DayZ Weapons List — Every Gun, Damage Stats and the Best Tier (2026)

DayZ has roughly 50 ranged weapons across six categories — pistols, shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles, battle rifles and bolt-action snipers — and the meta in 2026 is clear: the DMR and M70 Tundra sit at the top for damage, the M4-A1 and KA-101 are the best all-round assault rifles, and most of the guns you find in coastal towns are actively bad on purpose. This guide is the complete DayZ weapons list: every weapon with its in-game name, the damage numbers that actually matter, what ammo it eats, and how the condition system changes everything.

Official resources: DayZ Wiki: Weapons · WOBO weapon stats · BisectHosting weapon tier list · DayZ on Steam

How DayZ Weapons Work: Condition, Jamming and Attachments

Before the list, three rules that matter more than any single gun:

• Condition decides reliability. Every weapon has a condition from Pristine to Ruined, and as it degrades it jams more, spreads more and deals less effective damage. A badly damaged M4 loses to a pristine Mosin in practice. Always carry a weapon cleaning kit.
• Ammo is the real economy. Each gun family uses its own caliber (9x19, .45 ACP, 5.45x39, 5.56x45, 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, .308, 12ga, .22 LR, .357, 9x39, 40mm). Finding the gun is easy; finding the right rounds is the game.
• Attachments gate performance. Scopes, suppressors, magazines and wraps matter more than the base gun in most fights. A base M4 with no optic is worse than a Mosin with a hunting scope at range.

Per the DayZ Wiki weapons page, "a damaged or badly damaged weapon is more likely to jam or misfire," and "always try to keep your weapons in good condition and use weapon cleaning kit when available."

The Complete DayZ Weapons List by Category

Pistols (civilian and military)

Shotguns

SMGs

Assault Rifles

Battle Rifles and Marksman Rifles

Bolt-Action and Break-Action Rifles

Damage Numbers That Matter (WOBO, 1.29)

WOBO's weapon-stat tool measures health damage per hit. The meaningful tiers, verified against its 1.29 data:

The practical read: the sniper/battle-rifle tier (150 damage) one-shots unarmored players to the chest, the AK tier (~80-97) is a 2-3 shot kill, and SMGs/pistols are backup weapons, not primary. Armor (plate carriers) changes all of it — which is why base building and raid loot matter.

The Best Weapons in DayZ Right Now (Community Consensus)

• DMR — BisectHosting's tier list calls it "arguably the best weapon in DayZ": M14-class .308, semi-auto, one-shot potential even against armored players at range, plus 10/20-round mags. Its rarity is the only downside.
• M70 Tundra — the community's favorite sniper: reliable, five-shot, .308, accepts hunting scopes and improvised suppressors. The "good enough to main" sniper.
• VS-89 — highest damage in the game, but a 10-round bolt-action with a steep learning curve; BisectHosting ranks it last among snipers precisely because of that difficulty.
• M4-A1 / KA-101 — the assault-rifle meta. Same damage tier, both take full attachment sets; M4 is more common on western spawn tables, KA-101 on Livonia.
• Mosin 91/30 — the budget sniper: 148 damage, common ammo, sawable for close range. The best early-game rifle and one of the best value guns in the game.

The "Intervention" Question: CheyTac M200 Mod

A search for "intervention dayz" is almost always about the CheyTac M200 Intervention — a famous long-range sniper rifle that exists in DayZ only as a Steam Workshop mod (a port of the ARMA 2 mod by USSRsniper). It is not in vanilla DayZ and never has been. If you want to use it, you need a modded community server running the M200 workshop item; vanilla servers will never spawn it. It is the weapon that lives on in montages and server trailers, and knowing it is a mod saves you a lot of hunting in military bases.

DayZ Weapons FAQ

What is the best weapon in DayZ?

By damage and versatility, the DMR (M14) is the consensus best — .308, semi-auto, one-shot potential at range. The M70 Tundra is the best all-round sniper, and the M4-A1 is the best assault rifle for most players.

How many guns are in DayZ?

Vanilla DayZ has roughly 50 ranged weapons (about 12 pistols, 5 shotguns, 6 SMGs, 12 assault rifles, 4 battle rifles and 11 bolt/break-action rifles), plus the crossbow, the M79 launcher and the Sporter 22. Modded servers add far more.

Is the Intervention in vanilla DayZ?

No. The CheyTac M200 "Intervention" is a Steam Workshop mod (ported from an ARMA 2 mod) and only appears on modded community servers. It is not in the base game's loot tables.

What is the best sniper rifle in DayZ?

The DMR for practical power (semi-auto .308), the CR-550 Savanna and VS-89 for raw damage (150), and the M70 Tundra for the best balance of damage, magazine size and attachment support. The Mosin is the best budget option.

What is the most common gun in DayZ?

Coastal towns spawn the IJ-70 (Makarov) and CR-75 pistols most often, with BK-12/13 shotguns and the Mosin 91/30 close behind. The most common assault rifle is the KA-74 (AK-74).

The Bottom Line

DayZ's weapon pool is balanced by scarcity and ammo, not by a tier list — but if you want the short version: pistols are placeholders, shotguns are close-quarters specialists, the AK/M4 family is the all-round workhorse, and the .308 DMR/Tundra/VS-89 tier is the endgame. Keep your guns clean, match your ammo, and never trust a gun you found in a coastal house.

For where to find the top-tier guns, see our Chernarus map guide (Tisy, NWAF) and Livonia map guide (the bunker's AUG AX). And if weapon questions brought you here, our sickness chart covers the medical half of staying alive long enough to use them.

Related Guides

• DayZ Chernarus Map Guide: Spawns, Military & Loot Tiers
• DayZ Livonia Map Guide: Locations, Military & Survival Tips
• DayZ Base Building Guide: Fences, Flags & Raids
• DayZ Sickness Chart: Every Disease, Symptom & Cure
• Best DayZ Modpacks & Map Mods (Namalsk, Deadfall, Winter Chernarus)

Last Updated: August 13, 2026