To prepare for the upcoming Frostline DLC, we’ve made a guide covering how to get started in DayZ. Before we get into the details, there are a few things you need to know.
- DayZ is a challenging game. The game will give you tips, but that is all the direction you will get.
- Combat, in general, requires you to be very attentive. Fight smarter, not harder, is the ideal way to play.
- Stealth is a priority for new players and solos. Solo players who kill groups have the experience and the gear.
- Although the game can sometimes be unfair, overcoming tricky situations is just part of its enjoyment.
- Though DayZ is out of early access, some bugs from the early access days remain. Expect some frustration.
This guide will focus on the vanilla experience on the Chernarus map, with the typical nomadic playstyle.
Get Started in DayZ the Right Way
The world of DayZ is an unforgiving one, capable of ending an entire run in mere seconds. A stray bullet from the farm across the field, a bear trap strategically placed in a doorway, or starvation and exposure to the elements; your untimely demise awaits around each corner.
With the right useful tips, you too can get started in DayZ without fear of what awaits inland!
Exploration in DayZ
As you explore the world of Chernarus, you’ll stumble upon all manner of buildings, all of which you can enter in search of loot or safety. But loot, for the most part, is based upon a set logic within the game’s coding.
For example, if you walk into a random house, you will not find automatic rifles or grenades, but you might find some canned goods, tools, and spare clothing. If you are lucky, you might discover guns available to the civilian populace, like pistols, hunting shotguns, or sports rifles.
In towns, the best places for guns are police stations and checkpoints. Military-grade items are found within army checkpoints and bases on the mainland. Hospitals and clinics are your best source of medicine. You get the idea.
One of the things you’ll quickly learn as you get started in DayZ, is the game does not offer a built-in map, but a rare GPS item exists. Use a map and compass and look for landmarks to determine your location. You can also determine your direction based on the sun’s position. The sun rises from the east and sets in the west. You can zoom in by pressing the middle mouse button, which is useful for scouting.
Inventory and Clothing in DayZ
First and foremost, the clothing you wear determines your carrying capacity.
The inventory system is presented in a grid system similar to titles like Neo Scavenger and Deus Ex. Simple, everyday clothes like shorts and shirts provide limited inventory. Specialist clothes, like combat pants or a hunter’s jacket, are more generous with inventory and give more hot bar options. By default, you press F to pick up items or hold F to equip them.
To transfer items and organize, press Tab to open the inventory screen. Any items in your immediate vicinity will be on the left. To equip clothing, drag it on your character or to the appropriate slot on the top right. You can also double-click an item to take it quickly.
Your clothing helps reduce incoming damage. All items in DayZ lose a bit of durability with every use. Items with the “Ruined’ status are unusable.
To repair a damaged item, have the item in your hands and combine it with the appropriate tool. You combine by selecting and dragging the repair item to the combine section of your hands.
- Repair simple clothes with Duct Tape or a Sewing Kit.
- Repair leather clothes with a Leather Sewing Kit.
- Repair metal armor like chest plates or chainmail with Pliers or a Blowtorch.
- Repair helmets with Epoxy Putty.
Repair items have finite charges. Some items cannot be repaired.
All items in DayZ have a weight value. Weight determines stamina. The higher the combined weight of all items on your person, the less stamina you will have. Low stamina will heavily impact your defensive and offensive capabilities.
Clothes also have different insulation and wetness ratings. Insulation determines its ability to maintain your body temperature. Wetness reduces insulation and increases weight, making you tire more efficiently and more prone to sickness.
When Bullets and Fists Start Flying
Shortly after you get started in DayZ, you’ll encounter your first enemy. It may be a simple zombie or a fully-geared player looking for blood. You’ll want to prepare yourself accordingly. To equip a weapon, drag it into your hands or put it on the hotbar for quick access.
For melee, hold the right mouse button to ready up and press the left mouse button to attack. Default melee attacks consume a bit of your stamina. If you hold shift, your character will perform a heavy attack—more damage at the cost of more stamina. Pressing C will let you crouch, heavily reducing the noise you make. Holding C will make you prone. Approaching unsuspecting infected with a knife enables you to perform a stealth kill.
For guns, hold the right mouse button to enter hip fire mode or press the right mouse button once to enter ADS. Press the middle mouse button to toggle between hip fire or ADS. For ADS, hold left control to hold your breath. This will reduce weapon sway at the cost of stamina. Use cover and use Q and E to lean in and out.
Your inventory space limits your offensive options. However, each player can attach a primary weapon to each shoulder. Such weapons include shotguns, rifles, and heavy melee weapons like bats and axes.
Weapon maintenance is crucial in DayZ. Guns in poor condition are more likely to jam. You need to load bullets into your magazines manually. If you don’t have a magazine for your weapon, you can always load a round into the chamber. That is most viable for powerful guns like snipers, where range and power compensate for the limited ammo capacity.
Your stance and condition influence accuracy—furthermore, players who are tired, sick, or both experience noticeable weapon sway. Crouching provides moderate stability, and going prone provides the most stability. Next to your ammo counter on the bottom left is your weapon’s effective range, stance, and noise level.
- To fill a magazine, equip the mag in your hands and combine it with appropriate ammo.
- To add an attachment to a ranged weapon, equip the weapon and combine the attachment.
- Use a Gun Cleaning Kit to restore your gun’s condition.
- Use a Sharpening Stone to restore knives and axes.
Related: New DayZ Expansion Announced – Frostline
Nothing is More Important Than Your Health
Your character has several stats. Notice the symbols in the right corner.
- The bottle symbol is your Hydration stat.
- The apple symbol is your Energy stat.
- The thermometer is your Temperature stat.
- The blood symbol is the amount of Blood in your system.
- The cross symbol is the overall Health stat.
Your health will gradually reduce if you’re starving, dehydrated, lose too much blood, or are sick. Receiving trauma, especially gunshot wounds and heavy attacks, drains your health the fastest. Trauma can also fracture your limbs or lead to infected wounds. Health also governs movement speed; healthy characters have full mobility, while wounded characters are sluggish. Your character will die once your health reaches zero, and you’ll have to start again. So, being fed, hydrated, disease-free, and comfortable is paramount to survival.
Keep in mind that food controls energy and hydration. These stats constantly drain. They drain the slowest when idle and the fastest when sprinting.
Foods have different nutritional values. Just as logic is tied to exploration, it’s tied to food. Wet foods, like canned bacon or fresh fruit, will fill your energy and hydration. Dry foods, like chips or powdered milk, will increase your energy but reduce your hydration. While survivors in the zombie apocalypse can’t be choosers, wet food should be your priority.
You also acquire food through fishing, hunting, or foraging fruits and mushrooms around forests and fields. If you do have raw meat on you, please cook it first. Eating raw or rotten food is not a good idea.
Each player has a blood type. If your character is fed and hydrated, blood will slowly regenerate. Blood recovery is significantly boosted by administering a Saline Solution or a Blood Transfusion. For the latter, you need a compatible donor; otherwise, your character will suffer a Hemolytic Reaction. Use a Blood Test Kit to determine your blood type. Minor to moderate blood loss will result in black-and-white vision. High blood loss will result in your character going unconscious or dying.
Basics of Crafting in DayZ
Crafting has the same approach as item maintenance and adding weapon attachments. You select a component and combine it with the appropriate tool.
Here are the most basic crafting recipes.
- Combine a piece of clothing with a Knife to create Rags. Rags are needed to start a fire, craft impromptu clothing, and stop bleeding.
- Combine a Plastic Bottle with Duct Tape for a Plastic Bottle Suppressor.
- Combine a Short Stick with a flammable material like Paper, Rags, or Bark to create a Fireplace.
- Combine a Knife with a Long Wooden Stick to create a Sharpened Stick. Combine that Sharpened Stick with a food item, like raw meat, to create Food on Stick. This allows you to cook the food on a fireplace.
General DayZ Tips and Tricks
Experimentation is how you get the most from DayZ. However, here’s a few extra tips.
- Always have weapons ready for different scenarios—a shotgun for clearing out buildings and a scoped rifle for long-range encounters. Always enter buildings with a gun in your hands.
- You make a sound whenever you brush against or go through foliage. Keep that in mind when trying to be stealthy.
- Gunfire can be heard from afar and can draw opportunistic players. It will alert any nearby infected. Either equip a silencer or use guns when melee just won’t cut it.
- Drink water from wells in towns and villages. Water in the wild and untreated bottled water can lead to sickness. If you’re unsure about your bottled water, use Chlorine Tablets to purify it.
- Repair, eat, and load magazines away from prying eyes.
- You can use smoke grenades, flares, campfires, or gunshots to draw players’ attention and prepare an ambush.
- Always try to wear camo clothing or craft a ghillie suit for stealth. Bright colors will make you an easy target from afar.
- Sewing Kits can be used to stitch up wounds. However, they must be sterilized with Disinfectant Spray; otherwise, you risk an infected wound.
- Besides trauma and bleeding, attacks cause shock. Shock is displayed through growing tunnel vision. Too much shock and the survivor will go unconscious for a short duration.
- Use heavy attacks to stunlock infected.
We hope these tips and tricks helped you to get started in DayZ. Before long, you’ll be wiping groups of geared players by yourself!
The Guide Hall carefully treads through the post-apocalyptic wastelands of DayZ in search of high-tier loot and geared players to cut down in their prime. We’ll have more guides from the survival game coming soon!