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DayZ Standalone Noob Survival Guide [UPDATED]

By RAVELonPC

It’s been a long time now since DayZ Standalone was released in it’s very early, very alpha state. It has come a long way, there are many new features, mechanics, weapons and items that have shaken up the initial guide we put out all those months ago. It’s time to update this guide to reflect modern survival techniques in Chernarus.

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Created by

RAVELonPC
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Category: Classes, Gameplay Basics, Maps or Levels, Multiplayer, Weapons

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

19 May, 2017 @ 5:12am

19 May, 2017 @ 2:12pm

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Guide Index

Overview

Hunger

Thirst

Medicine

Laying Low

Gearing Up

Comments

Hunger

Hunger is the #1 threat to your character in DayZ Standalone. If you don’t keep your character topped up with calories you will find yourself dieing of starvation in a couple of hours so it’s important you master the different methods of keeping yourself full. The easiest and most reliable method is to scrounge the towns and cities of Chernarus for fruit, vegetables and canned foods. You should be able to find enough food in a major town to get yourself to ‘stuffed’ status in your character inventory screen – but when you come to leaving the major towns, travelling through forests and fields to find your next scavenge target you can quickly find yourself getting hungry with little around to eat.

This is where one of the new DayZ mechanics comes into play – hunting. Hunting was added a few months back with the addition of many types of animals including boars, deer, chickens and fish. The problem with hunting in the early game however is that you will often lack a decent way to prepare and cook your meat. That’s why it’s important that you spend your first few hours in Chernarus learning how to hunt in DayZ, how to fish in DayZ and how to cook. Doing so will allow you to master long-term survival in DayZ. We’ve written multiple guides on these subjects so you should head over there to read them if you haven’t done so already.

Thirst

Thirst is the #2 threat to your character in DayZ Standalone. It’s very important to keep your character hydrated – and the best way to do that is to use the water that the landscapes of Chernarus provide you. There are water wells placed all throughout Chernarus. Some are in the middle of larger cities, some are on the outskirts of small towns – it’s up to you to locate them, and use them to drink multiple times from until your character is has the green ‘hydrated’ status in your character inventory screen. iZurvive – the DayZ online map has each of these wells marked on the map with a ‘tap’ icon.

Aswell as making use of the water wells within the cities, make sure you keep a good supply of bottled or canned fluids with you at all times. Bottles and Canteens can be re-filled at the water pumps as an excellent source of replenish-able, portable water. You can also fill Bottles and Canteens with rain water if it’s raining. Follow these points and you’ll find that in no-time, you will have mastered your hydration.

Medicine

Medicine in DayZ is fairly simple to get started with . The basics of medicine will only see you using a few items; bandages or rags, IV kits, blood bags and saline bags.

Bandages are the most important item – especially to a new player. You will find that the zombies in DayZ are a little ‘work-in-progress’ and before long you’ll probably find yourself bleeding even if you do your best at avoiding them. Use a bandage on yourself to stop the bleeding. If you don’t have a bandage, ‘rags’ can also be used which you can obtain through ripping up certain clothing items. Everyone starts with a t-shirt in DayZ which can be ripped up into 2 rags – very handy. If you find yourself with no bandages, no rags and no t-shirt to rip up – you will find yourself with low blood fairly soon. Your vision will start to blur, you will pass out and finally – glorious death.

IV Kits, Blood Bags and Saline Bags can sometimes take a while for players to get used to but the mechanics are very simple. Saline bags can be used on a player via an IV kit, to replenish 10% of a characters blood (500 units). Doing so will normally wake a player from unconsciousness. This method of blood replenishment is more reliable but less efficient than blood bags. This is because a blood bag replenishes 20% of a characters blood, but it’s crucial that the blood is the same blood type as the player. Giving a character blood of the wrong blood type will result in death – in order to make sure that doesn’t happen you will have to find a syringe and a blood test kit.

Laying Low

The 4th key aspect of survival for a new player in DayZ Standalone is a very important one. Laying low, avoiding zombies and players for as long as possible will increase your chances of gearing up properly – thus increasing your chances of long-term survival. Trying to fight zombies with a screw-driver is a very bad decision so make sure you do your best to avoid them when you have no efficient method of dealing with them. Zombies can now easily be trapped in houses so this is a good technique to utilize and master in your early game play.

It can be tempting in DayZ to try and make friends in Chernarus. Take it from us that this almost always ends in tragedy. If your intent is to gear up and make it to long-term survival in DayZ – you should avoid players as much as possible unless you know you can trust them with your life. Betrayal is all too common in DayZ – that friendly bambi who you befriended on the coast a couple of hours ago may or may not take his shovel to your head the next time you drop your guard – so you always have to be vigilant if you do decide to make friends. Keep your distance, keep your eyes on them and always be prepared to pull the trigger.

Gearing Up

Gearing up is obviously one of the most important aspects of DayZ – and learning how to do it efficiently is important. As a new-spawn there are a few items that you should prioritize over others. As inventory space is limited when you first spawn, you need to make sure you chose the right ones.

As a new spawn (early game)

Finding more clothing is important as a new spawn in DayZ because ultimately it allows you to carry more gear. Above all, some sort of backpack will be of the most use to you
A primary weapon, most likely in the form of a melee weapon will give you a method of protecting yourself from zombies. A firefighters axe is the best option, but a splitting axe, a baseball bat or something similar will do
A first aid kit or a roll of bandages is immensely useful in your first few hours of DayZ
A canteen or water bottle will ensure you can refill water sources at water wells
Some fruit, vegetables, or canned-foods
A compass and map can be very helpful for new players in Chernarus
As a Survivor (mid game)

Help ensure late-game survival by finding the tools you will need for hunting and fishing
A firearm and some ammunition will become vital at this point to pick off zombies from a distance and protect yourself from other bandits in Chernarus
As a Pro (end game)

Finding a military grade weapon like an M4A1 and some attachments, as well as stockpiling ammunition is normally the first step at achieving end game DayZ
Military-style apparel to camouflage your character as much as possible. This outfit normally consists of TTsKO vest, TTsKO pants, Assault Vest / Smersh Vest /w Backpack attached, Ballistics Helmet and a Hunting backpack
Finding a tent or a spare backpack, and setting up a ‘stash’ in the woods with food, drinks, ammunition and first-aid supplies
DayZ is a harsh, unforgiving game which can and will at some point ♥♥♥♥ you over in an instant. Remember it’s still in early alpha state, remember that bugs are still prevalent in all aspects of game-play and above all – remember it’s just a game!