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For a new DayZ server, start with Chernarus+. It is the default map and every player already owns it. Choose Livonia or Sakhal when your community has the relevant DLC, or install a community map such as Deer Isle, Banov or Namalsk when you want a different terrain and gameplay loop. Community maps require both a Workshop mod and a matching mission folder; the reliable installation sequence is to subscribe to the map and its dependencies, upload the mission files, add the mod, let the server create its files, set the mission template in serverDZ.cfg, and test before opening the server to players.

Which DayZ map should you use?

The best map depends on whether you value the lowest connection barrier, official content, a particular climate, or a large custom world. The practical choices are:

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  • Chernarus+: the safest default. It is included with the game and needs no separate Workshop installation.
  • Livonia: a greener, denser official setting with forests, fields, waterways, settlements and military locations. Its DLC status has changed in recent DayZ versions, so verify the current Steam listing before configuring a server.
  • Sakhal: an official frozen map from the Frostline expansion. Every joining player needs the DLC.
  • Namalsk: a small, harsh, frozen community map built around survival-horror pressure.
  • Deer Isle: a large Maine-inspired community map with vehicles. It requires the Community Framework (CF) dependency.
  • Banov: a large community map of cities, villages and forests designed to accommodate high player counts.

Do not select a map only by its advertised area. Mission-file compatibility, required dependencies, DLC ownership and the map author’s current instructions determine whether players can actually join.

Map comparison

Map Type Terrain and identity Size information Installation or access requirement
Chernarus+ Default official map DayZ’s standard post-Soviet landscape, with towns, forests, coast and military areas Not stated in the available source material Included for players; no separate map mod
Livonia Official map Dense forests, overgrown fields, rivers, lakes, settlements, military areas and broad wilderness Not stated in the available source material Sources disagree about whether current players need a separate Livonia DLC. Check Steam for the edition and version you run.
Sakhal Official Frostline map Frozen land and ice with a severe cold-weather survival loop Published figures conflict: about 80 km² in one account, about 105 km² of traversable land and ice in another, and roughly 236 km² when navigable water is included Frostline DLC is required for each player
Namalsk Community map Frozen survival-horror environment with intense environmental hazards About 50 km², according to hosting map guides; the publication year was not stated Workshop map mod plus its mission files; verify the current template name in the author’s documentation
Deer Isle Community map Maine-inspired island with vehicles and varied settlements About 256 km², according to hosting map guides; the publication year was not stated Workshop map, mission files and CF dependency. A commonly shown template is dayzOffline.deerisle; confirm the current name first.
Banov Community map Large cities, villages and forests based on the Banov District About 256 km², according to hosting map guides; the publication year was not stated Workshop map plus the creator’s mission files and any listed dependencies

Area figures are not official Bohemia Interactive or Steam statistics. They are useful for a rough sense of scale, not a guarantee of playable or traversable terrain. The conflicting Sakhal measurements illustrate why map size should not be treated as an exact specification.

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What makes each map a good or poor fit?

Chernarus+: the lowest-friction choice

Chernarus+ is the default mission used by a new DayZ server. Because it is already part of the normal player installation, a public server can recruit players without asking them to buy DLC or subscribe to a map mod. It is also the easiest environment for validating a new server: if spawning, loot, persistence and interaction work on Chernarus+, a later custom-map migration is easier to diagnose.

Choose it for a mixed-experience community, a public server that needs the largest possible audience, or an administrator who wants to minimize mod support. Its disadvantage is familiarity: players who have spent hundreds of hours on Chernarus+ may want a different route network and loot geography.

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Livonia: woodland and waterway travel

Livonia emphasizes dense woodland, overgrown fields, rivers, lakes, settlements, military sites and long wilderness stretches. It suits groups that prefer shorter sightlines and navigation through vegetation rather than the more familiar Chernarus coastline.

The access rule needs special care. One current source describes Livonia as requiring the Livonia DLC, while another says it became part of the base game with update 1.25 in May 2024. Treat that as a version-and-edition question, not a universal rule: check the map’s Steam store status and the game version installed on your server and clients before advertising the map.

Sakhal: an official frozen challenge

Sakhal is the official map associated with the Frostline expansion. Cold exposure, ice and limited shelter shape every journey, so it is a better fit for an experienced group that wants environmental survival to dominate its decisions. Players must own Frostline themselves; the server administrator buying the expansion does not grant access to other players.

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Do not publish a single definitive map-area number without explaining the measurement. Available descriptions range from approximately 80 km² to approximately 105 km² of traversable land and ice, and roughly 236 km² when navigable water is counted. Those are different definitions rather than a dependable like-for-like benchmark.

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Namalsk: compact survival horror

Namalsk is a frozen community map described as roughly 50 km². Its compact scale and hostile conditions can create frequent encounters and a high-pressure survival-horror rhythm. It is a strong choice for a private group or a server whose identity is built around cold-weather scarcity.

Namalsk’s mission template has appeared under different names in published guides. Never copy a template value blindly: use the name in the current map package or creator documentation after the server has generated the mission files.

Deer Isle: a large island with vehicles

Deer Isle is a Maine-inspired community map reported at about 256 km² and includes vehicles. Its size gives administrators room for multiple travel routes and event areas, but it also increases the importance of an accurate mission package and consistent server performance.

Deer Isle requires the Community Framework (CF) mod. The dependency must be loaded before the map mod. A frequently used mission example is dayzOffline.deerisle; treat it as an example, not a promise that every current release uses exactly that folder name.

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Banov: large-scale custom geography

Banov is also reported at about 256 km². Its design references real cities, villages and forests in the Banov District and is intended to support a large player count. It is appropriate when you want a broad custom world rather than a compact arena, but the administrator must plan travel distances, loot distribution and community onboarding around the map’s scale.

Requirements before installing a custom map

  • A working DayZ server installation and access to its files or host control panel.
  • The exact Workshop map mod and every dependency listed by its creator.
  • The map’s mission folder. A Workshop subscription alone is often insufficient; mission files may be distributed through the creator’s documentation, GitHub repository or Discord.
  • Permission to stop the server and upload files into its mpmissions and keys directories.
  • A backup of the current mission and serverDZ.cfg before changing the map.
  • Test clients that have subscribed to the same Workshop items and, for official DLC maps, own the required DLC.

Read the creator’s installation notes immediately before setup. They take precedence over a generic procedure because folder names, dependencies and launch parameters can change between releases.

How to install a custom DayZ map

1. Subscribe to the map and dependencies

  1. Open the map’s current Steam Workshop page and subscribe to it.
  2. Subscribe to every dependency listed there. For Deer Isle, that includes CF.
  3. Allow Steam to finish downloading the items on the machine that will run or stage the server files.

Players must perform the same subscriptions for a modded community map. A server can list a mod, but it cannot install that Workshop content for a player who has not downloaded it.

2. Obtain the matching mission files

Download the mission package specified by the map creator. Community maps commonly consist of a Workshop mod plus a separate mission folder containing world setup, economy files and other configuration. The mission package may be hosted outside the Workshop, so subscribing to the mod does not prove that the server has everything it needs.

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Unzip the package locally and inspect the top-level folder name. That name is important: it is normally the value you will place after template= in the server configuration.

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3. Stop the server and upload files

  1. Stop the DayZ server cleanly. Do not overwrite a live mission while the process is writing persistence data.
  2. Back up the existing mpmissions directory and serverDZ.cfg.
  3. Upload the map’s mission folder, or its contents as instructed by the creator, into the server’s mpmissions directory.
  4. If the package includes signature files, copy the supplied keys into the server’s keys folder. Keep the original filenames and directory structure.

Some hosts expose these directories in a file manager; a self-hosted installation uses the corresponding directories in the DayZ server root. Do not rename a mission folder merely to make it look tidier.

4. Add the Workshop mods to the launch configuration

Add the map mod and its dependencies to the server’s mod list in the order specified by the creator. On control panels with an ADDITIONAL MODS field, enter the Workshop IDs there. Put CF before a map that depends on it, such as Deer Isle. On a self-hosted server, use the equivalent -mod= launch parameter and preserve the exact Workshop item identifiers.

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Do not confuse client-only optional mods with server-required mods. The map documentation should identify which items belong in the server list.

5. Start once to generate or download map files

  1. Start the server with the map mod enabled.
  2. Wait for the process to finish its initial download and file-generation work. The first start can take longer than subsequent starts.
  3. Check the server log for a normal initialization rather than stopping it immediately.
  4. Stop the server again after the initial generation completes.

This first run is intentional. Many installations do not contain the final generated mission structure until DayZ has started once with the mod present.

6. Set the mission template in serverDZ.cfg

Open the configuration and find the class Missions section. Set its template= value to the exact mission folder name supplied by the map package. For example, a Deer Isle guide may use:

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    {
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};

The example is not universal. Use the folder name from the current release, especially for Namalsk, whose template name has varied between published instructions. A spelling mismatch can make the server fall back, fail to initialize, or start without the intended world.

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7. Start and test privately

  1. Start the server with the same mod list and mission template.
  2. Join with an administrator client that has the required Workshop items and DLC.
  3. Confirm that the character spawns on the intended map and that the map or mission name is correct.
  4. Walk through several areas and test movement, doors, inventory interactions, vehicles where applicable, containers and basic combat.
  5. Check that loot appears and persists after a restart.
  6. Review the server log for missing dependencies, signature errors, script exceptions or a failed mission load.

Only after this test should you announce the map to the wider community. A successful process start is not proof that the map loaded correctly.

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How to change an existing server to another map

Changing maps is more than editing one line. Treat it as a migration:

  1. Announce downtime and stop the server.
  2. Back up the current mpmissions folder, persistence data and serverDZ.cfg.
  3. Decide whether the new map should have a fresh economy and character state. Do not delete persistence until you have a verified backup and understand the map creator’s migration advice.
  4. Remove or disable the old map’s required mod entries, then add the new map and dependencies.
  5. Upload the new mission package and any keys.
  6. Run the server once, stop it, set the new template=, and start again.
  7. Test with a private client before reopening the public listing.

Keeping an old map mod in the launch list can create dependency conflicts or waste download time. Conversely, removing a dependency that the mission still references can prevent startup. Change the mod list and mission template as a matched set.

Common installation failures and fixes

The server starts, but players cannot join

  • Confirm that each player subscribed to every required Workshop item.
  • Check DLC ownership for Sakhal and any current Livonia requirement shown by Steam.
  • Compare the server’s mod list with the client’s loaded mods, including order where the creator specifies one.
  • Look for key or signature errors and copy the supplied keys into the correct keys directory.

The server cannot find the mission

  • Compare template= character-for-character with the actual folder name under mpmissions.
  • Check whether the archive created an extra nested directory during extraction.
  • Use the current creator documentation rather than an old guide, particularly for Namalsk.

The map mod is loaded but the world is wrong

  • Verify that the new map’s mission template replaced the previous one in class Missions.
  • Confirm that the server was stopped before files were replaced.
  • Check logs for a fallback to the default mission or a failed custom mission initialization.

Players see missing assets or script errors

  • Make sure Steam completed the Workshop download on both server and client.
  • Install dependencies named by the map creator, not just the headline map.
  • Ensure the server and clients are on compatible DayZ versions. A map package maintained for an older game release may require an update from its creator.

Choosing a map by community type

Community situation Most suitable starting point Reason
Public server seeking the fewest barriers Chernarus+ No separate map subscription or DLC check for the standard map
Players want official content but greener wilderness Livonia Forests, fields, waterways and settlements provide a different route network; verify current access status
Experienced group focused on cold exposure Sakhal or Namalsk Both are frozen settings; Sakhal is official and DLC-gated, while Namalsk is community content with its own mission package
Large custom world with vehicles Deer Isle Large island setting and vehicles, with CF as a known dependency
Large custom world aimed at high population Banov Broad city, village and forest layout designed for a large player count

Player access and administrator responsibilities

Map access is evaluated per player. An administrator does not need to purchase a DLC on behalf of the community, but every player who joins a DLC map must own the required entitlement. The same principle applies to Workshop maps: each player downloads the map and its dependencies.

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Publish the exact map name, required Workshop subscriptions, DLC requirement, server version and any launch-key instructions in your server rules. When you update a map, tell players whether they should unsubscribe and resubscribe, verify files, or simply allow Steam to update the existing item. The creator’s release notes are the authority for that procedure.

Operational checklist

  • Map access checked on Steam for the current game version.
  • All required Workshop IDs recorded.
  • Dependencies loaded in the documented order.
  • Mission folder obtained from the current creator package.
  • Existing mission and persistence backed up.
  • Keys copied where supplied.
  • First startup completed before setting the final template.
  • serverDZ.cfg points to the exact mission folder.
  • Private test confirms spawn, loot, interaction, vehicles and persistence.
  • Players have clear DLC and mod requirements.

Bottom line

Chernarus+ remains the dependable default because it imposes the fewest requirements. Livonia offers official woodland variety but needs a current access check. Sakhal is the official Frostline choice for a frozen environment, while Namalsk delivers a compact community survival-horror experience. Deer Isle and Banov provide large custom worlds, with Deer Isle requiring CF. For any custom map, the mission folder and the template= value matter as much as the Workshop subscription: install both, start once to generate files, test privately, and only then invite players.

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