Around Christmas, I always used to play DayZ with the guys. We’d go have some fun on certain unofficial servers, build a base, and become known as real outlaws. Everyone knew us, so they tried to avoid us. You get the picture, we were total DayZ tryhards. When I saw that DayZ was getting a new DLC, DayZ Badlands, I immediately booked an appointment at Gamescom. And that’s how I got to check out and play the new DLC.
First, we were introduced to a new environment called Nasdara. This is an environment where survival is supposed to be even more difficult. Think of a desert with intense heat and lots of sand (there are sandstorms, after all). You’ll quickly run into problems like a shortage of drinking water. It was clearly stated that players can’t simply rely on existing water sources, forcing them to rely even more on their survival instincts. And I personally think this is a nice addition, especially if you’ve been playing DayZ for a long time. They also showed us that you can bring old, abandoned settlements back to life. New animals have also been added, but during my visit, they didn’t want to reveal which ones just yet. What I also think is really cool are the underground locations, like hideouts and tunnels. Just imagine looting these places while having to watch your back in case someone is waiting to ambush you. I think this could be really fun for combat!
And with this, they also introduced a completely revamped mechanic. For the first time in DayZ, players can restore damaged and destroyed buildings. You can repair damaged walls, install doors and windows, barricade entrances, and restore entire buildings. This allows you to transform abandoned settlements into heavily fortified bases. We also got to try out this new mechanic ourselves. My only question is: just how hardcore is this going to be? You’re going to need quite a lot of resources to repair certain things. Think of materials like wood, bricks, mortar, and sheet metal, as well as new construction tools. And while I know that loot spawn rates can be increased, I’m not entirely sure yet if this will work well on large servers. Though I have to say, I thought the building was cool! They also claim that you can restore more than 5,000 buildings, and that’s a lot! In addition, you’ll be able to repair broken wells. And I think you’ll be pretty much forced to do this, since water sources will become an important part of your survival strategy. In addition, new locks have been added. You can secure your buildings or existing fences with a PIN code, which requires 9V batteries. When the battery runs out, the lock automatically unlocks. I personally think that’s an interesting addition, because you really must be careful not to let the battery run out. Otherwise, anyone could suddenly walk right into your base. So, in addition to building your base, you now must maintain your locks as well!
New vehicles have also been added to this DLC. Specifically, motorcycles (dirt bikes and scooters)! And I personally thought this was a nice addition. I got to take them for a spin myself and even managed to ride them and shift gears without any problems. Which is impressive, considering how terrible I am at shifting gears in games (yeah, go ahead and make fun of me!). The engines are pretty loud, though. So when you’re riding around, the whole town knows about it. The vehicles are really meant for covering the long distances on the new map.
Don’t underestimate this DLC. Because at 267 km², Bohemia says this is the largest DayZ map to date (make a 6-7 joke and you’re getting banned). Interested in the DLC after reading this article? Good news! Because the DLC is already out.
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