Just started playing...total newbie

[JoeFury 2]

So i've been following this mod for a while, watching videos and reading thread in the forums here. Downloaded the free arma demos on steam a couple weeks ago, just to get used to the controls a bit (pretty clunky, coming from someone who's been playing Battlefield 3 for a while :)). Finally bit the bullet and bought the game last night. once I got started it was 2am and both servers i tried were pitch black. figured i'd wait til this morning to start in daylight.

(I should preface all this by saying I really don't want to kill anyone. I play Battlefield 3 and Skyrim for that. I just want to explore. I'm aware of all the KoS players, but i don't want to be one of those.)

Started out on the coast...forgot to look at the bottom of the screen so no idea where i actually am. Noob mistake #1. Saw a couple Zeds, dropped to the ground and started crawling. Went towards a house but realized I couldn't enter. Noob mistake #2. but tense as hell, with the zombie walking within a couple meters of me. once I had some space, crouch walked down a hill towards a couple buildings. Could hear zombies, but couldn't see them around the buildings. Went in a little shack and found a hatchet (cool!) and some m249 and shotgun ammo which I didn't bother taking. Noob mistake #3?. after minutes of trying to figure out how the hell to equip the hatchet...that wasn't too intuitive at all for me. lol. finally got the swing of it. (ha!)

Decided to hoof it to the hills since all i've heard from people is get off the coast quickly. I did see a bigger town up ahead of me but thought it would be too dangerous. So up into the wooded hillside. Cross a street and then get about 10 feet into the trees and hear flies buzzing. Now i know what this means and immediately got nervous and spun around, looking all over. went over the body and tried to see what he had. not sure if he was empty or what but just kept seeing my inventory show up, not sure if i was hitting the right buttons. getting freaked out staying there so long, decided to bail and head up the hills.

Came across a boar. just standing there peacefully. he seems friendly...never moves. I know you can get meat from animals. so I hit him with the axe...and he dies and I can't get anything from him. so i hide his body. sorry boar. :(

keep moving on...crawl my way over the hill to a hangar and two warehouse looking buildings. kill my first Zed with the axe, but he ends up hurting me somehow...don't realize i'm bleeding til i'm at 8k blood. doh! use my one bandage and look inside buildings. find a knife, a smoke grenade and a ton of empty cans. crap. Still need to find food and water. I don't have any of those. Noob mistake #4?

head to the next building i see....a small tower. get inside and hear flies above me. nervous as hell...slowly walk forward. find an uzi and 3 mags. take them. but don't want to use them. get to the top floor and find some empty cans, but the flies are louder so i drop to the floor...and too nervouse to walk outside onto the balcony. so just head back downstairs. Get outside the building an look around...nothing, just a couple zombies far away.

I decide to drop the uzi and ammo. Noob Mistake #5? hear me out though. Since I figure most people KoS, most people have weapons always out (from what i've seen in vids at least.). I figure if I don't have a gun out maybe somebody won't shoot me right away. Naive i'm sure, but I don't like guns in real life, so I don't want to use one here. (at least not yet).

move away towards a house in the woods...aggro a Zed...fumbling to bring out my hatchet i throw my smoke grenade somehow....(wtf?!) oh well, he runs after it and I move on. still have my trusty hatchet...but just trying to find food now.

so far i'm still alive...but for how much longer? I see know why so many of you play this game, such an immersive experience, kinda mad i waited so long. but loving it so far.

Quick question though...is the knife only good for killing animals? to get the meat, or can you use that as a weapon too? so far i've only used the hatchet on 3 zombies.

oh, and how do you find deerstands in the woods? are they up in the trees? (since i don't know where i am just yet, the map i've seen is kinda useless, plus i don't want to cheat myself out of exploring. just not sure if i've passed by any or not.)

now i just wish I had more time to play during the day :(

[fallis91 0]

you should add a TL;DR

D=

[Sgt. Vanluven 4]

TL;DR is for people with the attention span of a goldfish.

[Dokrane 42]

you should add a TL;DR

D=

Sorry, I just read "OMG reading?! Nooooooo I never learned that."

Edited July 20, 2012 by Dokrane

[JoeFury 2]

you should add a TL;DR

D=

ha! yes, i did forget that. another Noob mistake :)

TL;DR version: still alive, trying to figure things out as I go. totally addicted to the game already.

[flexho 78]

Welcome to the club.

[stupar123 6]

My tips:if you hate guns,take Crossbow which is almost everywhere ( bolts take 1 slot but still you can obtain it if you always hit Zed in head,but you need expirience with crossbows ) ,then take any pistol ( 100% necessary ) UZI,G17;Makarov,M1911 etc. best would be UZI for tons of bullets and head shot easy job.

Hatchet is good for taking 1-3 zeds,but if you want to survive,you will need rifle.For military stuff,go to arifields and military camps but if you dislike it, I really advise taking Winchester. ( 15 bullets,1shot in zed kill,low noise )

Also,skinning knife is only for skinning,can't kill with it.

Hunting is done by skinning the dead animal ( gut option ),then taking raw meat.After that you must chop wood in forest or find it in some place.

You need matches then to create fireplace.After you created fireplace,hover over it and chose option ''Light fire'' and then fire is up.Afetr that if you want to cook raw meat,it has to be in your inventory not in your backpack,those in your backacpp wont be cooked.

Don't get near big cities,you will get your head blown by griefing sniper who is sitting somewhere alredy 3 hours and will likely sit there for another 3 hours.

Hope it helps :) ! ( oh and don't take double barrel shotgun,it sucks )

[JoeFury 2]

Welcome to the club.

thanks! don't shoot me! :)

[JoeFury 2]

My tips:if you hate guns,take Crossbow which is almost everywhere ( bolts take 1 slot but still you can obtain it if you always hit Zed in head,but you need expirience with crossbows ) ,then take any pistol ( 100% necessary ) UZI,G17;Makarov,M1911 etc. best would be UZI for tons of bullets and head shot easy job.

Hatchet is good for taking 1-3 zeds,but if you want to survive,you will need rifle.For military stuff,go to arifields and military camps but if you dislike it, I really advise taking Winchester. ( 15 bullets,1shot in zed kill,low noise )

Also,skinning knife is only for skinning,can't kill with it.

Hunting is done by skinning the dead animal ( gut option ),then taking raw meat.After that you must chop wood in forest or find it in some place.

You need matches then to create fireplace.After you created fireplace,hover over it and chose option ''Light fire'' and then fire is up.Afetr that if you want to cook raw meat,it has to be in your inventory not in your backpack,those in your backacpp wont be cooked.

Don't get near big cities,you will get your head blown by griefing sniper who is sitting somewhere alredy 3 hours and will likely sit there for another 3 hours.

Hope it helps :) ! ( oh and don't take double barrel shotgun,it sucks )

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated. I can probably go back and get the uzi, it's not far from where i had to log off (if it'll still be there). thanks for the help with the cooking info too! now just to find another animal....and matches :)

[Sgt. Vanluven 4]

This will help you find those deer stands. And this will also help you find your location by using landmarks. Not easy, but possible.

http://dayzdb.com/map

Edited July 20, 2012 by Sgt. Vanluven

[stupar123 6]

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated. I can probably go back and get the uzi, it's not far from where i had to log off (if it'll still be there). thanks for the help with the cooking info too! now just to find another animal....and matches :)

In almost any supermarket you will find matches,good luck!

[greycamcamiam 1]

Speaking of noob questions, do you need Teamspeak or something to talk to people? Or do people just never talk? I hold caps lock to say stuff but people either don't hear me or ignore me.

[stupar123 6]

Direct chat is for people 100 metres around you,but it's not working correctly,sometimes it ''jammes'' so it is better to hold on to ts or skype until it is fixed.

[JoeFury 2]

still wandering aimlessly. apparently need water so i see a residential area. some zombies, so I crawl around but can't find one single house to enter to look for stuff. is that normal? (found a pig and killed and gutted it. yay! raw meat. got some firewood but no matches yet.

moved on and found a military tent area, with a big red cross on the middle tent. then see what looks like a police officer climb into a deer stand but he just stands there and yawns. lol. seems kinda dangerous so i start crawling around the perimeter and hear gunshots and almost crap myself. don't think they were directed at me though. crawl into a bush to look around but then real life interrupts and have to leave. which sucks just as it was getting tense!

is there anyway on the map to see what this military compound is with the medical tent? I think i'm west of berezino/nizhnoye...i haven't seen this description on the maps.

[herrjon 478]

Are you in Stary Sobor? Military tents with a big ass red warehouse to the south? I would GTFO if you don't have a gun. If you need to figure out where you are, it does tell you everytime you log in, and you can also find road signs and landmarks to guide you.

[Kingyo 2]

Are you in Stary Sobor? Military tents with a big ass red warehouse to the south? I would GTFO if you don't have a gun. If you need to figure out where you are, it does tell you everytime you log in, and you can also find road signs and landmarks to guide you.

Another noob...find military tents with big ass red warehouse to the south-got it...thx

[JoeFury 2]

Are you in Stary Sobor? Military tents with a big ass red warehouse to the south? I would GTFO if you don't have a gun. If you need to figure out where you are, it does tell you everytime you log in, and you can also find road signs and landmarks to guide you.

crap, i hope that's not where i am. i've heard bad things about that place for people like me :) i'll play it safe and back away (and probably die of dehydration). I thought it only told you where you were when you spawn, i didn't even bother looking this last time i started. doh! thanks for that tip too.

[herrjon 478]

crap, i hope that's not where i am. i've heard bad things about that place for people like me :) i'll play it safe and back away (and probably die of dehydration). I thought it only told you where you were when you spawn, i didn't even bother looking this last time i started. doh! thanks for that tip too.

Just check it out when you drop in. Use the loot map dayzdb.com/map to find where you are and what's the best place to get a drink.

[stupar123 6]

If you want drink,go into normal houses,supermarkets etc. all civilian objects,in military object most of the stuff will be weapon & ammo.

Weird how you didn't yet find food or water :P

Also,my advice would be to risk with military camp,good high-tier loot is present there ( just be sure that none is around you ) !

[JoeFury 2]

well, I didn't make it to much farther. decided to crawl into the tent area...saw dead zombies here and there, but after checking a couple tents and finding nothing, figured i'd leave. checked a deer stand. found an empty whiskey bottle. tried to climb down, fell and broke my leg i guess (that little white graphic that's snapped in half...doesn't really look like a bone though). crawled forward a bit, saw a helicopter landing pad and figured that's a nice place to die. lol. as i moved toward it everything went grey and my blood dropped to around 5K. as i was still trying to figure out what was going on, i died. I guess I was sniped? I didn't hear anything at all, do you not hear a bullet when it hits you? ah well, whoever finds my body will find a hatchet and not much else. lol

thanks for the tips everyone. started my new life and actually paid attention to where i started this time.