General hints and tips

[BluWolve 49]

Starting a thread to give some basic hints and tips for new players, any and all info added is welcome.

HERE you will find a handy interactive map, if you wish to use one.

Generally, to use items in DayZ you will need to put them in your hands. If the item is usable you should notice a prompt to hold or press the RT when an item is in your hands. There is also a lot of context sensitive actions, where you have to have the correct item in your hands to perform a specific action.

Some items will need to be combined with others to use them effectively. You combine items by having one item in your hands, and then pressing B on the relevant item in your inventory.

I will run through some basic tips below to help new players.

How to load a gun
You will need 3 separate items. A gun, a magazine, and ammunition.
Ammunition can rarely be found loose, but mostly you will find a box of rounds.

1. Take ammo box in hands
2. RT to unbox.
3. Take Magazine in hands
4. Hover over rounds in inventory
5. Press B to combine
6. RT to load mag
7. Take Gun in hands
8. Hover over mag in inventory
9. Press B to combine

How to place items in a smaller container ie. First Aid Kit

1. Take container in hands
2. Hover over item you want to place in container in inventory
3. Press B to combine

How to open canned food

1. Take canned food in hands
2. Hover over knife or can opener in inventory
3. B to combine
4. RT to open

How to cut clothing into rags
Not all clothing can be cut up, but a lot can. Rags are useful for bandaging wounds and stopping blood loss.

1. Clothing on ground
2. Take knife or axe or other sharp object in hands
3. Hold RT to tear into rags

How to skin an animal

1. Kill animal
2. Take knife or other sharp object into hands
3. RT to skin animal

There is also a large amount of crafting options to create new items out of basic materials. There are too many to list here, but I suggest looking into these recipes on the DayZ wiki.

Hopefully these tips can help with the basics, feel free to ask about how to do anything else here and I will do my best to answer :) See you in Chernarus!

Edited August 30, 2018 by BluWolve

[L3thal Euskal 5]

Thank you very much for this topic, because during the test hour, I was only in the inventory to understand, and I almost did not buy it.
These aids will help me a lot, thanks to you ;)

[BluWolve 49]

I think I have finally figured out the inventory system on DayZ, with help from another survivor; PureMarksman. It is kind of complicated, but only because it isn't properly explained in the game. I am glad what I originally thought was a bug was actually just me not understanding the system though!

A thorough explanation follows;

A backpack has a carry capacity, indicated by a number in the top right of it's line in the inventory screen. For example, an empty "Mountain Backpack" shows 0/100. Every container has a similar capacity indicator, whether it is a backpack, a jacket, a pair of pants or whatever.

Every item has a size, indicated by the number in the top right of the items icon. For example, a "Matchbox" shows 1.

Simple so far. The next part is where it gets confusing.

Each backpack has a predetermined number of slots, and each slot holds one item. For example a "Mountain Backpack" has 8(? I am not exactly sure, can't remember) slots. There is no visual indicator for this currently in the game. Hopefully they add something like a square outline on each available slot to indicate slots in the future. But I digress.

So, a Mountain Backpack could hold 8 separate items, but the total size of all these items can not exceed 100.

Now 8 items seems like a low amount, and that's because it is. You would be hard pressed to reach your capacity with only 8 items, unless they all have a large size, which generally they do not.

How do we carry all the smaller bits and pieces we need for survival then? Im glad you asked Jimmy!

We do this by using smaller containers, such as a "First Aid Kit" or an "Ammo Box" or a "Waterproof Bag". Each one of these smaller containers will take up one slot, so you can have 8 containers in the Mountain Backpack. They have their own number of slots to store items in, and a capacity, so you can only store so many items in each container. But even if each container only has 2 slots, that's twice as many individual items you can carry.

They also have a size like every other item, so you need to make sure the total size of all your containers, plus the total size of the items in them, does not exceed the total capacity of the backpack. This isn't as complicated as it sounds, because of the aforementioned capacity number on your backpack.

So, in short; I need to organise my loot into containers, and stop being such a messy slob if I want to carry as much as possible in DayZ :)

[BluWolve 49]

Posted by Tylerall5:
In order to cook your food you must:
A) build a fire. This can be done by chopping a tree and using the sticks with rags to make a fireplace. You then use matches or a fire starter kit to light it. 
B) make a pointy stick by sharpening another stick with a sharp object. 
C) Lastly you must attach the meat to the stick and hold it over the fire. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by BluWolve

[Powell x91 96]

Great post...

 

Can I add 1 point to the opening of food cans...I'm a DayZ noob and was opening my food by placing my axe on the floor then using the can of food from my hands straight on to the axe on the floor. Worked a treat lol

[PureMarksman 47]

Excellent idea for a thread! 

Cheers for the shout out, it's actually awesome to see the community banding together. I'll see you in Chernarus brother.

[krjap87@gmail.com 0]

Anyone figured out how to open sardines. Being a ring pull it says open when in hand, but won't let me, knives and sharp tools don't work either.

[BluWolve 49]

6 hours ago, Powell x91 said:

Great post...

 

Can I add 1 point to the opening of food cans...I'm a DayZ noob and was opening my food by placing my axe on the floor then using the can of food from my hands straight on to the axe on the floor. Worked a treat lol

You can even do it with a sledgehammer, so I learned tonight!

6 hours ago, PureMarksman said:

Excellent idea for a thread! 

Cheers for the shout out, it's actually awesome to see the community banding together. I'll see you in Chernarus brother.

No worries mate. Thanks for your help! I owe you a Rasputin Kvass, hopefully catch ya soon :)

24 minutes ago, krjap87@gmail.com said:

Anyone figured out how to open sardines. Being a ring pull it says open when in hand, but won't let me, knives and sharp tools don't work either.

Are you pressing RT or holding RT? You should only have to press RT once with a ring pull and it should open.

[Baroni88 23]

Finding loot when spawning

• Spawn on coast: Head inland. Buildings tend to be more looted near the coastal areas. Move inland and you should start finding more loot.
• Spawn Inland: Head uphill. General Geography suggests this is the best way to move away from coastal areas and find more loot-ful areas.

PS: Found a castle last night (pretty sick) fell off the wall, knocked myself out, broke a leg and died of dehydration. Was pretty depressing looking but a blast to be apart of. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by Baroni88

[jedimfp 231]

if you found stone,find another and combine. stone+stone-imrpovised knife (2slots)

fire place - sticks + bark/rags/paper

improvised backpack - wooden sticks 3x + impovised courier bag (must be empty)

imrovised supressor - pet bottle + duck tape

blood bag now can use self,no need another player.take blood from your body if you are healty and combine with starter kit.you can refill some blood without another player.saline bag + starter kit also refill some blood

Edited August 30, 2018 by jedimfp

[Baroni88 23]

1 hour ago, jedimfp said:

if you found stone,find another and combine. stone+stone-imrpovised knife (2slots)

fire place - sticks + bark/rags/paper

improvised backpack - wooden sticks 3x + impovised courier bag (must be empty)

imrovised supressor - pet bottle + duck tape

blood bag now can use self,no need another player.take blood from your body if you are healty and combine with starter kit.you can refill some blood without another player.saline bag + starter kit also refill some blood

Careful with those blood bags though if it was pre-loaded with blood. I killed myself with the wrong blood type. Pay attention.

[DreadGrunt 16]

Anybody know how to make an improvised bow? I have the stick and rope but can't combine.

[MSB WILKY MSB 4]

22 minutes ago, Baroni88 said:

Careful with those blood bags though if it was pre-loaded with blood. I killed myself with the wrong blood type. Pay attention.

 

22 minutes ago, Baroni88 said:

Careful with those blood bags though if it was pre-loaded with blood. I killed myself with the wrong blood type. Pay attention.

I cant seem to find any stones i ran all down the beach and did'nt find any am i looking in the right place?

[REDEYEJEDI81 2]

Great thread lads. Helping me loads!

[jedimfp 231]

2 hours ago, MSB WILKY MSB said:

 

I cant seem to find any stones i ran all down the beach and did'nt find any am i looking in the right place?

find stones on the trail in woods

2 hours ago, DreadGrunt said:

Anybody know how to make an improvised bow? I have the stick and rope but can't combine.

bow and crosbow will be one of the last weapon to come back game

Edited August 30, 2018 by jedimfp

[jedimfp 231]

if you disconect from server, you still in game

1st measurement - 15 second and my friend dissapear (cherno)

2nd measurement - 30 second and my friend dissapear (military base north from kamenka)

find safe place before exit game

[BluWolve 49]

Food & Drink

We all need it to survive, and there are a bunch of ways to obtain it. You can find canned food in various places, but if you are struggling to find enough along the coast you will need to head inland.

We survivors have an iron gut, and can eat things that would make a normal person deathly ill. Sickness and food poisoning isn't really part of the game yet as far as I can tell. It will hopefully be added in the future, but for now staying well fed and hydrated is almost a non issue once you get the hang of finding stuff. I have eaten raw chicken, poisonous mushrooms, drank what was probably sewage water, and am still here to tell the tale.

I could be completely wrong about the sickness stuff, and maybe I am just one sip of sewage water away from death haha. It could be smarter to be safe rather than sorry. But if you are dying of thirst you need to weigh up your options and should probably take the risk.

The forests are a great source of mushrooms, and you can even find apple trees that have apples on the ground around them.

Chicken is another option, and if you hear one clucking see if you can find it for a quick feed.

As for water, you want to try and find a well or any water source. You can sip it for quick hydration, but your best bet is to find a water bottle, canteen or cooking pot so you can fill it and take it with you, to drink when you need.

I like to travel fairly light, and try to take as little food with me as possible, just one or two items at a time plus a canteen for water, and then just eat and drink what I find as I go to stay fueled.

Edited August 30, 2018 by BluWolve

[Powell x91 96]

24 minutes ago, BluWolve said:

Food & Drink

We all need it to survive, and there are a bunch of ways to obtain it. You can find canned food in various places, but if you are struggling to find enough along the coast you will need to head inland.

We survivors have an iron gut, and can eat things that would make a normal person deathly ill. Sickness and food poisoning isn't really part of the game yet as far as I can tell. It will hopefully be added in the future, but for now staying well fed and hydrated is almost a non issue once you get the hang of finding stuff. I have eaten raw chicken, poisonous mushrooms, drank what was probably sewage water, and am still here to tell the tale.

I could be completely wrong about the sickness stuff, and maybe I am just one sip of sewage water away from death haha. It could be smarter to be safe rather than sorry. But if you are dying of thirst you need to weigh up your options and should probably take the risk.

The forests are a great source of mushrooms, and you can even find apple trees that have apples on the ground around them.

Chicken is another option, and if you hear one clucking see if you can find it for a quick feed.

As for water, you want to try and find a well or any water source. You can sip it for quick hydration, but your best bet is to find a water bottle, canteen or cooking pot so you can fill it and take it with you, to drink when you need.

I like to travel fairly light, and try to take as little food with me as possible, just one or two items at a time plus a canteen for water, and then just eat and drink what I find as I go to stay fueled.

Pretty sure I'd have 3 eyes and a 7 thumbs if infection/illness & disease were in the game yet LOL so i think you're right. Never know though, people, Be careful LOL

[Franky McFrank 14]

Great post. It's hard to tell what has or hasn't been implemented in the Xbox version yet.

Anyone advise me do you have to kill a chicken in a certain way to get meat from it? I've been smashing them with a fireman axe and never seem to have any "loot" 

[Sterlyng Shane-kyler Roehrig 28]

2 hours ago, Franky McFrank said:

Great post. It's hard to tell what has or hasn't been implemented in the Xbox version yet.

Anyone advise me do you have to kill a chicken in a certain way to get meat from it? I've been smashing them with a fireman axe and never seem to have any "loot" 

You have to skin them with a knife after 

[Franky McFrank 14]

1 hour ago, Sterlyng Shane-kyler Roehrig said:

You have to skin them with a knife after 

Ah I guess that makes perfect sense now I come to think about it lol! cheers dude!

 

[dynodunk69 7]

upgrading fire place? I found small stones but they wont add to the upgrade part of the fire place... possible to craft stone oven? I also noticed I found a stack of 8 small stones but when I came back an logged in it changed to a stack of 1...fireplace crafting bug maybe?

Anyone crafted an upgraded fire place yet??

[TheYetiBum 790]

6 minutes ago, dynodunk69 said:

upgrading fire place? I found small stones but they wont add to the upgrade part of the fire place... possible to craft stone oven? I also noticed I found a stack of 8 small stones but when I came back an logged in it changed to a stack of 1...fireplace crafting bug maybe?

Anyone crafted an upgraded fire place yet??

As far as I know there's currently no upgraded fireplace in this build. Also no loot able or builds me tripod. But you can craft a fireplace and take to hands and then place in a houses oven fire. The. If you go into vicinity inventory you can micromanage a cooking lot into the cooking pot slot and cook that way. Just fill with water and fill with meat, mushrooms, apples etc and cook for a 1min 30secs ;) 

[dynodunk69 7]

I see thanks. That's the thing, I was hoping to stay in the wilderness and cook there, maybe dip into a town once in a while for supplies. So as it is (.63) you can only use a cooking pot to cook in a house correct?...awe shame

[TheYetiBum 790]

9 minutes ago, dynodunk69 said:

I see thanks. That's the thing, I was hoping to stay in the wilderness and cook there, maybe dip into a town once in a while for supplies. So as it is (.63) you can only use a cooking pot to cook in a house correct?...awe shame

You can also craft a standard fire in the woods, make sure to micromanage logs in as it'll burn out in less than a minute without. And then use a long stuck from chopping down a bush and combine with meat. Then you'll receive the option to sit at fire and cook meat, it'll visually change when it's cooked. Hope that helps , also if you combine a stick and bark from a tree (look at tree whilst holding a knife of any kind) it'll create a fire starting kit so matchs and flares aren't needed for for fire starting. Oh and the small rocks can only be used to craft a improvised stone knife ATM which is actually the best knife in terms of carry weight. Just combine two stones and voila , very helpful if your afresh spawn and for find a bladed weapon for opening cans fast. Stones spawn on most forest trails . Hope this helps