Just a few tips for first starting out.
1. Amazing place to get a decent starting weapon is often just south of Balota Airfield. South of Balota Airfield is an Army medical camp with 4 deer stands which often spawn military grade weapons/other loot. This is a very good alternative to the death trap that Balota Airfield has become.
2. Avoid the larger cities unless you're extremely desperate for some starting gear. If you must enter Cherno or Electro then I would only recommend hitting the following locations.
Cherno: Head to the Mid-East side of the city and around that area you will find an Army medical camp with tents that each spawn med supplies and military grade weapons/gear.
Electro: Avoid heading anywhere into the heart of the city and just attempt to loot the power plant/fire station on the North-East side of the city. Surprisingly I find this location often overlooked and not being camped by bandits/snipers.
3. Once you have some sort of starting gear, a great place to head is the city of Stary. On the North-East side of Stary you will find an Army camp with plenty of lootable tents. Each tent has a chance to spawn military grade weapons and often spawn high tier backpacks. However, be aware of the forest/treeline that overlooks this Army camp and be sure to scan it prior to entering as there is often snipers/bandits lurking in the trees waiting to prey on weaker players.
4. As soon as you feel comfortable enough to go there, head to the North-West Airfield. This area has two lootable barracks, each spawning plenty of military grade loot. Also there are lootable hangars, a fire station and a Control tower. Just be aware that there will be a lot of veteran players hanging around here and most will typically be well geared. This however, is probably hands down the best place on the entire map to find military grade weapons/loot.
5. Very important tip is to never trust other players you don't know. I usually stick by the rule that if they're not in teamspeak/voicechat with you then don't trust them. Treat every person as a hostile. This doesn't mean you have to kill every single person you see on sight, but just play smart and avoid being friendly with players you don't know. Follow this rule and you will find yourself feeling the cool hands of death grasping you a lot less.
Anyway, I do have a squad of active players who play DayZ often, mostly on a Taviana server. If interested in playing with us or possibly joining the squad then just simply jump in the Lost Legion TeamSpeak at any time. DayZ in my opinion is a much better game played with others.
Lost Legion TS: ts35.gameservers.com:9318
