Many new players to DayZ wonder which server they want to play on and where they can best get started. I will answer these questions and more in this post. Here are some tips to find a good server:

Tips to find a good server

Use a 3rd party launcher

There are so-called 3rd party launchers that make it easier for you to choose a DayZ server. In addition, this launcher shows you exactly the number of players and with one click you are in the game. An example of this is the DZSALauncher, an easy-to-use launcher for DayZ Standalone.

Search top lists for suitable servers

You can find suitable servers, for example, on various websites that give you access to top server lists. For example, one of these sites is top-games.net. There you will find some vanilla servers that offer an experience very similar to that of an official server.

https://top-games.net/dayz/votes/daily/type/vanilla

Reddit

There is always a "Server Group Megathread" on Reddit. This starts every week so that various groups and server admins can present their server. You can find such threads in the subreddit r/dayz.

Official servers

I've often played on the official servers, but unfortunately there are no active admins here to contact if you come across a cheater.

A cheater can usually be recognized by the fact that he alone takes out an entire, fully equipped team (with armor, helmets, etc.) and only needs one shot per team member. The server admin can then monitor the player and ban them if necessary, and return their belongings to the affected players if they so wish.

Cheaters can definitely reduce the fun of the game and therefore like to romp around on the official servers, where they can jump from server to server with their gear and annoy a wide range of different players. Such cheats show the cheaters items and other players. There is also a type of aimbot that always hits the head, even through walls. Unfortunately, this cheat often goes undetected and even costs the cheater a significant monthly fee (available as a subscription).

So, to avoid cheaters, I don't recommend playing on the official servers, although these servers do have their appeal, as you can switch from a high-pop server to a low-pop server, giving you different gaming experiences depending on your mood .

It would be nice if the DayZ developers would take a more active approach to the problem of cheaters.

Incidentally, the Official Server can be recognized in the DZSA launcher with the small world symbol at the end. If you hover over it, "Official" also appears.

DayZ