DayZ controls and keybinds

Before you start

How DayZ controls work

DayZ leans heavily on context. The same key can sprint, aim or start a heavy swing depending on whether your hands are raised and what you are holding, and the interact button only does something when you look at a door, a ladder or an item. Learn the handful of core inputs first and the rest follows.

Everything below is a default binding. On PC you can change any of them under Options > Controls. Since update 1.18 that menu is split into categories, and you can bind any gesture to any key. On console, update 1.17 reworked the controller layout and added an alternative control scheme, which you can switch to from the controls screen in the main or pause menu. The tables show the default scheme.

The PlayStation and Xbox versions share one layout: Cross, Circle, Square and Triangle match A, B, X and Y, L1/R1 match LB/RB, L2/R2 match LT/RT, and the Touchpad does the job of the View button.

Many older guides predate update 1.17. Since then, push-to-talk on console sits on D-pad left (not D-pad down), fire mode needs the left trigger held plus D-pad right, and a heavy attack is a press of Y/Triangle rather than a hold.

Getting around

Movement controls

Jogging is your default pace. Walking, crouching and going prone are slower but keep a lower profile. Sprinting burns stamina, so save it for crossing open ground.

Switching perspective does nothing on first-person-only servers. When you reach the top of a tall ladder, step off with the interact key rather than walking off the edge.

Fighting

Combat and weapon controls

Nothing fires or swings until you raise your hands. Hold right mouse (or the left trigger) to bring up a weapon, or your fists if your hands are empty, then attack. For gun choice and optics, see weapons and attachments.

Zeroing moves in steps of roughly 100 m on most rifles. Holding your breath steadies your aim but drains stamina, so let go between shots. Heavy attacks can stagger a target but cost more stamina than light ones, so use them on infected and players when you have stamina to spare.

Left Shift does three jobs on PC: it sprints with your hands lowered, aims down sights with a gun raised, and turns a melee swing into a heavy attack.

Looting

Inventory and action controls

On PC you mostly drag and drop inside the inventory screen. On console each face button does a set job while the inventory is open. Items you use often belong on the quickbar so you are not digging through your bag mid-fight.

Combining is how most crafting works, and many equipment items, from radios to the GPS receiver, only work once a battery is attached the same way. Night vision needs a set such as the night vision goggles on an NVG headstrap.

Talking

Voice, radio and gestures

Voice chat in DayZ is proximity-based: only players near you hear you, and how far your voice carries depends on the range you pick. Gestures are often the safer way to say you are friendly before you get close enough to talk.

Other gestures sit on the remaining F keys or are unbound until you assign them. The surrender gesture is no longer possible while standing on cars and boats.

A handheld transceiver lets you talk beyond earshot:

1. Power it. Attach a 9V battery to the radio.
2. Switch it on. With the radio in your hands, press left mouse once.
3. Pick a frequency. Hold left mouse to change channel. There are seven: 87.8, 89.5, 91.3, 94.6, 96.6, 99.7 and 102.5. Strangers usually meet on the default, 87.8; move elsewhere for private talk.
4. Talk normally. Use your usual voice chat key. Radios on the same frequency within roughly 5 km pick you up.

The radio does not replace proximity chat. Anyone near you still hears your voice, and a radio left on the ground plays incoming traffic to everyone around it. A megaphone works differently: hold left mouse to raise it to your mouth before you speak.

Driving and finding your way

Vehicle and navigation controls

You get in, start the engine and get out through the interact prompt. Most cars need you to change gear yourself, so shift up as speed builds; the M1025 uses an automatic gearbox. More on keeping a car running is on the vehicles page.

DayZ has no minimap on vanilla servers. You find your way with items and landmarks, and you can read more on the maps page.

Beginner tips

Hidden tricks and settings worth changing

A few inputs behave differently when you tap, hold or double-tap them. These are the ones worth knowing early:

Then spend five minutes in the options menu:

1. Choose your voice input. Under Sound, Input mode switches between push-to-talk and voice activation, with a slider for the activation threshold. Consoles have had voice activation since update 1.17.
2. Set field of view. Game > Field of View changes how wide your resting view is.
3. Tune sensitivity. Controls has separate sliders for aiming, moving and steering, and since update 1.27 you can type an exact value. Console players also get analogue stick dead zone options.
4. Decide on HUD elements. Show HUD, Show quickbar and Show crosshair are under Game. Some servers turn the crosshair off for everyone regardless.
5. Keep sound when tabbed out. On PC, set Update in Background to Graphics and sound so you still hear footsteps while in another window.
6. Bind your gestures. On PC, give friendly gestures such as Hello their own keys so you can signal quickly.

Quick answers

Questions people ask