Why does everyone want me dead?

[arched123 22]

KOS is increasingly more common but that's just because of mistrust and bad experiences. I've been playing for a week and a half (i think) and i have only ever walked into one person that has not tried to kill me. This guy had no weapon at all and i had an axe. Who knows? maybe once we found weapons he may have killed me for my stuff.

Most of the time if you don't KOS, you'll be the one on the floor with no brain left....

[jimmydamage 44]

People have gone full retard and since the institutions of society aren't available anymore due to the apocalypse, a bullet will have to suffice.

[Femme Fatale 49]

I guess its because of the nature of the game, tension all around you...

I don't buy this I think some people are just asses plain and simple! OP not everyone will shoot you on sight, but as you found out the hard way many will for greed or just fear of being shot first.

[GrendelZ 10]

Maybe he did not understand English? Or did not know how to use chat?

[Falcorn (DayZ) 21]

Well from my experience, if they have a gun, 99% of the time they're not friendly. I havn't killed any other player as I like to help people and work together. But, I'm slowly starting to turn because pretty much everyone will shoot you if they have a gun. One of the main problems for me is that they don't have the bandit skin anymore, as then you could tell from a range if you should kill them or try to approach them.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Falcorn

[Zithon 18]

Well, the reason people operate under Shoot on Sight is simple: They are scared.

On my second life I had found a Lee-Enfield and saw someone running like a madman at night (with a flashlight in hand). I approached to see if he was friendly (it was my second life), the reason he was running was simple, zeds. So I decide to do him a favor and I open up killing all the zeds eventually. Then I get a message that he has died. And my murder count was up from 0 to 1. So... I had accidentally hit him, and I do not doubt he was more paranoid later.

Another time I was in Cherno on a low pop server and see a guy running from zeds, so I kill them and say "friendly =D". He turns around and shoots me in the face.

Another time in Elektro I was looting some stuff from the supermarket (my only gun was a markarov) and someone sneaks up and headshots me.

Now after these experiences I am now a fully fledged Shoot on Sight player.

Just an hour ago I was planing to look for some STANAG mags at the airfield barracks. But, paranoid, I lay prone with my L85 on IR to scout for hostiles. And one guy appears. Sneaking slowly with a scoped M4 or M16 in hand. I think "should I really shoot him?" but he is heading towards me and aiming down sights while sweeping his view over me. So I panic and open up, killing him (and the server crashed or something so I couldnt even loot his corpse).

The best way to survive is to repay kindness with kindness and evil with evil and since most people in this game chose evil (for a short term benefit) and the few who start off trying kindness soon stop as they realize they are just being screwed over by those choosing evil.

Just look up Prisoner's Dilemma if you want to understand the situation more.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Zithon

[mad_orbitz 5]

I have met two players who were pretty nice to me in Stary. I do not take chances so I usually will shoot you if I don't know you. Only time I do not shoot is if you are unarmed or have a hatchet/crow bar.

[Welkin Gunther 0]

No one is friendly in Elektro. That's what i believe :).

[shaunova 1]

Most people dont want to share their precious beans lol

[Mojo Jojo 6]

OP not everyone will shoot you on sight, but as you found out the hard way many will for greed or just fear of being shot first.

Not everyone will shoot on sight, but most will. And very few people enjoy playing the martyr so much that they will endure needlessly dying over and over and over this way without learning to KOS and/or avoid all other players. The game basically trains everyone to KOS, regardless of their intention coming in. And then they train the noobs who come in after them. Under current game mechanics, DayZ is just a shooter, and you'll soon enough learn to play it that way.

[Baelethal 102]

I dont' usually post video, but this post needs this video.

Every time I encounter a player, it's different. Every time it's under different circumstances, with different results. But just remember, that one person you KOS could have been the person who was willing to help you out.

[prominentalex 76]

I've been in all kinds of situations. It's interesting to learn how people react & their behavior. I've found someone in the Balota control tower, he said don't shoot I have no weapon, I'm friendly. So I didn't shoot, I said here take this G17 and 1 mag. As I turn my back he opens fire, only to have me turn around and kill him in one hit. It's amazing how greedy people get.

[Littleassassin2 73]

Its actually gotten to the point where if there is shooting me and my buddy (who i met on the forums here) just drop and see if we can see them and go from there. I've only murdered 2 people and that was because they killed my friend and tried killing me. Other than that we just avoid everyone pretty much. Only twice have i actively gone people hunting, but to no avail.

[Sticker704 121]

Because you are a complication to everyone and it is best solved by shooting.

[amaROenuZ 144]

I attempted to let people live for the most part, but it's just too much of a risk. I run with a buddy from out of the game, and we've found that even the most docile seeming players will turn on you the second they think they can get away with it. It's why we stick to low pop servers and stay away from central areas.

[kitfoo@yahoo.com 13]

OP, that is friggin hilarious!!

[EchoJuliet 1]

My first time playing DayZ I walked into the school in Cherno (I think) unarmed. This person came down the staircase, looked at me then shot me for no reason.

A day or two after that I had a shotgun and I saw a sniper, I figured with a sniper he wasn't out trying to get a head shot on Zed so I shot him and looted him. It was either get sniped while I was leaving town, or kill him and save myself.

If I see someone being chased by Zed I'll kill the Zed and leave the survivor, but only if I feel like my life isn't in danger. In a real apocalypse, I'm looking out for myself and my group before I worry about anyone else.

[Skatman 4]

Most of it is just kids, but its the grown ups doing it too, Ive been shot at 9/10 times when Ive come into contact with another player, they need to implement a faction that you can choose at the start i.e Survivors, Bandits, Medics.

Have the bandits wear different clothing to Survivors so there easier to spot, Medics could have the red cross arm band.

[amaROenuZ 144]

I think a lot of the reason bandits are so common is that zombies aren't really threatening. There's no sense of PVE to the game, no difficulty outside of other players...and if that other guy happens to be bored, you're not going to have a chance to fire back. By the time you realize he's shooting, you're dead.

[Luke G 4]

Listen if you aren't a hunter you should travel in packs for safety.

Look up the story of the scorpion and the alligator I think it is.

Short story, but great point.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/scorpion.asp

I think this is what you are referencing...

[Overrwatcher 0]

If I see someone far away, I don't shoot. I either hide or run. That way if he's friendly, he doesn't die. If he's hostile, he doesn't kill me. If I shoot at him, he will take me as a bandit and shoot back.

If I see someone close range, I shoot first, ask questions later. Why? Because most of the time they will do the same thing. I learned this the hard way.

Earlier I had found a Winchester with 30 slugs. I used up 21 slugs to kill 14 zombies, so I had 9 slugs left. However, I was starving, dehydrated, and low on blood (3000). I found another barn, went inside, and noticed several dead zombies. I turned around, and I saw a guy right next to me, who also had a Winchester. I wanted to shoot but I hesitated, and he shot me. Last thing I saw before I blacked out dead was him dragging me, probably to loot my 9 slugs in peace. I was going to die of hunger/thirst anyway, so at least someone benefited from my death.

[magikalcoffee 5]

ive been in the same situation as u mostly untill today when i bumped into several guys all seperatly and at different times of day who were all friendly been dishing out the blood bags ive had stashed in my bag for days was nice to get to use them and not get shot in the face even after calling friendly!!

the number of friendly players is growing which is great but still be cautious even if they do proclaim to be friendly i escorted a guy into electro the other day kitted him out with a gun only to be shot in the back to a "haha"

[leeballington@tiscali.co.uk 6]

"Who doesn't want me dead?"

That's a good question, short answer......95% of players (In game ofc not in real life)

Because DayZ isn't a game but a mod of a game it has no real start or end. We are stuck in the middle.

I tried being the nice guy in the game but people will shoot you in the back so it's a bad way to go. If you play solo you have to shoot first and if you don't shoot first make sure you shoot last because otherwise you are dead anyway.

There is zero PvE in this mod so the only people you can trust are people you already know. I do hope that when this game becomes a free standing game it changes a little in that regaurd, because you won't really meet people though this game as they shoot first ask questions later. Shouting "FRIENDLY" over chat means nothing, although they may not shoot if you don't have a weapon as you are no threat.

A lot of people in this game are arseholes who will just kill you because you are there. The one major gripe I have with the game is I won't really meet people to play with, I have to play with friends I already know.

My message to anybody starting out is soon as you find a gun, if you see someone kill them before they kill you, you're on your own, get used to it. I have been shot many a time when I could have taken a shot but shouted friendly, but they have a gun and they think "Fuck him!"

Like I say people are arseholes. I don't get bitter about being killed off players, but I do get bitter about not being able to form alliances with players on the fly because of the "kill of be killed" attitude that's in the game.

ATM, I have to follow that suite and just shoot on sight. I don't go out of my way to kill players but if they are in my way or are where I need to go I have to take them down. That could be a worthy ally, but there is no point in taking that risk.

It's a huge shame if we have to form clans OUTSIDE of game to work with others, I'd rather meet people in game, in the world, in the hell we are both in, to work together, but at this moment there is no penalty to killing survivors and until there is it's just an "Everyman for himself" FPS, with zombies thrown in.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Lee1979

[mrducky (DayZ) 33]

I've been a solo survivor, I've been helping new players, and I've been a kill 'em all bandit.. Done all of that. And I really do see the why shoot on sight is so luring.

Based on my experiences there are just so many reasons to just shoot the other players instead of trying to communicate with them:

1. A lot of armed players will try to shoot you. At least those players you've encountered at any close range. You may choose not to shoot at them, but that will most likely get you killed. Wanna bet on the less than 30% odds he really is friendly? Shooting him on sight gets you a 100% odd of you surviving. Not shooting gets you maybe a 30% chance of surviving and 70% chance of you dying, and the other guy getting off with your gear with no implications.

2. Players with hatchets are often either really trying to kill you or just acting like idiots. Have a hatcet - run directly at some other player with it - still, expecting not to get shot? Now, having some common sense and not running like a madman with a hatchet might have just saved the guy.

3. Unarmed players will still fuck you up. A lot of them will either shoot you in the back the moment they get a weapon or they will just use TS to help their friends to ambush you. They don't need a weapon to kill you. They only need their comms. So it's better to just kill them. You have no other in-game mechanism to fight the invisible comms they are wearing.

4. Also, do half of the unarmed players really have to try to get right behind you? And why? I'm sure it has nothing to do with your backpack... Once again, it would add the chances of not getting shot by not trying to pickpocket the extra weapon from the backpack. Or to have the common sense to understand that other player that does not really trust you to begin with, might take the "I'll just constantly try to run right behind him" as an attempt to grab stuff from the backpack, even if you really weren't trying to do that.

5. The desync... The Arma 2 engine / DayZ is just so damn buggy... It causes a problem because you cannot even rely on what you see the other guy doing on screen.

A player with a hatchet? At a safe distance for a conversation? Hell no! He could be chopping off your legs as you speak. So... you still want to assume he's friendly? You know, when you suddenly hear your bones break, it is already clear he really wasn't really that friendly. Should have used your gun when you had the chance to shoot him from a distance.

How about someone with a gun looking somewhere, and you get a jump on him from behind... Instead of shooting, want to use the element of surprise to communicate and tell him that you're aiming at him from behind and not to move? ... Now, you're forgetting about the fact that you're not really behind him. He's already aiming at you. You just think you're behind him. A mistake that gets corrected when you suddenly drop dead from the bullet to the head. Once again, you could have just shot on sight to possibly save yourself from the desync bugginess.

6. Connection breakages, random kicks, server reboots... All of these tend to screw up those few times you might actually temporarily coop with some random encounter. All of those few coop times I've had in this game (ones that did not end in getting backstabbed), ended to some of those. The breakages might not be a problem for any people who are cooping using TS/mumble/etc. as they can re-organize the group to another server when those issues occur, but with some random encounter, it's basically the end of the coop session.

7. Boredom. The game has weapons, weapons and more weapons... Got all the good stuff already? Good, now what. What are you going to use the weapons for. The zeds? You know they will just spawn back within a few minutes of getting killed. You might just as well just keep on dropping all of your ammo on the ground while running around. Shooting the zeds is equally useful. So, might just as well use the weapons for what they were made for - shooting other people.

All in all. After the initial survival experience, there is little reason not to kill people on sight - Unless you want to complete the challenge of helping out a random noob without getting killed in the process.

[ChronicTacoz 0]

Im sure itll go away might be noobs wanting your stuff