What's Your Survival "Workflow?"

[Jhuto 0]

Hey everyone!

Like many on this forum, I am just recently getting into DayZ, and I'm loving it so far.

One of the greatest things about this mod is its apparent ability to cater to many different play styles -- and while one style may not be as "effective" as the next, most seem at least viable.

My question for you all is this: What is your survival "workflow" when you start a new character? Do you go straight for a big city with a "nothing to lose" mindset, trying to stuff your pockets? Or do you take it slow, scoping out houses and barns for scraps of food and starter weapons? And after you get started, what's next? Just interested in reading about your different play styles.

PS: One of the main problems I run in to as a new player is starvation. For some reason, I am able to find soda and water at a passable rate, but food has been incredibly scarce for me. Any tips?

Looking forward to learning from you all!

[guidez 180]

I would say gun it into a town, you have nothing to lose, then live up north. I did this in the Quick Start Elektro guide at the GuideZ channel.

[RoboMike75 1]

I tend to stay away from the small towns and barns u see there is almost always nothing there and for the food thing i had the same problem its best to hunt ur own food

[void.false@gmail.com 300]

When I was a noob, I slowly crawled in small villages, sneaking past the zombies, grabbing every shitty gun I've found, slowly building my character.

But then I was introduced to the forums and quickly learned to play as a PRO:

Goto Balota/Berezino (whichever is closer to your spawn) and server hop whlile being inside military tents, hangars or deer stands until you get yourself decent equipment. Then move to the hills around Electro/Cherno and pop some noobs with your military grade weapon.

[Jhuto 0]

I tend to stay away from the small towns and barns u see there is almost always nothing there and for the food thing i had the same problem its best to hunt ur own food

Yeah, I've got a boat load of raw meat and a couple of piles of firewood in my inventory, but no matches... any particularly good places to find them? I've heard that they pop up in stores pretty often, but do they ever spawn outside of large cities?

[RoboMike75 1]

I tend to stay away from the small towns and barns u see there is almost always nothing there and for the food thing i had the same problem its best to hunt ur own food

Yeah' date=' I've got a boat load of raw meat and a couple of piles of firewood in my inventory, but no matches... any particularly good places to find them? I've heard that they pop up in stores pretty often, but do they ever spawn outside of large cities?

[/quote']

well not from wat ive seen i found them unside the little cafe bar builkdings a few time besides stores

[stimpen 0]

When I was a noob' date=' I slowly crawled in small villages, sneaking past the zombies, grabbing every shitty gun I've found, slowly building my character.

But then I was introduced to the forums and quickly learned to play as a PRO:

Goto Balota/Berezino (whichever is closer to your spawn) and server hop whlile being inside military tents, hangars or deer stands until you get yourself decent equipment. Then move to the hills around Electro/Cherno and pop some noobs with your military grade weapon.

[/quote']

is server hopping working? like I think always when I spawn there is no loot near me. Just at there is no zombies near me when spawn it seems like there is no loot either?

[jaggardos 126]

lolol, If I get a chance I try and spawn near cherno and run around looking for survivors, then just keep drawing zombies to them. Having no weapon means no stopping to aim and being vulnerable to being shot etc. Also making an annoying noise over the direct comms is always good, and attracts zombies better.

If im being serious though, then my main priority is to get TOOLS and a BAG, maybe a weapon, say a hatchet. But most of the buildings like the pub, appartments etc will have tools and guns. Then food and drink, and also check out the military hospital camp tents, cos its possible (but rare) for them to spawn rare weapons like DMRs. By this time I would have met up with teammates but if not then its up to stary sober, then the NW airfield to do some server swapping. It honestly only take about a day of playing to get back to a decent state (plenty of food, drink, ammo, tools etc. High grade stuff like GPS etc should be the least of your worries.

[Merc4tor 11]

- Wake up

- RUN into next town

- RUN into buildings

- Find knive

- Find hatchet

- Find matches

- Find waterbottle

- RUN out of town

- Find living meat

- Kill living meat

- Gut living (now dead) meat

- Make fire

- Cook meat

- Find water

- Fill bottle

- Drink water

- Fill bottle

- Find a pit

- Sleep

- Weak up

- Yawn

- Crawl out of my pit

- Eat cooked meat

- Drink fresh water

- Go find living meat

- Kill living meat

- Gut living (now dead) meat

- Make fire

- Cook meat

- Find water

- Fill bottle

- Drink water

- Fill bottle

- Go to bush

- Hide in bush

- Wait of player

- Ambush player

- Eventually kill player (or become "friends" with player)

- Rob player

- Hide the body

- Go back to my hole

- Sleep

[trashcanman 15]

Depends on where I spawn:

If right next to Cherno/Elektro:

I make a suicide run for a couple of primo buildings. If I luck out, great, if I die, so be it.

If anywhere else:

I head north hitting stands, barns and grocery stores and make my way to the airfield and the military spawns up north.

Regarding starvation, hitting grocery stores frequently ensures one of two things happens:

1) You get enough canned food to live

2) You finally get matches/hatchet/knife and can cook meat

Either way food problem solved.

[Nyz 42]

Leave the coast. Dont pass go. Dont collect $200. Ive had 3 characters in 4 weeks with this strategy. Usually die after ive been drinking.

[Hetstaine 10852]

Dont server hop, its like playing monopoly with yourself and being the banker , loaning yourself cash and buying the board, Yes..you win..but how lame and boring. Its not about winning. Some people will never get this.

I do the city run first. Most important thing is morphine..without it your dead. Next most important thing is a bigger backpack so i can carry enough food , morph , ammo etc for the journey inland. As long as i have my main items..Morph,bigger backpack matches,knife, extra bandages, painkillers,water bottle and at least a winnie or a mak i am set to travel. Even with only a mak i will head inland and count on a barn or deerstand to give me a better weapon.

I dont hang around the cities trying to get a map or a watch or a compass or whatever else, these i will find at a castle or somewhere else on my journey up the map.

[RaoD_Guitar 0]

if i spawn near cherno/elektro: go away north or west, cause i dont like be shot within 5 minutes. search for a city with supermarket and look after red brickhouses and barns at little citys on the way to it. if i got basic survival tools and/or enough food/water go to common military camps, but not n.w, cause i dont like to be shot after long time looting. if i got good weapons - shoot at zombies and be killed because i didnt watch my back where 10 others stood or instant shoot at survivors whenever i see one, cause i dont like to be shot anyway - and be killed by all the zombies around.

E: serverhopping is for dickheads :D

[ace5762 (DayZ) 20]

Go to the nearest large farm/industrial building to acuire a hatchet. Then head north, looting as many residential areas as possible.

Aquire-

Map, Compass, Drink, Food, sidearm, meds, etc.

After finding a matchbox, hunt and take meat from an animal, cook the meat and buck up any lost blood.

After that my goals and paths are different each time.

[steven.rogers909@gmail.com 0]

I tend to hit up the closest supermarket outside wherever I spawn. If I get shot, I get shot. Big deal.

If I survive, I usually try and jet out north of Cherno or Elektro further inland. My goals are different once that happens.

[Tomotron 0]

I usually assault as many deer stands as I can from the start because they're not heavily guarded and provide a good chance for AK weapons, water bottles and ammo. From there I usually head to a moderately sized town which has supermarket to find food and tools. From there I usually head to Stary military camps for additional firepower and from there to NW airfield. I usually find players willing to help each other around the airfield and then the process of finding and fixing vehicles.

[Deviant (DayZ) 43]

Assuming a fresh restart, no tents, no gear, no intel on your dead body location, etc.

Weapon is first priority. Anything that fires a bullet. Second is chemlights.

After that is food and water, then slowly upgrading your equipment. Once you have enfield/CZ550/basic milspec weaponry, go for NVGs. NVGs are what separates the boys from the men.

After that, set up 1 tent hidden inside a tree. Easy to get to, but not obvious. Patrol until you have survivable gear, med supplies, a few changes of weapons.

I personally like to vary my weapon loadout depending on what I'm going to do. CQB PvP is always AKM/FAL. Range PvP Is always L85/M16/SVD/DMR w/ PDW. As long as I have both of the best, I don't hoard past a backup.

[miragexl 33]

Spawn, Look at a map to find myself; if not near cherno respawn.

Loot some major buildings and run north to the smaller towns find an ak-47 or something similiar then head for NW Airfield and loot that, once finished i normally do a helicopter crash site hide and seek.

[BurroDiablo 0]

You have nothing to lose when you begin so I usually head to Cherno or Elektro to loot a weapon and some supplies. If I'm successful, I head North to start looting villages and deer stands to collect any more essentials I've missed. I've not got as far as looting military bases or airfields yet (except the one at Balota), but that's my next objective if I don't get eaten or murdered before I get there. Once I'm set up with a tent, NVG's and a Ghillie suit, I'll probably move out to the wilderness and start to build myself some transport like all the other Yeti's.

[Kophka 109]

I've felt the temptation to play to win a few times, but it really ruins the fun.

The most fun way to play this game is to be scared and cautious all the time, and react to other people how you think you would in a real scenario. :)

[Gravelsack 3]

I always skip Cherno and Electro, and run for the nearest red roofed barn with the two staircases (you know the ones). Here you can usually pick up a basic survival kit and a weapon or two.

My next priority is acquiring hunting knife, matches, hatchet, and water bottles. Once you have these things you are no longer tied to towns for your survival. You only need to visit them for gear and ammo, which means that you can skip all of the sheds and crap and target the better buildings.

Next I prioritize compass and map, so that I can navigate effectively.

Then I start hitting deer stands. One right after another. I'll admit, I use one of the online maps that shows the locations of the deer stands. It's technically cheating, but if I could make persistent notes on my in game map, then I wouldn't use the online cheat maps, because I would make my own.

After that? I usually get some good weapons, get way too overconfident, and wind up getting myself killed.

[SLASH-7 27]

Hit a series of barns/tree stands on the way to my camp, and then go hang out in Berezino until I die.

[Gravelsack 3]

Hit a series of barns/tree stands on the way to my camp

I want a camp, but I've only ever found 1 tent in the month+ I've been playing.

[Lukio (DayZ) 24]

1st goal: Morphine, Melee weapon, large backpack

Wake up, go to nearest hospital, fill backpack with as much morphine as possible, go to pubs and residentials for at least a czech backpack, go to any industrial, grab axe, bug out.

2nd goal: Side-arm, Food, Soda, Canteen, Tools (Compass/Map etc.)

Visit Residentials & Hunting stands

3rd goal: Get high powered rifled

Any AK/M4 variant with sufficient ammo will do

4th goal: Hunt animals, cook food, maintain blood level above 9000.

From there on its up to everyone individually what he does I guess.

[InversionSR 0]

- Wake up

- RUN into next town

- RUN into buildings

- Find knive

- Find hatchet

- Find matches

- Find waterbottle

- RUN out of town

- Find living meat

- Kill living meat

- Gut living (now dead) meat

- Make fire

- Cook meat

- Find water

- Fill bottle

- Drink water

- Fill bottle

- Find a pit

- Sleep

- Weak up

- Yawn

- Crawl out of my pit

- Eat cooked meat

- Drink fresh water

- Go find living meat

- Kill living meat

- Gut living (now dead) meat

- Make fire

- Cook meat

- Find water

- Fill bottle

- Drink water

- Fill bottle

- Go to bush

- Hide in bush

- Wait of player

- Ambush player

- Eventually kill player (or become "friends" with player)

- Rob player

- Hide the body

- Go back to my hole

- Sleep

This exactly, except sometimes im the "player'