Game settings
How do I change the game settings on my Enshrouded server?
On this page
Every Enshrouded server setting lives in enshrouded_server.json. Pick a difficulty preset there, or set the preset to Custom and change the settings one by one. Stop the server first, because Keen’s patch notes say difficulty can’t change while it’s running.
Find the file
Open your Game Panel’s file manager. enshrouded_server.json sits in the server’s main folder, next to the server’s own program. The server writes it the first time it starts, so a brand new server needs one start before the file appears.
Pick a preset
gameSettingsPreset takes one of five words. Keen describes them like this:
Default: every setting at its standard value. Keen recommends it for first-time players.Relaxed: fewer enemies, and more resources and loot. For building and casual play.Hard: more enemies, and more aggressive ones.Survival: aggressive enemies, with hunger and dropping your whole backpack when you die.Custom: you set each individual setting yourself.
To change it:
- Download a backup from your Game Panel first, so you can put things back.
- Stop your server from the Game Panel.
- Open
enshrouded_server.jsonand find thegameSettingsPresetline. - Put the preset you want between the quote marks, spelled exactly as above.
- Save the file and start your server.
"gameSettingsPreset": "Survival",
Note
Keen hasn’t published the exact values behind Relaxed, Hard and Survival, only what each is for. If you want to know precisely what’s set, use Custom and choose them yourself.
Set your own values with Custom
Keen’s guide says the individual settings can only be changed with the Custom preset. Set gameSettingsPreset to "Custom", then change the values in the gameSettings section below it, using the same steps as above.
These are the ones people reach for first. The factors are multipliers: 2 doubles something, 0.5 halves it.
| Setting | Default | Keen’s limits | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
playerHealthFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 4 | Your maximum health |
playerStaminaFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 4 | Your maximum stamina |
enemyDamageFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 5 | Damage from enemies, bosses aside |
enemyHealthFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 4 | Enemy health, bosses aside |
bossHealthFactor |
1 |
0.2 to 5 | Boss health |
randomSpawnerAmount |
"Normal" |
Few, Normal, Many, Extreme |
How many enemies there are |
experienceCombatFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 2 | XP from fighting |
resourceDropStackAmountFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 2 | Materials in each loot stack |
factoryProductionSpeedFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 2 | How fast workshops produce |
plantGrowthSpeedFactor |
1 |
0.25 to 2 | How fast plants grow |
enableStarvingDebuff |
false |
true or false |
Hunger, and losing health when you starve |
enableDurability |
true |
true or false |
Set to false and weapons never break |
pacifyAllEnemies |
false |
true or false |
Enemies leave you alone until you attack, bosses aside |
curseModifier |
"Normal" |
Easy, Normal, Hard |
The Shroud curse: Easy turns it off, Hard doubles the chance |
Keen’s Server Gameplay Settings page lists every other setting, from body heat to fishing. Copy the names exactly as they’re written there.
Day and night are in nanoseconds
dayTimeDuration and nightTimeDuration are lengths of time written in nanoseconds, which is why they have so many zeros. One minute is 60000000000. Day is 30 minutes by default and night is 12, and Keen allows anything from 2 to 60 minutes for each.
"dayTimeDuration": 2700000000000,
"nightTimeDuration": 600000000000,
That’s a 45-minute day and a 10-minute night. fromHungerToStarving works the same way: it’s 10 minutes by default, and Keen allows 5 to 20.
What you lose when you die
tombstoneMode decides what goes into your tombstone when you die. Keen says lost items wait in the tombstone, and you can get them back from it.
AddBackpackMaterials: the default. The materials in your backpack go into the tombstone.Everything: your whole backpack goes into it. This is what the Survival preset does.NoTombstone: no tombstone, and you keep what’s in your backpack.
Keep the file in one piece
enshrouded_server.json is a JSON file, and JSON is fussy. Text values sit inside double quote marks, while numbers, true and false don’t. Every line in a section ends with a comma apart from the last one before the closing bracket.
Warning
A missing comma, bracket or quote mark breaks the whole file. Check them around every line you’ve edited before you start the server.
Tip
The AI assistant in your Game Panel can read your config files. Ask it to check enshrouded_server.json for a missing comma or quote mark. It won’t change anything until you approve a card.
New in 1.0
Keen’s settings page was last written for version 0.9. Enshrouded 1.0 added an Automatic option to the setting for how many enemies spawn, which scales them to the number of players nearby. It also added a world setting for the flame level you need before you can push back the Shroud, and reworked the values on the enemy damage slider. Keen hasn’t yet published how the new options are written in the server file, so leave them out until they do.