Love this game!

[NewPlayer80 15]

Hey guys I just started playing and I have been having a lot of fun so far.  I run for hours from town to town, through the forest, and along the coast.  It is a blast and the graphics are great.  The infected do not bother me because they cannot catch me so I just run right on past them.  I have not seen any other players yet though but I only have about 20 hours into the game.  So what do players like to do in this game besides running and searching for food?

[S3V3N 1402]

Hey guys I just started playing and I have been having a lot of fun so far.  I run for hours from town to town, through the forest, and along the coast.  It is a blast and the graphics are great.  The infected do not bother me because they cannot catch me so I just run right on past them.  I have not seen any other players yet though but I only have about 20 hours into the game.  So what do players like to do in this game besides running and searching for food?

Hi, welcome to the community! Nice to hear you are enjoying yourself and it is great to explore the map; I wish I could relive those moments myself :)

 

What I like to do is to search for tents (in the smaller apartment blocks) or barrels (in sheds/industrial areas) and find a good campsite. I set myself up and start gathering supplies that are not massively important, but useful nonetheless. These include:

 

knife, axe, fertilizer, water bottle, axe, lockpick, cooking pot+tripod, seeds, saline bag, blood bag, bandages, charcoal tablets, ammo + weapon parts, rainproof clothing, sewing kits, burlap, rope, spray cans, car battery, battery, sparkplugs, wheels

 

I usually don't start collecting the car parts, until I am fairly well equipped. The weapons are pretty customisable, so it may take a while until you get hold of all the parts you need to assemble your weapon of choice. Police stations are a good place to get decent pistols (Glock seems to spawn the most + most magazines, at the moment). You can also find MP5 parts and magazines, as well as silencers (which I usually find in broken down police cars). 

 

After you have the means to defend yourself, you can set off to explore more dangerous areas (military bases/airfield). There is some different loot there and certain magazine types for the assault rifles only spawn there and at chopper crashes. Chopper crashes are great to find, but going after them on foot is a game of chance (only 3 spawn per server);this is all much easier with some friends and in a car you repaired. 

 

The cool thing about making camps is that you are never really sore about losing your gear. When you go looting, only take the essentials and leave most of the ammo and magazines at camp, so in case you die you can get back there and re-equip yourself. When you go exploring special locations, like Prison Island (you need to swim there), don't forget to dry yourself (make a fire) and get plenty of food with you; you'll find some there, though. 

 

You can make an improvised fishing rod (chop firewood and you get a long stick - be careful to make sure your axe doesn't drop on the ground ~ it's buggy right now). Combine the long stick with a rope to make a rod, then add a worm (dig up worms with knife or shovel/pickaxe/rake on meadows) to a fishing hook, attach to the rod and you can sit down and start fishing. After catching a fish you must prepare it with a knife and cook it with a sharpened/long stick or in a pot; you can also make improvised fishing hooks with a knife and bone. It's not really necessary to fish to survive, but I enjoy it nontheless. If the meat gets too dark/blackish you'll get food poisoning though.  The same as for fishing applies to hunting, though there aren't that many animals right now. I think they have been reduced in favor of more zombies; it'll probably change in the next patch.

 

Except with hunting, you can skin the animals and get pelts, which can be turned into leather inside a barrel (with fertilizer). And then you can make leather clothes, backpack and bottles, as well as dye them darker with nails or oak bark (in the barrel). You can also cook and eat the meat, of course.

 

You can farm too and also cook these vegetables. 

 

There is really a lot to do and the encounters with other people are the most interesting part. Most will kill you on sight, but if you watch them for a while and approach carefully (from where they can't see you) you might actually get into a conversation and find some friends. (hold caps lock to talk) Together it is much easier to scavenge for vehicle parts and get a car going again. If you are still exploring the map, these locations may be a bit hard to remember and find for you right now. But you can always run with other people, who know their way around. 

 

The coast is pretty dangerous, but there is also a lot of action going on there. I am playing a more relaxed way now and keep off the coast for the most part. I could go on and on...this game has a lot going for it, but it's mainly the random encounters (with AI or players) that make it unique. Glad you are enjoying your time and what a good time to join you chose! There will be a lot more coming with the next patches, including base-building, helicopters and bikes and motorbikes. 

Edited December 30, 2015 by S3V3N

[tobias winfro 305]

Wow S3V3N, I jumped in this thread to give a bit of advice but it looks like you covered everything....so beans to you. Glad to see peeps still giving advice to the new players

[thatguyoverthar11 47]

Hey guys I just started playing and I have been having a lot of fun so far.  I run for hours from town to town, through the forest, and along the coast.  It is a blast and the graphics are great.  The infected do not bother me because they cannot catch me so I just run right on past them.  I have not seen any other players yet though but I only have about 20 hours into the game.  So what do players like to do in this game besides running and searching for food?

players mostly enjoy killing each other and behaving like complete psychopaths but there are a few friendly people here and there. best advice is to be wary and listen to the fantastic advice given by s3v3n.

[Mad Vlad 43]

Hey dude almost the most important crafting you can do is to make an improvised backpack. Find a burlap sack and some rope(or make your own rope from combining two stacks of rags, 6 in a stack). Drag the rope onto the burlap sack and choose the option to make a courier bag. Leave it on the ground and go to a bush or tree and cut some sticks(you'll need a stack of 3). Drag the sticks onto the courier bag and bam! You got yourself one of the best backpacks in the game.

It's little things like this and learning how to craft splints(a stick and a rag) that'll make life in this hellish dayZ that much easier.

[NewPlayer80 15]

Hey great!  Thanks for all the tips and help guys!  Wow I have a lot to do now :)

[eno 1049]

Hey great!  Thanks for all the tips and help guys!  Wow I have a lot to do now :)

 

Question for you- 

 

What were YOU hoping to get out of the game? When you first logged in, what were you expecting? 

[Mad Vlad 43]

Hey great!  Thanks for all the tips and help guys!  Wow I have a lot to do now :)

This game offers alot, just it's left to you to decide what you get from it.

No hand holding or any pre set purpose other than survival.

[pilgrim* 3514]

Hey guys I just started playing and I have been having a lot of fun so far.  I run for hours from town to town, through the forest, and along the coast.  It is a blast and the graphics are great.  The infected do not bother me because they cannot catch me so I just run right on past them.  I have not seen any other players yet though but I only have about 20 hours into the game.  So what do players like to do in this game besides running and searching for food?

 

One other thing you do in the game besides running and searching for food  - is you DIE.

 

this game = the worse it gets = the better it gets = the better it gets = the worse it gets

 

Seriously - for what to do - ?

you could start looking a "Beginners guide" - there are several

The "How was your Day(Z)"  thread - with lots of entries, players stories

Then check the videos in the Gallery section

 

Then take it from there:

A whole List of Helpful (technical) threads about the game and playing.

A Tourist Guide - one of a several, to some strange things on the map

New Player discussion - loads of different topics

 

Then just look around the list of forums and pick what seems interesting

find out about  'gearing-up' about 'KOS' and 'meeting other players'

and cannibals  (oh yes, them..)

and about 'tents' and 'vehicles'

and about "crafting"  (for instance crafting a stone knife is easy and very useful)

(I don't know which are the 'good' threads, players talk about those things all over the place)

I do know where there are good threads on hunting and survival, in case living in the country away from the towns attracts you:

Wilderness Survival and Hunting two instruction guides by Tatanko

 

hmm.. there are so many subjects  ... where to start?

(start by trying to stay alive just for a little while, but don't worry if you DONT)

 

* *

For 2 outside sites that are full of information:

 

DayZ Wiki

http://dayz.gamepedia.com/DayZ_Standalone_Wiki

has searchable info on items (loot): guns, equipment, food,  etc plus tips and tricks and how-tos

and DayzDB for info (and the best Map)

http://dayzdb.com/map#7.055.128

(the map is Good, but some of this site's database searchable loot  is not quite up to date

- items and crafting are added to the game faster than DayDB updates them, but  is useful reference on plenty of stuff

 

 

xx pilgrim

 

 

xx

Edited January 1, 2016 by pilgrim

[Mad Vlad 43]

Oh yea huge tip here. For the first few months try to only use the in game maps and embrace the feeling of being lost in a new land.

I really miss those first few months, figuring the lay of the land while trying to survive. Trust me it's well worth it. Don't give in to the darkside of online maps(you don't really want your hand held do ya??).