Valheim World Modifiers Guide

How World Modifiers Work

World modifiers are server-wide gameplay settings that control combat difficulty, resource gathering rates, raid frequency, death penalties, and portal behavior. They are set via launch arguments and cannot be changed at runtime without a restart.

You can set modifiers individually with -modifier flags, or set a bundle with -preset. GameGrid always passes the preset first and the individual modifiers after it, so a modifier you set overrides that one category of the preset and leaves the rest of it alone. You do not have to choose between them.

On GameGrid, modifiers are in the Settings tab: World Preset sits in the World category, and the five individual modifiers plus the ten toggles sit in Gameplay. Changes require a server restart.

Presets

Normal: default Valheim difficulty. Balanced combat, standard resources, normal raids, standard portals. Recommended for first-time players.

Casual: very easy combat, no skill loss on death, much more resources, no raids, casual portals. Ideal for relaxed building and exploration.

Easy: easy combat, reduced death penalty, more resources. A gentler version of Normal.

Hard: hard combat, increased death penalty, fewer resources, more raids. For experienced players who want a challenge.

Hardcore: very hard combat, hardcore death penalty (full inventory drop), minimal resources, much more raids. Permadeath-style. For veterans only.

Immersive: no map, no portals, less resources. Designed for a hardcore exploration and survival experience. You cannot see the world map at all.

Hammer: creative building mode. Free building with no resource cost, passive mobs, no raids. For pure construction and creative projects.

Individual Modifiers

Each modifier category can be set independently. If you set a preset and then set individual modifiers, the individual ones override their category while the rest stay at the preset values.

Combat: controls how much damage enemies deal and take. Values: Very Easy, Easy, Hard, Very Hard.

Death Penalty: controls what you lose when you die. Values: Casual (no skill loss), Very Easy (minimal), Easy (reduced), Hard (increased), Hardcore (full inventory drop).

Resources: controls gathering yields. The panel offers Much Less, Less, More, Much More and Most, plus "Normal (preset default)".

Raids: controls how often enemy raids occur at your base. Values: None (no raids), Much Less, Less, More, Much More. Setting it to None is popular for building-focused servers.

Portals: controls portal restrictions. Values: Casual (no restrictions, can carry all ores), Hard (standard restrictions, no metal through portals), Very Hard (no portals at all).

Every one of the five leaves the preset in charge when you pick "Normal (preset default)". That is not the same as choosing Normal: Valheim rejects "normal" as an explicit modifier value, so the platform simply omits the argument.

Setting Modifiers from the Panel

1. Open the Settings tab for your Valheim server.

2. To use a preset: choose the World category in the left-hand list and pick from the World Preset dropdown. This sets all modifier categories at once.

3. To customise individual modifiers: choose the Gameplay category.

4. Set Combat Modifier, Death Penalty Modifier, Resources Modifier, Raids Modifier and Portals Modifier as you want them. Leave any of them on "Normal (preset default)" to let the preset decide that category.

5. The ten toggles are in the same category: No Build Cost, No Crafting Cost, No Workbench Required, All Build Pieces Unlocked, All Recipes Unlocked, Allow Building in Dungeons, Always Fire, Player-Based Raids, Passive Enemies and Disable Map.

6. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

7. Restart the server. Nothing here takes effect while it is running.

You can mix a preset with individual overrides. For example, leave the preset on Normal and set Raids Modifier to None to disable raids while keeping everything else at normal difficulty.

Checkbox Keys

In addition to the category modifiers, the panel offers ten boolean toggles, set with -setkey. All ten are OFF by default and all ten are in the Gameplay category. The panel labels are on the left, the underlying key on the right:

No Build Cost (nobuildcost): building pieces cost no resources. Similar to Hammer mode but without the other Hammer preset changes.

Player-Based Raids (playerevents): raids are triggered by what players have done rather than by elapsed time.

Passive Enemies (passivemobs): all enemies are passive and will not attack. Good for peaceful building servers.

Disable Map (nomap): disables the world map entirely. Players must navigate by landmarks and stars. Pairs well with the Immersive preset.

No Crafting Cost (nocraftcost): crafting at workbenches and stations costs no resources. Building is separate - that is No Build Cost.

No Workbench Required (noworkbench): building and crafting work without being near a workbench.

All Build Pieces Unlocked (allpiecesunlocked): every build piece is available regardless of progression.

All Recipes Unlocked (allrecipesunlocked): every crafting recipe is available regardless of progression.

Allow Building in Dungeons (dungeonbuild): building is allowed inside dungeons.

Always Fire (fire): sets the global fire key, which changes how fire behaves in the world.

These can be combined with any preset or individual modifier setting.

Recommended Combinations

Relaxed co-op: preset Casual. No raids, easy combat, more resources. Perfect for a small group that wants to build and explore without stress.

Hardcore Viking: preset Hardcore. Maximum challenge for experienced players. Expect to die often.

Building server: preset Hammer, or preset Casual with Raids Modifier set to None and No Build Cost enabled. Pure construction.

Exploration challenge: preset Immersive. No map, no portals, fewer resources. The ultimate Viking survival experience.

Normal with no raids: preset Normal, then set Raids Modifier to None. Standard difficulty without base defence pressure.