i don't play on fixed servers, i just go for whichever is in daylight, low ping, regular difficulty and few players :)
last night i got sneaked up on by a bandit with a shotgun, he missed the first shot so i turn around with my .45 revolver and first shot i squeeze off is a headshot :P guy had tons of food, a map, knife, axe, matches, and his double barrel with plenty of ammo :P
also, if you do manage to find someone trustworthy, it becomes so much easier to raid stuff, like literally entire small villages can get handled easily by two persons, we just used makarovs with plenty of ammo, one of us would run around and lure a horde into a doorway where the second one would be ready to headshot the zombies as they slowly come through the door, you can get 6 or 7 kills with 8 rounds easily ...
also, i really suggest to study the maps, especially the coastal settlements... (since you always spawn at the coast)
The moment you spawn there's a short time where your location is displayed at the bottom right, then try to orientate yourself (you can also use roadsigns but beware, these are in cyrillic and you'll need some training or a printed map to be able to distinguish these) and make your way to a target of interest .... (airfield, military base, barns, industrial sites, etc.) these spots often provide great weapons, once you're packing heat, go pillage a village for supplies ....
try to stay away from bigger cities until you got a good kit, the reason i suggest to avoid bigger cities early on is because of the higher Z concentrations but also because these are usually full of bandits waiting to kill you and steal your gear...
the reason i suggested stocking up on ammo and food first is exactly because of this.... confrontations with bandits are often much deadlier and you need to be able to survive them...
also, CRAWL! if you take your time and crawl, you can clean out a village or industrial site without ever going into a confrontation with zombies ... (also, NEVER stand up, crouching makes you much less visible and is almost as fast as standing up, your aim is also better ... only stand up and run when you're covering large distances in the woods or if you want to attract Z to lure them into a trap .....
