World Modifiers

Valheim World Modifiers & Console Commands

Introduced in the Hildir's Request update, World Modifiers allow you to drastically change the Valheim experience. You can make the game a brutal hardcore survival simulator or a relaxed creative builder without needing external mods.

How to Apply Modifiers

Method 1: The World Menu (Easiest)

When selecting your world in the main menu, click World Modifiers at the bottom. You can adjust the sliders and checkboxes here before starting the world or uploading it to a server.

Method 2: Console Commands (Devcommands)

To use these in-game, you must enable the console by adding -console to your Steam Launch Options, then press F5 and type devcommands.

Modifier Presets

Use setworldpreset [Name] to apply groups of settings instantly:

• Casual: Easier combat, resources x2, no raids, death doesn't drop equipped gear, metals go through portals.
• Hard: Combat +50% damage, more frequent raids.
• Hardcore: Combat +100% damage, death deletes all items/skills, no map, no portals.
• Immersive: Normal difficulty but with No Map and No Portals.
• Hammer: Free building, no raids, passive mobs.

Individual Modifier Commands

Use setworldmodifier [Category] [Value] for fine-tuning.

Toggle Keys (setkey)

These are binary toggles for specific game rules:

• setkey nomap: Disables the map and minimap for all players.
• setkey passivemobs: Enemies will only attack if you strike them first.
• setkey nobuildcost: Build anything for free (requires the recipe to be discovered).
• setkey playerevents: Raids are based on individual player progress rather than world progress.

Dedicated Server Setup (modern method, 2026)

The older "load in single-player, then upload the .db" workflow is obsolete. Modern Valheim dedicated servers accept world modifier flags directly as command-line arguments in start_server.sh (or your hosting panel's startup arguments).

./valheim_server.x86_64 -nographics -batchmode \
    -name "MyServer" \
    -port 2456 \
    -world "MyWorld" \
    -password "secret" \
    -modifier combat hard \
    -modifier deathpenalty hard \
    -modifier resources more \
    -modifier raids more \
    -modifier portals casual \
    -setkey nomap \
    -setkey noportals

Two flag forms: -modifier <category> <value> for graduated modifiers (combat, deathpenalty, resources, raids, portals) and -setkey <name> for binary toggles (nomap, noportals, nobuildcost, playerevents, passivemobs, nobosses, cheats).

The host opening the world is the source of truth. For a dedicated server that is the server process. Client-side modifier panels you see in single-player do NOT apply when joining a dedicated server. See the No Skill Drain article for the most common confusion this causes.

Changing World Modifiers On An Existing Save

You started on Normal and want to crank the difficulty mid-campaign — or vice versa. Two methods:

Method 1: Edit startup arguments (clean restart)

1. Stop the dedicated server.
2. Edit start_server.sh, add or change the -modifier / -setkey flags.
3. Start the server. New modifiers apply to all future gameplay.

Method 2: Admin console while server is running (no restart)

1. Add your Steam ID to adminlist.txt on the server and restart once.
2. Join as a client, press F5 to open the console.
3. Run setmod combat veryhard or setkey nomap as needed.

Changes via Method 2 are written into the world's metadata file (.fwl) and persist across restarts. No need to take the server down.

What persists vs resets when modifiers change mid-campaign

Setting changed	Effect on existing state
Combat difficulty	Applies to next encounter. Existing enemies inherit new values.
Death penalty	Applies on next death only. Past deaths don't retroactively lose more.
Resource rate	Applies to new drops only. Already-harvested stacks keep their quantity.
Raid frequency	Applies to next raid roll. Already-rolled event finishes on old rules.
No Map	Applies on next login. Server preserves discovered map data behind the scenes; turning it back off later restores the map.
No Portals	Applies immediately. Existing portals stop teleporting but stay as decoration.

Avoid jumping from Normal directly to Very Hard + Hardcore death penalty in a single change. The compounded loss is what makes long-running groups dissolve. Ramp resources first, then combat, then death penalty across separate sessions to give players time to adapt.

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