New player, always running into snipers.

[hunterhalloo@hotmail.com 6]

So yeah, i'm a new player having some difficulty with Dayz, mostly with snipers.

I started playing the game two days ago, on my first "life" i did the best out of all my "lifetimes" in the game so far.

On my first life i run around a small city and find a tiny storage room with 5 ACP mags and a revolver, im excited as hell by this!

Then i look in another corner of the storage area and find an AKM with two mags, some food and drinks in another building and im set to go!

5 minutes later i've run through a forest and i hide behind a bunch of rocks and tree's due to my water level getting low, and i thought i was safe.

But NOPE, my character suddenly falls down for no reason and three seconds later i hear a very loud sniper shot from afar (over a thousand meters away perhaps..?)

And my story ends there.

Second life i get, i barely spawn and run 10 meters, then BOOM! Same type of scenario happens, my char drops dead, two seconds later i hear a really loud sniper shot from afar.

Third life i manage to get to a tiny town, find a hatchet and i try to find a barn for a shotgun or pistol.

I find a barn, i find a double barreled shotgun and... BOOM! I hear something going through the walls in the barn (five shots) and i drop dead.

Fourth life (i took a break and began playing at nighttime instead at this point due to frustration of snipers). On my fourth life i get really lucky, i find a military base with no one around, i find lots of different ammo, food, water bottles and finally an M4 or what it was called lying in a corner, then BOOM! Headshot.

My problem is that, no matter where i go, no matter what time it is on the servers I always run into snipers that shoot me wether im armed or not.

I have no issue with zombies since i know how to lose them easily, i use my backpack to its fullest extent, and i generaly stay away from the largest cities and military areas.

So, any advice as to how i can avoid getting killed every 5 minutes by snipers?

So far i've died 6 times in the game i believe, 5 times to snipers and 1 time to getting barbed wired inside of a staircase by some guy in a ghillie suit (couldn't get over the wire on the stairs and i went head first into a wall, broke my legs and went into shock and died from bleeding out.)

And no, before you ask i couldn't take another exit in the stairs where i got blocked in, due to being unarmed and having 5 zombies coming up behind me.

[Hydra (DayZ) 472]

When you are in the open, ALWAYS zig-zag and be unpredictable with your movements. A skilled bullet evader can dance in front of a team of snipers for up to 5 minutes (personal experience) before they either get away or the snipers get a lucky shot in.

Rule #1 of DayZ: You are never safe and should always act as if there is a crosshair at the back of your head, at all times,

-

Some of the anti-mat sniper douches are unavoidable, however. I tend to try and weed them out by counter sniping them with an AWS as50 I had found, and I am generally quite successful in making Cherno/Elektro safer places for newspawns.

[team_player 42]

That rule is actually the only thing I ever think about while playing as proved by my video

http://www.youtube.com/user/wancyrox

It was a while ago I've improved

it's in prologue 1 somewhere it's the one thing I did right haha

[hunterhalloo@hotmail.com 6]

Alright, i'll try to be a bit more unpredictable when im running around.

And also keep in my mind that no matter where i am, i should always anticipate that at least ONE sniper has his or her aim at my head.

Thank you all for the advice!

I still dont understand how the sniper who shot me through the barn walls managed to do that though.. Is that something you can do with ANY sniper in the game? Because it sounded quite a bit different from an AS50 shot.

[Allie (DayZ) 97]

I know you're frustration.

It is total bullshit this game at the moment.

I stopped playing on the public servers and have now my own little privat server, just to be able to play the game as it was ment to be played.

I have been playing solo, i have been playing with clans, my biggest shock was to find out that the clan players are only playing to shoot noobs. They have there own low populated servers and on these servers they collect all good loot, have big camps and have all vehicles at there disposal. The stratagy then is to gear up on there own server, drive or fly to a populated spot and start hopping servers. I have tryed to like that idea, but i don't, so i just stopped playing the game at all public.

I was really shocked to see advanced arma players getting a boner because of the killing of a noob without guns.......

They also like to put themselfs on top of the international hotel with the chopper on there own server and then they hop to a populated server, again they will really get a hardon when killing another noob trying to figure out how the games work.

All people that are a little smart play this way now, its bullshit, all of them have tents with 500 NVGoggles and L85 thermal guns.

For me, its is done, i stopped playing the game, i do like the mod to fool around with in just arma.

My advice, go to Berenzino, the bandits are not going there that much because not a lot of noobs can make the distance without any stuff. Bandit snipers are mostely in Cherno, Elektro, Stary area and NWAirport.

These people are just assholes with no idea of having a good game, even these people are screaming HACKERS all the time, even when they are not beeing hacked, these people are one of the most ALT F4 fcks too, they also like to ghost behind there rivals(as if this is not hacking).

I can understand your pain, i just gave up, i'm back in good old Arma, with decent players(who have the power of hacking but just dont do that because they are fair players).

Probably my last post here too.

Good luck, be smart.......

[Grandpa Jimmy 20]

Rule #1 of DayZ: You are never safe and should always act as if there is a crosshair at the back of your head, at all times,

Actually, that's rule #2.

Rule 1 is don't get attached to your character or gear.

[ACOGshot 38]

These people are just assholes with no idea of having a good game, even these people are screaming HACKERS all the time, even when they are not beeing hacked, these people are one of the most ALT F4 fcks too, they also like to ghost behind there rivals(as if this is not hacking).

I did like the start of your post but you went completely off the rail with this part. I am one of those 'assholes' who likes to play the game in the dark, sneaking through shadows, avoiding all contact with anyone I don't trust, popping shots at whomever I see. I don't do it to be an asshole, I do it because it's how I get the most fun out of the game. I don't "ghost behind my rivals", I don't exploit ALT+F4, nor do I assume that everyone else is a hacker. If I die, then I die, it's a harsh lesson learnt and believe me I've probably died more than most of you, but it has made me incredibly good at avoiding it aswell. If you don't like the game then thats your issue, but it isn't your place to start tarring every sniper with the same brush.

On topic: If you want to keep the gear you have found, don't take silly risks, stick to lower populated areas and servers.

[icetal0n 4]

Always act like someone is watching you. Once you get more experience you will always be zig zagging and watching your surroundings for possible snipers/ sniper positions.

[hunterhalloo@hotmail.com 6]

Honestly i dont have any massive rage issues when it comes to being sniped anywhere, at any time, by anyone etc..

If you read what i said about my FIRST life, i actualy got some good gear seeing as im a noob.

But when i actualy got shot by the sniper, i just instantly froze, thinking to myself "well..... That sucked. Oh well, guess i'll respawn."

And so i did, this time when i got sniped after only crawling 10 meters i got a tiny bit angry seeing as i spawned near a harbor and i knew from videos on youtube that you could find lots of goodies inside.

I do like Dayz though, despite all the hacking, snipers, hostage takers, clans running around killing noobs for fun.. I only wish i could find a weapon at all, without instantly being targeted down by people that are over 700 meters away from me.

Ahh yes, another minor question if its not too much of a bother. Should i move quickly around towns / cities to avoid snipers, even if it means alerting half the zombie population in Dayz and i have no weapon?

[ACOGshot 38]

Ahh yes, another minor question if its not too much of a bother. Should i move quickly around towns / cities to avoid snipers, even if it means alerting half the zombie population in Dayz and i have no weapon?

I think it depends where you are and what your objective is. If you know all the best sniper locations in an area then you can move quickly to the best blind spots, obviously attracting zombie attention and thus alerting snipers anyway, so it has its drawbacks. Sneaking is also a good option but if you are spotted, you are as good as dead, as even a bad sniper will be able to pop off a slow moving target. If the sniper in the area can recognise heat signatures then you are pretty much screwed either way, so the best you can do is just get in and get out ASAP, and try not to stop much on the way, especially in open areas or near windows.

A nice tip. Fog is a snipers worst enemy. If it is foggy, you can do pretty much anything undetected provided you are at least 300m or so from them.

[DragunX5 2]

I think if it's not a hack...it's fair. Snipers in real life are a pain in the ass......invisible killers...the whole point of them. Part of the game is to be cautious. When approaching locations go prone and scope out anywhere you think snipers will be, tall buildings, windows, under trees on hills....binoculars are such an important find in my opinion to extend your survival chances. I'm a player that is always willing to help other survivors, I never shoot players unless attacked first..... But I'd always take down a sniper cos I guarantee they not there to shoot zombies lol

[Charlotte (DayZ) 6]

Third life i manage to get to a tiny town, find a hatchet and i try to find a barn for a shotgun or pistol.

I find a barn, i find a double barreled shotgun and... BOOM! I hear something going through the walls in the barn (five shots) and i drop dead.

I guess someone could have been shooting up the barn with an as50 or satchels or something, but it could have been a script kiddie. I've died and watched friends die to this one a lot lately :( If you hear someone shooting at the wall next to you, log out asap. When he does his script thing, the wall won't stop the bullets anymore.

If you're near a military base, chances are there are other players and snipers. Same goes for big cities, water sources near cities, and other high grade loot areas.

Imo... could grab a gun and go run up on the popular sniper spots. You might be able to kill a well geared sniper.

[Sula 1205]

Archinos, remember "unpredictable behaviour" means body movement, ducking behind walls, zigzagging left, left, right, left, right, straight, duck behind trees and keep moving (for example). It does not mean suddenly stopping to peform mime, or interpretative dance or quacking for no reason. Though maybe the more extreme your unpredictable behaviour, the more likely you are to live, so the dancing might work. :thumbsup:

[kebman 213]

A sniper weapon is not good for self defence. It's only good for offence. Thus I usually shoot snipers on sight. However I realize that some snipers are good people that just cover their friend or their clan when they're looting.

Also I will still be cautios around players otherwise armed.

@OP: A lot of your grief is due to poor tactical movement and little or no use of cover. Your first order of business is always to find the best possible natural or unnatural cover. Second, don't do stupid things like moving in the open, or moving in such a way as to create a silhuette. When you start to become mindful of those things, and it becomes second nature to move in a discrete manner, you'll experience far fewer sniper occurences.

Learn how to move from cover to cover, and how to expose yourself as little as possible. Also learn to look for signs of other players, like, say a small city already full of zeds long before you're close enough to spawn them yourself. Also pick up a book on military field tactics and soldiering, and you'll survive far longer.

[hunterhalloo@hotmail.com 6]

Thanks for all of the advice people!

Im gonna start practicing on not being too predictable with my movement and try to be mindful of my surroundings.

This game has so many different tactics, but i think i enjoy the stealthy approach the most.

I've played all Metal gear games and i always love sneaking around scaring people or surprising them there (i know dayz is REALLY different, but hey.. Im working on impersonating Solid snakes voice so i can spook the crap out of players through my Microphone xD)

Well then, today im gonna try to implement all of the advice i've been given by you awesome players and see how it goes!

Again, thanks for the advice i've been given!

[hunterkilla 67]

I would also suggest going on lo pop servers for a while, less chance of hackers and even snipers as they prefer to come across people than sit in an almost empty server with no one else around.

Get used to the game, gearing up etc. Also go look for spots you think would be an ideal sniper spot. Look what you can see and then work out the places that are in the kill zone. Like in elektro on the hill, its a snipers heaven. So the in the firestation is very dangerous but behind the firestation is hidden. Learn to also hide in corners if you need to check a map or drink and never check your map standing or even crouched.. go prone.. I got killed by a sniper in zelengorsk as I checked the map whilst crouched and boom, dead.. taught me to be more careful.

Also when going from place to place, don't take the quickest route, thats usually across country and so easy to spot a player from a distance doing that. Go zigzagging through the trees and taking the safest route. I watched 2 players who were new spawns an they ran across country and along the coast and I followed them for along time and could have killed them anytime had I so wished.

[bfisher 561]

Babou!! Serpentine!!

Guys...it's post apocalypse. Of course there will be armies of well-armed bandits. You have to avoid them. I say anything goes so long as it's not hacking or Alt-F4ing whenever you get into trouble.

Assume everyone is out to kill you for your beans!

I find sprinting like a maniac and keeping to the trees or other cover is the best way to avoid snipers. I've only been killed 2x by long range sniper fire. And one of those times, it took him like 5 shots.

[Gradan 4]

From your story I think you were victim of a cheater, who knows the position of every player on the server and teleports near them in sniper range to shoot them.

Try to find a good private server, where the admins do their job and don't abuse their powers towards their clan or playergroups liking.

BIS seems not be able to put a option to disable certain remote execute scripts commands...

No legit players should play public anymore. Then the cheaters and try to snipe each other in godmone on and yell at each other fucking hackers...

[sorryforshooting 11]

Hydra pretty much nailed it....

[External89 21]

I Would say learn to loot fast , before heading in to a town put as much as possible in the bagpack so you can loot fast in the quickslots .

Also learn how things look like on the ground ( this can take a while but really helpfull), so you its worth of looting yes or no.

Ones you got a friend playing with you , this tactic can be double effective and you get stuff faster.

Be aware if you spawn zombie's you also aware other players that you're running around there.

But once you get more expirienced you'll find out wich tactic is better for you .GL!

[Osaka (DayZ) 32]

I never got shot by a sniper (knock on wood).

I played on my current life for 42 days without dying.

My main enemies are cows and other lootable animals for I am the bacon man and giver of steaks.

Zeds are not really any problem for you. Not if you know how to deal with them. But indeed it's the players you watch out for.

If you want to survive here's a few tips that work for me.

When you spawn, just run into Elektro doing a Leeroy Jenkins, since you usually spawn there. Ignore everything and head straight for the main loot routes.

What helps for me is hospital and supermarket... done

Find a hunting knife and a box of matches, and the hospital for morphine/bandages and maybe a bloodbag or two.

These three items. knife, matches, medical supplies. gone!

If you happen to find a better backpack along the way, or maybe a few food/drink cans, fine. take whatever you find, but be quick about it.

Exit Elektro via the west or east side.

Avoid the direct north ridge because snipers like to camp out there a lot.

Ignore the parade of zeds following you for now, if any.

After you left Elektro head north from there and lose zeds in the forest, or find the barns in these areas.

Now get yourself a hatchet if you didn't already run into one in elektro and you are pretty much set up for basic survival.

Scan deer stands and be sure to loot small villages to the north for anything useful. A water bottle may be handy, but I realized they are a bit overrated as cans of cola and pepsi seem to be very common. one out of three zeds carry a drink for no good reason.

Now, always keep a stack of cooked meat on you.

If you happen to be shot at, bleeding, got unlucky with a raid just leg it. Run for the forest, try to lose the attackers and once done bandage yourself. 500 blood left? no problem...

Eating a whole cow fixes everything. And be sure to have a nice stack of morphine ready.

And if you are killed for some reason, accept fate and don't log out.

If those bandits wanted my meat supply, all they had to do was ask. I doubt they will kill me for my Lee enfield.

That's another tip. If simple survival is priority, don't prance around with a nice shiny rare gun. If killing you seems non-profitable, most players will not even think about wasting precious ammo on a guy with a bunch of steaks and a rusty gun.