DayZ is a zombie survival horror set a few years after the initial zombie outbreak in a region called Chernarus in south east Russia.
Officially, there are two enemies in the game: Zombie's - in their infinite numbers and other players - a.k.a: the Smart Ones.
Zombies will kill you for your flesh, other players, called Bandits, will kill you for your loot. Or just for the fun of it really.
So, I present to you:
A HEROS GUIDE TO BANDITS
Identify your enemy:
For reference, this here is a bandit:
This is a Hero:
And this lot are general survivors. This rag tag bunch haven't yet changed their skin:
Seen a general survivor? Assume their going to want to kill you.
Now, there is a highly distinctive visual difference between bandits and heros. Bandits have a facemask covering their face and wear dark coloured clothes. Hero's have a checkered shirt and blue jeans. Hero's are friendly - Bandits arent.
Of course, you might come across some friendly survivors. Teaming up with them could be helpful, but only if your sure that they won't shoot you in the back for your lovely M4A3 CCO.
Chances of survival
Most bandits aren't stupid, but there are the odd one or two that do dumb things. Either way, assume that the bandit you think is following you already has your head targeted through his scope.
DayZ doesn't feature anything handy like last stands or infinite healthpacks. Bullets are deadly and headshots are instant kills. There's no energy shields here to keep you alive buddy.
Realistically, your best chance of surviving a bandit is to be in a large group of three or more. Bandits can easily take down two people in a few shots, killing the first and before the second has time to react and get to cover, killing him. Bandits rarely work in groups, as dispute's over who gets the nice gun usually result in the person who shoots first getting it.
In all truth and honesty, bandits don't want to get killed. Realistically, their little sleezebags who would rather steal from other people than go looting abandoned buildings. But if they lose their stuff, you'll usually hear some raging on side chat.
As such, sticking to a large group will greatly assist in survival against a bandit.
But what if your all alone braving the wilderness? All I can really say is a few things, shoot first and ask questions later, stick to places where you cant be seen and for goodness sake, an open field is NEVER safe. It's good practise to stay hidden, even if your all alone on a server.
His Humble Hunting Grounds
First and foremost, assume that a bandit can appear ANYWHERE at ANYTIME. However, there are supposedly designated bandit hunting grounds. Bandits usually stalk these areas because of it's high loot volume, which thus attracts players: A.K.A: Their little play things.
(Note: You will probably need to enlarge this map to read the locations clearly.
Red = Bandit heavy
Yellow = Not many bandits
Blue = You actually MET someone here?
Balota Airport, Chernogorsk and Elektrozavodsk (Often abbreviated to Cherno and Elektro respectively in chat) are big hunting grounds for Bandits. Elektro has a powerstation with a tower that can see across the whole town, thus giving a bandit a good place to snipe from.
The North West Airstrip also has a number of military Barracks and hangars which feature excellent industrial and military loot. Since the whole place is flat, a bandit can hide in a tree and start firing off rounds without being seen.
Berezino on the east coast isnt AS populated by bandits - most people coming here are really only interested in the multitude of industrial loot and it's probably one of the most depopulated regions in the game. That being said, the airstrip north of Krasnostav is dangerous. A bandit can hide at the top of a radio pylon to the North East and snipe right to the far end of town if his aim is good.
Yellow areas don't feature nearly as many bandits. BUT. This does NOT mean you wont find them here! Staroye is an isolated town in the yellow zone that I classified as red, as i've heard plenty of times over chat that they like to hang out there - survivors often stop at Staroye after heading north from Elektro.
In Blue Area's, your actually pretty unlikely to find anyone at all, but the biggest reason is that in most cases, there's nothing there. Although there are a number of villages, most of them arent that worthwhile in looting, so if you keep heading a bit north or west, there's some really good spots for hiding your loot in cars or tents.
Killing a Bandit
Shoot him in the head. Duh...
Or, where possible, get up behind him and put a few rounds in his back. This is most easily achieved by having something to distract him - for example a fellow survivor. Smart bandits will often quickly check behind them, but can't check for long. Thus, if you can be sure their distracted, your bullets will get him before his get you.
A Bandits Treasure
If a bandit has been around for a long time, you can almost be certain that they have some of the best loot in the game. Most of the time, a bandit will actually have sniper rifles like the DMR or the SVD Dragunov - both excellent rifles.
However, in saying this, your equally likely to get some pretty bad loot after that long ten minute firefight. Since most of the loot on a bandit is dependant on what they picked up from other players, that means your subject to the same rule as well.
Final Words
Bandits are fairly cowardly but also extremely dangerous. Never EVER trust a bandit unless you know them personally in REAL LIFE. Bandits will happily shoot other bandits.
Happy hunting.
