DayZ infected

The basics

What the infected are

The infected are not undead. In DayZ lore they are ordinary people who caught an unknown, highly contagious pathogen that locks them in a permanent, aggressive rage. The outbreak swept through South Zagoria (Chernarus) and the Topolin-Nadbór region (Livonia), and may well have reached the rest of the world. A small number of people turned out to be immune. You play one of them, which is why the game calls players survivors.

Because they are alive, they wander, react to noise, tire during a chase and fall when their legs are hurt. They also attack animals and pick fights with wolves in particular (see wildlife).

Infected only spawn when a player is within roughly 400 m, so a quiet-looking town can come alive as you walk in. Every one has a 3 x 4 inventory you can search after the kill, on top of any clothing, headgear, vest or backpack it spawned wearing.

Know your enemy

Every infected type and where it spawns

The wiki counts several dozen visual variants, but they fall into a handful of classes that share strength, damage and loot. What an infected wears tells you what it is and roughly what it carries: a figure in a fire helmet near a fire station, a paramedic outside a hospital. Since update 1.13, health, damage and bleeding chance all depend on the class.

Loot on infected is thin. Each pocket item rolls at low odds, often 1% or less for a single tin of food, so worn gear is usually the real prize. On Chernarus, loot data shows the heavy soldier wearing a plate carrier about 80% of the time.

Contaminated zones. Reaching NBC infected means walking into the gas in a full NBC suit (hood, jacket, gloves, trousers and boots) plus a gas mask or combat gas mask.

Sakhal. The Frostline expansion added winter-themed infected types for its frozen island. The weather there can work in your favour: since update 1.26, active rain and snowfall reduce how well infected hear.

Nasdara. Badlands (update 1.30, released on 15 October 2026) brings infected models made specifically for Nasdara. Bohemia's notes don't list them by type, but loot data has the heavy soldier on Nasdara always spawning with a plate carrier and combat helmet. The dog packs that guard military areas there are animals, not infected. More on the terrain in maps.

Specials. The wiki also lists a Mummy that glows in the dark and shrugs off gunfire better than most, and loot databases include a Santa infected.

Senses and speed

How infected detect and chase you

Infected hunt with their eyes and ears. In their field of view they pick up movement, so a sprinting survivor stands out far more than one crouch-walking. They hear footsteps, gunfire, thrown objects and bullet impacts, and at night they notice bright lights. Since update 1.13 they are also drawn to smoke grenades, flare gun flares, explosions and, after dark, fireplaces. Opening or closing a door makes a noise they react to.

Gunshots are the big one. Louder weapons draw more attention, while suppressed shots and quieter guns such as the Sporter 22 rifle and IJ-70 pistol draw less. Bad weather helps: since 1.26, active rain or snowfall dulls their hearing.

Most infected run about as fast as a healthy survivor, and an injured survivor is slower still. Their stamina drains during a chase, though, so they slow down and eventually give up; runners only stop when they are dead. Infected also call others when they spot you, though update 1.13 cut that call-for-help range by 82.5% for every type except the military officer.

Update 1.30 reworked how they hit. They used to swing downwards whatever your position. Now each infected picks an upward, centred or downward attack based on the height of your head, so its blows land properly whether you stand, crouch, lie prone or fight on stairs and slopes. They also gained a heavy attack they can throw while running.

Combat

How to kill infected

Melee is the default answer. It is quiet, costs no ammunition and doesn't pull the rest of the street onto you. The default bindings for attacking and blocking are on the controls page.

1. Stealth kill from behind. Get within arm's reach of an unaware infected and attack its back with a knife, bayonet or other sharp weapon. It dies instantly and nearby infected aren't alerted. Stand slightly too far away and you only slash it.
2. Aim for the head. Head hits kill faster than body hits, and a solid blow to the head can knock an infected flat so you can finish it safely. Update 1.13 cut the melee armour on most infected heads by 40%. Helmeted soldiers are the exception.
3. Knock them down with blunt hits. Blunt weapons deal mostly shock damage and put infected on the ground, which lets you escape without a kill or step in to finish. Sharp weapons deal mostly health damage and cause bleeding. Light attacks are less likely to stagger them, so put your weight into heavy swings.
4. Block and sidestep. Every infected attack can be blocked. When one swings and misses, step aside and hit it while it recovers, and try to strike from outside its field of view.
5. Carry a proper weapon. Knives and machetes are quick and cheap on stamina. Most tools hit harder than fists, while improvised junk is weaker than bare hands. Compare options on the weapons page.
6. Keep guns for emergencies. A gunshot can bring more infected than it kills. If you have to shoot, go for the head, and use a suppressor from attachments or a quieter calibre to limit the noise.

Armour on both sides. Heavy soldiers and heavy police wear vests that absorb far more damage, so aim for an unprotected spot, usually the head. Heavy police often have nothing on their heads at all. On your side, worn gear reduces the damage that reaches you, but every successful infected hit also wears your clothing down. Pack a sewing kit and check your clothing after a big fight.

Damage

Injuries, wound infection and crawlers

A single hit does little on its own. The wiki puts an average infected attack at about 10 health. The danger is in what follows: cuts that bleed, broken bones, pain and, if several catch you at once, unconsciousness. Firefighters, police and soldiers hit hardest and are the most likely to make you bleed.

If you are knocked out, infected leave you alone, because they stop attacking unconscious players. Other survivors are another matter.

You can't catch their disease. A scratch won't turn you, and the wiki documents no infection mechanic from infected attacks. What you can get is a wound infection, and that comes from how you treat a cut, not from what caused it. An unclean bandage carries a 5% chance, unclean rags or a bandana 15%, an unclean sewing kit 30%, and letting a bleed stop on its own 40%. Disinfect your dressings first, treat early with disinfectant or a tincture, and use tetracycline if it progresses. Full details are on medical and medical supplies.

Resistance. Soldiers have more health than civilians and officers more again. The armoured heavy soldier and heavy police take far more punishment until you hit somewhere unprotected, and the Mummy is notably resistant to gunfire.

Crawlers. An infected whose legs take enough damage without killing it falls and crawls. Crawlers still attack, and they are hard to hit, especially in melee, because they are so low. Don't stand over one swinging blindly: step back, line up the strike and finish it.

Staying alive

Best practices around infected

Quick answers

Questions people ask