DayZ field wiki · Start
Hotbar
Hands, not a skill bar
Short answer
The bar is what you can get into your hands without opening the bag. It is not cooldown magic.
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How it works
Slots on the bar are a promise: bandage, drink, melee, a gun. Opening the inventory in a doorway is how you die looking at a can.
What to do
Put rags and a drink where your fingers already know. Don't hotbar a map pin.
Don't
Don't treat it like an MMO skill row. Don't fumble a grenade next to Kane.