V Rising: Mastering Castle Decay
In V Rising, the heart of every castle is the **Castle Heart**. It consumes Blood Essence to power walls and crafting stations. If it runs dry, the castle "decays," becoming vulnerable to attacks or simply crumbling to dust.
1. The Modifier
The key setting is CastleDecayRateModifier. Default is 1.0. Lowering this makes Blood Essence last longer.
2. Disabling Decay
You can turn off decay entirely (Setting to 0). This is popular for "Creative" or casual PvE servers where players might be gone for weeks.
3. PvP Vulnerability
On PvP servers, a decaying castle has breached walls, allowing anyone to raid it without explosives. This is a core mechanic for cleaning up inactive bases.
How to Change Decay Settings
Method 1: Game Settings (Recommended)
- Stop your Server.
- Open the **File Manager** and go to `ServerHostSettings.json` (or look for the `Game Settings` tab in your panel).
- Find the variable:
CastleDecayRateModifier. - Adjust the value:
1.0: Standard (8 days fully upgraded with Level 2 Heart).0.5: Half speed (16 days).0.0: Decay Disabled. Hearts never need blood (but machines might still need power).5.0: Accelerated Decay (Hardcore).
- Save and Restart.
Method 2: Decay Start Delay
Instead of slowing the drain, you can change how quickly damage starts AFTER the heart runs dry.
CastleDecayDamageDelay: Default is usually 0. You can set this higher to give players a "grace period" of safety even if their heart is empty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does disabling decay stop "Siege PvP"?
No. Decay is about running out of blood. "Siege PvP" is about Golems breaking walls. To stop that, you need to change the CastleDamageMode setting to Never.
Why is my Castle Heart still red?
If you set Decay to 0, the heart might still look red/empty if it has no essence, but your walls will not take damage. We still recommend putting some blood in it to power crafting stations.
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