I decided to start a thread where everyone can tell of their experiences while playing DayZ. I'll go first with something that happened to me this morning.

I was running through the woods when I realized I was out of food and my hunger indicator was getting redder by the minute. I realized I was fairly close to a town with a supermarket so I decided to go and check it out. I ran until I could see the town and the supermaket from a hillside while still inside the treeline. I waited there for about 5-10 minutes just watching the town to see who may be lurking about and when I was convinced the area was clear I carefully made my way down the hill to the outskirts of town. I carefully made my way to the supermarket avoiding all of the zombies and went inside.

Once inside I started to look around for any loot when I heard a growl behind me and I spun around to find a hopper had come in the door and was about 6 feet away. Luckily I had picked up a G17 pistol which is fairly quiet and the zombie hadn't aggro'd yet so I took careful aim and popped him in the head. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when none of the zombies outside aggro'd so I went back to my bean quest.

I had made my way to the back storeroom when I hear, 'Pop... pop pop... pop" come from out front of the market followed imediately by, "Bang... Bang". Now my heart starts pounding as not only did I have imminent company incomming but their were at least 2 of them. I quickly exited out the back door and ran for the concrete wall a short distance from the back of the market. I waited behind the wall for a couple of seconds while I heard more shots from around the front of the market. This was my chance to get away while they were still busy with the zombies.

There was a treeline about 400m directly behind the market so I made a run for it using whatever cover I could along the way. Once I was in the forest I turned around and realized I made it away without them even realizing I was there so I went prone and decided to watch them for a bit. I noticed that there were actually 3 of them... all with much better gear than I had and one had the dreaded "Bandit" tag so I decided my decision to run was a smart one. This is when it got really interesting.

In the side chat I notice that the girl in the bunch starts asking if anyone had Blood Bags and if they could come and be her hero and rescue her from certain death from the zombies. She announced where they were but neglected to tell anyone about her two friends. I knew she was trying to set someone up for an ambush. Someone finally replied and agreed to come. After about ten minutes of her "Batting her eyelashes" at this guy in chat I noticed a group of about 5 entering town from the other end. One of them was the guy she had been chatting with.

I had seen this guy before and he was actually one of the more helpful people on the server but he is no fool. He knew exactly what was going on and brought some of his buddies to make sure he wasn't walking into a trap. When the trio saw the 5 of them making their way through the town they beat feet in a hurry. Right out the same door I had come out and straight for where I was watching all of this from. I moved behind a tree, got up to a crouch and booked it up over the hill. I got away but never did find any damn food.

TL;DR : The moral of this story is trust no one and zombies can be a great alarm system. If I had killed the zombies outside I would have never known they were there until I felt a bullet in the back of my head.

Share your stories of survival.

Bren

Yesterday at around noon mytime. Had just met up with 3 other survivors and we were walking and talking about where to go next when all of a sudden "DUDE there is a guy up on that hill". So we all go prone and check him out and find him to be AFK. So us being the guys we are we rob him. One of us notices he has a Ghillie Suit on him and another guy is like just shoot him and lets go.

Some banter goes on about shooting him and his loot and what all were doing. When all of a sudden one of us 5 (other guy included) puts on the Ghillie Suit. Me and another guy start goin SHOOT HIM SHOOT HIM SHOOT HIM!!!! So i did... right in the dome. Knock him unconcious. FINISH HIM OFF MAN! So i pull my pistol and finish him..... Chance has been killed. "FUCK" that was one of our teammates... 

So he gets in global and he is cussing me out and i feel horrible meanwhile HIS friends that I am with are rolling around laughing so hard its not even funny. I still feel bad about it but we worked through it. I am still on that character and his new one and the same guys. And we are still grouped and goin strong here into the next day. We joke about it now but then it wasnt funny.

Moral of the story: Just rob afk players when in a group no need to kill them.

So thats what we did to the next guy we found the exact same way not 15 mins after this incident...

This is an account of my very first DayZ session.

I spawned in at night, the moon was out so I could see enough to navigate by and the darkness was deep enough to make me feel safe. I knew that others would be arriving on the coast and that some of them wouldn't be friendly, so I crouched and ran for the forested hill ahead of me. Once in the treeline I stopped and looked around to get my bearings and to see if there was anything nearby worth heading for. Away to the east I could make out the dim silhouttes of buildings so, still crouching, I made my way along the forest's edge toward them.

The ground rose and I was glad of the elevation and the better view it afforded me of the town. I came to a small crag and went prone to survey the buildings and figure out my next move. Now closer, the buildings were much better defined. They were spread out here and became denser further east, and as I looked I made out the shambling shapes of zombies as the wandered between them. I lay there for some time, biding my time and plucking up the courage to move into the town.

I heard a gunshot somewhere to the south, behind the houses that backed onto the ocean, and other shots followed. I peered into the gloom hoping to see the source of the shooting, and then I saw them. Three figures ran along the shore, their shapes clear against the luminous grey backdrop of the sea. A sizeable group of zombies emerged from the town charging after them. The last of the three figures stopped, turned and began shooting. A zombie fell, followed by another and another but it did him no good. The rest of the horde reached him and I saw him fall under their assault, the image of it drawn in black against grey like some horrific shadow puppet show.

One of his companions turned and his rifle muzzle flashed, the reports of his shots reaching me a moment later. Some of the zombies broke off from the fallen player and ran toward the shooter. He turned back toward his remaining companion but he was now far away with no intention of stopping for anything or anyone, then he fired a few more times at the zombies which rapidly approached him.

I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help him, if only for the hope that I might be able to join him and perhaps improve my chances of survival but it was happening too far away, with a field full of zombies between me and the him. As I pondered, the player broke from the coast and began running in my general direction, drawing the pursuing zombies behind him.

I moved further back behind the rocks and waited to see what would happen, hoping that a decision would become clearer. He ran through the field and five or six more zombies joined the chase. I aimed my pistol into the throng as the player came closer. My finger hovered over the mouse button.

I couldn't do it. I knew if I fired I'd be the zombies' next target and there were far too many for me to take that chance, so I waited to see what would happen next. Maybe the running player had a plan.

He ran close to the foot of my crag and I lost sight of him. I heard a few carefully measured shots, then they became fast and panicked. He was so close now that I could hear him jamming a fresh clip into his pistol and the growls and shrieks of his pursuers seemed loud and horribly near.

I realised I was shaking and a vague nauseous feeling roiled in my gut. I wanted to look over the edge to see if there was anything I could do to save him, but I didn't want to alert the zombies to my presence. It had come down to cruel absolutes: him or me, life or a clear conscience. I had to choose life.

Two more shots rang out and then they stopped, replaced instead by his screams as the zombies tore into him, ripping flesh from his still living body and gnawing the very life out of him.

I waited there for maybe ten minutes before the zombies were gone and the night was silent once again, save for the flies buzzing around the player's corpse. Slowly, I crawled down the bank beside my crag. As I approached his body I saw another player crouched over it, taking ammo and beans out of the dead guy's backpack. We both startled and raised our pistols.

Neither of us could shoot for fear of alerting the zombies in the field, but neither could we drop our guards. Our lives hung in the moment. Eventually I took a step back. The other player did the same, then he backed away into the bushes and was gone.

Alone with the corpse at the foot of that hill and after everything I'd seen and felt, I wondered what the hell I'd got into.

It was like no game I'd ever experienced before. 

And I was only 20 minutes in.

Awesome stories so far. That last one was truly epic. Anyone else want to share a tale of their epic struggle to survive?

Bren

As an aside, remember when MMOs used to yield stories like these? Have not had an adrenaline dump from a game like this in a very very long time.

Keep the stories coming. I will share my own soon.

My first incident with DayZ had me spawn on the coast like normal. So after checking everything that i have and heading inland a bit i see a small construction site. I stealth around and BAM Zombie right there... He hits me and i kill him. HOWEVER I have no idea how to bandage. So i bleed out as im franticly clicking all the bandages in my bag. I die. Less than 10 minutes into my first life.

I laughed so hard while i was dying. So was my stepson looking over my shoulder.

OH! Update on todays events. Character Still Alive. 24+hours now over 2 days of playing. Still playing with the same group of guys even though THEY logged on early and died. So i had to regroup with them. That was an adventure. No map and No compass and i still have no idea where i am at times. And i am way inland. They are just off the coast. For over an HOUR i am running to the Coast to meet up with them and they are running North to meet up with me. We pass each other by a hill or so. So now im at the Coast and they are inland... -.-. So back running I go. I find a few landmarks from the stuff we did yesterday and they are like OK i know where that is at.... 10 mins later. No show. So we try again at a new location. Same story. Finally! We meet up at a Barn that i actually knew the location of.

We have traveled all over the west now. From Coast to Almost the Edge of the Map. 

This game is a blast when playing with other people. I strongly suggest that. Instead of playing solo.

This is one of my experiences a few days ago.

It was my 2nd day of being alive, I was located just north of Zelengorsk after I had successfully checked its supermarket for food. I was making my way along some trees when shots began to ring out and zip by me. I broke into a sprint into the trees as the shots kept coming. Deeper into the trees no more shots came but I didnt rest easy.

I knew from the sounds in the distance that one rifle was an AK and the other was likely a DMR sniper rifle. I exited the trees still in a sprint going north and the shots rang out again from a rifle, I dodged and weaved as best I could to avoid being hit, which I luckily managed to do.

Up ahead I located a barn and ran their full speed, dragged the surrounding zombies inside with me, got to the 1st level of the barn and shot the zombies climbing up with my M1014 Shotgun. After I bandaged myself I was tempted to logout here and save myself but then the taunts began in chat, telling me I was a deadman for my beans of all things. MY BEANS!?!?!

I said to myself, forget this im not running, bring it on. 

I didnt respond to the taunts or threats and remained still watching both entrances to the barn. Eventually I heard crawling outside, one guy peered into the barn and I didnt take any chances and shot him in the head, from that range a headshot with a shotgun in a near guarentee 1 hit kill, he died right then and their, he was using a winchester so I knew it wasnt one of the others and began to feel bad hoping this wasnt some nice guy looking for supplies.

At this point all hell broke loose, a frag grenade came into the barn and exploded, oddly though it didnt hit me. I kept quiet and didnt talk to them, I kept watch of both doors, finally I hear sprinting and a guy runs into the barn and goes to run out the otherside, my focus is on him and out of the corner of my eye a 2nd guy comes in the barn and begins shooting his AK, I back off and throw a frag grenade of my own seconds later, I made the grenade just drop off onto the ground level by some act of the gaming gods and by a happy chance, the first guy had actually come back to try pin me in, and both were hit point blank with the grenade. The first guy must have had low blood because it killed him, the other guy didnt die and ran outside but I gave chase, he was just outside bandaging and I shot him in the back.

Throughout this ordeal my heart was pumping, I dont think I blinked much during all that time, I was happy to get the snipers DMR and coyote backpack, as well as finally getting a GPS and 3 sandbags for my trouble. I was a bit annoyed that none of them had any beans though..

When I got really hungry the first time I still hadn't found any food. So I decided to look for a supermarket or something, but somehow I was lost far out. I started walking to the north and after about 10 minutes I found a farm several hundred meters in front of me down the hill I was coming down. I hadn't seen anyone from the hill, neither did I see any zombies. I decided to run to the farm house as fast as I can, hoping to find some food somewhere inside the buildings. I went through the barn carefully to stay hidden. As I reached the other side of the barn, just ready to speed into the farmer's house, I heard someone or something running outside. I just had two thoughts in my mind: It's either a zombie, possibly following someone who's hopefully not me or another player. I got ready to shoot immediately if it's a zombie or a player marked as a bandit. I stepped out the barn. It was a player, unmarked. I took aim if he tries to shoot me, but occassionally he stopped, aiming on something or someone else. I took a peek to the right and spotted another player, aiming at me. There we were, locked up in a mexican standoff. We stood there for about 5 minutes (it felt like hours), talking with each others while keeping aim. Finally we decided that it would be better to lower weapons and work together. In the farm house we found a zombie and enough food for the three of us and a rifle, so we got what we came for. Ultimately we decided to explore the surroundings a little bit together and were lucky to have a small town nearby. More food! We also gathered some other players and at the moment we're a group of 14 people, we've found some buildings in a clear area on a hill side that is very nice to defend. I can proudly say, we've got a fort, got different duties set up (for gathering food, weapons and ammunition in groups of three and for defending the fort ) and have managed to stay alive for a week now. Feels very nice and at the moment the word is spreading, we get visitors for trading and also did kill some bandits which tried to attack us and two of the guys in our small group have come to the fort just to join us and we're very happy to have them. This game is so damn intense.

Originally posted by TheSedated

When I got really hungry the first time I still hadn't found any food. So I decided to look for a supermarket or something, but somehow I was lost far out. I started walking to the north and after about 10 minutes I found a farm several hundred meters in front of me down the hill I was coming down. I hadn't seen anyone from the hill, neither did I see any zombies. I decided to run to the farm house as fast as I can, hoping to find some food somewhere inside the buildings. I went through the barn carefully to stay hidden. As I reached the other side of the barn, just ready to speed into the farmer's house, I heard someone or something running outside. I just had two thoughts in my mind: It's either a zombie, possibly following someone who's hopefully not me or another player. I got ready to shoot immediately if it's a zombie or a player marked as a bandit. I stepped out the barn. It was a player, unmarked. I took aim if he tries to shoot me, but occassionally he stopped, aiming on something or someone else. I took a peek to the right and spotted another player, aiming at me. There we were, locked up in a mexican standoff. We stood there for about 5 minutes (it felt like hours), talking with each others while keeping aim. Finally we decided that it would be better to lower weapons and work together. In the farm house we found a zombie and enough food for the three of us and a rifle, so we got what we came for. Ultimately we decided to explore the surroundings a little bit together and were lucky to have a small town nearby. More food! We also gathered some other players and at the moment we're a group of 14 people, we've found some buildings in a clear area on a hill side that is very nice to defend. I can proudly say, we've got a fort, got different duties set up (for gathering food, weapons and ammunition in groups of three and for defending the fort ) and have managed to stay alive for a week now. Feels very nice and at the moment the word is spreading, we get visitors for trading and also did kill some bandits which tried to attack us and two of the guys in our small group have come to the fort just to join us and we're very happy to have them. This game is so damn intense.

Damn cool. I have only played alone so far, getting my buddy to join me soon.  This game is intense alone, and at night it is very scary. This game, at times, gives me the real feeling of being in this environment, the fear, the anger, the one life. Dying actually means something....everything. 

Cool stories.

Great stories so far. I will share another soon. Right now I've been alive for a few days. I got a pack full of food and water, a G17 pistol, a Lee Enfield rifle, plenty of ammo for both, plenty of bandages, binocs, a map, a watch, a knife and a whole lot of will to live. When I logged off i was on a hill overlooking the NE Airfield. I'm gonna raid that sucker tomorrow. Maybe I'll have a story to tell about that.

Bren

LOL some of you guys are nuts to be telling people what you have and where you are located.  A lot of unsavory players have been joining.

Originally posted by Sorrow

LOL some of you guys are nuts to be telling people what you have and where you are located.  A lot of unsavory players have been joining.

Yeah and they will only have to search about a hundred servers to find me... LOL

Bren

Originally posted by Brenelael

Great stories so far. I will share another soon. Right now I've been alive for a few days. I got a pack full of food and water, a G17 pistol, a Lee Enfield rifle, plenty of ammo for both, plenty of bandages, binocs, a map, a watch, a knife and a whole lot of will to live. When I logged off i was on a hill overlooking the NE Airfield. I'm gonna raid that sucker tomorrow. Maybe I'll have a story to tell about that.

 

Bren

1% chance that I'm sitting in that airfield you're raiding tomorrow, I will shoot you on sight, GL.

Originally posted by PieRad

Originally posted by Brenelael

Great stories so far. I will share another soon. Right now I've been alive for a few days. I got a pack full of food and water, a G17 pistol, a Lee Enfield rifle, plenty of ammo for both, plenty of bandages, binocs, a map, a watch, a knife and a whole lot of will to live. When I logged off i was on a hill overlooking the NE Airfield. I'm gonna raid that sucker tomorrow. Maybe I'll have a story to tell about that.

 

Bren

1% chance that I'm sitting in that airfield you're raiding tomorrow, I will shoot you on sight, GL.

Not if I shoot you first... I'm extremely stealthy.

Bren