DayZ has an inbuilt immune system that runs behind the scenes and has a huge impact on how your character survives what is thrown at him/her. Having a strong immune system will help slow down the spread of any disease and also speed up recovery.
You have 4 indicators at the bottom right of your screen:
- hydration (bottle icon)
- energy (apple icon
- blood pressure/volume (drop icon)
- general health (cross icon)
To keep thinks simple, when an icon is full, it counts as 25 points: your immune system has a total possible of 100 points.
Between 100 and 95 points, you are immune to cholera, salmonella and influenza.
From 95 to 65, you will not get influenza. Below 65 point you are not immune to sickness. This does not mean you will automatically be sick. It just means you have a higher chance to be sick.
If you are sick (virus symbol) it is important to get your immune system as high as possible to help you cure. Salmonella and cholera will go away without any medication in several minutes. Medication will also help, but that’s another subject.
Tip: when you spawn in, drink water as hydration level is the fastest of the 4 contributors to change. With your health, blood levels and hydration nearly full, you should be good to avoid sickness in the first few minutes of your new DayZ life. Vitamins will boost, for 5 minutes, your immune system to 100 points regardless of what level any of your 4 indicators are.
Another indicator in your character’s status is the core body temperature symbolised by the thermometer icon. Your character’s core body temperature will contribute to and be influenced by any of the 4 parameters of the immune system.
You should always try to keep thermometer icon white (normal).
The icon can also be yellow (overheating), red (excessive overheating) and blue (cold). If the thermometer icon shows a + symbol, that means you have a buffer that will override any outside influence till it wears off (2 minutes).
Your character’s clothing may have different insulation properties that will influence how your core temperature reacts. But the environment will also play a role. Having a high insulation garment that is wet will reduce it’s insulation rating. Same goes with damaged clothing.
Your activity will also influence your core temperature: running, staying near a fire, swimming in cold water, etc.. all influence your character’s core temperature.
Your Energy, hydration, Blood Pressure and Heath will all influence as well as be influenced by your character’s temperature:
- To heat up, your character will consume energy.
- To cool down or to bring its blood pressure up, character will tap in its hydration levels, lowering it.
- Low blood pressure will not allow your character to control it’s core temperature efficiently.
- Low health will also deregulate how your character’s core temperature, energy, hydration and blood pressure are used.
In short, to allow your character to survive in Dayz, you should always keep an eye on all the heath symbols at the bottom right of the screen. Keeping your energy, hydration, blood, heath and temperature in the white should always be a balancing act.
Check out this video for a more in depth explanation: https://youtu.be/yz-bmI8pHck
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