I've seen players with 20+ days survived...HOW?

[Brandnew11980 26]

Play on 3DP:OFF and CH:OFF servers.

What's the CH for? Choppers?

[gywidion@msn.com 80]

Cross hairs. It is not as easy to hit without using ironsights with them off.

Edited August 26, 2012 by katniss

[frost642 5]

What's the CH for? Choppers?

Crosshairs.

Also, Make sure your server has Name Tags off, or someone can randomly see your characters name pop up if they put 1 pixel of the crosshair on you from 1000m away.

[miragexl 33]

Simple they alt f4.

[Zoki671 29]

you cant really do anything when whole server just does a synchronized death fall....

[bazbake 456]

I once played seven hours of DayZ straight without dying. How many days added to my total? One.

I once logged off for three days. How many days added to my total? Four.

DayZ. Where the rules are made up and the points don't matter.

Edited August 26, 2012 by BazBake

[ZekkCC (DayZ) 51]

Playing on low population server typically allows you to avoid both players and hackers with a good survival percentage.

[Brutal-Hunter 5]

I have been alive for 10 days I think. My tips is too join low population servers and your set

[sostronk 334]

My average life is about 8 days. More than 90% of all of my deaths are from hackers. I died a couple of times to zombies when I first started playing and I starved to death once (although it was after I was teleported to nowhere). Its just a matter of time and luck before someone comes in and hack kills you. Some are a bit luckier than others I guess.

[gywidion@msn.com 80]

I am in the 30's days now. I play very little, a few hours a week tops.

[Angel Knight 427]

Start game.

Log out.

Never log back in.

Fixed.

[s4pphire 45]

I play a lot per day currently and roam the coastal areas, Stary, NWAF and Skalisty for pvp most of the time, and I seem to survive for 5-6 days on average currently.

Haven't encountered a hacker on my medium-pop server, ever. I have only ever seen two blatant hackers in months and those were both on high-pop servers. So I don't know, either I'm extremely lucky or people suck at picking servers.

[N3CR0 1]

To be honest i think its arma 2 players, like me only i bought arma 2 and then shortly after dayz came along so. Anyway my point is arma 2 player (people who actually bought arma 2 to play arma 2, not dayz) they know the map like the back of their hand and know all the big towns, secret/awesome camp sights. They know all the sniper points. Its people like that. that truly set a record of 20-30 days or so. its the people that buy arma 2 for dayz that set the average life expectancy.

Anyway. 14 days for me.

Edited August 27, 2012 by N3CR0

[stupror 25]

I have managed to live for 15 dayz, going from high risk zone to high risk zone and gathered up 35+ player kills (mixed bandit and survival).

Then i got killed by a hacker...

Wasn't that bummed about it since i got killed by a legit player later that very same day :P

[Krobar 75]

Before script kiddies went nuts on this I had a 28 day character with like 6+ hours of play time every day and meeting a suspicious character at least once every 2 days.

[Double_Back 36]

Last two characters were 23 days and 21 days respectively. Both died to mass kill hackers.

Some thoughts if you want to survive (without cheesy exploits) long-term:

- You have to decide that long-term survival is your primary goal. It's not as obvious as it sounds. It requires a different play style and it's not for everyone. It means being more deliberate in your actions, planning ahead of time, often taking the loooong route to your next stop, being patient, being stealthy all the time, and usually (as a loner) less combat overall. If you prefer to run and gun and instant gratification (and there's nothing wrong with that - the goal is to have fun), then you may not like the play style it generally takes for a loner to live long term.

- Unless you have a well-coordinated team, play alone. Other people, for various reasons, will get you killed more often. When you're alone, you're more focused and paranoid. Paranoia keeps you alive.

- You aren't making friends. If the other guy doesn't know you're there, you don't call out "friendly" or attempt to communicate first. Ever. Keep in mind, that is NOT (necessarily) the same as KOS. If they don't know you are there, keep it that way. Evasion is ALWAYS the safer alternative to contact.

- Unless you're face to face and shooting starts, if you aren't behind some cover when you first see another player - get some immediately and then decide what to do. You don't do or think anything before getting some cover first. Two players behind cover are 1000 times less likely to start shooting.

- Do not view your zombie kill count as a source of pride. Look at every zombie kill as a failure. You alerted the zeds by failing to do something with enough stealth or patience, they attacked, and you killed them. Aside from an axe, in order to kill them, you shot them. When you shoot, you are announcing your presence to every player nearby. Many (most?) of them use your gunfire as a beacon to home in on and come kill you.

- Don't be in a rush. Take your time and scout (with cover) before entering and exiting an area in which you will be exposed. Plan your route into and out of a loot spot ahead of time. Use treelines, depressions in the terrain, bushes, walls, and buildings as much as possible on your way in and out.

- Why are you entering a town/loot spot? Just because it's there? If you're already well geared with food and survival supplies, why enter a town? Do you need to search the whole town or just one building in the town? Basically, learn what spawns where and in what building types. You'll save a lot of time and grief and reduce your risks by not visiting, for example a barn, when you already have military-grade weapons and plenty of food. Risk vs. reward.

- Know your weapons! Hello, single player. Know where the ammo for your weapon spawns.

- When traveling in the wilderness, stop, look, and listen frequently. This alone is often the difference between living and dieing. You see the other guy first and you're not the one that gets shot in the back.

- NEVER stop without some cover. Ever. Not in a forest. Not in a field. Not in a city.

- If you must cross open an area, run. Randomly zig zag. Most snipers hate that. Snipers love people that stop, walk, and/or run in straight lines.

- Learn to read and use the topographical map and compass properly. Know where you are and where you're going.

- When you're down to one can of beans and a soda, you waited too long to stock up. Keep food and drink well stocked. You never want to be desperate for either. Desperation makes you make mistakes. Mistakes get you killed.

- Steaks: nature's bloodbags. No 2nd player needed.

- Keep a standard "med kit". I consider my standard med kit to be: 3 bandages, 2 pain killers, and 2 morphine. I don't stock more than that, but I start looking soon when it drops below that. As alluded to, steaks can be considered the "mini-bloodbags" of your medical supplies. Whenever possible, I keep several steaks on me and use beans to stop hunger. I try to keep the steaks (800 blood apiece) for restoring blood from injuries.

- Aside from newly spawning in and stocking up there first, stay the hell away from Cherno and Elektro.

#1: Some Luck. Hackers are a sad reality. Even the most careful player can still get shot by an AS50 from 800 meters. Even the best can end up on the short end of a 3 v 1. Even the most methodical can get shot in the back of the head by a non-cheater that just happens to spawn in behind you in a spot you checked 10 seconds before.

Edited August 27, 2012 by Double_Back

[vlko 1]

being smart and not running into clusterfudges of players.

[Heiduk 265]

Never stop scanning. Ever. My Alt key is probably pressed 80% of the time I'm playing.

It's ok to walk sometimes. You are more likely to identify a threat before they see you and if you're surprised by a hostile contact you will be able to return effective fire sooner.

I'm on day 22, but that's probably only 10-15 hours of actual game time, so yeah days alive isn't terribly meaningful. All my characters have beat the average life expectancy though. ;)

How do you get the hours alive for a character?

[Fuji (DayZ) 8]

Start game.

Get stuff.

Go WAY north.

basically this.. also don't wear ghillie suits and don't use vehicles (if you can find them) they seem to attract hackers

and always be prepared to alt-f4/disconnect when thunderdomed or if lots of players start dying

my char has been alive for 14 days now (about 1-5 hours each day) hanging around NE airfield and Krasnostav

everything you need up there (including some potiential heli crash spawns) and you still get action from tent dupers and lone wolves heading west

[wordplayuk@gmail.com 101]

Don't even live in the woods, am active 3 or more hours a day. But it wasn't a cake walk, believe me.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Criminal

[andrew40 4]

I'm on day 26. I log at LEAST 2 hours of game time per day. I do not play on a private hive. I am in Berezino, not hiding in the woods. And I have NEVER encountered a hacker yet. Been playing Day Z for 2 months and have never died from a hacker.

[Gulmari 19]

21 current days alive with 2-3 hours a day and 5-6 hours weekends.

The biggest thing you can do to stay alive is get into cherno/elektro to get the bare minimum crap needed to survive after a fresh spawn and then get the hell out and never go there again.

I honestly don't understand how people CAN'T survive more than an hour in this game.

Make yourself a checklist next time you spawn.

Do I have..

Hatchet

Matches

Hunting knife

Water Bottle's

Pistol (any will do)

Once you have those 5 things (6 if you want to count ammo) you've officially gotten everything you need to survive for eternity in this game.

If you want some "cool guy stuff" be prepared to either die or learn better tactics and quit crying.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Gulmari

[black people 14]

As many others have said, staying away from major cities unless you absolutely need something from them (which should only be the case if you're just starting on a fresh respawn) goes without saying.

If you really wanna go for the long haul: grab some NVGs, a suppressed M4, a good deal of STANAG SD magazines, and only play at night, sticking to dense forrests that are miles away from the northern/eastern coast. Head into the smaller towns when you need supplies, but use common sense, and you should be fine.

You could also try snagging a L85A2 AWS or the FN FAL AN/PVS-4, although they're usually much harder to find. While the L85A2's reputation precedes it, I've noticed that many people like to rag on the FN FAL AN/PVS-4 for its perceived uselessness. But, if you're sticking with the "night only" playstyle, then it's a beast of a weapon, with the only (but very important) downside being the fact that ammunition for this weapon is even rarer than the weapon itself.

Of course, if you're not really into PvP, then the NVG/M4SD combo should be perfectly fine for night scavenging with the added bonus of nearby zombies not being able to hear/notice the M4 being fired.

[porkus_maximus 36]

Haven't managed to survive for more than 3 days so far, my last few deaths;

1. Shot in the back while searching for vehicle parts @ Berezino docks.

2. Sniped by someone with a thermal AS-50 TWS during the night while moving through the woods around Olsha, on a server that only had 4 other people on it

3. Killed by (I'm assuming) a teleporting hacker while searching a deerstand @ 083 046

So yeah, travelling north and avoiding hot-spots hasn't really worked for me.

[Alucardi 14]

My record is 37 dayz with 1k zombies and 17 players. I finaly died raiding the airfield.

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