While the DayZ Standalone is full of people with both good and bad intentions, more often than not you can count on running into someone who wants to kill you. The strange thing is, in this massive game of survival, they don’t even want to kill you to preserve their own safety, or even because they need your gear. No, players in DayZ will shoot you for no other reason than you happen to be in range. With that in mind, you might as well up your odds of winning gun battles with these helpful tips.
Always Remain Unseen
Perhaps the most effective way to keep from losing a gunfight is to avoid these situations altogether. Yes, that’s right, our first tip is to reduce the amount of gun battles you take part in. To do this, stay off busy roads, paths and generally any popular areas where players tend to travel when looking for trouble. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t go to places where people wander about, just don’t let them see you. By remaining unseen, you get to fire the first shot, which is a major factor in winning most engagements.
When Things Go Bad, Remain Calm
Even the most careful of players will get shot eventually. Whether you slip up and get yourself spotted, or someone fires a Mosin at you from several hundred yards away, rest assured bullets will fly in your direction. When this happens, remain as calm as possible.
Unlike other games, when you spawn back into DayZ you don’t pick up right where you left off. In fact, you lose everything. Because of this, people tend to panic in gun battles. The fear of losing everything overwhelms them and, well, causes them to lose everything. Just accept that eventually, your character will die and you’ll start from scratch. Knowing this and controlling your nerves will see that it doesn’t happen too often.
Peek and Lean
The last place you want to find yourself is running through an open field while someone takes shots at you from a distance. This tip ties directly with remaining unseen. If you spot the threat before it spots you, you can take up a position behind cover. Once there, press the Q (Left) or E (Right) keys to peek out and around the corner. This drastically reduces the chance of being shot, even allowing you to duck behind cover if things get too messy.
Aim Down Sight
This tip, in combination with our peek and lean advice vastly increases your chance of winning a gun battle. Aiming down sight is something most skilled players will suggest you do in any game, so the fact that we’re suggesting it in the unforgivable environment of DayZ shouldn’t come as a shock. Although it is never a good idea to fire your weapon if you don’t have to, try practicing on a few zombies if you end up in a mostly empty server. To aim down site, press the right button on your mouse. If you happen to use a Mosin and want to hold your breath, hold down the right button.
Fire the First shot
While bullets kill people in any game, it tends to take more than one. In DayZ Standalone, one bullet can kill you and frequently will. For this reason, make sure you take the first shot. You might think this makes you a Bandit, but it doesn’t. For the most part, Bandits are easy to spot. They’ll lay on top of a building, hiding in trees or perhaps hanging out in Cherno. The point is, you almost always know when things are about to go bad. Rather than wait to eat a bullet, put a stop to the threat before it’s too late. Just make sure you don’t kill innocent players for no good reason. Bandits only!
Avoid Towers and Rooftops
The high-ground is always important in a gun battle, but that doesn’t mean you need to put a bulls-eye on yourself. Hanging out on tall buildings or in towers is a great way to get shot from a few towns over. Players in DayZ are (as they are in most games) predictable. Because of this, the top of a building or tower is the first place they’ll look when they enter an area. Additionally, camping in such places is fairly common Bandit behavior, meaning you deserve to get shot anyway.
Use Pristine Equipment
We’ve all found a “Badly Damaged” pair of pants laying in some random house. We’ve also all spotted an M4A1, only to pick it up and find that it’s nothing more than an oversized paper weight. While even a badly damaged gun will fire, a pristine gun (with pristine attachments) will greatly increase the chance of your bullet hitting its target. While we’re fully aware that beggars can’t be choosers, do your best to find pristine weapons (and everything else) if you want to ensure your weapon performs at its optimal ability.
One final note about pristine equipment, don’t shoot people in the body if you can avoid it. Go for the headshots whenever possible. Because DayZ is so focused on being realistic (besides all the zombies running around), bullets that hit your backpack or jacket will destroy everything inside. If you decide to shoot someone for their gear, it’s likely not a good idea to destroy that gear. However, we suppose that if it’s a fancy hat you’re after, a body shot is acceptable.
