Mode of Operation - KOS?

[G33z3r 13]

First off, hello DayZ community.

I am only a couple of hours in-game and already I have the feeling this game was made for me. Surviving is hard. Starting with no gear is cool. I think it should be that way, cause finding gear, etc is like opening x-mas presents for me. This is addictive. I love sneaking around at night (took 15 minutes online to figure out how to make the f’ing flashlight work), and making it past zeds to get to a potential loot spot in town. I just lucked into a modern weapon in-game (AK-74 in a tree stand) and now at least I can fight back with something. This is a rush!

But I am already wondering if I should just switch from "friendly guy" to "Kill on Sight".

The scoreboard so far is [Player Killers = 3, Zeds = 0, Me = 0]

In other words, any survivor contact (in remote towns mind you, not cities, as I have headed inland to avoid PK's) has ended with my swift death (having never found a weapon). Zeds are not the problem. I am paranoid of bandits already, especially since I have been sniped / shot in very remotely possible areas / situations already; all the while trying to avoid towns, roads, open areas, and be stealthy in general. Am I just unlucky?

Q1) Is "friendly guy" optimism just naive (stoopid)?

Edited July 16, 2012 by G33z3r

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

No it's what you make of your time in the game that matters

If in doubt QE wiggle, It can help, but be wary all the time.

The community as a whole has elements who moan and whinge about PVP, However Play as you like but remember you too will take one once in a while "How would you feel?"

I for one Like to help not Kill, but the choice is yours but being friendly has its merits

Helping a player feels 1000 times better than a 500m shot.

[texcat11 11]

Depends, are you a coward who is scared of losing his gear? Or a person brave enough to come face to face with an armed player.

[DoshDosh 62]

Personally I prefer to observe over any sort of engagement- especially since I operate solo. During my first few lives I always opted to ask "friendly", but that most of the time that just got me shot (occasionally we both ran in the opposite direction), and after that I tried shooting on sight but decided I didn't want to just KOS every single person I came across... so I observe to see if the player is carrying anything visibly that I would want (backpack/weapons), or if he is a bandit (e.g. stary sobor sniping/elektro sniping). I do my best to hunt bandits and occasionally go for kills that will net me items I can use, but other than that I prefer to quietly observe a player and let him walk by while hiding behind a bush or tree.

[G33z3r 13]

voodoo: yeah, that is a good way to look at the flipside. i'm helpful by nature. but i would like experienced input. the 3 servers i was on, there was no general chat. just "x player died" announcements. and generally nothing like the youtube videos i've seen today (let's plays, etc). i've not encountered one friendly.

tard: since i've been unarmed and never had a can of beans to my name, i can't answer your question.

[G33z3r 13]

Dosh: that is about how i am thinking of operating. i am also considering hiding / running if i spot a survivor before they spot me (wolf, smart, self preservation). but that is not very helpful to others.

Q2 - Zeds. The "Alive" / "Dead" count. Last night i saw 200 / 325. But in the small remote town I was in, I swear I counted 50-70 zeds, as I circled the town through the woods looking for openings to lootable buildings. Is the 200 (alive) number how many on the entire map? or a meter radius around my location?

[zack4209 3]

Stay friendly but be paranoid if you find a survivor who wants to help make sure hes always infront of you. ( Makes its harder for them to suprise kill you) There are friendly players out there i met one. It was a russian guy who snuck up on me in a mountain. Now this scared the hell out of me because he turned on his mic and said in a heavy russian accent. ( Hello Friend ) I immediatly got scared and started hacking at him with my axe but he was fast and said. (im friendly!)

The lesson to this story is Dont kill on site unless you have a valid reason. :)

[Dokrane 42]

Helping a player feels 1000 times better than a 500m shot.

I'd say that's about 50/50 imo

[texcat11 11]

G33z3r: I'm not going to give my opinion, but rather manipulate other's and post it back.

[federik21 42]

KOS of course!

[Cerven 80]

My general modus is that if I get the drop on the person, I move behind cover and call friendly and demand that they stop over local. If they don't respond within a reasonable period of time ( and ESPECIALLY if they're coming right at me ) I assume that they're hostile and act accordingly.

For you, having no gear makes the decision easy for some people. Death is just another part of DayZ in that regard. If you're not announcing yourself as friendly, you're asking to get shot as well.

[HanoverFist 64]

My general modus is that if I get the drop on the person, I move behind cover and call friendly and demand that they stop over local. If they don't respond within a reasonable period of time ( and ESPECIALLY if they're coming right at me ) I assume that they're hostile and act accordingly.

For you, having no gear makes the decision easy for some people. Death is just another part of DayZ in that regard. If you're not announcing yourself as friendly, you're asking to get shot as well.

This sums it up for me as well.

[Deviant (DayZ) 43]

Don't cry when the other kids in the sandbox don't want to play the same game as you

[Rokor Fenix 143]

I myself took to the shoot on sight mentality. All it got me was killed more then avoiding people. With the way the game is, if they don't go down on the first two or three shots, and your fairly close, expect people to pop shots off at you.

I now have taken to sniping and being more careful. If I do run into someone, I just shout over direct chat for them to stay back and they won't get into trouble. If they still keep coming, I will try to bullshit my way through by telling them I have a friend who has them in their sights and if they come forward anymore they are dead for sure.

[Rogan (DayZ) 24]

Dosh: that is about how i am thinking of operating. i am also considering hiding / running if i spot a survivor before they spot me (wolf, smart, self preservation). but that is not very helpful to others.

Q2 - Zeds. The "Alive" / "Dead" count. Last night i saw 200 / 325. But in the small remote town I was in, I swear I counted 50-70 zeds, as I circled the town through the woods looking for openings to lootable buildings. Is the 200 (alive) number how many on the entire map? or a meter radius around my location?

When you approach a town they'll start to spawn in at around 100-150m IIRC.

Spotting zeds only works when you are outside of a town. When you get into town it's impossible to tell if the zombies are being spawned by you or another player.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Rogan

[entelin 13]

Depends, are you a coward who is scared of losing his gear? Or a person brave enough to come face to face with an armed player.

Or option C, a player that has friends he plays with already already, and gets gear solely in order to kill other players. Slaughtering zombies by the hundreds looses its charm & challenge after awhile after all.

[pilot 13]

I let myself get killed when Im unarmed and then I respawn and run straight there and Yell at them over direct about how they just killed an unarmed player and let them shoot me again.

I am now playing a different game that I enjoy very much. I call it "Being a fucking conscience"