NapNodes
Free tool · Valheim

Valheim world modifiers for your dedicated server

In the game, the world difficulty is picked with a few buttons; a dedicated server has no such screen and it's done with launch arguments. Choose here the way you would in the game and copy the line. If you already have some, paste them to change them.

World difficulty

Sets everything at once, like when you create a world in the game. The options below change individual things on top of it.

Combat

The damage you deal and take. Harder also means faster enemies with more stars.

Death penalty

Casual: you keep what you have equipped and lose very little skill. Hardcore: you lose everything, items and skills.

Resources

How much creatures and loot drop (doesn't affect fish, trophies or bosses).

Raids

How often your base is attacked. “None” removes the regular ones, but some at night still happen.

Portals

Normal: everything goes through except metals. Casual: everything goes through. Hard and Very hard restrict them more.

Toggles

  • No build cost: Building pieces don't use materials (you need to have discovered the recipe).
  • Player based raids: What attacks depends on each player's progress, not on the bosses defeated on the server.
  • Passive enemies: They don't attack until you provoke them.
  • No map: Nobody has a map or minimap.

Already have some? Paste them

The whole start_headless_server.bat line works: only the modifiers are read.

Your modifiers

Arguments
-preset hard -modifier resources more
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Resources: More (×1.5)

They apply when the server restarts. For your Windows PC, the start_headless_server.bat line (change the name, world and password to yours):

start_headless_server.bat
valheim_server -nographics -batchmode -name "My server" -port 2456 -world "Dedicated" -password "changeme" -crossplay -preset hard -modifier resources more
Free Valheim server

At NapNodes you don't type anything: you pick them in the panel's “Settings”, on the free server too.

How they work

  • -preset sets everything at once (Casual, Easy, Hard, Hardcore, Immersive or Hammer), just like the preset when creating a world.
  • -modifier changes one thing: combat, death penalty, resources, raids or portals.
  • -setkey turns on a toggle: no build cost, player based raids, passive enemies or no map.

Order matters: -preset goes first, because it overrides whatever comes before it. The tool already writes them that way. The server reads them on start: after changing them, restart it. What each option does in play, in the guide Valheim world modifiers on a server.

At NapNodes, with buttons

On a NapNodes Valheim server you don't type any arguments: in the panel, “Settings” → “World difficulty and modifiers” has these same options. Each one saves by itself; then press “Restart”. The password, the server name and the world name are in the same place. The rest of running the server (admins, bans, world backups) is in the guide Valheim server admin.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the modifiers go on a dedicated server?

In the server's launch line, after everything else (name, port, world, password). On your PC it's the line in start_headless_server.bat; with a host, whatever launch or parameters field its panel has. At NapNodes you don't type them: you pick them in “Settings” → “World difficulty and modifiers”.

Why aren't they being applied?

Almost always one of three things: the server hasn't been restarted (they're read on start), they're written before the -preset (the preset overrides whatever comes before it) or there's a typo in a name. Paste your line into the tool: whatever it doesn't recognise, it tells you.

Can I change the difficulty of a world that already has progress?

Yes. Change the arguments and restart: it's still the same world, with everything built and explored. Bear in mind that some settings, like the Hammer preset, block achievements.

Do players have to set anything in their game?

No. The server decides the modifiers and they apply to everyone who joins, including Xbox players if the server has crossplay on.

Does it work for my world with friends (without a server)?

There you pick them in the game itself, when creating the world or in its modifiers screen. This tool is for dedicated servers, which don't have that screen.

No server yet?

At NapNodes you get a free Valheim server, no card needed: you start it when you want to play and it stops by itself when nobody's on. If you want it on all the time, you move to a plan and keep the same world.

Create your free Valheim server

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