V Rising Server Configuration Guide: Game Settings, Modes, and Customisation

Introduction

One of the biggest perks of running your own V Rising server is that you can tweak practically everything. Castle limits, day/night timing, loot rules, difficulty -- it's all fair game. I've spent a lot of time poking around in these config files, and honestly the level of control Stunlock gives you is impressive.

This guide walks through the important settings in ServerGameSettings.json and ServerHostSettings.json, what they actually do, and some values I'd recommend depending on what kind of server you're going for. If you haven't set your server up yet, check out our Getting Started Guide first.

Configuration File Locations

V Rising uses two primary configuration files:

• ServerHostSettings.json -- server networking, performance, admin stuff, and the difficulty preset.
• ServerGameSettings.json -- all the gameplay rules: loot, castles, PvP mechanics, resource rates, and so on.

You can edit both through the File Manager in your LOW.MS control panel. After making changes, restart your server for them to take effect.

The server loads its own internal defaults first, then applies your overrides on top. So technically you only need to include settings you want to change -- but I'd recommend keeping a complete file so you can see everything at a glance.

Game Modes

The GameModeType setting in ServerGameSettings.json controls which mode your server runs. V Rising supports four distinct modes:

PvE (Player vs Environment)

Players can't damage each other or each other's castles. Great for co-op groups exploring and building together, or for newer players still figuring out the mechanics. Set "GameModeType": "PvE".

PvP (Player vs Player)

Full combat between players is enabled. You can further customise the experience with siege windows, damage rules, and loot settings. Castle raiding can be restricted to certain time windows if you want to keep things from getting too chaotic. Set "GameModeType": "PvP".

Full Loot PvP

This is the hardcore option. When you kill another player, you can loot everything from their inventory. It's brutal, and honestly not for everyone, but it creates a really tense and rewarding experience for the right crowd. Set "GameModeType": "PvP" and configure "DeathContainerPermission": "Anyone" along with "CanLootEnemyContainers": true.

Duo PvP

A more recent addition -- Duo PvP caps clan size at 2 and is designed around small-team PvP. It's become quite popular because it levels the playing field; you won't get steamrolled by a six-person clan. You set this up with "GameModeType": "PvP" and a ClanSize of 2.

Key PvP Settings

Difficulty Presets

V Rising has three built-in difficulty presets that adjust a bunch of settings at once. The correct setting is GameDifficultyPreset in ServerHostSettings.json (not ServerGameSettings.json -- the draft versions of some guides get this wrong).

Valid values are Difficulty_Easy, Difficulty_Normal, and Difficulty_Brutal.

Difficulty_Easy -- good for new players or casual groups. Enemies hit softer, you gather resources faster, and death penalties are lighter. A nice way to learn the ropes without getting stomped.

Difficulty_Normal -- the experience as Stunlock intended. Balanced enemies, standard resource rates, default death penalties. This is what I'd recommend starting with if you're unsure.

Difficulty_Brutal -- for players who want to suffer (affectionately). Enemies deal significantly more damage, resources are scarcer, and death really stings. Boss fights become genuinely dangerous even when you're well-geared. I think it's the best way to play once you know what you're doing.

Individual settings in ServerGameSettings.json override the preset values, so you can use a preset as your baseline and then fine-tune from there.

Castle and Territory Settings

Castles are central to V Rising -- they're your home, your crafting hub, and in PvP your biggest target. The key castle settings live inside the CastleStatModifiers_Global object in ServerGameSettings.json:

"CastleStatModifiers_Global": {
  "CastleLimit": 2,
  "CastleBloodEssenceDrainModifier": 1.0,
  "CastleDecayRateModifier": 1.0
}

Castle Heart Limits

CastleLimit controls how many Castle Hearts each player can place. Each heart defines a territory.

• 1 -- forces players into a single base. Good for PvP to prevent territory sprawl.
• 2 -- main base plus an outpost. Solid default for most servers.
• 3-5 -- PvE servers where building is a big focus.

Blood Essence Drain

CastleBloodEssenceDrainModifier sets how fast castles burn through Blood Essence. If your players aren't logging in daily, lowering this helps a lot:

• 0.25 -- very low, good for casual servers where people play a few times a week
• 0.5 -- reduced, semi-casual
• 1.0 -- default
• 2.0 -- increased, adds urgency

Castle Decay

CastleDecayRateModifier determines how fast abandoned castles crumble once they run out of Blood Essence. Turning this up helps keep the map clean on active servers.

Siege and PvP Time Windows

For PvP servers, you'll want to configure when raiding and PvP combat are allowed. These settings are nested inside PlayerInteractionSettings in ServerGameSettings.json:

"PlayerInteractionSettings": {
  "VSPlayerWeekdayTime": { "StartHour": 20, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 },
  "VSPlayerWeekendTime": { "StartHour": 20, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 },
  "VSCastleWeekdayTime": { "StartHour": 20, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 },
  "VSCastleWeekendTime": { "StartHour": 20, "StartMinute": 0, "EndHour": 22, "EndMinute": 0 }
}

VSPlayerWeekdayTime / VSPlayerWeekendTime control when player-vs-player combat is allowed (if you've set PlayerDamageMode to TimeRestricted). VSCastleWeekdayTime / VSCastleWeekendTime control when castle structures can be damaged.

The example above opens a 2-hour raid window from 8 PM to 10 PM. I'd suggest keeping weekday windows shorter and maybe extending the weekend ones -- most players have more free time on weekends, and it concentrates the action into exciting peak hours.

Day/Night Cycle Configuration

The day/night cycle matters a lot in V Rising because vampires take damage from sunlight. These settings are nested inside GameTimeModifiers in ServerGameSettings.json:

"GameTimeModifiers": {
  "DayDurationInSeconds": 1080.0,
  "DayStartHour": 9,
  "DayEndHour": 17
}

DayDurationInSeconds is the total length of one full day/night cycle -- the default 1080 seconds works out to 18 minutes. DayStartHour and DayEndHour define when daytime begins and ends in the in-game clock.

A few configurations I've seen work well:

Standard (default): 18-minute cycles, 8 hours of daylight (9 to 17). Balanced experience where you need to plan around the sun.

Extended Night: Push DayStartHour up to 11 or DayEndHour down to 15. Gives vampires more outdoor time. Popular on PvP servers since nighttime is prime raiding time.

Long Cycles: Bump DayDurationInSeconds to 1800-3600 for a slower, more immersive feel. Gives you more time to finish objectives in each phase, though daytime can drag a bit.

Always Night: Set DayStartHour and DayEndHour to the same value. Removes sunlight entirely. Some groups prefer this for pure combat focus, but in my opinion it takes away one of the things that makes V Rising feel unique.

Clan Settings

Clans are the backbone of multiplayer V Rising. The ClanSize setting controls how many members a clan can have -- default is 4.

For larger community servers, bumping it to 6-10 lets bigger groups coordinate, but keep in mind that large clans dominate in PvP. For Duo PvP, set it to 2 obviously. We've got a dedicated walkthrough if you need it: How to Set the Maximum Clan Size on Your V Rising Server.

Loot and Resource Modifiers

These settings let you tune the server economy. All of them are multipliers -- values above 1.0 increase rates, below 1.0 decrease them:

For casual or solo-friendly servers, setting resource and crafting modifiers to 1.5-2.0 cuts the grind while keeping progression meaningful. For hardcore servers, leave everything at 1.0 or even drop some below it if you really want players to work for their gear.

Server Performance Settings

These live in ServerHostSettings.json and affect how the server itself runs:

ServerFps -- the server tick rate. Default is 30, which is what Stunlock recommends. Going higher makes things smoother but costs more CPU. Unless you have a specific reason, stick with 30.

LowerFPSWhenEmpty -- drops CPU usage when nobody's online. Keep this enabled.

AutoSaveInterval -- seconds between automatic saves. Default is 120, which is a sensible balance between data safety and disk I/O. I wouldn't go much lower than 60 unless you're really paranoid about data loss.

AutoSaveCount -- how many save files to keep. Useful for rollbacks if something goes sideways.

AutoSaveSmartKeep -- this one controls tiered save retention intervals (it's not a simple on/off toggle). It determines how saves are kept across different time periods -- hourly, daily, weekly -- so you end up with useful rollback points spread over time rather than just the most recent saves.

Save Management and Backups

V Rising stores save data in the Saves folder within your server's persistent data path. A few things I'd recommend:

Use LOW.MS Cloud Backups. You can manage these through the Cloud Backup and Cloud Restore options in your control panel. Enable daily backups at minimum.

Back up before updates. Game updates can occasionally break save compatibility. It takes 30 seconds and can save you a lot of pain.

Use save rotation. The AutoSaveSmartKeep tiered retention gives you rollback points at different intervals, which is way more useful than just keeping the last N saves.

Server Wipe Configuration

ResetDaysInterval in ServerHostSettings.json lets you schedule automatic wipes on a regular cycle. This is popular for PvP servers that want a periodic fresh start. Set it to 0 to disable automatic wipes.

Applying Changes

After editing any config file:

1. Save through the File Manager in your LOW.MS control panel.
2. Restart the server.
3. Connect and verify your changes took effect.

Some settings -- particularly GameModeType -- may require a world wipe to apply cleanly. If you're making big changes, test on a fresh save first.

If you run into issues after changing settings, our Troubleshooting Guide covers the common problems. And if you're looking to get started with V Rising hosting, check out our V Rising server plans.