# How to Change Difficulty on Your Sons of the Forest Server (/docs/sons-of-the-forest/difficulty-settings)



import { Tab, Tabs } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/tabs';
import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

Sons of the Forest offers preset difficulty modes and a fully customizable **Custom** mode with granular control over enemies, environment, survival, and seasons.

> Custom game mode settings **only apply when creating a new world**. You cannot change them on an existing save — you'd need to start a new save slot.

Change Difficulty [#change-difficulty]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Stop your server [#stop-your-server]

    Go to **Console** in the [XGamingServer Panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com) and stop the server.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Edit dedicatedserver.cfg [#edit-dedicatedservercfg]

    Click **Files** in the sidebar and open `dedicatedserver.cfg`. Change `GameMode`:

    ```json
    "GameMode": "Normal"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step>
    (Optional) Start a new save [#optional-start-a-new-save]

    If switching to `Custom` mode, set `SaveMode` to `"New"` and change `SaveSlot` to an unused slot to generate a fresh world with your custom settings.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Save and start [#save-and-start]

    Click **Save Content** and start from **Console**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Preset Difficulty Modes [#preset-difficulty-modes]

| Mode             | Enemies                                | Survival                      | Notes                              |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| **Peaceful**     | No enemy spawns                        | Relaxed hunger/thirst         | Explore and build freely           |
| **Normal**       | Standard spawns and aggression         | Balanced                      | Recommended for first playthroughs |
| **Hard**         | Tougher enemies, more frequent patrols | Scarcer resources             | For experienced players            |
| **HardSurvival** | Same as Hard                           | Same as Hard + **permadeath** | Death deletes your character       |
| **Creative**     | No enemies                             | No survival needs             | Pure building mode                 |
| **Custom**       | Fully configurable                     | Fully configurable            | See below                          |

Custom Mode Settings [#custom-mode-settings]

Set `"GameMode": "Custom"` and add a `CustomGameModeSettings` object:

<Tabs items={['Enemies', 'Environment', 'Survival', 'Multiplayer']}>
  <Tab value="Enemies">
    | Setting              | Values              | Description                       |
    | -------------------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------- |
    | `EnemySpawn`         | true / false        | Toggle enemy spawning entirely    |
    | `EnemyHealth`        | Low / Normal / High | Enemy hit point pools             |
    | `EnemyDamage`        | Low / Normal / High | Damage enemies deal               |
    | `EnemyArmour`        | Low / Normal / High | Enemy damage resistance           |
    | `EnemyAggression`    | Low / Normal / High | How actively enemies hunt players |
    | `AnimalSpawnRate`    | Low / Normal / High | Animal spawn frequency            |
    | `EnemySearchParties` | Low / Normal / High | Patrol frequency and size         |

    Example: PvE Easy Mode [#example-pve-easy-mode]

    ```json
    "CustomGameModeSettings": {
      "GameSetting.Vail.EnemySpawn": true,
      "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyHealth": "Low",
      "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyDamage": "Low",
      "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyAggression": "Low",
      "GameSetting.Vail.AnimalSpawnRate": "High"
    }
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Environment">
    | Setting                  | Values                             | Description                      |
    | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
    | `StartingSeason`         | Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter  | Which season the world starts in |
    | `SeasonLength`           | Short / Default / Long / Realistic | Duration of each season          |
    | `DayLength`              | Short / Default / Long / Realistic | Full day/night cycle length      |
    | `PrecipitationFrequency` | Low / Default / High               | Rain and snow frequency          |

    Example: Endless Summer [#example-endless-summer]

    ```json
    "CustomGameModeSettings": {
      "GameSetting.Environment.StartingSeason": "Summer",
      "GameSetting.Environment.SeasonLength": "Long",
      "GameSetting.Environment.DayLength": "Long",
      "GameSetting.Environment.PrecipitationFrequency": "Low"
    }
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Survival">
    | Setting                   | Values              | Description                    |
    | ------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------ |
    | `ConsumableEffects`       | Normal / Hard       | Hunger/thirst damage severity  |
    | `PlayerStatsDamage`       | Off / Normal / Hard | Damage from spoiled food       |
    | `ColdPenalties`           | Off / Normal / Hard | Cold effects on health/stamina |
    | `BuildingResistance`      | Low / Normal / High | Structure durability           |
    | `ReducedFoodInContainers` | true / false        | Less food in world loot        |
    | `SingleUseContainers`     | true / false        | Containers only lootable once  |
    | `PlayersImmortalMode`     | true / false        | Players cannot die             |
    | `OneHitToCutTree`         | true / false        | Trees fall in one hit          |
    | `CreativeMode`            | true / false        | Enable creative mode features  |
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Multiplayer">
    | Setting     | Values       | Description                               |
    | ----------- | ------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
    | `Cheats`    | true / false | Enable console commands (cheatstick + F1) |
    | `PvpDamage` | Normal       | Player vs player damage scaling           |

    > Set `Cheats` to `true` if you want admins to use console commands like `godmode`, `settimeofday`, and `season`.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Server Configuration](/docs/sons-of-the-forest/server-config)
* [Wipe & Reinstall](/docs/sons-of-the-forest/wipe-reinstall)