DayZ Maps: Chernarus, Livonia, Sakhal and Custom Maps

DayZ Maps: Chernarus, Livonia, Sakhal and Custom Maps

DayZ ships with three official maps, plus a wide selection of community maps from the Workshop. This guide compares them and shows how to switch maps on your server.

Official Maps

Map	Size	DLC needed?	Atmosphere
Chernarus+	225 km² (~15 × 15 km)	No (base game)	Eastern European, mix of coast, forest, military
Livonia	163 km²	Yes (Livonia DLC)	Dense forests, fewer towns, more PvE
Sakhal	~80 km²	Yes (Frostline DLC)	Winter, island setting, new survival mechanics

The official mission folders you set as template in serverDZ.cfg:

class Missions {
    class DayZ {
        template = "dayzOffline.chernarusplus";
    };
};

Map	template value
Chernarus	dayzOffline.chernarusplus
Livonia	dayzOffline.enoch
Sakhal	dayzOffline.sakhal

Important: players need the relevant DLC themselves on Steam to join. As the server admin you don’t need to buy a DLC license — the mission files ship with the server.

Chernarus+

Setting: Eastern European country shaped by DayZ’s lore. Coastal towns like Berezino and Elektrozavodsk in the south, dense northern forests, the Tisy military camp at the top.

Strengths:

• Largest and best-optimized map
• Clear loot progression south → north
• Massive community, tons of tutorials and tools

Weaknesses:

• Familiar to veterans — few surprises left
• Hotspots (NWAF, Tisy) can be crowded

Ideal for: beginner servers, classic DayZ, large communities.

Livonia

Setting: Polish-inspired Central-Eastern Europe with thick forests and small settlements. Introduced with the Livonia DLC.

Strengths:

• Different mood than Chernarus — feels wilder, less urban
• Plenty of wildlife — great for PvE and hunting communities
• More compact, so player encounters happen more often

Weaknesses:

• Players strictly need the DLC
• Fewer loot hotspots than Chernarus

Ideal for: survival purists, hunting RP, dense PvP.

Sakhal (Frostline DLC)

Setting: Volcanic winter island in the fictional Sakhalin archipelago. Introduced with the Frostline DLC.

Strengths:

• Winter setting changes the game fundamentally (cold, heat sources, hot springs)
• New POIs: coal mines, oil rigs, container harbors
• Fresh map lore and loot distribution

Weaknesses:

• Smaller than Chernarus — less exploration
• Players need the Frostline DLC
• Some mods aren’t yet adapted for Sakhal

Ideal for: Frostline fans, hardcore survival, smaller communities.

Switching the Map (Step by Step)

1. RespawnHost panel → stop the server
2. File manager → open serverDZ.cfg
3. Change the template value inside the Missions block
4. Save and restart
5. Important: persistence resets when switching maps — each map has its own storage_* folder. Take a backup first.

Popular Custom Maps

Custom maps install via the Steam Workshop just like regular mods. Each has its own mission folder, which you set as template.

Custom Map	Workshop Mod	Atmosphere	template
Namalsk	DayZ-Namalsk	Hardcore winter, supernatural	Namalsk.namalsk
Deer Isle	Deer Isle	Massive island, unique geography	dayzOffline.deerisle
Esseker	Esseker	Balkan setting, dense forests	Esseker.Esseker
Banov	Banov	Czech city map	dayzOffline.banov
Pripyat (Stalker)	Pripyat	Chernobyl atmosphere	dayzOffline.pripyat

Mission folder names can vary by map version. Always check the README that ships with the map or the workshop description.

Installing a Custom Map

1. Add the map mod via the panel’s Steam Workshop integration
2. Copy the map mission (often in the mod or a separate workshop entry) into your mpmissions/ folder
3. Set the new mission name in template in serverDZ.cfg
4. Restart the server

Some custom maps need extra dependencies — check the workshop description.

Hosting Multiple Maps

DayZ has no built-in map rotation. Two options:

1. Multiple servers at RespawnHost — one server per map, all online at the same time.
2. Map-switcher mods — e.g. server admin tools that change the mission template via RCon and reload. Note: persistence has to be managed separately.

FAQ

Question: Do I need the Livonia DLC to host it?

No — the mission files ship with the server. But every player who wants to join needs the DLC.

Question: Can I switch from Chernarus to Livonia and keep persistence?

No. Each map has its own coordinates and structures, and storage_* is not interchangeable. Switching means starting fresh.

Question: What’s the difference between dayzOffline.chernarusplus and dayz.chernarusplus?

dayzOffline.chernarusplus is the official vanilla mission shipped with the server. dayz.chernarusplus is the open mission source from the workshop — aimed at admins who want to customize and share mission files. Most servers can stick with the offline variant.

Question: Which map is best for a new server?

Chernarus, unless you have a strong vision otherwise. Largest player base, best mod support, best optimized. Sakhal is currently attracting a lot of Frostline buyers — a strong niche if you want to stand out.

Question: Do all mods work on every map?

No. Map-specific items (loot spawns, events) must be configured for each map. A generic weapons mod works everywhere; a Chernarus quest pack does not automatically work on Sakhal.

Question: How big are the maps actually in-game?

Chernarus covers 225 km² (land + water, ~181 km² land, 15×15 km). Livonia ~163 km². Sakhal ~80 km² — noticeably smaller, which makes it a “tight” map with more frequent encounters.

Question: Where can I see maps online?

External tools like iZurvive (izurvive.com) show all three official maps with loot spawns, helicopter crashes, and heli drops in real time.

Question: Can I add my own POIs (Points of Interest)?

Yes, via the mission files (init.c and cfgeventspawns.xml). Tools like the DayZ Editor (Workshop) let you place structures visually and export them to code.