Looting up on low pop server

[Toxmose 15]

Hi all,

I am new to Dayz and have about 10 hours under the belt on this game.

Newbie questions:

1) Is it considered cheating or lame to loot up your character on low populated servers? I started out on some random server which had about 4 players in it only. It seems fairly easy like this to get some good loot without running into somebody. But somehow it feels kinda lame to play on these servers and then go to the more populated servers once you have some gear. Is it a normal thing to do or is this considered to be unfair?

2) Our clouds still going West or is this info outdated?

3) Is it normal that all doors to buildings seem to be open? I have never been anywhere with closed doors, so even on low pop servers it seems like someone has always been there just before me. Do doors close again after server restart or how does this work?

4) My character seems to drop some stuff out of his hands when I pick up other loot. Why is that? It seems like he drops the things he has in his hands when things are on my hotkey bar. I don't really know why he does that...

5) Is it possible to fit 2 guns on your back? I tried to drop my fire axe to put on a second gun, but this seems impossible. Is one slot fixed for melee weapons only?

 

Thanks for the help and see you in Chernarus some day. I'm friendly, I guess... ;)

 

[S3V3N 1402]

1. I think it's pretty normal. Especially when you are new, the game is somewhat overwhelming, so you don't need the harsh environment of a 50 player server. I used to play on low to mid pop servers myself, until my friends insisted on more players. Now we're having a lot more fun through interaction, while on the low pop server there was more to loot and exploration was easy. Once you find a group, you will gradually start going on higher pop anyway. And a low-pop server is better to meet people and make friends ingame. 

2. Since the sky was not fixed I guess they are. I always find it easiest to orient myself with landmarks, power lines, roads, mountains. But I've known the better part of the map since ArmaII. 

3. I think doors are clientside at the moment, so what you see is not necessarily what other people see. Which is why sometimes it asks you to close a door that is open and "double" open it. What you see and what the server "sees" is different; which is also the reason, why a vehicle can get blocked at the tent exit: just close/open the tent and you can exit again.

4. For one part that's annoying and a bug. Whenever I chop wood, there is a long wooden stick on my back and it drops my axe. However, for the most part this is an inventory problem. If you keep looting, while having, e.g. your pistol drawn, there is no place for it when you try holstering the pistol. So it gets dropped on the ground, instead of in your inventory. Always make sure to group things in your inventory and keep space (e.g. a 2x2 space for a pistol) for your important items; never keep important things in your pants. Let the drinking animation end, or sometimes your gun/item in hand will stick to your right hand in a kind of gangsta-grip. Only restarting will help then. 

- you can use a pistol holster or plate carrier with holster to make sure your pistol always goes in its reserved slot (and not in your inventory space)

- you can stash a military knife in military boots, redpunk or blue rock.

- you can put a fishing hook on a boonie hat

5. Not possible, but you can carry one and have another one on your back. You can also fit many rifles in the bigger backpacks, e.g. a AKS-U, MP5 or UMP will easily fit in a high capacity vest or a large backpack. It's useful to have a melee weapon, as it can have multiple purposes (farming, cutting rock, digging for worms, logging wood, opening cans, splitting double wheels/w.crowbar)

Good luck on your travels and have fun exploring the map! Sounds like you get around.  

Edited March 21, 2016 by S3V3N

[Toxmose 15]

Thanks for your reply S3V3N, appreciate the time you took to write this out for me :)

[pilgrim* 3514]

^ This is good advice.
Also - as well as learning "the game" and the map, and how to craft, and where to find gear.. also learn how to be nervous and alert.

If you see 10 or 12 or players logged in - then maybe that is the perfect population to begin with, because then you never know when someone will turn up, nearly anyplace on the map, and there is just enough risk for you to be nervous ALL the time. Being nervous and alert is GOOD in DayZ - it is one of the main things to get used to IMO.

I think a big disadvantage for beginners is you don't have a sense of "danger" - you walk around not realizing if you are overlooked, or how other players generally move, and don't know how Paranoid you should be (you SHOULD be paranoid). Some startup players run around without looking at all and don't ever see anyone else until they meet them on the stairs in a police station.  

Unless you only want to yolo-PVP-deathmatch (you can if you want) I'd say get used to being stressed, be alert when you move.. always THINK there is another player close by, expect someone to come into that village when you are looting, check if someone is there as you move in.
- ya know - when you go in a house, do you close the door before you loot? so is there a back door open? how do you know there's no one upstairs? what do you look at when you're filling your canteen at a pump? how do you check out a police station or a barracks from a distance? if you are inside there what is your fast escape rout?

[experienced players like S3EV3N and ☣BioHaze☣ know this stuff, its total instinct in them by now]

It used to be natural to stay frosty, because there were always zombies around all habitable map locations and crash sites, to keep you awake - now there are not, so you just have to learn it the hard way.   

enjoy

Edited March 21, 2016 by pilgrim*

[Killawife 599]

You should be aware that  if you go on a server with only 4 or 5 other people in order to get guns and gear, the other people on the server are most likely there to do the same thing and chances of running into someone at NWAF for example are quite great. I've had it happen three times where I have been on a server with only one other person on it and we've ended up gunning eachother down at NWAF.

 I used to go on empty servers to loot up when I was new. Its a good way to learn the game, the map and where to find stuff. it does get quite boring after a while though so I rearely do it nowadays, mostly to get away from somewhere after a server restart or similar.

 It IS considered a bit lame but I dont see a problem with it when you are new. I do however dont understand why someone would stay on a server where no people go and use it as some sort of base of operations and then go to other full pops for Pvp. It seems a bit fishy but its quite common from what I gather. Its only possible on public servers where you carry over your character.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Killawife

[silverblade1233 18]

tip: its hard to find people in places besides towns. have fun.

[oldfossil 59]

In my opinion playing on low populated servers would be more interesting with more Z's.

At the beginning it is well worth to do to becoming familiar with the game's dynamics, then you will find more attractive some player's interaction, but consider that a lot of encounters will end in a fight to death.