Uneven loot distribution

[FrostDMG 398]

I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same way I do about the loot distribution in DayZ, but hear me out...

I think that most of the good loot is basically in the North Western part of the map - NWAF, Stary Sobor. Those are just the two places where you can get some of the best loot in the game - not only are they not far away form each other, but also they are almost surrounded by Deer Stands - where as in contrast, on the East side of the map there are much fewer Deer Stands closer to each other.

This brings me to another point - apart form Stary and NWAF there are only 3 other towns to which people actually wanna go - Cherno & Electro for PVP and Berezino - people go there for medical supplies and military tents.

Apart from those cities, there is basically tens of kilometers of nothingness- yes there are the random Deer Stands and the lucky heli crashes, but in all honesty, it is much more profitable to just camp NWAF with a sniper or silenced gun waiting for people to visit barracks.

Basically my main beef with this boils down to the fact that not enough people are exploring the map - most are just farming loot.

Oh and before anyone says I haven't mentioned NEAF, it is because that place isn't as reliable as NWAF, spawn much much less loot and of lesser quality. You might see someone there, whereas in NWAF you are GUARANTEED to see at least one person per visit!

Does anyone else think this or am I just plain crazy?

Please let me know!

[DemonGroover 8836]

Unless the map gets moved to the island of Manhattan i suppose you will always get areas of nothing - it is a farming area after all.

[FrostDMG 398]

Why cant there simply be more good lootspawns spread around the map?

[thefonztm@gmail.com 86]

Get a tent, set up a stash. You'll soon love those 10 km of nothingness.

[Yeni 53]

Well, do you want Cherno to spawn satchel charges, Svd Camo, and Nvg? Thought so.

[Cavan 0]

Why cant there simply be more good lootspawns spread around the map?

The loot density is actually fairly well spread out, just because you might find an m107 in the north west barracks doesn't invalidate that DMR you got in stary, or the set of AKMs for your whole team.

Balota, stary sobor, multiple churches and supermarkets spread across the maps. The three castles, the deer stands I cannot be bothered to count.

Weapons in this game are also generally not the main issue in a game like this, yes they are nice and offer side grades and slight advantages, but a CZ still kills you just as dead and an AK will do 95% of jobs you need it to. Tools are the main issue: NVGs, Ghillie suits, range finders, barbed wire and vehicles etc that really enable you to outperform other people on uneven terms, and these are mostly not uniquely available at the NW barracks.

[S1ippery Jim 139]

I'm a big fan of Zelenagorsk, just so you know

[Copgun 2]

Loot is fair. The military tents in Cherno spawn rare loot, once found an M14 in the tents when I first started. Btw, that's a rare weapon.

Anyway nothing is stopping you from just going north.

[SystemiK 366]

Balota' date=' stary sobor, multiple churches and supermarkets spread across the maps. The three castles, the deer stands I cannot be bothered to count.

[/quote']

No worries, I got you covered. 56 deerstands.

[billytehbob 6]

I don't think this problem will be solved until ARMA3, where every building will be enter-able. I agree, though; running for an hour or more looking for food and stuff, and coming across countless villages and towns, and not being able to find anything because there are no enter-able buildings.

[gizm0 96]

I think its to keep bandits in the west side of the map

[wolfstriked 143]

Make the NWAFdrop very little loot.Its looted already by the thousands of survivors who went there for weapons.Make Heli spawns the main rare loot drops.Also can have a few downed soldiers spawn all over the map as if they just fought abattle and lost and with resulting weapons and gear on them.

[SystemiK 366]

I keep seeing people talking as if Arma 3's "all buildings enterable" is going to solve some kind of fundamental problem with loot distribution.

It will definitely add more options for the game designer to make things interesting, but let's be realistic here, you are not going to see loot in EVERY building in that situation. There would simply be way too many loot spawns. What I think you are much more likely to see is a lot of buildings which have no loot at all inside them (or even worse, nothing but trash loot in most of them).

Think about it. If we could magically add an interior space and a loot spawn or two to EVERY building in the current map, you would have a MASSIVE amount of loot drops added and it would completely unbalance the game as it is now. On the other hand, you could spread the current amount of loot among every building on Chernaurus, but now that loot is spread far and wide with a shit ton of spots you have to hit to find anything at all (and I'll admit, this might actually be cool) we would definitely have to test it to really know how it would actually play. Do we really WANT to have to hit every single room in every single building? Do we want this many loot spawns at all?

On the other hand, I'm all for interior space in every building, that will be amazing. I just think people should spend a bit more time thinking through the implications of adding loot drops to EVERY building in the game as keeps being suggested. Having all buildings enterable should not equal loot at every building. It's too much loot and will either kill the current scarcity mechanic, or simply water it down with massive amounts of garbage loot (which is yet another consideration....how many loot locations can the engine handle)? surely there are limitations.

The best answer that I can come up with is to give every building a POTENTIAL to spawn loot. As it is now, we know exactly where the loot should be, just not what will be there. Perhaps, in the arma 3 scenario, there are still roughly the same number of loot spawns, but they move randomly to other buildings, so you never actually know where the loot is going to be. It would definitely make every loot run unique, but would this become tedious? Thats a LOT of buildings to search....

I'm curious how some of you would like to see this work if DayZ ends up being ported into Arma 3?

[FrostDMG 398]

Li actually agree with the last reply. I don't want every building spawning loot, but what I meant is the best loot comes from barracks - not including a ghillie - and this causes a massive number of players to camp there. Oh well thanks for your thoughts anyway

[damonxwind 4]

I always explore, hitting major and minor loot spots across the north. Every day for the past week and a half I've found something worth finding, be it car or heli crash.

[Jack Dant 158]

I keep seeing people talking as if Arma 3's "all buildings enterable" is going to solve some kind of fundamental problem with loot distribution.

It will definitely add more options for the game designer to make things interesting' date=' but let's be realistic here, you are not going to see loot in EVERY building in that situation. There would simply be way too many loot spawns. What I think you are much more likely to see is a lot of buildings which have no loot at all inside them (or even worse, nothing but trash loot in most of them).[/quote']

But it wouldn't be the same every time. With only a few enterable buildings, you just memorize which ones, and hit those. You clear a town in a few minutes.

If every building is enterable, you can drop the loot chance from the current ~40% to maybe 10%. Scavenging through towns becomes more than just "go to the red brick building and get out".

[Drontal 0]

Map is also littered with wrecks of military vehicles and convoys. It would be awesome to see some loot spawn in these vehicles. Maybe a low/very low chance of mid-tier stuff (ammo, rations, equipment) but mostly nothing or just junk. Chance of finding something should still be high enough to make every wreck worth checking even though in most cases you find nothing. Also locations of wrecks could be randomized in every restart?

[Macenzie 79]

Sure you can get the best military loot in the NW but good luck finding blood bags and other medical equipment. That is in the NE. I think that is a rather good trade off.

[bennyandthejets 12]

Why cant there simply be more good lootspawns spread around the map?

THIS. Seriously, what is Rocket's reasoning by having 1-2 good loot locations & have everything else garbage? Half the small towns aren't even worth going to as they spawn empty tin cans & nothing else.

EVERYTHING should be random. That way greifers can't just camp 1-2 spots, get comfortable & snipe all day. Force them to move.

[ED-E 4]

I agree.

Loot is very unbalanced at the moment. I actually made a thread about it a coulpe of days ago. Goes like this:

1) The current state of this mod allows a player go to a deer stand and collect hand grenades, .50 Cal ammo, assault rifles ect. On the other hand, there is no chance to stumble upon a rangefinder in said stand, not even a hunting rifle, even though it would make alot more sense. Likewise you can find Army clothing in civilian homes but not in 'Military' buildings. This is two of many examples of the unbalanced loot system as I see it at the moment. It would be nice if it the item locations would be redone in a future build.

2) I suggest that High end equipment, be it weapons or other forms of gear, would be alot harder to come by. I have, during the last few days, found 9 crash sites for a total of 12 FAL's, the so called 'rarest weapon in the game'. Experiences like this paired with the fact that alot of players could care less if they die, as they can easily get geared up again makes for a valid reason to re-do the spawn probabilities of certain items(if not all). Make the game about surviving, about cherishing every item you find to aid you in doing so, and make high end items feel special, instead of "Oh sweet, an AS50! Oh wait, already got one of those"

[FrostDMG 398]

Whoa! Ed-e you just summed up my idea perfectly. I also thought it didn't make sense to get ghillie in civvie houses! I also agree how there is a shitload of towns you simply wanna skip or raid only one building. NWAF lootspaen clusterfuck is quite irritating too