Best DayZ Mods 2026: Top 10 for Update 1.30 and Badlands

The best DayZ mods in 2026 share the same core: CF and Dabs Framework as frameworks, VPPAdminTools or Community Online Tools for admins, Code Lock for bases, DayZ Expansion or TraderPlus for an economy, and a map such as Namalsk. What changed is Update 1.30, released on 15 October 2026 with the paid Badlands expansion: Bohemia announced a full wipe across all platforms, and it is up to each mod's maker to update their mod for 1.30. Check the "Updated" date on a mod's Workshop page before you add it. All numbers below were read from Steam on 17 October 2026.

Planning a modded DayZ server for 1.30? On HostValues you install Steam Workshop mods through the game panel or upload them via SFTP, on NVMe storage with DDoS protection and 2 backup slots per server. Plans come with 8, 12 or 16 GB RAM; the 12 GB Veteran plan is the one listed for modded servers. View the plans →

Top 10 DayZ mods for a 1.30 server

Popular mods that were updated around the 1.30 release, plus the frameworks they depend on.

In the category sections below, a mod without a date was updated on 15, 16 or 17 October 2026.

Frameworks: install these first

CF (Community Framework, updated 13 October 2026) is the base layer for a large part of the Workshop: VPPAdminTools, Community Online Tools, TraderPlus, FlipTransport and DayZ Expansion all list it under Required items. Its page has one line people skip: wipe your server before you install it, so the 1.30 wipe is the right moment. Dabs Framework is required by DayZ-Expansion-Core and therefore by every Expansion module. Smaller frameworks belong to one mod family, such as RaG_Core for the RaG mods.

Admin tools

• VPPAdminTools: needs CF. After the first start it creates VPPAdminTools/Permissions/SuperAdmins in your profiles folder; put the Steam IDs of your head admins in SuperAdmins.txt there.
• Community-Online-Tools (COT, 2.23 million): needs CF. Teleport players, set health, blood and shock, change the weather; DayZ Expansion adds its own menus to it.
• DayZ Editor Loader (2.69 million, last update September 2025): loads .dze builds from the DayZ Editor through an EditorFiles folder in your mission. Needs Dabs Framework.

One admin menu is enough. And BuilderItems (2.98 million, last update November 2024) is often called a basebuilding mod, but it adds objects for map editing and has to be loaded on every client too.

Basebuilding and storage

• Code Lock: a simpler alternative to the vanilla combination lock, with settings for logs, raid times and client rate limiting. No dependencies.
• RaG_BaseBuilding (541,000): 21 building kits with snap-point placement. RaG_BaseItems (1.10 million) adds hundreds of storage objects, furniture and workstations. Both need RaG_Core on server and clients.
• MMG Base Storage (791,000): storage furniture; its page stresses adding its types.xml entries.
• Underground Bases (521,000): underground shelters with three upgrade levels. Needs CF.

Two big names need care: BaseBuildingPlus (2.83 million) says "Updated for 1.27" and was last updated in March 2025, and MuchStuffPack (1.94 million, last update February 2025) says mod support ended with 1.26. Test both on a copy of your server first.

Traders and economy

• DayZ-Expansion-Market (1.61 million): trading zones, dynamic and static stock, and item condition that affects the sell price, with default traders for Chernarus. Needs CF, Dabs Framework and DayZ-Expansion-Core; add DayZ-Expansion-AI for AI trader NPCs.
• TraderPlus: standalone traders with dynamic stock, vehicle insurance and safe zones. Needs only CF.
• Trader (2.34 million, last update October 2024): the classic AI trader with trader cities and the Ruble as currency. Test it on 1.30 first.

Banking still has 1.36 million subscribers, but it was last updated in November 2020.

Weapons, gear and clothing

• Tactical Flava: its page says "Compatible with DayZ 1.30". Tactical gear, new grenades, weapon bipods and a grenade launcher.
• WindstridesClothingPack: clothing with male and female models.
• Forward Operator Gear (1.22 million): high-speed gear, about 5.2 GB that every player downloads.
• SNAFU Weapons (1.59 million), Mortys Weapons (1.13 million) and Mass'sManyItemOverhaul (1.15 million, needs CF): the big weapon and item packs, last updated in April 2026, before 1.30. Mortys' page adds that with Expansion you should set "DisableMagicCrosshair":0.

Vehicles

Update 1.30 adds motorbikes to the base game. For everything else:

• DayZ-Expansion-Vehicles (1.65 million): helicopters such as the MH-6 Little Bird and UH1H, boats, cars like the Vodnik and UAZ, plus car keys and towing. Needs CF, Dabs Framework, DayZ-Expansion-Core and DayZ-Expansion-Licensed.
• FlipTransport: flip a vehicle back onto its wheels with a wrench. Needs CF.

Leave RedFalcon Flight System Heliz and RedFalcon Watercraft (last updates April 2026) off a new server: both pages say support stopped with patch 1.29. MuchCarKey (last update February 2025) ended support with 1.26.

Maps: official and community

DayZ has four official maps: Chernarus and Livonia in the base game, Sakhal and Nasdara as paid DLC. Bohemia publishes each mission folder in its DayZ-Central-Economy repository on GitHub, and the server loads it through the template entry in serverDZ.cfg.

• Namalsk: Namalsk Island (about 1.5 GB) is the terrain, Namalsk Survival adds blizzards, EVR storms, frostbite and cold resistance. Both pages forbid monetizing the content, including priority queue slots.
• DeerIsle (867,000, about 11.7 GB) was last updated in June 2025. Its experimental dev build was updated on 15 October, but that page says it is not recommended for public servers.
• Banov (231,000, about 2.9 GB): 256 km² inspired by the Banov District in Slovakia.
• TakistanPlus (242,000, last update April 2026): mountains and desert; needs Dabs Framework. Read its license if your server takes donations.

Launchers: DZSA Launcher or the official DayZ launcher

Most mods have to run on the server and in every player's game. Two launchers handle that:

• The official DayZ launcher comes with the game; Bohemia's Steam page says you manage mods and community-run servers "directly from the game launcher". Subscribe on the Workshop, Steam downloads the mod, and it shows up in the launcher's Mods tab.
• DZSA Launcher calls itself "an unofficial launcher for DayZ Standalone" and is a Windows download. Its site makes a join link from a server IP and Steam Query Port.

Server owners: give players the Steam Query Port, because that is what the DZSA link generator asks for.

Load order, keys and the -mod line

1. Note the Required items on each Workshop page.
2. Put dependencies first in the -mod= line, separated by semicolons, with no semicolon after the last mod. VPPAdminTools' example: -mod=@CF;@VPPAdminTools.
3. Copy each mod's .bikey from its keys folder into the server's keys folder.
4. Merge types.xml entries when the mod page asks for it.
5. Start once and read the .RPT and .log files in the profiles folder.

On HostValues you add Workshop mods through the game panel or via SFTP; every step is in setting up DayZ server mods via Steam Workshop. The DayZ hosting page advises 12 GB with mods like DayZ Expansion or 40 or more players, and 16 GB for heavily modded servers with 50 or more players.

What DayZ 1.30 means for your mod list

Bohemia: "Update 1.30 will mark a fresh start for everyone, with a full wipe across all platforms." During experimental it warned that animation-related mods might run into problems, because the animation systems were reworked for motorbikes; Survivor Animations and DayZ-Expansion-Animations were both updated on 15 October. Bohemia also announced a first 1.30 patch for Steam, on experimental first, aimed at issues that affect modders. Check the Updated dates again after it.

1. Make a backup in the game panel.
2. Update the server to 1.30: server and players must run the same version.
3. Test every mod last updated before 16 September 2026, when 1.30 went to experimental, on a copy of the server first.
4. Start with the frameworks and your admin tool, then add mods in small groups and check the .RPT log each time.
5. For Nasdara, load Bohemia's dayzOffline.nasdara mission (on GitHub since 16 October 2026) through the template entry.

Loot and spawn settings are covered in DayZ server settings explained.

What are the best DayZ mods in 2026?

For most servers: CF, Dabs Framework, VPPAdminTools or COT, Code Lock, DayZ Expansion or TraderPlus, FlipTransport, WindstridesClothingPack, Tactical Flava, and Namalsk as a community map. All were updated between 13 and 16 October 2026.

Which DayZ mods work with 1.30?

Only the maker can confirm it. Tactical Flava says "Compatible with DayZ 1.30"; for other mods, an update after 1.30 reached experimental on 16 September 2026 is a good sign, and one on or after the release on 15 October 2026 is better. Mods whose support ended (MuchStuffPack and MuchCarKey with 1.26, RedFalcon with 1.29) are a risk.

What is CF in DayZ?

Community Framework, a mod that VPPAdminTools, COT, TraderPlus and DayZ Expansion need. It goes first in your -mod line, and its page says to wipe your server before installing it.

Which DayZ launcher is best in 2026?

The official launcher already manages mods and community servers. DZSA Launcher is an unofficial Windows alternative, handy when your community shares DZSA join links.

What are the alternatives to DayZ Expansion?

Separate mods: TraderPlus for traders and safe zones, VPPAdminTools or COT for admin, RaG_BaseBuilding and Code Lock for bases, FlipTransport for vehicles. TraderPlus needs only CF; Expansion modules also need Dabs Framework and DayZ-Expansion-Core.