Getting started with your DayZ server

DayZ is the survival horror MMO that defined the genre. Your server runs on the Enfusion engine and supports a mature modding scene through the Steam Workshop and DayZ-SA-Launcher.

This guide covers the first thirty minutes: getting the server up, connecting to it, choosing a map, and the two systems — loot and time — that most owners want to change first.

1. First Boot

1. Open your DayZ game server in the panel.
2. Click Start.
3. First boot pulls the dedicated server, about 5 GB. Expect 10 to 15 minutes.
4. The console shows Mission read. and the server tick begins.

The first boot is the slow one

Nothing is wrong if the console sits quiet for several minutes — it is downloading. Later starts take well under a minute.

2. Connecting

In DayZ, open Servers > Community, then search by name or filter by IP.

If the server is running but not listed

DayZ lists servers by query port, not game port. A server that boots cleanly and never appears in the browser almost always has the wrong steamQueryPort. See Configuring your DayZ server.

3. Choosing a Map

The stock mission templates:

Set this with template inside class Missions in serverDZ.cfg.

The naming is not arbitrary. A mission folder is <mission name>.<world name>, where the world is the name defined in the game's CfgWorlds — so dayzOffline.chernarusplus is the dayzOffline mission on the chernarusplus world. Custom maps follow the same rule, which is how you can tell at a glance which world a downloaded mission expects.

Community maps — Namalsk, Banov, Pripyat, Esseker, DeerIsle — are a mod plus a mission folder, and both are required. The procedure is in How to Install Mods on a DayZ Server: Folders and Keys.

Changing map starts a new world

World state is stored per mission in mpmissions/<mission>/storage_<id>/. Switching template means a fresh world — take a Backups snapshot first if the old one matters.

4. Loot Tuning Without Mods

You can change the loot economy heavily on a vanilla server. It is the highest-impact thing you can do before installing a single mod, and it lives in the mission files rather than serverDZ.cfg.

Edit mpmissions/dayzOffline.chernarusplus/db/types.xml. Each entry controls one item:

<type name="AKM">
    <nominal>15</nominal>
    <lifetime>14400</lifetime>
    <restock>1800</restock>
    <min>10</min>
    <quantmin>-1</quantmin>
    <quantmax>-1</quantmax>
    <cost>100</cost>
    <flags count_in_cargo="0" count_in_hoarder="0" count_in_map="1" count_in_player="0" crafted="0" deloot="0"/>
    <category name="weapons"/>
    <usage name="Military"/>
</type>

For a higher-loot server, raise nominal and min together. Raising nominal alone means the map fills slowly; min is what forces the respawn to trigger.

The flags matter more than they look

count_in_cargo, count_in_hoarder, count_in_map and count_in_player decide whether items already held by players count toward nominal. With them at 0, a hundred stashed AKMs do not suppress new spawns — which is usually what a high-loot server wants, and usually not what a survival server wants.

Tools such as Expansion-Types can automate bulk edits across the whole file. For the full treatment — which fields actually drive respawning, and the flags that silently cancel them out — see How to Increase Loot on a DayZ Server (types.xml).

5. Day and Night

serverTimeAcceleration = 12;
serverNightTimeAcceleration = 6;
serverTimePersistent = 1;

What acceleration 12 works out to

One in-game hour per five real minutes, so players see both day and night inside a single session. Left at 1, someone who logs in at night only ever sees night.

Night gets its own multiplier because unaccelerated DayZ nights are genuinely dark, and most communities want them shorter than the days.

6. Popular Mods

• Community Framework (CF) — required by a large share of the ecosystem, install it first
• Dabs Framework — required by many server-side scripting mods
• CommunityOnlineTools — in-game admin GUI
• DayZ Expansion — comprehensive overhaul: vehicles, helicopters, missions, markets
• Trader — trader stations
• Banking — ATM-based economy
• Code Lock — combination locks on doors
• DayZ-Editor-Loader — load custom map structures
• MMG Mightys Military Gear — military gear additions
• Drugs Plus — roleplay drug system
• Namalsk Survival — hardcore winter overhaul

A proven roleplay stack

CF + Dabs Framework + COT + Expansion (Core, Vehicles, Markets) + Trader + Code Lock + Banking. Load order matters — frameworks first.

7. Backups

DayZ keeps world state in mpmissions/<mission>/storage_<id>/, and that folder grows steadily on an active server. Use the Backups tab daily, with weekly long-term archives.

Take one before any of: changing map, changing instanceId, adding or removing a mod, or editing types.xml in bulk. Those are the four operations that can lose a world.

8. Performance

• Restart every 4 to 6 hours. DayZ accumulates memory over time; this is normal and not a sign of a problem.
• Use serverTimeAcceleration rather than real-world day length, so the world feels alive within a session.
• Be careful with AI-heavy mods. The Enfusion engine struggles with high entity counts — this is the most common cause of a server that was fine yesterday and is not today.
• Rotate instanceId if you want to wipe one slot of player data while keeping the others on disk.

9. Common Issues

"Wrong session state" on connect. A version mismatch enforced by forceSameBuild. The server is on a different DayZ build than the player — restart it to pick up the current version.

A mod fails to load. Almost always a missing dependency. Install @CF first, then @DabsFramework, then everything else.

No loot anywhere. types.xml is malformed, or the mission template does not include vanilla loot. Restore a clean types.xml — a single unclosed tag empties the whole economy.

CPU pinned. Usually an AI mod. Cap zombie counts and the spawn rates of helicopter and boat mods.

The server does not appear in the browser. Confirm steamQueryPort is open and correct. DayZ lists by query port.

10. FAQ

How long does the first start take?

Ten to fifteen minutes, because it downloads roughly 5 GB. Subsequent starts are under a minute.

How do I increase loot on my DayZ server?

Edit types.xml in mpmissions/<mission>/db/, raising nominal and min together. There is no loot multiplier in serverDZ.cfg.

Can I change the map without losing my world?

No — each mission keeps its own storage_<id> folder, so a new template starts fresh. The old world stays on disk, so you can switch back.

Do players need to own the DLC maps?

Livonia and Sakhal are DLC maps. Chernarus is the base game and available to everyone, which is why it remains the default choice for a new community.

Why is it always night on my server?

serverTimeAcceleration is at 1, so in-game time runs at real time. Raise it to 12 and set serverNightTimeAcceleration lower so nights pass faster than days.

How often should I restart?

Every 4 to 6 hours. It is a memory characteristic of the engine rather than a fault, and scheduled restarts are covered in DayZ Admin Commands: BattlEye RCon and Admin Tools.

11. What to Read Next

• Configuring your DayZ server — every serverDZ.cfg key, with what each one changes
• How to Install Mods on a DayZ Server: Folders and Keys — mod folders, keys, load order and custom maps
• DayZ Admin Commands: BattlEye RCon and Admin Tools — BattlEye RCon, CommunityOnlineTools and VPPAdminTools
• DayZ Server Monetisation: What Bohemia Interactive Actually Allows — what Bohemia's monetisation rules permit before you take a donation

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