Pre Raid
You currently can't walk into the fog to just explore and deverlopers stance is to just ignore mission and go into radius anyway as you can leave and re-enter as many times as you want without completing a mission.

Before you start heading out on missions tho, it's important that you are prepared, stocked up on supplies and know where you are going.

You should know some basic orienteering, because the map in this game acts like a paper map, it doesn't update your location in real-time, so you have to navigate the terrain by landmarks. Easiest way to go by is realize that north on compass and top of the map point towards the sphere. And you usually spawn south. You can extract by means of any fog wall aka walking away from the sphere.

Next to the mission computer you have the map. Study it carefully, you can clearly see landmarks like roads and buildings marked on it along with objectives. The map is facing same way as ingame map aka towards the big sphere. Depending on the mission, it's best to look at it and plan out your journey ahead, as you can make educated guesses on how many days this trek is going to take and what you need to bring. The markers on the map point towards any objectives and side objectives. Use landmarks like roads or such to figure out which way it is.

But I just want to stalk around and not do missions?
Once you pass the supply depot mission where you have to kill fragments and bring back cores (or start new game without tutorial) you can fully wander off and explore the map as much as you want.

Loadout:

I generally recommend bringing:
One box of ammo for the Makarov as its common to find replenishment.
2-3 food bars (you can find them in the radius but you need a lot of calories. You can also find free ones around the base)
Sleeping bag (very important but you can sleep at safehouses)
Flashlight in backpack to make room on your combat vest
Knives to save ammo They are INSANELY good when thrown and onehit most threats early on.
Probes or advanced probes.
Monocle binocular cause its often the only way to see enemies from afar


Once you're set, sleep until the morning at your base and then walk into the fog.

The Raid
Before we start, there's a few important things to understand:

1) If you die you drop all your stuff (ala Dark Souls or Tarkov). If you die too many times in a row you will be in a tough spot, especially if you aren't comfortable with the zone. So try and keep a stockpile of stuff at your home base.

2) The game runs on a day / night cycle. Most missions are going to take a few in-game days. DO NOT WANDER AROUND AIMLESSLY IN THE DARK! Plan your routes so that you can use shelters as sleeping places or find a safe area to retreat to at dusk. If you want to sneak around at night though, bring a lot of flares. It's the only way to see and be able to snea.

3) Once you're in, do a map check. You usually start at the south of the map between 5 and 7 o clock. The compass always points towards the radius sphere and that is your main landmark. I usually use roads and power lines to navigate. Optional missions are sometimes worth skipping if you deem them too dangerous. But if you see a building or complex ahead and there are not too many hard enemies around (shooty bois, teleport bois, horde of spiders) I say go for it. There are often crates and loose loot around for you to hoard.


On my way to the objective I like to plan my routes around loot points and check loose loot and crates for anything to sell or store for later usage. Anomaly hotspots aren't that bad an idea either cause they can spawn artifacts worth quite a lot.
Anomaly Hotspots:
Scout it out, there may be enemies that are hard to see. Monoculars and rifle scopes come in extremely handy for that. Once you're in, be careful and go slow. Probes are your best friend, they can find the edge of each anomaly and find a safe path. If you find an artifact the detector will beep loudly, but it only works on your vest so sacrifice a spot for it or swap it out before you enter a hotspot.


Enemies:
Most of the fun comes from learning to deal with them so I'm not going to spoil any fun. Just be aware of your surroundings especially anomalies and take your time and scout them out.


Stealth:
Your visibility and mob attractability depends on:

Time of day - You are near invisible at night and very visible during the day.

Flashlight - Having it on at night makes you very, VERY obvious

Crouch - if you go low, you are way harder to see.

Sound - The louder you are the easier you are to spot. Less than 25m away you should keep super stealthy and quiet, while further away they are attracted to loud gunshots. So really think if you want to fire your gun and use your safety if you have it out for no reason

Monster FOV - The direction they face is the one they can see you in.


For best results: Stay low, move slower the closer you are to monsters and don't fire off unsilenced weapons if you don't want trouble. If you want to see at night, signal flares are your best option as they provide light but don't aggro mobs
Post Raid
Once your objective is complete turn 360 degrees and walk towards the closest fog wall. You can even go around and explore the map if you so wish as it is fully open world and you aren't limited to any mission area or like that.

You can actually divert the enemies with loud noises eg gunfire and escape. The monsters don't auto home in on you they act realistically based on their own sights.
Just cause you're being shot at doesn't mean it's the end. Run away or/and flank around.

At the hub I like to sort my stuff and figure out the things I need or things to sell. It's a good idea to leave a emergency recovery kit around incase you die and need to get equipped to go get your stuff back.


There you have it: Most what you need to survive the zone
Overall the guide is good, if you let me know when it's been edited we would like to share it on our social networks this week

Once you've completed the objective or had enough just walk towards the fog wall and exit. If you are lost and can't navigate using landmarks, turn your back to the sphere in sky and walk away.

At hub I like to sort my stuff and figure out things I need or things to sell. It's a good idea to leave some emergency recovery kit around incase you die and need to get equipped to go get your stuff back.


There you have it: Most what you need to survive the zone

• Holding down mag release doesn't drop the magazine to the ground. Handy for methodical reloads.
  
• Flares don't aggro monsters at night.
  
• But white outline anomalies do.
  
• There are a lot of unmarked hideouts. They usually have good loot.
  
• You don't have to go and do the missions, you can enter and leave the zone as many times as you like during an ongoing mission. Use it to gather supplies in case you might die on objective.
  
• Sleeping in beds, any bed, restores your health but it takes 12 hours so bring A LOT of food.
  
• Remember loot locations and raid them. Sometimes anomalies cover them up so use the opportunities. You can sometimes enter zone with two throwing knives and empty mak and walk out fully loaded.
  
• You can alert enemies with gunfire and then flank around the long way to lure them away from any area you want to go to.
  
• Anything you leave in the zone stays there forever. You can use in zone shelters as home away from home.