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Frostline · Sakhal
Sakhal survival guide
The smallest official map and the one that kills you fastest. Sakhal is a volcanic archipelago in late winter where the cold, not the infected, is the enemy, the lakes are frozen, and the best loot is on islands you need a boat to reach.
Map facts
Sakhal at a glance
Sakhal came with Frostline, the paid expansion released on 15 October 2024 with update 1.26. It is a volcanic island chain in the far east, in permanent late winter, with a volcano at the centre of the main island, frozen lakes, ice shelves, hot springs and boats to connect the islands. Bohemia’s own figure for the map is 83 km².
Islands and towns are on the maps page; interactive maps has the layers.
First night
Fire before loot
You spawn on the coast of the main island. Every other map lets you loot for an hour before you think about the weather. Sakhal does not. The temperature icon starts dropping the moment you move, and a fresh spawn in a T-shirt is dead of hypothermia before they find a gun.
- Go indoors and find warm clothes first. Any jacket, hat and gloves beat a weapon. The villages are the main source of winter clothing.
- Make fire your second item. Matches, a lighter or a hand drill kit, plus bark and sticks. Light one inside a building or behind a wall, out of the wind.
- Drink from wells, never snow. Eating snow causes heavy metal poisoning, a Sakhal-only illness. Melt it in a pot over a fire instead, or use a well.
- Eat before you sleep. A full stomach keeps you warm; a starving character cools faster.
- Short hops. Village to village, never a long walk across open snow.
The full kit order is in the starter loadout; the status icons are explained in the survival guide.
Cold, wet, snow
How Sakhal kills you
| Threat | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothermia | Cold air, wind, wet clothes, standing still | Insulated layers, a fire, a hot spring, keep eating |
| Wet | Snow, falling through ice, rain at the coast | Dry by a fire; carry spare dry clothes in a bag |
| Heavy metal poisoning | Eating snow | Do not. Melt it, or use a well. Charcoal tablets help |
| Frozen food | Food left in the cold freezes and cannot be eaten | Warm it by a fireplace before eating |
| Dark nights | Long winter nights | Head torch, chemlights, a lit fire you can see from the road |
What every temperature state means, and which clothes insulate best, is on warm and cool and best armour.
Fire and hot springs
Warm spots
You will light fires on Sakhal more often than anywhere else, so carry fuel. Sticks and bark from any tree, a hatchet to split logs, and a few rags or paper to start it. Fireplaces in houses are the best shelter: out of the wind, hidden, and they warm the whole room.
The hot springs around the volcano are the map’s natural fireplaces. Stand in or beside one and your temperature recovers without burning fuel. They are also where everyone else goes to warm up, so treat them like a well on Chernarus: approach carefully, do not linger. See build a fire.
Food and fishing
No inland fishing
The lakes are frozen, so inland fishing is gone. Fish from the coast instead: steelhead trout, pollock and shrimp were added with Frostline. Reindeer are the new big game, along with the hares and foxes that came back in 1.26, and the villages keep chickens and have gardens. Cook everything; raw meat and a cold body is a bad mix. See fishing and every animal.
Boats and islands
Getting off the main island
Sakhal is an archipelago and the military sites are on the outer islands. Boats connect them: find one at the coast, check it has fuel and is not damaged, and cross in daylight when you can see the ice. Fall in and you are drenched in freezing water with minutes to reach a fire. Sakhal’s patrol and fishing boats are also dynamic events in their own right; see Sakhal events and boats.
Burukan bunker
The scientist and the glow plug
Sakhal’s underground site is the Burukan bunker. Its door is powered by a glow plug that comes from the scientific briefcase at the Frozen Scientist dynamic event, so you need to find the event first, then carry the plug to the bunker. Inside: the top loot on the map, infected, darkness and cold. Bring the same kit as for the Livonia bunker: head torch, NBC gear, a friend at the door. The event is explained on Sakhal events.
Loot
Where the gear is
Nogovo airfield, Wolf’s Peak, Ice Ridge and the other military outposts on the outer islands carry the rifles and winter military gear; the Sakhalskaj geothermal plant and the Sakhalag prison camp sit in the middle tier; the volcano area has rare loot and heat from the vents; the towns of Ketoj and Petropavlovsk-Sakhalskiy have the civilian, medical and police loot. Every site is ranked on best loot by map. The rule that matters more than any ranking: on Sakhal a long loot run without a fire kit is how most characters die.
Quick answers
Questions people ask
How big is Sakhal in DayZ?
Bohemia’s figure for the Frostline map is 83 km², which makes it the smallest official DayZ map. Some community measurements put the full terrain nearer 105 km².
Is Sakhal free?
No. Sakhal comes with the Frostline expansion ($26.99 on PC and consoles). It is included in the DayZ Cool Edition on Nintendo Switch 2.
Can you eat snow on Sakhal?
You can, and you should not. Eating snow causes heavy metal poisoning, an illness added with Frostline. Melt it in a pot over a fire or drink from a well.
Can you fish on Sakhal?
Only from the sea. Inland lakes are frozen. Frostline added steelhead trout, pollock and shrimp to catch from the coast.
How do you open the Burukan bunker?
With a glow plug from the scientific briefcase at the Frozen Scientist dynamic event. Carry it to the bunker door to power it.
When did Frostline come out?
15 October 2024, with update 1.26, on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.
Keep going
More guides and tools
Checked 1 November 2026 against DayZ 1.30 (PC 1.30.164200, console 1.87). Sizes, dates, price and new content from Bohemia Interactive’s Frostline announcements and the 1.26 changelog; routes and rankings are our opinion.