Did I do something wrong? Sniping in the Airfield

[FrigginTommyNoble 61]

So, I tend to be a lone wolf. I just like running the map, searching for heli crashes, farming, coming up with loot mini-games like an all-black pristine night outfit, full pristine med kits, etc. I really try to avoid player interactions, because they so rarely go well. I typically want to help people, but the few interactions I've had, I've been shot on sight, with little/no time to even assess the motives of others. So I play on one particular low-pop server almost exclusively (except when it's down): "Base of Operations - Home of SF."

 

In general, I've been questioning my approach to this game lately: Avoiding people because I don't wanna lose my gear, preferring to run away rather than engage people, playing on low-pop servers, etc. I'd had an encounter 2 days ago, a guy ran into a barracks I was looting, I drew first, gunned him down from the hip with my AUG. So I got a taste for combat, and felt justified bc I could see him raising his weapon.

 

So I ran up on NWAF, looking to loot the officer tent on the west side. I know the state of these buildings on this server. The officer's tent is the only one that seems to spawn useful loot. As usual, I crept up in the trees east of the runway and looked through the PSO-1 attached to my AK-101. I was shocked to see a fairly geared-looking dude running out of the officer tent. Then the adrenaline rush. What do I do? He's nabbing high-value loot, but I'm in no danger... yet. I'm highly geared. AK101 I found this morning, 4 mags I'd had waiting for the AK to go in, smersh vest, full Gorka. A lot to lose. A lot of firepower. Am I gonna let him take all this loot? Did he see me? I should kill him, what am I waiting for? Am I hidden enough? Am I being a p*ssy? Should I let him go?

 

All these things running through my head. I watched him from my tree as he left the barracks just north of the officer's tent. I watched him run through the warehouses. Then I caught a view of the helicopter crash he was about to loot. That's when I decided I was going to kill him. Hey, it's the NWAF. Combat zone. I'm justified. Right?

 

As he ran around the heli, I felt my heart rate surge, and consciously started taking deep breaths and relaxing my arms/shoulders. As he stopped to pick something up, I took my shot. Direct hit upper center of mass. The recoil of the AK-101 was surprisingly low (I'd never even shot it once!), and I got another one off before he started moving, also CoM.  The two that followed were on-target, but mostly ceremonial. He dropped. I took another one while he was down, to make sure. I'd seen streamers do that.

 

I ran up to his body, and as I searched his stuff, I started getting a sick feeling in my guts. I knew he'd have nothing for me. I'm really happy with my gear situation. I didn't have the heart to check his pulse, and I just ran away after barely looking through his stuff, taking nothing, hoping he was just unconscious, and he'd recover. I'm pretty sure he didn't. I didn't even think to bandage him.

 

I don't know man, I don't know if I did the right thing here. Why am I such a carebear? Or am I a monster? He wasn't a threat to me, but he probably would have killed me on sight. It's the NWAF. I've played FPS's since the original Quake. I'm a really good shot, and I hardly ever get to use my weapon. It's a game. But I've been killed on sight, and sometimes it feels like more than just a game.

 

I could definitely use some feedback here. Would you have taken the shot? Let me know why/why not.

Edited September 23, 2015 by FrigginTommyNoble

[ColonelBurton 145]

You're so cute. I remember when I lost my virginity.

[thatguyoverthar11 47]

I've been in this situation before. I was looting a building when a guy and his buddy came down the stairs. i gunned one down out of panic as they were both geared. the other guy ran into the cell and told him i had just panicked and had no desire to kill him. I let him go. Another few times i've spared players and was later shot in the back of the head the next day. Chances are, people are going to kill you. especially since there's nothing else to kill apart from the occasional animal. In truth, morality in this game is only there if you see it to be. That guy would likely have gunned you down if he had the chance so don't sweat it but next time, consider sparing a life or a traditional robbery. (holding the other player at gun point).

[VahidkinG 192]

First off, are you an author or something? i'm pretty sure your qualified to make a series for FX :P only reading this thing got me adrenaline rush :D 

 

Anyway, for now, yes. i would've take that shot. to be honest for this patch there seem to be nothing else to do here. PvP is the endgame for now. if there was lot's of Zeds around or ammo was scarce or even if the loot you had was a really hard thing to find (officer tent's bug reference here) i wouldn't shoot the guy. but meh, if there is no PvP, there is no fun (just for now).

 

i see it this way, that's totally his fault. you should check everywhere before you go and loot a heli crash site anywhere, now add NWAF to that, and it's a most. 

[FrigginTommyNoble 61]

I've been in this situation before. I was looting a building when a guy and his buddy came down the stairs. i gunned one down out of panic as they were both geared. the other guy ran into the cell and told him i had just panicked and had no desire to kill him. I let him go. Another few times i've spared players and was later shot in the back of the head the next day. Chances are, people are going to kill you. especially since there's nothing else to kill apart from the occasional animal. In truth, morality in this game is only there if you see it to be. That guy would likely have gunned you down if he had the chance so don't sweat it but next time, consider sparing a life or a traditional robbery. (holding the other player at gun point).

 

That all makes sense, and kind of confirms the huge grey area of this situation.

 

 

First off, are you an author or something? i'm pretty sure your qualified to make a series for FX :P only reading this thing got me adrenaline rush :D

 

Anyway, for now, yes. i would've take that shot. to be honest for this patch there seem to be nothing else to do here. PvP is the endgame for now. if there was lot's of Zeds around or ammo was scarce or even if the loot you had was a really hard thing to find (officer tent's bug reference here) i wouldn't shoot the guy. but meh, if there is no PvP, there is no fun (just for now).

 

i see it this way, that's totally his fault. you should check everywhere before you go and loot a heli crash site anywhere, now add NWAF to that, and it's a most. 

 

Heh, thanks. I just enjoy writing a lot, don't get much chance to do it these days. Glad you enjoyed it :)

 

I totally agree about PvP being the end game right now, and honestly, I think that's what drove me to pull the trigger. I'm super geared.. but if I'm not gonna engage anyone, or make use of tactical advantages, then what's the point?

[Herkyl Puuro 52]

Really a good read, thanks!

 

Cool thing in Dayz you tend to think about this stuff more than in other strictly PvP games. You value what you have more, and because of this you can be sympathetic to the other guy, if you relate to his position. In Clint Eastwood's excellent western film Unforgiven the main character says "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have." That sums up the general idea really well. With experience you can develop different ways to resolve problematic situations, but there's really no need to feel guilty in any case, if you don't shoot anyone every now then you won't have that experience. The goal is to stay alive and when meeting other survivors it's often hesitation that gets you killed. You can easily freeze for a second wondering should I shoot, try to talk, find cover or move away, and a lot of things can happen in that time.

 

And as you said, it's the NWAF. People are often extremely jumpy in military loot zone, so it's not the place to make friends anyway. You played the survival game well actually, you kept alert, focused and on top of the situation. If the other guy knew how to find the NWAF - well then he should have known better than to run around blind and loot crazed if there is even one more player on the same server.

[Bororm 1156]

it's just a video game do whatever you feel like doing (as long as it's not cheating of course), don't care about other people's opinions/motivations.  play for yourself and what you feel is fun.

 

there is no wrong and right, it's just a game.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Bororm

[Weyland Yutani (DayZ) 1159]

Hey, it's the NWAF. Combat zone. I'm justified. Right?

Definitely. High reward comes with high risk. Consider it tuition.

 

[Parazight 1594]

Try to get over the whole loot thing.  Gear is pretty irrelevant.  

 

Understand that many people don't care what happens to their toon, why should they care about yours?

[SpoonsandForks 78]

-snip-

 

It all depends on your playstyle, some people take it easy with gunfire, others KoS to their hearts desire..

In this case, you took a shot, and felt that it was uncalled for. And it's good to question your own judgement from time to time.

My playstyle is mostly one of caution. I generally don't shoot people that aren't a direct threat, but I've gotten gunned down from time to time just for being there.

But, if you want to, try to stash your gear away safely, and just go out and talk to people, It can be great (most of the time it's just awkward and weird) but from time to time you run into good people and have more fun playing because they are funny guys, or, you have a good time because you're paranoid.

I do, as always, recommend trying all sorts of playstyles, just to have variation, and for me, it's just as scary to talk to a MFer as it is to go rambo on him.

another thing is to watch people, preferrably through a scope, and count how many times he could have been dead.. 

The interesting bit is that at some point, you realize that behind those running pixels, there is a player. And that player could be just some douche, or a future friend (on steam)

[Grimey Rick 3417]

Not only would I have killed him, I would have released my manly paste inside of his corpse. Just sayin'.

[Gobbokirk 546]

This is the great thing about this game, there is no right or wrong way to play it.
Sure in some way it's "easier" to just shoot anything that moves, but that doesn't mean it is wrong.

Not saying OP did that in this case, but he did nothing wrong. Just one of many options he had.

Sometimes you let them go, sometimes you talk to them and maybe trade, other times you shoot.

In the end it's all up to what you choose to do.

 

You'll also make the wrong move at times, leading to your own death, but then you just got to think what to learn from that and hopefully do better next time.

[Death By Crowbar 1213]

I like FrigginTommyNoble's view on the game here. He's not a KOS, and judging by the timidness and downer after slaying the dude he fully gets the impact of death and the setback it causes the victim. That's good - that means you're not a desensitized douchebag and you play and view the game in a similar manner to myself. Don't lose that! In the end, NWAF is a deadly place, if you hadn't killed him I'd wager there was a 95% chance he'd try to kill you if he saw you. You didn't do anything wrong here. Keep that survivor mentality, remember the cost of life in each interaction, it's a good thing.

 

Beans.  :beans:  :beans:  :beans:

[Death By Crowbar 1213]

Not only would I have killed him, I would have released my manly paste inside of his corpse. Just sayin'.

That's grimey bro...

[eno 1049]

At this point it's the moral reflection afterwards that I'm enjoying about this game the most. Otherwise it's just like every other game that does practically everything better than DayZ right now (I know, I know... it's an Alpha). 

 

I look forward to taking someone down with my team, quickly tie them up or handcuff them before they die and then give them that epi out of unconsciousness... maybe give them the morphine for their broken leg... Actually create an opportunity to take yourself AND the guy you have handcuffed down a completely unique road each time. It doesn't happen often but I've REALLY gotten a charge out of it when it has happened. 

 

Looking at your scenario as others have said if you hadn't killed him there's a chance you're writing this story about how you let him go and he ended up stumbling into you later and killing you. Or you approach him and he shoots you on sight. Or you approach him and became friends on steam and having a partner in crime changed your gaming experience... 

 

We all know the risks we're taking in that area- especially right now. He'll have probably been kicking himself for getting sloppy so next time he'll pay more attention. Or he'll just keep doing the same thing and just write you off as a dumb KOSer who isn't playing the game right. 

[odin_lowe 3686]

:D   Really enjoyed reading that! I'm glad you used the Ak101 at least once before you lose it to death, wipes, bugs or anything else. 

It reminds me of my first few hours playing the game.  :thumbsup:

 

But technically, yes, you did something wrong, as you killed someone. Was he a threat to you? Of course not. Did it payed off in the end? Absolutely not, since you didn't take anything from him. Was it worth it?? Totally, as you've testing your weapon and got some training, both in game and in real life with your controlled breathing and trying to stay calm.

 

Like many others pointed out, there's no wrong way to play DayZ, unless you're cheating or exploiting glitches.

 

I'm almost at 1500 hours now, and only killed about 25 players in total, while I encountered more than 200. I died do to KoS or treachery only a handful of times. But, that's just me. 

 

The game is not about gear really, it's a bit about survival, and a lot about the experiences you get within the game, make them good or bad. For me, player interaction is the foundation of the game, and makes things very interesting.

 

One of my most memorable experiences I had, was about a year ago on experimental, when I encountered a guy who didn't speak english, and didn't have a mic. He wasn't hostile, and in the end we played together for about 45 mins, only using gestures and basic words in chat. For the first 15-20 mins, I was always looking over my shoulder, just in case. But after sharing food, ammo, and defending each other from the infected, trust was gained. And when we finally parted ways, it was done in a civilized matter, and was bitter-sweet as I knew I wouldn't see him around again. With the language barrier, there was no way we could have shared steam info and play again. But in the end, the experience itself made this encounter much more meaningful than anything else I had experienced before, and even after that. The virtual apocalypse sure is an interesting place!! There's still hope out there!  :lol:

 

Safe travels survivor!  B)

 

edit: Also, I agree that military areas are more "hotspots" combat areas, but that being said, I've been killed more times in cities than at military locations...

I met this guy at Myshkino tent city, talked to him from outside the barrack, and when he answered, I came in. We talked for a bit and we traded some items. I gave him a mag for his AK-74, and he gave me ammo for my blaze95. Not all encounters in military areas end up in death, but, still, be careful around those areas.  ;)

 

Edited September 23, 2015 by Odin Lowe

[Killawife 599]

MURDERER!

[Tactical Nuke 47]

I love interactions, I love to KOS too, just depends on the mood I'm in. My favourite interaction was having two guys with broken legs locked in a police station cell, unable to unlock the door because they had been stripped and couldn't punch the door open. But at NWAF nine times out of ten it is a kill or be killed scenario, people who go there go their knowingly that there would be a very good chance of dieing.

[Irish. 4886]

I recently killed 4 players in 1 day. Lately that is not my normal playstyle, so when it happened I went through varying degrees of emotions after killing each of them.

 

2 were totally on accident.. I simply "ran" into them and had no plan of shooting, it was more reactionary and afterward I actually did feel bad. One I stalked him for a bit, and he sort of ran into me.. when he saw me we were 3m apart.. he just froze, and having my pistol out, I reacted without much thought and took him down. I told him over the mic that I was sorry. I wasn't really planning anything but when he froze like he did, I had a split second to decide what to do. That was at the NWAF, and I killed the other player almost the exact same way shortly afterward and not far from my last encounter. Both of the kills I got almost nothing of value from, other than experience.

 

The other 2 felt great. Like adrenaline rush, hands shaking fantastic. I spawned back into Myshkino after losing connection and taking a short break. I ran towards the officers hut, and with only 2 other players on I felt rather cavalier about my actions... until I ran smack into a player on his way out the door. I bolted, completely in shock. I took cover, and hid hoping he would take off. To my surprise, seconds later he came around the corner, gun in hand seemingly hunting me down. I shot, shot, and shot until he dropped. My sks had done the damage needed and I was now safe. But my senses were on alert, and I instantly felt like the other player on the server was probably close by.. I waited nervously. While I was waiting I noticed the player I took down had an AUG on his back.. since I had an SKS with almost no ammo left, greed and desperation took over my sense of well being and I crawled to his body to see what I could get. In the next few minutes my gear went from lacking to fully loaded and that initial feeling I had of danger quickly faded away to nothing. I forgot entirely that there may be someone else around and after looting him I simply stood up and walked away. I headed into a tent to go through my gear and organize it all. After I got done, about 10 minutes later, I stepped outside. That's when I saw the other player.. PANIC! I ran around the back of the tent and took cover. I peaked out and he was gone.. now real panic set in. I could tell he was fully geared with M4 and all the trimmings. But after a moment of reflection I realized he must be panicking too, since he had all that time to come get me, an open shot on me, and still he ran rather than move in for the kill. So I flanked all the way around his last known position. As I came around the tents, I saw him hiding inside one of the tents. I ran towards him, out of view, dropped into prone behind a trash pile and crawled closer.. He was swinging back and forth, doing everything he could to keep an eye out for me. I simply went from prone to crouch, took steady aim and killed him with a clean shot. I checked the player list and it was still just the 3 of us on the entire server. I went from panic, to adrenaline rush.. to feeling like rambo all in a few minutes. It was exciting and not one moment passed where I felt guilty or bad for what transpired. My gear went from fresh spawn with an SKS, to fully kitted out with everything I could possibly hold. It was great. All of this happened a few weeks back now, and my player is still alive and has made it all around the map since then. 

 

Dayz is sort of like life. You have to learn to enjoy the ups and the downs. The good times and the bad. Its mostly about the little things, but you have to also be prepared to take action when things get hectic. Plans can fall apart quickly so you have to learn from each mistake what works best for you. But I like your approach OP, talking it out is always a good course of action. Keep your head up and enjoy your time here in Chernarus.  B)

[FrigginTommyNoble 61]

I like FrigginTommyNoble's view on the game here. He's not a KOS, and judging by the timidness and downer after slaying the dude he fully gets the impact of death and the setback it causes the victim. That's good - that means you're not a desensitized douchebag and you play and view the game in a similar manner to myself. Don't lose that! In the end, NWAF is a deadly place, if you hadn't killed him I'd wager there was a 95% chance he'd try to kill you if he saw you. You didn't do anything wrong here. Keep that survivor mentality, remember the cost of life in each interaction, it's a good thing.

 

Beans.  :beans:  :beans:  :beans:

 

Right on, thanks for the insights. You know, I've been watching a lot of streams lately, and it's desensitized me enough to start taking more risks and choosing fight over flight. One thing I didn't really make clear in the OP was I feel like I need to practice using weapons in high-stress/deadly situations. I've been just running around a lot, and feel like I'm losing my gunplay chops, and that's reducing my ability to survive. As I mentioned, I hadn't even fired my AK-101 at all until I shot at that dude. I felt badly unprepared for life/death combat.

 

I don't really like going to the airfield because I know the chances of a deadly encounter are high. But between the combination of top-tier loot and the lack of any other form of end game, I find myself there all the time. I would avoid military loot altogether if there was a more fulfilling survival system in place.

 

But I must admit, it's endlessly fascinating to me just how strongly those encounters effect people on a fundamental, almost animal level (hence the adrenaline).

[Mookie (original) 799]

I'm much less (ok, a bit less...) worried about losing gear to KOS since persistence came back. You can run around in random kit with a half-decent gun and interact. If you get KOS'd, so what? All you have to do is respawn and get back to your stash...

[FrigginTommyNoble 61]

I'm much less (ok, a bit less...) worried about losing gear to KOS since persistence came back. You can run around in random kit with a half-decent gun and interact. If you get KOS'd, so what? All you have to do is respawn and get back to your stash...

 

Yeah same here. I've been playing solid for about a month, and haven't died once, so I have a couple of just-in-case stashes spread out across the map (so if they're found, I won't lose everything). It will help take some of the teeth out of the permadeath.

 

I really like that suggestion, of running around in gear you're not too worried about losing, as a means to practice interacting with people. Everyone seems to say the best part of this game is interacting with others, and given how different that is from my experience, the "problem," if there is one, lies squarely with me, not the game or others, necessarily.

Edited September 24, 2015 by FrigginTommyNoble

[q.S Sachiel 470]

I've been in this situation before. I was looting a building when a guy and his buddy came down the stairs. i gunned one down out of panic as they were both geared. the other guy ran into the cell and told him i had just panicked and had no desire to kill him. I let him go. Another few times i've spared players and was later shot in the back of the head the next day. Chances are, people are going to kill you. especially since there's nothing else to kill apart from the occasional animal. In truth, morality in this game is only there if you see it to be. That guy would likely have gunned you down if he had the chance so don't sweat it but next time, consider sparing a life or a traditional robbery. (holding the other player at gun point).

I've done this before too, and i told the guy much like you did.

But then i shot him as soon as I felt he was not able to retalliate, as I'm superstitious about the niceties of people in DayZ.  There's no cause for him to turn on me or stalk me now because he's growing worms.

Leave no witnesses where you can, and if someone makes you reasonably uncomfortable or i get that belly feel, let slip the dogs of war and kill everything that moves. 

 

Honour and a misguided sense of trust died long ago.  The only people i put my faith in are those who catch me when I'm tired of surviving.

[IgnobleBasterd 161]

 

 

I really like that suggestion, of running around in gear you're not too worried about losing,

Good idea. I always adapt a whole another way of playing as soon as I get a hold of the first piece of higher end gear.

 

By the way, I want to point out that I have (in a moment of "what the hell, let's see what happens") approached a three man group, in a friendly manner, at NWAF once. All of us were military geared. It ended with us chatting for a while and then adding each other as friends on Steam.

Edited September 24, 2015 by IgnobleBasterd

[ColdAtrophy 1850]

Looking at your scenario as others have said if you hadn't killed him there's a chance you're writing this story about how you let him go and he ended up stumbling into you later and killing you. 

 

LIES! That never happens.  :D