It was a bumpy ride for DayZ during its Early Access period, but the game has been out now for several years, and it’s better than ever. Besides Project Zomboid, no other title can quite match the scope and complexity of DayZ in terms of surviving a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies and other dangers.

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While there are lots of private servers with their own settings, mods, and rules, almost every player goes through similar experiences when they first start playing one of the most in-depth zombie survival games ever created. In fact, even seasoned players end up doing the kinds of things newcomers do in order to survive in the dangerous lands of Chernarus. Here are some of those things every DayZ player can relate to.

8 Getting Sucker Punched In The Face With A Can Of Beans

A survivor holding a can of beans in DayZ

If you think zombies or wild animals are the most dangerous enemies you’ll end up facing, you’re horribly wrong. A hardcore survival game like DayZ brings out the worst of humankind.

Evil comes in many forms. One of its most terrifying guises is a “Bambi” (a fresh spawn, so to speak), acting all friendly and helpful, only to smack you in the back of the head with a can of beans to knock you out when you least expect it. If you’re lucky, they’ll let you live, and you might even get a nice interaction as a consolation prize.

7 Getting Sick Without Knowing Why

A survivor doing CPR to another survivor in DayZ

The world of DayZ can be overwhelming for a new player. The health system alone is quite complicated, and it’s like no other game. You have to take care of your in-game avatar better than you take care of yourself in real life. There are about a dozen sicknesses you can catch in DayZ, and avoiding them all is nearly impossible, even for an experienced player.

The most common way to get sick is drinking from a suspicious water source or finding food that’s unclean. Even the plastic bottles may give you salmonella, if you don’t use a purifying tablet to clean the water inside and disinfect the bottle itself with alcohol first. In a world where medicine is nearly all gone, and even the common cold can kill you, catching salmonella can lead to a slow and annoying death if not treated quickly enough.

6 Accidentally Giving The Middle Finger

A survivor in DayZ giving the middle finger

Anyone who has played DayZ for more than a few hours has ended up giving the middle finger to someone, either on purpose or by accident. Of course, taunting another player is fun in many ways, but most middle fingers given in DayZ happen accidentally.

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The key for this specific gesture is F4, and to surrender you need to press F2. Now, DayZ can make your heart rate shoot way up, and many players end up pressing the wrong button trying to surrender in the midst of a dire situation. Imagine being held at gunpoint after having survived for so long, then your captors turn out to be somewhat nice given the circumstances. They ask you to stick your hands up, then you press F4… This has happened plenty enough, leading many players to change the key for this gesture.

5 Lingering At The Coast For Too Long

The town of Chernogorks in DayZ Standalone

Upon spawning in Chernarus, most players tend to stay around the coastal towns for far too long, dying either to hunger or dehydration. You’ll always start your adventure near the coast if you’re a new player or are respawning after dying.

In DayZ, you can enter any building, and almost all rooms are open for exploration. However, the loot economy is significantly more complex compared to other survival games, and chances are high you’ll find absolutely nothing to help you survive these coastal towns. There is loot in these towns, but they're visited so frequently by other players that you’re unlikely to find any decent loot.

Find a well, drink until you’re almost completely full, and then head inland. It’s usually safer to avoid the main roads, but the vast forests of Chernarus are full of dangers as well. Wolves or bears may hunt you down, and if you don’t have anything to defend yourself with, running away is your only option.

4 Sprinting Everywhere

Survivors jogging through the fields in DayZ

In almost any other game sprinting from Point A to Point B is the ideal method to travel around the map, but that’s not how things work in DayZ. While running at full speed will surely take you where you need to go, as quickly as possible, you’ll burn way more calories. In a game where food is hard to come by, burning through what little food you have is far from the smart thing to do.

Besides the calorie management side of things, there is also the issue of managing your stamina and saving your energy for when it’s needed. If you sprint for no reason at all except to get to somewhere faster, you’ll run out of stamina quite often. The last thing you want is to find yourself in a bad situation with no energy to sprint away. Jogging may be slower, but it’s far more ideal for just getting around.

3 Doing The “Friendly Dance”

A DayZ player doing the friendly dance

The “Friendly Dance” is when a player puts their hands up and starts wiggling around to show they mean no harm to others. When you raise your hands your upper body is locked in this animation, meaning you can’t suddenly pull out a weapon. Hence, the “friendly” approach. Of course, a betrayal may still happen once the wiggling is over.

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Voice communication is fundamental in this game, but not every player has access to a microphone and some just don’t use one for whatever reason. Many friendships have been made thanks to this dance, and some rivalries too.

2 Sharing Food And Drinks With A Stranger At A Campfire

A group of survivors sharing a campfire in Dayz

To survive the madness that’s DayZ, you should always be vigilant, but sometimes taking a leap of faith can lead to great adventures and strong bonds can be created through surviving together. This type of fellowship is usually founded at a campfire after sharing foods and drinks with strangers who you randomly meet up with.

Just be careful, however as they may give you some poisoned snacks. Perhaps they’re playing the long game, or even leading you toward a trap, but that’s the beauty of DayZ. Sometimes, blindly going on an adventure is the most fun way to play. Also, there's nothing stopping you from betraying the bond created at a warm, cozy campfire.

1 Trying To Find Decent Weapons In Police Stations

A police station in the town of Staroye in Dayz

One of the most important things a DayZ player should learn is where and when to loot a specific location, and knowing what to expect in that location. Instinctively, players tend to head for the police stations, hoping to find a reliable weapon and ammo, but stations rarely offer decent gear. They’re looted too often by players, so finding anything meaningful in them is always hit-and-miss.

Even on a lucky day, the most you’ll find is a Glock or an MP5, most likely in a worn state, and hopefully with a mag attached and some ammo in it. However, a 9mm is far from ideal when taking down either zombies or players, especially if they’re geared.

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