Help me enjoy Chernarus

[Jethro]

So I’m about 1,000 hrs playtime in this game over the last year. Most of my time was spent on Namalsk. Chernarus probably coming in second, with way less time spent on Chernarus.

Lately I’ve been gunning to play Chernarus. I get all hyped then get like 3-4 hours into a run and start falling off. Either by logging for the night with not having been satisfied with my progress, and therefor just not having the motivation to come back to that character, or maybe coming back another night or 2 then slowly giving up.

I feel my biggest issue is I simply just don’t know the map very well. I end up using iZurvive just to find my way around, otherwise I’ll just end up in circles or just never getting to the better loot areas. But even with iZurvive, I end up spending WAY too long to get any kind of gear.

Example: started in Elektro last night. Looted a few houses at the coast then headed straight north. I tend to aim for summer camps first and also hunting stands. Cut to 3 hours later and I had decided to make my way up to Druzhba. Of course it had just been hit before I got there. So I realized I just spent WAY too long simply too close to the coast.

This seriously took the wind out of my sails. 3-4 hours and all I had to show for myself was a double barrel shotgun with 5 rounds, an IJ with 3 rounds, and a machete. I watch YT vids such as TRMZ and see he just goes head on to all the good loot spots and seems to easily come out geared within like 20-30 mins. Assuming this is the difference between experience and really knowing the map compared to me, fumbling around on iZurvive looking for where I want to go next. And usually avoiding military areas because I want to get at least a Mark II before even considering tackling groups of infected.

TLDR: I really want to enjoy Chernarus. I love the atmosphere and landscape. I just struggle to stay invested since it feels like I’m just spinning my wheels and not gaining enough in the amount of time spent.

Open to suggestions and advice.

[_KC76_]

A couple things; as you realized, simply "running north" is not quite right .. you want to run North WEST .. the loot tiers kinda run diagonal, south-east to north-west, with Electro being nearly the most south-east you can be. Even just heading to the western part of the map, will yield far better Hunting/Camping gear, as it is the more dense mountain/valleys/forested areas. (also, more Heli crash sites)

If you spawn on the east coast, try to get an NBC kit ASAP and hit the Rify ship wreck for the chance of the best gear right-quick.

unfortunatly, I think you've been spoiled by a small map (Namalsk), and are not getting the same enjoyment with Chernarus being so large, in comparison .. everything is pretty far from where-ever you are. Chernarus is a bit slower paced game-play, because there is so much ground to cover between POI .. unless you can get yourself a car (Gunter and ADA drive best, imho)

[Jethro]

Yeah, I think you’re right about being spoiled with a smaller map. I just feel like…..on Chernarus, there’s so many towns that I just avoid because it’s all just residential crap and I never seem to find anything great in houses. So I tend to take the long way around everywhere to hit the little hot spots. But at the same time, without any gun, I’m weary about hitting any hotspots. I hit a point where I say “screw it, I have nothing to really lose” but then second guess that thought because I do have about 4 hours of time sunk into getting where I am that I can “lose”.

It’s a little mental tug-of-war I’m having. I try to get as geared as I can in the T2 areas when I should probably just be heading straight northwest to the higher tiers like you say.

[_KC76_]

Originally posted by Jethro:

Yeah, I think you’re right about being spoiled with a smaller map. I just feel like…..on Chernarus, there’s so many towns that I just avoid because it’s all just residential crap and I never seem to find anything great in houses. So I tend to take the long way around everywhere to hit the little hot spots. But at the same time, without any gun, I’m weary about hitting any hotspots. I hit a point where I say “screw it, I have nothing to really lose” but then second guess that thought because I do have about 4 hours of time sunk into getting where I am that I can “lose”.

It’s a little mental tug-of-war I’m having. I try to get as geared as I can in the T2 areas when I should probably just be heading straight northwest to the higher tiers like you say.

Well, if it helps, all those little houses you pass by, might have that Pristine IJ, or a Pristine IJ mag .. and most every little house, has some kind of ammo, either .22LR, .380 or shotgun ammo, a few having 9mm or .308 .. Hit the PDs Hospitals and Firehouses in bigger towns, and the small houses in small towns or Villages .. and the Sheds .. Sheds hold some good Melee or blades sometimes.

A supressed IJ and a double barrel is a pretty under-rated kit.

[Jethro]

I’ll keep trying. I’ve had a few runs that were awesome but most just fizzle out. I’ll start taking the time to loot towns I come across rather than going around them. I think I just had bad luck this run and have been following in someone’s tracks the entire time.

[EmpireHitSquad]

you need DayZ SA launcher its a mod downloader with servers if you want to enjoy dayz to the fullest , the vanilla is harsh and frustrating .

[_KC76_]

Originally posted by EmpireHitSquad:

you need DayZ SA launcher its a mod downloader with servers if you want to enjoy dayz to the fullest , the vanilla is harsh and frustrating .

You don't "need" a 3rd party Launcher to do what the vanilla Launcher does better. (download and install Mods).

With recent updates, the vanilla launcher has also gotten faster at populating the Server Lists, further reducing the "need" for DZSA launcher.

[Jethro]

Originally posted by _KC76_:

Originally posted by EmpireHitSquad:

you need DayZ SA launcher its a mod downloader with servers if you want to enjoy dayz to the fullest , the vanilla is harsh and frustrating .

You don't "need" a 3rd party Launcher to do what the vanilla Launcher does better. (download and install Mods).

With recent updates, the vanilla launcher has also gotten faster at populating the Server Lists, further reducing the "need" for DZSA launcher.

All of this.

I have the SA launcher. I rarely use it anymore unless I’m going to be server hunting for a while; it is a bit quicker than the integrated game launcher.

So I carried on my run last night and had a much better outcome. Made my way west, hit Devils Castle and got Tundra’d up with a decent amount of .308. Shortly after I found a pristine Mosin and I already had a PU scope. Had to make the tough decision between that or the Tundra. Left the Tundra behind as I had more Mosin rounds.

It wasn’t huge progress, but finding decent loot really keeps the morale up. The previous nights run was just awful.

Now I just need to get over my little fear of going into any of the hotspots in the NW of the map. 🤭 I’ve only been to NWAF once and died. Been to Tisy once like a year ago, only because some random dude drove me and by buddy there. We were not worthy.

[Coffee]

Originally posted by _KC76_:

Originally posted by EmpireHitSquad:

you need DayZ SA launcher its a mod downloader with servers if you want to enjoy dayz to the fullest , the vanilla is harsh and frustrating .

You don't "need" a 3rd party Launcher to do what the vanilla Launcher does better. (download and install Mods).

With recent updates, the vanilla launcher has also gotten faster at populating the Server Lists, further reducing the "need" for DZSA launcher.

I respect the knowledge you have about Dayz but I disagree with you on this one. What you say may be true for you but I don't think it is for everyone. The problem is the vanilla launcher seems to prioritise servers that are close to you. That might work well if you are an American looking to play on American servers but if you are an Australian looking to play US or EU servers DZSA is way faster. My advice is use whatever works best for you.

[_KC76_]

Originally posted by Coffee:

Originally posted by _KC76_:

You don't "need" a 3rd party Launcher to do what the vanilla Launcher does better. (download and install Mods).

With recent updates, the vanilla launcher has also gotten faster at populating the Server Lists, further reducing the "need" for DZSA launcher.

I respect the knowledge you have about Dayz but I disagree with you on this one. What you say may be true for you but I don't think it is for everyone. The problem is the vanilla launcher seems to prioritise servers that are close to you. That might work well if you are an American looking to play on American servers but if you are an Australian looking to play US or EU servers DZSA is way faster. My advice is use whatever works best for you.

I agree, everyone should do what works for them .. I only wanted to address the word "need", as, in the past, in the early years, the Vanilla launcher was a bit, sub-par, and "need" might have been appropriate, but now, with updates, it's more of a "want".

[Lufty]

Originally posted by Jethro:

... I watch YT vids such as TRMZ and see he just goes head on to all the good loot spots and seems to easily come out geared within like 20-30 mins....

Keep in mind just about every single streamer is playing on a private server and the entire "play" is scripted. 99% of what you see in a yt or tw video/stream is 100% bs.