Building comparison
head to head
Dark and DarkervsDayZ
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.
Dark and Darker
Reads · Grand Arena
Tests slow-melee dueling and predicting human extraction squads under loot RNG.
DayZ
Variance · Grand Arena
Hardcore survival sandbox where other players are scarier than the zombies.
Dark and Darker leans Reads (Grand Arena); DayZ leans Variance (Grand Arena).
Dark and DarkerDayZ
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dark and Darker
Slow melee timing, spacing and spell aim decide fights
DayZ
gunfights punish slow hands severely
Reads7 vs 6
Dark and Darker leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Dark and Darker
Third-partying, baiting and outplaying human squads is central
DayZ
every survivor met may lie, ambush, or befriend
Variance6 vs 7
DayZ leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Dark and Darker
Loot rolls, spawns and circle placement shape every raid
DayZ
loot spawns and who you meet are unknowable
Optimization6 vs 5
Dark and Darker leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Dark and Darker
Gear economy, class builds and dungeon routes reward grinding knowledge
DayZ
map knowledge and survival routines compound
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.