It’s been a week since the H1Z1 launch, but if we’re to be honest, it wasn’t really available til the wee hours of the 16th, at least that’s when I got into it. So what have we seen happen in that week?

For starters, there was the complaints about G99 login errors.
Then there was the Airdrop controversy.
There have been 3+ patches, providing various tweaks to the game.
SOE has been very transparent through the process, providing feedback and news via Twitter and Reddit.
Anook started an H1Z1 page.
I wrote about the game twice. The podcast tomorrow talks about the game as well.

I was ganked. I paid it forward:

This is what happens when you pay if forward after a fresh-spawn steals your stuff. pic.twitter.com/6p7GFV6fdQ

— Izlain (@mevsmyselfandi) January 21, 2015

I’m still thoroughly enjoying the game. The other night the above happened, where I had been playing for a few hours and gathered some goods, when out of nowhere I was attacked by a player who had nothing on them, therefore nothing to lose. It was while the loot bug was active, so there was very little in the way of supplies, yet I had still managed to get a nice collection. The guy attacking me got the drop on me, and I had my bow and arrow out which put me at a disadvantage close up. By the time I realized I was getting my ass kicked, I was low health. I made him earn the kill, I seriously ran around and tried to duck him for a good 20 minutes. He still managed to get me eventually. When I respawned, I paid that forward to the first guy I came across, which is where that picture came in.

Yesterday I started up fresh, and spawned near the Ruby Lake. I wandered around a bit, until I came to the neighboring town of Cranberry.

I’m not sure if it was put in by the devs, or if players started to wall off the city, but there was a barricade barring my way on the main drag into town. There were also spike traps and the like at nearby entry points. I did eventually work my way into the city, and as I was scavenging, I kept hearing people talking. I couldn’t tell if they were friendly with each other or fighting, but I skulked around for a bit just waiting to see what happened. Shots were fired, and I wasn’t sure where the players were at.

Later, while still wandering around, I came across a lone bear cruising down the street. I took a picture.

I decided I would try and kill it, because why not? I shot an arrow into it, and it quickly charged me. I ran for quite some time, and thought that if I hid in a building I’d get away, but it managed to fit through narrow passages with ease. Two hits later I was dead. Note to self, don’t mess with the bears without a gun.

When I respawned, I had come full circle. This was the same area I had started in when I first played the game a week ago. I followed the bridge to the gas station and houses I knew to be on the other side. This ended in my demise much like the first time I played the game. This time I was scavenging and had already made a new bow. I heard someone running around outside of the building I was in, and I hid. Apparently they were either a ganker to begin with, or they were just attacking me because they thought I was trying to gank them. He simply said “hello buddy” and then popped into view, shooting me with an arrow and taking my stuff. Such is life on a PvP server.

Looking forward, I really need to get someone in the game to roll with. When I’ve been flying solo I end up losing my stuff to whoever comes around to kill me. I’ve gotten a couple of kills myself, but haven’t really gone out of my way to gank fools. Strength in numbers might be where it’s at. I’m Izlain on the Romero server, and Izzy on Pandemic. If you have the game and want to group up, let me know.

#h1z1 #zombies #survival