A boring afternoon in Stary Sobor...

[Professional N00b 347]

(Warning, very long and probably boring story. Read at your own risk. No refunds will be given for time wasted on reading this.)

It was a slow day for sniping in Stary Sobor. The weather was perfect, bright and sunny with not a hint of fog or rain. Yet even then, no one had entered my range of sight during the entire afternoon.

Sure I'd seen zombies getting riled up by someone entering their turf a few times, but never could manage to spot the culprits themselves. Well, with the exception of two men who took off running from the zombies. But trying to take a shot at sprinting targets that were well beyond the effective range of my DMR would have been idiotic.

Which is why my heart skipped a beat when, as the afternoon was getting late, I spotted someone coming down from the trees on the northern hill of the town. At the time I was positioned deep in the pine trees along the southern edge of town, and combined with my ghillie suit, I was certain that my cover was enough to keep me from being discovered too early.

I watched and waited as the person I had spotted ran into the military tents, going beyond my vision to the point where I had to rely on the reactions of local zombies to determine his actions. While scanning the treeline to ensure that he wasn't running back north again after having finished looting, I spotted a second person watching over him. Sadly, there was too much brush and no clear shot could be had. "If you can't do it in one shot, don't do it." That was the motto I was striving for, so I waited patiently, trying to monitor their progress.

It didn't take too long before I heard gunshots erupt from the tents. Wasn't surprising, given that it was broad daylight and the zombies were likely able to see anyone who wasn't crawling at an agonizing pace through the dangerous town. But then, something strange... A third person, riding a bike of all things, approached the barn in front of the tents and disappeared from my view. My heart began pounding, I'd seen just enough to spot the wrappings atop the bandit's head as he had made his way into the town to help his friend who was still firing his gun. The exitement of having finally found prey worthy of shooting at after hours of not getting a single clear shot was almost enough to make me try and shoot through the windows of the barn, just out of the hope that one of the bullets would find their mark.

Still, I waited. I watched as they ran circles around the barn, hoping to lose the zombies following them. It was almost entertaining actually, like watching some Scooby-Doo remake where the chase led the people through a series of doors and buildings and it became unclear as to who was chasing who. During the scramble, I thankfully managed to learn what I was up against. Two bandits and a single survivor, likely their medic. Not a bad haul, if I could just get in a clean shot or two.

As was my luck, they decided then to split up and start running through the buildings, perhaps deciding to loot fast and get out rather than being slow and stealthy. Today was not my day, it seemed. I watched as they appeared and disappeared from view, never once getting more than a moment or two to see them before they disappeared once more. Sadness crept in as I felt my opportunity had been wasted when, lo and behold, I spotted one. A bandit had taken refuge inside the construction building on the north-eastern edge of town and was using the catwalks to get a view over the town. Perhaps trying to snipe off the zombies from his allies, I couldn't quite tell. All I knew was that he was standing still and I had a clear shot. Roughly 550-600 meters. Perfect.

*CRACK* My first shot rattled off, I felt certain it was going to be a headshot. A notorious one-shot kill. My face twisted in surprise when I saw the blood fly not from the bandit's shoody facial wrappings, bur rather his chest instead. Seems I had underestimated the distance to the building and fired too low. Still, a chest shot from a DMR is nothing to sneeze at. Just one more and he'd be down... *CRACK* The next shot missed as the bandit went prone, the air above him snapping in response to the bullet that had so narrowly missed. What happened next blurs in my memory as adrenaline was flowing and my hand was shaking. Several shots missed as he erractically stopped, started, and moved up and down on the platform, making hitting him a real pain in the ass.

Still, in the end he managed to get into cover after two chest shots and one arm/leg shot. How the bandit had survived even that was beyond my knowledge, but even then I knew he was hurting. Not much left now but to wait for him to come out, or his friends to try and help him... Or so I thought.

For several minutes I waited and saw no sight of him or his friends. I began to wonder if he had logged out when I finally spotted someone peeking out around the side of the building he had been trapped in, likely looking for me through a scoped weapon. I thanked my well hidden position and began to take aim... *CRACK* Again I watched as the "guaranteed headshot" hit the chest of my target. Again I had underestimated the distance I had been shooting. A mistake I regretted deeply.

Right as I fired, the third one who had been hiding behind the counter-sniper took off running through the field. Between his sprinting and the threat of the still living sniper behind the construction building, I found myself torn between targets and ended up getting neither. Only seconds passed before the dirt around me erupted as bullets pelted the ground. It was obvious they couldn't see me, yet they knew where I was firing from and were trying to smoke me out. It worked.

Standing up I took off running, keeping the trees between me and the ones trying to kill me while slowly cursing myself. I should have known. Between miscalculating the distance and not guessing that the bandit squad take offensive meassures instead of the usual defensive ones, I had been beaten.... Or had I? True I was outnumbered and outgunned, I decided to stand my ground anyway. After waiting for a minute or two to ensure they hadn't followed me, I headed back. It took me about five full minutes to get back into position, mostly because of the amount of caution I was trying to use.

Finally I got back to my usual spot and looked out for them... Bingo. They had patched up their friend I had originally shot but it seems the counter sniper hadn't been so lucky and I was fortunate enough to catch him just as he collapsed in the middle of the field. Perfect. *CRACK* *CRACK* I wasn't even being conservative now, I had to kill them no matter what. A grin broke over my face as I saw the poor sap roll over on his back, his final movements. Just two more. One bandit, one survivor. Easy enough.

The surviving bandit had been following his friend, it seems, and quickly sprinted across the field to hide behind a bush. I watched as he slowly worked his way out, trying to find me and get off a clear shot. Sadly, I had the advantage. *CRACK* A plume of blood erupted from his body again and I watched as he quickly retreated again. His friends must have given him a blood pack while I had been gone, no way he could have survived three DMR body shots at that range... right?

What followed was another amusing display as the bandit now was dodging and weaving back and forth, acting like he was going to stand still and take a shot but never actually doing it. I watched for quite some time with amusement as he danced around in the middle of the field, ducking in and out of the little cover the bush provided. At some point he actually held still for a second too long and I managed to get two more shots off on him, one on the chest and one in the leg. Now I was beginning to worry though. Hacker? Sure seemed like it. I'd never seen anyone take that many DMR shots to the chest and still run around like that. Seems like it would fit my luck too.

I watched him continue to run around, despite bleeding out of multiple gunshot wounds at this point. At first I wondered why in the world he kept doing that, it was almost like he was trying to.... I realized it just in time as I heard someone running up from directly behind me. Distraction, and not a bad one either. I whipped around, still scoped in, and caught sight of someone's massive kneecap right in front of me. *CRACK* What happened next was a rapid exchange of me emptying half a DMR mag into the survivor who had managed to come up behind me and him trying frantically to find me (Thank you ghillie) while blasting the ground around him with his AKM, a gun that should have easily outclassed my DMR at close range had he seen me first. He managed to get in one or two good shots before I put a final DMR round into his chest and he fell down, silent except for the sound of flies already coming to feed off of his dead body.

I was bleeding, shaking, and had one of my legs broken... Great. Taking a moment I quickly patched myself up, thanking my habit of always keeping several things of medical supplies on me at all times, before resuming to look out into the field. After a moment of scanning I found the last surviving bandit laying prone next to his dead friend in the middle of the field. Perfect. I aimed... *CRACK*... *CRACK*.... *CRACK* Each time I fired, I saw a burst of blood fly up from the body of the still living bandit. Yet still, no death message.

Perhaps the gun's damage had been reduced without me knowing it? If that was the case.... I decided to go all out. 20 rounds of DMR shots I pumped into his body, watching as he took every one of them without dying. At one point he moved back away from the dead body of his friend, so I knew he was still alive, but how I couldn't tell. Hacker or bug, whatever it was I wasn't wasting more ammo on him. I began to simply loot the body of the one who had snuck up behind me, finding some decent medical supplies to replace the ones I had used as well as some food and drink that was well needed. Excellent.

It was then that I saw the message on the screen, the person I had been shooting at had died. Bled out perhaps? How he had survived 23ish rounds of DMR fire directly to his body, I'll never know. Perhaps he was hacking and decided to give me the kill by turning off god mode. Whatever the case, I was glad it was finally over. Now then, time to reap the rewards. I slowly, carefully, made my way down into the field where their bodies lay. It was a stupid, dangerous thing to do. Especially after all the shooting I had done. Still, I couldn't help but feel as though I'd earned something decent. Maybe one of them had a nice backpack or gun I could use.

Sadly, as I went through their equipment, I had no such luck. They had decent equipment but simply nothing I could make much use of. Still, two bandit kills and one murder, not a bad haul for a slow afternoon in Stary. (Not all of us snipe n00bs in Electro/Cherno, after all).

Making my way away from the bodies, I was contemplating on where to go next when suddenly I heard the tell-tale sound of bullets whizzing by me, several of them actually hitting. Having already been injured by the AKM fight with the man before, I simply took off running. I had been prudent enough to load up my own AKM before leaving my snipers nest, just in case, but had never thought I'd have to use it.

As I kept running, more shots bit into the dirt around me, most of them missing as the person fired full auto, but a few of them found their marks. Still, it didn't do as much damage as I expected and I realized why. Silenced MP5. A good gun for taking out zombies quietly, but not the best PVP weapon. I could take this guy.

Finding cover behind some brush to lure him in closer for the "kill", I waited as I readied my weapon.

He didn't keep me waiting either, barreling after me was yet another survivor. Sadly the intense adrenaline that had returned coupled with the ever-so-reliable controls left me fumbling for my gun at the worst possible moment. Finally, as he let loose his third clip at me I managed to get my AKM up and began returning fire. Thankfully for me, he had expended almost all of his ammo already while I still had several AKM clips to burn through. Needless to say, fully auto AKM versus the pistol he had to resort to wasn't much of a fight.

I let out a laugh of victory as he fell down, unconsious from my last barrage. A laugh that was soon cut short as zombies swarmed the area. His silenced weapon had managed to keep us concealed but blasting the AKM had certainly attracted attention. I turned my attention to killing the zombies while my opponent bled out, killing about five or six of them before returning to looking for the body of the ambusher who had attacked me from behind.

Nothing. The guy had alt+F4'ed as soon as he fell down and I was now stuck in the middle of the field with seven rounds of AKM ammo, 440 blood, and a 50's style view of the world. Lovely. Ignoring the zombies I simply took off running, wanting to return to my post before I passed out and the zombies decided to finish me off. For once the gods of luck similed on me and I got back safely just as the sun was beginning to go down, how I survived I don't really know. Still, to celebrate living through such an ordeal I decided to eat about 12 steaks (after killing a few defenseless animals of course) in a row. Who knew that stuffing your face like that would actually return you from a near death state?

All in all, it wasn't a bad afternoon. Two bandits, one of which was probably god moding, a survivor (probably bandit medic), and an ambusher who alt+f4'd.

To Kodiak and BigBallsMcgee (couldn't remember the other bandit's name, sorry), nice work. That was the best match I've had. Aside from the fact that Kodiak was tougher than the bear he was possibly named after. (You may want to get that checked out by the way.)

To the asshat who ambushed me then quit as soon as I gained the upper hand, go back to playing CoD. Next time when you decide to attack someone from behind, be prepared to finish the fight.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Professional N00b

[mattdbx@yahoo.com 180]

Read the warning at the top, scrolled down to check length....fucccccccccck that shit.

[zyfer.nyholm@gmail.com 131]

Read the warning at the top, scrolled down to check length....fucccccccccck that shit.

i did the same hahaha, i might read it later tho :)

[Professional N00b 347]

Read the warning at the top, scrolled down to check length....fucccccccccck that shit.

Yup. I got bored and decided to write a novel about it :P

Figured I'd warn people in advance, it isn't the most well written or riveting story... Just perhaps one of the longest. :rolleyes:

[AlexHoss 9]

Actually took the time to read this and it was a lot fun to read.

Nice work Pro Noob. Have some beans sir.

[Toilet 204]

Read the fucker in its entirety, glad I did, was well worth it. Here have some beans mate.

[Kawllie 18]

Read it, beans for you.

Btw, a DMR does 8'000 damage. A shot WILL make a broken bone and often the person getting shot will pass out.

Source: http://i.imgur.com/uyB7D.jpg

Edited August 20, 2012 by Kawllie

[Professional N00b 347]

Read it, beans for you.

Btw, a DMR does 8'000 damage. A shot WILL make a broken bone and often the person getting shot will pass out.

Source: http://i.imgur.com/uyB7D.jpg

Yeah, I remembered that which is why I was so surprised that two body shots didn't kill the one guy. Given that he was the only one who was standing after getting shot like that with no broken bones, passing out, or ill-side effects, I'm inclined to believe it was just a guy using god mode. But sadly, I have no real proof of it.

[Kawllie 18]

Yeah, I remembered that which is why I was so surprised that two body shots didn't kill the one guy. Given that he was the only one who was standing after getting shot like that with no broken bones, passing out, or ill-side effects, I'm inclined to believe it was just a guy using god mode. But sadly, I have no real proof of it.

I myself always have fraps running when I play, not recording just in case I meet a hacker. Never seen one myself though, and I have played since realese.

[thebulldog 8]

Excellent story! I have yet to meet anyone looting Stary (been VERY lucky with that) but its encounters like this that get me on edge every time I venture there. Seems like you had the right amount quick thinking as well as lucky breaks. A good read mate.

Cheers

[Professional N00b 347]

Excellent story! I have yet to meet anyone looting Stary (been VERY lucky with that) but its encounters like this that get me on edge every time I venture there. Seems like you had the right amount quick thinking as well as lucky breaks. A good read mate.

Cheers

Thanks!

And yeah, it's surprising just how few people are every in Stary. Even the NWAF is usually quiet these days.

[callmesarge 79]

I have heard that de-sync issues can cause bullets to not do the full amount of damage, some times delaying the players death. I heard it specifically in conjunction with delayed 1 shot kills on .50 sniper rifles. Coulda been that. Did you see red link warnings whilst playing? May not have been hax.

Regardless, great story, beans for you dewd.

[Professional N00b 347]

I have heard that de-sync issues can cause bullets to not do the full amount of damage, some times delaying the players death. I heard it specifically in conjunction with delayed 1 shot kills on .50 sniper rifles. Coulda been that. Did you see red link warnings whilst playing? May not have been hax.

Regardless, great story, beans for you dewd.

I didn't notice any desync icon appearing during the fight but it's possible. Still odd that the other two were dropped easily enough with my DMR (the one counter-sniper went unconcious in the field after one shot) while the other guy seemed fine.

Upon reflection, I think he may have used an exploit or hack that prevented him from taking direct damage but didn't stop bleeding or loss of conciousness. It would explain why I shot him so many times without him dying yet he managed to pass out in the field and eventually bleed out from all the holes I put in him.

That's the best guess I've got, anyway.

[Spacely 1]

I actually read this. Very cool story and well written. enjoy some beans sir

[thomas-tk@live.dk 39]

I took the time to read your story, and to be honest, I actually enjoyed it.

I also like the fact that you seem to respect your opponents, when they play fair (or do you only respect them when you win? ;) )

:beans: to you!

[A9Carlos 3]

Good luck in finding one let alone 3 people in Stary! Nice story, wish shit like that happened to me lol

[RaeMong 9]

Awesome story bro, loved it!

[Delta Smoke 01 765]

Wow i really wasn't planning on reading all of that, but somehow i slugged it out. Cool story man, love it when something similar happens to me. But really, get fraps and save your main gaming fingers some pain !

[Professional N00b 347]

Wow i really wasn't planning on reading all of that, but somehow i slugged it out. Cool story man, love it when something similar happens to me. But really, get fraps and save your main gaming fingers some pain !

Well thanks!

I actually do have Fraps and did record most of it, but since it took place over a 45 minute time period and most of the exciting bits only took up a few minutes out of all that, I figured I'd just highlight it with text for now :P May compile some of the best moments later on into a video and just cut out a lot of the watching and waiting parts.

[neil26tj@hotmail.com 0]

Great story sir you have my beans

[Trakz (DayZ) 7]

Really glad i read this, i actualy just found a DMR in balota airstrip the first mildot down for far does that represent 300-400 meters?

[Professional N00b 347]

Really glad i read this, i actualy just found a DMR in balota airstrip the first mildot down for far does that represent 300-400 meters?

In general the center crosshairs will hit up to 400m, the first mildot is about 500m, second is a little under 600m, and then from there it starts to drop off even more. I find this website really helpful when trying to learn how to use the mildots:

http://www.dayzwiki.com/wiki/DMR

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Really glad i read this, i actualy just found a DMR in balota airstrip the first mildot down for far does that represent 300-400 meters?

It's zeroed at 400m with each dot down from that representing another 100m (ish) It's actually my favourite sniper scope because once you get used to it you can shoot on the fly.

BTW, nice story Noob. Have some beans.

[belzibhaal 21]

Read it, beans for you.

Btw, a DMR does 8'000 damage. A shot WILL make a broken bone and often the person getting shot will pass out.

Source: http://i.imgur.com/uyB7D.jpg

I got hit by an M14 AIM, same damage, same ammo and I went straight to 4k blood. Didn't get a broken bone or pass out.

[Muncywolverine 236]

I got hit by an M14 AIM, same damage, same ammo and I went straight to 4k blood. Didn't get a broken bone or pass out.

Sup US 1550 buddy!