How to configure DayZ zombie health and speed with PvZmoD

By Niko Catarino

Updated 3 October 2026

Install PvZmoD Customisable Zombies with CF to adjust infected health, damage and movement on a DayZ PC server. Its installed release generates the XML you will edit. Set up owner access on a restricted test instance, then check one change before adjusting other characteristics.

Liven publishes the original PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies, Workshop item 2051775667. This page covers infected characteristics. To change the vanilla population, follow increase zombies. To place custom encounters, follow PvZmoD Spawn System.

Prepare a restricted test server

Before installing, stop the service and back up the active mission, world save, profiles, packages, signing keys and startup arguments. Write down the DayZ build and Workshop versions. Protect the first test with a server password that only the owner uses.

CF, item 1559212036, is required. The CF author requires a wipe when adding it to a world for the first time. Preserve the original save and use new test persistence for that installation.

Check the mod’s change notes before reusing a profile. They include 15 July 2026, V1.29.w9. A published update does not establish compatibility with your other packages; that needs a test of the installed set.

Install server and client packages

For VXPanel, stop the service and open Mods. Search 2051775667, check the author and Steam link, then select Install. Review Install all required mods and use the server-and-client scope for both CF and Customisable Zombies. VXPanel mod controls explains dependencies and updates.

On a manual server, place each subscribed package in its own mod folder. Put the supplied .bikey files in the server’s keys directory and keep signature verification enabled. If your folders have these names, include them in the existing mod list:

"-mod=@CF;@PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies"

Keep every other required package in the full argument. Players must load matching releases. Start the restricted instance, check its RPT and script logs, and stop it before inspecting the generated files. The author’s installation instructions describe this profile generation and require client and server loading.

Find the generated profile and establish owner access

Look for PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Profile inside the directory named by -profiles. The parent may be called profiles, config or another provider-specific name. Read the service’s launch argument to identify the active location.

The profile includes these working files:

<profiles>/PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Profile/
  PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Globals.xml
  PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Characteristics.xml
  PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Characteristics_Vanilla.xml
  PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_HELP.txt

Work from the installed release’s generated files and retain its help file. That help defines units, supported values and behavior. A profile shared by another community may lack new fields or still contain obsolete switches.

Restart the restricted instance and join as the owner. Press Numpad 4 to follow the author’s access bootstrap: it creates PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Admins.txt containing your SteamID64. Stop again and review the list before letting other players join. Retain only intended staff IDs, keep the supplied format and include the file in profile backups. If no refresh response appears, check the game key binding and server-message options.

Numpad 4 reloads the XML; restarting also applies changes. Confirm the owner receives the expected refresh message before changing gameplay. Author’s administrator and refresh procedure

Choose the characteristics file

Open PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Globals.xml and find File_Name within the existing Customisable_Zombies_List entry. This selects the characteristics XML. Check that selection before editing: changes in an unselected file will not apply.

The author supplies PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Characteristics_Vanilla.xml for values close to vanilla infected behavior. Choose it for that starting point and make one adjustment. Match the filename and case in the generated directory.

If an older profile contains Disable_All_Features, Zombies_Health_Activated or Zombies_Resistance_Activated, review it before reuse. Those switches were removed in October 2024; the author says health and resistance management remain active. The removed fields cannot disable those systems in the current procedure. Profile update notes

Change zombie health and damage

Save a backup of the selected characteristics XML. Find the category of infected you intend to change, then read its health and resistance definitions in the generated help. Leave other categories alone during the first comparison.

Difficulty involves separate controls:

• Health sets how much damage the infected can take.
• Resistance alters how a source such as a bullet or melee attack affects it.
• Attack strength adjusts damage dealt to players, with supported health, shock, blood or stamina effects.

Where the profile separates day and night, check both. Change a single documented field and reload. Compare using the same weapon, ammunition, hit location and infected category. Simultaneous health, headshot-resistance and player-damage changes make diagnosis harder. Helmets and other creature packages can also affect the result.

When configuring custom infected, obtain the exact class names from their author. Check PvZmoD’s matching rules and entry order before adding categories. A broad base-class entry may match other creatures. Include a vanilla infected in the comparison to help isolate custom-creature conflicts. Supported behavior and characteristics

Make zombies walk during the day

An author reply from May 2026 describes a starting configuration for daytime walking:

1. Set the existing Customisable_Zombies_List entry’s File_Name to PvZmoD_CustomisableZombies_Characteristics_Vanilla.xml from the generated profile.
2. Find Zombies_Clamp_Speed_Maxi in the globals XML and change its Day value to 1.5.
3. Save valid XML, then refresh as the owner with Numpad 4 or restart the test instance.
4. Check newly spawned infected during daylight. Observe idle movement, pursuit and attacks.

The author proposes 1.5; this guide has not measured its balance or capacity effects. Review the separate night values before applying a round-the-clock walking policy. Author’s walking configuration reply

Choose which additional mechanics you want, including stone throwing, vehicle attacks and heavy-attack changes. A speed adjustment leaves other features active. Consult the generated globals and help for each feature you disable, then verify its behavior.

Check compatibility before combining AI mods

The author reports potential problems with Expansion AI and some medical or custom-creature packages. InediaInfectedAI also changes overlapping behavior. These reports require testing the releases you use; they are not evidence that every combination fails.

Get Expansion AI and PvZmoD working separately before trying them together. With both installed, compare infected aggression, player damage and AI interactions. For Inedia, follow the compatibility instructions linked by the author and decide which mod should control each shared feature. Resolve a failing baseline before adding further packages. Author’s compatibility notes

Customisable Zombies provides no infected cargo-loot configuration procedure. Match loot changes to the system creating the infected: use vanilla infected cargo presets or the spawn package’s loot controls as applicable.

Test and recover the configuration

Complete these checks before admitting the community:

• Owner refresh works; an ordinary player cannot use it.
• The selected XML changes the intended infected category.
• Movement matches the chosen daytime and nighttime policy.
• The server’s equipment produces the expected player damage and infected resistance.
• Settings and behavior survive a stop/start.
• Those results hold when the other AI or medical packages are added.

For an ineffective change, first check the active profiles path, selected XML, owner ID and key binding. Read the relevant RPT/script log in full. Validate the XML before uploading and preserve its class names, attributes and generated structure.

Undo a settings edit by stopping the service and restoring the XML and administrator-list backups. There is no need to delete the world save for that rollback. If reverting the package itself, restore matching package and profile versions together. Check mod removal before removing a dependency another mod uses.