If there’s nothing to be found, try the next town. If a veteran player comes through town they’ll leave a lot of items that are useless to them, but valuable to you at this early stage. If you enter a town and all the doors are open, chances are the place has already been cleaned out by other survivors. They’ll both take a zombie down with one clean swing to the head and deal significant damage to another player if you’re forced to defend yourself. Find an axe – either a red firefighter axe, or a wood-handled splitting axe. Forget about crowbars, fire extinguishers, and other blunt weapons, as they do very little damage. When you get there you need to prioritise food, drink, a backpack, and a melee weapon. There’s always one nearby just follow the nearest road or railway. Your first port of call should be a town. All you have to survive is a flashlight and a battery. When you start a new life, you spawn randomly along the coast of Chernarus. Get out of there fast Photograph: Bohemia Interactive The coast is the most populated and therefore the most dangerous part of the map – especially for new players.