Valheim World Modifiers: Presets and Difficulty on a Server
Valheim's world modifiers change difficulty without mods: combat strength, death penalty, resource drops, raid frequency, portals, building cost and the map. On a dedicated server they are set with three launch options, -preset, -modifier and -setkey. On ChicagoServers they are fields in World preset and modifiers on the Startup tab.
This guide lists every preset, modifier and key Iron Gate documents for servers, what each value does, and the order to apply them in. The combat, death penalty and resource figures come from the community Valheim wiki, not from the developer, and were checked in November 2026 against the wiki and host documentation.
- Pick the World preset first, then individual modifiers, then click Save startup and Restart. A preset overwrites any modifier set before it.
- Presets:
normal,casual,easy,hard,hardcore,immersiveandhammer. - Modifiers, one option each:
combat,deathpenalty,resources,raidsandportals. Keys:nobuildcost,playerevents,passivemobsandnomap. - Modifiers are saved with the world, so they travel with it if you move or switch worlds.
- Once a modifier has been changed from normal in game, you cannot put that one modifier back to normal. The reset is a preset.
On this page
Set world modifiers on ChicagoServers
- Open the Startup tab
Sign in at panel.chicagoservers.co, open your Valheim server, then the Startup tab.
- Choose the preset first
Under World preset and modifiers, pick a World preset. Leave it on
normalif you only want to change individual settings. - Then set individual modifiers
Set Combat, Death penalty, Resources, Raids, Portals and the No build cost, Passive enemies and No map options as you want them. If a key has no field, contact support.
- Save, restart and check
Click Save startup, then Restart. Launch options are read at boot, so nothing changes until the server restarts. Look at the fields again after saving to confirm the preset did not overwrite your modifiers.
-preset casual -modifier resources most -setkey nobuildcostThe seven presets
The server accepts normal, casual, easy, hard, hardcore, immersive and hammer. A preset sets several modifiers and keys at once. Iron Gate has not published a table of every value inside each preset, so the descriptions below are general. The Join World screen in the game shows the exact sliders for each preset, and you can compare them there before choosing.
| Preset | In general |
|---|---|
normal | The game as shipped, with every modifier at its default. |
casual | Softer combat, a gentle death penalty, more resources, fewer raids and looser portal rules. |
easy | Gentler combat and death penalty, with the rest close to normal. |
hard | Tougher combat and a harsher death penalty, with tighter portal rules. |
hardcore | The harshest death penalty, on top of hard settings. |
immersive | Exploration focused. Host documentation reports no map, tighter portal rules and fire hazards beyond the Ashlands. |
hammer | Hammer mode: pieces built with the hammer cost no materials. Check the Join World screen for what else it sets. |
Modifier reference: combat, death penalty, resources, raids, portals
Each modifier takes one value. Percentages are against normal (100%).
Combat (-modifier combat VALUE)
| Value | Player damage | Enemy damage | Enemy speed and size | Enemy level-up rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
veryeasy | 125% | 50% | 90% | 100% |
easy | 110% | 75% | 90% | 100% |
| normal (default) | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
hard | 85% | 150% | 110% | 120% |
veryhard | 70% | 200% | 120% | 140% |
Hard and very hard also raise the chance of higher-level (starred) enemies. Player damage changes are not shown in on-screen weapon values.
Death penalty (-modifier deathpenalty VALUE)
| Value | Equipped gear | Inventory | Skill loss |
|---|---|---|---|
casual | Kept | Dropped | 1% |
veryeasy | Dropped | Dropped | 1% |
easy | Dropped | Dropped | 2.5% |
| normal (default) | Dropped | Dropped | 5% |
hard | Dropped | Destroyed | 7.5% |
hardcore | Destroyed | Destroyed | 100% |
Skill loss is a percentage of each skill level. Dropped items can be recovered from your tombstone; destroyed items cannot.
Resources (-modifier resources VALUE)
| Value | Drop rate |
|---|---|
muchless | 0.5x |
less | 0.75x |
| normal (default) | 1x |
more | 1.5x |
muchmore | 2x |
most | 3x |
The multiplier rounds up, so 1.5x often behaves like 2x on small drops. It does not change fish, trophies or boss drops.
Raids (-modifier raids VALUE)
- Values:
none,muchless,less,moreandmuchmore. Normal is the default. nonestops the random raids but not night raids, andmuchmoremakes them far more frequent.- Community sources disagree on the exact timings and chances behind each step, so test on your own world instead of planning around a number.
Portals (-modifier portals VALUE)
- Values:
casual,hardandveryhard. Normal is the default. casualloosens the rules on what can travel through a portal.hardandveryhardrestrict portals further, up to no portals at all.- Our sources do not agree on exactly which restriction maps to which value, so check how portals behave in game after you set it.
The four setkey options
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
nobuildcost | Build pieces cost no materials. Recipes still have to be discovered. |
playerevents | Raid difficulty follows each player's own progress instead of the world's boss kills. |
passivemobs | Enemies do not attack until provoked. |
nomap | No map or minimap for anyone. |
Each key is set with its own -setkey option. Some modifiers, hammer mode among them, can block achievements, according to Iron Gate's FAQ as quoted in host documentation, so tell players before you turn them on.
Changing modifiers on an existing world
World modifiers are stored with the world as global keys, so they belong to the world and not to the server. Switching World name or uploading another world switches to that world's modifiers, and then the launch options on the Startup tab apply on top at the next start.
- The reliable method: change the fields on the Startup tab, save and restart, then check the result in game.
- Console commands: the community wiki lists
setworldmodifierandsetworldpresetfor changing modifiers in game. Cheat commands do not work on a multiplayer server, and community documentation differs on how well these behave for dedicated server admins, so test on a backup before using them on a world you care about. - Reset limit: you cannot return a single modifier to normal with
setworldmodifier. The documented reset issetworldpreset default, which clears every modifier set that way. Back up before you experiment. - Before a change: make a World and settings backup on the Backups tab and star it so you can roll back.
Setups that work
These are starting points, not official presets. Set them on the Startup tab with the preset first.
| Server style | Settings |
|---|---|
| Relaxed friends server | Preset casual. Or normal with deathpenalty casual and resources more. |
| Creative building | Preset hammer, or nobuildcost with raids none. |
| Challenge survival | Preset hard, or combat hard with deathpenalty hard and raids more. |
| Hardcore | Preset hardcore. Warn players that death destroys gear and resets skills. |
| Explorers | Preset immersive, or normal with nomap. |
| Mixed-experience group | playerevents so each player's raids follow their own progress. |
Troubleshooting modifiers that do not apply
| What you see | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Combat or death penalty is back to default | A preset was applied after the modifiers. Set the World preset first, then the modifiers, and save. |
| Nothing changed | The server was not restarted. Launch options are only read at start. |
| A different world has different settings | Modifiers are stored with each world. Check the World name. |
| A modifier cannot be set back to normal | This is a game limitation. Use a preset to reset, or change the value on the Startup tab and restart. |
| Players say achievements are off | Some modifiers block achievements. Remove them if achievements matter to your community. |
For the rest of the launch options, see the Valheim dedicated server setup guide. Thinking of starting a new difficulty on a new map? Read the Valheim world seed guide. Ready to host? See Valheim server hosting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change Valheim difficulty on a dedicated server?
Use the -preset, -modifier and -setkey launch options. On ChicagoServers set World preset first, then the individual modifiers under World preset and modifiers on the Startup tab, click Save startup and restart the server.
What are the Valheim world modifier presets?
The server accepts normal, casual, easy, hard, hardcore, immersive and hammer. A preset overwrites any modifier set before it, so choose the preset first.
How do I turn off raids on a Valheim server?
Set the raids modifier to none. That stops the random raids, but night raids still happen.
Can I turn off the death penalty in Valheim?
Not entirely. The gentlest option, casual, keeps your equipped gear, drops the rest of your inventory and loses 1% of skills. Normal loses 5% of skills.
Which setkey options can a Valheim server use?
Iron Gate documents four: nobuildcost, playerevents, passivemobs and nomap.
Why did my Valheim modifiers reset?
Usually a preset was applied after the modifiers, which overwrites them, or the world has different stored modifiers. Set the preset first, then the modifiers, and check the World name.