Before you chase better gear
Food, water, blood and health are separate resources. A full backpack does little for you if you cannot open a can or stop a wound.
- Check your condition and inventory with TAB. Look for Bandage or rags, a blade and a drink container.
- Find a well for clean water. Water from ponds and lakes can make you sick.
- You can wade through rivers and lakes up to your chest; in deeper water you swim at the surface – slowly, without weapons in your hands, and it drains stamina. There is no diving. Steep banks can be climbed with the vault key or by pushing against them. The infected and animals do not follow you into deep water, and vehicles stop at its edge.
- Swimming for a long time wears you out – heavy gear and wet clothes even more. When you hear yourself gasping, head for the shore: an exhausted swimmer goes under and drowns.
- Search kitchens for food and medical buildings for treatment. No building guarantees a particular item.
- Move to cover before eating, treating wounds or sorting magazines – these actions take time.
- Plan your route on the world atlas and know where you can restock.
Where you wake up
A new character wakes up in one of several areas along the coast and the edges of the map – never next to another player and never in a high-loot area. After a death you start somewhere else again.
A useful first kit
| Priority | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Stop bleeding | Bandage / Rag | One treatment closes one wound. |
| Cutting tool | Kitchen Knife / Hatchet | Needed for crafting and preparing food. |
| Water | Water Bottle | A refillable bottle makes longer trips possible. |
| Food | Baked Beans | Bring a can opener – other tools spill some of the can. |
| Fire | Matches + fuel + kindling | Cooking, warmth and drying wet clothes. |
Choose your next step
Understand your pockets before replacing equipment. Learn movement and stamina before a fight. If food is scarce, fishing and hunting are another way to a meal.