How to Set Up a DayZ Server and Configure Central Economy

Running a DayZ server does not end with downloading the files. What gives your server its character is the central economy (CE) configuration. This guide covers the install and how CE settings affect performance.

1. Server Files

The App ID for the DayZ dedicated server is 223350. This content is not available for anonymous download, so you have to log into SteamCMD with your own Steam account:

./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/dayz-server +login YOUR_USERNAME +app_update 223350 validate +quit

⚠️ The server may ask for Steam Guard verification. Once you complete that step, the session is stored.

2. serverDZ.cfg

hostname = "Your Server Name";
password = "";
passwordAdmin = "STRONG_PASSWORD";
maxPlayers = 60;
verifySignatures = 2;
forceSameBuild = 1;
disableVoN = 0;
instanceId = 1;
timeStampFormat = "Short";

Leave verifySignatures = 2 alone. It protects your server by blocking unsigned content from loading.

3. Ports

Port	Protocol	Purpose
2302	UDP	Game traffic
2303	UDP	Query
2305	UDP	Steam query
27016	UDP	Steam master server

sudo ufw allow 2302:2305/udp
sudo ufw allow 27016/udp

4. Central Economy: types.xml

Loot balance is managed from mpmissions/dayzOffline.chernarusplus/db/types.xml:

<type name="M4A1">
    <nominal>5</nominal>
    <lifetime>7200</lifetime>
    <restock>1800</restock>
    <min>2</min>
    <quantmin>-1</quantmin>
    <quantmax>-1</quantmax>
</type>

Field	Meaning
nominal	Target number of items present on the map
min	Lower bound; below this the item is respawned
lifetime	How long an item survives before despawning, in seconds
restock	Wait time before the item is produced again

💡 Raising nominal values gives you abundant loot, but it also increases the object count on the map and drives server FPS down. High loot servers need hardware chosen accordingly.

5. What Drives Server FPS

Factor	Impact
Total object count (CE)	Very high
Vehicle count	High
Player count	Moderate
Mod count	Varies

Once server FPS drops below 20, players start seeing hit registration problems. The first place to look is not the hardware but the total object count in your CE files.

6. Installing Mods

Workshop mods are copied into the server directory and added to the launch line:

-mod=@CF;@BuilderItems

Remember to copy the key files from each mod’s keys/ directory into the server’s keys/ directory. Without them, verifySignatures will stop players from connecting.

7. Automatic Restarts

A four hour restart cycle is standard practice on DayZ servers. It clears accumulated memory and keeps loot respawning in order:

0 */4 * * * systemctl restart dayz

Conclusion

On a DayZ server, performance depends as much on the central economy configuration as it does on the hardware. If server FPS is low, review your types.xml totals first, then the core speed of your game server package.

👉 See our DayZ server hosting page to match a package.