DayZ Zombies, Animals, Cleanup Timers and Base Decay (globals.xml)
Tune infected and animal counts, body cleanup and login timers in globals.xml, understand how DayZ bases decay and how territory flags keep them alive, and fix "my base disappeared".
What globals.xml Is
mpmissions/<mission>/db/globals.xml is a short list of Central Economy variables, one per line:
<var name="ZombieMaxCount" type="0" value="1000"/>type="0" means a whole number and type="1" a decimal. Change only the value, keep the file valid, and restart to apply.
The Settings Worth Knowing
| Variable | Vanilla | What it does |
|---|---|---|
ZombieMaxCount | 1000 | Maximum infected alive on the map at once |
AnimalMaxCount | 200 | Maximum animals alive at once |
CleanupLifetimeDeadPlayer | 3600 | Seconds a dead player's body stays |
CleanupLifetimeDeadInfected | per file | Seconds a dead infected's body stays |
CleanupLifetimeRuined | per file | Seconds a ruined item stays |
TimeLogin | 15 | Seconds a player waits to load in |
TimeLogout | 15 | Seconds a player stays in the world after choosing to log out |
FlagRefreshFrequency | 432000 | How often (seconds) a raised territory flag refreshes nearby base items: 5 days |
FlagRefreshMaxDuration | 3456000 | The longest (seconds) a flag keeps refreshing without being raised again: 40 days |
RestartSpawn | 0 | 1 re-rolls loot on the map at the next start |
IdleModeCountdown | 60 | Seconds with no players before the server goes into idle mode |
Values marked "per file" differ between maps and patches. Read them from your own file before changing them.
Infected and Animals: The Biggest Performance Lever
ZombieMaxCount and AnimalMaxCount are caps on AI the server simulates at once, and AI is expensive. Raising them is the fastest way to lower server FPS and add desync.
- More infected for a harder server: raise in steps of about 20% and watch performance before going further.
- Fewer infected for a PvP-focused server or a busy one: lowering them is one of the few changes that reliably frees up CPU.
TimeLogoutof 15 seconds stops players escaping a fight by logging out. Lowering it makes "combat logging" easier.
See DayZ Server Performance for the other levers.
How Bases Decay
DayZ bases are not permanent by default. Every base item (fences, watchtowers, tents, barrels, crates) has a lifetime in types.xml. When that lifetime runs out without the item being "touched", it is deleted.
A raised territory flag is what keeps a base alive: while the flag is up, it refreshes the lifetime of base items near it every FlagRefreshFrequency seconds. The flag itself only keeps doing that for FlagRefreshMaxDuration after it was last raised, so players must raise it again periodically.
Interacting with a storage item (opening a tent, adding to a barrel) also refreshes it.
"My Base Disappeared": Checklist
1. Was there a raised flag, and was it raised again recently? With vanilla values a flag stops refreshing after 40 days.
2. Was it within the flag's area? Items outside the territory are not refreshed.
3. Was it raided? Check the admin log for build, dismantle and destroy lines, which need adminLogBuildActions on. See Reading DayZ Admin Logs.
4. Was there a wipe or restore? A restore puts the world back to the backup's moment.
5. Did the server crash before saving? Items built shortly before a crash may not have been saved.
If you want longer-lasting bases, raise lifetime for the base item types in types.xml rather than changing the flag timers alone. On a PvE server, making them indestructible does not stop decay: lifetime still applies.
Re-rolling Loot with RestartSpawn
Setting RestartSpawn to 1 makes the economy remove and re-spawn map loot at the next start, so large types.xml changes take effect everywhere at once. It does not touch player inventories, bases or storage.
1. Take a backup.
2. Set RestartSpawn to 1 and restart.
3. Set it back to 0 and save, otherwise loot is re-rolled on every restart.
Safe Changes and Risky Ones
| Usually safe | Handle with care |
|---|---|
Lowering ZombieMaxCount or AnimalMaxCount | Raising either by a lot |
| Shorter body cleanup times | Very long cleanup times on a busy server |
| Longer flag refresh duration on PvE | Very short base item lifetimes on PvP |
One-off RestartSpawn 1 | Leaving RestartSpawn at 1 |
Back up on the Backups tab before editing, and change a few values at a time so you know which one made the difference.