cfgeventgroups.xml

Purpose

cfgeventgroups.xml defines what physically appears at an event site — the objects, vehicles, structures, and loot that compose it. When an event fires and places itself at a coordinate, it uses the group definitions here to decide exactly what to place and where relative to the event origin.

This file is the “what” of events. events.xml says how many and when. cfgeventspawns.xml says where. This file says what the player actually finds when they get there.

Console Path

dayzxb_missions/dayzOffline.<mapname>/cfgeventgroups.xml    (Xbox)
dayzps_missions/dayzOffline.<mapname>/cfgeventgroups.xml    (PlayStation)

Connects To

events.xml (db/) — events reference group names in their <child type="..."> entries
types.xml (db/) — items placed by groups must exist in types.xml

Full Block Structure

<eventgroups>

  <group name="Land_Wreck_Car3_Blue">
    <child type="Land_Wreck_Car3_Blue"
           lootmax="0" lootmin="0"
           x="0" y="0" z="0" a="0"
           deloot="0"/>
    <child type="PoliceCap"
           lootmax="1" lootmin="0"
           x="0.6" y="0.2" z="-0.4" a="10"
           deloot="0"/>
    <child type="PoliceJacket_Black"
           lootmax="1" lootmin="0"
           x="-0.5" y="0.1" z="0.3" a="0"
           deloot="0"/>
  </group>

  <group name="StaticHeliCrashSite">
    <child type="Land_Wreck_Mi8"
           lootmax="0" lootmin="0"
           x="0" y="0" z="0" a="0"
           deloot="0"/>
    <child type="M4A1"
           lootmax="1" lootmin="0"
           x="2.0" y="0.5" z="1.0" a="45"
           deloot="0"/>
    <child type="ACR"
           lootmax="1" lootmin="0"
           x="-1.5" y="0.3" z="0.8" a="90"
           deloot="0"/>
  </group>

</eventgroups>

Field-by-Field Reference

`<group name="...">`

The group identity. Referenced by events.xml in <child type="..."> where type matches this name. Case-sensitive.

One group can be referenced by multiple events. An event can reference multiple different groups via multiple <child> entries.

`<child ...>`

One object or item placed when this group is spawned. A group can have unlimited children.

Attribute	Type	What it controls
`type`	String	Classname of the object or item to place. Must exist in types.xml if it is a loot item.
`x`	Float (meters)	Local X offset from the group origin
`y`	Float (meters)	Local Y offset from the group origin — vertical height
`z`	Float (meters)	Local Z offset from the group origin
`a`	Float (degrees)	Local rotation of this child relative to group origin
`lootmin`	Integer	Minimum quantity of this child placed per group spawn
`lootmax`	Integer	Maximum quantity of this child placed per group spawn
`deloot`	Integer (0 or 1)	Whether CE handles this child as dynamic loot (1) or a persistent world object (0)

`x`, `y`, `z` offsets

These are local offsets from the group’s spawn origin (the coordinate from cfgeventspawns.xml). They position each child relative to the center of the group.

x and z move the child horizontally
y moves it vertically

Most common mistake: Setting y too high causes items to float above the ground. Setting it negative buries them underground. For items meant to be on the ground near a wreck, y values between 0.0 and 0.5 are typical. For items inside/on structures, adjust based on the structure’s geometry.

`lootmin` and `lootmax`

For structural objects like vehicle wrecks or building shells, set both to 0 — they are placed once as scenery, not as variable-quantity loot.

For items that should spawn in variable quantities (ammo piles, gear scattered around a site), set lootmin lower and lootmax higher. The engine picks a random number in this range.

<!-- Wreck - always place exactly once, no loot quantity -->
<child type="Land_Wreck_Mi8" lootmax="0" lootmin="0" x="0" y="0" z="0" a="0" deloot="0"/>

<!-- Ammo - randomly 1 to 3 piles placed nearby -->
<child type="AmmoBox_556x45_20rnd" lootmax="3" lootmin="1" x="1.5" y="0.1" z="0.5" a="0" deloot="0"/>

`deloot`

This is a three-state value, not a plain boolean. The native loader (0x1407fe370) preserves and accepts -1 in addition to 0 and 1:

0 — object is treated as a persistent world object, not subject to CE loot cycling
1 — object is treated as dynamic loot, CE may cycle it through cleanup/respawn
-1 — accepted by the loader as a distinct state from 0/1; treat as “unset/inherit” rather than assuming it behaves identically to 0

For structural objects (wrecks, buildings) use 0. For loose loot items, use 1. Don’t assume -1 and 0 are interchangeable without testing — the loader keeps them as separate values.

`spawnsecondary` and `trace`

Two additional per-child fields the native loader reads, in addition to the attributes above:

Attribute	Type	What it controls
`spawnsecondary`	Integer (0 or 1)	Whether this child can trigger a secondary spawner (used for NPC/AI-linked children within an event group, paired with the `sec_spawner` flag in events.xml)
`trace`	Integer (0 or 1)	Whether this child’s placement is terrain-traced (adjusted to sit correctly on uneven ground) rather than placed at a flat offset

<child type="Wolf_Grey" lootmax="0" lootmin="0" x="1.0" y="0" z="0.5" a="0" deloot="0" spawnsecondary="1" trace="1"/>

What Console Admins Typically Adjust

lootmax on item children — increase to make event sites drop more loot.
lootmin on item children — set above 0 to guarantee a minimum drop.
x/z offsets — adjust item placement positions relative to the wreck/structure.
Adding new <child> entries — add additional items to an existing event group.
y values — fix items floating or buried underground.

Safe Edit Pattern

Change lootmax first and test before adjusting placement offsets.
Keep y values small (0.0–0.8) for ground-placed items.
When adding a new <child>, confirm the classname exists in types.xml.
Avoid setting lootmax very high on rare/military items — creates extremely rewarding hotspots.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Result
`type=` classname not in types.xml	Item silently fails to spawn
`y` offset too high	Items float above the ground visibly
`y` offset negative/too low	Items buried underground and unreachable
`lootmax` much higher than `lootmin` on weapons	Event sites become loot bombs
Group name doesn’t match what events.xml references	Group is never used