2.

 

2. Work down your priorities.

 

If you want to be a hero, first you need to survive. You got to beat your threats. For that you need tools, supplies and resources. The greatest and nearest threats in DayZ Mod are:

 

a- Zombies and Players

b- Thirst and hunger

c- Disease and hyperthermia

 

To cover these your must work down a list of priorties in the order of the time you have before a threat comes into effect. Personally I go for:

 

Priority tier 1; don't even leave the city without it. 

- Backpack, axe, hunting knife, matches, bandage, antibiotics, morphine, a few food cans and any firearm.

 

Priority tier 2; intercity travel capable.

- Wild food, duct tape, water bottle, a food can empty (or filled) and extra ammo.

 

Priority tier 3; visiting army bases.

- Bigger packpack, binoculars and a map.

 

With this covered you are pretty much ready to go down any route you like and any next item will make life better, easier and less prone to death. However, not necessarily essential (i.e. minimum to have) in order to be a hero and help others.

 

Goodluck!

Edited May 29, 2015 by Fulcrum

[Pegasus177 10]

Added a new more detailed section to PlayStyle section.

 

Also i have added in Fulcrum's tips for the Hero Playstyle.

Thanks to him for his input

[Pegasus177 10]

will be adding a new section to this soon on building with vector

[Pegasus177 10]

getting views but not many leaving their tips. dont be afraid to add something guys