New H1Z1 changes focus on early game scavenging

SOE's H1Z1 continues to make strides towards Early Access as the studio continues to fine-tune the MMO's zombie apocalypse to ensure players experience the perfect amount of panic, without making the game too difficult or too easy. After several player-oriented events like PAX Prime and SOE Live, the team behind H1Z1 has identified several problem areas dealing with early game progression and loot, which they've decided to change in order to steer player's initial focus more towards scavenging and crafting.

In a blog post on the official H1Z1 site, Senior Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt mentioned one of the initial key changes revolved around the removal of the starting axe players spawned with. By doing so, Whisenthunt says players will find an experience that "reflects [the] true survival nature of the game." Indeed, having played H1Z1 at SOE Live, we can attest to the strength of having an early game weapon which also serves as a tool to collect valuable resources.

To counter the now obvious lack of early game protection, SOE has also made fists much easier to 'combo' while attacking; with successfully timed combos resulting in more damage and the potential to stagger/disorient the enemy. Obviously, using your fists will only get you so far in the apocalypse, which is why SOE has now made weapons only spawn in visible locations. This means players wont have to open every dresser they find during a tense moment in the hopes of scoring a useful source of defense, and can instead look for weapons to spawn on top of cabinets, cars, tables and toolboxes.

On the flip side of things, crafting items and other prolific goods will almost exclusively spawn inside of things. Again, the reasoning here is that when **** hits the fan and things start to get hairy, players won't find lots of odds and ends cluttering their vision, causing them to become overloaded and miss important weapons which could save their lives.

What are your thoughts on these spawn changes?