Despite its rocky launch out of early access, DayZ has come along in leaps and bounds with continuous updates refining its once clunky controls and awkward combat with a slicker, more fast-paced style. New maps, as well as weapons, have been added and old familiar locations have ဣbeen tweaked and given a facelift over the years.
The modding community in that time has also been incredibly busy with tons of creative and unique mods being released that add neಌw elements to the game with base building, deeper realistic survival mechanics, additional 🧜zombie varieties, and plenty more. With such a vast catalog of player-created content to choose from, it can be a little intimidating to take those first steps into putting mods in DayZ. So to ease you into it here are some that are worth trying out.
Updated July 18, 2023 By Matthew Mckeown: DayZ is still surprisingly shuffling away these days. Despite the Arma Engine showing its age, it’s doing well and the Community has continued to support the game even if its original creator has disappeared to do other things.
There are a lot of great downloadable DayZ mods that have come out, some of which substantially overhaul and improve the game. There are too many to list them all, but we’ve made things a little easier by combing through the backlogs of add-ons to find the very best. Here’s an updated look at the rankings since our last check-in.
23 CardPack
Day Z is one of those ꦕgames where there can often be long stretches of absolutely nothing happening as you trudge along through the wilderness. So why not lighten up those long ꦬjourneys by showing off your Pokemon Card collection with the by JungleT.
This😼 unique Mod adds collectible Pokemon cards into the game. They can be opened and stored away safely in your inventory or traded, other than that they’re just a fun collectible. The addon is still in its early stage꧙s but there are plans for more card packs in the future.
22 A🌸lien Invasion
There are a lot of fun and weird creature mods for Day Z that bring all sorts of different ghouls to the woods of Chernarus and beꦫyond. If you’re looking for something a little bit sci-fi then the by Cole should be on your Steam Workshop subscription list.
This simple little addon adds a heli crash event to the game, but instead of a downed helo it’s a UFO. Awash in an otherworldly green light, this terrain-embedded aircraft comes with a couple of wandering Greys that guard it. Though don’t expect rayguns and laser blas🥀ts should you mount a raid on one as their AI is a little simple and based on the regular Zombies. But it can be terrifying to see one of these creatures lurch out at you from the dark.
21 The Fallen ꦗ
Average players won’t get much use out of this one, but it’s a boon to server owners looking to add a bit of environment🅘al storytelling to their worlds. by IkeOzzy adds soldier, zombie, and survivor bodies to the prop list.
So now you can craft interesting areas in your server, or add some unique story moments if you’re run♍ning an RP-only mode. The mod developer has stated they’re also planning to add more models as time goes on, so it will become quite handy for future server storytellers.
20 The MorePresents Mod 🦩
Sometimes🅰 you want to keep your changes simple and the is a great way to make your adventures in DayZ look more festive with some Christmas-themed gifts.
Created by the two-man modding team of Chopper and Jest, this interesting mod adds free gifts around the map ranging in sizes from small, medium, and large throughout the map. Inside these cheerfully designed boxes are gear and items with the higher tier items appearing in the larger boxes. Although, don't go sprinting towards one in glee if you spot it as there are also a few landmines shaped like boxes scattered around to keep you on your toes.
19 Dog Compaꦰnion
If Dogmeat from the Fallout series taught us one thing it's that everything's better when you have a dog keeping you company. Now with the DayZ-Dog mod, you can bring along your own canine companion into the zombie wastelands.
Originally creatꦚed by the user HennySea but now with a whole team behind it, the adds a friendly dog companion that can follow you and attack infected. There are three different breeds 🦂to choose from; the German Shepard, Siberian Husky, and Czechoslovak Wolfdog, so there are some pretty big pooches to be pals with.
18 TES: Tales Of Emerald🙈 ꦛ
An impressive mod that was made by Romzet. lets you live the ultimate Skyrim fantasy of being able to play the game.. inside another game. This unique and completely insane concept of a mod adds a new area to explore and converts the majority of DayZ's mechanics into a Skyrim setting.
It's an impressive mod that brings a huge island that features four different types of biomes spread out across a 10 by 10-kilometer map that you can wander around to your heart's content. With rich lore that can be explored by reading books and scrolls that were left behind. For combat enthusiasts, there's a class selection system with options ranging from warrior to master crafter, magician, and more. There are also 50 different skills to choose from to customize your character, a new melee system, and 30 different creatures and monsters to murder. There’s plenty here for Skyrim fans to chew into.
17 ꧂ 🔴 No Sprinting Zombies
When DayZ first launched the Zom🅘bies were infamous in the Community for their high aggressio🃏n and speed. They were on par with the infected from the movie 28 Days Later with how they could chase you down with Olympic Sprinter speed over the distance of several in-game miles.
🌺The by Staiff slows down their gait somewhat and gives you a more George Romero kind of zombie that slowly shambles after you. So if you want more of a realistic and classic undead experience and are tired of being dogpiled by ligh🔯tning-fast Walkers then grab this free download from the Steam Workshop.
16 ꦿ The Land Rover Defender
Created by a modder named Tyson, 🐭the handy adds the hardy Land Rover Defender to drive around th༒e infected-infested lands of Chernarus or Livonia if you own the DLC.
Available in five different colors ranging from yellow to grey and even a special UN logo-covered version, this is an all-terrain vehicle that will keep you safe as you scout out new locations. The Defender in real life is renowned for being a tough offroad vehicle that's hard to stop, so it makes sense why this would be perfect for the zombie apocalypse.
15 The Tree ওHouse
There's a lot of great spots to set up shop in DayZ's massive map, but why not get sneaky with your lair by hanging out in your very own treetop hideaway with the brilliant by BigGrampa.
Although before you go grabbing crafting parts for scaffolding, to use this building you will need to have the DayZ Editor Mod installed. With this you can edit the game world and place down a treehouse wherever you like, just make sure nobody discovers it as you can't disassemble and run away like you would a player-built base.
14 🤡 Radioactive Animals 💃
If being chased down by zombies or shredded by hostile player gunfire isn't enough of a threat in DayZ, then the might just be for you.
This brutal addon was created by SneakyPig and adds Wolves and Bears into the blighted landscapes of DayZ. These deadly new creatures can be killed for resources and they come in three tiers of difficulty; Tough, Beast, and Juggernaut, with the higher tiers providing ওmore pelts and meat but more of a difficult fight. If you wanted more from the underdeveloped Hunting side of DayZ then the Radioactive Animals mod is a nice way to fill up the wasteland with more critters to kill.