The Valheim modding community has created hundreds of mods that transform the Viking survival experience. From essential quality-of-life improvements to complete gameplay overhauls, the right mods can make your server more enjoyable, challenging, or convenient depending on your playstyle.

In this guide, you will discover the most popular and useful Valheim mods organized by category, learn what each mod does and why players love it, understand which mods work best together for different modded Valheim server types, and find recommendations for casual, hardcore, and creative server setups.

Why Use Mods On Your Valheim Server?

Vanilla Valheim offers an excellent survival experience, but mods unlock possibilities the base game doesn't provide. Popular reasons to mod your server include:

Fix Frustrations: Many players find certain vanilla mechanics tedious (like inventory management or resource gathering). Mods smooth out these rough edges.

Add Content: New items, weapons, building pieces, and creatures extend gameplay long after you've conquered the base game.

Customize Difficulty: Make the game easier for casual play or significantly harder for veteran Vikings seeking challenge.

Enhance Multiplayer: Server management tools, shared progression features, and quality-of-life improvements make group play smoother.

Create Unique Experiences: RPG systems, loot overhauls, and building tools let you create servers that play completely differently from vanilla.

Before diving into specific mods, remember that all players on your server need matching mods installed on their clients for most mods to work properly. Check out our guide on how to add mods to your Valheim server for installation instructions.

Essential Quality-Of-Life Mods

These mods fix common frustrations without dramatically changing gameplay. Perfect for servers that want vanilla Valheim with fewer annoyances.

Craft From Containers (AzuCraftyBoxes)

What It Does: Automatically pulls crafting materials from nearby chests within a configurable range (default 20 meters). Works for crafting, building, upgrading, and cooking.

Why It's Essential: Eliminates the most tedious part of Valheim - constantly shuffling resources between chests and your inventory. You'll spend more time playing and less time managing inventory.

Best For: Every server. This is arguably the single most popular quality-of-life mod.

Equipment And Quick Slots

What It Does: Adds dedicated equipment slots that don't consume inventory space, plus three additional quick-access slots with customizable hotkeys.

Why Players Love It: Your weapons and armor no longer take up valuable inventory space. Perfect for long expeditions where you need maximum carrying capacity.

Best For: Explorers, resource gatherers, and anyone who hates running out of inventory space.

Mass Farming

What It Does: Hold a hotkey (default Left Shift) to plant entire grids of crops at once (5×5 default, configurable). Same hotkey automatically harvests all plants in range.

Why It's Essential: Farming in vanilla requires clicking hundreds of times for large farms. This mod reduces hours of tedious clicking to seconds.

Best For: Servers with dedicated farmers or anyone who maintains large-scale farms.

Use Equipment In Water

What It Does: Lets you use weapons, tools, and items while swimming. No more defenseless paddling through dangerous waters.

Why Players Love It: Removes an arbitrary and frustrating limitation. Fight enemies while swimming or mine underwater resources without drowning.

Best For: Every server, especially those with ocean-heavy maps or serpent encounters.

Clock

What It Does: Displays a configurable in-game clock widget showing Valheim's current time.

Why It's Useful: Valheim's nights are dangerous. Knowing exactly what time it is helps you plan activities and avoid getting caught in the dark.

Best For: Solo players and small groups who want better time awareness.

Major Gameplay Overhaul Mods

These mods fundamentally change how Valheim plays. Use them to create completely customized experiences.

ValheimPlus

What It Does: The most comprehensive mod available. Lets you customize almost every game mechanic including:

  • Carry weight and stamina
  • Production speeds (smelters, kilns, furnaces)
  • Building restrictions and snap points
  • Skill progression rates
  • Workbench and crafting station ranges
  • Shared map progression for multiplayer
  • Auto-pickup, auto-repair, and automation features

Why It's #1: Complete control over game balance. Want instant smelting? Done. Need unlimited building freedom? Easy. Prefer vanilla with minor tweaks? Configurable.

Best For: Servers that want full customization. Almost every modded server runs ValheimPlus as its foundation.

Important Note: All players must have identical ValheimPlus configuration files. Mismatched configs cause connection issues.

Epic Loot

What It Does: Transforms Valheim into an ARPG with Diablo-style loot:

  • Magical items with four rarity tiers (Magic, Rare, Epic, Legendary)
  • Random bonuses and magical properties
  • Enchanting system
  • Color-coded loot beams when items drop
  • Boss-specific legendary drops

Why Players Love It: Adds massive replay value. Every enemy kill or chest opened could drop powerful gear. Turns exploration and combat into exciting loot hunts.

Best For: Servers wanting RPG progression systems and players who love loot-based games.

Valheim Legends

What It Does: Introduces 12 distinct hero classes with unique abilities:

  • Warrior: Tanky melee fighter with defensive skills
  • Berserker: High-damage melee with rage abilities
  • Mage: Ranged spellcaster (Fireball, Ice Shard, Frost Nova)
  • Rogue: Stealth and critical strike specialist
  • Plus 8 more classes

Why It's Popular: Creates party dynamics and class-based gameplay. Groups can balance their composition like traditional RPGs.

Best For: Roleplay servers and groups who want distinct character builds.

Building And Construction Mods

Perfect for creative Valheim servers and players who love base building.

BuildShare

What It Does: Export player-built structures as .vbuild files that can be shared and imported into any world. Copy entire buildings instantly.

Why Builders Love It: Build once, place anywhere. Share amazing creations with friends or download community builds. Perfect for standardizing bases across your map.

Best For: Creative servers, planned communities, and players who want architectural consistency.

Plant Everything

What It Does: Plant and cultivate resources that don't normally respawn:

  • Berry bushes (blueberries, raspberries, cloudberries)
  • Mushrooms
  • Thistle
  • Dandelions
  • Most flora and trees

Why It's Useful: Complete control over resource production. Create self-sufficient bases with all resources nearby.

Best For: Servers focused on farming and resource management.

Gizmo

What It Does: Advanced building tools including:

  • Precise rotation and positioning
  • Copy/paste for building pieces
  • Build camera for better angles
  • Measurement tools

Why Builders Need It: Enables complex architectural designs impossible with vanilla tools. Create perfectly aligned, professional-looking structures.

Best For: Serious builders and creative-focused servers.

Combat And Archery Enhancements

Mods that improve combat mechanics and make fighting more enjoyable.

Better Archery

What It Does: Overhauls archery system with:

  • Quiver system for organized arrow storage
  • Retrievable arrows after firing
  • Enhanced aiming mechanics
  • More realistic bow physics
  • Adjustable arrow damage

Why Archers Love It: Makes archery feel polished and rewarding. Arrows become reusable resources instead of consumables.

Best For: Archer-focused players and servers emphasizing ranged combat.

EAQS (Equipment And Quick Slots) Combat Extension

What It Does: Expands combat options with additional equipment slots specifically for combat items and consumables.

Why It's Useful: Switch between weapons and tools more fluidly. Keep combat items readily accessible.

Best For: Players who use multiple weapon types and need quick access.

Server Administration And Management Mods

Essential for server admins running communities or public Valheim servers.

Server Devcommands

What It Does: Enables admin commands and tools for server management:

  • Spawn items and creatures
  • Teleport players
  • Adjust time and weather
  • Give experience and skills
  • Manage server events

Why Admins Need It: Essential for managing servers, hosting events, and troubleshooting issues.

Server-Only: Only needs installation on the server. Players don't need it.

Unrestricted Portals

What It Does: Removes restrictions on what items can be transported through portals. Configurable to allow specific items or everything.

Why It's Controversial: Vanilla restricts ores and metals from portals to encourage exploration. This mod removes that challenge but saves massive amounts of time.

Best For: Casual servers or groups who find the portal restrictions tedious.

Automation And Convenience Mods

Make repetitive tasks automated or easier.

Torches Eternal

What It Does: Automatically refuels torches and fireplaces from nearby chests. No more manually feeding fire sources.

Why It's Convenient: Eliminates fire maintenance busywork. Your base stays lit without constant attention.

Best For: Every server. Simple QoL improvement with no downsides.

Auto Fuel

What It Does: Automatically feeds fuel to kilns, smelters, furnaces, and all fuel-consuming structures from nearby containers.

Why Players Love It: Complete automation of smelting and production. Set up systems and walk away.

Best For: Industrial-scale production and automation-focused gameplay.

Instant Monster Loot Drop

What It Does: Defeated enemies drop loot immediately instead of leaving corpses that need harvesting.

Why It's Popular: Streamlines combat. No more forgetting to loot corpses or losing items when corpses despawn.

Best For: Fast-paced servers and players who hate missing loot.

Visual And Interface Improvements

Enhance how Valheim looks and presents information.

BetterUI

What It Does: Comprehensive UI improvements:

  • Detailed item tooltips with stats
  • Durability displays
  • Production building timers
  • Custom chest labels
  • Weather forecast
  • Enemy health bars (optional)

Why It's Essential: Provides information vanilla Valheim hides. Make informed decisions with actual numbers.

Best For: Every server. Pure information enhancement with no gameplay changes.

First Person View

What It Does: Toggleable first-person camera mode. Fully configurable with adjustable FOV and head bobbing.

Why Players Use It: Immersive perspective for exploration and combat. Some players simply prefer first-person.

Best For: Players wanting immersive experiences or coming from other first-person games.

Hip Lantern

What It Does: Craftable belt lantern that illuminates surroundings without occupying your hands. Configurable light color and brightness.

Why It's Useful: Light source that doesn't prevent using weapons or tools. Explore dark dungeons safely.

Best For: Cave explorers and night-time adventurers.

Different server types benefit from different mod combinations. Here are tested loadouts:

Casual Vanilla-Plus Server

For groups wanting a vanilla Valheim server with quality-of-life improvements:

Core Mods:

  • Craft From Containers
  • Equipment And Quick Slots
  • Mass Farming
  • Use Equipment In Water
  • BetterUI
  • Clock

Optional:

  • Torches Eternal
  • Hip Lantern

Why This Works: Removes tedious aspects while preserving vanilla progression and challenge.

Hardcore Challenge Server

For veteran players seeking increased difficulty:

Core Mods:

  • ValheimPlus (configured for harder enemies, reduced resources)
  • Epic Loot (for rewarding loot)
  • Better Archery
  • BetterUI

Configuration Tips:

  • Increase enemy health and damage via ValheimPlus
  • Reduce loot rarity in Epic Loot
  • Decrease stamina regeneration
  • Increase death penalties

Why This Works: Creates punishing difficulty while rewarding skilled play with better loot.

Creative Building Server

For players focused on construction and design:

Core Mods:

  • ValheimPlus (remove build restrictions, unlimited resources in config)
  • BuildShare
  • Gizmo
  • Plant Everything
  • Craft From Containers

Optional:

  • Custom Textures
  • HD Valheim

Why This Works: Removes survival pressure and maximizes building freedom.

RPG/Loot-Focused Server

For players who love progression systems and loot hunting:

Core Mods:

  • ValheimPlus
  • Epic Loot
  • Valheim Legends
  • Better Archery
  • BetterUI
  • Equipment And Quick Slots

Why This Works: Transforms Valheim into an action RPG with class systems and magical loot.

Important Compatibility Notes

Version Matching

All players must have:

  • Same BepInEx version
  • Identical mod versions
  • Matching configuration files (especially ValheimPlus)

Mismatched versions cause connection failures.

Server-Only Vs Client-Required

Server-Only Mods (players don't need them):

  • Server Devcommands
  • Admin tools
  • Some automation mods

Client-Required Mods (everyone needs them):

  • ValheimPlus
  • Epic Loot
  • Better Archery
  • Most gameplay mods

Always check mod descriptions for requirements.

Common Mod Conflicts

Avoid combining:

  • Multiple archery mods (Better Archery vs others)
  • Multiple inventory mods with overlapping features
  • Different versions of the same mod

When conflicts occur, check BepInEx logs for specific errors.

How To Find And Download Mods

The primary Valheim mod repository. Features:

  • Easy browsing and search
  • Dependency tracking
  • Version history
  • Download statistics
  • Community ratings

Visit: thunderstore.io/c/valheim

Nexus Mods

Alternative repository with:

  • Detailed mod descriptions
  • User reviews and comments
  • Mod manager integration
  • File archives

Visit: nexusmods.com/valheim

Using Mod Managers

r2modman (Recommended):

  • Automatic mod installation
  • Profile management
  • Easy updates
  • Dependency handling

Thunderstore Mod Manager:

  • Similar to r2modman
  • Official Thunderstore tool

Both significantly simplify mod management compared to manual installation.

Ready To Transform Your Valheim Server?

The right mods can completely transform your modded Valheim server and hosting experience. Whether you want simple quality-of-life improvements, challenging RPG systems, or creative building freedom, there's a mod combination perfect for your server.

Pine Hosting makes running a modded Valheim server simple with pre-installed BepInEx, easy file management, and hardware optimized for modded gameplay. Focus on enjoying your customized Viking adventure instead of troubleshooting mod installations.

Check out our Valheim server hosting plans today and start building your perfect modded server.