Best V Rising Server Settings for PvP, PvE, and Solo Play in 2026

Finding Your Perfect V Rising Server Settings

V Rising hands you a frankly ridiculous number of knobs to turn. Two servers running the same game can feel completely different depending on how you've configured resource rates, siege windows, and castle limits. I've seen people spend hours tweaking settings only to end up with something that drives their players away within a week.

So here's what actually works. I'm sharing four configurations we've tested and refined since V Rising's early access days in 2022: hardcore PvP, casual PvE, solo/duo, and large community servers. Each one has been shaped by real player feedback, not just theory.

All settings below go in your ServerGameSettings.json unless otherwise noted. If you're not sure how to edit these files, our V Rising Server Configuration Guide walks through the whole process. On LOW.MS, you'll find them under Configuration Files in your TCAdmin panel at control.low.ms.

Hardcore PvP Server Settings

This is the "every encounter matters" configuration. Full loot, timed siege windows, small clans. It's intense, and it's not for everyone, but the players who love it really love it.

Core Settings

Note: GameDifficultyPreset lives in ServerHostSettings.json, not ServerGameSettings.json. The valid values are Difficulty_Easy, Difficulty_Normal, and Difficulty_Brutal.

Castle Settings

These are nested inside CastleStatModifiers_Global in your ServerGameSettings.json:

"CastleStatModifiers_Global": {
  "CastleLimit": 1,
  "CastleBloodEssenceDrainModifier": 1.0,
  "CastleDecayRateModifier": 1.5
}

One castle forces strategic placement decisions. The bumped-up decay rate (1.5x) means abandoned bases clear out faster, which keeps the map from getting cluttered with ghost towns.

Siege Windows

This is the one setting people get wrong most often. Siege times use a nested JSON structure inside PlayerInteractionSettings -- you can't just pass a time string. Here's what the full block looks like:

"PlayerInteractionSettings": {
  "VSPlayerWeekdayTime": {
    "StartHour": 17,
    "StartMinute": 0,
    "EndHour": 23,
    "EndMinute": 0
  },
  "VSPlayerWeekendTime": {
    "StartHour": 14,
    "StartMinute": 0,
    "EndHour": 23,
    "EndMinute": 0
  },
  "VSCastleWeekdayTime": {
    "StartHour": 18,
    "StartMinute": 0,
    "EndHour": 22,
    "EndMinute": 0
  },
  "VSCastleWeekendTime": {
    "StartHour": 15,
    "StartMinute": 0,
    "EndHour": 22,
    "EndMinute": 0
  }
}

The idea: weekday PvP opens at 5 PM so people can fight after work, weekends open earlier. Castle siege windows are narrower than player PvP windows -- defenders deserve a fighting chance. Weekend castle raids start a bit earlier to give attackers more time for coordinated pushes.

Day/Night Cycle

Nested inside GameTimeModifiers:

"GameTimeModifiers": {
  "DayDurationInSeconds": 1080.0,
  "DayStartHour": 10,
  "DayEndHour": 17
}

Shorter daytime, longer nights. You're vampires -- nighttime is when the real action happens.

Resources

The small resource boost (1.25x) is deliberate. You want gathering to feel slightly forgiving since players lose gear on death, but you don't want to devalue resources so much that losing a fight doesn't sting.

Casual PvE Server Settings

This is for groups who want V Rising's exploration, boss hunting, and castle building without anyone wrecking their stuff. I'd say about half the V Rising servers we host run some variant of this config.

Core Settings

Castle Settings

"CastleStatModifiers_Global": {
  "CastleLimit": 3,
  "CastleBloodEssenceDrainModifier": 0.5,
  "CastleDecayRateModifier": 0.5
}

Three castles per player lets building enthusiasts go wild. Halved blood essence drain and decay means casual players who log in a few times a week won't come back to rubble.

Day/Night Cycle

"GameTimeModifiers": {
  "DayDurationInSeconds": 1440.0,
  "DayStartHour": 9,
  "DayEndHour": 18
}

Longer cycles (24 real-world minutes) give players more time to explore each phase without feeling rushed.

Resources

These rates hit a sweet spot where gathering still feels like part of the gameplay loop but doesn't become the entire gameplay loop. If you go much higher than 2x on crafting, players tend to blow through content in a week and move on.

Solo/Duo Server Settings

Playing V Rising alone or with one friend is a completely different game. You're facing content designed for groups with, well, not a group. These settings compensate without making things trivial.

Core Settings

Castle Settings

"CastleStatModifiers_Global": {
  "CastleLimit": 2,
  "CastleBloodEssenceDrainModifier": 0.25,
  "CastleDecayRateModifier": 0.25
}

A main base plus one outpost. The drastically reduced drain (0.25x) is important here -- a solo player shouldn't have to spend half their session feeding blood essence to their castle just to keep the lights on.

Day/Night Cycle

"GameTimeModifiers": {
  "DayDurationInSeconds": 1800.0,
  "DayStartHour": 10,
  "DayEndHour": 18
}

Thirty-minute cycles. When you're the only one exploring, you need time to actually get somewhere and back before the sun comes up.

Resources

I know 2x-2.5x looks high compared to the other configs, but trust me -- solo players face the exact same amount of content as a full clan. Without boosted rates, you'll spend 80% of your time gathering stone and the other 20% wondering why you're not just playing on a public server.

Large Community Server Settings (30-60 Players)

This one's all about stability. A large server that runs like butter will keep players around longer than a laggy server with "perfect" gameplay settings. Performance comes first.

Core Settings

Castle Settings (Performance-Optimised)

"CastleStatModifiers_Global": {
  "CastleLimit": 1,
  "CastleBloodEssenceDrainModifier": 1.0,
  "CastleDecayRateModifier": 2.0
}

Single castle limit is non-negotiable for large servers. Every castle territory the server simulates costs CPU and memory. With 30+ players each having multiple castles, you'll hit performance walls fast. The 2x decay rate ensures abandoned bases don't pile up and drag things down over weeks.

Server Performance (ServerHostSettings.json)

A note on AutoSaveSmartKeep: this setting controls tiered save retention using a format like "10:1:1,30:0:1,60:0:1,120:0:1" where each segment defines retention rules at different intervals. The default works well for most servers. See the V Rising Server Configuration Guide for a detailed breakdown of the format.

Resources

With 30+ active players, the in-game economy tends to balance itself. People trade, form alliances, specialise. You don't need boosted rates because the player count itself solves the resource problem.

Consider upgrading to additional RAM (15-20 GB) for servers regularly hosting 30+ active players. On LOW.MS you can add RAM and CPU Performance upgrades to handle the extra load.

Tips That Apply to Every Server

Don't Overcook the Resource Rates

This is the single most common mistake I see. New admins set everything to 3x or 5x thinking they're being generous, and their players finish all the content in four days and leave. Start at 1.25-1.5x and adjust up based on feedback. You can always increase rates -- lowering them after people are used to high rates causes riots.

Document Your Settings

Put your server rules and key settings somewhere your players can find them -- a Discord channel, a Steam group description, whatever works. Players who know what they're signing up for stick around longer.

Iterate Based on Feedback

The best server configs are living documents. Check in with your players every couple of weeks. What's too grindy? What's too easy? What's annoying? Then adjust.

Seasonal Wipes for PvP

For competitive PvP servers, consider a 30-60 day wipe cycle. Fresh starts keep the gameplay exciting and prevent established clans from becoming untouchable. You can use ResetDaysInterval in ServerHostSettings.json to automate this.

Where to Host Your V Rising Server

All of these configurations run well on a LOW.MS V Rising server. Every plan comes with 10 GB of RAM as standard, which handles any of the above configs comfortably. For large community servers, our optional RAM and CPU Performance upgrades give you the headroom for 30+ player experiences.

Check out our Getting Started Guide for a complete walkthrough of the setup process, or visit the Troubleshooting Guide if you run into issues.