How to join a DayZ server

DayZ does not put you on a server by itself. You pick one, the launcher checks the mods, and then you connect to an address. This directory is the list. It does not replace the launcher, and it does not store a character for you. The page shows what the public directory already knows: name, map, players, country, the password flag, and the workshop mods the server reported.

Copy the address

Install DayZ from Steam and open the official launcher once so it can update. When you have a server in mind, open its dossier here. The connect line is an IP address and a game port, written as address:port. Copy it. In the launcher, choose direct connect and paste that line. The dossier also has a Join in Steam link. That link uses steam://connect and hands the address to Steam. Direct connect in the launcher is the path that lines the mods up. Use it when the server is modded.

Read the row first

Players and slots tell you if there is room. The map has to be one you can actually load. Chernarus is in the base game. Livonia is filed as enoch and needs the DLC. Sakhal needs its own DLC. Namalsk, Deer Isle, and Banov need workshop mods. The country is where the machine is hosted, which is a better ping hint than the language of the server name. A password mark means the directory saw a password. A whitelist on the dossier can still stop you on a server that has none.

Mods and the launcher

The dossier lists workshop file ids when the server sends them. Each name links to the Steam Workshop page so you can see the download before you start it. You do not have to subscribe by hand. The launcher reads the server mod list at connect time and fetches what you are missing. The first join of a heavy server can take longer than the walk inland from the coast. If the launcher sits on a file, that is the download, not a dead server. If the mod list is empty and the server is still marked modded, the crawl did not receive names. Connecting is still how the launcher learns the list.

Official character, community character

An official server uses the public hive. The person you played last week on another official server is the person you are about to get killed. A community server is a private hive. You start under that server's rules, and your official character stays where it was. The official flag here is the directory flag, not the word official painted into the hostname. Filter the official list or the community list instead of trusting the name.

When the server is full

Full servers are normal in the evening. The dossier shows a queue when the server reports one. If it does not, the row sits at the slot cap and you pick another. The population page is the whole game, not one machine. It helps when every server you like looks empty and you want to know whether that is just the time of day. Map pages are the better start when you already know you want Chernarus or a community map. The no-password list drops locked servers. Vanilla drops the ones the directory marked modded, with the caveat written on that page.

If a server is offline, the dossier says so. Owners restart for wipes and updates. Come back, or open another row on the same map. Saved servers live in this browser only. There is no account on DayZ Ninja. Clearing site data clears the list.