Chernarus is DayZ’s first official map and it has been the home for most people over the years. It is a beautiful map that is located in an Eastern Europe setting. The temperatures are cold but not freezing as it’s mid-autumn on Chernarus. This makes for beautiful orange forests, open fields, and pine woods that will make the fresh pine smell come at you through the screen.
In this article, I will tell you all about Chernarus. From its size to loot locations I will cover it all.
Chernarus size
Chernarus has a surface area of 225 km² (86.9 square miles). On its sides it’s 15x15km or 9.3×9.3 miles. If you were to run from one side of the map to the other side of the map it would take you 41 minutes. But since you can’t sprint all the time due to stamina, it will take you longer.
The Chernarus Spawns
Roughly speaking the game flow of Chernarus goes from South East to North West. This means that once you get your bearings right you can quickly traverse inland and find the better loot. Try to use the sun and the ingame time, or a compass to get your bearings.
The Chernarus spawns I like to split up into different sections. Each section has its strengths and weaknesses. Take a look below to see each section. These are not officially determined sections but I like to think of them like this.
- West Cherno-Balota: This spawn location is an excellent choice if you want to take a western loot route. Balota Airfield is a good point to start. Then you can go to Pavlovo, Zeleno and Myskino tents.
- Cherno City: These spawns are perfect for beginners because the spawn city of Cherno itself has plenty of military loot points to get started. On top of that, it has enough food and wells. You can quickly head inland to Zelenogorsk, mogilevka, and Stary/Novy Sobor.
- Elektrozavodsk-Kamyshovo: One could say that the Elektrozavodsk (Elektro) spawns are amongst the most peaceful spawns in the game. This is because these spawns are among the less popular spawns on the map. This is because Elektro is extruding from the main island quite a bit. This means the time to get to the better inland loot is longer. However, Elektro is nicely located close to the town of Staroye, which houses a well-known military camp. You can visually confirm the Elektro spawn by finding the golden church on a hillside near the sea.
- Berezino-Solnichniy: these spawns are always good. This is because you are close to Berezino, which houses many loot spawns. However, be careful because there are plenty of other freshies that will fight you over the loot. Head inland to Gorka for a fast loot route, or explore the woods close to Berezino for some deer.
- Northern Highway-Svetlojarsk: These spawns are really interesting. The northern highway in DayZ provides you with an easy loot route that you can not miss. This road leads from the coast all the way to the end of the map near the military base of Tisy. Be careful though, the northern highway might be one of the most traversed routes on the map.
Is Chernarus good for beginners?
Chernarus is the home of many many DayZ players out there. This is because it’s the friendliest map to play DayZ on. It’s not too easy but definitely not too hard for beginners. Experienced players will also find enjoyment in this map due to the perfect game and distance between towns and military bases. The map is actually one of the most popular maps, if not THE most popular. So yes, Chernarus is good for beginners.
Chernarus is a fun, engaging, and classic map that will always provide you with an interesting adventure. If you’re building bases or not, the map is my personal favorite.
Military locations on Chernarus
Military locations are always great places to get your weapons and armor. Chernarus has quite a amount of locations. From the coast to inland to the endgame areas. I’ve listed the most popular military locations below:
- Coast: Balota Airfield
Right off the coast from Cherno on the west side is the town of Balota. Balota has its own small airfield with military loot. It is great for a quick mp5 grab or perhaps a small AK. - Coast: Kamenka Tents
All the way on the west side of the coast lies Kamkenka Tents. These tents are not a hot zone for people to go to, chances are you’ll find some loot. - Coast: Cherno Military Camps
The town of Cherno has multiple military camps in and around the city. They are handy for a quick start right after you spawn. - Coast: Gorka Military Tents
A bit more inland you will find the town of Gorka. Between Gorka and Berenzino on the road leading west, there is a little established military camp with tents. - Coast: Staroye Military Camp
If you’re coming from Elektro this military camp is the most common one to visit. It is located on the hill near Staroye. The nice thing is, after looting this, you can directly head into Staroye for food and medical supplies! - Midland: Kamensk Military Base
Kamensk military base is quite far down the Northern Highway. It spawns good loot if you’re looking for more solid Assault rifles. It’s quite hidden in the woods, but don’t let that fool you. There are often players nearby. - Midland: Stary Sobor Military Camp
This might be the most well-known military camp on Chernarus. Stary Sobor is at the center of the map. Although the loot is good and its military camp is right next to the town, the center doesn’t mean the best loot on the map. It’s perfect for some military clothing, guns, and ammo. - Midland: Zelenogorsk Military Base
On the west side of the map, there is the city of Zelenogorsk, or as many call it, Zeleno. The military base is an excellent place to find good Assault rifles (ARs) and protective helmets and vests. Be careful though, as the military and the city are well traversed by other players and bandits! - Midland Myshkino Military Base
Myshkino military is a military base that is on the edge of Midland and Endgame. You have to travel quite far inland on the west side of the map. Once you reach this military you can easily grab most things you need and head onwards to the endgame! - Endgame: North West AirField
The big North West Airfield (NWAF for short) is THE place for all your military gear and goodies. It is also THE place to find your PVP. The risk is high but the reward can be higher. It’s a large area so it’s approachable from multiple sides. - Endgame: VMC Military Base
VMC military base (Vybor Military Base) is located in the middle of the map near Vybor. This base is overlooked by a large hill. It has plenty of barracks, containers, and even a jail to find your military loot. Careful of the hill though, people tend to snipe down from it. - Endgame West Evac
At the west of the west on Chernarus, you will find West Evacuation. This is an interesting vanilla military location that spawns great loot. It is on the far edge of the map but it is still a location that people travel to. So don’t be fooled by the woods, because there can be anyone looking over it. - Endgame: Tisy Military Base
Tisy military base. What a place. It’s a beautiful old military base that is located in the forests of the northwest corner of the map. Here you will find all the best loot that you can wish for. If you have reached this base, congratulations because you shall be rewarded with the goodies. Be careful though because everyone here is on edge.
Toxic zones
Chernarus has two toxic zones that are static, Rify Ship and Pavlovo Military Base. Besides that, it has toxic bombs that dynamically create a toxic zone. These can be identified by the loud explosion that you can hear in the distance or right above you.
Rify
Rify ship is a beached ship on the east side of Chernarus. It is a permanent toxic zone that spawns special loot. In order to enter you need a full NBC set.
Pavlovo Military Base
The toxic zone around Pavlovo is located in its military base. Because of the toxic zone being around a military base, there are many good loot spawns. It is also the toxic zone closest to the inland.
Fun facts
- Chernarus is based on an IRL location in the Chech Republic. You can clearly see the similarities here on Google Maps
- The full name of the region is called The Republic of Chernarus. And it is a post-soviet republic.
- Chernarus – “Black Rus” has a close resemblance to the IRL country Belarus “White Rus”, which is a post-soviet state bordering Russia IRL
- The reason you can find U.S. and NATO gear around the map is because according to the lore, in 2009 there was a civil war. This forced the country to seek help from allied nations.
- Chernarus is the only official map without a bunker mission on Vanilla DayZ. (on our KarmaKrew servers we therefore added one)
- Chernarus has many mods that change its autumn environment to either winter or summer on the PC steam workshop. Thanks to CJ187, TannerNG, Lad, Mass, Crazy Mike, and BigBen
- The newest addition to seasonal mods has been by Cynep and it is early winter/late autumn. It’s gorgeous!
Conclusion
That’s all. Chernarus is THE best map in DayZ I find. It’s the first map that I played and I will play it until DayZ dies. I always suggest new players to start with Chernarus because it is the bread and butter of DayZ. The gameplay flow is really good, and the distances between towns, military bases, and other POIs is near perfection. The map is large enough to be able to keep finding new spots, but small enough to also find player interactions.
So go out and explore! Feel free to do so on our Chernarus servers. You can find more information like IP, server name, and more on these pages here:
Our Xbox Chernarus: https://karmakrew.tv/xbox-chernarus/
Our Playstation Chernarus: https://karmakrew.tv/playstation-chernarus/
Our PC Chernarus: https://karmakrew.tv/chernarus/
