🏆 Balrond Achievement Rewards

Turn Valheim achievements into cosmetic character titles

Balrond Achievement Rewards gives every current vanilla Valheim achievement a cosmetic Title that you can equip on your character.

The mod does not add new achievements, progression requirements, items, stats, buffs, or gameplay advantages. It uses Valheim's own achievement system as the unlock source and adds a simple reward layer on top of it.

Unlock an achievement, open Valheim's normal Achievements screen, click the unlocked achievement, and choose whether you want to use its Title.

Example:
Unlock Bonemass → receive the Title Lightbringer → your displayed name can become Boris the Lightbringer.

Join Balrond's Den · All Balrond mods · Support development on Ko-fi · Commission inquiries

Features

• One cosmetic Title for every current vanilla Valheim achievement
• 53 / 53 vanilla achievements covered in the Valheim version targeted by this release
• Uses the existing Valheim Achievements menu
• No separate custom achievement screen
• No custom pseudo-achievements
• No gameplay rewards or stat bonuses
• Native Valheim Yes / No confirmation popup
• Native-styled No Title button for removing your active Title
• Selected Title is saved per character
• Other players can see your active Title next to your character name
• Optional self nameplate, so you can also see your own name and Title above your character
• ServerSync support for multiplayer configuration
• Server owners can change which Title is awarded by each vanilla achievement
• Optional custom name formats and Title colors
• No modification of the character's real saved name

How it works

Balrond Achievement Rewards does not decide whether you completed an achievement.

Valheim remains the authority.

The flow is:

Valheim unlocks a vanilla achievement
        ↓
Balrond Achievement Rewards detects that achievement as unlocked
        ↓
The configured reward catalog maps it to a Title
        ↓
Open the normal Valheim Achievements menu
        ↓
Click the unlocked achievement
        ↓
"Activate Title?" — Yes / No
        ↓
Your selected Title is saved for that character

For example:

Achievement: Boss3Bonemass
Title: Lightbringer

Boris
  ↓
Boris the Lightbringer

Unlocking a Title does not automatically equip it. You decide which unlocked Title you want to display.

Selecting a Title

There is no hotkey and no separate Titles menu.

Use Valheim's normal interface:

1. Open the standard Achievements screen.
2. Find an achievement you have already unlocked.
3. Click that achievement.
4. If the achievement has a configured Title reward, Balrond Achievement Rewards opens a native Valheim confirmation popup.
5. Choose Yes to equip the Title.
6. Choose No to keep your current Title.

The Title can be changed at any time by clicking another unlocked achievement.

Removing your Title

At the bottom of the Achievements screen, next to Valheim's normal Close button, the mod adds:

No Title

Click No Title to return to displaying only the character name.

Example:

Boris the Lightbringer
        ↓
      No Title
        ↓
       Boris

Locked achievements and the ??? details window

Balrond Achievement Rewards intentionally leaves locked achievements under Valheim's control.

Some locked or secret achievements can open Valheim's normal Achievement Details window and display:

???
??? / ???

That is normal vanilla behavior.

The mod does not replace this window and does not reveal secret achievement information.

Only an unlocked achievement with a configured Title reward can be used to activate a Title.

Nameplates

Other players

When a player has an active Title, other modded clients can see the formatted name through Valheim's normal player-name presentation.

Example:

Boris the Lightbringer

The mod does not rename the character internally. The actual saved character name remains:

Boris

Your own character

Valheim normally does not show the standard multiplayer player-name HUD above the local character.

Balrond Achievement Rewards can optionally create a local-only nameplate using Valheim's own player HUD presentation, allowing you to see your own active Title above your character.

This can be controlled with:

Show Own Nameplate = true / false

The vertical position can also be adjusted in the config.

Vanilla achievements only

This mod deliberately rewards existing Valheim achievements.

It does not create additional achievements for:

• gathering materials,
• collecting wood or ore,
• reaching custom skill levels,
• custom boss conditions,
• custom mod progression,
• mod-specific statistics.

If Valheim does not consider something an achievement, Balrond Achievement Rewards does not invent one.

This keeps the system simple and makes the Achievements screen the single place for both achievement progress and Title selection.

Default Title rewards

The default configuration contains one Title for every current vanilla achievement exposed by the supported Valheim build.

Some examples:

Valheim achievement IDs are used internally because they are stable configuration references. The player-facing achievement names are still shown normally by Valheim and can be localized by the game.

Configuration

The normal BepInEx configuration file is created under:

BepInEx/config/balrond.astafaraios.BalrondAchievementRewards.cfg

For multiplayer, the reward catalog is synchronized with ServerSync.

Server-synchronized settings

These settings are controlled by the server when the mod is installed on a multiplayer server:

Lock Configuration

Default: true

Locks synchronized settings to the server configuration.

Enabled

Default: true

Globally enables or disables achievement Title rewards.

Title Rewards

This is the complete server-controlled mapping between vanilla achievements and Titles.

Each entry uses:

AchievementMatcher|TitleId|DisplayName|NameFormat|OptionalColor

Entries are separated by:

;

The last two fields are optional.

A minimal entry:

id:Boss3Bonemass|lightbringer|Lightbringer

Because no custom name format is supplied, the default becomes:

{player} the {title}

Result:

Boris the Lightbringer

A fully customized entry:

id:Boss3Bonemass|lightbringer|Lightbringer|{player}, {title}|#E7F5B6

Result:

Boris, Lightbringer

with Lightbringer using the configured color when Title colors are enabled on the client.

Achievement matcher types

id: — recommended

Uses the vanilla internal Achievement.m_id.

id:Arrived
id:Boss3Bonemass
id:SoloBoss

This is the preferred format for normal configuration.

name:

Matches the vanilla achievement name/localization identifier.

This exists mainly as a fallback for special configurations.

auto:

Allows the mod to try its supported matching paths automatically.

For stable server configurations, use id: whenever possible.

TitleId

The second field is the stable internal ID of the cosmetic Title.

Example:

lightbringer

Title IDs must be unique and may contain:

A-Z
a-z
0-9
.
_
-

Do not use spaces in TitleId.

DisplayName

The visible Title shown to players.

Example:

Lightbringer

NameFormat

Optional.

It controls how the player name and Title are combined.

It must contain both:

{player}
{title}

Examples:

{player} the {title}
{title} {player}
{player}, {title}
{player} — {title}

OptionalColor

Optional hexadecimal color.

Example:

#E7F5B6

Colors are cosmetic and are only rendered when the receiving client has:

Use Title Colors = true

Client appearance settings

These settings are local to each client.

Show Titles Above Players

Default: true

Controls whether active Titles are included when displaying other players' names.

Show Own Nameplate

Default: true

Shows your own character name and active Title above your character.

Set this to false if you prefer Valheim's normal behavior without a local self-nameplate.

Own Nameplate Vertical Offset

Default: 0.30

Additional height adjustment for the local nameplate.

Increase it if another character/UI mod causes the nameplate to overlap the model.

Use Title Colors

Default: true

Allows optional server-defined Title colors to be rendered.

Setting this to false keeps Titles uncolored while still displaying them.

Diagnostics

These options are intended for troubleshooting or modpack authors.

Verbose Logging

Default: false

Writes additional achievement matching and Title-state information to the BepInEx log.

Enable this when reporting problems with:

• an unlocked achievement not offering its Title,
• incorrect Title matching,
• multiplayer synchronization,
• nameplate display,
• Title selection persistence.

Write Achievement Dump On Initialize

Default: false

Writes the achievement identifiers discovered from the running Valheim build to:

BepInEx/config/BalrondAchievementRewards/achievement_dump.txt

This is useful after a Valheim update or when building a custom Title catalog.

Character persistence

The selected Title is saved per character.

The mod stores its selection data in:

BepInEx/config/BalrondAchievementRewards/character_titles.v1.tsv

You normally do not need to edit this file.

Only the selected TitleId is stored by the mod.

Achievement unlock state is not duplicated into a custom save file.
The mod always reads the current vanilla Valheim achievement state.

This means the Title system remains a cosmetic layer over Valheim rather than becoming a second achievement system.

Multiplayer

For the intended multiplayer experience, install the same mod version on:

• the server / dedicated server,
• every client that should use Titles,
• every client that should see other players' Titles.

The server controls the synchronized reward catalog through ServerSync.

What is synchronized?

The server controls:

• whether the reward system is enabled,
• which vanilla achievement maps to which Title,
• Title IDs,
• Title display names,
• custom name formats,
• optional Title colors.

The player's currently selected Title is published as a Title ID with their player network state.

Receiving clients only display that Title if the ID exists in their synchronized reward catalog.

Achievement ownership

Vanilla achievement ownership is client/platform state exposed by Valheim.

A dedicated server does not independently reproduce or verify a player's platform achievement history. Balrond Achievement Rewards therefore does not pretend to provide server-side Steam/platform verification.

This is acceptable by design because Titles are cosmetic only.

No items, stats, damage, recipes, progression, buffs, or gameplay rewards are granted.

Installation

Mod manager

Install Balrond Achievement Rewards with your preferred Thunderstore-compatible mod manager and allow the manager to install the dependencies declared by the package.

Manual installation

Use your normal BepInEx Valheim installation workflow.

For multiplayer, use the same release version on the server and participating clients.

After the first launch, the BepInEx config file will be generated automatically.

Updating

When updating from an older version:

1. Replace the old mod files with the new release.
2. Keep your configuration if you intentionally customized the Title catalog.
3. Check the changelog when Valheim adds or changes achievements.
4. If troubleshooting a major Valheim update, enable Write Achievement Dump On Initialize.

Older experimental versions of Balrond Achievement Rewards contained mod-side material and skill challenges.

Those are no longer part of the design.

Current versions use vanilla achievements only.

Frequently asked questions

Verbose Logging = true

Show Own Nameplate = false

Compatibility

Balrond Achievement Rewards is intentionally narrow in scope.

It does not modify:

• world generation,
• recipes,
• items,
• equipment stats,
• monster stats,
• skills,
• combat,
• player progression.

The main compatibility surface is UI/name presentation.

Mods that completely replace Valheim's Achievements interface or player nameplate systems may require compatibility work.

When reporting a conflict, include the full mod list and BepInEx log.

Bug reports and support

For support and bug reports:

Balrond's Den — Discord

When reporting a bug, please include:

1. Balrond Achievement Rewards version.
2. Valheim version.
3. Complete BepInEx LogOutput.log.
4. Full mod list or mod-manager profile code if possible.
5. Single-player, hosted multiplayer, or dedicated server.
6. The achievement you were trying to use.
7. Whether Valheim shows that achievement as unlocked.
8. A screenshot of the Achievements screen if the issue is UI-related.
9. Exact steps needed to reproduce the problem.

For UI issues, screenshots are useful.
For initialization, ServerSync, achievement matching, or multiplayer problems, the complete log is significantly more useful.

Support development

Balrond Achievement Rewards is free to download and use.

Development support helps fund maintenance, compatibility work, documentation, bug fixing, and future Valheim projects.

Support Balrond on Ko-fi

For custom mods, private integrations, configuration work, or commissioned systems:

Balrond's Den — Discord

Public bug fixes are not paywalled. Project-specific implementation and private integration work may require a separate quote.

More Balrond mods

Browse the complete Balrond catalog:

Balrond on Thunderstore

If you are building a larger Balrond-focused Valheim setup, always check each mod's current dependency and compatibility notes before updating an existing profile.

Final note

Balrond Achievement Rewards is designed to make Valheim's achievements feel more personal without changing what they mean.

The achievement still belongs to Valheim.
The accomplishment is still yours.
The mod simply gives you a way to wear it as part of your name.

Changelog

v0.1.1 — Achievement reliability, server authority, and recovery

Balrond Achievement Rewards expands from a cosmetic Title layer into a broader achievement reliability system for modded and multiplayer Valheim.

Achievement reliability

• Added an achievement-integrity layer intended to keep legitimate achievement progress usable in modded sessions.
• Added recovery handling for characters/sessions that would otherwise remain blocked from future achievement progress after devcommand or cheat-state contamination.
• Added conservative historical progress reconciliation using Valheim's own stored statistics.
• Recovery is designed around max(existing credited progress, valid stored progress) semantics to avoid double-counting.
• Added repair/re-evaluation support for meta-achievements whose prerequisites may already be completed.
• Added handling for stale character/item cheat-state data when allowed by server policy.
• Achievement recovery is explicitly separate from free achievement granting: the system is intended to restore valid progress, not fabricate completion.

Multiplayer and server authority

• Expanded ServerSync usage beyond the Title catalog so achievement-integrity policy can be controlled by the server.
• Achievement-affecting configuration is intended to be server-synchronized and locked in multiplayer.
• Clients connected to a configured server follow the server's achievement policy instead of locally loosening eligibility/recovery settings.
• The dedicated server remains the policy authority while the normal Valheim/platform provider remains responsible for the actual platform achievement state.
• Retained synchronized Title catalog behavior.
• Retained network publication of the active Title identity for multiplayer name presentation.

Titles and UI

• Retained one cosmetic Title for each supported vanilla Valheim achievement.
• Retained the native Valheim Achievements screen as the Title-selection interface.
• Retained click-to-activate Title confirmation through Valheim's native Yes/No popup.
• Retained the No Title control for clearing the active Title.
• Retained per-character Title selection.
• Retained remote player Title presentation.
• Retained optional local self-nameplate display.
• Titles remain cosmetic and do not grant gameplay bonuses.

Configuration

• Lock Configuration remains the recommended default for multiplayer/progression servers.
• Enabled and Title Rewards remain synchronized server settings.
• Added/expanded synchronized policy coverage for achievement eligibility, recovery, reconciliation, cheat-state repair, and meta-achievement repair.
• Client-only appearance settings remain local.
• Diagnostics remain client-local.

Design changes

• Balrond Achievement Rewards is now intended to be a complete achievement support layer for modded Valheim, not only a Title reward addon.
• The mod continues to use Valheim's existing achievement definitions rather than creating replacement pseudo-achievements.
• Achievement repair functionality is implemented as Balrond Achievement Rewards' own system; external reference mods were used only for behavioral research and comparison.

v0.1.0 — Initial release

• Added cosmetic Titles for the complete supported vanilla Valheim achievement set.
• Added native Achievements-menu integration for selecting unlocked Titles.
• Added native Yes/No Title activation confirmation.
• Added No Title support.
• Added per-character Title persistence.
• Added multiplayer Title presentation through player network state.
• Added optional local self-nameplate support.
• Added ServerSync-backed Title reward configuration.
• Added configurable Title formatting and optional colors.
• Added diagnostic achievement dump and verbose logging options.