The standalone edition of DayZ is now available on Steam. With the game’s Early Access release, many players new to the franchise are learning to navigate the game, which is confusing to say the least. There’s a lot to digest for players unfamiliar with the DayZ mod for Arma 2, whose first experience with DayZ is through the standalone version.
To that end, a veteran of DayZ named oscc has compiled a host of tips and tricks (via reddit) useful to newer players. Some of the tips are even new to the standalone edition of the game, so even players experienced with the DayZ mod can get some mileage out of it.
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General
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If you are bleeding but have no bandages, remove your shirt and right click it to tear off a rag – this can be used to stop bleeding. Note: This does not work if your clothes are damp.
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Use Tab to view your inventory. For a detailed explanation of the new inventory system see here.
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You spawn with a torch and battery. Drag the battery onto the torch to power it. Drag the torch to your hand to wield it. Pressing space aims the torch ahead at the sacrifice of movement speed.
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If you can't find any servers, try clicking the "Internet" tab – it may be defaulted to LAN.
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Change the quality of the clouds to very high to improve vision at night time | Video
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Increasing the gamma and brightness from the settings will also help you see better at night time.
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For a map of the new Chernarus see here.
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Use the number keys to cycle through your weapons.
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Pressing space lowers/raises your weapon accordingly. If you aren't carrying anything space will ready your fists to punch.
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Hold down right click to zoom in.
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Holding Alt locks the direction of your movement, allowing you to look around while running without changing direction.
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Pay extra attention when looking for loot, some loot isn't immediately obvious.
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Avoid the coast unless you're looking for trouble. Head in-land after spawning.
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Poor framerate? Go to Documents > DayZ and open DayZ.cfg in Notepad. ChangeGPU_MaxFramesAhead and GPU_DetectedFramesAhead to = 1.
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Health
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To avoid bad health, stay away from unclean water, rotten fruit, etc. and wear warm, dry clothes. Cleaning your wounds with alcohol helps to avoid illness too.
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If you are bleeding but have no bandages, remove your shirt and right click it to tear off a rag – this can be used to stop bleeding. Note: This does not work if your clothes are damp.
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Getting tired? Keep hydrated and eat. If you are in need of rest sitting on the floor for a short while will also help.
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If your head hurts, you need to drink water.
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Thirsty? Look out for water pumps in urban areas and ponds in rural areas. For ponds you need to be in first person to drink or fill up a bottle.
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Unconsciousness is currently glitchy. If you fall unconscious try exiting the server and re-joining several times.
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You need a can opener to opened canned food. Knives, axes etc. don't work.
Know how to combat any health problems:
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Bandages/rags for bleeding
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Morphine Injector for a broken leg
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Epi-Pen for unsconsciousness
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Blood Bags for low blood/health
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Navigation
An important part of survival is knowing your bearings, there are ways to do this without a compass. You'll feel like Bear Grylls once you've learned these tricks.
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Find your bearings at night from the star constellations. Two stars from the Big Dipper point straight at the North Star | Video source
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The wind always blows east, so look at the movement of clouds
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The sun rises in the East and sets in the West, so if the Sun is just rising or setting you'll find it particularly easy to gain your bearings from that.
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Most towns/cities have road signs. If you are unsure where you are, simply match the road sign name up with where it lies on the map.
