Dayz Survival Guide - Part 2

If you told me that a mod would catapult Arma2 to the top of the Steam charts, attract attention from the mainstream games media and have over a hundred thousand players I would have called you crazy. Well who is crazy now? ...It's still you.

The mod has grown along with the player base, adding new mechanics, quashing bugs, and slowly refining the experience. This sadly has rendered my first survival guide woefully inadequate for helping green survivors and grizzled vets alike come to grips with the the world of Dayz. I'm fixin' on rectifying that here.

Without further ado here is...

The Desolate Shroud's Guide to Dayz - Part 2


I Get Around
I want to preface this by saying I walk everywhere. How else are you supposed to enjoy the scenery and keep fit? Travelling on foot is stealthier and allows you to pick over the world with a fine tooth comb.

If you are interested in acquiring a vehicle, whether it is laziness or a desire to create some variety of post-apocalyptic death wagon, here is what you need to know.

Do I really have to walk all the way over there?

You can repair these vehicles: Pick-up Trucks, ATVs, Military Off-roaders, Off-road Pick-up Trucks, and Motorcycles. What is the difference between a pick-up truck and off-road pick-up truck you ask? Being from a small town in rural Canada I should think I could speak on this with some authority, but I have no clue.

Vehicles spawn in logical places, i.e. you will likely find the off-road pick-up truck on a dirt path far away from civilization, military vehicles by military installations and so on. Find the one you want and get to work.

There are no body kits or spoilers made from hockey sticks in Dayz. To get a vehicle running you need basic parts. Before you go scavenging, find yourself a toolbox. You will need this to make repairs to a vehicle.

From there you need to collect these items:
- Fuel Tank Parts
- Four Wheels (or two for motorcycles)
- Scrap Metal
- Windscreen Glass (optional, and not recommended for authentic death wagons)
-Gas (Jerry Can).

Apparently before they were zombified, Chernarus's mechanics stripped every vehicle in the country of their critical components. You will need to collect each on of the items listed above to fully repair a vehicle. You can find partially repaired vehicles by taking advantage of the work of your fellow survivors but don't do that, we're all friends here, right? Guys?

It is best to tackle this project with a team as you will need to do quite a bit of exploring to collect all the parts. Leave someone to guard the vehicle and try to repair it in a remote location to keep it away from the bloodthirsty and greedy bandits.

You can also repair the the various crashed UH-1H Hueys that dot the landscape and Fishing Boats. I will explore these in further detail once I have actually tried to repair them in game.

I'm Cold and there are Wolves After Me
For survivalists like myself the addition of 'the elements' is a welcome new variable in the equation of not becoming dead. No longer will you be able to wander the outdoors, rain or shine without consequence. You need to keep warm and dry or else you might catch cold.

Practically, this means if you are laying on the ground, outside, in a rain storm your temperature will drop. Let it drop too far and you will become sick, giving you the shakes and slightly blurred vision. To get better, you need to pay a visit to your local emergency ward and stock up on antibiotics - and nobody wants to do that - as part 1 of this guide explains, bandits love to prey on incoming hospital patients. Those bastards.

Just like forest fires, prevention is the key to remaining well. Keeping yourself moving while outside will keep you warm. If needed, you can light a fire to heat up. Try to do this in remote locations as a plume of smoke will attract all sorts of unwanted attention. Keep in mind with the most recent patches you will actually require wood to keep the fire going. 

Don't cough on me!

Oh, if it didn't sound like it could get any bleaker you can also make your allies sick by coming too close to them and you cough while infected, making sneaking very difficult. So if you get sick, be prepared to die alone of consumption, or if you're lucky, a bandit's bullet while trying to find medicine. 

Once You Dig In (sorry)
If you and a few pals are feeling especially ambitious it is possible to set up a base of operations for yourself. Just like everything else in the world you will need to scavenge the required parts. You can find the following items to build your own fortress of solitude: 
- tents
- barbed wire kits
- sandbags
- trenching kits.  

Find an area where you can spot someone approaching from a long way out and set up or fortify an individual building, industrial complexe, castle, church etc. The choices are truly endless.

Take only what you can carry
Someone left a comment asking for a more detailed overview on the inventory system. All I can do is point you towards this thread on the Dayz forums. The obtuse system certainly made a whole lot more sense after reading this!

Ladders Now Safe for Use!
Yep, apparently in the most recent patch you can climb ladders with a pistol out and not break both of your legs.

You're Not the Ocean
You can't desalinate seawater in your stomach any longer. Since the patch you need to visit your local well, lake, reservoir, or pump to refill your canteen.

When Do We Get the Freakin' Guns?
Weapon spawns have updated so you will now find a greater variety in barns and other remote areas. Deer stands are now patrolled by zombifed members of the army but are still a great source of weaponry. Sadly they have nerfed the trusty Winchester, so you may need to stray a little further afield to find a powerful weapon.

Good Luck Out There
That is all for now. I intend on keeping these guides coming as the mod grows. 

If there is a topic I haven't covered, or if you have any feedback leave me a comment.