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Badlands · Nasdara
Nasdara survival guide
The largest official DayZ map, and the first where water, not food, decides whether you live. Everything you need for your first night, your first base and your first trip underground.
Map facts
Nasdara at a glance
Nasdara is the map that came with Badlands, the paid expansion released on 15 October 2026 with update 1.30. It is a dry, mountainous province on the western edge of Takistan, and at 267 km² it is the biggest map Bohemia has shipped, bigger than Chernarus (about 225 km²).
For how Nasdara compares with Chernarus, Livonia and Sakhal, see the maps page. For everything else that changed on 15 October, see Badlands and 1.30 explained.
First hour
Your first hour on Nasdara
Fresh spawns on Chernarus die of infected or other players. Fresh spawns on Nasdara die of thirst and heat. The order of jobs is different.
- Look for a well before you look for loot. Every village has one, many are broken. A working well is your lifeline; note where it is before you go anywhere else.
- Get out of the midday sun. Walk in the shade of walls and ridges, and rest indoors when your temperature icon climbs. Sprinting in the heat burns water fast.
- Find something to carry water in. A canteen, plastic bottle, water bottle or cooking pot. Without one you can only drink at the well itself.
- Cover your face. A shemagh, bandana, dust mask or gas mask plus goggles or glasses. You want them before the first sandstorm, not during it.
- Pick up a knife or a sharp stone. It opens cans, cuts rags and skins the desert monitors and mouflon that keep you fed.
- Wear light clothing by day. Heavy insulated jackets that save you on Sakhal cook you here. Keep one warm layer in the bag for the nights.
- Find wheels. Nasdara is huge and mopeds and enduros spawn here more than anywhere else. A bike turns a two-hour walk into fifteen minutes.
Water
Water is the resource
Nasdara has no great lakes and few streams. Water comes from:
- Wells. The village pumps. Many are broken and have to be repaired with the new rebuilding tools before they give water (see rebuilding).
- Irrigation tunnels. Underground channels that feed the fields. Follow them to find water, and expect other players to know about them too.
- Rain barrels. Update 1.30 made barrels collect rain three times faster on every map. Leave an open barrel at your base.
- Bottled and canned drinks. Soda cans and bottles in town shops, flea markets and houses.
Boil or disinfect anything that is not from a well or a sealed bottle. Dysentery on a desert map is a death sentence, because it drains water faster than you can find it. Water purification tablets, a lit fire and a cooking pot all work; see diseases.
Heat & sandstorms
Heat, sandstorms and the new illnesses
| Threat | Cause | Signs | Prevent / fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat stroke | Overheating: sun, sprinting, heavy clothing | Temperature icon goes red, vision blurs, you lose water and health | Shade, rest, drink, strip insulated layers, travel at dawn and dusk |
| Silicosis | Breathing dust in sandstorms without a mask | Coughing, reduced stamina | Mask or shemagh in storms; treat like other respiratory illness |
| Irritated eyes | Sand in your eyes in a storm | Blurred, watering vision | Goggles or glasses; wait it out indoors |
| Cold nights | Desert nights drop fast | Temperature icon goes blue | One warm layer, a fire, shelter |
Sandstorms roll across the valleys and cut visibility hard. They are dangerous and useful: you cannot see far, but neither can anyone hunting you. With a face cover and goggles, a storm is the best time to cross open ground.
Wildlife
What lives on Nasdara
Desert monitor
A large lizard, the new small game. Food for the first days if you have a knife.
Dobermann and German shepherd
New dog breeds. Dogs hunt in packs around ruins and farms; fight with your back to a wall.
Mouflon
Wild sheep on the ridges. Good meat and a pelt for a fur bag.
Round goby and catfish
New fish for the rivers and reservoirs. A simple rod with a bone hook and worms works.
Full stats for every animal are on the wildlife page.
Rebuilding
Rebuilding ruins and wells
Nasdara has more than 5,000 ruined buildings in around twenty mud and stone types, and each can be restored. Clear the rubble (it gives back bricks, stone and wood), build walls with the new trowel, nail planks with a hammer, fit doors and board windows. Doors take the new official code lock, which needs a 9V battery to work.
Repairing a broken well uses the same materials. A rebuilt house next to a working well is the best base on the map. The full method is on the bases page, and the base calculator adds up the planks and nails for fences and towers.
Underground
Morse code and the underground shelters
Radios on Nasdara pick up Morse code broadcasts. They point to underground shelters, built with a new terrain-hole system, that hold some of the best loot on the map. Carry a handheld transceiver or find a radio, listen, and decode: the glossary has a Morse table. Bring a light source, a gas mask and a friend.
Places
Key places
Bohemia has published the map's features but not a full official gazetteer. The names below come from server-hosting guides and early players, and we have not confirmed them against the official in-game map. Treat them as unverified until the community maps settle.
| Place (unverified) | Type | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdara City | Capital | Market streets, the big ruined civic building, civilian and police loot |
| Dashtabad | Town | Shops and houses, nearby airbase |
| Dashtabad Airbase | Military airfield | Military gear, hangars, heli crash routes |
| Zulfiqar Missile Base | Military base | High-tier military loot |
| FOB Atlas, COP Neptune | Forward bases | Military crates, desert gear |
| OKB-754 | Facility | Industrial and military loot |
| Sarman-Naft Refinery | Oil industry | Fuel, tools, vehicle parts |
| Fostkova Mehran Tunnel | Toxic zone | Contaminated; needs NBC gear |
| Dar-e Ardis | Settlement | Rebuildable ruins |
| Darvazeh-e Gharb, Jakhzar, Gandomabad, Kamar Zir | Northern spawn villages | Wells and basic gear |
Loot
What to look for, by priority
- Water containers first, then a face cover and goggles.
- Light clothing with pockets, and a hat for the sun.
- A long gun with range. Sightlines on Nasdara are long; a Mosin, CR-527, SK 59/66 or the new Lee-Enfield beats a shotgun here.
- Military sites for the SCR-16, plate carriers and desert gear.
- Oil fields and refineries for fuel, tools and parts.
See best loot by map and the weapons tier list.
Quick answers
Questions people ask
How big is Nasdara in DayZ?
267 km², the largest official DayZ map, larger than Chernarus (about 225 km²), Livonia and Sakhal.
Is Nasdara free?
No. Nasdara comes with the Badlands expansion, $24.99 or €25. The 1.30 update released with it is free for everyone.
How do you get water on Nasdara?
From village wells (many must be repaired first), irrigation tunnels, rain barrels and bottled drinks. Boil or disinfect anything that is not from a well or sealed.
How do you survive sandstorms?
Wear a face cover (shemagh, bandana, dust mask or gas mask) and goggles or glasses, or wait indoors. Breathing dust causes silicosis and sand irritates your eyes.
What are the Morse code signals on Nasdara?
Radio broadcasts in Morse that point to underground shelters with valuable loot. Listen on a radio and decode them.
Can you rebuild houses on Nasdara?
Yes. More than 5,000 ruined buildings can be cleared and rebuilt with a trowel, bricks, mortar, planks and nails, and wells can be repaired the same way.
Keep going
More guides and tools
Last checked 28 October 2026, against DayZ 1.30 (PC 1.30.164200, console 1.87). Sources: Bohemia Interactive Badlands announcements and 1.30 changelog; place names from community hosting guides (unverified).