Helicopters? Where's the Military Gear?

[Slurpee12]

I have recently gotten back into DayZ. The last time I played was when you could still wear a helmet and a gas mask at the same time. Those days, however, are long gone.

Now, I've gotten a bit confused with how the loot spawns are working, mainly the military spawns. As of now, M4's do not spawn in any military location besides helicopters, which brings me to the question of whether or not they're still in game. What I've gathered is that they have a possible spawn of some 40 random areas. Only 3 of these 40 areas will contain a helicopter crash site. Recently, my friend and I decided to dedicate a day to finding a crash site but to no avail. We ran by every single helicopter spawn (or as close as we could to its exact location) but we could not find a single one. I have binoculars, so I would scan the area looking for smoke, in case we missed it, but we still couldn't find a crash site. This aroused some suspicions of them actually still being in the game. So, the question persists, are there still helicopter crash sites?

Secondly, looting military gear seems to be quite different from what it used to be. My loot run consists of the following:
Usually, we start off in Elektro and then make our way to Cherno, looting the firestations. We continue to Balota to loot the airfiled and then make our way to the military base near Kamenka. Then, we make our way to the firestations in Cherno and Elektro. After, we head to the military section at Zelonogorsk and then to the jail at Green Mountain. Next, we make our way to the military base near Vybor and continue to North West Air Field. Finally, we make our way to Severograd.
Through this loot run, I rarely come across any "useful" military items on a 30 hour character. After ~25 hours, I finally found an AKM outside a jail. Throughout those hours of the character, I only found one 30 round mag for it. This loot run consists of a lot of military spawns, yet I have come across close to no weapons. Is there something missing? We have a group of anywhere from 3-8, but there's always 3 on at a time. We've tried looting populated servers, yet looting close to nothing. Then we moved on to mid populated servers, thinking all of the spawns may have been looted to other players. Still, most spawns returned very little. Finally, we moved to unpopulated servers. We were shocked to find out that this made almost a 0 difference; there was still hardly any military loot.

What's going on here? I haven't been able to find a hunting backpack, nor find another 30 round mag in the past 5 hours of playing. Maybe the loot spawns have been changed since the last time I played, but where have you found the best loot locations? Clearly, our loot run is not working, so I feel we need to venture further into the map, but we're out of ideas as to where to loot now.

Any and all suggestions are very much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read my rant, sort of!

[JAYNE]

Heli crash sites are very hard to find best place to look now is nw air base the only way ive gotten them is if i get bored and server hop a few dozen times and eventually find one but then they have so little loot on them its not even worth it to go searching and you found a akm?! they are the rarest gun in the game right now from my experince the mags you can find in the military base right next to vybor just south of nw airbase and the hunting packs are harder to find now to i mainly find mountain packs in the hangers at balota and nw military gear is slowly disappearing your not wrong there camo can be found in cherno and electro often in the fire stations but guns are much harder to find now we can find mosins sks and the carbine sometimes but thats about it everything else is much more difficult to find or you have to go an a rampage in a high pop until you kill somebody with a good gun.

[Slurpee12]

Only reason I'm interested in it is for an ammo box.
Even a 1911 clip is extremely hard to find. I got really lucky when I found it and it already had a clip loaded.
To be honest, I think the AKM wasn't there by a spawn. It seems like someone put it there because I've never seen weapons spawning outside of jails.
SKS's are very easy to find now, but they're quite difficult to use in PvP situations when it's impossible to find a 10 round clip for it and people are packing M4's and AKM's

[Tassassin]

If you found a 1911 - with a full clip in it - then someone has dropped it. They don't spawn like that.

[Oleg Mongol]

Sadly for you, military-grade gear is going to be top class kit that you'll need to work to get in future.

[Slurpee12]

Yeah, I figured it was dropped by someone, as was the PKM because I haven't seen weapons like that spawn outside the jail.
If you read my post, it's quite apperent that we put in a lot of working in order to find military gear. One loot run takes hours to do, so it's not like we're getting geared up in minutes. You would also be aware that my character is 30 in game hours old, so an incredible amount of time has been put into that character.

[Backdraft_|BC|]

I actually found a helo crash today, a chem light, badly damaged ACOG scope, 9mm rounds and a hat. I found one last week, better gear, skull bavacula and all the m4 parts except for the M4 itself. 2 helo crashes in 3 weeks....... very hard to find yes.

[Coldflame]

A little rant about military gear:

I think it's working as intended. Before the (fairly reecent) 'improved loot distribution', getting a maxed character was a 5 hour investment tops from a coast=spawn character. Once you ran elektro to balota, you'd have an M4 and as many mags as you could carry, along with full ttsko, a backpack/vest of your choice, and whatever headwear you wanted. There were very few people who used mid-grade gear, with an m4 not being an uncommon find even in a police station.

With the new system, that changed. The only thing close to a military-grade weapon which can be gained through normal looting is the AKM, which can be found very rarely wherever you used to find an M4.It uses what I believe is one of the rarer ammo types, and attatchments for it are few and far between. Military clothing and other gear is also a fair bit rarer now, alongside the spreading out of high-loot areas, mainlyh moving the military camp away from SW.

The new system's got advantages and disadvantages. It makes military gear mean more than it did before, which is closer to what it would feel like in a actual apocalypse. Players with military gear are more intimidating now, as theyt have more to lose, and milpitary gear isn't something you see very often. However, the changes also unbalance the game. The M4, which is likely the best general-purpose weapon, is now no longer obtainable in normal play, creating a large divide between players who do and do not have larger amounts of time to invest in the game, or players who are and aren't freshspawns. For a time, the M4 wasn't obtainable at all, which puit charactyers who retained them at a severe advantage. The main balancing factor, however, is that players with such gear will become targets.

The new system in general adds to the atmosphere in DayZ. Yet, it will also feed the KOS culture of the majority of players, making people with high-grade gear have more to lose and be prepared to defend it aggressively, whilst making players with such gear high-value targets, encouraging attacking them.

[Slurpee12]

Originally posted by Coldflame:

A little rant about military gear:

I think it's working as intended. Before the (fairly reecent) 'improved loot distribution', getting a maxed character was a 5 hour investment tops from a coast=spawn character. Once you ran elektro to balota, you'd have an M4 and as many mags as you could carry, along with full ttsko, a backpack/vest of your choice, and whatever headwear you wanted. There were very few people who used mid-grade gear, with an m4 not being an uncommon find even in a police station.

With the new system, that changed. The only thing close to a military-grade weapon which can be gained through normal looting is the AKM, which can be found very rarely wherever you used to find an M4.It uses what I believe is one of the rarer ammo types, and attatchments for it are few and far between. Military clothing and other gear is also a fair bit rarer now, alongside the spreading out of high-loot areas, mainlyh moving the military camp away from SW.

The new system's got advantages and disadvantages. It makes military gear mean more than it did before, which is closer to what it would feel like in a actual apocalypse. Players with military gear are more intimidating now, as theyt have more to lose, and milpitary gear isn't something you see very often. However, the changes also unbalance the game. The M4, which is likely the best general-purpose weapon, is now no longer obtainable in normal play, creating a large divide between players who do and do not have larger amounts of time to invest in the game, or players who are and aren't freshspawns. For a time, the M4 wasn't obtainable at all, which puit charactyers who retained them at a severe advantage. The main balancing factor, however, is that players with such gear will become targets.

The new system in general adds to the atmosphere in DayZ. Yet, it will also feed the KOS culture of the majority of players, making people with high-grade gear have more to lose and be prepared to defend it aggressively, whilst making players with such gear high-value targets, encouraging attacking them.

The last time I played, it only took close to 3 hours to have a maxed character, but the only primary weapons in the game was the M4 and Mosin. Now, with M4's only spawning in helicopters, it's near impossible to get one, which you stated. I find it easier to find military clothing now than before, possibly having to do with that there are simply more items in the game. I do agree with you, however, that assault rifles would be difficult to find in an actualy apocolypse, but this being a game, people will get bored if it takes them days to find an automatic weapon. The devs need to find a compromise of some sort. Possibly, they could spawn an automatic weapon that is easy to find, but it does nearly no dammage besides a headshot, or it is extremely inaccurate. The current state needs to be reworked; it's very hard to take out someone who has military gear when you have a civilian rifle.
Taking hours just to find a 30 round magazine is a bit crazy, in my opinion.

[[415]BlazeMcNight]

Originally posted by Slurpee12:

The current state needs to be reworked; it's very hard to take out someone who has military gear when you have a civilian rifle.
Taking hours just to find a 30 round magazine is a bit crazy, in my opinion.

The only advice I can offer is this:

Move slow and be aware of what is around you. The key to not being killed is not being seen first.

Since I've been playing the Standalone (roughly the end of Feb I think) I've never been geared up as a fully military player (aside from picking up a M4 once or twice) and I've only been killed by other military players maybe a total of 7-10 times.

The reason for that is simple...I don't rush around looking for things. I take my time and I make sure I'm not being followed or no one is around when I enter a building. When I leave the building, I make sure no one is waiting by looking out of the windows.

I get that everyone plays different, but what I don't get is seeing people complain about the lack of military gear then go on to complain about being killed my military players. (not specifically you, OP)

Anyway, the only other thing I can say is just adapt. The game was never supposed to be full of players rocking military gear and high powered rifles.

[SKYNET]

@OP My loot run is very similar to yours, though I often start at the mid north west region and cover many of the same areas whilst looking for heli crash sites. I can confirm they do spawn, if you look in my screenies you'll see a variation of the two types that are spawning. Only one of them emits smoke, the other is half buried in the ground. I've yet to find an M4 at either but after a maybe 8hrs game time I've managed a full Gorka, Hunting Backpack, AKM with four clips and a multitude of other stuff (including 1911 and two clips and four protector cases, stuff others seem to think are rare). I think you've just been unlucky with your runs because the items are definitely spawning.

[Slurpee12]

Originally posted by ARCHITECT:

My loot run is very similar to yours, though I often start at the mid north west region and cover many of the same areas whilst looking for heli crash sites. I can confirm they do spawn, if you look in my screenies you'll see a variation of the two types that are spawning. Only one of them emits smoke, the other is half buried in the ground. I've yet to find an M4 at either but after a maybe 8hrs game time I've managed a full Gorka, Hunting Backpack, AKM with four clips and a multitude of other stuff (including 1911 and two clips and four protector cases, stuff others seem to think are rare). I think you've just been unlucky with your runs because the items are definitely spawning.

I have full Gorka gear, but I don't have a hunting backpack nor protector cases. What's your best advice to finding a helicopter? No matter what I do I can't find one. Do helicopters also spawn ammo boxes?

[Coldflame]

Originally posted by Slurpee12:

Originally posted by ARCHITECT:

My loot run is very similar to yours, though I often start at the mid north west region and cover many of the same areas whilst looking for heli crash sites. I can confirm they do spawn, if you look in my screenies you'll see a variation of the two types that are spawning. Only one of them emits smoke, the other is half buried in the ground. I've yet to find an M4 at either but after a maybe 8hrs game time I've managed a full Gorka, Hunting Backpack, AKM with four clips and a multitude of other stuff (including 1911 and two clips and four protector cases, stuff others seem to think are rare). I think you've just been unlucky with your runs because the items are definitely spawning.

I have full Gorka gear, but I don't have a hunting backpack nor protector cases. What's your best advice to finding a helicopter? No matter what I do I can't find one. Do helicopters also spawn ammo boxes?

Hunting packs will show up eventually, they're not special. Protector cases will also show up at civilian spawns, so don't skip up mid-tier locations like firehouses or police stations.

Heli crashes are mostly just luck in the end, you'll find them when you find them.

[Slurpee12]

Originally posted by BlazeMcNight:

Originally posted by Slurpee12:

The current state needs to be reworked; it's very hard to take out someone who has military gear when you have a civilian rifle.
Taking hours just to find a 30 round magazine is a bit crazy, in my opinion.

The only advice I can offer is this:

Move slow and be aware of what is around you. The key to not being killed is not being seen first.

Since I've been playing the Standalone (roughly the end of Feb I think) I've never been geared up as a fully military player (aside from picking up a M4 once or twice) and I've only been killed by other military players maybe a total of 7-10 times.

The reason for that is simple...I don't rush around looking for things. I take my time and I make sure I'm not being followed or no one is around when I enter a building. When I leave the building, I make sure no one is waiting by looking out of the windows.

I get that everyone plays different, but what I don't get is seeing people complain about the lack of military gear then go on to complain about being killed my military players. (not specifically you, OP)

Anyway, the only other thing I can say is just adapt. The game was never supposed to be full of players rocking military gear and high powered rifles.

Getting killed isn't necessarily a problem for me because I play with my friends. We both have gear, so chances are no lone wolf will try to engage us. We play tactically, but we've never come across another group like ourselves, one that has military gear that's worth killing for.
I'm not complaining about the lack of military gear, I think it's a large step forward from where you could be geared to the teeth after 3 hours of playing. What I'm not a fan of is it taking forever to find very basic military supplies such as ammo or weapon clips. Those should be much more plentiful than weapons.

[Slurpee12]

Originally posted by Coldflame:

Originally posted by Slurpee12:

I have full Gorka gear, but I don't have a hunting backpack nor protector cases. What's your best advice to finding a helicopter? No matter what I do I can't find one. Do helicopters also spawn ammo boxes?

Hunting packs will show up eventually, they're not special. Protector cases will also show up at civilian spawns, so don't skip up mid-tier locations like firehouses or police stations.

Heli crashes are mostly just luck in the end, you'll find them when you find them.

If I'm in a city, the only spawns worth looting end up being firestations, policestations, and the piano buildings. I don't need food because I hunt and it provides more calories than anything canned too.

Hunting backpacks are in military spawns, correct?

Might have to dedicate another day to finding one then.

[:jwalker]

The hunting backpacks seem to be spawning at the smokeless (half buried) heli crash sites (found one pristine).
As to finding weapons; logged onto exp. 50.xx today as a new spawn - within 15 minutes I'd found a mosin, both shotguns (double barrel & pump), lever action repeater and an SKS... yes, I was lucky, don't expect that to EVER happen again. Just sayin' though.
As to someones comment above "it's very hard to take out someone who has military gear when you have a civilian rifle"... What a crock! A bullet doesn't care what kind of gear you have! LMAO! :j