Before we begin, here is a little story about being a hero: Now, heroism is not for everyone, some people are just meant to be bandits. The difference between bandits and heros is this: as a hero, you will almost always be thanked and welcomed. I was a young hero once, just starting out. I spawned in the middle of now where. I walked for a while and came to a lone house, unopened. I looked inside and saw a can opener, and a very damaged can of peaches! Yes! I go in and greedily take it. I ate half of it and satisfied my hunger. I was gonna put it away, when I heard: "Hey man, got any food?" I debated about wether or not this guy could be trusted. I finally decided that since I am a beginner hero, I had to start somewhere. I said "Sure man." I gave him the food. "Aw thanks man!" He said. With that, he left. I went walking around for a while and I came to Bolota. I snuck into the ATC and got shot instantly. After dying around ten times more, I was about to give up, but in the distance I saw the jail building of the North East Air Field. I decided that I would give it one more shot. I went t it and was confronted with six or seven guys with mosins, SKS and m4s. I was about to give up, but I didn'. I said "Please don't shoot me." Then, something unbeleivable happened. One of the guys, the one holding the M4, said "Did you give me a can of peaches a few hours ago?" I smiled and said "Yes, I did. It was half a can." He turned to his men and said "Alright, this guy's cool, I met him a while ago." With that, his men layed down their guns. The guy I gave the peaches to bent down, gave me his M4, and a lot of high storage clothing, and a few ammo boxes full of 556 rounds, and more food and drink then I would need in a month. I said "Wow, you are awesome!" He went into the jailhouse and grabbed another one and said "No sweat." To this day, I am still with that group, holding the very same M4A1 that the guy gave to me.

Starting out with good intentions is not always easy. You just might end up being shot minutes away from spawning. But here are some helpful tips on how to help people in DayZ without being shot in the face ;)

1. Move about a town stealthily at all costs, this will minimize the attention being drawn from zombies, aswell as bandits.

2. Scavenge for food and water, always have a surplus of these, as well as medical supplies. If you want to be a hero, you are gonna need extra food incase some survivor needs it.

3. In the event that you do see someone that you want to help, don't run up to them yelling "HEY DO YOU NEED STUFF I GOT TONS OF STUFF IMMA HERO" because if you do that, they might brush you off as a pathetic bambi and shoot you, or axe you, or shovel you, or... you get the point.

4. As a follow up to tip #3, when you do see someone, hide, ask if they are friendly, ask if they have any weapons, then ask if they need anything. You might want to ask them to drop their weapons.

5. Also, try to have some kind of wepon on you, in case a meeting doesn't go as planned.

6. Keep a healthy level of paranoria when engaging a player, it could save your life.

7. Don't be too trusting, always assume the player is thinking of killing you, as they often are.

8. [Optional] Roll with a group, it is easier to get extra supplies and it is also safer in a group, as you will havepeople watching your back.

9. If you do roll with a group, try to keep it restricted to people you know in real life, or people who you know can be trusted. If you are in a group with someone whom you do not know in real life, ask them if they have skype, having a skype group can be useful, as they tend to work out better.

After you have been a hero for a while, you may be wondering 'what do I do now?' kind of like Wile Coyote wonders after he finally catchesThe Road Runner. Well, you can do anything you want really, wether it be to continue helping bambis, going around blowing down zombies, or you can group up, just for the heck of it. But be weary, young grasshopper, do not let gread turn you towards the path of banditry. Just because you are bored and have the ammo, never shoot an unexpecting survivor. For after the first kill, you will not be able to stop. One bullet... can change the path to your life...

Alternatively, you could roll around the map, searching for something to do, sightsee, help people, kill bandits (nothing is more satisfying that taking out a group of bandits by yourself) or maybe befriend a zambie (yes, zambie) meet a lady friend, and have her over to you comfy placebehind the bush and... well, now we are getting a little off topic. the point is, with the right gear, anything is possible, except to ride a zombie... maybe... no...