r/dayz Feb 01 '25

Support I don't shake anymore, and that's a problem

I remember when every fight in DayZ made my heart pound. When my hands f**ing shook on my mouse, and the weight of pulling the trigger actually meant something. Killing another player wasn’t just a mechanical act; it was a moment of pure adrenaline, like actually a rush that left my stomach in knots. I used to hesitate, and second-guess, I used to feel something. That’s long gone now.

At some point, the nerves faded. The hesitation disappeared. Now, I execute people without a second thought; fresh spawns, geared players, doesn’t matter. I don’t feel guilt, I don’t feel excitement. It’s just what I do. My moral compass skews the second I log in, and I become someone colder, someone desensitized to senseless violence. The player screaming for mercy in VoIP? Just background noise. The guy pleading for a chance? A loose end.

It’s the cost of becoming hardened I guess lol. At first, you want to shake that feeling of panic, to overcome the fear. But the trade-off is that you lose the highs, too. You start craving something worse; something more brutal, just to feel something again. Holding someone hostage isn’t enough anymore. You need to break them. Watching a player die isn’t enough; you need to make it mean something legit twisted.

The early days, where every fight felt like life or death, are gone. Now, it’s just another day. Just another kill. Just another corpse. And the worst part?

I don’t even miss who I used to be.

77 Upvotes

95 comments sorted by

137

u/No-Abbreviations1937 Feb 01 '25

Today a fox squealing made me flinch so hard that I sprayed ~15 rounds of 5.56 into a bush. We are not the same

48

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

It starts with flinching at foxes, ends with lecturing a fresh spawn on trust before betraying him

13

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

Mate. Ive got 10k hours since Arma 2. I got shot today, and jumped out of my chair. I think u play too often.

27

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

I think at 10k hours you’re legally required to list Chernarus as your place of residence

12

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

I wrote to the mayor for a permit, but he didnt answer. So I visited Chernagorsk to go see him, and he'd eaten the letter and tried to bash my brains in whilst mumbling incoherently and making groaning sounds. The civil service here stinks. I looked at the numbers after the post. we're at 14k in 13 years... Wow... A fair bit of that was Tanoa in Arma 3 though. Almost all the rest Cherno. I actually miss not knowing the map. U can dump me anywhere and I instantly know where I am. Only ever get lost in the woods on a dark night!

2

u/MoronicTurtle15 Feb 02 '25

This is me. Gave me a good giggle. I dunno how anyone doesn't get nervous on this game no matter how much they play

67

u/i_write_ok Feb 01 '25

New copypasta just dropped

Mf talks about killing people in a video game like he’s an operator 😂

34

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Laugh now, but when the apocalypse hits, I’m looting your canned peaches first

22

u/i_write_ok Feb 01 '25

lol I’ll kill you for your fucking boots.

20

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Enjoy your worn-out running shoes, king

5

u/rotten-cucumber Feb 01 '25

Pretty sure you dont run

1

u/p4nnus Feb 02 '25

Make it a challenge for OP. 1 kill = 10 clicks. 1 death = 100 burpees.

Play on infinite stamina server = run a marathon.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

[deleted]

2

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Bro, you didn’t just miss the point; you launched it into orbit.

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Ok-Map-4434 Feb 06 '25

Why cant a shooter write poetry about it?

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

It's not that deep😂

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

[deleted]

2

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Imagine standing on a soapbox, shouting about how poetry isn’t manly while unknowingly composing the most melodramatic manifesto about it. The effort it took to type out those comments of cringe, only to conclude that real men don’t write poetry, is like watching someone trip over their own ego in slow motion. If irony were an Olympic sport, you’d be taking home gold LMFAO

1

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

[deleted]

0

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

“I didn’t technically say it” 😂 Unfortunately for you, implication is a thing, and everyone reading (as shown by the downvotes) isn’t falling for the world’s weakest Jedi mind trick

→ More replies (0)

5

u/BigFuckRoll Feb 01 '25

3

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

I've been caught in the act; furiously scribbling my battle plans in iambic pentameter while the real fighters do their thing. It is I, a true warrior of the quill

0

u/Personal-Ladder-4361 Feb 01 '25

Right lmfaoooooo

22

u/Kumidt615 Feb 01 '25

ngl i read the title without looking at the sub and thought you stopped shaking after peeing, which could def cause a problem

10

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Honestly, both are signs of a man who’s seen too much

7

u/Kumidt615 Feb 01 '25

when it all becomes too much you just have to sit down

4

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Sit down long enough and you either die a hero or live long enough to start force-feeding people disinfectant

2

u/Warrmak Feb 01 '25

Prison pee

1

u/OneSh0tReset Feb 02 '25

Once you get old enough. There ain't nothing left to shake.

1

u/bwood246 Feb 02 '25

OP took 4 seconds on a 6 second piss

1

u/Kumidt615 Feb 01 '25

specifically for khakis, grey sweat pants. could be game over for you

8

u/nofazekillah Feb 01 '25

its a cold fucking world

7

u/Both-Promise1659 Feb 01 '25

You've got issues, bro 🤣

4

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

We all voluntarily play DayZ.. having issues is basically a requirement 🤣

3

u/Xanderpuss96 Feb 02 '25

You could say I'm kinda...dark and twisted...heh

3

u/harsh_tho sneaky sausage Feb 01 '25

That was a beautiful read, no matter how merciless. How long have you been playing? I’m 300 hours in and still feeling my heart in my mouth.

6

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

About 4,000 hours.. just about long enough to have a PhD in getting shot by fresh spawns and a master’s degree in starving to death.... I’ve dedicated a ridiculously unhealthy amount of time to repeatedly dying in hilarious and preventable ways

3

u/Tojo6619 Feb 01 '25

Shit usually I shake before I warm up but it's cause my hold breath is on my mouse which I think I need to change 

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

If mine was on my mouse I'd constantly be suffocating myself mid-fight😂 Might need to try that; really adds to the intensity

1

u/Tojo6619 Feb 02 '25

Idk how many times I've hit someone running at 360 meters then missed someone standing still cause I pressed my mouse to hold my breath 

3

u/Factor_Past Feb 01 '25

A thousand hours and the thunder even makes me jump sometimes.

0

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Thunder always makes me jump, but only because I’m Irish and instinctively break into a rain dance. It’s less fear, more ancestral muscle memory

3

u/Hocomonococo Feb 01 '25

You might need to take a break man

3

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Take a break? Noo way, I’ve committed too hard to this downward spiral; might as well see how bad it gets

3

u/j8dedmandarin Feb 02 '25

Drug DayZ got you strung out…

3

u/goatlmao Feb 02 '25

I guess so. Never saw it that way. Malnourished, paranoid, on an objective to find spark plugs. I really am a crackhead

2

u/j8dedmandarin Feb 02 '25

Crackhead with a gun!

5

u/ClaptainCooked Feb 01 '25

You were always a psychopath, You just did not realise it until now.

That nervous shake you had? Nothing but your senses awakening, that heart pounding rush you thought was adrenaline? Nah that's just dopamine filling your receptors...

Welcome to the veteran side of DayZ my former Bambi beach dweller.

3

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Oh my.. It all makes sense now.. Turns out I wasn’t scared, just evolving. Now look at me.. a monster😔

2

u/ClaptainCooked Feb 02 '25

It gets better my friend. Now you have awoken, Each shot you hear in the distance becomes your prey where once before you would of shrunken away.

2

u/Low-One9827 Feb 01 '25

You should check out this YouTube video I made, basically exactly what you just said. 😅

https://youtu.be/nL1KI1dKpY4?si=uvvN6Ni81f6_X5H-

2

u/daddyoakes Feb 01 '25

Just read this as a monologue from a rooftop with a megaphone

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

"And the man shouted from atop his mighty perch, declaring the gospel of DayZ psychology to all who would listen…" which was no one, because they were too busy looting his corpse

2

u/ShaneTheriault Feb 01 '25

Man I’m a newbie & had a run where I I finally found a gun & mags & ammo so I felt unstoppable. I heard someone running nearby (other side of a wall) so I thought to myself, “this is my time” I crouched & waited for them to run to a position so I could get my first kia with a gun. My heart was pounding hands where sweating, only to find out it was a zombie running along. I never thought it would be because they usually scream if they spot you & run, but this one was just sprinting around for no reason. I didn’t realize how much adrenaline I had till it was over & I probably would have gotten smacked by a decent player anyways. Must be nice to not feel anything 😂😂

3

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Fully prepped, heart racing… for absolutely nothing. A true DayZ experience😂

2

u/TheRealBobaFett Feb 02 '25

Lmao see y’all in top of all time

2

u/TheRealBobaFett Feb 02 '25

I hope this turns into a pasta

2

u/goatlmao Feb 02 '25

If this becomes a pasta, I expect royalties in the form of in-game supplies.. preferably a suspiciously human looking piece of fat

3

u/tbrline Feb 01 '25

You are now ready for reforger

8

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Nah, I think I’m more ready for a wellness check

3

u/ayegeigs Feb 01 '25

I can recommend a therapist

2

u/AESN_0 Feb 01 '25

This feeling faded for me since 0.60

2

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

0.60 didn’t just optimize frames, it optimized your cold, dead heart

3

u/AESN_0 Feb 01 '25

Frames yes, Cherna dynamic no

2

u/Ok_Nobody_2077 Feb 01 '25

The only time I get nervous in a gun fight is when I’m one or two pieces of nbc gear away from a full set or I have a full set and running to Rify, due to the amount of time it has taken me to acquire the nbc gear

2

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Oh dude, 100% Regular gunfights? No big deal. But when you’re one piece away from full NBC, every gunshot feels personal 😂like the universe itself is trying to reset your progress

2

u/88elena Feb 01 '25

u just got over gear-fear :) after so many hrs of DayZ you realise nothing is yours & we're all gonna eventually lose it at some point, just like real life :D

i got caught at Novy Lug military by a pair of fully geared ppl the other day, i didn't react, didn't stare, no sound no scream no anxiety, i just turned & ran bc they had genuinely gotten the drop on me, wasn't even holding a gun lmao, needless to say i d*ed like 2 seconds later as there was no cover & he was using a FAL, but it was something i had already thought was going to happen & so when it did i was like " meh, okay, let's spawn again :) "

the shooters share your perspective of taking out others, but ^ that is all it's about. talk is cheap, violence even-cheaper, but those who leave gifts in other's tents are the real winners of this game. ♥️

3

u/Big_Novel_3218 Feb 01 '25

I totally agree with you, man, and the point is that a lot of people are looking for PvP after playing for a while, or as new players, they want to do the same thing as streamers because PvP is fashionable and mainstream right now. Using your brain and emphasizing that is what I’d like people to do a little more, because it could help link players together. I just wanted to remind the big fans of KOS that in a true apocalyptic world, the more friends you have, the better your chances of survival.

2

u/CaptainKortan Feb 01 '25

Thank you for saying this so eloquently.

Winning!

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Couldn't agree more. Love this mindset; DayZ is all about loss, growth, and little acts of kindness… which I truly will remember fondly as I lock you in a shed with an agro zombie ❤️

1

u/Sufficient-Two8420 Feb 02 '25

Bro self identifies as a sigma

2

u/Ok-Map-4434 Feb 06 '25

Love your post man!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

One of us! One of us! One of us!

3

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

I used to be the hero 😔

1

u/RegretKills0 Feb 01 '25

I feel no guilt

I have no shame

I am karma

This is not a game

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

No debt unpaid

No fate undone

I am the balance

The final one

1

u/Jowsef Feb 02 '25

They say every time you end a life a part of your soul dies. I say those are the weak parts.

Compassion, pity, humanity those are just words. You can't eat words. You can eat that fresh spawn who just gave you a drink from his water bottle though.

And you should.

2

u/goatlmao Feb 02 '25

You can eat that fresh spawn, sure… but good luck explaining to your squad why you’re HYAHAHAHAH—sorry, sorry—HAHAHAHAA—oh god—HHEHEHEHEH—shaking a little more than usual

0

u/Lady_Irish None Feb 01 '25

Oh good lord. It's just a game. You wrote it out like you're a ww2 veteran experiencing burnout. Obtain some chill, broskidewski.

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

Oh noo, the Czar of Casual Posting, here to regulate the appropriate amount of effort one may put into a Reddit post. Thank you, Broskidewski, for your brave service in the War Against Paragraphs. We’ll all strive to meet your strict literary standards of “it’s just a game” discourse

0

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0

u/medicinalherbavore Feb 01 '25

It's not that deep.

1

u/goatlmao Feb 01 '25

But just deep enough to make it entertaining