Land Nav 101

[Carpoor 8]

There is a lot of posts on here about the frustrations of not knowing where you/your friends are. There's also many short, quick responses like using clouds and signs. I've only been playing for a few weeks now, but from day one I knew where I was right from spawn using some simple (real life) land nav skills. All of these techniques are easy to master and will help the nav part of the game become second nature to you. This way more time can be spent looting, hunting, etc.

 

First a couple tips:

1. Don't waste bag space on a compass.

     One of the main functions of a compass is for shooting an azimuth. Using the ticks or degrees marked on a compass to precisely navigate using a pace count and so on. The game is not affected by True North, Grid North, and Magnetic North. There is only one North. Who wants to spend hours figuring out the accurate pace count of a video game character? Not to mention the ticks, bezel ring, and sights of the compass are non-functional. i.e. useless. USE THE SKY!

 

2. Use the sky:

     Sun rise is in the east, sunset is in the west. Clouds travel from west to east. Same for night time. There's your free compass. Very, very simple. Now you've got room for a kiwi.

 

3. Get a Map:

     Not the ones you find in game, one on the web. http://dayzdb.com/map/chernarusplus Best one I've found so far.

 

4. Signs of civilization:

     Out in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere, look for power lines and/or creeks. Neither of these should let you down when exploring for civilization. If you can't find these, scan surrounding hill tops for cuts in the trees. Paths are cut through trees for power lines. Also, most towns are on the coast or on low level ground. If you really need to find a town, use a high vantage point, like a hill, to scan for buildings. You won't find a metropolis at the top of a mountain. 

 

Land Nav Techniques:

 

1. Terrain Association

     Your lost in the woods and come to a clearing on the Northern edge. There is a tree stand down the line to your west, another tree line the travels perpendicular to the clearing with an asphalt road across the field to the north with a bridge. Beyond that another field with a tree line North of that. Go prone, check your map. There are so many indications of the terrain setup that finding your *rough* position should be relatively easy. Still stuck? Move onto the next technique.

 

2. Land Mark Association

     This falls hand in hand with terrain association. The dear stand and the road act more like land marks, but since they are all over the place, saying your east of the dear stand makes them rather weak land marks. Any town is a land mark. Recon the building layout. Check for large structures such as Mosques, water towers, ware houses, apartment complexes, large protective walls, an airstrip. All of these can be used as land marks for yourself or friends trying to find your or their location in game or on your map.

 

An example of when I used these properly: A friend of mine told me to meet him at Black Mountain.  I am in Dubrovka. I check my map and head north through the woods until I saw the largest hill around. I headed up the hill and when I came close, I told him I see what looks like a broken down, castle like structure. He says that's it and he's hunkered down on the interior of the western wall at the southern tip of the wall. I walked right up on him. Simple! ;)

 

Side Notes:

     Road signs are useful in the beginning. They're easy arrow markers to point you in the right direction. Within a few weeks now, I have most of the town names, locations, and  a few of the layouts memorized. I'm sure there are seasoned players who have the whole map down. Just be patient. It'll become second nature without you even realizing it.

     I'm not sure how low end settings handle clouds, and upon login you might not know what time of day it is to base direction off of the sun or moon. A compass might be your best friend in these cases to getting your bearing.

     Be creative and ACCURATE with descriptions. My friend and I call paved roads 'ballparks' and and dirt roads are roads. While I'm in a town hunting for goodies with an ax and the clothes on my back, he's on a hill with a scoped mosin providing over watch. He says he has movement in a grey barn to the east on the second level, north side of the barn. That's me! Don't shoot! :lol:

      Practice and, more importantly, have fun with it. Sometimes, trying to get lost can be fun in itself! 

Edited January 6, 2014 by Carpoor

[DropBearChick 1216]

great tips, is it alright if i link this in my Guide?

[Carpoor 8]

Absolutely.

[marsmars 155]

another tip, when you are running on the coastal highway, if the ocean is on your right you are going east/north, if the ocean is on your left you are going west/south

[teufel937 49]

Looks like we have a fellow Service Member giving SGT's Time on DayZ forums :P