apart from private hives..

[Rifle Eyez 34]

Are any servers safe anymore? If so, can anyone recommend a semi-safe one from personal experience? EU/UK. I'm experiencing hackers in 90% of servers I join at least. If i've not been insta killed, teleported or bumped into a god mode guy in a hour it's a miracle.

A IRL friend of mine, who had a server, used a map hack + other tools himself to monitor everyone. Never spawned gear, killed anyone etc. He said literally 95%+ of servers he joined over a week period had hackers or hacker activity. He said on a majority of 20+ pop servers you'd spot guys teleporting 50m from other players, killing them, then teleporting to the next dude. Not sure what you'd get out of that, the mentality is beyond me. Anyway, before I rant...server recomendations please?

[Welch (DayZ) 756]

Yeah. The ones that don't advertise and have active admins are pretty safe. I've known a few.

[SlamSlayer 2]

Why not just pick up a private Hive though? Yeah you could find a less popular server but, if its public, sooner or later SOMEONE is going to stumble upon it. A hacker I mean. I've been playing a private hive for over a month now and its really the only thing that saved me from giving up on the mod. I can finally play and get excited to see my near full server (which it usually is) of almost 40 players, instead of of "Oh that's just a big target for a hacker". Its private, has constant admin support AND uses a white list. Yeah a hacker could take the time to sign up for this particular waiting list to get on, get accepted, get the password (that's changed weekly or as needed), get on and do ANYTHING. But by the end of the day or sooner, when the admin goes over the log, he's gone. Permanent ban and black listed. Too much effort for too little pay back.

[Rifle Eyez 34]

See, I'm keen to join a private hive but the only thing that is off putting is carrying gear over if I do ever hop back on public or another private hive. Also, public is nice for just meeting up with buddies or joining a new group of players - private hives you're limited to just that specific server. Also, because I'm presuming it's a tight knit on a private hive, rather than 1000's of players, I'd miss the anon-factor. if you do anything to piss of the admin or a squad your life can become very difficult.

How do I go about getting on one? It's the lesser of two evils easily.

[sostronk 334]

I doubt it man. I jumped on one a few days back. Ran into hackers almost instantly. I thought it might have died down. I was wrong. Perma-private-hives for me.

[Rifle Eyez 34]

Yeah, private hive for me too I think.

How do I go about joining one? Any popular ones - I don't wanna be on some ultra hardcore arma 2 vet pvp server with squads of 4+ when I'm solo haha.

[AlcApwn (DayZ) 28]

Why not just pick up a private Hive though? Yeah you could find a less popular server but, if its public, sooner or later SOMEONE is going to stumble upon it. A hacker I mean. I've been playing a private hive for over a month now and its really the only thing that saved me from giving up on the mod. I can finally play and get excited to see my near full server (which it usually is) of almost 40 players, instead of of "Oh that's just a big target for a hacker". Its private, has constant admin support AND uses a white list. Yeah a hacker could take the time to sign up for this particular waiting list to get on, get accepted, get the password (that's changed weekly or as needed), get on and do ANYTHING. But by the end of the day or sooner, when the admin goes over the log, he's gone. Permanent ban and black listed. Too much effort for too little pay back.

you know that an admin has exactly 0 chance to notice hacks like maphack?

if you want to get rid of idiots spawning bullshit, private hives are your first choice. but there will ALWAYS be hackers, unless arma2 changes its engine design.

especially hives with no-CD key in their name have more sophisticated anti-hack measures, as they were much more frequently targets by some idiots with a keygen. u might try odayz.org.ua :)

[SlamSlayer 2]

you know that an admin has exactly 0 chance to notice hacks like maphack?

if you want to get rid of idiots spawning bullshit, private hives are your first choice. but there will ALWAYS be hackers, unless arma2 changes its engine design.

especially hives with no-CD key in their name have more sophisticated anti-hack measures, as they were much more frequently targets by some idiots with a keygen. u might try odayz.org.ua :)

Of COURSE, and even if this wasn't ArmA2 we're talking about, there will almost always be hacking. Just at all different levels. You never get rid of it completely. BUT a good watched server with a great community standing behind it go along way. People watch out for suspicious activity, report it to the admin, admin checks the logs (which he does anyway on a regular basis and is almost always available to contact in some form or another) and does what needs to be done. Does it catch everything? Probably not. Have I seen or been AFFECTED by a single hacker on my private hive of choice? NO, not for close to, if not over, a whole month of playing on a server at near packed capacity of /40 players. It has really REALLY lifted my spirits with this game and shown me its raw potential now that I've got actual friends on it to roam with and don't have to worry about a constant barrage of hacker attacks setting me back on progress of many hours in a completely unfair and unavoidable way.

See, I'm keen to join a private hive but the only thing that is off putting is carrying gear over if I do ever hop back on public or another private hive. Also, public is nice for just meeting up with buddies or joining a new group of players - private hives you're limited to just that specific server. Also, because I'm presuming it's a tight knit on a private hive, rather than 1000's of players, I'd miss the anon-factor. if you do anything to piss of the admin or a squad your life can become very difficult.

How do I go about getting on one? It's the lesser of two evils easily.

Just go to the private hive section of THESE forums right here, and browse through the threads. I'm not going to announce my choice specifically for the simple fact that if you end up with a private hive reaching into hundreds of players and booming popularity, it will probably slowly degenerate back into a similar state of the public servers at this point. BUT I will say that it has a nice group of regular players who play both sides (Bandit/Survivor), as well as plenty of other players who come and go with varying levels of "community interaction". The chat log on the lower left is ALWAYS bristling with banter, something that you rarely see on a public server. Also you get to recognize the regulars fast.

Edited October 7, 2012 by SlamSlayer