Help me get started.

[swatti 1]

Been watching all sorts of tutorial videos but still can ficure out this game/mod...

Weapons:

How or where do i get a gun? Is there a no-PVP-setting, everyone just wants to kill eachother, co-op?

Seem to find ammo there and here, but no guns. Axe i have found, does nothing to zombies seemingly...

Zombies:

How do you "lose em" if they find you. Even if i go prone some zed just runs up to me and starts bashing. They dont seem to "use" doors, they just no-clip thru em. Is there any other "way to travel" then going prone and crawling around? If i stand up, everything within a mile comes running at me.

Spawning:

Can i respawn faster somehow? These loading-times are killing me.

EDIT:

Chat:

How do i talk to ppl on the server? I seem to be able to cycle thru some channels but cant seem to talk to anyone even if some were right next to me...

First time ever playing the mod. Kinda like the idea and its impressive thats it built on ARMA-engine and all, it does have some issues tho...

Edited August 20, 2012 by swatti

[Cats 83]

Weapons:

In towns, you will find nothing but ammo, empty cans and some food.

Get to a bigger city will probaly get you a Makarov or Low-tier rifle, such as enfield.

To get good weapons, visit:

- Fire stations

- Army buildings, such as tents or airfields.

- Deer stands

- Loot a survivor-corpse

Zombies:

Dont run near buildings,

just crouch.

Once one is Agro (Moving, following you.) take cover in a building or shoot him.

running might also work but it might also get you a ton of new Zeds following you.

Spawning:

It might get faster if you set quality to the lowest.

Otherwise, no options.

[xmayze 1]

Weapons:

You can get guns in barns, or military buildings .. also tree stands .. see www.dayzdb.com

the axe is very good if you cant seem to fun a gun. Just pick it up and press R to reload it (i know, it's weird, but it works)

Zombies:

If they see you, run through trees, zig zagging, or just run in a building and out the other door (if it has one) this will usually shake them long enough. If not, run through more houses. Zombies slow down when you go into buildings. in the daytime, youll mostly be doing a lot of prone sneaking, i would suggest trying a night server, which will provide you with better stealth, but it is of course .. harder to see.

Spawning:

if you die, simply hit esc, abort, disconnect back to the lobby (where you see the players on the right column) then reconnect. dont back the whole way out to the main menu or anything like that.

Hope this helps.

[bezerker 11]

hey there swatti and welcome to dayz!

Weapons, you can find guns in many places but your best bets are deerstands,airfields,helli crash sites. the axe is a great weapon vs zombies it is silent and can 1 shot them. but yeh all players will usually kill you atm thats how most people play :(

Zombies, try to use LOS (line of sight) if u dart through bushes or behind hills and they lose line of sight they will drop aggro on you

yeh loading times are slooow but thats just the state of the mod atm.

[wok 25]

Axe does kill zombies with one hits. Easiest way to find your first weapon is in barns or deer stands.

To lose zombies find big trees or pines and zig zag, once you lose the line of sight from the zombie crouch walk away, always looking back to see if the regain line of sight, If they do, repeat.

Also, yesterday I found a weird way to lose the zombies, near the supermarket on Zelenogork, there are some big rocks you can walk up to and it makes you invisible to zombies.

Edited August 20, 2012 by sebastian.w

[voodooactual 58]

As a personal tip, I find the Military Medical Camp at Balota the greatest place to find "Low" Military grade weapons (M16A2, M4A1, AKM, AKS-74U, AK-74) and a pocket of ammo, as it's simply 4 deer stands in one place. Do be wary though, as the airfield also has some half decent stuff there, but generally I find more at the Medical Camp.

[Siorus 7]

In addition to what everyone else has already said (and repeating some of it)-

Been watching all sorts of tutorial videos but still can ficure out this game/mod...

Weapons:

How or where do i get a gun? Is there a no-PVP-setting, everyone just wants to kill eachother, co-op?

First, in my opinion, guns are more likely to get you killed as a new player than help you. The first gun I found was a Lee Enfield, which I happily regarded as the same as hitting in a code for Godmode. After my first shot alerted every zombie in the neighborhood that dinner was ready I had a far bleaker view of guns in the game. And that isn't to say that guns aren't great for killing zombies or bandits (or survivors!), but I would find one and then try to learn when to use it (which hopefully will be rare). Zombies are incredibly easy to out-maneuver in this game as long as you never run into a building with only one exit with zombies chasing you or if you don't get stuck on something. Also, going prone and crawling is your friend. Essentially you put on the one ring and will be practically invisible to everything except ringwraiths... oh, and other players.

That said, if you're in a big city guns can be found in the pub/hotels, office buildings, fire stations, etc. Out in the country I like the large warehouses/barns as they offer a lot of loot spawns. At the very least you'll probably find a hatchet (or if you're me, go through 3 buildings finding nothing but hatchets in each before you find a gun).

This map shows all the loot spawns. If you would prefer to just have a vague idea of what to look for and not specifically what areas have the desired loot spawns, I recommend not looking at it.

http://db.dayzwiki.com/map/chernarus

As for the no-pvp setting, no, pvp is always active. I wouldn't say everyone wants to kill each other, but lots of people will kill you whether they like it or not for fear that you will kill them. The consensus seems to be to find a group to play with, preferably with people you know from real life as they are less likely (I say less because manic moments of 'I wonder what it would be like to shoot him while he's looting that backpack' might happen) to backstab you. If you have a microphone, hold down caps to say that you're friendly if you're feeling lucky, and try not to take it too hard if they kill you and steal your hard-earned beans.

Seem to find ammo there and here, but no guns. Axe i have found, does nothing to zombies seemingly...

Guns are out there, but you need to learn the risk/reward ratio for certain spots. I recommend Zelenogorsk. Usually not that many people there and the supermarket is generally pretty accessible. If zombies chase you (which if you aren't patient enough to crawl or crouch run they probably will), lead them through the front, loot along the way, and run out the back. They'll be stuck having to walk inside while you make your get away. I usually find at least one pistol there.

Zombies:

How do you "lose em" if they find you. Even if i go prone some zed just runs up to me and starts bashing. They dont seem to "use" doors, they just no-clip thru em. Is there any other "way to travel" then going prone and crawling around? If i stand up, everything within a mile comes running at me.

Going prone after they see you is useless, you have to have been crawling beforehand. If you don't want to crawl everywhere then run in crouch mode (hit X). If you want to move a little slower (for example, across roads, which makes your visibility shoot up), hold shift while you move. Lose zombies by running up super steep hills, running through dense trees (making sure not to get stuck yourself), running around fences, and best of all- through long buildings. They have to go slow when they go into a building. And yeah, doors won't help you.

Spawning:

Can i respawn faster somehow? These loading-times are killing me.

The only solution I have found is looking for different servers. I am on the east coast of the US and for some reason German servers run incredibly fast for me in terms of loading time. Find good servers and write them down somewhere so you know which ones to go back to later to avoid the loading nightmares.

First time ever playing the mod. Kinda like the idea and its impressive thats it built on ARMA-engine and all, it does have some issues tho...

Yep.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Siorus

[DemonSlayer666 5]

Tip #1: Read the dayzwiki. It's very helpful.

Weapons: Guns can be found just about everywhere except in industrial buildings, but you can find ammo there. Barns are a great place for starter guns. Note that using a gun is dangerous and will alert any nearby zombies. I highly recommend using the hatchet over any rifle (to start). A pistol is great, because you can easily switch between the hatchet and pistol. You can see all the loot spawns at dayzdb.com, like xmayse recommended, or look for buildings you can enter by being able to see through the windows.

Zombies: To evade zombies, break line of sight (LOS). Crouch in a bush, run through or around a building and go prone. They will come investigate and can reestablish line of sight, so you need to hide. Zombies run as fast as you do. When you aggro one, stand up and run. Don't wait until they are beating the crap out of you. Also, you can lose them by running uphill at an angle (so you stay at top speed), then zig zag up the hill. The zombies will run straight at you, but at the slowest speed because they will go straight up the hill. You can easily outdistance them and break LOS.

Spawning: Nope. Doesn't always happen, but sometimes it takes a long time to load. Wait it out, or kill it and restart.

Chat: Switch to the direct communication channel when you start the game, use "." to switch channels. You can then talk directly to people by holding down the Caps Lock key (push to talk). Anyone close-by will hear you.

Edited August 20, 2012 by DemonSlayer666

[Mos1ey 6301]

When you're standing © and sprinting you run the same speed as the zombies except they zig-zag and stop to try and hit you when they get close. If you aggro one and it starts chasing you, just run for dear life. Even if more start tailing you they won't catch you so it's fine. Just beware of other players, running full speed with 5 zombies in hot persuit can give your game away a little. xD Head in to a building with a back way out or break their line of sigh using trees, buildings or anything else you can find to lose them.

Deer stands are the best way for a new player to find decent weapons. If you go to 3 without finding an AK I'll eat my hat. I found a coyote backpack in one last night. ^_^

[Captain Rhodes 3]

Great advice guys, been getting my ass kicked and these tips have certainly helped.

[crockett (DayZ) 41]

best tool you can have for this game..

http://dayzdb.com/map

Also they are linked in the pined topic at top of this forum section but check out this guys videos.. he has some nice quick starts and various guides.

http://www.youtube.com/user/dayzguidez/videos?view=1

[swatti 1]

PROGRESS!

Found a shotgun(winchester) AND a x-bow... But i cant seem to collect my bolts once fired and it alerts every zed in the country.

I found a small truckload of ammo for the shottie buuuuut no, cant use ANY of em, since they are magic-ammo and will only fit in M1014 and not my SAME CALIBRE shotgun. Cmon, stuff like this should be kinda universal ^^

Well, atleast i have a shotgun.

Also found a PM, decent, hit-detection is bit off and its hard to tell if i hit his head or not. Zombies really should not move so damn fast.

EDIT: PISSED OFF NOW!

Finaly got myself some decent gear, decided to log off when i log in, boom, i HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN! Why!?

Also i remember seeing the magic letters "rpg" and yet there is no charter-developement as far as i can see.

EDIT2: Time

How do i tell what in-game time in particular server has, in this game night really is night and i cant see anything. So i'd prefer a day.

EDIT3: boo boo

Umm, for some reason, i got my previous charter back, that was good. Found an Axe but it doesnt hit anything, ended up dead trying to take on a lonely zombie...

For the love of god why isnt there a HP regen of some sort?! food gives like 200-300 and zombies hit for over 500...

Surviving the seemingly endless loading-screens of MANY different types is starting to feel like worse then the zombie-apocalypse. Reducing graphics to operation flashpoint-level did not help...

Edited August 21, 2012 by swatti

[swatti 1]

Ok, thats it, im out...

- I keep losing charters all the time, some ive gotten back, some i havent.

- Putting items into backpacks makes em dissapear

- Getting health back is nearly impossible

- and losing it is as easy as closing a door

- Zombies respawn on top of you

- and have super-human senses

- Navigation is way too hard

- and distances are HUGE

- No actual co-op element

- and super-geared pvp-geeks hunt you

It quite amazing what can be built on top of ARMA-engine and im VERY impressed what they have managed to do but the way this game/mod is, it isnt "fun", i keep fighting game-engine limitations, poor mechanics and loading screens more then i actually play and in the end, there is no "goal" or point to this whole thing. While i simply love the gritty and brutal hardcore gameplay, the engine itself sets quite hard limits and those make the gameplay frustrating and sometimes very boring.

I give the dev-team all my respect and hope them the best but sadly im out. Thx for all the help folks.

[Steve.C 23]

Find a backpack tutorial. You're doing it wrong.

Sneaking past zombies is cake. The eye and ear icons make it easy once you understand zombie hearing and sight distances. You have to be willing to learn from your mistakes. If you are unwilling, this game is not for you.

If you need health, find the following: hatchet, matches, combat knife. You use the hatchet to kill animals, the combat knife to gut them for raw steaks, the hatchet to cut down trees, and the matches to start a fire to cook the steak. Cows give eight steaks, goats three, rabbits and chickens one. Each steak is, as everyone with the internet knows, 800 blood. Kill every animal you find for the steaks. Only start fires in safe areas, as they're easy to see.

Navigation is relatively easy with a third-party map, or very easy with an in-game map. I'm to the point where I think I'm good without a map, as long as I stay around Cherno, Elektro and Stary. Getting to other places isn't terribly hard once you know those three, and if one of those three doesn't have a map, you're doing it wrong. Remember that the clouds always go east and learn to navigate with the stars. Understand UTC in order to discern time in server.

Blah blah blah. All this info is here if you search. All this info becomes apparent if you spend the time to understand the game and become immersed.

[cyanyde 165]

Great thread up until the point where you quit.

I know we've all felt that way as well at one point or another, but the thing you have to realize is that this mod is a prototype of what's to come.

Call it "Proof of concept" if you like.

While none of us can honestly say that we don't hit our fair share of "beartraps" in our enjoyment of DayZ, we all have different reasons why we keep playing. You have to figure out what yours is, and then decide whether or not it's worth putting up with the bullshit along the way.

Trust me, when this game is finished, it will be a long way from where it is now, but you will be immeasurably better at it, if you stick around.

ps. Don't get attached to your gear. ;)

[swatti 1]

Find a backpack tutorial. You're doing it wrong.

Sneaking past zombies is cake. The eye and ear icons make it easy once you understand zombie hearing and sight distances. You have to be willing to learn from your mistakes. If you are unwilling, this game is not for you.

If you need health, find the following: hatchet, matches, combat knife. You use the hatchet to kill animals, the combat knife to gut them for raw steaks, the hatchet to cut down trees, and the matches to start a fire to cook the steak. Cows give eight steaks, goats three, rabbits and chickens one. Each steak is, as everyone with the internet knows, 800 blood. Kill every animal you find for the steaks. Only start fires in safe areas, as they're easy to see.

Navigation is relatively easy with a third-party map, or very easy with an in-game map. I'm to the point where I think I'm good without a map, as long as I stay around Cherno, Elektro and Stary. Getting to other places isn't terribly hard once you know those three, and if one of those three doesn't have a map, you're doing it wrong. Remember that the clouds always go east and learn to navigate with the stars. Understand UTC in order to discern time in server.

Blah blah blah. All this info is here if you search. All this info becomes apparent if you spend the time to understand the game and become immersed.

Inventory management should not let you lose items, no matter how wrong you do it... I suppose the engine has its limits, i understand it, just pissed me off. The shotgun-shells being gun-specifig is just unforgivable to me, i can however forget shotguns for now.

SNEAKING past zombies should be doable, but it aint. I have to CRAWL, not "sneak" and while its very effective, its also very, very slow and thus very boring. I've tested quite some and it seems to be impossible to sneak up on a zombie AND couple that up with the fact that axe/crowbar have like 5% chance of hitting their target its impossible to "stealth-kill" zombies in your way.

I considor myself very good at "sneaking around" but i have never ever had all three items, knife, axe and matches in my inventory at the same time. Even looting "high-value" places seems often quite bad loot-wise. It isnt very "rewarding" to crawl 30min past bazillion zombies only to find truckload of shotgun-shells your shotgun cant even use and some empty cans... Cmon, Mcgyver could make a friggin nuke out of those alone!

Navigating i can handle, trust me, i've been in the army and if you dont learn it there, your probobly still are in the woods trying get home ;)

While i get the fact that vehicles are kind of a luxory and all, but the distances are a pain. And why are there TONS of vehicle-wrecks and nothing in em!? One problem is the "loot-spots" feel a bit generic and there aint that many, forcing me to search sertain spots over and over again... While crawling around, very, very slowly.

I "want to like" this mod, i love all things zombie-related and this survival-stuff but i cant find many parts i can truely enjoy.

[guidez 180]

Also they are linked in the pined topic at top of this forum section but check out this guys videos.. he has some nice quick starts and various guides.

http://www.youtube.c...z/videos?view=1

Edited August 22, 2012 by Guidez