my first... 20 minutes?

[freezion 0]

so i bought armaII to try out this mod, so far, I LOVE IT!

but a few things have baffled me a bit.

i got in at a bad time because of the DDOS and the maintenance, so i have seen more receiving, creating character,loading etc. than actual gameplay.

i have 20 minutes on my back so far.

most people told that i'd start off with plenty of items to get me through the first minutes.

but i have felt quite screwed starting out with nothing but bandages and a flashlight. so scavenging for weapons in cities etc. have been pretty annoying as i can't defend myself.

setting up controls etc. are pretty annoying as well, i am still trying to figure out several controls.

but i hope that the game will get a lot better when i get the hang of it.

[herd 69]

DO the arma 2 / OA tutorials first... Then youtube for "dayz beginner"

[Tranqlusion 0]

Yeah you will get use to it. It isn't that hard just takes time.

[RaoD_Guitar 0]

it will ;)

[walrus2517 27]

Pay attention to the server name before you try one out and if you get a good, quick connection, write the name down. If you find yourself on a good server and can't recall the name, when you disconnect and are shown the leaderboard it should show the server name at the top. Soon you'll have a list of good servers for yourself.

The starting gear was nerfed a couple of weeks ago so you start without a weapon and with far fewer supplies (although this is just an experiment and may be temporary)

I recommend what Roboserg said. Take 30 minutes to go through the Arma 2 in-game tutorials to get the controls down and also learn how to deal with the inventory which is a complete pain until you get used to it. Youtube has some great instructional videos too. You'll find the initial learning curve far easier in the tutorials rather than trying to learn on the fly in the live mod.

Good luck!

[freezion 0]

cheers everyone! thanks for your tips.

but yeah, i have no idea how to tackle zombie agro else than pressing disconnect sadly.

i have so far found 3 vehicles, a backpack but yet not a single weapon.

any idea how to handle such situations?

[Scooby (DayZ) 1]

I wouldn't disconnect, think of your first few characters as experiments - I've gotten a few wasted figuring out zombie aggro radius, how to lose them and so on.

[trashcanman 15]

3 ways to lose a zombie I've found...

1) Run FOREVER (like 10+ minutes)

2) Get the zombie caught on fences or walls or anything that blocks it

3) Go in the front door of a building and out the back

[Crytch 0]

but i have felt quite screwed starting out with nothing but bandages and a flashlight.

btw... how to use the flashlight? do i need anything like batteries?

i just started with flashlight but dont know how to use. :7

[phoenix487 1]

Don't know about the flashlight yet, but I've found it's just best to avoid cities and large populations of zombies (btw, my definition of 'large populations' for this game so far is more than 2), because they run super fast, super far, don't seem to really get caught on anything very easily, and about 6 times out of 10, once one starts chasing you, you're going to die.

Wow that was one hell of a run-on sentence.

Biggest tip I can give after my hour or so of play time is move slow, try not to make too much noise, and most importantly, try to stay calm.

[Jerry Gruszecki 26]

head to the airfields they are a good place to pick up weapons fast, also fire houses in the main cities have weapons always, markets and a couple others have some great weapons

http://dayzmap.info/

[BrandonWA 0]

but i have felt quite screwed starting out with nothing but bandages and a flashlight.

btw... how to use the flashlight? do i need anything like batteries?

i just started with flashlight but dont know how to use. :7

I think it is the "F" key.

[bertbargo 0]

You might be shocked with how much you can get away with when it comes to zombies.

Doubletapping shift toggles runwalk and slowly crawling or crouch-walking is *extremely* stealthy. Plus, for anything at 2 detection bars or below, you have to be litterally RIGHT NEXT to a zombie for them to aggress you.

Dont stand and run full bore: crouch by pressing X first. That reduces your noise by a lot. This is crucial when youre in a town or when you see zombies near you. Try to stay off pavement: it's 0 visibility and noisy.

The numpad 7 4 1 9 6 3 are each different directions you can look in. Holding left alt is freelook. USE THIS FREQUENTLY.

If you can see buildings, there will be zombies near. Otherwise (typically in the woods), do whatever you want to make noise cuz there wont be zombies around. Don't be scared.

USE THIS http://dayzdb.com/map Towns will have signs on the paved roads leading to them. Also, when you log in, youll see three lines of text in the lower right corner: pay CLOSE attention to the second line. That is the city you're nearest to. Look for landmarks and do your best to follow roads from place to place. You will get lost without a compass.

For starting equipment: GO HERE. http://dayzdb.com/map#5.063.125 The Cherno apartments will yield TONS of things: pistols, foods, drinks, knives, matches, meds, you name it.

Scout places out first by holding right-click on the mouse: I call it squint mode. See if you canspot zombies or players moving around before you move in. Otherwise, Charles Darwin is going to want to have a word with you whe nyou reach the pearly gates..

I was much like you when I started playing but after I successfully went to those apartments for the first time, it was a game changer.

---

but i have felt quite screwed starting out with nothing but bandages and a flashlight.

btw... how to use the flashlight? do i need anything like batteries?

i just started with flashlight but dont know how to use. :7

I think it is the "F" key.

First off it must be night time to use the flashlight. Coding-wise, the flashlight is a light-pistol. In your inventory, rightclick on the flashlight in your inv and select "remove from belt" or whatever. This will put it in your hand but it wont work if you have a pistol equipped or not enough inv space to unequip said pistol. From then on, you can just press L or H and on it goes. Whatever the key for headlights is. The lit area is very very limited small, borderline useless. Not many people want to play on pitch black servers, especially since flashlights show bandits in town exactly where you are.

[aaron8001@hotmail.com 0]

Press L to turn on your flashlight when you have it equipped. Finding a gun can be a bit of a task at times, check out hunting stands and barns! generally sticking to the coast will get you shot, i tend to venture off north. zombies are fast indeed! make use of buildings and steep hills to slow them down so you can shoot them!