I'm a new player - and this seems SOO hard

[T8TRG8TR 17]

So I just started playing Dayz earlier today, and it seems impossible. I played for about 2 hours and never even found a weapon. I spawn and I have no idea where I am or where to go. I always find buildings but I only seem to find axes and flares. I usually play on regular servers.

Does anyone have any tips? I honestly think the most frustrating part is the "zeds". They are wayyyy faster and more coordinated than most zombies I've seen in other games/movies/tv. Plus they have really good hearing. So I usually end up spawning, sneaking around, finding nothing, and eventually getting a cut and slowly bleeding out.

I know its me and not the game, because plenty of people are awesome at this. And I'm usually not bad at games either. Basically could someone give me hints at what to do once I spawn so I can actually get into the fun parts of the game? Any help would be hugely appreciated!

[electro.pedros@gmail.com 2]

go watch gameplay

this game is good BECAUSE IT IS HARD and its the first of his kind even if we all ever think that would be so great :P

Im working overnight and for that last 5 days of work I was watching only to DayZ gameplay on youtube :P

[Disgraced 1123]

Experiment..

If you don't like the challenge of figuring stuff out yourself, try some videos or search around here.

The zombies/infected CAN be evaded... And there are weapons out there. A lot of people use loot maps online...

Like at Dayzmap.info Or dayzdb.com/map

If you're more intrepid, there are in game maps. I would recommend a veteran server. Recruit servers have things like name tags that can be seen at a distance and make you easier to kill.

[Detta (DayZ) 59]

I recommend you watch Downfall's stream. It can give you a brilliant idea on how to start DayZ.

www.twitch.tv/d0wnfalll

[zython (DayZ) 196]

when you spawn pay attention to the bottom right corner of your screen. It will tell you where you spawned. Then use the interactive map, here, to find what you need and get started in the right direction.

[sibexus 26]

It gets easier, huge learning curve. Just a few things...

- crawl prone when looting places, zombies will have a harder time spotting you

- don't run unless you're far away from zombies

- check out industrial sites for an axe early on, they're easier to loot

- look for a DayZ map online, you'll learn it eventually

[Moe King 13]

Dont watch gameplays. Learn the old fashioned way. Run>Die>Repawn>rinse repeat. Best way to learn this game.

[Disgraced 1123]

Dont watch gameplays. Learn the old fashioned way. Run>Die>Repawn>rinse repeat. Best way to learn this game.

I have to say that I learned a huge chunk of it myself... But I like to be challenged, not entertained, having cut my teeth on old Infocom and console games rather than modern games that just want to give you a movie with a few timed "A" button hits.

Sacrifice a few lives to learning... Realize that as you experiment with how zombies work or whatever, you will die some.

[electro.pedros@gmail.com 2]

Every other FPS I am playing usually I wanna go for the most populated server to get some challenge

In DayZ I've tried that as well and got killed every single time while trying to figure out if I need that stupid empty can or not :P

So I have started to play on server with about 10 players

Getting use to the mechanics of the games

The facts you can actually fix yourself a goal and accomplish it without getting random kill because you got a so powerfull crowbar is really good :P

[ninjaholic 116]

Zombies have a visual range of three eye bars, audio range of 1. Crouch walk, don't run and they'll normally not see you unless you're within a few tens of meters. Use buildings with two exits to lose hordes. Avoid skyling yourself. If you're in a fair fight, you're doing it wrong. Don't get attached to your gear. Don't get attached to that fully-functional bus you found either. Die, be zombie dinner, respawn and explore. Enjoy yourself. Don't miss the point. If someone told you surviving a zombie apocalypse was easy, they lied.

Edited July 25, 2012 by ninjaholic

[Cypherdiaz 28]

DayzDB.com

Dayzwiki.com

READ^

Seriously, i read about 6 hours worth before playing.

The map on DayZDB will help you find what you need as different stuff spawns in different types of structures (Military, Residential, Farm, Industrial)

The Wiki will give you a LOT of help on basic info.

Couple Bits of Advice for you..

1)When you LOG IN to a server (IE: once you can see the world) look at your BOTTOM RIGHT corner of the screen. 3 lines of text will pop up. The critical one here is the 2nd line. It will say the city or other major thing you are close to. Using this, and the DayZDB map you can find out where the hell you are and hope to get somewhere.

2)You can click ESC and Respawn to die and respawn (You have to back out to the big display and hit OK to go back in though) to try to get a new spawn point. Id recommend trying till you get 'airstrip', that will put you near Balota and the airfield. Just run it like a champ to the Air Traffic Control Tower on the airstrip. Zombies walk in buildings so any you got following you will get slowed down. Hopefully you get a gun in there. There's a ladder on the top thatll get you back to ground and around the zombies. Check the two hangers also, then go for the 4 stands to the SE of the airstrip across the road. Clear the zombies around em, usually good loot. This will probably get you at least A weapon, maybe some food and drink, and IF you are lucky..a MAP.

3)Watch tutorial videos on the MECHANICS of the game. Arma2 is a Mil Sim, its highly realistic (compared to COD/BF/ETC) so some of the mechanics are..difficult.

4)When you spawn..you have 1 Painkiller, 1 Bandage, 1 Flashlight. Use that bandage to stop from bleeding out and then find more. Id suggest holding 2 on you at least.

5)Guns you want for starting out: Id suggest IF you can find it..the Remington 870 with pellets. Good spread for easy shots plus a flashlight. Point is...Gun with attached light = godly starting out.

(Also, ignore the whole 'have fun...die..etc'. Been playing for close to a month. Died a total of 4 times, 1 due to getting shot in the butt with an Enfield by my friend who thought itd be funny and didnt realize the damage of that gun..)

Edited July 25, 2012 by Cypherdiaz

[dk_250 0]

I watched some youtube vids before I got into the game, I find that helped a lot.

You also want to always crouch walk in towns, and even crawl if they're facing you. Never run across roads, it's very loud. If you do pick up some zombies the best plan of action is to run inside a building, preferably one with 2 entrances so you can go in then run back out. If there's none around you sometimes you can shake them by going around a bunch of corners real quick and lose line of sight, then go prone or crouch walk away.

If you're bleeding out...well you have bandages for that.

Buildings that can be entered have windows you can see into, look for that.

Guns aren't everything, they have the potential to get you into more trouble than you were in...sometimes an axe is better, remember you can equip it as a weapon (dont forget to relaod it).

[G33z3r 13]

read these forums! they are gold.

these are some of the most helpful people that i have ever come across on any game forum.

almost any question you could ever ask has been answered really well by many of the active posters. :)

[Deftallica 0]

The zombies are a bit ridiculous for starting players, so don't worry it's not just you. And sometimes, yes, it can take a good while to find any sort of decent weapon. Like someone else said, check industrial areas and barns and there's a good chance you'll find an axe, which is arguably a better weapon to have than a sidearm in a lot of situations where zombies are the issue. Hole up in a building and you can one-hit hack them down as they come in, and from a far enough range that they shouldn't be able to hit you.

They aggro from a long range, they run stupid fast so they're always right on your ass. It is ridiculous. But some more experience in movement within the game and the zombies' mannerisms is all you need to get better. Most of the time, if you're crawling prone and the zombie isn't directly facing you, you can crawl by without being spotted.

Some players, like if you watch SeaNanners, for example, that dude is always running. Pretty much everywhere he goes, which I wouldn't recommend and most players here don't either. But he knows the layouts of the popular spots pretty well, circles buildings, goes in one end and comes out the other to break the zombies' line-of-sight and gets away, usually without even having to kill any.

As of right now, zombies can only shuffle around in buildings and run blazing fast outdoors. If you can find a building with a front and back door, lure them in one entrance, go out the other and book it. You can usually get away. If you do have stragglers, try and run to a wooded area and finish him off, and you should be out of earshot for any zombies in a town to hear.

I'm still pretty new, but that's what I've observed from both my own experience and watching others play. Finding a weapon can be a bit tough depending on where you spawn. I'm most familiar, right now, with spawning around Balota, which is close to Cherno. You can usually find a weapon or two in the nearby airstrip, and there's an industrial garage down on the coast that sometimes has goodies in it. The perk of that garage is that zombies can't get in there. The only catch is you have to be on the lookout for other players.

EDIT: To add to the above, another tip is that as of right now, zombies can't traverse docks. They can't walk on a surface that is directly above water. I'm sure this will change down the road, but if you're just starting out, aggro a bunch of zombies and are near the coast, if you can find a dock you can get on it and they can't follow. They WILL still be aggroed, so as soon as you hit grass they'll come running. But it gives you a moment to catch your breath and figure out a plan as long as someone else doesn't come along and shoot you in the face. Worse comes to worst, you can always log out and log back in to avoid the zombies. Don't do that if you come under fire, it's considered unsportsmanlike, I guess, lol. But if you're concerned there's no way you're going to lose the zombies and you don't mind some downtime I don't see the harm in signing out and back in.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Deftallica

[lethalwalou 0]

Finally a new player that doesn't whine when it gets too hard. Props for you on that. ;)

First thing you have to learn is the movement and how to use your inventory. There's tutorials everywhere. Then you need to learn the distances for aggroing. Best way to do that is to try to get in a small town without aggroing anyone. You shouldn't care about dying, we all did die in the beginning, some more than others. :D Try to learn the lootable buildings and the best ways to loot a town. When you have enough supplies, ie. two cans of food and three cans of soda, go north. You will find better weapons when looting deerstands than by going in Cherno. Honestly you shouldn't even go near Cherno or Elektro when you first start to play. After you have found a weapon and other supplies, just travel in the world and explore it. I have played for months and I haven't explored the whole world.

Best thing is to act like in war: When you accept that you will die eventually, you can do better. You have the courage to take risks and you become more confident in everything. Don't get too attached to your gear and don't get depressed when you die. It's normal to die in this game.

[mrnull 4]

i havnt been playing long, but the only things i looked for were controls and a loot map online, just to get a rough idea of where to find half decent gear

the rest of the time i've just been winging it, yeah ive died a trouck load of times, but ive enjoyed it, each death teaches u something new

once u learn the layut of the map and know where u roughly are without having to alt-tab out, it get easyer, u end up making "mental landmarks" so if u see certian things u know its a heavyly traveked area and know the run for a few minutes in another direction before contiueing on ur current path

get the basic's of how to play it, learn the rest

each server will be different

one server there could be a valley that is camped out all the time by snipers, on another there could be no-one except u and a wild pig

[eze01 0]

Some players, like if you watch SeaNanners, for example, that dude is always running. Pretty much everywhere he goes, which I wouldn't recommend and most players here don't either. But he knows the layouts of the popular spots pretty well, circles buildings, goes in one end and comes out the other to break the zombies' line-of-sight and gets away, usually without even having to kill any.

As of right now, zombies can only shuffle around in buildings and run blazing fast outdoors. If you can find a building with a front and back door, lure them in one entrance, go out the other and book it. You can usually get away. If you do have stragglers, try and run to a wooded area and finish him off, and you should be out of earshot for any zombies in a town to hear.

This. I run everywhere and usually get 4-10 zombies on my arsh. I run through where I am looting and sometimes have to kill a few with an axe. Next I run out the building and only get chases by 1 or 2. Finish these ones off by the makarov that you found while springing through cherno/elektro and you should be in the clear.

The most important thing is knowing where you are, find the map on dayzdb and learn it. Find out where you are and plan a route. I have dual monitors and it helps a ton but alt-tabbing will work as long as you know when to hide and when to run.

[thisisbleep 32]

Top tip: Look at all of the threads which offer tips on the forum, instead of making a new thread to ask for it to be handed to you on a silver platter :rolleyes:

http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/10051-index-of-helpful-threads/

[ian2buckz 14]

Ignore zeds and run east, follow the directions of the clouds when starting off. Aim for a firestation or a general store to find a weapon.

When you spawn, do not stop running until armed, etc. Avoid all contact with players.

Playing with friends DOES help.

[Dafaq 1]

http://dayzdb.com/map#3.097.112

[Testoman 0]

My first few hours were the best time in game by far. Had zero clue about anything. i still refuse to use loot maps, but now it doesnt take 10 hours to get weapon after spawn.

[Black Dow 21]

go watch gameplay

this game is good BECAUSE IT IS HARD and its the first of his kind even if we all ever think that would be so great :P

Im working overnight and for that last 5 days of work I was watching only to DayZ gameplay on youtube :P

The thing is, DayZ really isn't all that hard. It just has a really, really steep learning curve because the controls suck (seriously, they are awful for anyone who has played any or every other PC shooter ever made) and are very unintuitive, and the game gives you almost no useful items and no concrete objective when you first spawn. Couple those two factors together and you have a game that is very difficult for a first-time player and very easy for anyone who knows what to do.

Take zombies for instance. They are a huge threat to a new player, but once you know how to deal with them (which requires watching maybe a YouTube video or two), they are total pushovers. Once you've got two weapons, zombies are little more than an annoyance you occasionally have to put down.

The only thing that makes this game difficult once you've got the basics of survival down is other players, but that's true about literally every other multi-player game out there. There are always going to be players that are better than you and thus a bigger threat.

What makes this game good is not the difficulty, but rather the consequences of dying. When you die, you lose everything. That makes every firefight more meaningful than it might be in another game. Sure, finding supplies isn't terribly difficult, but it can be very annoying to have to start over from scratch. What also makes this game great is working together with friends to accomplish things, which is made cooler due to the open world sandbox game design.

I think a lot of people just get a hard-on by pretending that the game they play is much more difficult than "that game the n00bs play." In reality, this game doesn't really require more skill than any other online shooter. It just requires different skills.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Black Dow

[HMS 115]

Hey there. I just started playing too. I think I got it going like Monday night.

It's not what you're used to, and that is the fun and challenge. It's about as "fun" as a real survival situation would be - so, not always that entertaining, but it is rewarding.

A bit of a grind, but I like to immerse myself. No loot maps (that is lame, though I had no choice but to use the landmark map), no shooting other players for fun (payback and unintended consequences are a mofo).

I couldn't figure out voice comm. in the game so I started a voice chat with one friend over Steam and just tried to find each other from there.

Watch out at night. I fell to my death off a ladder because if I had used a light, I would have been shot or eaten.

If you have a gun and see someone getting chased or maul, maybe help them out. The day will come when you hope someone will help you.

Good luck and stay safe!

[Sula 1205]

Same as you, been playing for a couple of hours but I watched 3 or 4 weeks of vids by devildog, zemalf, sacriel and the totally brilliant nooby noobster to pick up the basics, as I couldn't get dayz to work.

I survived a couple of hours but died when I couldn't find water and I took my axe from my toolbelt but couldn't get it to swing - got eaten. Second time, I got chased and eaten after a Benny Hill type run across hillside for ten mins.

The best advice I can give is this. The second you arrive 1) hit the ground and then 2) look around you to see where you are.

If you don't do 1) zombies won't give you time to do 2).

After that, I'm a novice but I try to get under cover from snipers and zombies. Snipers are far more deadly than zombies if you're visible. And then I'd say find some pals to look out for you, to meet up and swap stuff. That's what I'm hoping to do.

Also, if by some miracle I find a weapon one day - I will never kill anyone who is unarmed, nor who has been friendly or helpful to me in the past. You have my word. So if you need help and you see me on a server and I can help you, let me know. I'll do what I can. Look out for Sula or sometimes Sulalee, as that's my full nickname/username. :)

PS. Don't be disheartened. I loved every minute of it and can't wait for my pal to be free to play later tonight. If you're around you should feel free to say hi or join us.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Sula

[DayZPvP.com 143]

Many good tips in this thread, may I please direct you to the site in my signature, more help is available on there.