Infected

plex thought, accompanied by a massive increase in violent aggression. The Infected can still see and hear, and will attack any uninfected human who has attracted their attention through noise, movement, or displaying bright lights at night. Due to a lack of higher brain function, they are incapable of picking up objects, operating simple mechanisms such as door handles, or climbing ladders.

When passive and unstimulated, Infected will roam around aimlessly, occasionally varying their walking direction and field of vision. Once they are alerted to a Survivor's presence, they will become aggressive and actively start chasing them (this is usually referred to as " going aggro"). In this state, they make angry noises as they advance towards the spot where they last saw or heard their prey, until their target is either dead or lost. Once within range they will attack in the form of frenzied physical blows and kicks and scratches.

Although they have varying levels of speed and physical capability, most Infected can move as fast as a healthy Survivor. They lack normal human biological requirements such as the need to sleep, and are able to survive exposure to the elements. However, they are still susceptible to conventional injuries. When Infected take damage to their legs without being killed, they will sometimes fall to the ground and become what most players refer to as "crawlers." This injured Infected can be harder to hit, particularly with melee weapons, and will continue its attack, trying to hit you.

Infected will also attack animals, who

will sometimes spawn loot that corresponds to their particular variety of Infected. Each variant can be found in places that match their outfit, with firefighter Infected spawning at Fire Stations for example.

Notable Varieties

• Civilian (general)
• Farmer
• Firefighter
• Paramedic
• Soldier
• Policeman
• Fisherman
• Clergyman

Tactics

When an Infected detects a player, they will chase after them relentlessly but will soon grow tired and run slower, and eventually lose interest. Becoming trapped by Infected in a small area is possible, and loud weapons can easily exacerbate the problem. Though they do little damage initially, they can cause bleeding, broken bones, pain, or knock you into unconsciousness. Their strength lies in their damage over time, stamina, and tendency to attack at inconvenient times in large numbers. It is not recommended to take on more than two Infected at a time whether using a melee or ranged weapon as they can put you in a stun lock as of 1.0.

Avoiding Combat

There are a few ways to get away when the odds of a fight against Infected are not in your favor:

• Breaking the Line of Sight – Breaking an Infected's line of sight will cause them to slowly wander around the player's last known location for a few minutes. The line of sight can be broken by running around corners, through buildings, and through evergreen trees. Care must be taken to not regain the attention of an Infected with unnecessary sound or movement.
• Diverting Attention to Another Survivor – Either maliciously or with their assistance. Infected can make a great distraction when turned against other players who may mean to do you harm, but you could also have a friend or travel companion purposely gain an Infected's attention to increase your odds of escape.
• Getting off the Ground – Climb a ladder to safety, Infected will be unable to follow you up.
• Holding Up in a Building - If you can enter a building and shut all the entrances quick enough, you will be safe. They cannot open doors, so they will attempt to get as close to you as possible. If you're next to a window, they will stand on the other side, making for easy dispatching. Even though they can sense your location inside, they will lose interest over time and return to wandering.
• Slowing Down and Hiding Outside - Try to slow yourself down and crouch or prone to lower the chances of detection. It is possible colors of clothing can be another possible trigger, so try wearing less vibrant colors if possible.

Combat

• When fighting Infected, it is advised that players stick to melee weapons such as any kind of knife, for several reasons. First of all, it will conserve ammunition to be used for other purposes. More importantly however, it will avoid attracting the attention of other nearby Infected that have not yet set their sights on you. A well placed strike to the head can knock the Infected down, allowing you to safely finish it off. Certain weapons are more effective than others, and their effectiveness may change as the game is developed. As of 1.0, knives or a machete are most ideal against Zombies due to their low cost of stamina and quickness of attack. Using blunt weapons can knock zombies to the ground, and make it possible to escape incapacitated Infected without killing them and possibly leaving them to harass other players in the area, but they take more time to be effective.
• Sidestepping around them and attacking after they miss an attack can be a very safe combat strategy in melee. If there is no room to maneuver, aiming for their head and swinging the weapon just before collision with a charging zombie can take them out quickly, sometimes without damage taken by the player.
• Infected have less of a chance to notice you if you are behind their field of vision, making it easy to sneak up behind them and hit them in the head. Care must be taken not to make noise when doing this.
• A good tactic if one is chasing you is to run in a circle to fight. You stand less of a chance of having other Infected involved by staying in one small area rather than running down a street attracting more trouble.
• Once combat is finished, it is important to check to see if you are bleeding (you can check by entering third person view ['Enter' or 'V' by default on PC] and looking for red streaks coming out of your body or by checking the blood indicator on your HUD) and the status of your clothes. Infected are notorious for ruining your clothes with successful attacks, so it is recommended that you carry either a normal sewing kit or a leather sewing kit, depending on what your gear requires to be repaired.

Notes

• It should be noted that rather than being classic "Romero" undead/supernatural zombies,DayZ takes a more 28 Days Later style of infected that are highly aggressive, run, climb and make life even harder in Chernarus.

• Loot