OK, so I suck. I am sure you guys hear/read that every other post, but the simple truth is that me and others do. I went in, trying to play the game but it seemed no matter how sneaky, stealthy, tactical I try to be, there is always a bullet headed towards my… um, head. I would get angrier and angrier as I played, losing tons of gear and rubles. No matter how many times I geared up, I just ended up dead. I have a friend who has been playing for a while and has a nice nest egg that he shared with me to help me get over "gear fear" but that didn't help, it was just throwing money down the toilet.
What I have learned to help make the game more fun to play is this, something that someone else on here suggested.
Spend time in offline mode.
Everyone will tell you this. It makes sense. Think of it as a prep test before the actual test. You can run these maps with AI, so you have Scavs to work with (Yes they are NOTHING like real players) which is a good thing to get a feel for what you are dealing with in a live game. If anything it really does give you the freedom to see where the Spawn points are and where the Exfil are. I did what most people did and jumped right into the game. And wandered around. Aimlessly, constantly checking the map but having ZERO idea where I actually was (It can be hard to put in game location to map location sometimes) which of course is just a great way to guarantee getting shot. I would do Scav runs and actually get players who were also Scaving, helping me, leading me around, letting me loot the bodies to get gear and stuff, only to have them Exfil and there I am, all kitted out with NO IDEA where the fuck I need to go to get out. Then either I die or the time runs out. (Yes, most players will stay with you making sure you get out, but more than a few times, they had different Exfil than I did and would fade away while I stood there watching.)
Axe Runs
Axe runs. No gear, no armor, no weapons (Other than your melee weapon and maybe a pistol, something cheap) stuff all the stuff worth cash that you find into your secure container, that way, even if you die, you make profit. You want to do this on Customs or another big map. Not the heavy PVP maps.
Once I started doing that. Just running Customs (I was told this was THE starters map) over and over and over, dying repeatedly (And I mean REPEATEDLY. A LOT), but each time, I walked away with a little more money from flea market sales (If you aren't lvl 5, you can still sell to the traders and make some cash). Some times I find a nice item worth a decent amount but usually it was between 1200 and 5K per item. Over and over and over, builds. Since I wasn't spending cash on gear, I wasn't losing money.
It actually got me to the point where I don't need to constantly reference a map to get around Customs, thanks to these runs. I got a general sense of where I am and where I need to go. I still refer to the map from time to time, but generally I know where I need to go.
FOR GODS SAKES, DON'T LOOT RIGHT AWAY!
So, like me, you get that rare kill in. You actually survive the firefight (An actual fight, not turn a corner and dead like usual) or you got lucky and suckered some Scav who was busy being a bad AI.
DO. NOT. LOOT. RIGHT. AWAY.
I know this seems kind of a silly thing, but hear me out here.
I can't tell you how many times I went in for the gear, to upgrade from nothing to something, only to be dead. Someone was nearby. Someone heard the shots and took aim. The damn server just hates me. I dunno, its always something, but I ended up dead. All because I was too anxious to get that upgrade, that money in waiting.
Once the bullets (Or in the axe run case, the chopping/stabbing) is over, back into cover and wait a few moments. Make as sure as you CAN, that no one is around before you start looting the body. It will save you piece of mind, stomach lining and that damn waiting time to get back into the game.
Check before you enter.
A lot of the suggestions that the better players make about map awareness and the like doesn't make sense at first. Its like a foreign language that they are talking about, some crazy skill that only the best of the best get. The basic idea is that you want to, well, be aware of your surroundings. Do a quick circuit around the container/room (If you can) before you go in. I got hyper to get in and grab the stuff, to get out of the open and not be a target, only to rush into the room and have someone outside the window that I didn't check for, lean over and shoot me from outside.
I know these suggestions have been said a million times by better players than me, but I wanted to share what I have learned. I actually have learned more by reading than watching videos. Watching the good players, while it is cool to see someone do so well and of course they make it look so damn easy, but the truth, for me at least, is that I have NO IDEA how the hell these guys just walk into engagements and bang bang bang, they have all the loot and survive without issue. I can't copy their moves, I am by no means a twitch gamer. I am just not that fast, never been a shooter kind of guy. (Although I really enjoy MilSim, like Arma and the old school Tom Clancy titles)
Thank you to all the skilled players that have helped me out when I do Scav runs (Except for those few of you that make a Scav group only to kill off the others right away to pick from the corpses for the gear. You all suck COCK) and have made suggestions for better play. It all helps in one way or another and I wanted to make sure you got SOME acknowledgement for what you do, even if it is coming from a suck player like myself.
I hope this helps in some small way to new players out there!
