Why do I suck so horribly?

[CantStopDying 2]

I'm 33 years old so I've been gaming for a good 20 years now - yet I SUCK at DayZ - even after watching years of gameplay on youtube & every tutorial available. After 5 hours of playing I've learned that I'm the only person who hasn't figured out how to loot zombies (no F button?). I keep dying of hunger. I keep freezing to death. Out of my desperate attempt to not die of thirst I drank from a river and died of sickness. I am constantly lost and the iZurvive map somehow makes me even more lost. I just don't get it. I'm doing everything I see the neckbeards on youtube doing - I just can't seem to find as much loot as they do.

However I have met my first friend in the last game. After adventuring for a good 20 minutes we died of hunger together. It was awesome.

[SoWeMeetAgain 100]

For the hunger thing: try not running everywhere. The faster you move, the more "food per distance" it takes. Yes it's slower, but you won't starve.

I guess you now know how to loot the zombies, by using "vicinity" (open inventory when standing on the zombie)?

Using the map ... I guess you need some practice, and a compass. Once you get the hang of it, it's very easy and if you have a good line of sight to distinct landmarks you can pinpoint your location to within a few ten metres.

Any other questions? Btw why do you call them neckbeards, that's kind of derogatory and not even an apt description?

[CantStopDying 2]

Thanks for the tips. I will be more manageable with my sprinting. And I guess pressing inventory instead of F is the answer I'm looking for. Kinda lame but thanks! And what map? I haven't seen a map yet. Also - all of us gamers are neckbeards.

[ScipioII 176]

@CantStopDyingFind a buddy to play with. A buddy that knows the game well and can show you the ropes is way better than videos and guides. If your buddy is a novice you learn from each other and have fun at the same time.

Teaming up makes the game easier and more funner 🙂

Survive!

Edited July 9, 2020 by ScipioII

[Homeschooliazon 87]

Ez. Find a knife. Make fishingrod. Eat 2 fish. Fed for hours.

[Tonyeh 454]

21 hours ago, CantStopDying said:

I'm 33 years old so I've been gaming for a good 20 years now - yet I SUCK at DayZ - even after watching years of gameplay on youtube & every tutorial available. After 5 hours of playing I've learned that I'm the only person who hasn't figured out how to loot zombies (no F button?). I keep dying of hunger. I keep freezing to death. Out of my desperate attempt to not die of thirst I drank from a river and died of sickness. I am constantly lost and the iZurvive map somehow makes me even more lost. I just don't get it. I'm doing everything I see the neckbeards on youtube doing - I just can't seem to find as much loot as they do.

However I have met my first friend in the last game. After adventuring for a good 20 minutes we died of hunger together. It was awesome.

 

You'll learn.

Dayz is ridiculously punishing on new players, because you start with a practically empty stomach. But you do get better. I came back to it after two years away and I too "sucked". But after a little while you figure things out and this place is good for tips as well.

Get a knife ASAP, this will allow you to cut bark and long and short sticks. This means that any wildlife you kill you can cook if you make a fire using a bit of the rags you start with and a short stick. When you eat cooked food, you're on the pigs back...so to speak and you can last for hours.

Head inland, don't stay on the coast.

Don't drink from rivers or ponds and pour out any water you find in bottles. I don't use any online maps, but in most towns and cities, there are water fountains. Drink from them.

 

If I had my way, I'd change a number of things about the game.

• I'd start each player on a full stomach, to give them a fighting chance at the start and not make the early part of the game JUST a desperate race for food and water. That gets dull real fast.
• I would make sources of food much rarer. In other words, less canned food (although there is a LOT less than there used to be) and less wildlife (to make room for more zombies).

 

Trust me, in a while you'll get to know the ropes and realise that 5 hours is nothing. I've hundreds of hours in the game and I've only just started farming and hunting. LOL.

You'll get to understand that it's not hunger or zombies that will kill you mostly, it'll be other players, cos they're mostly arseholes who can't think of any other play style but shooting. In a few weeks, THAT is what you'll be most pissed off about.

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by Tonyeh

[Tonyeh 454]

19 hours ago, CantStopDying said:

Thanks for the tips. I will be more manageable with my sprinting. And I guess pressing inventory instead of F is the answer I'm looking for. Kinda lame but thanks! And what map? I haven't seen a map yet. Also - all of us gamers are neckbeards.

 

Press TAB to see what's in the vicinity of something. You'll know an object in in something or someone because there will be a little + beside their info when you hover the mouse of them/it.

[Parazight 1595]

Stop putting so much value into loot and not dying. This is a serious suggestion.   Slow down in every way possible.  Good luck. 

[SoWeMeetAgain 100]

4 minutes ago, Parazight said:

Stop putting so much value into loot and not dying. This is a serious suggestion.   Slow down in every way possible.  Good luck. 

Strong disagree.

Put more value on your in game life, cherish all your loot. The game gets much more rewarding that way.
Sure, as soon as you die because you joked around too much shooting zombies and running in the middle of a field, just because you didn't see anyone for two hours, and then you get 1shot in that open field, you'll hate yourself. So don't do that. Keep it real.

[Parazight 1595]

4 hours ago, SoWeMeetAgain said:

Strong disagree.

Put more value on your in game life, cherish all your loot. The game gets much more rewarding that way.
Sure, as soon as you die because you joked around too much shooting zombies and running in the middle of a field, just because you didn't see anyone for two hours, and then you get 1shot in that open field, you'll hate yourself. So don't do that. Keep it real.

I don't understand how the game gets more rewarding when you cherish your loot.  This is an MMO.  The real reward is socializing with your friends and experiencing events that are memorable.  Living and dying during gunfights.  Taking road trips with your buddies.  Wandering through the forest, looking for animals to hunt, or finding bases.  That's rewarding.  Loot is not rewarding.  Material possession is not the end-game.

Loot isn't even that important.  Knowledge beats loot every time.  Not only is it more important, but you wont lose it when you die.  And you will die. A lot.  Tactics > Shinies.  I have died so many times over thousands and thousands of hours and I can tell you truthfully that not getting upset over it is much better than getting upset over it.  There's no reason to hate yourself.  The reason why new players get upset when they die is because they experience a loss.  They value their material possessions way too much.  You must let go.  Value the journey of discovery and the lessons you learn while on your adventure.  Revel in it.  Stop valuing the things you lose and I will guarantee that you will be happier.  Die many times.  Become callous to death and you will start to remain calm in the throes of combat. 

Yesterday, my buddies and I lost three cars.  Due to some sort of new bug.  None of us got upset.  We learned to change behavior, and then logged off at the end of the night, happy.

 

Related, I will give some specific advice to the OP here.  When you log in, take a moment to just look around and become aware of your surroundings.  Don't ever sprint.  Just jog along.  While you do this, continue to look around for structures, animals and players.  If it starts raining, find shelter and wait it out.  Just observe.  And listen.  This is how you avoid getting shot at.  This is how you spot wolves and escape before they pounce on you.  I have hunted many bears in this game.  Just by simple jogging.  I always spot them first.  Notice how their AI performs.  Sneak around town.  Plan a route that will avoid zombies.  Pull them carefully.  You will never die to infected if you remain calm in melee combat.  Block their first attack, then cave their skulls with your axe.  You will never need to shoot them unless you're also engaged in combat with another player.  

Slow down.  Don't be in such a mad rush to make mistakes.