DayZ brings hardcore survival to an apocalyptic world, a gameplay worth engaging with friends. We have the perfect guide to help you learn how to get your DayZ modded server up and running. Native gameplay is still unavailable for macOS, but we will show you how it’s done on Windows.
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Mods are the way to go if you want custom maps, missions, and mechanics. Fortunately, there are a lot of DayZ mods in the Steam Workshop, and their installations are effortless. With the ability to host more than 60 players, DayZ mods are the perfect way to keep your players engaged with how they want their gameplay to go.
What to Check and Prepare
The primary checks should cover your software, hardware, and internet connectivity. That said, you should aim for upload speeds of 50 Mbps to maximize the player capacity to above 60. Otherwise, you can make do with 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps.
Once you have internet speed out of the way, the next step is to look inward at your PC. Go into the update section and install any pending updates. This process should continue even after installing and running the DayZ modded server.
If you are using Linux or other operating systems, then you want to be sure all dependencies are installed. We will cover these subsequently for Linux systems.
The last step is ensuring your hardware is up to the task. Check the next section to see the optimal hardware requirements for this game server. Note that you can always step up the configuration when necessary.
Monitor your server when the game is running. The speed and performance should be enough to know when an upgrade is necessary. For this, we suggest using an upgradeable system to run the server. That way, you can always switch or add the essential parts like the RAM, graphics card, etc.
DayZ Modded Server Requirements
The following are the primary system requirements for running the DayZ Modded server:
The SSD drives are the better option when installing and managing the server files. Also, we recommend opting for Windows Server.
While at it, ensure you increase disk space as the number of players increases.
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How to Set Up the DayZ Modded Server
We will get to the mods subsequently. In the meantime, your first step in learning how to make a DayZ modded server is to install the server. For Windows, we will need Steam.
With that in mind, here’s how to install Steam and the DayZ server:
- Visit the official website
- Click “Install Steam” with the Windows logo.
- Run the executable file.
- Follow the on-screen instructions
- Open Steam and log into your account.
For Linux users, you will have to install dependencies to use SteamCMD. The installation process differs depending on your framework. Pick the one that applies to your Linux device below:
- Install dependencies: For Debian/Ubuntu (sudo apt-get install lib32gcc-s1), for RHEL/CentOS (sudo yum install glibc.i686 libstdc++.i686), for Arch Linux (sudo pacman -Syy glibc lib32-glibc nano)
- Download SteamCMD through the following command:
“mkdir -p ~/servers/steamcmd && cd ~/servers/steamcmd
curl -sqL “https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz” | tar zxvf –“
Like Windows, the next step will be to install the server. Let us point out here that the server isn’t modded just yet when you install it. We will get to that once you start adding mods or maps.
Choosing a DayZ Server Hosting Provider or Self-hosting
Our guide is dedicated to teaching how to make a modded DayZ server on your system. That means running a dedicated server where you have maximum control. For the record, that is our recommendation, but there are other ways to host good DayZ Modded servers.
When it comes to choosing servers, you have the following options:
- Self-hosting or dedicated server: This setup simply involves turning your device (Windows or Linux) into a server for the game. You can do that by installing the necessary files and meeting the system requirements. The advantages of this setup include the ability to control and manage your own server, run custom mods at your will, and make other customizations.
- Managed VPS hosting: Servers are available for purchase on the cloud. For this setup, you need to purchase a server from a VPS host. Once that is done, the VPS host will control and manage the DayZ modded server for you. In other words, you need to run back to the VPS host to make any changes.
- Unmanaged VPS hosting: This setup still involves cloud servers, but you will have control over them. All you need to do is purchase the servers, while the hosting service leaves control and server management in your hands. An unmanaged VPS host is ideal if you do not want to run the server with your devices but still want maximum control over it.
If you are contemplating which one to pick, consider the following:
- Your budget for running the server
- Your technical expertise in creating and maintaining game servers
- How much control do you want over the server operations?
Installing Server Software
The Windows installation is the simplest. That said, here’s how to install the DayZ server:
For Windows:
Once Steam is up and running, we can then install the DayZ server using the steps below:
- Open your Steam account and go to “Library.”
- On the left section, check the box for “Tools.”
- Search for DayZ Server in the results.
- Click “Install”
You will see the DayZ Server shortcut icon on your desktop once the installation is complete. However, do not launch the game yet. Do the following:
- Open Windows Explorer and find the DayZ server file. The file directory should be something like this: Steam\steamapps\common\DayZserver.
- Create a new start.bat file for the folder using a text editor (Notepad++).
- Paste the following codes into the start.bat file
“@echo off :start ::Server name (This is just for the bat file) set serverName= ::Server files location set serverLocation=" " ::Server Port set serverPort=2302 ::Server config set serverConfig=serverDZ.cfg ::Logical CPU cores to use (Equal or less than available) set serverCPU=2 ::Sets title for terminal (DONT edit) title %serverName% batch ::DayZServer location (DONT edit) cd "%serverLocation%" echo (%time%) %serverName% started. ::Launch parameters (edit end: -config=|-port=|-profiles=|-doLogs|-adminLog|-netLog|-freezeCheck|-filePatching|-BEpath=|-cpuCount=) start "DayZ Server" /min "DayZServer_x64.exe" -config=%serverConfig% -port=%serverPort% "-profiles=config" –servermod=” “ -mod=” “ -cpuCount=%serverCPU% -dologs -adminlog -netlog -freezecheck ::Time in seconds before kill server process (14400 = 4 hours) timeout 14390 taskkill /im DayZServer_x64.exe /F ::Time in seconds to wait before.. timeout 10 ::Go back to the top and repeat the whole cycle again goto start”
- You can edit the code above with your server name, server location, and other essential changes you need.
- Save the file in the same folder as your DayZ server.
For Linux:
To download DayZ Modded servers for Linux, use the following approaches:
- For stable branch, use “ ~/servers/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/servers/dayz-server/ +login your_login +app_update 223350 +quit”
- For Experimental branch, use “~/servers/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/servers/dayz-server/ +login your_login +app_update 1042420 +quit
Replace “your_login” with your Steam login. If you are installing with mods, use the following:
“~/servers/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/servers/dayz-server/ +login your_login +app_update 223350 +workshop_download_item 221100 1559212036 +workshop_download_item 221100 1564026768 +quit”
Configuring server settings for mods
You have to locate the serverDZ.cfg file to configure your server for mods. In this file, you can change the following settings:
- Which map to load
- The game’s password
- Your admin password
- Player counts
- In-game time
If the serverDZ.cfg file isn’t available, then you’ll have to create it. You should have something like this:
“hostname = " "; // Server name password = ""; // Password to connect to the server passwordAdmin = ""; // Password to become a server admin enableWhitelist = 0; // Enable/disable whitelist (value 0-1) maxPlayers = 60; // Maximum amount of players verifySignatures = 2; // Verifies .pbos against .bisign files. (only 2 is supported) forceSameBuild = 1; // When enabled, the server will allow the connection only to clients with same the .exe revision as the server (value 0-1) disableVoN = 0; // Enable/disable voice over network (value 0-1) vonCodecQuality = 20; // Voice over network codec quality, the higher the better (values 0-20) disable3rdPerson = 0; // Toggles the 3rd person view for players (value 0-1) disableCrosshair = 0;” // Toggles the cross-hair (value 0-1)
Make changes according to your preference. You can source for more extensive scripts to improve your server configuration. The more parameters you have, the more control you’ll get over your server.
With the next step taking us to how to install mods on DayZ server, we recommend you pay attention to this line in the configuration file:
“Class Missions
{
class DayZ
{
template = "dayzOffline.chernarusplus"; // Mission to load on server startup. <MissionName>.<TerrainName>
};
};”The template is where you can change the missions with your mods. We will get to that shortly.
How to Install DayZ Mods
Once you’ve set up your start.bat file for the server, run it to confirm that it is working. That can come before or after the configuration process.
Now that you have your DayZ modded server working, the next step is to install mods. These additions make the server modded and different from regular DayZ servers.
How to Install DayZ Mods on Windows
Follow the steps below on how to install mods on DayZ servers:
- Go to Steam Workshop and search for your preferred mod collection
- Subscribe to the mod.
- Open the DayZ app and go to “Mods” to download the mod.
- Once downloaded, open the mod and click on the three dots.
- Click “Open folder in Windows Explorer” in the pop-up window.
- Copy the mod folder.
- Paste the mod folder in the DayZ server file.
- Again, open the mod folder and copy the “keys folder.”
- Paste the mod keys in the DayZ server keys folder.
Now that we’ve done that, it is time to input the mod into the start.bat file. That will ensure the server loads with the mod. To do that, follow the steps below:
- Copy the mod name. You can double-click on the name and copy it exactly as it is.
- Open your server’s start.bat file for editing using a text editor.
- In the text editor, paste the mod name where you have “mod= “ and add a semicolon. For example, let’s assume that my mod name is Flysky. Here’s what it will look like “mod= Flysky;”
- Save the file.
- Run the start.bat file to install the mod.
For maps
You can follow the same steps for mods to install a map. However, watch out for maps that come with more than one folder. Add only one name to the start.bat file after your first mod, followed by a semi-colon.
The key difference with maps is that you’ll have to replace the original mission file with the new one from the map. To do this, you may find the mission file separately on Steam Workshop or inside the map folder.
Copy the mission folder and paste it into the “mpmissions” folder in the DayZ server file directory. Then, copy the name of the mission folder and paste it into the configuration file, serverDZ.cfg. That will be the “template” section of the configuration file.
Verifying Mod Installation
Before moving on, it is crucial to verify that the mod was successfully installed. To do that, here are our recommended steps:
- Open the DayZ app.
- Click “Servers.”
- Click “LAN” to show servers on your local area network.
- Search for your server’s name.
- Click “More Details.”
- You should see the mod name and “Load (mod name) from Library.”
Managing and Updating Mods
The next action after setting up your DayZ Modded server is to manage and update it. You can use a server manager or do the task yourself in your game panel. To use the server manager, follow the steps below:
- Download the updated version of the manager.
- Extract the manager to the same directory as your DayZ server files.
- Start the manager once to create a configuration file on the first attempt.
- Open the “server-manager.json” configuration file with a text editor.
- Edit the required fields.
An alternative route is through your game panel. Do the following to update your mods:
- Close your server if it is running.
- Go to the Game Panel and click on “Steam Update.”
- Click “Steam Workshop (Installed).”
- Update the mods manually or use the “Update All” button.
- For maps, use the “Map Packs” button to update them.
If you no longer need a mod, simply go to your Steam Workshop and uninstall it. Remember to close/stop your server before removing the mod.
Where to Find DayZ Mods
You can pick your mods from two places:
- Steam Workshop
- Third-party websites
Getting mods from the Steam Workshop is easy. Most importantly, you’ll have a large selection on your hands. Simply subscribe to your preferred mods to download them to your server.
The Best DayZ Mods to Try
The table below shows the best DayZ mods to try once you have your server running:
| Mod | Description |
| DayZ-Dog | This mod will give your players dogs as companions. The DayZ world is already harsh. A companion might come in handy to improve player engagement. |
| RedFlacon Flight System – Heliz | If you need to enhance mobility, this is the mod for you. It adds helicopters to the gameplay. |
| Code Lock | You can implement enhanced loot protection with this mode. It adds a code lock for the base building. |
| MMG Base Storage
| This mod improves the base building by adding lockers, crates, and gun racks. These additions improve the storage options. |
| DayZ Expansion | This should be your go-to mod for new locations, dynamic events, new vehicles, base-building elements, weapons, and improved AI. |
Advanced Modding Tips
It is one thing to install mods for your DayZ modded server, but another to customize them. Yes, you can create and customize mods to your preferences.
There’s a little bit of work and expertise required to create and customize mods. First, start by extracting the game data from your DayZ Tools. The next step is creating a folder and sub-folders.
Get your scripts for the mod configuration and create a config.cpp file within the sub-folders for Scripts. This is where you can modify and customize the configuration before packing the mod into a .pbo file. You can use an AddonBuilder for the latter.
Another advanced modding tip is to combine multiple mods for a unique experience. Head over to the Steam Workshop and install them according to the instructions on this page. Then, add them to the start.bat file using semi-colons. You should get something like this:
“mod= mod1;mod2;mod3;”
Add the mod IDs (their names) to the mod section of the start.bat file. Then, make any necessary changes in the serverDZ.cfg file.
Final Word
Setting up your DayZ modded server begins with Steam or SteamCMD. Once that is installed, you can download the server, configure it, and add mods to enhance the gameplay. We recommend adding several mods to create a unique experience for your players.
Don’t forget port forwarding to allow players to connect to your server wirelessly. Without that, your server will only be available on your local area network.
If you notice connection issues when launching your server, you might need to adjust your firewall settings. Besides that, always keep a close watch over your server to ensure it runs smoothly.
Next Steps: What Now?
- Understand What is a Dedicated Server in Gaming
- Learn How to Create a Dedicated Server for DayZ
- Discover Recommended Hosting Providers for Your DayZ Server
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- Get the Latest Game Server Hosting Coupons & Promo Codes
