DayZ Server Troubleshooting: Common Issues and Solutions

DayZ Server Troubleshooting Guide

DayZ servers have a lot of moving parts, and things will go wrong sooner or later. BattlEye kicks, mod conflicts, loot that won't spawn, bases vanishing. We see all of these regularly, and most of them have straightforward fixes once you know where to look.

If you're setting up a new server, the DayZ Getting Started Guide is a better starting point. For config file details, see the DayZ Server Configuration Guide.

Connection Issues

Players Can't Find the Server in the Browser

What's happening: The server is running, but it's not showing up in the DayZ server browser or DZSA Launcher.

Things to check:

1. Is BattlEye on? Servers with BattlEye disabled don't appear in the default server browser. Make sure BattlEye = 1; is set in serverDZ.cfg.
2. Query port access. DayZ uses port 2302 (game, UDP) and 2303 (query, UDP). Both need to be accessible. On LOW.MS servers, this is handled automatically.
3. Give it a minute. New servers can take 5-15 minutes to show up in the browser after first starting. Try refreshing a few times.
4. Is the server actually ready? Check the console output in your LOW.MS panel. The server isn't fully up until the mission has finished loading.
5. Direct Connect as a workaround. Players can always connect using the IP and port shown in your control panel, even if the server hasn't appeared in the browser yet.

"Version Mismatch" or "Bad Version" Error

This means the client and server are on different DayZ versions. Usually happens right after a game update.

1. Restart the server to trigger an automatic update, or check for updates through Steam Update in your control panel.
2. Make sure forceSameBuild = 1; is set in serverDZ.cfg.
3. If you're running mods, those may need updating too. Check the Workshop pages for your installed mods.

"Connection Failed" or Timeout

Generic connection failures. Could be a few things:

1. Is the server actually running? Check in your LOW.MS panel. If it crashed, restart it and look at the console for errors.
2. Right IP and port? Double-check the connection details in your panel. Default game port is 2302.
3. Password correct? If you've set a server password, make sure players are entering it right.
4. Server full? If all slots are occupied, new players queue up (assuming loginQueueMaxPlayers is set). They'll get in when a slot opens.
5. Mod mismatch? If your server runs mods, players need the exact same ones installed. This is probably the most common cause of connection failures on modded servers.

Stuck on Loading Screen

Players connect but never get past the loading screen.

1. Bump up loginQueueConcurrentPlayers. If lots of people connect at once, set loginQueueConcurrentPlayers = 10; in serverDZ.cfg.
2. Check RAM. If the server is running out of memory during player loading, it can hang. Watch the RAM usage in Current Activity & Stats and consider an upgrade if it's consistently above 90%. See the DayZ hosting page for options.
3. Corrupt character data. Rare, but it happens. You can reset the player's data from the server files if a specific player keeps getting stuck.
4. Mod conflicts. Some mod combinations cause loading issues. Try disabling mods one at a time to narrow it down.

BattlEye Issues

"BattlEye Client Not Responding" Kick

This is almost always a client-side problem, not a server issue.

1. Have the player verify their game files in Steam (right-click DayZ, Properties, Local Files, Verify Integrity).
2. Reinstall BattlEye. They'll find the installer in the BattlEye subfolder of their DayZ install directory.
3. Antivirus software, Discord overlay, MSI Afterburner, and similar tools sometimes interfere with BattlEye. Have them disable those temporarily and try again.
4. Restarting Steam and DayZ fixes it surprisingly often.

"BattlEye: Global Ban" or "BattlEye: Game Ban"

This is a permanent ban from BattlEye for detected cheating. There's nothing you can do on the server side. The player needs to contact BattlEye directly to appeal. Don't disable BattlEye to try to work around it.

BattlEye Initialization Failed

The server won't start because BattlEye can't initialise.

1. Check that the BattlEye folder exists in the server directory with the required files.
2. Try a clean restart. BattlEye occasionally fails on the first attempt.
3. If it keeps happening, reach out to our support team through the LOW.MS Control Panel.

Mod Issues

"Addon Not Found" or Signature Mismatch

Players get kicked or see errors about missing addons.

1. Check the mod folders. Every mod (the @-prefixed folders) needs to be in the server's root directory, and the names in your startup parameters need to match exactly. Case matters.
2. Key files. Every mod has .bikey files in its keys folder. These must be in your server's keys directory. Without them, players running the mod get kicked by signature verification.
3. Version match. Server and clients need to be on the same version of each mod. When a mod updates on the Workshop, you need to update the server-side copy.
4. Load order. Dependencies need to load first. @CF (Community Framework) before anything that depends on it, for example.

Server Crashes After Adding Mods

The server starts but crashes shortly after, or when players do certain things.

1. Check the crash log. The console output in your panel usually points at which mod caused the problem.
2. Isolate the mod. Remove all mods, then add them back one at a time with a restart between each. Tedious but effective.
3. Validate your types.xml. If you merged mod types.xml entries incorrectly, malformed XML crashes the server. Run it through an XML validator.
4. RAM. Mods increase RAM usage significantly. DayZ Expansion alone can add 2-4 GB on top of vanilla. If you're running out of headroom, check the DayZ hosting page for upgrade options.
5. Incompatible mods. Some mods just don't play well together. Check the mod authors' Discord servers and Workshop comments for known conflicts.

Mod Items Not Spawning

You've installed a mod with new items but they never appear in the world.

1. Merge the types.xml. Most mods that add items need their entries in your types.xml, or loaded as a separate file through cfgeconomycore.xml.
2. Check usage and value tags. New items need <usage> and <value> tags to spawn in the right places.
3. Restart and wait. After changing types.xml, restart the server. The CE can take 10-30 minutes to spawn new items across the map.
4. Check nominal values. If <nominal> and <min> are zero, nothing will spawn.

Loot and Economy Issues

Loot Not Spawning or Spawning Wrong

Buildings are empty, or specific items never show up.

1. XML syntax. A single typo in types.xml can break the entire loot economy. Validate it.
2. Right mission folder? Make sure you're editing the types.xml in the active mission folder (mpmissions/dayzOffline.chernarusplus/db/types.xml for Chernarus).
3. Check globals.xml. SpawnInitial (default 1200) and InitialSpawn (default 100) control how the server handles initial loot population after a restart. If they're set too low, loot takes ages to appear.
4. Restart required. Economy file changes only take effect after a full server restart.
5. Give the CE time. After a restart, the CE needs 15-30 minutes to populate the map. Don't panic if buildings are empty right away.

Loot Cycling / Duplication

Players exploiting loot spawns by rapidly picking up and dropping items.

1. Enable loot history with lootHistory = 1; in serverDZ.cfg. This prevents immediate respawns in the same spot.
2. Increase restock timers. Higher <restock> values in types.xml for valuable items mean longer waits between spawn checks.
3. Use count_in_player. Setting count_in_player="1" for rare items means items being carried count toward the nominal limit.

Performance Issues

Server Lag and Desync

Players rubber-banding, delayed hit registration, general sluggishness.

1. Reduce ZombieMaxCount in globals.xml. This is the single biggest performance lever. Try 600-700 instead of the default 1000.
2. Reduce AnimalMaxCount. Try 100-150 instead of 200.
3. Schedule restarts. Every 4-6 hours. DayZ servers leak memory over time and a fresh restart fixes most lag. Set this up in Scheduled Tasks.
4. Check RAM usage. If you're consistently above 90%, it's time for an upgrade. Modded servers with 60+ players often need quite a lot of headroom. Check the DayZ hosting page for current options.
5. Optimise types.xml. Lower lifetimes for common items to reduce the total object count the server has to track.
6. Lower the player count temporarily. If performance is terrible and you need a quick fix while you optimise, dropping maxPlayers by 10-20 can help.

Unexpected Crashes or Restarts

The server just stops without warning.

1. Crash logs. Check the console in your LOW.MS panel for error messages right before the crash.
2. RAM. Out-of-memory crashes are common with heavily modded setups. If RAM usage spikes to 100%, it'll crash.
3. Corrupt files. Mission file or mod file corruption can cause intermittent crashes.
4. Outdated mods. This is a leading cause. Keep everything up to date.
5. Bad scripts. If you've added custom scripts, a poorly written one can hang the server until it crashes. Review anything you've added recently.

Base Building and Persistence Issues

Bases Disappearing

Player structures gone after a restart.

1. Persistence. Should be enabled by default on LOW.MS servers.
2. Flag pole maintenance. Players need to interact with their flag pole within the FlagRefreshFrequency period (default is 5 days, or 432000 seconds). If they don't, the base starts decaying. We get asked about this a lot, and it's almost always the answer.
3. storageAutoDestroyFlags. If this is set to a non-zero value in serverDZ.cfg, certain storage items get auto-destroyed after being untouched.
4. Did you wipe? Deleting the storage_1 folder removes all bases permanently. There's no undo.

Items Disappearing from Storage

Gear vanishing from tents, barrels, or crates.

1. Container lifetime. Items in storage persist based on the container's lifetime in types.xml. Make sure storage containers have high lifetime values (3888000 seconds is about 45 days, which is reasonable for tents).
2. count_in_hoarder flag. If count_in_hoarder="1" is set for an item, stashed items count toward the nominal limit. The CE shouldn't delete stored items, but it will stop spawning new ones if too many are hoarded.
3. Server crashes. If the server crashes rather than shutting down gracefully, recent storage changes might not be saved. Regular scheduled restarts help here.

Getting Help

If none of the above solved your problem:

1. Check the console. The server console output in your control panel has the most useful diagnostic info. Note down any error messages and when they happened.
2. Contact us. Our support team is available through the LOW.MS Control Panel. Include your server details and any error messages you've spotted.
3. Community resources. The official DayZ forums, DayZ subreddit, and mod-specific Discord servers are good places to ask for help with game-specific issues.