[HOW TO] Not Get Shot By A Player

[dzuari 25]

This is partially discussed in my [HOW TO] Survive Starting Without A Weapon Thread, http://dayzmod.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=32464 , but i want to make a separate thread to hopefully get people to play a little nicer :).

***This guide only applies to meeting 1 Person, people act completely different in a group.***

If there are two or more people, just run.

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K, people complain about it being to hard to start without a weapon but i think its to promote more player interaction to force us to work together more and not shoot each other on site for our stuff. It also puts more value on the stuff u actual have and makes you think twice before shooting around zombies and if you have a conscious i guess it makes you feel a little bad for killing someone that probably put a lot of time getting what little he had.

I've been playing for 4 days now and here is my experience so far with players.

- Most of them aren't dicks out to shoot you.

- Zombies keep you alive, Crazy right? :) They help to diffuse the situation, no one wants to shoot a player just to have 20 zombies rip them apart :), it also give you a common enemy.

- Use your VOIP, DON'T TYPE. "Caps Lock" is your push to talk button and "." & "," is used to cycle throw your channels. Make sure you have your VOIP set to direct communication when you first join a game. Its the very first thing i do and you can actually cycle through them before your player even loads.

- If you run into a player without a gun, now is the time to become friends because he can't kill you if he wanted too. If you have a gun even better, this tells him you can easy kill him but would rather work together. Its up to you if you want to hang around the guy once he can shoot you :).

-start to associate yourself with the person, If you understand a bit about psychology then you'll probably get this. When a person first meets you in this game they will assume you will kill them and take all their stuff. they will feel no remorse for shooting some guy they don't know, But there is one thing on your side and thats human nature. We naturally want to be around people and communicate, its built into us and you should use it to your advantage. As soon as you open your mouth and start talking you are no longer a threat, most people will at least listen to what your saying before they shoot you, so keep talking :).

WHEN YOU RUN INTO A PLAYER - immediately Hit "Caps Lock" and say friendly, preferable in a paniced voice and repeated 3-10 times . this give the other guy the sense that your just as scared of him as he is of you, a voice is a much better first impression than some text. Also pay attention to what he's doing and how he sounds.

If hes running around looking for stuff he's probably just scavenging, if he is held up in a building overlooking an area, he's probably a bandit.

Now if you both startle each other and he doesn't immediately shoot you, he probably doesn't want to.

Pay attention to how he sounds, if he is afraid he will immediately say friendly or don't shoot and start backing away, if he doesn't sound or look afraid of you, he probably isn't.

If he takes more than 5 seconds to respond using VOIP and/or doesn't have a clear shot, it not because he's AFK, its because he is concentrating on shooting you the first chance he gets.

Bandits will usually have a long pause before saying "friendly" because they are focusing on shooting you, and if you've played this game for more than 2 seconds you know it takes a lot of concentration to do anything :). They will also usually have a monotone, quick, "friendly" just to lure you out and shoot you. Being able to read someones voice and body language is the best tool you have starting out.

Now if they don't shoot you then you should determine if this is a guy you should follow or go on your own. I usually start some small talk to ease the situation, How long you been playing? tell them you just started, ask for some tips, care if i come with you? Stuff like that. now don't ask things like, you playing with anyone else, where you headed, can i have something because this guy doesn't know if your playing with people to and you're just scouting to get him and his friends killed.

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MY EXPERIENCES

I've ran across 5-8 players in 3 days in the cities and started playing with them and only 1 guy has shot me so far, and he was held up in a pub with his friend aiming a gun at the door i walked through, after i said friendly and tried to talk to him.

Two of the people i ran across both had guns, i did too, we both didn't shoot and started to play together.

The first time was out in the country, not the city. he followed me to a barn then watched me enter and leave down the hill for the town. He picked up the CZ500(sniper rifle) in the barn because i left it. Once i was down to the road i checked my back and saw him, i continued acting un-alarmed untill he lost sight of me then laid down behind a wall and watched, he could have killed me but didn't so i figured he was friendly. He began down the hill till he was at the opposite side of the wall, he crawled around till he saw me pointing a barrel down his throat about 2m away and freaked out screaming friendly :) i said friendly really quick and calmed him down. I then started to diffuse the situation by strategizing with him on how to get into this supermarket. however we ended up being eaten alive.

The second was at the power plant in elektro, he and a shotgun and i had nothing, i ran by him saying friendly and we headed upstairs and a AK74-Cobra was laying there, he said i could have it then we continued on our ways.

I hope this guide helps some people, feel free to add any tips or suggestions and leave your opinion on most people playing this game.

[Tureilim 3]

You're tryin to get me shot by people. I'm not gonna have my voice crack and speak through sobs to say "Friendly" when I want to avoid a fight. <.<;; I

[DeTaiLz 18]

You're tryin to get me shot by people. I'm not gonna have my voice crack and speak through sobs to say "Friendly" when I want to avoid a fight. <.<;; I

Okay then, type some text and get shot more easier ;)

[Tureilim 3]

Okay then, type some text and get shot more easier ;)

Not my point. I'm saying:

I hesitate to respond to players I see who aren't certain if I'm around. What if it's some asshole playing friendly who just wants to cap a gullible person in the face?

I don't throw alot of emotion into my "Friendly!" declarations if I have no other choice. The best you'll often get is a "oh shit, friendly, man." If I say "friendly" in whatever tone I please, I usually mean it. Usually. There've been moments where I was tempted to kill people for blowing my cover.

I am just generally very paranoid around players and am automatically pretty defensive around people I dunno. Meaning, my gun doesn't go down and it's always pointed at their chest until they earn some trust.

So far, no one has. <.<

[Heru 8]

As I first began playing DayZ, my attitude was 'i shoot everyone who is not in skype or TS with me!' ...

I never actually met other people, until that one day in the supermarket.

It was short after the introduction of female skins. So I was looting the supermarket, equiped with a Lee Enfield. Then a female skin entered the supermarket. I say female skin, because I dont know the gender of the person playing it. The female skin had no weapon, so I figured it wouldnt be a thread to me, because it was probably just spawned and/or new. So I decided to skip my rule of shooting everyone on sight, and continued looting the place. There was a shotgun in the supermarket, that I didnt pick up. A few moments after I decided to let the female skin live, it shot me with a shotgun.

Long story short: Everyone on sight gets killed now!

Short after that, I entered the northern firestation in Elektro. As I entered the tower, there was another player, aiming his makarov at me, but using voice chat, he almost sobbed to me "dont shoot, dont shoot, help me!" ... but before my brain realized the words he said, I already unloaded a full makarov clip onto him and he died! And I don't feel remorse! It could have been a trap. Or not. I don't care. That one situation in the supermarket changed everything for me. I am now a proud bandit!

[idunc 62]

Every time I walk into Cherno as a fresh spawn I get killed within minutes, and my body isn't even looted. I was crouch-walking down a street, and the next thing I know I'm on the ground and a guy with a hatchet is walking away from my body as the "You Are Dead" screen fades in. I've been shot multiple times from who-knows-where. There is literally a single bandage and a single painkiller to be gained from killing me. So your statement "Most of them aren't dicks out to shoot you" is false. Most of them are. Some of them aren't.

[Lethal (DayZ) 2]

As I first began playing DayZ, my attitude was 'i shoot everyone who is not in skype or TS with me!' ...

I never actually met other people, until that one day in the supermarket.

It was short after the introduction of female skins. So I was looting the supermarket, equiped with a Lee Enfield. Then a female skin entered the supermarket. I say female skin, because I dont know the gender of the person playing it. The female skin had no weapon, so I figured it wouldnt be a thread to me, because it was probably just spawned and/or new. So I decided to skip my rule of shooting everyone on sight, and continued looting the place. There was a shotgun in the supermarket, that I didnt pick up. A few moments after I decided to let the female skin live, it shot me with a shotgun.

Long story short: Everyone on sight gets killed now!

Short after that, I entered the northern firestation in Elektro. As I entered the tower, there was another player, aiming his makarov at me, but using voice chat, he almost sobbed to me "dont shoot, dont shoot, help me!" ... but before my brain realized the words he said, I already unloaded a full makarov clip onto him and he died! And I don't feel remorse! It could have been a trap. Or not. I don't care. That one situation in the supermarket changed everything for me. I am now a proud bandit!

Maybe the female skin thought you didn't notice him/her. :o

I would feel like shit if I ended up killing the player who was asking you not to shoot though haha

[Lethal (DayZ) 2]

Every time I walk into Cherno as a fresh spawn I get killed within minutes, and my body isn't even looted. I was crouch-walking down a street, and the next thing I know I'm on the ground and a guy with a hatchet is walking away from my body as the "You Are Dead" screen fades in. I've been shot multiple times from who-knows-where. There is literally a single bandage and a single painkiller to be gained from killing me. So your statement "Most of them aren't dicks out to shoot you" is false. Most of them are. Some of them aren't.

You never know, maybe the dude already had everything he needed and he just thought you were a threat to him so he killed you to continue moving along.

[Heru 8]

It noticed me, because as soon as I pointed my gun in its direction, it froze. It started moving again after I started looting again.

[jaynich 12]

Never trust anyone you're not on VOIP with. (Vent, TS etc.) 8/10 they're going to shoot on sight. Why? Not cause theyre a bandit but because either a. bandit or b. they're paranoid of bandits.

Most of the time I avoid interaction and use the treeline to my advantage. Avoid hostile areas (Berezino, Cherno, Elektro, Balota, NW airfield) This is where bandits like to hangout due to the high player count and loot value. Also avoid where vehicles spawn, like black lake and other places. Grocery stores? Get in, get out. High output areas are going to have a higher chance of player interaction, be it friendly or hostile. Grab what you need and go, don't linger.

Never run through open fields, take the treeline around...sure it takes longer. But itll take even longer to re-scavenge that supplies you're lugging around.

Sniper? Run in zig zags. But keep the left/right pressing random so they cant time your movements. Use cover but dont stop...dont ever stop until youve either killed them or KNOW you're out of their LOS. Use buildings and vegetation to your advantage

Dont trust people who ask you for painkillers or anything, as soon as you go to place it in their bag, expect a shot to the face. Instead drop it on the floor away from them so they cont shoot you PB in the face. Walk around behind them and drop them or around a building. If they turn towards you or follow you around the building...they're most likely out to kill you.

[triplehelix 0]

4 days of playing and you're going to write a guide on player interaction. I've been playing for 4 weeks and I don't have nearly enough experiences with players to even have a clear idea in my head of how to approach every situation. Your sample size from experiences is far too small to be able to comment on the meta of DayZ players.

I don't think player interaction really should even have a guide. My DayZ philosophy I try to live by: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."

Edited July 11, 2012 by triplehelix

[zombie3000@hotmail.co.uk 27]

- Most of them aren't ARE dicks out to shoot you.

[Herb (DayZ) 121]

Maybe the female skin thought you didn't notice him/her. :o

I would feel like shit if I ended up killing the player who was asking you not to shoot though haha

I stopped feeling bad about that after someone ran at me screaming "HELP HELP!", i helped them shoot the zombie horde behind them, and then they shot me.

[Tureilim 3]

I stopped feeling bad about that after someone ran at me screaming "HELP HELP!", i helped them shoot the zombie horde behind them, and then they shot me.

This is why I play with my TF2 buddies. I can trust them. And they're also the devils on my shoulders. Any day now I'll cross the line to banditry. I feel like Batman in regards to the joker. "It'd be too damn easy."

[Gordon Axeman 191]

Right. I have buddies on Raidcall, and I need nobody more. I never shoot unarmed people (simply keep an eye on them or run away). And the opinion about airfields/cities is a bit wrong. There you will find gun, bag, food and water. Just dont break into hospitals and stores without observing. The same about houses - a camper with a hatchet killed the whole group of armed guys in there, me watching that from the bushes. I killed him while he was looting, but thats not the point. Don't scream "friendly" to everyone - you will be either shot because the human you met was bandit/he thought its a trap. Look at high places like Cherno factory, cover behind buildings, distract zombies with cans and then do short runs from house to house. At airfields the same rules act - look to probable sniper points, move only inside forests (espesially at NWAF), go there in groups - some loot, some cover. And everywhere there is a single rule: after looting gtfo asap.

This always saved my butt in all these places. They are not deathly if you know their rules.

[Lukio (DayZ) 24]

When I've used directional to talk to players, I usually have to get within a closer range. To do this I try to do it so they don't see me immediately.

Most encounters usually go like this:

"Hey you there at stone/bridge/object with weapon xy, I'm going to approach you. I am friendly. Point your gun above you/lower your rifle and I will not shoot you."

*Player looks in all directions, points weapon into direction where he thinks voice came from* (Sometimes accompanied by a frantic "Where are you?")

*I repeat myself*

*Player goes into crouch and iron sights in my general direction*

So now either he moves away, I retreat or deem it necessary to shoot him.

Last time this happened was at Balota Airport at dusk, I was prone right between the tree and the bush next to the tower entrance. The player actually walked by me several times before I successfully retreated.

The problem with the above tips is that they usually only work on people who are not stupid and are willing to socialize. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that the mod currently is plagued by trigger happy FPS kiddies, raging psychopaths or simply put people so freaked out and paranoid that they always are at the brink to pulling the trigger. Yeah I miss the times where this was a bit different and I think (!) that the community has some kind of self-healing effect, but it takes a while to get to a point where its worthwhile to try to socialize with random players.

[natetheripper 1]

yeaaaaaaaa. I was in a supermarket with my buddy as I was in the back picking up food and he was in the front looking for food and gear I turned around looking at another player I was able to ask my buddy if it was him then I was shot. My buddy had only enough time

to log off since I was apart dead anyway. point is don't trust anyone

[resident_leeonheart@yahoo.com 32]

yeaaaaaaaa. I was in a supermarket with my buddy as I was in the back picking up food and he was in the front looking for food and gear I turned around looking at another player I was able to ask my buddy if it was him then I was shot. My buddy had only enough time

to log off since I was apart dead anyway. point is don't trust anyone

I was in the supermarket not long ago and a player just go by his business. Didn't pull a gun on me except on the zombies outside the building. Everyone has different experience, still it's best to be cautious. Most of the time, I'll hide if there's another player walking by. Not a killer and yet to be shot at. :)

[CER10TY 3]

Well, sadly, not everyone thinks about the zombies nowadays. I once went through Cherno, found an M1911, and continued to walk. So, I hear shots and decide to check it out, turns out there's nothing there. I just see up to 10 zombies infront of me. I successfully sneak past, checking my surroundings before trying to enter the building. As soon as I managed to take the first step I got shot by an Enfield, in the back. I died instantly. Turns out the other player died too due to all the zombies he attracted in the middle of Cherno..

[kohliath 2]

The best way to not get shot by a player ?

Alt+F4 IS the best way. Maybe a little bit unfair but it's the best way.

[CER10TY 3]

The best way to not get shot by a player ?

Alt+F4 IS the best way. Maybe a little bit unfair but it's the best way.

Will get you banned quite easily though.

[ActionManZlt 160]

I've run into dozens of players up close by accident, and only been murdered by them twice.

1) a guy snuck into a ATC while I was looting upstairs. He heard my footsteps and hid under the stairs. When I was leaving, for some reason I turned around after making it out the door (I didn't know he was there, but I looked back out of habit). As soon as I looked back, he saw me "take aim" at him, and he defended himself... So I don't count this one -- he was just scared of being shot and seems like I would've got out alive if I hadn't stopped and aimed at him.

2) A guy stalked me and my friend to a deer-stand, and shot me as I climbed the ladder.

I've been murdered maybe half a dozen more times, but these other deaths are all from camping snipers, who you can't talk to anyway, and probably don't care for communication... i.e. the skilled/professional bandits.

Aside from the above, all my other close-up encounters have ended peacefully. Most of these players have actually had the drop on me -- they've had sight of me and a clear shot way before I knew they were there -- which is how I know their either friendly, or a really inept bandit. Either way, if I'm not dead and they've had the chance to kill me, I know I've got pretty good chances of sprinting to cover without them shooting me still.

If there's another player nearby I follow the steps:

1) Get behind hard cover ASAP. If in a building, this can just be backing into the room you're in and covering the doorway.

2) Establish contact, or if unseen, let them continue on their way.

3) If (2) fails, fire a warning shot. This may draw the horde towards you, but that's a great motivator for the other play to get away from you.

4) Plot your escape route and get the hell out of there.

So far, this plan has worked 100% of the time for me (about 10 times). I do believe that there are bandits out there who will go along with starting a conversation, only to ambush me soon after... but it hasn't happened to me yet. YMMV.

Edited July 11, 2012 by ActionMan

[Lethal (DayZ) 2]

Will get you banned quite easily though.

Really? How could I go about reporting someone who does this?

Or does it just get automatically detected?

[kohliath 2]

Its only get banned on a "Disconnet to avoid death" Server.... Each Admin can handle it like he want.

[CER10TY 3]

Its only get banned on a "Disconnet to avoid death" Server.... Each Admin can handle it like he want.

Admins can't actually ban you for disconnecting to avoid death, no. You just take a screen of the guy disconnecting (works best if you see nametags on that server), and report him. Quite hard without nametags though.