If someone has a correction they want to make or if they want to add something, please do! I am by no means a pro, i have played for a good 8 months so i do have some experience.
When i started out one of my biggest issues was not knowing what to loot. Weeeeeeel other than being an idiot and standing when shooting and dying constantly. But, here are some small tips if you have no idea what to do.
Shortcuts and controls.
- Even though i know that these are a thing i find myself still dragging, even though i don't need to.
- If you press CTRL and Left click, the item will be instantly moved to your inventory. As far as i know it will be moved into the same spot as picked up items, so in your backpack.
- Pressing ALT and Leftclick will instantly equip the item. This way you don't need to drag guns to your character.
- Pressing Delete will instantly discard the item. Doing this is way faster than right clicking and discarding that way.
- Pressing R will rotate the item. I didn't know of this for the first 50h. I am an idiot.
- You don't need to click the search button, you can just click on the loot box.
- You can examine items with the mid mouse button. You can also fold guns. (Thanks ziplyy!)
- This isn't exactly a hotkey, but you can fold weapons by rightclicking them.
When looting.
- When looting, make sure you are alone. This seems obvious and so it should, but i find myself and other people i see still making the mistake of going for loot in an open area without checking the place.
- Never think that you are alone. Especially after a gunfight.
- When looting try to be as fast as possible. Make the binds you like and try to be fast as hell.
- Take weight into consideration. If you carry too much you can't move as well. But you do build strength so that's a bonus!.
What to look for and what to take.
- First and foremost, make a list in your head of the things you need. For example, if you want to upgrade your hideout without buying from the flea market, you may be looking for, say, bolts. If you don't have access to the flea market, you need to find them. Knowing where they commonly spawn (Toolboxes and jackets) you go check the spot, but after the raid is done you realize that you picked up everything but what you needed. This can help if you are strapped for cash and can't access the flea market.
- When you unlock the flea market, look thru some of the items there. This will help you build an idea of what to take and what to leave. Some items like blue gas canisters, NIXXORs, toolsets, helixes, and cables can potentially sell for a nice bit of money. And all of those are relatively common. Things like LedX's, Tetrizes, gphonex's, lions, golden skulls etc. can sell for anywhere between 80k and 1.5mil.
- If you kill another player or even a scav, check their gun. If you don't have space for it but you can take or equip it's attachments, you can make a good bit of money. Suppressors go for around 30k, some sights can go for 40k, laser devices can go for 20k, grips go for up to 25k etc. If you want to take them, double click on the gun and drag the item out.
- If you want loot, play interchange. Check techstores, Oli, Mantis, National etc. There are too many to list here. Interchange is an easy map for scavs with lots of loot. Knowing where to go is important.
- Learn what different containers spawn. Duffel bags tend to spawn meds, consumables and random barter items. Wooden crates spawn attachments, guns and food. Jackets spawn barter items and money etc. When you get a hang of it you will know what containers to prioritize.
- Don't only go for expensive loot. you may be surprised by the amount of cash you can make from random items like hoses and military cables. When you have the space, take them!
How you can use your available space.
- First off, when picking up items they will go into your backpack by default. This may not be optimal. Your pockets and rig can hotkey items into your number keys. So if you find a nade, put it into your pocket, if you find meds, do the same. Keep in mind that if there is no more space for a mag, when reloading the mag will drop.
- As mentioned earlier, you can put attachments on your gun in raid, and you can fold said gun! But there is another way to conserve space with attachments. A good example of this is the Sprut shotgun mount. It uses one cell of space, but it can attach 3 laser devices without using more space. So you can fit 60k worth of items in one cell. If you have a gun in your inv that can take attachments, put them on it. Saves space.
- Don't be afraid of discarding stuff if you find something else. Seriously.
- If you find something like a Kiba key or a ledx, put it into your secure container. if you die, you wont lose it.
And that is about all i'll write! if you have something to add, please do!