A few Advanced Tips for Players

[BabylonUSArmy 21]

This isn't really a guide, and some of this may be common knowledge to some of you, but I thought I would consolidate and offer a few useful things I have found in the few months I have been playing DayZ that may help you survive a little while longer. This is directed at players who have some level of experience and knowledge of how the game functions.

This is current as of 1.7.2.4. If any of these items are changed in a future patch, I will update this post.

Tip #1: Choose your weapons wisely.

Assuming you have a chance to pick one weapon over another, there are several things that are important to consider. One is ammo availability. Currently, this is not a concern as ammo is "infinite", but this is slated to be fixed in patch 1.7.3. Having a suppressed M4 is great fun, but if you can't find ammo for it, it's just a giant paperweight.

Another consideration, and probably more importantly, is stopping power. With most players likely to d/c if a firefight isn't going their way, it's important to your survival to make sure that your first shot does enough damage that if the coward does d/c, he logs back in in shock and bleeding profusely. My favorite all-around weapon is the M14 AIM. 2 shots will put someone down, ammo is plentiful, and it has an optic for faster target acquisition. The FAL is a close second, and while being a heli-crash spawn only, it's one of the most common loot spawns at those sites. The MK48 is a beast, having the same capabilities as the M14, but with 5 times the ammo capacity. Keep a hold of that one if you're lucky enough to find it. As a general rule, don't waste your primary ammo on zeds, that's what your sidearm is for. Save your primary ammo for when you need it against players, especially if you're using a weapon with rare ammo.

Your sidearm should be the primary tool you use to kill zeds, not players. 1911 and revolver damage was reduced in the last patch and are no longer effective against players. Any of the sidearms are sufficient as long as you are getting headshots. That said, the M9/G17 hold twice as much ammo as the 1911 and take up the same amount of inventory space. Get one if you can.

Use the M16/M4 variants at your own risk. They are common and so is their ammo, but they lack knockdown and killing power unless you get the drop on your opponent. Use them in full auto and at close range if you can, as someone with a higher powered weapon can easily react and kill you in the time you're click, click, clicking your mouse.

I personally don't find the FAL AN/PSV-4 or the L85A2 AWS to be very practical weapons. You can only get the most out of them at night and/or at long range. They're cumbersome to use in close quarters, and the optics handicap you more than anything if your target is within 50 meters.

Finally, don't underestimate the starting weapons. They may look goofy, but most of them have the same or better killing power as the most rare weapons in the game.

Tip #2: Make the most of your inventory space.

With an ALICE pack, you can easily hold 2 primary weapons (if you choose), a few mags for each, meds, food and drink. Food and drink is so plentiful; there really is no reason to hold more than 2 drinks and 2 cans of food in your inventory, if that. 1 set to be used when needed, the other in case you have terrible luck scavenging more. Slain zombie corpses are one of the best sources for food and drink in the game. No need to raid a supermarket when there are a few zombies nearby. Again, with a supposed fix for infinite ammo in the works, it will be more important for most people to use that inventory space for ammo rather than food and drink.

Tip #3: Observation is critical.

A no-brainer, obviously, but let's dig a little deeper here. There are a few very helpful ways to better your odds against other players other than simply looking around, although that is a crucial starting point. When approaching a high-traffic area, there are a few things you should look for. First is the zombie counter in the debug menu. As of this patch, zombies despawn relatively quickly after a player leaves an area. So say you are approaching the NWAF. You look at the counter and it says "4/4". It's a safe bet that no one is around that general area since coming within close proximity of the buildings spawns a good number of zombies.

Second, take a minute to observe the zombie behavior. Again, you are approaching the NWAF. You see that there are 102/112 zombies alive. That's not terribly helpful, so you proceed cautiously. As you get closer, you notice packs of 2 and 3 zombies walking closely together away from the buildings. These are zombies you just spawned, and you can watch the zed counter to confirm. This is another good indication that the general area is probably clear of other players. Also, be aware of zombie corpses, as this indicates a player has been through the area. Additionally, you should note any unusual positions of zombies. Zombies do not enter buildings of their own accord, unless they are following a player. I had one instance where, in Vybor, I was in the office building looking into the supermarket. I was about to exit the building and enter the store when I noticed a zombie walking between the isles and another in the doorway. Sure enough, there was another player crouched in the far corner. All of a sudden, he disappeared, and so did the zombies near him. About 15 seconds later, he reappeared, and I shot him in the back of the head for being a D/Cing whore.

Third, note any items that look out of place. AKMs don't spawn in barns. Raw meat doesn't spawn in the barracks (or anywhere). Coyote patrol packs (the starting ones) don't spawn in deer stands. Any of these things are clues that someone has been in that area since the last server restart. That may have been 10 seconds ago, or 5 hours ago, but it bears noting all the same. A particularly devious player may leave valuable loot in a conspicuous place as "bait" for anyone who may not know better.

Fourth, LISTEN. Not just for footsteps, although this is your biggest clue someone else is close. You can hear virtually every action another player makes. Eating, drinking, reloading, and constructing can all be heard from about 5-10 meters away. And on that note, limit the noise you make. Don't "PKSKSHHHHHH!" open a can of pop in the middle of the barracks if you think there might be other players around.

Finally, move quietly. While walking, you can tap the W key to move forward without making noise.

Tip #4: Finding the Good Stuff.

While definitely not necessary to survive, or even enjoy the game for that matter, most of us want the uber-cool tactical gear. The trouble is getting to it without getting killed. The first and most important thing to do is to STAY AWAY FROM CHERNO! Seriously, unless you're into PVP, there's no reason to go to Cherno, Elektro, Stary, etc, etc. You can be guaranteed that there are snipers sitting who knows where with nothing better to do than shoot whatever hapless fool wanders by. More to the point, there is nothing in those cities that can't be found in much safer areas. I found camo clothing in an outhouse once for crying out loud. Same goes for the SW and NE airfields. OK, so I don't mean "don't ever go there", but go there at your own risk. Be prepared to die and lose all your progress every time you come within 50m of a major area. If it's been several hours since the last server restart, you're probably going to find mostly garbage anyway.

So, where are some good, safe places to find decent gear? Deer stands are great if you know where to look. If you don't know where to look, google a map of deer stand locations. They tend to be on the edge of treelines looking out over fields. Heli crash sites can also be a treasure-trove of valuable gear. The problem is finding them. With hundreds of possible random spawn points, a limited number of sites per server, and gear that doesn't respawn, heli crash sites can be very hit or miss. While I've not seen an exact number of sites listed anywhere, I'm going to say, based on my personal experience, that there are more than 3 and fewer than 6 crash sites per server. Probably 4, maybe 5. If someone knows and has a source, I'll amend this section and give credit. In any case, the odds don't sounds great, do they? No, not great, but if you know where to look, your odds improve. Heli crashes seem to follow some basic rules: they don't spawn in cities, or forests, or bodies of water. They seem to like hillsides, in open fields, near roads. Here are a few of the areas I've found crash sites with the most regularity: South of Vybor, Dichina, and north of Rogovo; west of the NWAF; north and south of Stary; north and east of Polana; and south and west of Krasnostav. You aren't going to find great stuff there (or anywhere) every time, so don't wet your pants when you see a crash site. Loot at Heli crash sites can be tricky to see, particularly if it's on a hill or in tall grass. A cursory glance might give you the impression that there's nothing there, when in fact it's obscured by brush or the helicopter itself. Crawling will flatten the grass and can reveal hard to see items. Check near the skids and the door on the ground, as sometimes items can spawn underneath them.

I hope that some of this information was helpful to some of you guys and gals who have been playing for a bit, but struggle with surviving for more than a day or two. If any of the information I've posted is incorrect, or less correct than information you have, post a link to the source and I'll amend the post and give you credit if it's accurate. Add your own tips in the comments if you like. If they're particularly helpful, I'll add them in and credit you.

Thanks for reading!

Edit: Added to Tip #1 and 4 and removed a "controversial" bit of information.

Edited August 9, 2012 by BabylonUSArmy

[AnimeSniper 1]

meow :3, all i know is i have the biggest gun in the game

nyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~

[vsbriCk 2]

sign. <3 M14 AIM :)...i once shoot a sniper on top of chernos industrial block at about 550 meters :D love that gun...

[BabylonUSArmy 21]

sign. <3 M14 AIM :)...i once shoot a sniper on top of chernos industrial block at about 550 meters :D love that gun...

Haha, very nice! Can't beat that rifle for utility, that's for sure.

[noMad17 13]

Please explain to me how YOU turning down YOUR view distance on foliage etc goes both ways?

Because YOU turning YOUR view distance down doesn't make other players see you better as well. As of this matter, yes, it is an exploit.

[calthehunter 61]

Please explain to me how YOU turning down YOUR view distance on foliage etc goes both ways?

Because YOU turning YOUR view distance down doesn't make other players see you better as well. As of this matter, yes, it is an exploit.

Think he means "it goes both ways" as in, any player has the option to do this?

Edited August 8, 2012 by calthehunter

[noMad17 13]

Think he means "it goes both ways" as in, any player has the option to do this?

Sure, that doesn't mean they will. Any player has the option to do anything really, that doesn't mean it's not cheating or exploiting. If something goes both ways that means that what you do will put yourself in an equally bad position.

[DR@GON (DayZ) 20]

Here is some additional "advanced" info I came across about heli crash sites... this is not my info, nor can I confim it (havent had much time to play since I found it)... anyway, it sounds legit to me.... check links in the 1st video link for a map of crash sites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu9SztUXvIw

[BabylonUSArmy 21]

Think he means "it goes both ways" as in, any player has the option to do this?

Yes, this is what I meant. I don't really see how you can call this an true exploit since many player's computers aren't able to run the game with textures/terrain/lighting etc turned up past low anyway. It's a consequence of how the game was built. I don't like it, it don't think it's a good feature, but I'm not going to go spend $250 on upgrades just so I don't have to worry about it. And like I pointed out, I'm just as vulnerable to it as anyone else.

I hope you could infer from my post that I'm not the type of player who camps out on a hill to snipe. I find that playstyle at odds with the spirit of the game.

[@ndreas 15]

... helpful hints indeed.

And since the first "Quake"-player turned down every effect and texture-render to be faster on target than his opponent, reducing details to get (unfair) advantage commenced.

Unless it is coded into the game to be not alterable at all, some will eventually do it.

I prefer nice optics over x-ray-vision, but that will cause additional deaths, so everyone has to make up this for themselves.

Edited August 9, 2012 by @ndreas

[thewanderer 16]

... helpful hints indeed.

And since the first "Quake"-player turned down every effect and texture-render to be faster on target than his opponent, reducing details to get (unfair) advantage commenced.

Unless it is coded into the game to be not alterable at all, some will eventually do it.

I prefer nice optics over x-ray-vision, but that will cause additional deaths, so everyone has to make up this for themselves.

how is it an "(unfair) advantage" as you put it? Everyone can do it if they want as its available to all... how is that unfair?

[@ndreas 15]

... it isn't "unfair" per se, that's why I put it in brackets - if you want, just read my sentence without the word in brackets.

You can think yourself and make up your own opinion, I am sure ;)

Edited August 9, 2012 by @ndreas

[BabylonUSArmy 21]

Heh, I kinda regret adding that bit in there, as it has derailed the conversation and the intent of the post. I'm going to edit that portion out because I'd rather not have us nitpicking over whether it's legitimate or not. It exists in the game, but if some people feel it could be classified as an exploit, then it's not something I want to encourage others to do.