Core tips

Spawn, look around, and set a plan. Prioritise water, warmth, and weapons. Craft a stone knife from two small rocks for rags, food prep, and quiet kills.

Cut your shirt for rags, disinfect when you can, and carry four to six. Patch first, then move. Drink at pumps until hydrated. Eat what you find. Open tins with a knife. Jog most of the time and save stamina for danger.

Leave the coast once you have the basics. Villages give food and clothes, police stations offer sidearms and light armour, and hunting cabins provide warm kit and the odd rifle. A bottle or canteen is a force multiplier.

Stay warm and dry. Get indoors, wring clothes, swap layers, and use small hidden fires. Food poisoning needs charcoal tablets and rest. Infections need tetracycline.

Advanced moves

Travel just off roads and use treelines, walls, and ditches. Cross streets at angles and vary your door habits. Mind your boots and repair with a leather sewing kit.

Set a simple hotbar: 1 melee, 2 sidearm, 3 primary, 4 bandages, 5 water or food. Before a planned fight, mark a feature, drop your bag, and keep a spare magazine, a bandage, and one med in your pockets.

Win the approach, not the duel. See first, shoot last. Aim for the head in melee and sidestep the infected. Zero rifles at 100 to 200 metres and use a suppressor. After any shot, move and change height before you peek again.

Use voice to control encounters. If hit, smoke, fall back, and reset. Third-party ongoing fights rather than trading first shots. Build out of the way, split stashes, and cook with small fires. Set a loadout ceiling and hit hot zones during quieter windows.

You will die. Learn fast, pick your story, and never ignore a good pair of boots.