Rapiers of Valheim

Twelve craftable rapiers spanning the Meadows through the Deep North. Fight with two precise thrusts followed by a descending slash, with custom fencing poses, advancing footwork, and a different hilt and blade for each weapon.

Features

• Twelve weapons using Valheim's Swords skill, with crafting recipes and four quality levels.
• Two thrusts and a third slash by default. The secondary attack plays at twice its native animation speed and lunges about 2.5 metres in a quick burst, timed with the thrust.
• A fencing guard with the free left fist braced against the hip. Legs retain Valheim's normal blocking pose and movement animations. Native blocking is retained when using a shield or other offhand item.
• Piercing damage on thrusts; the third slash converts the physical damage to slashing while retaining elemental damage.
• Veilneedle: an iridescent blade, reflective silvery-black guard and pommel, black leather grip, and Mistwalker-style blade mist that clears nearby Mistlands fog while equipped.
• Aurora Needle: northern colors and an open silver guard, with damage based on the native Frostfire sword.
• Golden Rune Rapier: dark forged steel, a green leather grip, a gilded guard, and gold runes along roughly the lower half of the blade, with damage based on the native Thunderblood sword.
• Corrected right-facing guards on Aurora Needle and Golden Rune Rapier.
• Configurable damage, stamina, reach, attack styles, and footwork.

Requirements

Prepared and checked on Valheim 1.0.16 for Windows with:

• BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2333
• Jotunn 2.30.2

The Deep North weapons require game content from this version. Older Valheim versions are not supported by this release. Other operating systems and later dependency versions have not been verified.

Installation

Mod manager — recommended

1. Select Valheim and your preferred profile in Gale, r2modman, or Thunderstore Mod Manager.
2. Install Rapiers of Valheim and its listed dependencies.
3. Launch the game through that profile's modded launch option.
4. Reach the main menu once to generate the configuration file.

For a local release ZIP before publication, use your manager's local-mod import feature if available. Otherwise, open the profile folder and copy the ZIP's BepInEx/plugins/AlternatingRapier folder into the profile's BepInEx/plugins directory. Install the two dependencies separately in that profile.

Manual installation — Windows

1. Close Valheim. Back up your characters, worlds, and existing mod configuration before updating a modded installation.
2. Install BepInExPack Valheim using the instructions on its package page. The contents of its BepInExPack_Valheim folder belong beside valheim.exe.
3. Install Jotunn in BepInEx/plugins/Jotunn according to its package instructions.
4. Extract this ZIP and merge its BepInEx folder into the Valheim installation directory.
5. Check that this file exists:

Valheim/
  valheim.exe
  BepInEx/
    plugins/
      Jotunn/
        Jotunn.dll
      AlternatingRapier/
        AlternatingRapier.dll

1. Launch Valheim and reach the main menu. Check BepInEx/LogOutput.log for Loading [Rapiers of Valheim 1.0.0] and the weapon registration messages.

The mod's models, textures, and inventory icons are embedded in its DLL. No Blender files or separate asset installation is required. BepInEx and Jotunn are downloaded separately.

Updating from Alternating Rapier

This is the renamed release of Alternating Rapier. The plugin ID, item IDs, DLL name, and configuration filename are preserved for existing items and settings.

Close the game, then replace your previous AlternatingRapier.dll. Keep only one copy in the active profile or manual installation. If an older test build is directly inside BepInEx/plugins, remove that old DLL after backing it up; do not leave it alongside the new subfolder copy. In a manager, disable or remove the old Alternating Rapier package before enabling this one.

Keep your existing configuration if you want to retain your settings. To restore release defaults, move the old configuration file to a backup location while the game is closed, then launch once to generate a fresh file.

Weapons and crafting

These are the initial crafting costs with the default recipes. Discover the materials and use the required crafting station to see a recipe.

Upgrades use the station's Upgrade tab and require higher station levels. The two Deep North rapiers consume a Nord sword only when first crafted. Their upgrades to quality 2 / 3 / 4 cost 10 / 20 / 40 Bloodgold and 1 / 2 / 4 of the matching essence, respectively. Their required station levels are 5 / 6 / 7; availability of those station levels in normal progression still needs an in-world release playtest.

Aurora Needle and Golden Rune Rapier inherit native sword damage values at registration, converted to rapier piercing damage. Their own rapier attacks are used; they do not copy every special mechanic of those native swords.

Controls

Use your normal Valheim bindings:

• Primary attack: thrust, follow-up thrust, then slash.
• Secondary attack (middle mouse by default): fast heavy thrust with a 2.5-metre forward lunge. Obstacles or interruptions shorten the lunge; it requires clear ground and retains the normal secondary-attack stamina cost.
• Block: fencing guard with the free left fist resting against the hip. Legs use Valheim's normal blocking pose and movement animations. Normal blocking movement speed applies. With a shield or offhand item, native blocking takes precedence.

Configuration

After the first launch, edit:

BepInEx/config/com.keeto.valheim.alternatingrapier.cfg

For a mod manager, this file is in the active profile. Close the game before editing it, then restart to apply changes.

ElementDamage affects a weapon's assigned element; it does not add an element to a physical-only weapon. Aurora Needle's setting controls frost; its native fire component remains. Existing configuration values take precedence over new defaults.

Compatibility and test status

This 1.0.0 candidate passes compilation, package validation, and a fresh isolated game launch using the packaged DLL. Checks cover all twelve registrations, models, icons, ingredient references, the Deep North recipes, Veilneedle's mist/fog-clearing lifecycle, and guard orientation. Heavy-attack checks cover animation-speed handling, 2.5-metre travel timing, interruption cleanup, and a native Rigidbody collision sweep. Blocking checks cover the native closed-fist pose, preservation of native leg and pelvis animations, and pose restoration. Its 60 embedded assets match the preceding 0.6.10 build. Full in-world combat, progression, save/reload, and multiplayer acceptance tests remain outstanding.

Multiplayer and dedicated-server operation are not yet verified. If testing multiplayer, install matching versions and dependencies on every client and the server, and keep gameplay settings consistent. This release does not synchronize configuration automatically. Other mods that change sword attacks, player animation, item registration, or these recipes may conflict.

Troubleshooting

• No weapons or recipes: confirm both dependencies are active, launch the modded profile, and check the log for registration errors. Also check that the recipe materials are discovered and the station has the required level.
• Duplicate-plugin warning: search the active profile's BepInEx/plugins tree for extra copies of AlternatingRapier.dll, including earlier test-build folders.
• Settings seem unchanged: check the active profile's configuration, close the game before editing, and restart. An existing value overrides a new default.
• Veilneedle does not clear mist: equip it in hand; the effect is not intended to operate from inventory or while sheathed.
• Attack or pose conflict: reproduce in a clean profile containing only this mod and its two dependencies, then re-enable other mods in groups.

When reporting an issue, include the mod and Valheim versions, the affected weapon, reproduction steps, your mod list, and the relevant BepInEx/LogOutput.log excerpt.

Uninstalling

Back up your saves first. Unequip and remove the mod's items from characters and worlds you intend to load without the mod, then close Valheim and disable the package or remove its DLL. Keep the configuration backup if you plan to reinstall.

Credits

Rapiers of Valheim is an independent Valheim mod. Thanks to the BepInEx and Jotunn projects. Native game effects and materials are referenced from the installed game at runtime. The package icon uses renders of the actual Embercoil and Golden Rune models over an AI-assisted title and background.