How does item/zombie spawning work?

[RevApoc 1]

A few questions on the spawning system in the game... mostly how long does it take for zombies and items to respawn? For instance, if I loot a spot, how long will it take for somtehing to respawn there?

And far as zombies go, how quickly do zombies spawn in after you wipe out, say, a barn area, for instance? And will zombies spawn in next to players, or is there a certain radius in which the program won't spawn zombies?

If an area is fortified, (the Fort Friendly thread, for example), is it possible for zombies to just spawn within that spot? Thanks for any responses...

[Jollyblue 7]

From what i've seen myself and heard, zombies spawn in when you get within a certain range of an area. If you see zombies before you are in that range there is a high chance another player is already there. As for loot, same thing applies..A lot of times if zombies do not spawn loot won't either. I've also noticed you can 'refresh' loot by looting the area, running x meters away then running back to find fresh loot at a store or something. No idea on the timers.

[eastonch@gmail.com 4]

Item spawns will reset after 10minutes once player is out of range of 120meters.

BUT! If a player enters that radius within 10 mins; then the timer resets.

Zombies are the same concept, and will despawn once you're out of FOV? or 120M I think. I'm not sure about zombies to be honest.

But, you can tell if a player has been there recently, as you can walk up to a place, notice no zombies, get within ~120M and then zombies start spawning.

Zombies will despawn if no players are around.

[RevApoc 1]

Once a player is out of range... lol. So if I loot a spot and just sit there and stare at it, I should get a Snickers bar, eh? Glad I asked about it here first instead of experimenting tonight, lol. Thanks for the responses!

[slyder73 94]

Yes, Zombies spawn as you approach an area. If you are quite distant and use binocs to recon somewhere before you head in (which you should always do by the way), you may notice no zombies. This means you are probably not going to run into other players in the area. They may be on the edges watching though. Always scan the town AND the surrounding hillsides, treeline, anywhere.

Lots of zombies on a server means lots of the players are currently in a town. Fewer zombies means more of the players are out travelling in the wilderness between towns. Watch out for running into them.

Loot, someone explained it pretty good. Get the stuff and then you have to leave the area for about 10 mins. As long as nobody else comes it will respawn, but the respawn is random...it might just be a bunch of empty cans.

Zombies are not ALWAYS the indicator of other players though. If you go to a town, go slow and use cover ALL THE TIME.

If you have to kill a zombie with a gun or have to fire a shot...IMMEDIATELY get out of town. You can always go back later. That shot is guaranteed to bring other players who will then kill you.

Best weapon for zombies is a hatchet. Silent, one shot and fast.

[Orbmaniac 7]

Best weapon for zombies is a hatchet. Silent, one shot and fast.

i do not agree, hatchet sometimes/usually/everytime let zombies get 1 or more attacks on you. (depending on aim and ping)

and you dont wanna be stuck in town with broken leggs. TRUST ME.

[slyder73 94]

i do not agree, hatchet sometimes/usually/everytime let zombies get 1 or more attacks on you. (depending on aim and ping)

and you dont wanna be stuck in town with broken leggs. TRUST ME.

Run into a building. Zombies always stop at the entrance and take a couple seconds to start walking. I usually run out and draw a few in, then hatchet them at the door. Clears an area nicely.

If you are stuck, run around a fence, they usually run up to the fence and stop for a second before changing direction, that is your chance. Practice with the hatchet on a wall until you get the distance memorized that it hits at.

The hatchet can hit a zombie from further away than the zombie can hit you (the length of the hatchet). Do not let them get closer. My buddy and I killed almost 200 zombies the other night with just hatchets and only got hit a few times, no broken bones.

[DayZPvP.com 143]

I am 99% sure that zombies spawn near loot nodes. One of the reasons why I think this is I have been on messed up servers where there were no zombies *OR* loot.

They seem to be intimately tied together.

[Worrun (DayZ) 108]

i do not agree, hatchet sometimes/usually/everytime let zombies get 1 or more attacks on you. (depending on aim and ping)

and you dont wanna be stuck in town with broken leggs. TRUST ME.

If it's night time you can literally sneak right up to them and 1shot them, that's what I did and it was on my first life so I'm sure a more seasoned player can do better.

[Spunkmire 36]

Question;

do loot spawn locations = zombie spawn locations.

I.O.W, if a town only has a few loot spots it would have low zombie numbers and inversely

if a town had many loot spots it would have a high zombie population ?

[The Dyne 3]

Question;

do loot spawn locations = zombie spawn locations.

Yes, and yes.

[Sandwichx 103]

Question;

do loot spawn locations = zombie spawn locations.

I.O.W, if a town only has a few loot spots it would have low zombie numbers and inversely

if a town had many loot spots it would have a high zombie population ?

No. Zombies can and will spawn on areas that do not have loot. For example, random buildings in towns that don't have any loot in them still have zombies spawns around them. Also, zombies will spawn on players. I've had it happen several times. I've been near dog houses where the zombies will spawn inside the dog house, and then proceed to aggro on you and eat your face. I've also seen zombies spawn inside shacks and the like. For the most part, zombies will not spawn inside buildings. Unless it's a farm. At least one of the zombie spawns at farms is inside them. Also, if you watch zombies spawn, for the most part, they spawn in groups, then wander around aimlessly.

As for the hatchet, that is pretty much the only "primary" weapon I use. If you practice with it, it becomes the best zombie killing weapon in the game. Not so much for other players though. But that is why you always keep a spare revolver.