H1Z1: Battle Royale Survival Guide

As H1Z1 gains traction around the gaming world, one thing has become really clear: this is an early alpha. The amount of bugs are staggering and many of the systems in place are so rudimentary that elements such as base building and looting aren’t practical uses of one’s time. But when there’s a will, there’s a way—and that’s why so many players are flocking to the game’s highly addictive Battle Royale mode which pitches two hundred players against each other in a gun ridden world without the usual survivor issues such as thirst and hunger.

While the event is currently free, in the future it will cost an event ticket as admission which will be real world currency or an extremely rare drop in the in-game world. Since it’s free now, it’s the best time to get practice in. To help you get an edge, we’ve talked to some Battle Royale winners and asked them for their tips.  Keep reading to know how to dominate in this exhausting, chaotic, and ultimately fun death match.

 

Drop your gear in the preloading zone

This might sound silly because it’s so obvious, but you can unequip your tactical flashlight and binoculars in the loading zone then drop them on the ground—and yet so few people actually do this! You’ll want to do that as well as drop your flare, shred your shirt and make a bandage, and also unpack your gauze; this way when you hit the ground, you can immediately loot and shoot without any inventory micromanagement. Trust us, in a game where the first minute can decide your fate, the last thing you want to do is be unable to loot a shotgun because you have binoculars instead.

 

Know the Map, Especially the Car Spawns

Battle Royale is a loot piñata. It’s also a pretty big place to memorize. Sites like H1Z1db (http://www.h1z1db.co.uk/map/) can help your awareness out. In particular, you want to look for car spawns and prioritize dropping down on those over every other drop. If you can get in a car, it doesn’t matter if you have weapons or not; you can just drive around looking for unlooted areas and easily find an entire arsenal within seconds. If someone drops down with you, try to jump in the car and drive away while they beeline for the house—they can have your guns, you’ve got a sweet ride!

If you’re not having luck trying to grab a car, even though it’s our preferred strategy, remember to try to drop on campsites and/or residential areas. You will very rarely find anything in an industrial or commercial area in Battle Royale. Guns are almost always in houses, campers, or on tables near either object. Going for far out and excluded campsites or houses can be an easy way to grab a solid set of guns, but it can backfire if someone else drops in with you. Still, it’s better than dropping in the middle of Pleasant Valley’s commercial zone and wondering where the weapons are.

And if you really like bloodshed and are confident in your shooting abilities, housing developments are almost always a bloodbath.

 

Spark Plugs Out

Always take the spark plugs out of your car if you’re driving around and see an unlooted area. This way someone who walks up can’t just jump in your car and leave you hanging.

Yes, this has happened to us before. Yes, it’s a little extra effort. But you’ll feel really stupid when you’re saying “dude, where’s my car” as the toxic gas approaches—trust us.

 

Yes, Someone Probably is in That House

Learn how to spot if something has been looted: the door is ajar, a few doors inside are also open, and there’s a little less loot than usual. Scan the surfaces of tables in campsites to know if you should run by rather than check it out; if nothing is there, or there’s just something like a backpack or a bow, someone was there and you should just run or drive on by.

Be careful for people hiding as well. Most of the doors were shut, sure, but maybe something too good to be true is right there on the living room table. And then there’s that bathroom door that’s randomly closed. Surely the old tenants must’ve just left it shut in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, right?

Nope. One of the most common strategies is for people to drop into a residential area, loot a few things, close some doors, and hide behind a door while they wait for stragglers to enter. 

You can also walk up to doors and hit ALT while in third person (T) to manipulate your camera to see over doors; it will show you any would-be camper and reveal their plan before they can cap you.

 

You Can Stack Med-Kits and Bandages

You can stack a med-kit and a bandage (or gauze) to heal more per tick. It will probably be fixed, but for now, if you pop both and keep them both up, you can actually sit in the toxic gas as the damage will even out. Sometimes people will gather several kits and make a lot of bandages, then spend the final minutes of the game weaving in and out of the toxic gas for cover and surprise.

Even if you don’t stack kits, make sure you gather several. They will make the difference between twentieth place and first, lots of the time.

 

Blackberry Bushes Are Your Friend

The game usually comes to a close out in the open in a field or forest. You really have two options: ride the poison gas’ border in a car, looking directly in front of you to see people while the toxic gas makes sure that no one is flanking you from behind, or you can camp. If you camp, crouching in a blackberry bush is your best bet. In the dark and the chaos of the final few minutes, it provides the best coverage.

 

The Enemy of Your Enemy is Your Friend, Sorta

Let your enemies fight before you engage, especially in the end. A lot of the time, it’s down to a handful of people in an extremely small space surrounded by gas, trees, and the environment. A few yards away, you’ll see a few cars going at each other. A shotgun will fire in the distance. And you might even have a clear shot on a guy or two which would reduce the numbers down to the top five.

But if you’re patient and focus on hiding, you can watch them take each other out then surprise the remaining people while they’re healing; they won’t notice you there if you haven’t made much noise.

Look, we know it’s not quite as valiant as walking up and shooting up the joint, but it will get you a higher placement most of the time.

 

Turn Up Your Gamma

Here’s a freebie for the road—and it helps for PvP mode as well! Turn up your gamma by going to your Steam folder and finding the H1Z1 folder. In the file “User Options,” there’s a gamma setting that will be automatically set at 0. You can set it anywhere from 0-1. Usually a .5 will do wonders and allow you to see much better at night, where Battle Royale usually comes to a close; be aware that this will kill some of the atmosphere of the game, but it’s a trick that most FPS pros will use. It’s how they can see you so easily and you can’t see them.