DayZ "Class/Profession" System Idea

[smokeshadows 6]

I was bored on my lunch break today and started sketching out my answer to the question - how could DayZ implement a class system?

I don't want to "gameify" DayZ, but I think classes could be done in a realistic way. I also think that it could add a lot to the character investment, and also give a reason to encourage interactions between players besides just shooting each other.

How it functions:

When starting a character, DayZ asks what your character was doing before the outbreak (prior profession) - that will determine your "class".

As you spend more time in the game, surviving, you begin to adapt to your environment, and you begin to adapt your old skills into this new world, unlocking new abilities. You are not getting XP for killing zomibes, but instead the longer you survive - the more your skills begin to adapt slowly and naturally. Possibly there are choices between two adaptations at each stage so that the player picks one, they are locked out from the other (allowing for differing character types, more replayability).

If you manage to stay alive for long enough (several hours) you begin to unlock party-oriented adaptation perks which can make you a very valuable asset to a group.

So here are some class ideas I had sketched out and some possible adaptations/perks...sorry had to use the stupid adaptation names for added entertainment

MEDIC

Life before the outbreak: Doctor, Nurse, RN, Paramedic

Adaptations:

SCHOOL NURSE - More efficient with medical supplies, quicker use

SHARIN' NEEDLES- Able to use medical items twice

SECURITY BLANKET - Heat packs keep you warm for an extended amount of time

Party Adaptations

PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE - Party has less chance of bleeding or going unconscious

NURSE, SHOCK PADDLES...CLEAR! - Medic has a 1-time use EKG item that will bring a recently-killed player back to this mortal coil if revived within 60 seconds of death

TRACKER

Life before the outbreak: Vet, Park Ranger, Hunter, Ted Nuget

Adaptations:

DUCK SEASON - Ability to track animals

QUIVER - able to stack arrows in inventory

POSITIONAL AWARENESS - tracker will point to his location when viewing the map

TAKE IT ALL BUT THE BONE - Get more meat off carcasses

POISON DART - Ability to make arrows with nonlethal poison tranq (after combining arrow with coke-cola haha)

Party Adaptations

NIGHT OPS - Tracker and his party can see better in the dark

COOK

Life before the outbreak: Chef, Food Service, Butcher

Adaptations:

CHEF BOYARDEE - Ability to cook beans, which grants additional blood recovery

GORDON RAMSEY - Superior cooking techniques allow you to cook meat that grants more blood recovery and satisfies hunger for an extended period

GOT A LIGHT? - Can start fires with flares

Party Adaptations

SECRET SAUCE - Cooked meat has the ability to grant blood above the max blood level, to 15000, when consumed by party members

AGENT

Life before the outbreak: Military, Private Security, Police, Body Guard

Adaptations:

GOOD WITH GUNS - slightly increased accuracy, reload and reduced recoil

MACGYVER - use of duct tape allows for a flashlight to be attached to most all weapons

KARATE CHOP - ability to use a single melee attack, which is ineffective against groups of zombies but has the ability to stagger and cause light damage to a single zombie

Party Adaptations:

BODYGUARD - Ability to craft crude body armor with found scrap metal. Armor protects the wearer from a few bullets before its shredded, and does not protect against zombie attacks or headshots

PARATROOPER - Party outfitted with parachutes which allow heli jumps and base jumps off taller structures

MECHANIC

Life before the outbreak: Mechanic, Pilot, Trucker, Cabbie, Getaway driver, chauffeur, Driver's ed teacher

Adaptation

GREASE MONKEY - Can fix up vehicles with fewer items

JOY RIDER - Repaired vehicles use less gas and have increased durability

GONE IN 60 - Driver has superior handling in vehicles and can reach increased top speeds

Party Adaptation

PARTY BUS - repaired bus combined with several found guns and scrap metal allows for a rolling death machine equipped with armor and mounted guns

SURVIVOR

Life prior to the outbreak: Athlete, Convict, Personal Trainer, Construction Worker

SLOW METABOLISM - Food and water levels take longer to decrease

JUST A FLESH WOUND - After using a bandage, blood level will recover some blood lost

WALK IT OFF - Once a day, player is able to instantly get up after being knocked unconscious

STRONG BACK - Additional inventory slots

Party Adaptation

CONDITIONING - Party members are able to run/crawl/swim faster, and are less likely to get knocked unconscious

COMMS MANAGER

Life before the outbreak: Tech Support, Engineer, Telemarketer

Adaptations:

TRANSMISSION HACKER - With a radio, player is able to hear occasional hidden broadcasts which discuss where high value loot, vehicles, etc. can be found.

Party Adaptations

TRIANGULATION - If party members are equipped with a radio, comms manager is able to triangulate their position which makes party members appear on the map

EYE IN THE SKY - Once every hour, with use of a map and gps device, player is able to tap into a decommissioned military satellite and scan an area of the map - revealing other players, vehicles, etc.

Yeah well those were some of my ideas, sketched out today while devouring a lunchable...feel free to post some class ideas of your own if you're feelin froggy.

[Kalle Karhu 9]

EVERY bandit player would be "Agent"....

But good idea, just needs some fine tuning so some classes are not so "OP"

[clever 12]

Been suggested multiple times, always generally agreed on that no one wants it.

[orbital 10]

You've put so much work into posting this thread, I'm sorry to give you a short answer:

NO

Specific classes has no place in dayZ, don't compare it to other games. Look at it in a new way and create your own class, do what you do best, whether it's shooting, helping, scouting, waiting, leading, organizing, collecting or whatever you can think of.

[haviv[3rdid] 57]

You've put so much work into posting this thread' date=' I'm sorry to give you a short answer:

NO

Specific classes has no place in dayZ, don't compare it to other games. Look at it in a new way and create your own class, do what you do best, whether it's shooting, helping, scouting, waiting, leading, organizing, collecting or whatever you can think of.

[/quote']

Yeah this game is about real skills, not skills that you don't really have but the computer told you that you do.

[[frl]myke 68]

You've put so much work into posting this thread' date=' I'm sorry to give you a short answer:

NO

Specific classes has no place in dayZ, don't compare it to other games. Look at it in a new way and create your own class, do what you do best, whether it's shooting, helping, scouting, waiting, leading, organizing, collecting or whatever you can think of.

[/quote']

Yeah this game is about real skills, not skills that you don't really have but the computer told you that you do.

+1

Remove completely the ability to repair any vehicles as most of the players couldn't repair a UH-1 if their life would depend on it.

Please do not add any features that would make it all of a sudden necessary to actually think first before running around like a trigger-happy monkey.

[ZedsDeadBaby 2287]

Specific classes has no place in dayZ' date=' don't compare it to other games. [/quote']

Why do they have no place and what does this have to do with other games?

I don't necessarily agree with all of OP's specific skill suggestions, but the idea that classes and professions have "no place" in the game is ridiculous. It's absolutely perfectly reasonable to assume that certain survivors have slightly different skill sets depending on what they studied, what they have practiced and what they did in their previous lives before the day the zeds showed up.

Adding some slight variations in survivor abilities would make for a much more dynamic group play experience and further incentives team play, coordination and organization - whether by bandits or survivors.

Been suggested multiple times' date=' always generally agreed on that no one wants it.

[/quote']

Sorry, that's a very clear false consensus bias on your part, bud. Plenty of people have come out in support of this idea on various levels.

Yeah this game is about real skills' date=' not skills that you don't really have but the computer told you that you do.

[/quote']

Oh, straight bunk then?

Your "real skills" include the ability to run 10km with 100 kilos on your back? Operate fully automatic assault weapons in various states of disrepair requiring regular disassembly, cleaning, reassembly and fixing of regular jams? Field dress gun shot wounds, removing bullets to prevent sepsis? Fixing broken bones?

So only ex-marines and special forces are allowed to play?

Come on...

[Deuzerre 64]

"Before game professions" are a good idea, though I think there should be only one passive/profession, and no "evolving", and possibly a tradeoff.

Like a cook would have slightly added benefits from cooked food, but run slightly slower.

A sportsman would catch his breath faster, but consume more food (like in real life by the way).

A hunter would be able to move more silently, but more slowly (apart from running).

A paramedic would heal more with transfusions, but have less health.

A nurse would be faster at bandaging, but suffer from pain a lot more.

A cop would be more accurate with pistols, but be easier to hear for zeds.

A soldier would aim faster, but drink more water.

Things like that. Things that don't unbalance the game, have a tradeoff.

[superdelux 0]

EVERY bandit player would be "Agent"....

But good idea' date=' just needs some fine tuning so some classes are not so "OP"

[/quote']

What if you got a random class at spawn.

[Nexiv 0]

The problem with the lack of co-operative play (apart from the inherent benefits of playing with friends that ZedsDead listed in another thread) is that survivors are too well rounded. In a real-life disaster/apocalypse there would be certain skill sets that would be incredibly valuable:

- Medical training such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, even vets.

- Mechanic/engineers, who can repair and maintain vehicles, generators, machines, etc.

- Survivalists who can hunt, track, find fresh water, orienteer, build shelter, etc.

- Farmer who can grow and prepare food, and maintain livestock.

- Military/police, who are trained marksmen and can use and maintain any type of firearm including military hardware.

- Pilots

All of these skillsets would be highly sought after, and you'd be lucky to know or find someone who can do even one of these things, since most "city folk" like stock brokers, programmers, accountants, etc probably wouldnt have any of these skills. And yet in DayZ survivors can do all of these things perfectly. They're like one-man-armies.

As such there is no need to seek out other survivors for aid (and we're not even talking about the crushing fear of loneliness when people think the endtimes are on them and they seek others out for companionship). When a survivor can do anything and everything then there is only risk in meeting other survivors, and zero reward. Its a system that only benefits the anti-social lonewolves and bandits.

Every survivor's value only amounts to what gear can be picked off his corpse. Whereas in reality it would be a person's skillset that really mattered. You wouldnt be so quick to shoot that guy down on the road if you thought he might be a doctor who could set that broken leg for you, or someone who could give you shelter from the freezing nights, or teach you how to clean and shoot that rifle you found.

I dont know if a class system is the answer. But possibly spawning with a single random skillset, and then slowly "learning" additional skills from other survivors as you spend more time around them. Afterall, once you've survived the apocalyps for a few years with other people you'll certainly have picked up some new skills and tricks.

Maybe thats whats needed to slow down the mindless shooting currently: value the person, not their beans.

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

A quick search would have turned up a zillion of these threads.

[orbital 10]

I stand by my remark; "Specific classes has no place in dayZ".

Chef, farmer, mechanic, shaman or sorcerer? up yours!

If you want classes, make hunting knife, toolbox and whatever you can think of, 'ultra-NVG droprate rare'. That way you'll be forced to communicate with the 'classes' that have the tools to get the job done.

It's FINE as it is, for god sake, I don't want to read walls of complaints about unbalancing!

[Deuzerre 64]

The idea is to have guys slightly better at specific tasks, as we are in real life.

I know I'm good at many things. I know how to put a transfusion, but I don't know the difference between two motor parts for example.

Right now, we have a generic DIY guy/gal.

With different "skills" people would start to work together.

Superdelux's proposition of the "profession" being random at spawn is nice too. Spawn a paramedic? Have a try as the guy that heals dudes! Spawn as a hunter? Time to go for some banditry! Without of course preventing you to play however you want.

[SEF 0]

Its welcome, but complex. Would make people think twice before shooting on sight.

[vran113 0]

I don't want to "gameify" DayZ' date=' but I think classes could be done in a realistic way. [/quote']

you understand that the first part of the sentence contradicts the second, don't you?

I, myself, am against any kind of creating of a "higher authority" (set of strict, fixated rules and conditions, like in some damn rpg game)

Rocket was asking specifically for game mechanics ideas, not the conscept for a new game :)

[smokeshadows 6]

Thanks for some feedback. I like Deuzerre's idea for disadvantages to go along with each class, that seems to be in line with the nature of DayZ - nothing comes for free. I also liked the Superdelux's idea of spawning as a random class to keep it fresh and challenging.

That said, I REALLY like Nexiv's idea for being able to learn skills from others. That really makes a lot of sense, realistically speaking, and would really add a whole new component to the game. As Nexiv said, as of now, a player's value is determined only by the amount of beans in his pack. I'M MORE THAN A PACK OF BEANS, I'M A MAN, DAMMIT! Nexiv's idea would add so much to the dynamics of this game.

As Nexiv said, there needs to be some kind of system in place that makes people valuable, for their skills and knowledge, just as they would be in a real zombie apocolypse. I'm not sure if a class system / learning dynamic is the answer either, but this idea was born out of a desire to accomplish that end goal.

And NO, I'm not saying this game should go carebear mode and everyone helps everyone. CHOICE and FREE WILL are key to DayZ. These systems would actually make the choices harder, more tense and more real (Do I try to befriend this person and learn from him, allowing me a better chance of long term survival? Or do I just pop a cap in him and take his goods? OR do I learn from him now, then betray him later on...? And what is HE planning?) Because right now, when meeting a random player there isn't much "choice" at all....as Nexiv said its all risk and no real reward, most everyone shoots.

[vran113 0]

These systems would actually make the choices harder' date=' more tense and more real [/quote']

there's nothing more real than reality.

noone needs "choices harder" if they aren't spawned just by circumstances but by "game's hierarchy of rpg-like rules"

[smokeshadows 6]

I don't want to "gameify" DayZ' date=' but I think classes could be done in a realistic way. [/quote']

you understand that the first part of the sentence contradicts the second, don't you?

Not really. A system like this would actually be more realistic and hardcore than the game is now. In real life, we do fall into a "class" system if you want to break it down to that level (although admittedly, its not as black and white as this). Most people in this world that can fix my truck wouldn't have the first idea how to perform a blood transfusion. By looking at what skills someone had before the apocolypse and how they might adapt those skills seems much more realistic to me than the current system, which is "I spawn on the beach as MacGyver, ready to skin some animals, repair a helicopter and then perform double bypass surgery." That guy probably doesn't exist.

At the end of the day, we are playing a "game" that has "game" elements. There is a health bar. Eating meat gives me 800 blood. I can always crawl around and never worry about attracting zombies. Just because something is added to the game does not necessarily "gamify" it. I personally love that DayZ is attempting to 'keep it real' for the most part. I think a "class" or "learning from others" system takes it to the next level in that regard. It moves away from the idea that people are only for killing and looting (not that it is a bad thing, but there should be real options to consider before pulling that trigger) and also gets away from the idea that I spawn on the beach as Billy Badass, with all the skills needed to survive the apocolypse.

Rocket was asking specifically for game mechanics ideas' date=' not the conscept for a new game :)

[/quote']

If you're going to dream, dream big, right? That being said, I think a system like this or Nexiv's would really compliment some of the existing systems already at play in the game and isn't really a concept for a new game. I'm just a DayZ fan trying to come up with ideas to make the game better. Not saying mine is good or the answer but what's the harm in throwing it out there?

[Honey_Badger (DayZ) 1]

The only problem with a system where you "learn" from other characters is groups of bandits would spawn in and suicide until they had the specific classes they wanted and then they would go off and "learn" from each other, making a group of powerhouses that know something about everything. That would nerf players who like to go lone wolf and do their own thing instead of deal with others because they wouldn't be gaining skills from people around them.

Its a good idea and I like that people are so creative but when you come up with ideas like this you need to also thing of how people could abuse it, because they will.

[haviv[3rdid] 57]

" I can always crawl around and never worry about attracting zombies."

That should change!

[vran113 0]

That would nerf players who like to go lone wolf and do their own thing instead of deal with others because they wouldn't be gaining skills from people around them.

or you can give it a serious thought, that maybe people like this mod precisely for the lack of all those "classes" B\S? precisely for authentic experience?

you try to plan player's lifes and how they should behave. I know your intents are good, but not every person wants everything made up for them

[Nexiv 0]

Authentic experience? You mean how currently everyone is an expert in any and every skill you can think of? Everyone is a doctor/mechanic/soldier/hunter?

This is a game, like it or not, and games have artificial mechanisms in them. They try to simulate reality, but regardless they are still "rules". Thats called game design. And you cant celebrate "reality" by supporting a completely unrealistic premise: that everyone is a walking encyclopedia of skills and knowledge.

Good games are the ones that give you choices. And those choices should always be difficult, there should be advantages and disadvantages to every decision, because thats what makes it a choice instead of just an already foregone conclusion.

Right now, when it comes to other survivors there are no choices (other than should I shoot him now at range, or wait till he gets closer). There is only advantages to gunning down anyone you meet, because the only thing to gain is removing risk. There needs to be disadvantages too, possibly the missed opportunities to share skills/knowledge. That way its an actually difficult decision to shoot someone, instead of the current "always pull the trigger no matter what".

I realise the lonewolves will argue bitterly against these sorts of ideas, because right now the game supports their playstyle completely, and rewards them for it while punishing anyone who tried to cooperate. So I understand that they absolutely dont want anything to change. But there needs to be some balance so that everyone has an actual choice in how they play, instead of just the heavily slanted lonewolf style as it is now.

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

The game is full of choices. I play as part of a team and I don't want classes, its nothing to do with being a lone wolf it's just a horrible idea.

When we work together we have roles, we help each other using medical supplies. We have guys that go over watch with long range weaponry. Guys that are better at driving , guys that are better at navigating, one guy that's really good at flying helis. Guys with silenced weapons that take out the Z's in our way. And all of that emerges from the existing game mechanics without the need to slap some class structure on us.

You think every one is an expert in everything ? lol I've had guys empty whole DMR clips at me and miss. Tried to fly a helicopter without ever trying before and had to be talked through it by our pilot who was stuck elsewhere. Heard guys getting lost cos they cant read a ma. People that cant figure out Russian place names on sign posts.

Guys blowing themselves up with grenades....

The list goes on, everyone is most definitely NOT experts in everything.

[Deuzerre 64]

The game is full of choices. I play as part of a team and I don't want classes' date=' its nothing to do with being a lone wolf it's just a horrible idea.

When we work together we have roles, we help each other using medical supplies. We have guys that go over watch with long range weaponry. Guys that are better at driving , guys that are better at navigating, one guy that's really good at flying helis. Guys with silenced weapons that take out the Z's in our way. And all of that emerges from the existing game mechanics without the need to slap some class structure on us.

You think every one is an expert in everything ? lol I've had guys empty whole DMR clips at me and miss. Tried to fly a helicopter without ever trying before and had to be talked through it by our pilot who was stuck elsewhere. Heard guys getting lost cos they cant read a ma. People that cant figure out Russian place names on sign posts.

Guys blowing themselves up with grenades....

The list goes on, everyone is most definitely NOT experts in everything.

[/quote']

What you describe is playing mechanics. What we're describing is the difference between two guys: One that worked at repaining helicopters, and an other one that worked as a sportsman. Both of these have barely any difference in what we describe, it's just that one needs less pieces to repair a helo, and the other one goes back from tired just a few seconds faster.

When the game will have minigames when you repair a helo that some people will be bad at and others good at, I'll say your point is right. What you say right now is only half right.

[scoffield77@gmail.com 192]

I like the idea of having "classes" but dislike the idea of it being some written in stone thing I choice at the start of life.

What should happen is items that take up a lot of space. for exp in my post "Backpack slot. Alt to Classes/profession. V2"

I suggested the Radio, Generator, and Defibulators take up the backpack slot

This will cause players to choice rather they want to be a Electrician by picking up a generator, a mule by keeping the backpack , a RTO by picking up a long range radio, or a medic by picking up a defibrillator.

this way, If you are playing on a guy for a week+ and you're tired of being a medic, you can just drop the defibrillator and pick up a backpack.