You really cant trust anyone can you?

[Jonifishpt]

TLDR at the end if you want to skip story time.

I bought the game about a week ago to play with friends, and today i decided to have a go at unmodded solo survival on an official server (much harder than the server i was playing on, ill tell you that much)

Ill tell you what... i think i learned more about interactions with other players in 2 hours alone than in an entire week with my friends... With my friends every time we saw players we would either avoid them, shoot them if we considered them a threat (happened only once as they were on our way and had just been in a firefight that they started with another group) or they were clans sniping from towers.

1st guy i see, i raise my hand, say hi and he raises his hand back (doesnt talk), we both enter the cherno PD, i was looking for ammo and a vest and then i would go on my merry way but he was looking for something to kill me with, he sees a makarov and unloads on me (thankfully he was a bad shot, out of 3 bullets, only one hit, and it hit my arm). Had to deal with him with my only weapon, a .22 pistol.

2nd guy i see, we both arrive at a corpse at about the same time, I put my pistol (that was in my hand) inside my backpack and raise both my hands so he knows im not a threat and then i ask him if i can loot it for food as he seemed friendly and was fully geared. The man starts sprinting at me, shotgun in hand and point blanks me. somehow i survived with what i assume is 1 health (got knocked tf out, probably got the police vest to thank for my survival), when i wake up im surrounded by zombies (came because off the dude's shot no doubt), dude no where in sight and nothing is looted around, he shot me and left, didnt even bother to check if i was alive. Had to shot my way out of the horde while limping to a nearby building , close myself inside and wait for my health to regen (somehow didnt get hit a single time in all that, and im pretty sure 1 hit would have killed me).

TLDR:
Went solo for the 1st time, tried trusting people twice, got burned twice.

Is there a point to trying to trust others? Should I just avoid people/shoot on sight?

[TransylScania V8]

I've been playing on official servers for 10 years and believe it or not but years ago when guns were a lot easier to find there was a lot less people that would KOS.
Unless someone I encounter raises a weapon or shoots at me I don't spend too much time worrying about what they are doing. If they are friendly and speak I will give them some gear if I can spare it.

[JustALoveMachine]

Just shoot man. I kill every guy I spot. That, and destroy bases.

[sdrschmidt]

not all players are that way. I've recently got back into dayz. Not for the PvP just to get into survival. If your just looking to learn how to play or tips. hit me up. im usually solo these days. ive just been on low pops.

[2High2tell]

People are unpredictable. You can run into good people and have a great time with them. Unfortunately these people are few and far between. There is no way of knowing who is good and who is not.

You can even roll with a guy you met for 2 hours and all of a sudden he turns on yeah. Rare but it happens. BY general rule I do not trust certain people. Mostly from two country/regions.

I also take a hell of a lot more caution if I am geared. If I am not, then I really have nothing to loose so I will try to interact with people. If you live by rule number 1. then you wont get to bothered. KOS breads KOS that breads KOS. and after 10 years most people are just sick of being betrayed so they shoot first.

[Birb]

shoot first,question later

[TheShadowsOfGhosts]

I guess as long it comes to PVP servers, and if theres players you have known from elsewhere before starting on dayz, those you can trust until its proven wrong. But other players, Shoot too kill and ask questions later. Same as in Rust. PVP survival could be toxic as hell, so you need to find out those you can trust or not. The ones you can trust you can play with for a long time. At the end, its only with time you find out, who is trust and who you should kill and forget.

[GobboKirk]

Originally posted by Jonifishpt:

Is there a point to trying to trust others? Should I just avoid people/shoot on sight?

The point is up to you and if you like the risk/reward.
Not the easiest especially for beginners, hiding/avoiding will still be friendly :)

[Maia]

I never worry about unfriendly players. If I get killed for no reason, I don't take it personally. I don't want to become one of the "unfriendly" and spread aggression when I meet new players. Because who knows, maybe the player you saw and want to shoot without even saying anything is your next best gaming friend. In short, I don't shoot first. I'm friendly and only shoot to defend myself. I'm interested in survival, not kill count. Dayz is a game of patience and experience. Give yourself time. You will get burnt a lot of times. Maybe you need to find your own style of play. Try and experiment.

[Jonifishpt]

Thank you all for the answers, i guess the days of meeting strangers and going on adventures are long gone then (wish i had the game back then, all i had was youtube). Ill still try to be friendly but i might start avoiding players more often then not if im playing official servers.
I might migrate to Namalsk Hardcore community servers when im solo, heard cooperation is more likely there as the survival odds are lower due to the harsh weather and that people seem to focus more on the survival aspect than the pvp (Its a new map and new mechanics to learn, but where's the fun on roaming somewhere you already know?).

[\m/]

If the gameplay is difficult enough people tend to be more friendly.
Near all harder servers (if not all) are lowpop, but if you encounter another survivor the evening usually ends at a fireplace sharing a meal and other resources.
For lone wolves a harsh survival server can be sometimes still a challenge and meetings with other survivors are always welcome - i usually share even my last food..

[GobboKirk]

Originally posted by Jonifishpt:

Thank you all for the answers, i guess the days of meeting strangers and going on adventures are long gone then (wish i had the game back then, all i had was youtube). Ill still try to be friendly but i might start avoiding players more often then not if im playing official servers.
I might migrate to Namalsk Hardcore community servers when im solo, heard cooperation is more likely there as the survival odds are lower due to the harsh weather and that people seem to focus more on the survival aspect than the pvp (Its a new map and new mechanics to learn, but where's the fun on roaming somewhere you already know?).

We've have had the same threads since 2013 :)

[baddoggs]

I have met some really cool people on the Pub servers. How you approach
them is very important though.
I wrote about this in my guide. Don't approach anyone directly if possible.
Be in cover and talk with a mic, communicate from a distance, establish a rapport
BEFORE exposing yourself. Now this doesn't ALWAYS work but it is a better
option than running up with a weapon in hand, or worse still, completely unarmed.

Never forget you are seldom alone on public servers.

[Metal]

1st. and last rule of dayz since mod came out. Trust no one.

[Zavi ☯]

The best thing to do is just avoid people whenever you can. I legit give people like 2-3 pieces of food and they still attack me on a lot of cases.

[Coffee]

You're really just cheating yourself doing that all the time IMO.
You can't trust anyone but at the same time you have to take a chance in order to make friends. If you shoot everyone before you talk to them how are you ever going to have an adventure with someone? That's the best part about Dayz to me.
I try and talk to people when I'm fresh, early in a character's life when I don't have much to lose. Even when I'm geared if the situation is right I'll try and talk if I'm solo. Dayz is always more fun with a friend and the best times I've had have been in random meetups with people I just met.