How to Change Difficulty on Your Valheim Server

How to use difficulty presets and world modifiers on your Valheim dedicated server.

Valheim uses startup parameter presets and world modifiers for difficulty.

Difficulty Presets

Add to startup: -preset <name>

Preset	Description
`casual`	Easy combat, no death penalty, max resources, ores through portals
`easy`	Reduced combat, less death penalty
`default`	Standard
`hard`	Harder combat, more death penalty
`hardcore`	Permadeath (character deleted on death)
`hammer`	Casual with raids — building-focused
`immersive`	Hard combat, restricted portals

-modifier <type> <value>:

Modifier	Values	Description
`combat`	`veryeasy`/`easy`/`hard`/`veryhard`	Combat difficulty
`deathpenalty`	`casual`/`veryeasy`/`easy`/`hard`/`hardcore`	Death penalty
`portals`	`casual`/`hard`/`veryhard`	Portal restrictions
`resources`	`muchless`/`less`/`more`/`muchmore`/`most`	Resource availability
`raids`	`none`/`muchless`/`less`/`more`/`muchmore`	Raid frequency

See World Modifiers for full details.

How is this guide?

How to Enable Crossplay on Your Valheim Server

How crossplay works between Steam, Xbox, and Microsoft Store on Valheim servers.

Disable Building and Crafting Costs

Enable free building mode on your Valheim server so players can build without gathering resources.