How to Host a DayZ Badlands Server (1.30 Prep)

Quick answer: A DayZ Badlands server runs on build 1.30, which Bohemia releases to every DayZ server on 15 October 2026 — your box updates that day whether or not it loads Nasdara. The map is picked by one line in serverDZ.cfg (template = "..."), and the Nasdara mission folder name is still unpublished as of the Badlands pre-launch (October 2026). Your mods need a 1.30 pass and the go-live hour is unannounced.

• Update: 1.30 ships with Badlands on 15 October 2026, on Experimental since 16 September 2026 (official).
• Map selection: one template line in serverDZ.cfg. Panels have no map dropdown — it is a hand edit.
• Persistence: each mission owns its folder and storage_1, so Nasdara does not touch your Chernarus save.
• Still open: the folder name, a possible reset, whether joiners must own the DLC.

Pre-launch checklist

The one detail nobody can give you: the Nasdara folder name

DayZ loads a terrain from a mission folder under mpmissions/. Every official map so far follows one pattern:

The selector lives in serverDZ.cfg:

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

LOW.MS puts it bluntly: "Nobody outside Bohemia knows what the Nasdara one's called yet" — and it will not guess, because "a wrong folder name is exactly the sort of thing that gets copied into six other guides and then into your config." GameServerKings agrees.

If it is missing, check Bohemia's official mission repository, which carries the vanilla mission for every official map: BohemiaInteractive/DayZ-Central-Economy. Sakhal landed there the day after Frostline launched, so watch on 16 October. Never delete mpmissions/ — your worlds live inside those folders.

What 1.30 does to the world you already run

Adding a map and updating a build are different questions; hosts get asked both weekly:

• Adding Nasdara wipes nothing. Each mission keeps a separate folder with its own storage_1, so a fresh Nasdara world sits beside your untouched Chernarus world. Set template back to dayzOffline.chernarusplus and the old save loads where you left it.
• Both maps at once means two servers. One DayZ server runs one mission; there is no switcher.
• Whether 1.30 itself resets persistence is unanswered. Bohemia have not said, and DayZ major versions have gone both ways. Plan for a wipe.

Your bases, stashes and wildlife sit in their own mission folder, so a map switch leaves them alone. The update changes the build underneath them.

What an experimental server can and cannot tell you

A Badlands test server gets you part of the way. Update 1.30 reached the Experimental branch on Steam on 16 September 2026, with dedicated "Many Motorbikes" servers for vehicle testing, the pattern Bohemia used for "Many Cars".

Bohemia were explicit in the 1.30 Experimental post: normally they "would include all of the assets that come with the expansion," but this time "we're keeping some of them until the release," with motorbikes as the exception. The branch tells you plenty about bikes and animation mods and nothing about the map.

Some panels lock the branch-switch variable — ask your host first.

Mods, mission economy files and the official code lock

Official source: 1.30 Experimental Release | Motorbikes, Inventory UI Improvements, and more!

Bohemia's warning is one sentence: with animation systems reworked, "you might encounter problems with animation-related mods." Budget for your whole mod list needing updates on release day, animation mods first.

Three things are per-mission, not per-server — where new-map launches usually hurt:

• Economy files. types.xml, cfgspawnabletypes.xml and merged mod XML live in mpmissions/<mission>/db/. Chernarus edits do not carry over — merge them into the Nasdara mission one mod at a time.
• Coordinates. Traders, spawns, custom buildings and safe zones are positions on one terrain. Chernarus coordinates land in the wrong place on Nasdara, or off the map.
• The official code lock. It arrives on every map, runs on a charged V9 battery, unlocks when the battery dies, resists damage while attached and has escalating brute-force protection (LOW.MS, from Bohemia's 31 July recap). Many servers already run the community Code Lock mod, and nobody has said how the two behave together — see the codelocks guide.

What a DayZ server costs in 2026

List prices checked 10 October 2026:

Ports catch self-hosters late: host docs list UDP 2302 as the game port, 27016 as the Steam query port and 2303-2305 for master server and RCon; rented servers usually open these for you.

Official source: DayZ Badlands Price Announcement | Creator Program

Whether you must own Badlands to host it is unconfirmed as of the pre-launch. Host docs say installs never required the host to own the game; for Frostline the check fell on joining players — Bohemia stated that "access to servers running Sakhal requires a purchased copy of DayZ Frostline." The DLC is on the DayZ Badlands Steam page; platform details sit in Game Pass, crossplay and platforms.

Launch-day runbook: 15 October 2026

1. Restore-test a backup before the day, not during it.
2. Get Steam update readiness down in advance. Panels ship serverDZ.cfg with build enforcement on (forceSameBuild, usually labelled "Enforce Game Version"). Once players' clients are on 1.30 and your server is not, they cannot join.
3. Write your mod list and versions down outside the panel, so you know what broke and in what order to restore it.
4. Decide now: second server or replacement. With months of bases on your main map, run Nasdara alongside it — base building in Nasdara covers what players will do there.
5. Give your Discord the day, not a time. Bohemia have not announced the hour.

Questions still unanswered

Four things are simply unpublished as of the Badlands pre-launch (October 2026):

• The Nasdara mission folder name — you cannot set template without it.
• Whether 1.30 resets existing persistence — it decides your wipe warning.
• Whether server owners must own the DLC — decides your install and your server name.
• The go-live hour on 15 October — decides what you promise your community.

The update 1.30 page tracks what the patch itself has confirmed.

FAQ

Can I run a DayZ Badlands test server before 15 October? Yes for 1.30 — live since 16 September 2026 with "Many Motorbikes" servers — no for Nasdara. Bohemia are holding expansion assets back until release; pre-launch map access ran through the Creator Program.

What is the Nasdara mission folder called? Unpublished as of the Badlands pre-launch (October 2026). Official missions so far are dayzOffline.chernarusplus, dayzOffline.enoch and dayzOffline.sakhal. Read the name off the new folder in mpmissions/ rather than copying a guess.

Will update 1.30 wipe my server? Bohemia have not said. Adding Nasdara wipes nothing — the new map gets its own folder and save — but whether 1.30 resets your existing world is unanswered. Back up and test the restore.

Do players need to own DayZ Badlands to join my Nasdara server? Unconfirmed. The Frostline precedent is that joining Sakhal required a purchased copy, while the install never required the host to own the game. State that requirement in your server name once Bohemia confirm it.

How much does a DayZ server cost per month? Rented servers started at $12.60-$13.93/mo for a small slot count and $46.85/mo for 30 slots (checked 10 October 2026); self-hosting costs only your hardware. Players pay about $24.99 for the DLC.

Related Guides

• DayZ Update 1.30 Patch Notes & Release Info — what changes when your server updates.
• Codelocks in DayZ: Official Code Lock Guide — the official lock lands on every map, including yours.
• DayZ Badlands Beginner Starter Guide — what players do in their first hour on Nasdara.