Valheim Legends on a dedicated server: classes and install

Valheim Legends, by Torann, turns Valheim into a class-based game: each player picks one of twelve classes by sacrificing an item at Eikthyr's altar and gets three abilities that level with use. On a dedicated server it has to be installed on the server and on every client, with the .dll and its VLAssets folder in BepInEx/plugins. Before you build a group's world around it, know the uncomfortable part: the Thunderstore package is marked deprecated, the last release (0.4.91) dates from the Mistlands era, and it may not run on the current game version at all. Test it on a copy of the world first, and have a plan for the day it stops working.

What Valheim Legends adds, and its status#

Legends is one of the older and better-known RPG overhauls for Valheim. It adds selectable hero classes, each with three active abilities, and its own skills that rise as you use them, alongside the vanilla weapon and utility skills. It does not replace gear progression - a Mage still needs armour and food - but it gives each player a role beyond the weapon in their hand, which is the main reason groups install it.

The status, as of this writing:

Deprecation on Thunderstore means the author or the site has flagged the package as no longer supported. It does not delete the files, and some players run it today, but Valheim has had major updates since its last release, including Ashlands and later patches that changed game code mods depend on. Whether 0.4.91 loads on your game version is something to test, not assume. If it fails, the failures look like any other mod broken by a patch: Could not load lines or exceptions in BepInEx/LogOutput.log. Mod conflicts and dependencies covers how to read them.

Version strings matter here too. Older versions were published under a different Thunderstore namespace (Torann_VL), so a group whose members installed it at different times may have two different packages. Make sure every machine runs the same package from the same author page.

The twelve classes and how to pick one#

A class is chosen in game, not in a menu: a player places the class's offering item on Eikthyr's altar and sacrifices it. The mod page lists these:

Each class has three abilities themed on its role - the mod's own description mentions a berserker's rage, a swift shadow, and a Mage calling down a storm of meteors. The exact abilities, their costs and their scaling are covered on the mod's Nexus Mods page, and they changed between versions, so read the description for the version you actually install rather than a wiki written for an earlier one. Third-party guides online describe different class lists, some for other mods with similar names; the table above is from the current Thunderstore page.

Eikthyr's altar is in the Meadows and is usually the first boss altar a group finds, usually through a Vegvisir, and the offerings are all early-game items, so every player can pick a class within the first session or two. Once the altar is located, put a map pin on it for later arrivals. The configuration also has options that control class selection, including whether and how a player may change class later. Look through ValheimLegends.cfg after the first start and decide the rule before anybody picks - "you may change class once, at the altar, before the Elder" is easier to enforce than a rule invented after someone regrets their choice.

Installing it on the server and on clients#

Legends changes combat, skills and character state, so it is a both-sides mod. A player without it cannot play on a Legends server in any meaningful way, and a server without it has no way to keep everybody on the same rules.

1. Back up the world and characters first. Characters live on each player's own PC, in %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\characters_local\ on Windows, and Legends writes class data that the vanilla game knows nothing about.
2. Install BepInEx on the server - the pack and the BepInEx start script, as in Valheim mods with BepInEx on a server.
3. Stop the server. Extract the package so that both the .dll and the VLAssets folder sit in BepInEx/plugins. The asset folder is not optional; the mod's models and effects are in it.
4. Start the server once to generate BepInEx/config/ValheimLegends.cfg, then stop it before editing.
5. Install the same version on every client, ideally through one shared profile - Thunderstore and r2modman for groups explains profile codes and pinning a version, which matters for a mod that will not be updated again.
6. Copy the server's config to the clients too, unless you have confirmed that the settings you changed sync.

BepInEx/  plugins/ValheimLegends.dll  plugins/VLAssets/  config/ValheimLegends.cfg

The exact file names inside the package can differ between versions; keep whatever the archive contains together in plugins.

On the sync question: the mod's source includes a config-sync component, which suggests server values are pushed to clients, but the page does not document which settings sync. Test it rather than trusting it. Change a visible value on the server, such as an ability's cost, restart, and check in game on a client whose own file still has the old value. If the client follows the server, that setting syncs. If not, distribute the file.

Xbox players cannot install mods, so a Legends server is effectively PC only whatever the -crossplay flag says. If anyone in the group plays on console, Legends is not for that world.

The config file#

ValheimLegends.cfg is where hotkeys and the mod's options live. It is a normal BepInEx config: sections, keys, a comment above each describing the setting and its default. The mod page directs players there for key bindings, and that is the first thing each player will want to change, because ability keys can collide with other mods' hotkeys - a quick-slot or map mod that uses the same key will either fire both actions or neither.

For the server owner, the useful settings fall into a few groups:

• Class selection rules - whether players can choose and change class, and how.
• Ability tuning - costs, cooldowns and damage scaling. These are what you adjust if one class dominates.
• Skill gain - how quickly the mod's skills level. A faster rate suits a short season; a slower one a long-running world.

The key names are the version's own, so read them in your file rather than copying a list from a wiki. Make one change at a time and test it in game. On RE:NODE the file manager edits ValheimLegends.cfg in the browser with syntax highlighting, which is enough for this - the file manager guide covers it - and the console shows the BepInEx start-up lines so you can confirm the mod loaded before anyone joins.

Balance on a group world#

Legends was built on top of vanilla Valheim's difficulty, which already scales enemy health and damage with the number of nearby players. Add three abilities per player and a group of five can delete encounters the game tuned for five players with ordinary weapons. A few patterns show up on almost every Legends server:

• Area damage dominates. Classes with strong area attacks clear raids and Fuling camps far faster than the game expects. If the group finds the early game trivial, raise combat difficulty with the world modifiers rather than nerfing abilities one by one.
• Healing changes boss fights. A dedicated healer, such as a Priest, removes much of the attrition from long fights. That is the point of a class system, and also why boss difficulty falls further than ordinary combat.
• Mobility skips content. Leaps, dashes and teleport-like abilities let players cross terrain and water the game built as obstacles.
• Group composition matters. Two players who both pick a damage class leave a gap a vanilla group never had. Agree on roles, or accept that some fights will be harder.

The fix is rarely the mod's config alone. Combine it with the game's own levers: combat difficulty, raid frequency and the death penalty. A Legends group that plays on combat hard is often closer to the vanilla experience than one on normal.

Mods that also add enemies or star levels, such as creature-level overhauls, stack with Legends. Change one thing at a time, so that if the world becomes miserable you know which side to turn down.

PvP and Legends#

Valheim's PvP is a per-player toggle; with it off, players do not damage each other. Legends abilities run through the game's damage system, so with PvP off they should not hurt other players, and with PvP on they can. On a PvP server that changes everything: area abilities hit whoever is in the area, crowd control works on players as well as monsters, and the twelve classes were not balanced against each other for duels.

If your server runs PvP, test the abilities against a willing second player before opening the world, and agree rules on which abilities are fair game. Wards still protect structures the way they do in vanilla, but they do not stop ability damage to players who have PvP on. The Valheim PvP server guide covers the toggle, wards and the mods PvP servers usually add.

For a PvE group, the risk is accidental: a player who flips PvP on for a laugh is now hittable by every friendly meteor storm. A server rule that PvP stays off is simpler than any technical fix.

Load, characters and leaving the mod#

Ability effects are drawn on each client, so a fight full of spells costs frame rate on the machines watching it, not much on the server. Summoned creatures and lingering effects are objects in the zone, owned by whichever player owns that zone, which is the usual Valheim ownership rule - see base placement for shared servers for why that matters near busy areas.

Characters are the delicate part. Class and skill progress is attached to the character, and characters live on the client. That means:

• A player who joins with a fresh character starts without a class even if their old one had one.
• A character taken to a vanilla world will carry whatever data the vanilla game keeps and ignore the rest.
• If the mod stops working after a game update, the group has a choice between staying on an old game version, which Steam's automatic updates make hard to keep up for every player, and continuing vanilla on the same world.

Before removing Legends, back up both the world and every player's character files. Then remove the mod from the server and all clients together and test on a copy. What happens to Legends-specific skills and state on a character without the mod depends on how the version stored them, and the honest answer is to keep the backups until you are sure nobody wants them.

Troubleshooting#

The mod does not load. Search LogOutput.log for ValheimLegends and Could not load. A missing VLAssets folder, a wrong BepInEx pack, or a game version the mod no longer supports are the usual causes.

The altar does nothing. Check that the player has the mod (it is a both-sides mod), that they used the exact offering from the table, and that the config allows class selection.

Players are kicked when joining. One side has a different version or a different package. Compare versions on every machine; mod version mismatch kicks covers the messages.

An ability key does nothing. Another mod has the same key. Change the binding in the player's ValheimLegends.cfg.

Everything worked until the last game patch. The patch changed game code the mod relies on. With a deprecated mod, that is the end of the road unless someone publishes an update or a fork.

FAQ#

Does Valheim Legends still work?

Its last Thunderstore release, 0.4.91, is marked deprecated and dates from the Mistlands period, so it may fail on current game versions. Install it on a test copy first and read BepInEx/LogOutput.log; if it loads and the altar works, it works for that version.

Do all players need Valheim Legends installed?

Yes. It changes combat, skills and characters, so it must be on the server and on every client at the same version, with the VLAssets folder alongside the .dll. Xbox players cannot install it.

How do you choose a class in Valheim Legends?

Place the class's offering on Eikthyr's altar and sacrifice it: coal for the Mage, flint for the Valkyrie, boar meat for the Ranger, and so on for all twelve. Whether you can change class later depends on the config.

Can Legends abilities hurt other players?

Only when PvP is on for the players involved. With the PvP toggle off, Valheim does not apply damage between players, and Legends abilities go through the same damage system.

What happens to my character if we remove Legends?

The character stays, but class abilities and the mod's skills will not be usable without the mod. Back up the character file from characters_local before removing it, so you can go back if the group changes its mind.