Learn how to create a balanced loot economy for your DayZ server. From understanding spawn rates to creating meaningful progression, this guide covers everything you need to keep players engaged.
Loot balance is the art of configuring your server's item spawns to create the gameplay experience you want. Too much loot and survival becomes trivial. Too little and players get frustrated. The sweet spot depends on your server's style - hardcore survival, PvP focused, or casual friendly.
Players quit from frustration, empty buildings feel broken
Rewarding finds, meaningful choices, player progression
No survival challenge, gear loses value, boring gameplay
These four values in types.xml control how much of each item exists on your server.
The total number of this item the CE tries to maintain across the entire map. This includes items on the ground, in containers, and optionally in player inventories.
When the item count drops below this number, the CE prioritizes spawning it. Set this to about 50% of nominal for most items.
For stackable items (ammo, nails, etc.), this controls how many spawn per stack. A value of -1 means use the item's default. Values are percentages of max stack size.
Minimum seconds before a replacement can spawn after this item is picked up. Prevents players from farming the same spot repeatedly.
A well-balanced server has clear rarity tiers. Here's a framework you can adapt to your server's style.
| Tier | Nominal Range | Examples | Player Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 50-200 | Rags, stones, sticks, basic food | Found everywhere, never a concern |
| Uncommon | 20-50 | Civilian guns, basic tools, backpacks | Found regularly with some searching |
| Rare | 5-20 | Military rifles, NVGs, plate carriers | Exciting find, worth the trip to military |
| Very Rare | 1-5 | LAR, VSS, ghillie suits | Server-wide scarcity, highly contested |
| Legendary | 0-1 | Special event items, unique gear | Maybe one exists on the server |
These numbers are starting points. A 50-player server needs higher nominals than a 20-player server. Scale based on your player count and map size.
The relationship between nominal and min affects how consistently items spawn. Here are three common approaches:
Good for most items. Allows natural fluctuation while preventing complete depletion.
nominal="20" min="10"
For essential items like food and medical supplies. Keeps availability steady.
nominal="20" min="15"
For rare items. Creates feast-or-famine availability that feels more dynamic.
nominal="20" min="5"
Different item categories need different balancing approaches.
Weapons define your server's PvP intensity. More weapons = more combat. Consider the full loadout: a gun without ammo is useless.
These items determine survival difficulty. Too scarce and new players can't survive the coast. Too abundant and there's no survival challenge.
Tip: Keep basic food (fruit, canned goods) relatively common on the coast, but make medical supplies scarcer inland to encourage exploration.
Nails, planks, and tools affect base building pace. Scarce materials mean bases take longer to build but are more valuable.
Vehicle availability is controlled by both the vehicle spawns (events.xml) and the parts needed to repair them.
Balance tip: If you want vehicles to be rare achievements, keep spark plugs and car batteries scarce. If you want easy transport, increase these parts.
Balance tip: If you want vehicles to be rare achievements, keep spark plugs and car batteries scarce. If you want easy transport, increase these parts.
Avoid these pitfalls that trip up many server admins.
Having 50 M4s but only 10 STANAG magazines means most guns are useless. Balance ammo spawns to match weapon availability.
If everything is common, nothing feels special. Rarity creates value. Players need something to work toward.
If count_in_player="1", items in player inventories count toward nominal. On busy servers, this can prevent new spawns entirely.
A 60-player server needs higher nominals than a 20-player server. More players = more items being held = fewer spawning.
Make small, incremental changes and test. If you change 100 items at once, you won't know what caused problems.
Different server styles need different loot philosophies.
After making changes, you need to verify they work as expected. Here's a testing workflow:
Delete your storage_1 folder and restart the server to get a fresh spawn based on your new settings.
Look for CE errors in your server logs. Missing classnames or invalid configurations will show up here.
Visit key locations (military bases, hospitals, police stations) and verify items are spawning as expected.
Let the server run for 30+ minutes to allow multiple CE cycles. Initial spawns may not reflect steady-state behavior.
Your players will tell you if something feels off. Listen to their feedback and adjust accordingly.
nominal = base_nominal × (max_players / 30)
Scale your nominals based on server capacity. 30 players is a good baseline.
ammo_nominal = gun_nominal × 3 to 5
For each gun, have 3-5x the ammo/magazine spawns available.
min = nominal × 0.5 (standard)
Set min to 50% of nominal for most items. Adjust for desired scarcity.
restock = 1800 (30 min standard)
30 minutes prevents farming. Lower for PvP, higher for hardcore.