Bring a flashlight, because the latest patch for survival game DayZ is heading underground. DayZ update 1.19 focuses primarily on the Livonia DLC map, adding a new underground compound of bunkers and tunnels. You’ll need special items to get inside, and you may want to bring a friend – or at least a torch. It’s dark in there. The patch also includes additional enhancements and updates to Livonia, plus some vehicle physics updates, new weapons, and more.
In the trailer below, a lone survivor in a Humvee approaches a bunker entrance and makes her way inside, only to be ambushed by a helmeted enemy who throws in a grenade. She fights them off, but only just – escaping in her truck as the dawn breaks.
Bohemia Interactive says you’ll need “special items” to enter this new underground bunker complex, but doesn’t specify what those are – you’ll have to work that out for yourself. Once inside, you’ll have to navigate through its darkened corridors – and the developers say it’ll be important to bring some friends so you can work together to explore the entire network.
Back up at ground level, you should find that patch 1.19 has improved vehicle handling considerably – the devs say they’ve fixed the ‘flying cars’ issue, enabled vehicle hand braking, honk the horn, and carry spare tyres in case of a flat or blowout. You can test the new vehicle physics and features in the newly added M1025 Humvee variant, which players have been requesting for a while now.
There are new items to fill that truck up with, too, such as the SSG 82 sniper rifle and the BK-18 break-action shotgun. Bohemia has also added a new GPS receiver that works alongside DayZ’s in-game map, so you should be able to find your way around Livonia more easily now.
To round it all out, update 1.19 adds some new dynamic events – police encounters and military convoys that spawn across the map – and makes some changes to movement to make it feel more natural. Finally, you’ll see a dripping blood effect on screen whenever you’re bleeding. Nice.
Check out our guide to DayZ base building if you’d like some zombie home remodelling tips.