This guide was made for the 0.44 Alpha Version of DayZ Standalone. If you're a newer player, this guide is most likely going to be useless for you. Not only the game itself changed, my perspective and way of playing has changed dramatically since the creation of this guide. If you're still going to check it out though - have fun!



This guide is once again 100% based off my own experience, so please don't judge it if it has some flaws! (Playtime when this guide was made: 560 hours). You probably clicked here this to get some knowledge about PvP Tactics, but if you are in need of a PvP Map/Military Loot map, please click here. Let's move on!

Let's start with the basics. Combat in DayZ can be very different, once you might fight as newbie another player with an axe, or you might fight as full equipped loneranger a whole clan with M4s. The way you fight in DayZ is very dependent on how you would like to play. Some people camp in military bases and wait for someone to walk in, and others just run around in cities hoping to run into someone. Let me list a few kinds of players in this game.




Starting off with the worst, the camper is a player with a lot of patience. They wait in military bases or even hospitals for someone to cross their way and brutally murder them. Be very careful in Baracks or any military areas - a camper could be hiding anywhere in those buildings.

Lonerangers are players that play on their own - sometimes bandits, sometimes kind players which might support you, but either way - be careful! You know the first rule in DayZ. Trust no one. Lonerangers tend to stay in cities or sometimes loot airfields - just like a regular DayZ players, but only that they prefer to play alone.

Bandits are probably the most common kind of people you will find in playing DayZ. Bandits are unlike supportive heroes cold-hearted people which will shoot you on sight, or maybe even rob you (and then kill you). Bandits tend to camp together in Airfields alot, or raid cities and even kill freshspawns, so look out for them - independent on what gear you have!

Heroes are the kind of people that you want to meet in this game (if you're friendly aswell). Heroes are known to be very supportive players and tend to help any kind of players unless they behave aggresive or shoot on sight. A lot of youtubers who play DayZ are heroes, so make sure you talk to them! Heroes usually tend to stick around in cities and places where people are.

A certain amount of people are probably disagreeing about making a whole under-theme for snipers, but I'll describe them anyways! Snipers are (obviously) long ranged players that can be bandits, loneranger, heroes or anything. They tend to find spots where they are hidden, but still can see a whole lot of the map/spots where humanity might be. You want to be careful when entering buildings such as Air-Control Towers in airfields or similiar buildings, because snipers tend to wait on a hill somewhere and shoot people entering these kind of buildings!

I could write hundreds more kinds of players here, but let's just stick with these so you don't have to read a whole book now! :) Let's move on.

So, we're getting closer to the part you've been probably waiting for, but first, here are some very important tips & tricks.
Once again, the way you fight in this game is pretty much dependent on how YOU want to play. Since this is an alpha, there are many ways to glitch through walls, glitch yourself into buildings where no one can see you, but I wont write those down simply because I don't support this way of playing.

Let's start with some tricks on how you can spot players!


As you know, DayZ can be played in first and third person, and can be switched constantly. So here are efficient ways to spot people in first person:


► If you are playing in a group, don't get yourself distracted. People tend to look at each other more than spotting people!

► Use the zoom function! If you hold right click down, you will be able to see players more easily.

► If you're on a big on or a small journey - either way try to stay hidden. Walking on streets in the middle of a big meadow will make you look very obvious.

► Don't let leaves/plants get in your way, try to have as much sight as you can!

► Look back regulary, but if you are about to look back, use the alt function! You can hold alt and look back, but keep in mind that if you're using a big backpack your sight might be extremely limited or even completely blocked.

► Like mentoined above, you can use alt to look around easier, but this works better in third person, so lets move on!

► If you're playing on a night time server, put up your gamma and brightness. It will increase your sight probably 100%+ more. [Thanks to W47CHM4N for pointing the night time aspect out]

► If it's night, loot out for FLASHLIGHTS. People using them will be obvious to see from miles away! They even glitch through walls, so you can see people inside buildings with a flashlight easier than without one!



► Let's start off with the most important tip - the alt function! This easy trick allows you to look around without having to move your whole character, which is probably the reason most people use third person.

► You can easily spot someone without them spotting you if you are hiding behind something and then use the alt function. I am sure a lot of people will complain that this function is unfair, but if it really is, then the dev them should've not implemented this feature or developed it in a way it is equal.

► Switch from third person to first person. This is the most efficient way to play this game, so make sure that you give that a try. 3rd person is usually considered as OP (over powered) but I highly disagree with that. Everyone can switch from first to third person, so it's pretty equal in my opinion, but let's get back to topic!

► If you then finally spot someone in third person, find yourself a position where you are hidden, but would still realize if the player has seen you or not.

Okay, to clarify this already, I could write a whole book about how you can fight in this game, but I will only describe the most powerful and common ways. This guide is pretty much made for yourself, not considering how to coorperate with other players, so keep that in mind.

Let's start with a few tips if you've finally spotted someone but are about to fight.


► Make sure the "enemy" is an actualy enemy. If you have a microphone, make sure to use that and ask the person if friendly or not. I highly recommend you to ask him to put his weapons away so you might not risk your life. (Dependent if the enemy is alone or not)

► One way to fight is a sneaky way, which a lot of people tend to use. Waiting for the player to pass, shoot, reload and hide if needed. A lot of people consider this camping - but think of it. If this was real you all would probably be waiting somewhere, but let's not start a fight (because I'm sure someone IS going to complain about this point...)

►Shoot on sight. This might be very bandit-ish, but if you're sure that the person(s) would easily shoot you down - go on and kill them. Feel free to complain about this point now, but this is simply a game and it's how DayZ works nowadays.

►Hide. You all probably used this tactic already when you had no gear and saw a full equipped crew or similiar, but you might use this again. If you're playing alone and you see 3+ people, you probably don't want to get invovled in there. The chance of you losing all your gear and geting killed brutally is a lot higher than you killing all of them, unless you're rambo.

►If you're playing on a night time server, search yourself a position where you can easily hide, but still see quite a lot. If you're inside buildings, you're less likely to get seen and so get killed.

► You can use the night time aspect for hunting. A lot of people use flashlights, which makes the obvious from miles away!

► Obviously, use your sight if you prefer to use one. Shooting with a sight or without one can change the whole battle. You probably want to use a sight if the enemy is far away and you can't really get away.

► Wait for your character to stop shaking when aiming. When you run around, your character breaths heavily and shakes while aiming. This can cause you to miss - and maybe even kill you.

► If someone is camping, you can either rush them or pretend to go away. Both of these ways have worked well for me, but if you don't want to risk getting your gear ruined, you probably just want to pretend to go away, or be the guy with more patience. It always is a game about patience, you probably noticed that in this game.

► Always have enough ammo in your magazine! If you have shot, check regulary on how good your ammo is at the moment. You don't want to be in battle and suddenly be out of ammo.

► Be hidden, especially if you're aiming torwards a long range experience. If you're a sniper on the hill and someone noticed you, you're probably dead if you wont see them coming - so make sure to always be careful!

This part might get edited a lot, since I wrote this in the night I probably forgot a few important points. Feel free to comment those below.

Now, I hope you've learned something from this guide, if not, thanks for reading it anyways!
This is my second guide ever, so please don't judge the flaws it has. Feel free to rate/comment whatever you want to.

Happy looting/killing/whatever you're about to do!



More from me:

► My Blog[ysarts.tumblr.com]
► My Steam
► My First Guide
► My DayZ Clan