Difficulty level on servers | Servers DayZ - ArmA 2 mod Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

There are four difficulty settings in DayZ. However remember that their names might only suggest the real settings on the server, as they can be freely modified by the administrators. The possible difficulties and their most important attributes are:

• Recruit: highlight enemies [yes, also through walls], nametags [yes], player position on map [yes], third person perspective [yes], cross-hair [yes]
• Regular: highlight enemies [only peripheral vision], nametags [yes], player position on map [no], third person perspective [yes], cross-hair [yes]
• Veteran: highlight enemies [no], nametags [no], player position on map [no], third person perspective [yes], cross-hair [no]
• Expert: highlight enemies [no], nametags [no], player position on map [no], third person perspective [no], cross-hair [no]

When choosing a difficulty setting, you need to keep in mind that settings which are meant to make gameplay easier can also cause problems, as while they indeed can make fighting Zeds simpler, they make it harder when it comes to other players. The settings I have in mind are: highlight enemies (peripheral vision) and nametags.

Peripheral vision is a skill which in real life lets you see things with the corner of your eyes. It's very difficult to simulate this effect in games, unless someone's playing on three monitors in a hyper-wide resolution. ArmA 2 and therefore also DayZ simulates this effect by placing flashing points at the edge of the screen, representing living creatures visible with the corner of your eye. This setting is by default active on Regular servers. On Recruit, the function goes a step further and also highlights living creatures in front of you, even through walls!

As you have probably guessed, this setting has its bad sides as well. Apart from the fact that we see everyone, everybody can see us as well (that is players, of course). As sneaking is the most important ability in the game, peripheral vision can bring swift death from the hands of other players.

Nametags identifying enemies/friends is another deceptive option. By pressing the [MMB] you can identify who you're aiming at and learn the distance between you. In this case this also works both ways and is very often used by bandits to "scan" an area in search of potential victims.

Avoid servers with Recruit/Regular settings. When you look at it, the danger on those servers is much higher than on Veteran. No peripheral vision is a low price for relative "invisibility" to other, potentially dangerous players.

On servers with the lowest difficulty setting, you should note that you can see your character on the map (if you have one), together with a marked direction in which you're looking. In such situation the map works pretty much as a GPS. The GPS itself is a separate item which you can find, but in this situation there isn't much sense in it (apart from the fact that the GPS doesn't cover the whole screen). Considering that playing on Recruit servers isn't recommended, you better learn how to use maps like a real scout.