How to install Banov or BanovFrost on a DayZ PC server

By Niko Catarino

Updated 5 October 2026

To install Banov, load the original Workshop map on your server and clients, copy the complete author mission into mpmissions and select dayzOffline.banov in the active configuration. Use a fresh test save for Banov and retain the world you are replacing.

Begin on a vanilla server you can join. The map installation applies to Steam PC servers; Steam Workshop terrain mods are unavailable on Xbox and PlayStation.

Choose the original map and matching mission

Use KubeloLive’s original Banov item, 2415195639. Read Required items on the current listing. An asset project named in the credits does not, by itself, require you to install another package.

The author’s current Banov-Central-Economy repository supplies dayzOffline.banov for normal Banov and empty.banovfrost for its winter variant. Start with the normal-map steps below, or apply the BanovFrost substitutions and preflight for winter. Upload the chosen mission without the repository’s editor projects.

During our review, the old KubeloLive/Banov repository was unavailable. Check the installed map release against the current mission before using it. Being able to download both releases doesn’t mean they work together.

Before changing the map, stop the service and take a recoverable backup. Include the mission and world storage, profiles, configuration, launch arguments, keys and package versions. Record the active -config and any -mission or -storage overrides. Run the first Banov installation on a separate instance with fresh storage.

Load the terrain and its signing keys

For VXPanel, search 2415195639 under Mods, review the original Steam page and select Install. The map needs client content, so choose its required scope and review the dependencies. VXPanel’s mod controls explain those choices.

On a manual host, copy the subscribed package into its own mod directory. Place its supplied .bikey files in the server’s keys folder, keep the signature files and retain signature verification. A directory named @Banov uses this launch entry:

"-mod=@Banov"

Include the map in the existing -mod list alongside the packages your setup requires. Clients must load matching content. A -serverMod entry does not distribute the terrain requirement to players. Follow the PC mod installation procedure for the complete manual workflow.

Copy the mission and set its template

Put the author’s dayzOffline.banov folder inside mpmissions. Remove the downloaded repository’s outer wrapper from the destination path. Check this part of the resulting layout:

mpmissions/
  dayzOffline.banov/
    init.c
    cfgeconomycore.xml
    cfggameplay.json
    cfgplayerspawnpoints.xml
    mapgrouppos.xml
    mapgroupproto.xml
    db/
    env/
    types_extra/
      Banov.xml

Upload the whole mission. The tree above shows selected files to inspect and omits other required configuration and map-group files. A copy of types.xml alone leaves out the player positions, environment territories and initialization script.

Find the configuration loaded through -config and change the template field inside its existing mission class:

template = "dayzOffline.banov";

Retain the other service settings and resolve any -mission override. In VXPanel’s Configuration → Config, press Refresh and wait for Synced. Edit Template, press Save and wait for success. Use Files or SFTP to transfer the mission; a saved template field cannot create the missing files. See the panel configuration reference for the supported controls.

Retain the supplemental Banov loot file

Banov’s author economy core loads the map’s supplemental item definitions through this registration:

<ce folder="types_extra">
    <file name="Banov.xml" type="types" />
</ce>

Preserve both the registration and types_extra/Banov.xml. Loading that file and importing its contents into db/types.xml would register the same definitions twice. Bohemia explains how supplemental economy files are loaded.

Register each added mod’s economy definitions once, following its author. Keep Banov’s map groups and check items at natural spawn locations. Creating an item with an admin tool demonstrates that its class loads; natural spawning still needs its own check.

Load gameplay settings and identify each pod system

When using the supplied cfggameplay.json, set its loader flag in the active server configuration:

enableCfgGameplayFile = 1;

The switch is documented in Bohemia’s gameplay-settings reference. Retain the original author file as your comparison copy. For panel hosting, use the service’s supported configuration workflow where this value is available.

According to the 21 June change notes, alien-crash pods use BanovPod_UFO.json and underground pods use BanovPod_Bunker.json. Locate the files supplied or generated by the installed release, then follow that release’s instructions for each system. Their profiles subdirectory and full schema were not verified for this guide.

Install BanovFrost with its winter mission

Choose the separate BanovFrost Workshop item, 3375557599, and read its required items and hosting rules. Install it in place of your normal-map choice with matching player content. Check the winter listing for its dependencies rather than assuming it requires the normal package.

Follow the package, key, upload and configuration steps above, replacing the normal choices as follows:

Setting	Normal Banov	BanovFrost
Original Workshop item	2415195639	3375557599
Complete author mission	dayzOffline.banov	empty.banovfrost
Example manual mod directory	@Banov	@BanovFrost
Template field	dayzOffline.banov	empty.banovfrost
Supplemental economy file	types_extra/Banov.xml	The Frost mission’s types_extra/Banov.xml

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With a manual folder named @BanovFrost, add "-mod=@BanovFrost" to the existing client mod list. Transfer the entire empty.banovfrost mission into mpmissions. Set the active configuration’s existing mission class to:

template = "empty.banovfrost";

Load the winter mission’s cfggameplay.json with enableCfgGameplayFile = 1, and retain its matching init.c. The initializer in reviewed revision 2f0cad7 moves dates outside its seasonal window toward 1 February. Normal Banov uses 17 July. Frost also has its own monthly temperature arrays and lighting settings; a normal-mission replacement can alter winter survival conditions.

Preserve the Frost economy core registration with the types_extra/Banov.xml it loads. Although the filenames match, their contents differ: the inspected Frost file contains 19 item definitions and normal Banov’s contains 39.

Correct the reviewed Frost item-file defects

XML parsing accepts the pinned Frost db/types.xml, which contains repeated ZmbM_HunterOld_Winter and Vikhr entries. Compare your download with this revision before running the test instance:

• Compare the identical ZmbM_HunterOld_Winter pair. Where both entries still match, keep a single complete definition in the test copy.
• Inspect both Vikhr entries. One supplies attachment settings with no population fields; the other sets nominal to 7 and min to 4. The author’s Frost cfgspawnabletypes.xml already contains the matching attachment block, where those settings belong. Once you have confirmed that match, remove the attachment-only block from the working db/types.xml. Retain the population definition and the attachment definition in the spawnable-types file.

Record the correction alongside your original download. A newer release may change either entry; compare those files before applying this revision’s correction. After editing, parse the files and confirm one entry per item name in db/types.xml. Load the Frost supplemental types once. See Bohemia’s economy configuration reference for the separate population and attachment files.

We checked the author file references and XML/JSON structure, then tested these corrections on workspace copies. Server execution, script compilation and a BanovFrost client join were not performed. Give the winter test fresh storage and add weather, temperature, winter equipment and returning-player results to the acceptance steps below. Retain the normal world’s persistence for its own mission.

Check Banov through a player client

Start your separate instance, read its RPT and script logs and join with the original map content. Record these results before switching the community:

• Create a fresh character and check its ground position and starter equipment.
• Inspect natural loot in several houses and other loot areas, including custom houses, before raising item targets.
• Observe infected and wildlife in the areas that should contain them.
• Test alien-crash and underground-pod encounters as separate features if you intend to offer them.
• Shut down through the normal saving procedure, restart the same mission and inspect a returning character and placed container.

Keep a separate persistence set for every map. Transferring another terrain’s bases, player inventories or saved coordinates into Banov is not a supported map-change procedure.

Trace installation failures and restore the old world

Observed problem	Inspect first
Server loads the old terrain	Verify the active -config, saved Template, mission folder name and any -mission override.
Joining players fail verification	Compare Workshop IDs and versions, required content, keys and signatures. Follow missing-PBO diagnostics.
Particular Banov items are absent	Check class availability and types_extra/Banov.xml registration; find duplicate economy definitions.
Natural loot is absent from buildings	Compare the mission release and its map-group files before increasing targets.
Startup changes the calendar to summer	Review the author mission initializer, which resets dates outside its seasonal window after economy initialization. Account for that behavior when checking time settings.
An older pod edit has no effect	Read the installed-release instructions and check the separate UFO/bunker configurations in the June notes.

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To restore the old world, stop the test instance and recover the matching original configuration, packages and saved data. Do not merge persistence trees. For future mission updates, compare the incoming author files with your baseline before transferring custom edits.

Follow the Banov hosting rules

Read Banov’s hosting rules before changing its systems or enabling purchases. They allow public/private servers, added locations and compatible content, while restricting redistribution, repacking, branding removal and unapproved changes to Banov systems. Stay within each documented control’s scope. Paid benefits must comply with the author’s terms and Bohemia’s rules; permission to use the map is not server monetization approval.

Source and verification scope

This guide used AI-assisted research and drafting. The 3 October 2026 review inspected the author’s normal and winter mission files and economy registrations. BanovFrost’s documented corrections were checked on workspace copies. These source and file checks did not include running a Banov or BanovFrost server, joining as a player or checking that saved state survives.