How do I change the game settings on my V Rising server?

V Rising splits its settings over two files. ServerHostSettings.json runs the server: its name, password, whether it’s listed, and which preset it loads. ServerGameSettings.json holds the game’s rules: PvP or PvE, raid hours, clan size, loot rates and the rest. Use a preset as it comes, or set your own rules.

Where the files are

The server keeps its own defaults in VRisingServer_Data/StreamingAssets/Settings/. Stunlock advises against editing those, because a game update can overwrite them.

Your changes go in the Settings folder in your server’s data folder, beside the Saves folder. That’s where adminlist.txt lives too. The server loads its defaults first, then whatever it finds in Settings, so a file there can hold every setting or only the ones you’re changing.

If there’s no ServerGameSettings.json in Settings yet, copy the one from VRisingServer_Data/StreamingAssets/Settings/ into it and edit the copy.

Option 1: use a preset

A preset is a ready-made set of game rules. Set GameSettingsPreset in your server’s settings in the Game Panel, or in ServerHostSettings.json in the Settings folder, then restart the server:

"GameSettingsPreset": "StandardPvE"

The presets live in VRisingServer_Data/StreamingAssets/GameSettingPresets/, one file each. A preset’s name is its file name without .json. V Rising 1.1 comes with:

• StandardPvE: no player fights, no castle damage.
• StandardPvP, plus StandardPvP_WeekendSiege (raids at weekends only) and StandardPvP_NoSiege (no raids).
• SoloPvP, DuoPvP and TrioPvP, for clans of 1, 2 or 3, with weekend and no-raid versions of Duo and Trio.
• HardcorePvP, HardcoreDuoPvP and HardcoreTrioPvP, where your gear drops when you die.
• Level30PvE to Level90PvE and Level30PvP to Level90PvP, in steps of 10, which start everyone at that level.

Our V Rising page shows what the main ones set, side by side.

Option 2: set your own rules

Stunlock’s own steps for moving a world have you empty GameSettingsPreset, so a preset doesn’t load in place of your settings. Do the same here.

1. Download a backup from your Game Panel first.
2. Stop your server from the Game Panel.
3. Set GameSettingsPreset to "" (empty), in your server’s settings in the Game Panel or in ServerHostSettings.json.
4. Open ServerGameSettings.json in the Settings folder and change the values you want.
5. Save the file and start your server.

A file with only your changes in it looks like this:

{
  "GameModeType": "PvP",
  "CastleDamageMode": "TimeRestricted",
  "ClanSize": 2,
  "DropTableModifier_General": 1.5,
  "MaterialYieldModifier_Global": 1.5
}

The settings people change most

The rates are multipliers: 2 doubles something, 0.5 halves it.

Stunlock’s settings sheet explains the rest. It dates from 2022, so a few names have changed since: when in doubt, copy a name from the default file in your server.

Raid hours and the time zone

With CastleDamageMode set to TimeRestricted, castles can only be damaged inside the windows under PlayerInteractionSettings: VSCastleWeekdayTime for weekdays and VSCastleWeekendTime for weekends. VSPlayerWeekdayTime and VSPlayerWeekendTime do the same for fights between players, when PlayerDamageMode is TimeRestricted. Out of the box, every window runs from 20:00 to 22:00.

TimeZone decides whose clock those hours follow. It’s Local by default, meaning the server’s own clock, and Stunlock also lists UTC, PST, CET and CST. For a UK group, UTC is the safe choice. UK time matches UTC in winter and runs an hour ahead in summer, so a 20:00 UTC raid starts at 21:00 UK time from late March to late October.

Keep all four windows in the block when you change it:

{
  "PlayerInteractionSettings": {
    "TimeZone": "UTC",
    "VSPlayerWeekdayTime": { "StartHour": 20, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 },
    "VSPlayerWeekendTime": { "StartHour": 20, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 },
    "VSCastleWeekdayTime": { "StartHour": 19, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 21, "EndMinute": 0 },
    "VSCastleWeekendTime": { "StartHour": 18, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 }
  }
}

Tell your players the raid hours in UK time, so nobody’s caught out.

Difficulty

Difficulty is its own setting, GameDifficultyPreset in ServerHostSettings.json: Difficulty_Easy, Difficulty_Normal or Difficulty_Brutal. Stunlock’s 1.0 notes call the three Relaxed, Normal and Brutal:

• Relaxed: less sun damage, slower blood drain, enemies that deal less damage and V Blood bosses with less health.
• Brutal: V Blood bosses get new abilities, more health, more damage and higher levels, enemies hit much harder, more loot drops and gear wears out more slowly. Stunlock recommends it only for players who’ve been through the game once.

If nothing changes

• The file is broken. Every setting except the last needs a comma after it, text values sit in double quotes, and the whole file sits inside { }. Stunlock’s support site says a missing comma or bracket leaves the file unreadable. If the server won’t start after an edit, check that first, or put your backup back.
• A preset is still set. Empty GameSettingsPreset if you want your own ServerGameSettings.json to count.
• You edited the defaults. Changes to the files in VRisingServer_Data/StreamingAssets/Settings/ can vanish at the next update. Put them in Settings instead.
• The server was running. The server reads its settings when it starts. Stop it, make the change again, then start it.