DayZ Standalone Launcher - How To Guide

A how-to guide for individuals interested in the DayZ Standalone Launcher to join servers, manage & download mods, create profiles, etc.

Section 1 - What is DZSA?

DayZ Standalone Launcher, commonly referred to as DZSA or DZSAL for short, is a third-party launcher software created for the Bohemia Interactive game DayZ by Maca134. The launcher, quoted as 'An easy to use launcher for DayZ Standalone with unofficial mod support.' is one of the leading third-party launchers of the DayZ Standalone game. Maca134, prior to this, worked on the Arma 2 DayZ Launcher (DZLauncher[app.dayzlauncher.com]) and Arma 3 Launcher (A3Launcher[a3launcher.com]) with a similar intention of making an easy to use launcher that benefits all players of the game.

The DZSA launcher can be downloaded from the website located here[dayzsalauncher.com] which will allow the downloading of the launcher, support, checking of servers and more.

If this guide does not directly help you with specifics, we recommend to join the DayZ Standalone Discord server on the link located here[discord.com] or by sending email inqueries to Maca134's Email Address[googlemail.com]. All this information is also available on the support section of the website.

This guide, whilst unofficial, is a step-by-step process of how to use the application. From the steps of downloading the initial installer, to managing mods and joining servers. We recommend if you want to support the launcher itself, then you have the optional donation option by donating via the DZSAL website or via the link provided here to donate![www.paypal.com]

Disclaimer: This guide is not affiliated or authorized by Bohemia Interactive a.s. Bohemia Interactive, ARMA, DAYZ and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bohemia Interactive a.s nor is it affiliated with Maca134, creator of DayZ StandAlone Launcher.

Section 2 - How to download & install DZSA

To install DZSA, you will need the following basic necessities first sorted:

You will at minimum, require

• An install of a legally bought copy of DayZ Standalone from Steam or the Bohemia Online Store.[store.bistudio.com]
  
  
• Any form of internet connection that will allow you to download both the DayZ Standalone game, potential mods for the game and anything off the internet at any speed.
  
  
• A computer capable of running DayZ Standalone at the minimum specifications, or above them.

Once you have these, the installation of DZSA onto your machine is fairly simple. Follow the steps below to get this installed.

Step 1 - Go to the following website - linked here.[dayzsalauncher.com]
The following page should appear as so -

Step 2 - Press the download button on the website and wait for the installation .exe to download.

Step 3 - Open the downloaded .exe for the installation to begin like so - you will want to choose a folder you would like DZSA to be installed into.

Step 4 - It will ask you to select a Start Menu Folder next. You will want to leave this one as the default, commonly DZSALauncher.

Step 5 - Then it will ask you to create a desktop shortcut or not. Personally, I recommend to have one as this makes launching the Launcher a lot easier and faster. However, this is up to you.

Step 6 - At this point, the launcher should take a few seconds to fully install on your machine and then, this should complete with a message similar to below - completing the installation.

Step 7 - Once this is complete - press on the newly-created Desktop Shortcut if you chose to make one, or go to your windows bar and type in DZSA as shown below. Remember to make sure that you are logged into Steam and have DayZ Installed onto your machine before doing this!

Then open the application, that should open up somewhat akin to this.

Once you have done this, you have installed DZSA successfully! Now, lets set the DZSA Launcher up with some additional settings that are a mix of requirements & optional settings!

Section 3 - Settings Setup

Now that you have installed DZSA successfully on your machine, we should make sure that the settings are all in check!

To access your settings, you will want to press the Top-Right corner of the DZSA Launcher once it is open. Once it is open, it should open up a panel on the side looking somewhat like this:

Starting from the top, the first setting to make sure it is set up is the DayZ Standalone Path. This simply is the location of where you have DayZ Standalone installed onto your machine. By default, the location is usually filled in already. If it is not, you just need to press 'Browse' to the right of the box and go to the location of DayZ Standalone.
For most people, the default location for DayZ will be: C:\Steam\steamapps\common\DayZ or similar.

Next, you will notice a few tick boxes below the Path section:

These all have different meanings - summarising them below:

• No Splash - Skips the DayZ Logo splash screen, allowing a faster launch of the game.
  
• No Benchmark - No use / effect - remnant of DZLauncher & A3Launcher before it.
  
• No Pause - Speeds up the loading of the game once it is open.
  
• Script Debug - No use / effect - remnant of DZLauncher & A3Launcher before it.
  
• Window Mode - Launches the game in a windowed mode instead of fullscreen.

After this, you will have the following option below:
This is for any additional launch parameters you'd like the game to launch with that were not listed with the tick boxes above. For a list of potential parameters - please check for them on the internet. A good post on Reddit linked here shows a few of them and explains what they do!

After this section you will have the 'Additional mods' section. This is a section where you can manually type in commands to force the game to open with specific mods regardless of how the game opens up with. It is very rare you will ever use this feature, at least in my experience!

After this, you will have your 'In Game name' which is configured in DayZ itself. Whatever name you call your survivor, this is what will be represented when you join or type in game as your 'username' for said server. This will also tie your customised Survivor to the name so if you made a preset survivor with a name, and typed that name in. You'd look the exact same as your initial 'preset' on the game. We will have a section located further in this guide to follow on from this as this is a question I have answered multiple times on how to set a 'profile' for DayZ up!

Below this, we have some additional launch settings for the game. These include two options:
To sum this up, skipping BattlEye skips the DayZ BattlEye Server Security System. Not all servers use this, but I recommend to leave it unchecked as it to my experience, does not change anything.

Run as Admin is self-explanatory. It runs the game in Administrator mode which can allow certain parts of the game to function better, allow access and priority to the game in some instances and block some things from trying to stop you from connecting / doing stuff. In general I recommend keeping this on as Administrator is recommended for DayZ regardless.

And last, but not least - we have some final options not referring to the game itself, but the launcher:
These sections are also self explanatory:

• Discord Presence - DZSA can appear on Discord if you use it. Showing users that you are running the launcher but also joining specific servers so they can join you. If you want this - select this option and restart the DZSA launcher for this to take effect. It will look something like this:
  
  
• Verify All Steam Workshop Mods - This verifies all your Steam Workshop DayZ Mods which makes sure they are all updated and installed correctly. This is good if you have lots of issues or are unsure if a lot of mods have installed / updated correctly if you have issues joining servers.
  
  
• Unsubscribe from All Steam Workshop Mods - Unsubscribes from all your installed DayZ Mods from the Steam Workshop. Useful if you want to fully wipe all your mods and reinstall them or wipe them to join another server fresh.

Now we can get on to the main reasons you came here!

Section 4 - How to search for a server

First, to search for a server - you will want to make sure you are on the 'Servers' section on the top-left corner of the DZSA launcher. This should be highlighted in red if it is selected and look something akin to this:
From here, you will want to keep your attention to the left side of the launcher, where a section with 'Filters' as the title is stated such as below:
The filters section is very simplistic, but I will run through what each bit means just in case!

The first blank black box, is for the name of a server. If you know the exact way a server is spelt name wise, or a key word for the server such as 'Hardcore', 'Vanilla' or 'PvP' then you can filter servers by those that use these names within their server titles.

The Map box allows you to filter through the maps a server is using. So you can only show servers on a specific map, such as Chernarus, Livonia, Namalsk, Takistan, etc.

The Version box allows you to select a specific version of DayZ that the server is running, such as some servers may not be running on the latest version (for some reason or another) but this is commonly not used as most servers update to the latest version ASAP.

The next 7 sections are simplistic and short - they look like this:
This is what they mean:

• Show Favourites Only - Show only favourite servers (selected by the Star icon next to the server.)
  
• Played On - Only show servers that you have previously played on via DZSA.
  
• Is Not Password Protected - Only show servers that are not protected by a password.
  
• Show Modded Only - Only show servers that use Steam Workshop Mods.
  
• Is Online - Only show servers that are currently online and not offline.
  
• First Person - Only show servers using First Person View only.
  
• Third Person - Only show servers using Third Person View only.

Now - you know how to search for a server!

Section 5 - Mod Management

An important section of DZSA is it's ability to manage mods and make sure that your in game mods are working correctly.

When you first join a 'modded' server - you often will experience a message like this:
What this message means, is we are missing mods that the server runs, and won't be able to join the server until they are installed!

OH NO!

But luckily for you, you are using DZSA! You have all the tools to get mods quickly, efficiently and safely!

As you can see - the image above has an option that says 'OK' or 'Cancel' at the bottom right corner.

If you click 'OK' this will start the installation of EVERY SINGLE MOD you are missing for the server, which will begin downloading automatically from the Steam Workshop, how helpful!

To monitor your mods - you'll want to select the MODS section at the top left of the launcher:
Once you do - you'll be brought to this page:

Now - there are some new options you can see here. The main part is a list of 'currently installed mods' which shows in the centre. Along the left side is a 'filter' section similar to the server searching, allowing you to simplify finding a specific mod you have by typing its name in.

Looking at the installed mods - you'll find most of them listed like the image above - lets look closer at the options for them...

Here is an example of a mod:
On the left hand side, by the name - there is a small 'Steam' logo which if clicked, sends you to the direct steam mod page to view the mod in more detail.

You can also see the status (if it is installed or not) and the Size of a mod, as well as when it was last updated. There are also a few small icons at the right-hand side of every mod.

The 'refresh' arrow circle icon means to reload the mod in case of any updates - essentially doing a quick reinstall of the mod.

The folder allows you to head to the exact install location on your PC of the mod.

The recycling bin allows you to delete the mod from your list, if you no longer need / want it installed.

Now you know how to manage your mods on the DZSA Mod Menu!

Section 6 - DayZ Character Profile Setup

Now - a common question I've been asked is 'How do I set DayZ up to use a specific model, starting clothes, etc,' and I have dedicated this exact section to explaining JUST that!

The step-by-step is as follows:

• First, open DayZ via the Vanilla DayZ Launcher - and launch the game to the main menu (past the launcher)
  
• Once on the main menu - click on the 'rename' option as shown below:
  
• Once here - randomise your survivor first - then set a name (please remember exactly what you type it as) and then set the clothes and model you wanted. Once done, press save on the bottom-right corner and once this is done - close DayZ.
  
• Once closed, go to DZSA, open settings and edit the 'In Game Name' option to the EXACT spelling of what you named your character. Every single letter and number must be the same, including capitals.
  
• Now join the server you want to play on. If you are not the character you want to be - kill your character in one of the various ways and click re-spawn, which will allow you to 'Custom' re-spawn which spawns you as your selected and named character!

This will sort this exact issue out - and is perfect for setting your model up for servers that follow role-play rules to make sure you don't spawn as the wrong gender, or a model you do not like!

Section 7 - Thank you.

Thank you for reading this guide! I hope it is helpful for you and you have learnt how to use DZSA to a basic degree to assist in your modded DayZ adventures!

If you have any issues, feel free to post a comment below and I'll see what I can do to assist myself, otherwise the official DZSA discord is the best place to go!

All credit goes to MACA134 for the creation and continual updates to the DZSA launcher to keep it working for us players, modders and server owners!

This guide is not affiliated or authorised by Bohemia Interactive a.s. Bohemia Interactive, ARMA, DAYZ and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bohemia Interactive a.s.

[ŞARAPÇANAK İSMAİL]

I CANT FIND THE DIRECT CONNECT SECTION

[Eclypsi0n]

@Mr. Biscuits | DZSA only asks for the folder, not the game file itself. The folder usually will be along the lines of 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DayZ' or similar depending on how you have steam and DayZ installed including drives.

[Mr. Biscuits]

THIS WAS NOT HELPFULL FOR WHAT IM NEEDING .. WHEN YOU ADD THE GAME TO THE LAUNCER"DAYZ" IN YOUR FILES IT SHOWS
DAYZ_BE
DAYZ_X64
DAYZDIAG-X64
IDK WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE THERE IS NO GUIDE OUT THERE THAT SHOWS WHAT IM LOOKING FOIR I NEED HELP.

[MilkyWay]

I am so proud of you

[Eclypsi0n]

Official DayZ Launcher is - at least in my opinion - a much more complicated and often more annoying tool to use. It also has limited options involving mod management, updating directly from the launcher and is not the most user-friendly. People seem to prefer DZSA for its simplicity and mod-management which is only now being properly sorted by Bohemia on the Official Launcher.

However, both work in their own ways so you can go with one or the other. I am also developing a guide for the Official DayZ Launcher with similar step-by-step instructions which will be out in the future!

[Toogod]

Whats the difference between DZSA and the official DayZ launcher????