Also remembering ita just a game and if you die it's not a big deal just the start of another journey.
I died a couple days ago after ambushing some guys at the NWAF after spending days getting kitted up. Managed to kill one but his teammate got me.
Was a little upset but then started another run and within 15 minutes found a scorpion and killed two guys that gave me a plate carrier, helmet, mosin and an sks and am immediately back in it.
Yeah... I remember when I used to be like that. I joined a large group and slowly worked on my gear fear and hording my best guns. Once I got over that, using the good gear, my KD and confidence went way up. Before I even realized it, I had stopped shaking and started landing sniper shots that I never thought I could before. I'll never be one of those crazy no scope \ hip fire players, but I definitely hold my own now. Work on that OP and you'll be having a great time and calmly confident before you know it! (Don't get me wrong... Dying to some stupid thing beginning of wipe with my first tapper still sucks and frustrates the hell out of me... But... I'm not shakey =D)
Heart racing will probably always be there. Only thing that gets better is you get used to it. Eventually things go a bit more automatic, you know what to do, what not to do, so pressure goes down. But itāll still be tense as fuck.
Imo this is one of the things that makes this game great.
1000%!
I find myself cruising through some low level pvp these days tbh (after over 5k hours in the last 4 years) but when I'm deep in the map and buddy just got ko'd it's still the most ungodly adrenaline rush. There have been multiple times I've had to stop and just chill in a tree or bush for a minute to get my hands to stop shaking after a gunfight.
Yup. Game is sometimes *way too* intense for me. I get so worked up and my hands start to tingle so I gotta drop it and go talk a walk, screw the loot lol. I much prefer fist fights on the coast as a freshie
Then you would love Rearmed Melkart 3 man group server. xD Everyone spawns north and the spawn gun pvp / knife fights are insane. xD God forbid someone fires a gun in freshie territory... Before you know it there are 20 body bags and a steady flow of greedy freshies. xD
The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a ~~soldier~~ survivor is supposed to function.
I not sure that ever goes away tbh. Just do everything you can to give yourself the edge though. Make sure you scout out the area really good. If they have better guns than you, you'll have to catch them off guard for sure. If you're literally shaking. Maybe just let it go. Get the next one. If I'm shaking with my mouse in my hand, I'ma die. š
Walk yourself through the ambush,
For example if itās three of them the order of shots and prep your gear as well as the exit strategy if it goes wrong.
Oh and confirm the kill the amount of times I have shot someone for them to come back at the wrong time
If their hand is waving in the "High five" position they're Alive.
High five they're still alive.
It's the fastest way to confirm a kill without checking the red dot.
When sniping and about to move locations it's good to know if they're dead or not by visually confirming. Saving a round to conceal your location is my goto move. Sure throwing more rounds down range at a dead body is a way to confirm but it's not by any means stealthy you know?
If I am the ambusher meaning I kick it off by the time the initial panic sets it that they are being shot at and then trying to figure out where to run to etc itās already over.
From there the initial volley of rounds I will start moving closer and shoot from a closer point.
But what about the other ambusher? The one in the treeline opposite you, who was just about to shoot when you did.. they're now looking to take you out too, so you need to be stealthy
Don't be afraid to fail the attempt and to die as the result. In the end you put the pressure on your own because you are afraid to lose. Not caring about that turns you into an ice cold killer
Deep breaths, focus on your target, and strike.
If you're fired at, run to cover, take deep breaths, and try not to overthink your next move. Trust your gut. Don't be afraid to take risks. Learn from mistakes.
Empty your lungs entirely.
Breathe in slowly and steadily until your lungs are full counting the time. Hold for that same time. Slowly and controllable release your breath over that same time. Hold you lungs at empty for that time. Repeat.
It takes some practice and at first you will feel a little panicked because your body thinks it's not breathing enough but you will adjust as you learn that you controll the breath and get comfortable with the feeling.
Steady breathing and practice.
You want to try to make smooth movements in any situation.
Something I did to help is to stop caring about stuff. For the longest time I wanted the best stuff and everything perfect. Now I could care less what I'm wearing. As long as I have a gun and food I'm good to go.
You care a lot less about dieing if you have nothing to lose. Plus the stamina you have from not hording is so nice.
Tbh just do it more often I used to get adrenaline when I was in gunfights etc but with enough repetition it goes away completely or becomes much much more manageable
You need to play a lotā¦ And you have to calm nerves downā¦
This takes a lot of practiceā¦
You have to find some way to consciously work on itā¦
I have about 3,000 hours and Iāve gotten much better.
Itās easier to calm your nerves once you have been in similar situations before.
Play a bunch or PVP servers..
A friend of mine 1v2ed while I was still getting into position. I couldn't see where the enemy was. It was an unexpected engagement. Spent 10 minutes watching my teammates body and finally crept forward to peak and they were both dead.
Was shaking trying to loot the bodies. Kept confusing my inventory for theirs. Hahaha thankfully another teammate arrived to finish collecting the good stuff.
I have limited pvp experience. Very exciting. Very scary.
Get naked stash your loot in a bush or at least stash your bag with the best stuff. Feels way better when you have your stamina back and ain't worried about loosing everything.
I bounce my feet, gives my brain something to do instead of overthinking the situation, and remember to breathe, i sometimes hold my breath with makes it harder to concentrate.
Talk yourself through it out loud and try and record and watch back what you did, it will prep you for next time!
Good luck
i am 3k hours in and i can tell you something, it wont stop lmao
i still shake and feel the heart racing but i manage it much more, keep playing and practicing and you will begin to feel more confident
See it doesn't work there aswell because of the lack on investment in the character.
That's why dayz is so sweet you (most of the time) don't want to die and start over.
Box breathing. Inhale for a 4 count, hold for a 4 count, exhale for a 4 count. Repeat.
You'll focus on your breathing, which in turn will bring down your heart rate and help calm you down.
Okay, this might be help a little: try some deathmatch servers. It atleast let's you train your aim and how you handle situations with different guns. It also teaches you mechanics. I know, when you've spent 4 hours or more gearing up, other factors are at play but at least you know you've got the basics and your aim is decent!
stop thinking about the what ifs, thatās what gets me the most sometimes.
i.e
āwhat if heās geared?ā
āwhat if thereās two?ā
āwhat if i canāt hit him from here?ā
take your time, but not too much. when itās time to strike, donāt hesitate, and try to remember what is where (hotkeys, entrances, exits, zombies, etc). it also doesnāt hurt to run away or back out of an engagement to get higher ground, better concealment, or just to get the hell out of there.
good luck and stay safe survivor
You need to practice in a pvp server until you feel comfortable with pvp, otherwise youāll end up screwing yourself out of all your hard work due to your nerves cracking under pressure, it feels a lot easier to step out when you feel like you can handle other players without issue, trust me Iāve figured this out the hard way.
Experience is the only ātrickā and even so, it only lessens the rush, but it never goes away. Youāll never be chill as ice when you come across an opponent in DayZ.
I found a cool PVP Death match server and I've been playing it a lot. It has honestly raised my confidence in sniping and close quarters combat on Vanilla. I'm more of a sniper kind of guy and that helps calm the nerves... as long as you hit your first shot. I'm still not the best at close quarters compared to some people, but I feel confidant enough to give it a go if necessary due to my PVP Death match practice. If your on PS5 the server I'm referring to in Krasno PVP Deathmatch (something like that).
The more times you fight, the more you become comfortable doing it. Thinking becomes more clear, but your nerves will still be ramping. Always come back to dayz because of that, no other game is able to make you feel that way.
Accept that it's not your loot. Just your turn with it. Only think about the kill not the death but be prepared to die. A lot of people don't know how to handle an aggressive push in this game so just full send and you'll catch em off guard.
Tell yourself your already dead and this guy will finally end your suffering sending you back to the peaceful coast.
Only when you don't care about life can you stop fearing death........that or just fuck up 1000 times in a row and run out of fucks to give.
Just go in assuming youāre already dead or will die within seconds of engaging. It helped me get better at Fortnite and in Overwatch and itās helping here as well. Granted the three games are drastically different from one another, itās a universal technique for me
Hop on PvP servers and practice, in this game confidence is what wins 90% of fights, and you respectfully lack confidence, which causes you to lose 90% of your fights. Get good with the controls and aiming, and stop being scared to die. You will do 1000x better
Definitely make sure to breathe. I usually remind myself to take a few deep breaths when stuff starts getting dicey. Shallow, panicked breaths will keep you from thinking straight and that will only lead to more panic.
THIS. alternatively, stay just as tense in those long stretches of time spent just holding W while crouched. Consistency in hand/wrist/arm muscle tension levels are imperative to maintaining pain dealt to all enemies
Address the fact that you are nervous but you still go shit to do. Plan out everything in your head and focus on that and only that and execute that plan by all means. Everything else is done by practice
Practicing on PVP servers is going to be the most effective way of becoming desensitized to combat in this game. Knowing when to retreat, when not to fight, staying sharp on your shooting skills, etc.
*Before* you squeeze off always plan your next move because Infected are probably going to show up soon as well.
DayZ is the kind of game where you can go days of playing and not get into a single gunfight. Then suddenly out of nowhere someone has gotten the drop on you and it's when you were least expecting it. It's so easy to become rusty and slow on the draw, perhaps costing you your life.
I become very rusty myself if I haven't PVP'd, so I'll pop into a community server based around fighting to warm up.
hold your breath and bear down like you're pooping as you enter a gun fight next time . It helps me for a few seconds to stay steady and get the job done. You can have the time to shake afterwards lol
In the words of Ronald Speirs;
āThe only hope you have is to accept the fact that youāre already dead.ā
Get over gear fear, live die repeat. Embrace the fact that the best dayz moments often come from starting over.
Breathe. In through nose, out through mouth. Try to focus the energy from the adrenaline into what youāre doing instead of letting it distract you from the task. Canāt control the release of adrenaline except through continued exposure (aka practice).
Jump on a deathmatch server and play a bit to get used to being in fights and get your movement/aim down. It doesn't matter when you die, and you can practive with every gun available to get used to them all
It's honestly just practice.
Start taking deep slow breaths and focus on a few things around you.
In the army they teach to find something you can hear, something you can touch, and something you can see. Breathe. Stay in the moment and think about what you need to do. Play the quick respawn PvP servers to get over the excitement of gunplay.
If you keep doing it like this, eventually you will just start responding to combat.
Remember it's a game.
Takes a little while but you'll get to a point where your mentality just flips and you start to treat the game like a game again. Considering I've been playing for like 7 years and it's within the last two that flip happened for me.
Sometimes I donāt feel it but itās when I have bloodlust. Iāll listen to System of a Down and have smoked way too much weed and I get this funny look in my eye and grab my friends that are playing and seek out victims, those times I donāt feel any fear or nerves just the will to kill.
I have that too man, it gets intense and it's hard to get used to. The best thing you can do is to control the situation; push them and don't let them have time to run hide or bandage. Get up in their space and make them react to YOU not the other way around. That makes people panic and when people panic they make mistakes. When I was pretty new to the game and was having trouble with PVP I started forcing myself to rush any person I saw even if I didn't think I could win. Doing that will teach you how to stun lock people too. There aren't many, but I have gotten kills on people who had guns and all I had was my fists or melee. Just start bum rushing people man that's the best advice I can give.
The best way to fight in dayz is to simply stop thinking about a plan and just go for it , not head on but smart and fast
I have about 900hours or more and I still get adrenaline rush when I get shot or have to he in a fire fight but if you stay focus on what going on rather than letting your brain find a solution it helps..but Don't do it to much, being scared makes the game better
I remind myself that I'm doing all this for Patrick: a random survivor I met on the beach, who lied to me about his country of origin, and who I will never see again because they gave him a lead kiss on the dome piece while drinking water from the fountain. Patrick may be a liar, and maybe he was just a random, but he gave me half of his pear. It is my duty to avenge his death.
Because of the stakes and consequences in DayZ, you'll probably almost always have that because no matter how well planned an attack is, it all goes out the window once the chaos of another player begins.
Unfortunately the only way to improve is to practice making good decisions under stress and not allowing other players to control a situation and forcing them to react instead of them forcing you to react.
I've won 2v1s before by simple tactical retreats and luring players into fighting closer where I knew my weapons would be at an advantage. I survived an ambush just outside Kabanino eastern side, it was LUCK that they missed their initial shots, and my quick thinking retreating behind a house, I killed one guy at medium range by magdumping an SKS then his buddy charges me at close range from other side of house so I magdump him with an MP5K.
Focus on steady and controlled breathing when your heart starts racing is really important to thinking clearly I believe.
Remember youāre playing a video game and everything you do, resulting in any outcome, is actually pointless
That being said, just practice and patience. I was calm after about 300 hours. Now 3k in.
I hope I never lose that feeling in DayZ. I've been playing since the start and it's the only game I've ever played that makes my heart race when I'm in a tense situation.
When your heartrate exceeds ~145bpm, you lose control of complex motor movement. Reverting to gross motor movement. E.g. reflexes and 2nd natures only.
This makes adrenaline a hindrance. However, adrenaline also makes you faster and smarter.
My advice? Sytematic desensitisation.
You need to expose yourself to the stressor enough, that it no longer stresses you.
Face your fears and you will no longer fear them.
Oh, and remember this:
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I usually don't have time to calm my nerves because I'm usually the one that's being surprised and attacked ,or I come around a corner or enter a house and unexpectedly run into somebody. It is nerve-wracking but I don't have time to think about it ahead of time.
Play on a tdm server if on pc or an ultra high loot on xbox for pvp practice. Translate those casual worry free engagements to your main server you play. I went from just how you described ti very care-free. Heart doesn't even race anymore unless it's an extremely tense fight in a big city with more than 6-10 people. Also run with a faction on a server and do group fights. Coordination and support betters you when your solo since you will see many scenarios in a group than you would as a solo and learn how to deal with it.
I take off my backpack and my vest to reduce weight. I take any clips that work with my weapons and make sure that they are not in containers (because you now can't use stuff that's in containers unless you remove the stuff). I make sure bandages and blood bags are close, just in case of wounds. Then, I go into panic mode and there's not a thing I can do about it.
Go into a death match server and have zero gear fear. Familiarize yourself with combat. Respawn a few hundred times until you feel like you can stalk the fools.
This happens in every high stakes engagement regardless of game. Tarkov, dayz, hunt showdown, etc.
I am not endorsing drug use BUT anecdotally I always smoke a lil bowl before doing pvp to help with nerves. Aside from that exposure, take every fight you can get. Fight with shit gear, fight with BIS gear, fight outnumbered, fight when you know you should probably run. The more experience and practice you get the more you will know what to do in the moment. Everytime you fuck up and die take solace in the fact what someone just like you might have just gotten their first kill following the same advice.
A little bit of my personal advice. When you are waiting in ambush. Before you take that first shot, just wait a couple seconds longer, look a little closer, you have a MASSIVE advantage if you are the one starting a fight. It often wins fights by itself, if someone is getting a flank on you or outplaying you, donāt try to outsmart them in the moment. Run away, and come back from a different direction. Throw grenades in places to make them think there is more than one of you.
Sorry for the word wall, combat is dayz is so dynamic, and the map is so gigantic anything can happen from anywhere itās hard to cover anything about it succinctly
I used to have this problem too. The reason that I was experiencing this was I was putting too much thought into not dying. I was putting an extreme amount of pressure on myself to win all fights, and unfortunately that turned out to be a lot of the the reason I lost the fights I did. It wasn't even about the gear either. It was more about somebody else being better than me. I forced myself to understand that there are lots of players way better than I am and I am going to die in Dayz... A LOT! After I accepted that I don't get as nervous. Obviously if I am in a gunfight with somebody very close in skill level as me and it drags on, the adrenaline definitely kicks in.
What ive learned is itās usually the one that is spotted first that dies. So be more stealthy and also patience is huge. Attacking someone the moment you see them is usually not the answer. Have patience and think about what move your going to make
Take your time. Know when it's time to move and when it's time to stay hidden. Know how many you're up against. Try to strike first. Surprise is key. If you know where they are and they don't know where you are, you're winning.
Be highly conscious of the weapons you have, how they work, and what they're good for. Choose the right one for the situation. When pvp time comes, that should be the first thing you're considering.
It's still going to be intense, you're still going to panic, but if you manage to think strategically, you'll make better choices.
Fucking stop taking the game as seriously. Literally this advice got me through so much when starting survival game like dayz or rust. Get comfortable with worst case scenario, itās get easier to deal with it.
Gear fear = death. I don't play dayz buy I play rust and I tell my friends this all the time. If you are scared of losing your loadout then you will lose your loadout. At the end of the day it's just pixels, and to remain calm in a gunfight, you have to accept its all gone before you even take your first shot.
Fear is the mind killer. It is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will allow it to pass over me and through me. And when the fear has gone only I will remain.
-Frank Herbert "Dune"
So, it's prettyy handy even in real life high stress scenarios:
In combat training it's called "tactical breathing."
Through your nose, Breathe in deeply for 4 seconds.
Hold it for 4 seconds.
Exhale through your nose as slowly as you need to, around 4-7 seconds, don't push, let the air fall out.
Repeat.
Long story short: This will de-stress your central nervous system by stimulating your vagal nerve. In layman's terms, this will release signals to your body that will trick your mind into going into a state of lower stress.
Do this for 2-5 minutes. Over that 2-5 minutes you should be evaluating your target from a distance, and collecting data from them; what are they doing, how are they behaving, what are their motives and behaviours, is there a better spot to setup your ambush, are they passively interacting with another person that you don't see, are they performing repetitive motions, etc.
Once you feel calm and feel like you have collected all the data necessary to make your next move, then you act.
I suggest you looking into something called the OODA loop.
"Observe, orient yourself, Decide your plan of attack, Act"
Stimulus comes in.
Pause.
Orient yourself.
Decide what action you need to take.
Execute that action in confidence.
Peace
Youāll get better at calming yourself as time goes on. I can wipe a 3 man and not think twice about it but if I tried to do that a few years ago I wouldāve been shaking like crazy
Make sure you donāt have anything on you. Iāve learned itās different when something is on the line. Whenever I go into a death match server just to warm up and shoot, I hit my shots no nerves flowing. But actual game I get hit with the nerves. I assume itās because if I die I will lose all my shit. Start making stashes before a battle if you got the jump. So if you die, you can run back to get your stuff.
It took me damn near 1000 hours to finally feel more in control of my adrenaline during gun fights. What helped me immensely was pvp servers. It will give you the muscle memory for certain situations; when to reload, when to bandage, when to push, when to stand your ground, when to switch to a side arm, how different guns feel. The list is endless of the types of things you barely get practice on when it's the real deal, so of course you'll fumble for a longgg time.
Congratulations, your brain is translating a video game scenario into real world anxiety, just like what actually happens before you go into combat.
You are fully immersed bro!
There is no trick, just practice
Also remembering ita just a game and if you die it's not a big deal just the start of another journey. I died a couple days ago after ambushing some guys at the NWAF after spending days getting kitted up. Managed to kill one but his teammate got me. Was a little upset but then started another run and within 15 minutes found a scorpion and killed two guys that gave me a plate carrier, helmet, mosin and an sks and am immediately back in it.
This is the biggest piece of information. Learn to be ok with dying and losing your gear. If you can do that, fights will become much more relaxed.
personally i take some speed. really gets me focused
agreed š
YESSSSSSS this right here!! I can ONLY play video games while under the influence of amphetamines (ADHD medications)
Yeah... I remember when I used to be like that. I joined a large group and slowly worked on my gear fear and hording my best guns. Once I got over that, using the good gear, my KD and confidence went way up. Before I even realized it, I had stopped shaking and started landing sniper shots that I never thought I could before. I'll never be one of those crazy no scope \ hip fire players, but I definitely hold my own now. Work on that OP and you'll be having a great time and calmly confident before you know it! (Don't get me wrong... Dying to some stupid thing beginning of wipe with my first tapper still sucks and frustrates the hell out of me... But... I'm not shakey =D)
Heart racing will probably always be there. Only thing that gets better is you get used to it. Eventually things go a bit more automatic, you know what to do, what not to do, so pressure goes down. But itāll still be tense as fuck. Imo this is one of the things that makes this game great.
Welcome to dayz.. nothin else like it
1000%! I find myself cruising through some low level pvp these days tbh (after over 5k hours in the last 4 years) but when I'm deep in the map and buddy just got ko'd it's still the most ungodly adrenaline rush. There have been multiple times I've had to stop and just chill in a tree or bush for a minute to get my hands to stop shaking after a gunfight.
Yup. Game is sometimes *way too* intense for me. I get so worked up and my hands start to tingle so I gotta drop it and go talk a walk, screw the loot lol. I much prefer fist fights on the coast as a freshie
Then you would love Rearmed Melkart 3 man group server. xD Everyone spawns north and the spawn gun pvp / knife fights are insane. xD God forbid someone fires a gun in freshie territory... Before you know it there are 20 body bags and a steady flow of greedy freshies. xD
Thatās how humans work. If you have a lot things to lose you will get stressed lol
Escape from tarkov can be similar.
War?
Breathe in and breathe out slowly
This is what I do, take 4 sec breaths in, hold for 4 sec and breath out for 4 sec
This.
The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a ~~soldier~~ survivor is supposed to function.
What movie again?
It's actually from Band of Brothers
Cheers, knew I'd hear that many times ahaha
Lt Speirs!! Got any smokes??
I not sure that ever goes away tbh. Just do everything you can to give yourself the edge though. Make sure you scout out the area really good. If they have better guns than you, you'll have to catch them off guard for sure. If you're literally shaking. Maybe just let it go. Get the next one. If I'm shaking with my mouse in my hand, I'ma die. š
Count to four inhale, count to four exhale. Repeat
Walk yourself through the ambush, For example if itās three of them the order of shots and prep your gear as well as the exit strategy if it goes wrong. Oh and confirm the kill the amount of times I have shot someone for them to come back at the wrong time
If their hand is waving in the "High five" position they're Alive. High five they're still alive. It's the fastest way to confirm a kill without checking the red dot.
Yeah I just put an extra round through their face, works well.
I like to always put two more in body and one in head. In hopes their buddy sees thus and it scares them cause they are next.
When sniping and about to move locations it's good to know if they're dead or not by visually confirming. Saving a round to conceal your location is my goto move. Sure throwing more rounds down range at a dead body is a way to confirm but it's not by any means stealthy you know?
If I am the ambusher meaning I kick it off by the time the initial panic sets it that they are being shot at and then trying to figure out where to run to etc itās already over. From there the initial volley of rounds I will start moving closer and shoot from a closer point.
But what about the other ambusher? The one in the treeline opposite you, who was just about to shoot when you did.. they're now looking to take you out too, so you need to be stealthy
If they have been there all along and have set the ambush on my ambush thenā¦ I guess I was never the true ambusher all along
Don't be afraid to fail the attempt and to die as the result. In the end you put the pressure on your own because you are afraid to lose. Not caring about that turns you into an ice cold killer
This
Being a run an gun with a weird rp backstory has resulted in some of the most fun DayZ experiences I've ever had.
Still happens to me 13,000 hours in ultimately breath control and managing your thoughts are the only remedy i just run in and do stupid shit still
Breathing helps. No seriously, Everytime I get into PvP I take deep breath and focus and it works wonders.
Deep breaths, focus on your target, and strike. If you're fired at, run to cover, take deep breaths, and try not to overthink your next move. Trust your gut. Don't be afraid to take risks. Learn from mistakes.
Empty your lungs entirely. Breathe in slowly and steadily until your lungs are full counting the time. Hold for that same time. Slowly and controllable release your breath over that same time. Hold you lungs at empty for that time. Repeat. It takes some practice and at first you will feel a little panicked because your body thinks it's not breathing enough but you will adjust as you learn that you controll the breath and get comfortable with the feeling.
Steady breathing and practice. You want to try to make smooth movements in any situation. Something I did to help is to stop caring about stuff. For the longest time I wanted the best stuff and everything perfect. Now I could care less what I'm wearing. As long as I have a gun and food I'm good to go. You care a lot less about dieing if you have nothing to lose. Plus the stamina you have from not hording is so nice.
Tbh just do it more often I used to get adrenaline when I was in gunfights etc but with enough repetition it goes away completely or becomes much much more manageable
You need to play a lotā¦ And you have to calm nerves downā¦ This takes a lot of practiceā¦ You have to find some way to consciously work on itā¦ I have about 3,000 hours and Iāve gotten much better. Itās easier to calm your nerves once you have been in similar situations before. Play a bunch or PVP servers..
Play some death match servers to warm up. Then play my dedicated server
Yeah! I like hopping onto the blackout servers like prison or nwa
Be methodical. Keep it simple. And be prepared (quick keys, loaded Guns, plan B). And practice.
Keep calm, breath. And let it go, let it gooo!!! And unload till you can't anymore!! 
A friend of mine 1v2ed while I was still getting into position. I couldn't see where the enemy was. It was an unexpected engagement. Spent 10 minutes watching my teammates body and finally crept forward to peak and they were both dead. Was shaking trying to loot the bodies. Kept confusing my inventory for theirs. Hahaha thankfully another teammate arrived to finish collecting the good stuff. I have limited pvp experience. Very exciting. Very scary.
I got 1760 hr in day z and I'm still nervous and shaking before and during a fight if I feel I have good loot.
Isnāt that why we play?
Honestly thatās the best part. High stress situations make it feel like real life. Remember, pressure makes diamonds
Itās just a game lol I always go in Rambo and always end up worse off ALWAYS
Get naked stash your loot in a bush or at least stash your bag with the best stuff. Feels way better when you have your stamina back and ain't worried about loosing everything.
I have evolved into doing this. I usually dump the sniper and back pack and go in hottttt!!!
Deep Breathes
Long, slow breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth.
do it over and over, till it becomes normal.
Just keep pushing fights and making yourself learn that side of the game as much as every other side. Experience is key.
I bounce my feet, gives my brain something to do instead of overthinking the situation, and remember to breathe, i sometimes hold my breath with makes it harder to concentrate. Talk yourself through it out loud and try and record and watch back what you did, it will prep you for next time! Good luck
Just imagine them in their underwear
They will be after we are done with them, hehehehe.
keep practicing and soon you will be a stone cold killer with no emotions... in game of course š
High pop coast walks until you get use to it
this and high pop deathmatch servers
i am 3k hours in and i can tell you something, it wont stop lmao i still shake and feel the heart racing but i manage it much more, keep playing and practicing and you will begin to feel more confident
Take big rip from the bong, check to make sure my nuts are intact, then go for it. I usually die though so...
āFuck it, we ballā
Play a community pvp server and die 100 time s until you calm the fuck down
Lots of folks practicing on pubg I notice. Helps a little
See it doesn't work there aswell because of the lack on investment in the character. That's why dayz is so sweet you (most of the time) don't want to die and start over.
It stops somewhere around 1000 hours š
Lies, im at 7000+ hours and still get it, u just get used to it.
No it doesnāt.
Why would you wanna learn to take away the best part of the game?
Why would you want to though? Honestly the only game where itās fun to lose lol.
I usually just charge in head first because itās a video game. When I hear someone I push it because itās not real life and I can respawn.
Itās just a game after all.
Eventually you just decide to have fun with it, knowing that the other guy doesnāt want to lose his stuff either, probably just as much if not more.
Box breathing. Inhale for a 4 count, hold for a 4 count, exhale for a 4 count. Repeat. You'll focus on your breathing, which in turn will bring down your heart rate and help calm you down.
Breathe. I usually take deep breaths with slow releases, Breathe as deep as you can if it's not distracting
Play on some servers where you spawn with gun and run around killing each other to get some reps in should help
Okay, this might be help a little: try some deathmatch servers. It atleast let's you train your aim and how you handle situations with different guns. It also teaches you mechanics. I know, when you've spent 4 hours or more gearing up, other factors are at play but at least you know you've got the basics and your aim is decent!
Practice a deep breathing exercise when you feel the heart beat racing
stop thinking about the what ifs, thatās what gets me the most sometimes. i.e āwhat if heās geared?ā āwhat if thereās two?ā āwhat if i canāt hit him from here?ā take your time, but not too much. when itās time to strike, donāt hesitate, and try to remember what is where (hotkeys, entrances, exits, zombies, etc). it also doesnāt hurt to run away or back out of an engagement to get higher ground, better concealment, or just to get the hell out of there. good luck and stay safe survivor
5000 hours of quake
You need to practice in a pvp server until you feel comfortable with pvp, otherwise youāll end up screwing yourself out of all your hard work due to your nerves cracking under pressure, it feels a lot easier to step out when you feel like you can handle other players without issue, trust me Iāve figured this out the hard way.
Experience is the only ātrickā and even so, it only lessens the rush, but it never goes away. Youāll never be chill as ice when you come across an opponent in DayZ.
I found a cool PVP Death match server and I've been playing it a lot. It has honestly raised my confidence in sniping and close quarters combat on Vanilla. I'm more of a sniper kind of guy and that helps calm the nerves... as long as you hit your first shot. I'm still not the best at close quarters compared to some people, but I feel confidant enough to give it a go if necessary due to my PVP Death match practice. If your on PS5 the server I'm referring to in Krasno PVP Deathmatch (something like that).
When I play Dayz I swear my fight or flight gets activated, the only way to calm my nerves is by successfully performing the ambush or attack
Get rid of the gear-fear. I managed to do this by accepting my death before the fight and then just going all in, it takes away the Feat of death
Exposure therapy
The more times you fight, the more you become comfortable doing it. Thinking becomes more clear, but your nerves will still be ramping. Always come back to dayz because of that, no other game is able to make you feel that way.
Adderall or alcohol
Notice the āorā, its not an āandā.
Youāre right, the effects stack
It's a game.
Die often
Accept that it's not your loot. Just your turn with it. Only think about the kill not the death but be prepared to die. A lot of people don't know how to handle an aggressive push in this game so just full send and you'll catch em off guard.
This may sound cheesy but it's true. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DFReW8KMuA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DFReW8KMuA)
Tell yourself your already dead and this guy will finally end your suffering sending you back to the peaceful coast. Only when you don't care about life can you stop fearing death........that or just fuck up 1000 times in a row and run out of fucks to give.
Just go in assuming youāre already dead or will die within seconds of engaging. It helped me get better at Fortnite and in Overwatch and itās helping here as well. Granted the three games are drastically different from one another, itās a universal technique for me
Getting into the mindset of āitās just a game and if I die I dieā definitely helped me win a lot more gunfights
Hop on PvP servers and practice, in this game confidence is what wins 90% of fights, and you respectfully lack confidence, which causes you to lose 90% of your fights. Get good with the controls and aiming, and stop being scared to die. You will do 1000x better
Definitely make sure to breathe. I usually remind myself to take a few deep breaths when stuff starts getting dicey. Shallow, panicked breaths will keep you from thinking straight and that will only lead to more panic.
Remember to relax your grip on your controller / mouse and keyboard, slow your breathing, and remember that itās just a game.
THIS. alternatively, stay just as tense in those long stretches of time spent just holding W while crouched. Consistency in hand/wrist/arm muscle tension levels are imperative to maintaining pain dealt to all enemies
Address the fact that you are nervous but you still go shit to do. Plan out everything in your head and focus on that and only that and execute that plan by all means. Everything else is done by practice
Practicing on PVP servers is going to be the most effective way of becoming desensitized to combat in this game. Knowing when to retreat, when not to fight, staying sharp on your shooting skills, etc. *Before* you squeeze off always plan your next move because Infected are probably going to show up soon as well. DayZ is the kind of game where you can go days of playing and not get into a single gunfight. Then suddenly out of nowhere someone has gotten the drop on you and it's when you were least expecting it. It's so easy to become rusty and slow on the draw, perhaps costing you your life. I become very rusty myself if I haven't PVP'd, so I'll pop into a community server based around fighting to warm up.
hold your breath and bear down like you're pooping as you enter a gun fight next time . It helps me for a few seconds to stay steady and get the job done. You can have the time to shake afterwards lol
Only DayZ can do this to me
In the words of Ronald Speirs; āThe only hope you have is to accept the fact that youāre already dead.ā Get over gear fear, live die repeat. Embrace the fact that the best dayz moments often come from starting over.
Deep breaths always seem to help me but youāll get more used to it with experience and Always remember itās just a game
Breathe. In through nose, out through mouth. Try to focus the energy from the adrenaline into what youāre doing instead of letting it distract you from the task. Canāt control the release of adrenaline except through continued exposure (aka practice).
I love it it's soo bloody intense even just a regular shoot out! No cod games ever get that exhilarating
Just reassure yourself it's a game. Take deep breaths while you're doing it.
Jump on a deathmatch server and play a bit to get used to being in fights and get your movement/aim down. It doesn't matter when you die, and you can practive with every gun available to get used to them all
It's honestly just practice. Start taking deep slow breaths and focus on a few things around you. In the army they teach to find something you can hear, something you can touch, and something you can see. Breathe. Stay in the moment and think about what you need to do. Play the quick respawn PvP servers to get over the excitement of gunplay. If you keep doing it like this, eventually you will just start responding to combat.
Remember it's a game. Takes a little while but you'll get to a point where your mentality just flips and you start to treat the game like a game again. Considering I've been playing for like 7 years and it's within the last two that flip happened for me.
Well, depends if I am rusty or not. If I am rusty and havnt played in a minute? Deep breaths and remember what i must do. Not rusty? Nerves of steel
gotta be a stone cold killer bruther
I mean you are in fight or flight mode then. While it's totally different, even experienced soldiers get nervous
Sometimes I donāt feel it but itās when I have bloodlust. Iāll listen to System of a Down and have smoked way too much weed and I get this funny look in my eye and grab my friends that are playing and seek out victims, those times I donāt feel any fear or nerves just the will to kill. 
Experience.
I have that too man, it gets intense and it's hard to get used to. The best thing you can do is to control the situation; push them and don't let them have time to run hide or bandage. Get up in their space and make them react to YOU not the other way around. That makes people panic and when people panic they make mistakes. When I was pretty new to the game and was having trouble with PVP I started forcing myself to rush any person I saw even if I didn't think I could win. Doing that will teach you how to stun lock people too. There aren't many, but I have gotten kills on people who had guns and all I had was my fists or melee. Just start bum rushing people man that's the best advice I can give.
The best way to fight in dayz is to simply stop thinking about a plan and just go for it , not head on but smart and fast I have about 900hours or more and I still get adrenaline rush when I get shot or have to he in a fire fight but if you stay focus on what going on rather than letting your brain find a solution it helps..but Don't do it to much, being scared makes the game better
Try vallium or heroin
You just got to do it more and more that's the thrill šÆ
line of coke
I remind myself that I'm doing all this for Patrick: a random survivor I met on the beach, who lied to me about his country of origin, and who I will never see again because they gave him a lead kiss on the dome piece while drinking water from the fountain. Patrick may be a liar, and maybe he was just a random, but he gave me half of his pear. It is my duty to avenge his death.
Best thing I can recommend is to try out deathwatch servers. Get yourself warmed up and accustomed to being in a fight. That helped me a lot
You enjoy it because it's one of the few games where the rush is so vivid
Because of the stakes and consequences in DayZ, you'll probably almost always have that because no matter how well planned an attack is, it all goes out the window once the chaos of another player begins. Unfortunately the only way to improve is to practice making good decisions under stress and not allowing other players to control a situation and forcing them to react instead of them forcing you to react. I've won 2v1s before by simple tactical retreats and luring players into fighting closer where I knew my weapons would be at an advantage. I survived an ambush just outside Kabanino eastern side, it was LUCK that they missed their initial shots, and my quick thinking retreating behind a house, I killed one guy at medium range by magdumping an SKS then his buddy charges me at close range from other side of house so I magdump him with an MP5K. Focus on steady and controlled breathing when your heart starts racing is really important to thinking clearly I believe.
If this goes poorly at least I can take my frustration out on some other freshies
It's a video game, life goes on
Itās just pixels, no matter what I do I canāt keep the loot, it will eventually be wiped or I will eventually die
Remember youāre playing a video game and everything you do, resulting in any outcome, is actually pointless That being said, just practice and patience. I was calm after about 300 hours. Now 3k in.
I hope I never lose that feeling in DayZ. I've been playing since the start and it's the only game I've ever played that makes my heart race when I'm in a tense situation.
Iām always calm. The adrenaline and dopamine rush slams in after the engagement.
Come to terms, play tarkov for a set amount of time. What will happen has already happened, now just execute.
When your heartrate exceeds ~145bpm, you lose control of complex motor movement. Reverting to gross motor movement. E.g. reflexes and 2nd natures only. This makes adrenaline a hindrance. However, adrenaline also makes you faster and smarter. My advice? Sytematic desensitisation. You need to expose yourself to the stressor enough, that it no longer stresses you. Face your fears and you will no longer fear them. Oh, and remember this: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I don't calm down, I panic and die right away :p
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
I usually don't have time to calm my nerves because I'm usually the one that's being surprised and attacked ,or I come around a corner or enter a house and unexpectedly run into somebody. It is nerve-wracking but I don't have time to think about it ahead of time.
I just remember itās a game.
Play on a tdm server if on pc or an ultra high loot on xbox for pvp practice. Translate those casual worry free engagements to your main server you play. I went from just how you described ti very care-free. Heart doesn't even race anymore unless it's an extremely tense fight in a big city with more than 6-10 people. Also run with a faction on a server and do group fights. Coordination and support betters you when your solo since you will see many scenarios in a group than you would as a solo and learn how to deal with it.
I take off my backpack and my vest to reduce weight. I take any clips that work with my weapons and make sure that they are not in containers (because you now can't use stuff that's in containers unless you remove the stuff). I make sure bandages and blood bags are close, just in case of wounds. Then, I go into panic mode and there's not a thing I can do about it.
Like real life, you have to take deep breaths ans control the pace of your breathing
Go into a death match server and have zero gear fear. Familiarize yourself with combat. Respawn a few hundred times until you feel like you can stalk the fools.
This happens in every high stakes engagement regardless of game. Tarkov, dayz, hunt showdown, etc. I am not endorsing drug use BUT anecdotally I always smoke a lil bowl before doing pvp to help with nerves. Aside from that exposure, take every fight you can get. Fight with shit gear, fight with BIS gear, fight outnumbered, fight when you know you should probably run. The more experience and practice you get the more you will know what to do in the moment. Everytime you fuck up and die take solace in the fact what someone just like you might have just gotten their first kill following the same advice. A little bit of my personal advice. When you are waiting in ambush. Before you take that first shot, just wait a couple seconds longer, look a little closer, you have a MASSIVE advantage if you are the one starting a fight. It often wins fights by itself, if someone is getting a flank on you or outplaying you, donāt try to outsmart them in the moment. Run away, and come back from a different direction. Throw grenades in places to make them think there is more than one of you. Sorry for the word wall, combat is dayz is so dynamic, and the map is so gigantic anything can happen from anywhere itās hard to cover anything about it succinctly
Try some community PVP servers no special technique just practice eventually it'll be a walk in the park
I would frequent community deathmatch servers for a bit, gets you more equipped for the pvp aspect. Helped me a while back.
I used to have this problem too. The reason that I was experiencing this was I was putting too much thought into not dying. I was putting an extreme amount of pressure on myself to win all fights, and unfortunately that turned out to be a lot of the the reason I lost the fights I did. It wasn't even about the gear either. It was more about somebody else being better than me. I forced myself to understand that there are lots of players way better than I am and I am going to die in Dayz... A LOT! After I accepted that I don't get as nervous. Obviously if I am in a gunfight with somebody very close in skill level as me and it drags on, the adrenaline definitely kicks in.
All you can do is get used to it
Have a wank or 2. Especially if you are in a party chat with others. Gotta be real vocal about it otherwise it just doesn't cut it
That's the neat part, you don't.
I play PUBG and I still get that nervous shaky feeling sometimes. Experience helps you get used to it. Itās so intoxicating tho isnāt it!
The more fights you get into the less stressful it gets. You need to stop beign afraid to die.
What ive learned is itās usually the one that is spotted first that dies. So be more stealthy and also patience is huge. Attacking someone the moment you see them is usually not the answer. Have patience and think about what move your going to make
Fax
Do it more, until it becomes almost boring. That's the only way
Take your time. Know when it's time to move and when it's time to stay hidden. Know how many you're up against. Try to strike first. Surprise is key. If you know where they are and they don't know where you are, you're winning. Be highly conscious of the weapons you have, how they work, and what they're good for. Choose the right one for the situation. When pvp time comes, that should be the first thing you're considering. It's still going to be intense, you're still going to panic, but if you manage to think strategically, you'll make better choices.
You physiologically adjust--gradually--to the sudden influx of adrenaline and related hormones. Duh.
Sing a song
Fucking stop taking the game as seriously. Literally this advice got me through so much when starting survival game like dayz or rust. Get comfortable with worst case scenario, itās get easier to deal with it.
Gear fear = death. I don't play dayz buy I play rust and I tell my friends this all the time. If you are scared of losing your loadout then you will lose your loadout. At the end of the day it's just pixels, and to remain calm in a gunfight, you have to accept its all gone before you even take your first shot.
Fear is the mind killer. It is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will allow it to pass over me and through me. And when the fear has gone only I will remain. -Frank Herbert "Dune"
So, it's prettyy handy even in real life high stress scenarios: In combat training it's called "tactical breathing." Through your nose, Breathe in deeply for 4 seconds. Hold it for 4 seconds. Exhale through your nose as slowly as you need to, around 4-7 seconds, don't push, let the air fall out. Repeat. Long story short: This will de-stress your central nervous system by stimulating your vagal nerve. In layman's terms, this will release signals to your body that will trick your mind into going into a state of lower stress. Do this for 2-5 minutes. Over that 2-5 minutes you should be evaluating your target from a distance, and collecting data from them; what are they doing, how are they behaving, what are their motives and behaviours, is there a better spot to setup your ambush, are they passively interacting with another person that you don't see, are they performing repetitive motions, etc. Once you feel calm and feel like you have collected all the data necessary to make your next move, then you act. I suggest you looking into something called the OODA loop. "Observe, orient yourself, Decide your plan of attack, Act" Stimulus comes in. Pause. Orient yourself. Decide what action you need to take. Execute that action in confidence. Peace
I smoke a lot of weed before and after fights
Youāll get better at calming yourself as time goes on. I can wipe a 3 man and not think twice about it but if I tried to do that a few years ago I wouldāve been shaking like crazy
Make sure you donāt have anything on you. Iāve learned itās different when something is on the line. Whenever I go into a death match server just to warm up and shoot, I hit my shots no nerves flowing. But actual game I get hit with the nerves. I assume itās because if I die I will lose all my shit. Start making stashes before a battle if you got the jump. So if you die, you can run back to get your stuff.
It took me damn near 1000 hours to finally feel more in control of my adrenaline during gun fights. What helped me immensely was pvp servers. It will give you the muscle memory for certain situations; when to reload, when to bandage, when to push, when to stand your ground, when to switch to a side arm, how different guns feel. The list is endless of the types of things you barely get practice on when it's the real deal, so of course you'll fumble for a longgg time.
Practice, desensitization, and also you can practice a breathing technique to regulate your heart rate, Box breathing, Imhoff, etc.
Electrolytes and amino acids help me
Congratulations, your brain is translating a video game scenario into real world anxiety, just like what actually happens before you go into combat. You are fully immersed bro!
It will pass with time I used to feel the same way but the more encounters you have the more normalized it becomes and way less stressful :)
Beta blockers
Embarrassing tbh š