Potion-free reviving takes twice the server-configured minor mead duration (16 seconds by default) and restores minor-mead health (25 HP by default). R cycles available meads and No potion. No potion is selected automatically if no healing mead is available. Potion-free revival consumes no item; the same range, interruption and bleed-out rules apply.

Version 1.0.3 update

Requires Jötunn 2.30.2 or newer in addition to BepInEx, on every installation. Thunderstore resolves the declared dependency; manual installations must install it separately. Hold X for one second while downed to give up, or hold Alt and click Give up. After native death completes, click Respawn now or press Enter to skip the normal delay. Normal death penalties apply. Native Valheim panels replace the old popup UI. Live multiplayer verification is still required.

Viking Revival 1.0.3 — testing candidate

Cooperative downed states, stationary downed players, healing-mead revival, bleed-out and repeated-knockdown recovery for Valheim. This build is supplied for testing. Full multiplayer and visual acceptance have not been completed. It is not a verified production release.

Install manually

Install BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2351 first. With the game stopped, extract the Manual ZIP and copy its BepInEx folder into the game or mod profile folder, merging folders. The resulting files must be:

BepInEx/plugins/VikingRevival/VikingRevival.dll
BepInEx/plugins/VikingRevival/VikingRevival.Core.dll

Both DLLs are required. Install the same candidate on the server and every participating player. Restart the game/server after installation. Jötunn 2.30.2 or newer is required. Newtonsoft.Json is provided by the inspected Valheim installation, not redistributed by this package.

Thunderstore / r2modman

Install VikingRevival through Thunderstore Mod Manager or r2modman, or import the Thunderstore ZIP as a local mod into the chosen profile. Its manifest, readme, changelog and 256×256 icon are at the archive root; DLLs are inside BepInEx/plugins/VikingRevival. This is the testing distribution; check the release checklist and known limitations before playing.

Use the same testing build on your server and every participating client.

Playing

On first reaching the main menu, a Viking Revival welcome panel explains downed states, stationary downed states, mead tiers and bleed-out. Choose Don't show again to disable automatic opening. The Viking Revival · How to play button at the bottom left of the main menu reopens the explanation. This preference is local to your BepInEx profile; it can also be reset with Presentation.ShowWelcomeOnStartup=true.

An eligible player with a cooperating, mod-enabled teammate within 150 m becomes downed after a fatal hit. Default solo, PvP, drowning, unsafe water and scripted deaths retain vanilla death behavior. Downed movement is disabled; combat, inventory actions, jumping, sprinting and item usage are blocked. The original collision body remains intact. No custom crawl animation or procedural pose is applied.

An ally within 2.5 m holds the game's Use action (normally E) to revive. R, configurable in BepInEx settings, cycles available meads before holding Use. The lowest available tier is selected initially. Minor mead takes 8 s and restores 25 HP; medium takes 5 s and restores 50 HP; major takes 3 s and restores 100 HP, capped by current maximum health. Personal mead cooldown does not apply. Stamina, Eitr and food are not replenished.

Releasing Use, damage, loss of range, disconnect or unavailable mead cancels progress. One rescuer controls a target at a time. Successful revival consumes one mead using an owner-side escrow record; aborted transactions refund it when confirmed by the same server journal. An uncertain transaction is retained rather than inventing an item. Leave room in inventory for refunds.

Default bleed-out is 75 s, then 45 s and 25 s on repeat knockdowns during the 300 s recovery window. Eligible enemy/DOT hits subtract 5 s with a 1 s cooldown. Reviving grants 2 s of damage protection and restarts the recovery window. Bleed-out calls Valheim's original death path.

Dedicated servers

Install both DLLs under the server's BepInEx/plugins/VikingRevival and on clients. Start once to generate BepInEx/config/com.vikingrevival.cfg. Stop the server, edit the [Server] settings, and restart. The server synchronizes gameplay rules. Presentation and input settings stay local. Preserve BepInEx/config/VikingRevival/<world-id>.json and its backup when moving a world/server. Do not delete a journal while characters have pending downed states or potion escrows.

Disconnected downed characters retain their absolute deadline. Restarted channels abort; committed results remain recorded. A saved downed character cannot safely escape death by reconnecting to an authority without its event. Local fallback uses normal death if a pending state cannot be reconciled. There is no host migration feature in this implementation.

Configuration and troubleshooting

See docs/CONFIGURATION.md, docs/COMPATIBILITY.md, docs/TESTING.md and docs/RELEASE-CHECKLIST.md. In particular, use disposable characters/worlds for testing until the crash/inventory and multiplayer gates pass. This is a test-build instruction, not a claim those gates have passed.

Missing DLL errors: ensure both plugin DLLs are present and the game/framework match the inspected versions. No revival: confirm the server and at least one nearby teammate have the mod, server EnableRevival is true, and the death type is eligible. A malformed gameplay configuration disables new revival instead of guessing values. Configuration changes require restart.

Pending refund: return to the original world/server with its journal and make one inventory slot available. Preserve saves, journals and logs if it remains unresolved. Do not clear custom data to force a refund.

Building

Requires .NET SDK 8.0.426 (or compatible SDK), a legally installed Valheim copy, and BepInEx 5. Run scripts/collect-references.ps1 with the game and BepInEx paths, then scripts/build.ps1. Set -Dotnet to a local SDK executable if necessary. scripts/package.ps1 creates both install ZIPs and a source ZIP. Private .references and all game assemblies are excluded from distributable archives.

The project was compiled against Valheim 1.0.30, Unity 6000.0.75f1, BepInEx 5.4.23.5 (pack 5.4.2351). The plugin loaded in an isolated Unity process with all Harmony patches. Gameplay probing stopped at Steam initialization, so no live multiplayer/crawl/death pass is claimed.

Framework and package references: BepInEx plugin documentation, Thunderstore packaging rules. Exact API selections were checked against the installed assemblies.

Changelog

• Finalized the stable full release README with complete feature coverage and consistent JustQOL branding.

1.1.3 - Full release documentation

• Finalize installation, controls, timers, inventory behavior, compatibility and support documentation.
• Remove current release-candidate labels following owner-reported successful live play of 1.1.2.
• Documentation-only package: gameplay DLLs remain version 1.1.2, unchanged from package 1.1.2.
• Historical entries below describe the status at the time of each release.

1.1.2

• Set all stock revival windows to 60 seconds, including repeated deaths.
• Pause the countdown during a valid held revive and resume its remainder on interruption.
• Bound lost-heartbeat pauses and preserve the native respawn option.
• Remove teammate proximity and solo restrictions on entering the revival window; actual revive range remains enforced.
• Migrate the old stock timer trio while preserving custom server settings.

1.1.0 - local native-death candidate

• Replace living 1-HP immobilization with native ragdoll/tombstone death and a deferred respawn window.
• E loots normally; hold R to revive; T cycles mead and potion-free revival.
• Add Respawn now / Wait for rescue panel, scoped death-fade suppression and emergency respawn UI.
• Fix destroyed-marker scene transition crash and retry interface creation after errors.
• Restore the dead avatar without touching tombstone inventory; apply native death penalties once.
• Require matching mod versions through Jotunn; use separate protocol-2 journal.
• Not published. Live two-player acceptance remains pending.

1.0.3

• Disable downed movement, including queued movement and autorun.
• Immediately abort an outgoing revive when its rescuer becomes downed.
• 92 rule scenarios, 100,000 simulated actions, and 72 movement/API assertions pass. Live Unity and multiplayer verification remains pending.
• Remove procedural crawl animation and crawl camera offset. Native death visuals remain untouched.
• Keep potion-free revival, give-up and respawn controls.

1.0.2

• Add potion-free revival at twice minor-mead duration, with minor-mead health and no inventory consumption.
• Allow cycling No potion and automatically select it when no healing mead is available.
• Includes 1.0.1 death/respawn fixes and Valheim-style UI.
• 50 automated checks pass; live multiplayer verification remains pending.

1.0.1

• Guard missing last-hit data before native death and clear saved downed markers before respawn.
• Acknowledge completed deaths without killing the replacement avatar again.
• Add hold-X give up, Alt-click give up, and native-death Respawn now controls.
• Replace IMGUI panels with Valheim wood panels, Averia font and native buttons through Jotunn.
• Guard world transitions against null world access.

1.0.0 testing candidate — 2026-10-20

• Added first-launch main-menu explanation, saved Don't show again preference, and a persistent How to play button. Popup UI compiled; visual testing is left to the user.

• Implemented gameplay authority, configurable timers, eligibility, hit penalties and recovery rules.

• Added transport-authenticated direct peer RPCs, owner health/death execution, persisted authority journal and potion escrow receipts.

• Added crawl control restrictions, vanilla physics movement, additive procedural prone pose, camera offset and HUD.

• Built against the installed Valheim 1.0.20 assemblies; 40 automated pure-rule/simulated-boundary checks passed.

• Unity loaded the plugin and Harmony patches. Gameplay probe blocked by Steam initialization; remaining live testing belongs to the release acceptance checklist.

• Packaged manual and Thunderstore local-import candidates and source. No publication or production-readiness claim.