Update: Raids 53-55 Pathetic

I seem to be unable to find salewas or a spark-plug. I guess I also need to find some of that cheap white body armor. And croutons. Seems uninspiring.  I guess I'll hunt scavs and loot and see what happens. Also, I've been practicing offline with the M4.  The stock one is difficult to use. Maybe I'll take out these ADARs on real raids. 

Destination: Customs

Goals:

• find shit
• kill scavs
• practice using ADAR 
• survive

Progress: pathetic

Raid 53

Loadout: ADAR 2-15 with three 30 round magazines of M855. Kirasa Class 3 armor. Ears. Meds. Rig, T-Bag backpack.  Splint and CMC Medkit in secure container.

Insurance: 19K

Spawned above river, across from smugglers.  Crossed little junky bridge and then crossed road.  My destination is crackhouse.  Heard some fighting down near RUAF checkpoint. Hmmm, that's the way I'm planning to go.  Walked down that direction, but not moving slowly carefully enough. Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me, spun around but loushaobai was already firing on me.  He cut me down with many rounds of 7.62 x 25mm, which suggests he was using PPSHR, an interesting choice for a PMC.  Congratulations loushaobai on the kill. 

Time In Raid: 3 minutes 6 seconds.

Exp: 0

Healing: 9K

Mistakes

• I probably need to avoid players. Unless I was planning to third party some action (to which I was probably too late) I should have either avoided the RUAF area since I heard fighting there, or at least moved much much more carefully. 
• Moved too fast. Moving fast is reserved for those who can actually win a fire fight, and it's clear that I cannot.
• died

Successes

• 
  

Raid 54

Loadout: ADAR 2-15  with three 30 round magazines of M855.  6813 Class 4 armor (finally). Ears, Meds. T-Bag backpack, rig, CMS medkit and ALU splint in container

Spawned not far from passage between rocks, but not in it, which is odd. Is this a new spawn?  Proceeded up towards power tower.  Checked weapons crate, but it was empty.  Was about to head into shack to check meds (and hope for a salewa) when I heard footsteps, but couldn't place their direction.  I don't need trouble - headed down hill bearing towards the military checkpoint road.  Not a lot of good cover, so I was, once again, just carelessly walking.  Suddenly I realized there was someone leaning out from behind a tree and I was dead by a single shot of 5.45 x 39 PS to head/eyes. Congratulations to simple907 on the clean shot. 

Time In Raid: 2 minutes

Exp: 0

Mistakes

• Not being better at placing that sound. Had I been able to place it, then I might have had other better options. I had hard cover at that weapons crate, but not complete, and I can be easily approached from every direction. That's why I left.  But had I known the direction it was coming from, that might have changed the calculus, and perhaps even the outcome. Whoever was moving may or may not have been simple907. It could have been someone else. 
• Moving too fast
• died
• did not learn from previous mistake

Successes

Raid 55

I can't believe I just had two three minute raids with 0 Exp back to back.  

New Goal: Survive and extract. Forget all other goals

Loadout: VPO-136 (an old favorite) with one 30 round magazine of BP and two of PS.  Class 4 body armor (yes, again), ears, rig, meds.  I forgot to bring a backpack.

Spawned in far corner of trailer park. Early morning, just after 5 am.  Still quite dark.  Slowly and quietly made my way over to space between customs house and storage units. Then used break in the wall to enter customs house, in the grassy yard.  Some players were already firing at each other in and around customs, but it died down by the time I entered.    Made my way to little shack next to rear entrance.  Looted it, but just junk. Nothing I need.

As I left, I was hearing a peculiar sound. Some sort of suppressed firing, probably overlooking river.  I slowly and quietly crept out and around and lowered myself into the bushes above the river. This is dangerous - if there is a sniper, he'll likely be high. But the best cover for stealth is low, so if I'm not careful I could advance in front of him.    I carefully and quietly advanced.  I didn't hear any other shots. Maybe he had moved on? 

Just as I was getting ready to cross into the clear, I saw a player walking back from the lower land bridge. It was the sniper! He must have gone into the clear to loot one of his kills. And now he was walking back. Not an easy shot for me - he's crossing my field of aim, and rising with the hill slope. I opened fire, firing rapidly and repeatedly.  He started running right away, and ran into cover. This gun isn't suppressed and I don't have hard cover.  I dodged forward to take shelter under a big rock. I peeked both angles, but couldn't see him.  Need to rotate.  I ran over and up the hill, took cover behind a train car. But I can't see him. Lost him. I ducked into the customs area and went along the wall, listening. But nothing.

What am I doing?  I have a single-fire weapon, I don't know where he is. He'll be looking for me, or he'll displace. The goal here is to survive, remember?  I gave up the chase. Went over to the front gate customs shack and looted it. But I don't have a backpack, so I ended up leaving most things there.  No salewas anyway (there never are).

Crossed river by the low junk bridge next to smugglers.  Looped all the way up to sniper roadblock before crossing. Just as I was about to cross, a scav shouted and fired at me, hitting me. I retreated down the hill. Fortunately, not a bad wound. Medded. While I was down there, there was suddenly more firing up on that road. Oh oh.  I quietly crept up to the road and peeked it.  The scav was dead in the middle of the road.  And a PMC was also dead, in the middle of the road.  Did they trade and kill each other?

The PMC has a backpack! And, by the looks of it, an AKM.  Hmmmm.  Something didn't feel right. I don't think the player died to the scav. So who killed him?  Probably that same sniper I didn't take care of earlier - I bet he got spooked and crossed the river as well.

So I bypassed. Went further up and crossed the road fast.  No one fired on me.  No regrets.  

Made my way across map, avoiding dorms which sounded active, and made my way to power tower. Looted weapons crate. Got a grenade.  Cool!  Just then I heard footsteps, and, once again, couldn't place them.  I guess I get to replay my last raid.  Not cool.  

This time I ran instead of walking. Ran my scaredy ass straight down to the military checkpoint. For a second it sounded like someone might be behind me. But once I turned the corner on the wall and stopped and listened I didn't hear anyone.  Fuck this.  I have no room for more loot, time to leave. I made my way out and extracted.

Time In Raid: 30 minutes, 15 seconds

Exp: 607

Ammo Used: 8   Hits: 2.  Damage to Body: 64.  Damage absorbed by armor: 55.  

Mistakes

• I should have fired more carefully on the sniper. I don't believe I was aiming at his head. Probably should have.  
• Should I have pushed him directly?  Given the distance, I think that might have been unwise. But maybe, because as it was, I lost sight of him.
• Should I have looted the player in the road?  I survived, so let's say no.

Successes

• Survived
• Took the initiative and shot on the sniper, even if I didn't ultimately kill him. But he didn't kill me, so I'll take it as a win.
• Reacted quickly when under fire by the scav. 

Update

It's more than a day later since this last raid. I just realized that if that PMC in the road had been taken down by a sniper, then perhaps my best play might have been to hide and wait to see if the sniper came to collect the dog tag from the body.  I could have easily set-up on him from there.  Oh well. Maybe next time.