The Bandit Headscarf is too much for me

[Sula 1205]

I'm quite serious when I say, looking at someone with that headscarf upsets me. It makes me sick in my stomach with sympathy for whoever's wearing it because, in my view, it's happening too soon and the wrong people are being labelled as bandits. When I say "the wrong people" I mean anyone who does not normally kill but has done so, exceptionally. OK, it's brief if you really don't kill often, a couple of good deeds will sort it out but it left me thinking about having to wear that headscarf.

I keep coming across people who have bandit skins but not what I'd call bandits. They don't live a life of killing and stealing other people's stuff.

Instead they've either had to fight and kill to escape an attack, or worse, accidentally killed a mate while everyone is trying to escape an attack by someone else. I suppose what I'm saying is, people who - for any reasons whether good or bad - have killed a once or a few times - and that is not my idea of a "bandit". That's not what the word means!

The other night I had to go down into cherno to give a pal a transfusion. He told me he was down on blood and couldn't go for help because he'd been in a fight and had been left with a bandit skin, so people would shoot him on sight. (Let's face it they do that with everyone, but that skin makes you a target for everyone.)

When I saw his little face and that bandit skin, I felt real sadness and I didn't tell him but, I was a little choked-up to see him like that. He's such a nice guy, so not a bandit. And it made me think of all the other people wearing those bandit skins. It's horrible.

It marks people openly as a killer and a thief who cannot be trusted, someone who kills others as a way of life, which isn't true of many in dayz wearing the skin.

I transfused my friend and he then transfused me. Shortly after his skin just suddenly popped back from bandit to normal. I felt like a mother with her son back from prison for some minor and foolish indiscretion-emotional and overjoyed, and determined never to let it happen again!

I suppose it's two issues I was left thinking about:

- first, that you go straight to the bandit skin, no inbetween, no gradually becoming the long-term killer, and no exceptions.

- the second issue is, in real life you don't get to see killers. They can smile at you and be charming, and you'd never know you had a killer in the room.

What do you think? How do you feel inside that moment when one of your pals has that skin but is no bandit? Has it happened to you?

Also, what do you think of the skin? What do you think of another skin for those who have lots of kills over an extended time period?

Edited September 5, 2012 by Sula

[Jay Shack 28]

should be like -20k humanity and you get the skin, thus its more rare, genuinely strikes fear into players who see another player with one and clearly defines bandits from people who have just had to fight their way out of a rock and a hard place.

[ShigZ 66]

I believe this bandit skin is a provisory solution to the "CoD kiddies" issue. By doing this, Rocket started a witch hunt and everybody who often kill players is suffering the consequences.

Sometimes I find one or other nice bandit... but I would surely KoS if the bar was lower (like -20k humanity).

[enforcer1975 1111]

It doesn't make a difference if you set the treshold lower. If they kill they kill. A player who kills by accident or in defense should have no problems staying out of problems for a day or two and regain his humanity. I have killed two players and wounded quite a few so far and never got under 5k humanity.

[Mos1ey 6301]

The threshold should be 2500 -1 kill, -1500. You should be able to kill a player when you have 2500+ humanity without becoming a bandit, but kill again and you're a bandit.

I've ended with a bandit skin a couple of times but it doesn't take long to recover so it's all good.

Edited September 5, 2012 by mZLY

[Anderson (DayZ) 0]

Well one thing I think your forgetting here is that we can get the "hero" skin. I managed to stay alive for a long time refusing to kill anyone, mostly just observing from the woods. I basically isolated myself from the world and helped my friends when they were on. I sniped a bandit or two, always becuase they had shot a friend of mine. My humanity has made it above 11000 now, I can kill someone if I have to and still be in my true colors.

As a survivor I've started to take a policy of no assualt weapons, becuase they just make me a more desirable target and I never really get to fire them anyhow. I stick with my crossbow(which I've gotten very accurate with) and got hunting in the woods. I have my 1911 Colt in case I come into a firefight but I'm sure that it wouldn't make too big a difference if it came to that. We made the choice to live this way though.

I see the Bandit skin as sort of a penance, and something that can be redeemed or embraced. Its kind of cool if you think about it that way. Its almost like you need to imagine yourself as a paladin or something. If I killed someone out of neccessity I would be very careful to avoid confrontation for a while until I was back to my old self. Its a big map, its not hard to lose yourself out there. If you get killed while doing it, then maybe thats karma?

In the end death is inevitable, I was alive for 87 days before I decided to rush the NW airfield after a server restart... I make mistakes sometimes. The point is why worry about when or why someone killed you when it was going to happen eventually anyway? Starting out fresh can be fun too.

[Sula 1205]

Anderson, of course, I haven't forgotten the hero-skin. This thread is about the speed and ease players can end up with a bandit skin when they are not bandits and how it makes you feel, if it happens to your friends or to you.

[Anderson (DayZ) 0]

My bad man, just went off on a tangent. I guess just read the middle part of what I said to get a feel of my opinion on that.

[Sula 1205]

Actually, some very good points there, Anderson. I carry a rifle and a handgun but to kill zombies I use my axe.

Unless I can't, then I use the hand gun. This is always a problem because the hand guns in dayz have been pisspoor since the devs messed with them. You're more likely to kill a zombie with verbal abuse and harsh looks than a bloody makarov!

I carry a rifle because I can but frankly, I rarely hit zombies wirth them. And if I get a nice one then someone always wants it off me, and it makes me a tempting kill to bandits too.

Edited September 5, 2012 by Sula

[Deetwo 69]

I like the idea about having a transition phase to the bandit skin. Perhaps some sort of in-between skin before actually becoming a full fledged bandit.

It could be just a skin that indicates that the player has become "hardened" from having to deal with other hostile survivors. A "Rick Grimes" skin so to speak. :P

[Stiffy 8]

Hello fella's, I'm this pal who appearently got a second mother :P

[Sula 1205]

Yes, and I should give you a good slap if you get into trouble again! *waves her slapping hand* And eat your greens! :P

[Bernd (DayZ) 134]

Scarf up, scarf down - who cares? Chernarus casual is THE look of the now, however you dare to wear it. Stay fabulous, and let's show those dowdy rustle wookies how to really cut a dash in the wasteland!

[Alblaka 9]

I support lowering the bar for obtaining the bandit skin and/or intriducing several degrees of bandit skin.

Whilst it's not trivial to gain a hero skin (20 bloodpacks), it's way too 'easy' to get bandit'd by a single kill.

Right now, a bandit skin means you've encountered a low-tier-geared player who somewhen shot at someone. Low-gear, because every real bandit is probably wearing camo/ghilie suit by now.

Sure, it's not entirely realistic, but even in a realism simulation you need to balance realism and gameplay.

[Deetwo 69]

Scarf up, scarf down - who cares? Chernarus casual is THE look of the now, however you dare to wear it. Stay fabulous, and let's show those dowdy rustle wookies how to really cut a dash in the wasteland!

DayZ fashion show run way? I'd pay money to see that.

[notSLICK 26]

if you wound someone and Zs finish the job, you don't get a murder.

[Axz 30]

I think they should edit the whole bandit thing, if you have killed one or two people that should be fine (so to speak) but the whole bandit thing is a good idea, I think they just need to maintian the humanity issue, i've heard lots of confliction sotries about killing 2-3 people putting you on -20k - -100k.

If the humanity thing can be made realiable, I think it would be as good as flawless, but i'm not a programmer so I wouldn't know.

[ActionManZlt 160]

Seeing this thread is about how the bandit mask makes you feel...

Lets stop and consider the feelings of the character that you're controlling. Maybe they feel pretty shit after you forced them to commit those murders, and now they feel an intense need to hide their face.

Maybe you shouldn't have put them in that situation and caused them this trauma.

[Sakeoe (DayZ) 115]

The thing with the skin system is that reall bandits run around with the Hero skin and solo players that defend themselfs run around with a bandit skin.

I allready said this would happen when we first heard of this, and it turned out I was completely right.

[NickM (DayZ) 57]

The thing with the skin system is that reall bandits run around with the Hero skin and solo players that defend themselfs run around with a bandit skin.

I allready said this would happen when we first heard of this, and it turned out I was completely right.

Say what?

I have hero skin under my ghillie's for 27K humanity.

I guarantee you that I did not get that by "banditing".

[ActionManZlt 160]

The thing with the skin system is that reall bandits run around with the Hero skin and solo players that defend themselfs run around with a bandit skin.

I allready said this would happen when we first heard of this, and it turned out I was completely right.

This is why they pulled it out the first time.

Say what?

I have hero skin under my ghillie's for 27K humanity.

I guarantee you that I did not get that by "banditing".

Not all heros are bandits, but it is possible for bandits to be heros.

Organised groups of PvP murderers can keep their humanity up by working together - them helping each other far outweighs the kills that are distributed between them.

[dallas 5195]

If you earn the bandit skin in selfdefense, get the hell out of Cherno and get the hell into the wilderness. If you constantly place yourself in situations where you have to kill to survive, you're asking for trouble.

A hero is someone who focuses more on survival than murder, if you prefere going to Cherno to shoot people, only shoot bandits or accept your choice of playstayle, dictates you playing as a bandit.

I feel a bit bad about shooting two bandits in Cherno, one had an axe, another an unloaded rifle. One of them say: "Don't shot, friendly!" However they wore the scarf, they were in Cherno, it had to be done.

We also got attacked by a group of mixed heros and bandits. Their hero member went down like the rest, we lost a bit humanity on him, but hey he had to die for his association.

Edited September 7, 2012 by Dallas

[thorgromz 18]

In my opinions skins work good, at least for me. Im in hero skin, but it doesnt show who you really are. I encountered a bandit with an Mk 48, while i had a hatchet. He shot a couple rounds, hitting me in the legs, breaking the bone of course. And then just ran to me and said "sorry, i was trying to shoot the zombies", then blodbageg me, gave me morphine and we went our separate ways, after cleaning the TON of zombies that came to the store in Berezino.

20 minutes later, i was killed by a survivor that shouted friendly. My fault for letting him see my back.

Anyway, I try to respect survivors life avoiding them. If I see a Hero, I like to get close and try to group up or give help. If he is a masked bandit, I´ll take the risk I have been with KoS mentality since I begun playing this game, and I want to be Chernarus White Knight from now on :D

[Matchstick556 12]

Stay fabulous, and let's show those dowdy rustle wookies how to really cut a dash in the wasteland!

What the hell does this even mean?

[noobsmcgee@gmail.com 52]

my only gripe with the shemagh is it's in poor taste. It should be a balaclava. having said that i'm over it. I just wish you were allowed to edit your clothing on start up from a list of things including those. No idea how you would add that but i didn't make the game either.