# How to Enable or Disable PvP on Your Project Zomboid Server (/docs/project-zomboid/pvp-settings)



Project Zomboid lets you control whether players can attack each other. You can enable full PVP, disable it entirely, or use the Safety System to let individual players choose.

Toggle PVP [#toggle-pvp]

<div className="fd-steps">
  <div className="fd-step">
    Open your server config [#1-open-your-server-config]

    On XGamingServer, go to **Files** and open:

    ```
    Zomboid/Server/[servername].ini
    ```
  </div>

  <div className="fd-step">
    Set the PVP option [#2-set-the-pvp-option]

    ```ini title="[servername].ini"
    PVP=true
    ```

    Set to `true` to enable PVP, or `false` to disable it completely.
  </div>

  <div className="fd-step">
    Restart your server [#3-restart-your-server]

    Restart from the **Dashboard**.
  </div>
</div>

Safety System (Per-Player PVP Toggle) [#safety-system-per-player-pvp-toggle]

The Safety System lets individual players opt in or out of PVP. When enabled, players can toggle their PVP status independently.

```ini title="[servername].ini"
SafetySystem=true
SafetyToggleTimer=2
SafetyCooldownTimer=3
```

| Setting               | Default | Description                                 |
| --------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `SafetySystem`        | true    | Enable per-player PVP toggle                |
| `SafetyToggleTimer`   | 2       | Minutes to wait after toggling PVP on       |
| `SafetyCooldownTimer` | 3       | Minutes before you can toggle PVP off again |

> 📝 **Note:** The Safety System only works when `PVP=true`. With `PVP=false`, no player-on-player damage is possible regardless of safety settings.

How Players Use Safety [#how-players-use-safety]

Players toggle their PVP status from the in-game menu. When a player turns PVP on:

1. A timer counts down (SafetyToggleTimer)
2. After the timer, they can attack and be attacked by other PVP-enabled players
3. They must wait (SafetyCooldownTimer) before they can turn PVP off again

Common Configurations [#common-configurations]

Full PVP Server [#full-pvp-server]

```ini
PVP=true
SafetySystem=false
```

Everyone can attack everyone at all times.

PVE Only (No PVP) [#pve-only-no-pvp]

```ini
PVP=false
```

No player-on-player damage at all.

Optional PVP (Recommended for Community Servers) [#optional-pvp-recommended-for-community-servers]

```ini
PVP=true
SafetySystem=true
SafetyToggleTimer=5
SafetyCooldownTimer=10
```

Players choose whether to participate in PVP. Longer timers prevent people from quickly toggling to ambush others.

PVP and Safehouses [#pvp-and-safehouses]

When PVP is enabled, safehouse settings become important:

```ini
SafehouseAllowTrepass=true
SafehouseAllowFire=false
SafehouseAllowLoot=false
```

See [Configure Safehouses](/docs/project-zomboid/safehouses) for detailed safehouse settings.

Related Guides [#related-guides]

See also: [Safehouses](/docs/project-zomboid/safehouses) | [Ban and Unban Players](/docs/project-zomboid/ban-players) | [Configure Your Server](/docs/project-zomboid/server-config)

If you need help, join our [Discord](https://discord.xgamingserver.com/).