Loot Rarity Categories

[Evil Minion 943]

There are some discussions of people wanting certain items and others not wanting them because "they are useless", "its a survival game", "its not battlefield", "its not a dress up simulator", "it would be overpowered". In my opinion thats all bullshit - those people just want their favorite features implemented instead or avoid being on the receiving end of a asymmetric situation.

 

Bring on all the loot (thats below a Battleship)! But make items sufficiently rare so DayZ feels like a proper survival game nonetheless. Having those big, shiny, awesome, tacticool whatever items gives players goals - and something to fear. You know its unlikely but sitting at your campfire a humble revolver being your only defense knowing somewhere out there are people with assault rifles or worse creates tension. And finally after hours - probably with the help of others - you finally get your hands on one - what a reward. But you still know there could be an even bigger fish.

 

Now I like to think of DayZ gameplay as "play the cards you are dealt" - so I will name the different tier after poker hands. Keep in mind vehicles would need fuel and repair and firearms would need ammo and maybe magazines as well.

 

High Card Tier (Abundant)

Those items are everywhere and can be harvested with or sometimes even without the right tools.

Wooden Sticks, Berries, Rags etc.

 

One Pair Tier (Common)

Items that are common and can be found in almost every household no matter where you are. Chances are pretty high to stuble across them by sheer luck and when entering an unlooted house you should most likely find one of those.

Kitchen Knife, Tracksuit Pants, Leather Shoes etc...

 

Two Pair Tier (Uncommon)

Items in this tier can be found in many households or other buildings provided you know where you look. Looting through a town would probably net you some of those given nobody took them before.

Splitting Axe, Wool Coat, Rope etc.

 

Three of a KInd Tier (Rare)

Items that can be found in most towns but are considerably rarer than the ones in former categories. Finding one of these should not be easy  but it is a great step forward if you mange to. Usually at least one per unlooted town unless you are getting really unlucky.

Handgun, Cargo Pants, Bike etc.

 

Straight Tier (Very Rare)

Those items while still available in most areas are hard to find and might require extensive search with a little bit of luck. You may not be able to find this kind of item in every town so better get used to wandering off and trying your luck elsewhere.

Hunting Rifle, Hunter Pants, Scooter etc.

 

Flush Tier (Extremely Rare)

Finding those items is hard and should require players to search specific areas or buildings to even have a chance finding them. Now extensive search of (multiple of) those areas should eventually lead to success given no one else was faster. You should forget finding this gear soon after spawning - thats the tier most long-term survivors would sport if they got a little lucky.

Submachine Gun, Military Grade Pants, Small Car etc.

 

Full House Tier (Ultra-Rare)

Very hard to find gear of this tier should be the rarest non-limited gear ingame. Bound to a few limited spawn points combined with a low spawn rate those items are above what you could simply find by surviving long enough and having a little luck. Getting them should require major effort and keeping them... even more so.

Assault Rifle, Ballistic Helmet, Truck etc.

 

Four of a Kind Tier (Unique)

Good luck finding one of these. Thats about the "one per server" tier - though bad luck might cause servers to not have any of those items on them. Finding one is extremely unlikely and you should be able to not see a single one in a very long time even if searching for them. Those items should be globally limited to ensure rarity. Getting your hands on one of them is the maximum of what to realistically expect.

Sniper Rifle, Body Armor, Humvee etc.

 

Straight Flush Tier (Stuff of Legends)

Now those items have impact by their sheer existence. Its very unlikely to ever come close to one but you know they are out there - somewhere. Even extensive long term search would most likely result in failure. Casual players logging into DayZ from time to time might never encounter them at all and even veterans should seldom catch more than a glimpse.

Anti-materiel Rifle, Night Vision Googles, Helicopter etc.

 

Royal Flush Tier (Holy Grail)

An optional tier consisting of gear so rare you might only have one or two instances in the whole game. Getting this requires more than exceptional effort and luck - thats what it would take to even catch a glimpse of a part. Because of this exceptional rarity this gear might be nothing more than a theoretical possibility that might never come it life.

Battle Tank, Self Propelled Howitzer, Gunship etc.

 

TL:DR: Give us all the loot - but make it rare.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Evil Minion

[qwer4790 26]

Battle tank? no! I think a off-road with a machine gun on its rear is enough...

[TheCreeper (DayZ) 3563]

Interesting thoughts, however I'm sure we will never see a weapon mounted vehicle, save if they bring the Huey or Mi-17 back.

 

 

Also, for your Rarity of a MBT ( Main Battle Tank ), I can only think this:

 

[Evil Minion 943]

Maybe the battle tank would work better if you don't actually add it but only tell players that it was possible while also providing some mysterious parts. :lol:

[General Zod 1114]

In what twisted universe jeans are uncommon ?

[Evil Minion 943]

Didn't you know? Chernarussian people usually wear Tracksuit Pants and only some of them actually own Jeans. Though I should probably break the pants theme and replace them with something more appropiate.

[General Zod 1114]

Didn't you know? Chernarussian people usually wear Tracksuit Pants and only some of them actually own Jeans. Though I should probably break the pants theme and replace them with something more appropiate.

Than we should spawn in track suits. 

[The Aquatic Land Walrus 565]

Bring on all the loot (thats below a Battleship)!

>Wants a gunboat

What the FUCK kind of idea is adding a gunboat to DayZ? You keep saying how it's a survival game, but being able to live in a boat armed to the teeth, or in a tank is just fucking stupid. It'd make the guy who has it invincible, turning DayZ into more of a glorified hide-and-seek game.

[Evil Minion 943]

It'd make the guy who has it invincible, turning DayZ into more of a glorified hide-and-seek game.

Given someone would actually manage to get something like this - which should be close to (maybe even completely) impossible thus "Holy Grail" - the effort required would be immense and probably require longtime cooperation of a high number of players with nobody ever sabotaging their work. Then the vehicle would require tons of fuel to run, actually ammo to shoot, and a crew to operate it (a single guys would either be able to aim it, drive it, load it or actually manage to see his targets but not all of this at once). It would be pretty loud and easy to spot. And tanks don't grow food or water inside them. So in order to get supplies you either need other guys to do the work (who can be shot) or get out (so you can be shot). Finally the vehicle being extremely rare might cause hunters to come after it - either to destroy it as part of the ultimate hunt (you may only get a single chance to hunt this prey) or to claim it for themselves.

 

Thats why I think thats the absolute maximum of what is possible in DayZ and it should be extremely limited. Maybe its even one step too much - I am not sure (thats why I wrote optional). Its interesting that nobody here actually cares about rarity and its implications but rather likes to attack examples - what a shame. But maybe I am wrong and owning the rarest and most powerful vehicle ingame doesn't paint a big target on you because most DayZ players are actually cowardly snipers who just want to kill helpless freshspawns.

 

Anyways the "Gunship" in the exampes is not a "Gunboat" but rather a heavily armed helicopter or plane. Something like the Mi-24.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Evil Minion

[The Aquatic Land Walrus 565]

Given someone would actually manage to get something like this - which should be close to (maybe even completely) impossible thus "Holy Grail" - the effort required would be immense and probably require longtime cooperation of a high number of players with nobody ever sabotaging their work. Then the vehicle would require tons of fuel to run, actually ammo to shoot, and a crew to operate it (a single guys would either be able to aim it, drive it, load it or actually manage to see his targets but not all of this at once). It would be pretty loud and easy to spot. And tanks don't grow food or water inside them. So in order to get supplies you either need other guys to do the work (who can be shot) or get out (so you can be shot). Finally the vehicle being extremely rare might cause hunters to come after it - either to destroy it as part of the ultimate hunt (you may only get a single chance to hunt this prey) or to claim it for themselves.

 

Thats why I think thats the absolute maximum of what is possible in DayZ and it should be extremely limited. Maybe its even one step too much - I am not sure (thats why I wrote optional). Its interesting that nobody here actually cares about rarity and its implications but rather likes to attack examples - what a shame. But maybe I am wrong and owning the rarest and most powerful vehicle ingame doesn't paint a big target on you because most DayZ players are actually cowardly snipers who just want to kill helpless freshspawns.

 

Anyways the "Gunship" in the exampes is not a "Gunboat" but rather a heavily armed helicopter or plane. Something like the Mi-24.

We don't attack the rank system because it isn't flawed; only your examples are. A gunboat would not fit DayZ, end of story. It's like saying if you search NWAF for 5 hours straight you can find a nuke, but only if you are in the barracks looking at gear for 5 hours without ever looking away.

[agentstaple 29]

I like this.

 

I even kind of like the idea of a tank, I'd prefer an APC or something myself though and not one with a turret, one with a mounted MG so if you wanna fire you've got to poke your head out. It would have to be very very rare and incredibly difficult to fix / run requiring lots of specialized parts and tools.

 

With that said, Add Mountain Dew to the holy grail section.

[5mirkeh 98]

I like this.

 

I even kind of like the idea of a tank, I'd prefer an APC or something myself though and not one with a turret, one with a mounted MG so if you wanna fire you've got to poke your head out. It would have to be very very rare and incredibly difficult to fix / run requiring lots of specialized parts and tools.

 

With that said, Add Mountain Dew to the holy grail section.

we NEED the Mountain Dew in the holy grail section

[liquidcactus 719]

Wow man I really liked this post. I agree with pretty much all of it and its nice to see someone post it !

I think the night vision should drop a tier or 2 however

[DURRHUNTER 597]

Wow man I really liked this post. I agree with pretty much all of it and its nice to see someone post it !

I think the night vision should drop a tier or 2 however

as long as you cant look through scopes with NVG on, im cool with it.

[liquidcactus 719]

as long as you cant look through scopes with NVG on, im cool with it.

I doubt that they would make looking through scopes with NVG attached possible because we all know why.

I remember the rocket a while back speaking of possibly making the introductory NV a minocular hand held deal where you have to pull it up to your face to look through it which sounds NICE

[Lady Kyrah 1109]

I don't really see the need to categorize things in "tiers" but since we are at it i would go for two "renewable" and "non renewable".

 

• Renewable is everything you can find in nature, it's somewhat abundant but require effort to harvest (wood, stones, berries, animals,...)
• Non renewable is everything that predate the outbreak, it is extremely rare and precious (canned food, rifles, ammo, vehicles, gas)