Moving Solo, Slow+Cautious or Fast+Reckless?

[Obsolescence 129]

I was wondering if anyone could comment on how they handle moving across the map solo. Do you go slow and bino every tree line, do you crouch run most of the time? This is assuming I want to try to survive. If you move fast and reckless, I figure there is a better chance someone won't run up behind you and murder you since you'll be moving at the same speed, but I wanted yall's input.

Thanks as always for the advice and suggestions.

[Nimz41 105]

Well I suggest going along the coast on a night time server, hard to be spotted and allows you to keep track of where you are

[avalontreman 89]

Bino the treelines, crouch walk into town, go prone near zeds, but run like hell when I aggro them and find the nearest building.

[stsjamie 34]

Generally I find just sprinting to work far better. Chances are a zombie will agro you so it's best to just run and zigzag through trees and lose them. This is if you want to get from A to B fast. If I'm going through an airfield or a town/city, I'll generally recon an area for a few mins, plan a route, and go for it. If I think there is a player around, I'll move slowly and cautiously.

[P1nbaK 4]

Find some woods, navigate where needed and make sure to keep my eyes OPEN.

[spankimus 71]

Sticking around one location too long increases the chance someone in the area will see you. If you're crouching running, they'll see you anyways. Seems best to just run like hell, which also makes it harder for a sniper to land a shot on you.

[roflmao.haskins@yahoo.com 17]

Used to play slow, ran around in the west looting barns and deer stands for gear and food due to fear of banditos, got killed by damn debug plains and bleeding out... got bored too.

New spawn fast play, run all the way to Balota, find hatchet, go on hatchet killing spree due to graphics pissing me off and slow server. 9 zombie kills later, and a new nickname among squadmates: "AXECOP", I sprint into Cherno, find a Lee enfield, cap some zeds that were trailing me, and sprint to the church. Cap some more zeds, find a 1911 SCORE, cap some more zeds, sprint to the supermarket, find an alice pack and food, cap a zed, sprint to firehouse, cap a couple more zeds, and sprint out.

Fast forward to more adventures in Balota, killing some boars, making some fireplaces, finding a new player and not killing him, and more zombie shenanigans. In the end I had much more fun playing fast only because it's way cool to not have to be worried about being spotted, and then potentially dying when you are just like "Fuck it, if I get spotted I'll waste you anyways". The only thing I would be worried about is other players, but other than the noob I found in Balota, I didn't see a single one.

[HMS 115]

Dunno what "bino" means, but I used to crouch and crawl everywhere. Now, I run like the devil. The only downside is that the Zs will noclip into whatever building they want, so it's easier once you find a hatchet.

Still, I avoid humans at all costs.

[Obsolescence 129]

Dunno what "bino" means, but I used to crouch and crawl everywhere. Now, I run like the devil. The only downside is that the Zs will noclip into whatever building they want, so it's easier once you find a hatchet.

Still, I avoid humans at all costs.

To bino a treeline means, "use binoculars on a treeline." When I'm with my friend in game we just refer to them as binos. Just forgot I wasn't communicating to him.

[HMS 115]

Oh yeah - I guess I do it too as part of general avoidance. Good idea for sure.

[Baka Survivor 20]

I go slow, crouch run, keep looking around and even behind while doing so, stop often and listen to sounds. I do bino the treelines at times. I'm not too worried about someone running up from behind, I'm aware of my surroundings.

I like moving cautiously, it isn't boring to me. I probably would be cautious in real zombie apocalypse with murderous humans running around too. This way I almost always see or hear other players before they see me and I survive (day 25 going). Actually the only time I have been killed in a long time was when I stopped playing cautiously for a little while on a server with only a few players. Bumped into a player in the woods and lost the shootout.

[GrendelZ 10]

Yeah, slow and cautious. It's not just about crouch-walking, you have to limit the angles where you will be visible. The biggest problems now, is that there are a lot of people who cheat to see through the foliage and darkness.

[herrjon 478]

Depends on the situation. For loots, if there's an area I know I can lose zeds without any trouble, just run. Otherwise stealth-mode. In both situations I peak around all corners, and am constantly keeping an eye out for popular sniper locations.

As for traveling, stick to the trees, bino any hills with a treeline, and check my six every few minutes, if not less than that. Crouch run while in the trees, less attention and I think you get thirsty/hungry slower than sprinting, could be wrong, just seems that way. If I do have to cross a field or road, just sprint and move in random zig-zags.

[YassirX 54]

I always run into the village and track all zombies, than I go into a big building and get them to lose my track.

[Deadend197 8]

Sticking to just either one will get you killed you have to switch out in certain situations, stealthy if you think someone is in the same city as you so you can get behind him and kill, reckless if you desperately need some food and see that no zombies have spawned in the town your are in. (Meaning that there's no other players around) Zombies are easy to loose you don't really need to worry when going reckless in a town.

[CerebralZombie (DayZ) 151]

Depends on where you are. Usually fast n reckless around zombies and further away from main towns. Always look around with the alt and use you peripherals, and when your in towns/airfields scope out the area to see if there are players or zombies walking around. If you see zombies around further away then a player should be around there or has gone through that area.

[o00Frost00o 15]

Both have pros and cons.

If you move slowly, you are harder to spot, but easier to kill once spotted.

Sprinting is exact opposite, BUT you move faster.

I sprint pretty much everywhere, even in small towns if there isn't another player around (but you have to have a good loot route before doing so).

[CaptainIcy 24]

‎I have never had a team on DayZ and have played since early May. So I've been solo the whole way through, (aside from various team-ups with randoms every now and then) and the best way to travel is at night on low player-count servers. (Or whatever, that's just how I do it) I always stand-run in open fields and forests. When I'm closer to a city or a hot-spot or on servers with more players (15+) I crouch-run most of the time. When in a town I crouch-run if there seems to be no one around and no zombies chasing me. When near zombies I always crouch-walk and in some cases in a REALLY hot spot I prone and take all day just to cross a road… because it's most likely worth it. I've been on this current life since late May, so my methods seem to work. :)

Also, NEVER fire a weapon unless absolutely 100% necessary. Crucial to not alerting zeds/survivors. If you get zombies after you, start running up the nearest hill/away from the zombies that aren't chasing you so they won't hear the gunshots, get a good distance away, then shoot as much as you like. Don't go back into the town/place for a bit just in case anyone heard.

If you need more tips/advice for solo-ing just ask.

Edited August 9, 2012 by CaptainIcy

[hoorah (DayZ) 36]

It depends on what you're trying to avoid - players? Or Zombies?

If zombies - f it. Run like hell, all the time.

If players, you have to take it a bit slower.

If I'm a fresh-ish spawn (say, low tier gear like pistol or double barrel), I'll generally run around in towns, going from building to building to lose aggro, and each time, looking out the windows to see if there are other players around. Not too worried about being hit by a sniper, and if I run into another player, I either call out to them if I'm in a mood for shenanigans, or try to gain tactical position if I'm not. If I'm a fresh spawn in the woods - again - f it. Run like hell.

If I've got decent gear, and I'm not in a big city (redundant, I know), I play much more carefully. The MOST IMPORTANT thing you need to learn is HOW, WHEN, and WHERE zombies spawn. If I'm going into a new town, I try to get a view of the town from far out and use my binocs to see if zombies have spawned there. If they have, there is another player present. If there are no zombies, the town is safe-ER, but not totally safe. Tiny towns I generally dont (or do a very quick) scan of the treeline for snipers. A place like stary sobor - oh, I'm definitely scanning the treeline for snipers there.

I've also heard that zombies will generally wander in the direction of the person that spawned them, even if not aggro'd. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but if it is, watch where they are wandering. If they are wandering up a hill, you probably have a sniper up there.

Running in between towns out in BFE, I generally run flat out, but try to stick to the tree-line. Ideally, I'm running along the peak of a ridge, alternating sides, such that if anyone is tailing me, they're going to lose my position for a few minutes at a time at least.