Upon spawning into Livonia for the first time, i am greeted with obscure and gloomy setting.
Equipped with basically nothing, i make my way through the dark fields of the damp unknown. After 5 minutes of moving through bushes and a some trees, i see some houses, find some food and few tools which takes care of my hunger indicator but my water level is very low.
As i am carefully searching around for food and especially water the weather changes to rain and then into some serious downpour of violent storm with high winds.
Now i begin to suffer from the cold while drenched wet while deciding if i should wait it out or keep exploring and try to find a bush to build a fire.
Unfortunately a Zed spots me and by now since it is basically dark, i can’t find my way back for safe shelter, so i just took off in any direction.
I think i headed into the woods and up a hill to another place where i saw some military watchtowers.
By now it is still raining violently, i am shivering from the wet cold and feel very thirsty.
As i slowly make my way closer i spot 2 Zeds, then 3 then a fourth around the road going up to the large building. I climb up a watchtower and recognize the large building. It is a prison like the one in Charnarus.
I check my inventory and luckily i have a ML II with a fair amount of .22 caliber rounds but no clip.
I sneak my way through the bushes, and fence up the road to the prison entrance but end up hiding behind some trashed vehicle. Can’t go any further as there are 2 Zeds ahead.
I try to cross out from behind the car into the open depressed field but there appears another Zed and another behind that.
I quickly make my way back to behind the car and decide to forget this horrible idea as i see 3 Zeds above and 2 to my side but now there is 3 more to my back on the lower road.
i have to dash the heck out of here now. i might as well try, what difference does it make i am dead anyway of thirst, freezing and now hunger.
I make the dash but just after getting up i hear a chorus of roars and quickly remember that i can climb object now.
I hop on the trash car, take out my MK II and begin loading .22s one by one.
I am now surrounded by about 7 Zeds and after 2 rounds to the head to take down just one Zed, about 12 more showed up.
Surrounded by about 20 Zeds i begin the long process of killing them off one by one. Doesn’t seem to end as after 10 mins more just keep coming.
Finally after some time a big pile of inanimate Zeds on the ground before me i quickly grab some gear, tools, ammo and food they had on them and dash into the prison closing doors behind me.
Wait for the few Zeds to lose interest.
Now that i ate some food i begin to explore prison and find a water pump just as my water meter was low red. Play a game of cat and mouse with 2 Zeds in the prison.
Bla bla bla find some gear, ammo fully hydrated but no food anywhere and i’m on yellow warning.
Also, although i have lots of ammo, it is all different types of ammo and nothing i can use with any firearm except about a few .22 rounds for my MK II.
OK i have to get out of here as i am starving. I can’t get out as i can see a dozen Zeds in front of the exit of the prison.
I devise a plan to lure the Zeds deep within the prison where they would have to run all the way around to the 2nd floor walkway.
I fire some shots and they all start pouring in while i stand behind the closed gate.
Now i dash out and around the building outside following the fence hoping to find an opening as i hear them all running behind me.
I find another opening through a second fence down hill through a dense forest and to my luck a thunderstorm quickly begins.
Again i am wet cold and now starving in the darkness not knowing where i am going.
My food indicator is flashing red and now i am weak stumbling on foot in the dark.
I find a road and follow it through some train tracks and come across a house which i quickly enter disregarding any near by danger hoping to find some food.
With great luck and near dead, i find a can of sardines with my health cross almost empty and frantically open the can with my kitchen knife.
With my health still degrading i find more food and take shelter and build a small fire by getting sticks from a bush right out back.
I barely made it alive but managed to recover my health.
Intense stuff.
Headed south to Lipina and further down to west south of Nadbor to the Military base.
Here i finally have me some good weapons although loot seems rare.
Bugs Bugs and more Bugs.
The game looks gorgeous in 4k with my Sony 75′ TV but that is about it.
Everything sooner or later becomes cruel in functioning in game.
Items disappear into your inventory.
Can’t pick up items (even when dropped).
Can’t load ammo into clips (cannot load clips either).
Can not eat foods or open cans.
Will not stay couched while aiming with some weapons.
Sometimes your item/equipment menu will not show up.
Items and things stay locked in place.
So many bugs but worst of all is when you unload an entire clip into a Zed with no effect while it is tearing you apart.
Yes, Zeds with GOD mode on.
If you don’t mind playing a cruel game with so many bugs then go for it, else i would wait, but knowing how unforgiving Bohemia Interactive is, you just might wait for a very long time.
Alright now. Livonia is way too brutally cruel.
Not saying i can’t survive, in fact i haven’t died yet but i have found myself dedicating way too much time just to be able to survive.
DayZ Livonia is entertaining and gives you a survival rush but things quickly turn into a burden and gets very repetitive, unforgiving and barely worth the time.
Just trying reach and use a water pump you must either patiently sneak and wait for an opportunity or clear out the surrounding area of Zeds in case you are spotted like one normally does.
Yes, it is wise to use an ax or some blunt weapon that isn’t loud which draw attention but sadly soon during or after the melee, another Zed spots you, then another and another no matter how many you kill.
So try filling up a jerry can with water which takes a while and these things keep popping up around you, often fighting 3 or 4 at a time.
So best thing for me to do is just use my firearm and clear out the area which drains your rare ammo.
That is another thing. Items and ammo are rare unless you search long hours for it.
Just trying to find a leather repair kit or spark plug through several towns can be very time consuming unless you are lucky.
Also, Danger is everywhere.
Zeds are all over the map, even in rural areas with a fast re-spawn rate and can amass to such a number of them that it would make the server or client system crash.
Then there are wolves (haven’t seen a bear yet) that howl when nearby which usually indicates they sense you. Just try running from them or use a vehicle to get away. They will follow you through half the map. Don’t believe it? When they spot you, drive very far away and wait there between 10 to 20 mins. The same wolves will find you. Just using your weapon scope or some binoculars you can seem them coming down the same road you just came from.
Worst yet, I found out the hard way that Wolves and Zeds ignore each other and focus on you instead.
Finally i locate the only gas station on the Livonia map (1 known so far using online map) and upon reaching it, i find you cannot draw any gas from the pumps. Is this a bug?
Add in the common thunder storms which bring the terrible cold and wet degrading health issue and you have yourself a nightmare of a game.
To wrap this up: Not a bad game if you like the challenge but so time consuming and i can’t afford so many hours with very little incentives.
I’ll stick with the Charnarus map for now.
ShaolinGate Network