EpicGuns 0.4.0

Three configurable Valheim firearms using the Bows skill and Bow item category, with custom models, icons, ammunition, and sounds. Requires BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350 and Jotunn 2.30.2. Epic Loot is optional.

Weapons and recipes

Damage values are before skill, armor, resistance, and magic modifiers. A shotgun pellet deals 5 base pierce, not 60. Spread makes the shotgun most effective nearby. Valheim applies armor separately to each hit. Both new weapons have four quality levels; shotgun upgrades add 6 total pierce and rifle upgrades add 3 pierce per bullet per level.

The shotgun uses a blued-steel barrel, bronze fittings, ribbed walnut pump, stock, trigger guard, sights, receiver pins, and ejection port. The rifle adds a gas tube, vented handguard, charging handle, and segmented magazine. These are procedural models, with a supporting left-hand pose and a size-safety fallback. They use the existing firing animation; there is no animated pump cycle or detachable-magazine reload.

Ammunition

Both 12-gauge recipes use Forge 1; rifle cartridges use Forge 2. Dragon's breath adds fire equal to 25% of the final pierce damage, including weapon quality and damage modifiers. Its flying pellets have orange/yellow flame trails and fading wisps. Fire damage follows Valheim's burning and resistance rules. The new ammo icons match the existing three-cartridge, gold-outline style; shells have flat crimped tops, and dragon shells have flame markings.

One shotgun shot consumes one shell. Rifle bursts consume one cartridge per bullet through Valheim's normal ammo-selection method, preserving Epic Loot ammo conservation. An incomplete ammo stack fires only the available rounds; switching weapons or interrupting an attack can cancel the rest of a burst. Burst rounds and interval are configurable. This release uses burst fire rather than a magazine-based continuous automatic-fire system.

Installation and configuration

Import dist/EpicGuns-0.4.0.zip as a local mod in your mod manager, or extract its BepInEx directories into your profile/game folder. Replace the prior EpicGuns installation so only one EpicGuns DLL is loaded. The source ZIP is for development.

Install the same version on the server and every client. Existing 1911 settings and prefab names are preserved. No dependency DLLs are bundled and no existing configuration file is overwritten.

After first launch, edit BepInEx/config/com.triston.epicguns.cfg. See CONFIGURATION.md for all new defaults. Gameplay settings and recipe amounts use Jotunn's server synchronization; local audio, aim, tracers, and flame visuals remain client-side. Restart after hand-editing the file. Changes made through a config manager update registered balance and recipe values; existing projectiles/attacks finish with their current state, and visual changes apply to newly spawned effects.

Modpack compatibility

The packaged Epic Loot patch adds the shotgun to Bows / defeated_gdking and the rifle to Bows / defeated_bonemass, matching the existing Testing profile's Black Forest and Swamp lists. Weapons keep Bows skill and the Bow item category for compatible magic effects. Long guns temporarily use the two-handed equipment path when equipping, then immediately restore their Bow category. This avoids DualWield's one-handed equipment branch.

The original pistol remains one-handed. Shotgun normalization divides all incoming damage and skill gain across the configured base pellet count, so bonus projectiles from multishot can still increase total damage. There are no global bow damage changes. Firearms each accept only their own ammo family.

Gunshot effect prefabs and projectiles are network registered. Visual/audio code skips dedicated servers. The update was compiled against the locally installed game and profile dependencies; selected Epic Loot and DualWield code paths were inspected. Full modpack, multiplayer, visual, and listening tests in a running game remain required. See VALIDATION.md.

Console spawning

spawn EpicGuns_1911
spawn EpicGuns_45ACP 100
spawn EpicGuns_Shotgun
spawn EpicGuns_Buckshot 100
spawn EpicGuns_DragonBreath 100
spawn EpicGuns_AssaultRifle
spawn EpicGuns_RifleAmmo 100

Building

Requires .NET SDK 8 or newer for the plugin (.NET Standard 2.1). The optional validation harness uses SDK 10.

./build.ps1 -EpicGunsManaged 'D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Valheim/valheim_Data/Managed' -EpicGunsBepInEx 'C:/path/to/profile/BepInEx/core' -EpicGunsJotunn 'C:/path/to/profile/BepInEx/plugins/ValheimModding-Jotunn'

The script creates the plugin and assets in src/bin/Release/netstandard2.1, install/source ZIPs, build log, and SHA-256 checksums in dist. Compiler intermediates are kept in a fresh temporary directory. tools/build-audio.ps1 regenerates the original procedural shotgun and rifle reports. ASSET_PROMPTS.md records the built-in image-generation prompts and saved assets.

0.5.0

• Overhauled 1911 with a slim chamfered slide, flush muzzle, angled walnut grip, curved trigger guard, controls, hammer, serrations, grip screws, and new matching inventory icon.
• Rebuilt the pistol report with a dry broadband impulse and natural short reflections; removed the pitched synth character. Pistol shots now use the same networked sound effect path as long guns.
• Added .45 ACP AP / Hollow Point and 556 AP / Hollow Point ammo, distinct icons, recipes, and synchronized bonus-damage/crafting settings. Defaults: +6 pistol or +5 rifle pierce for AP, the same bonus as blunt for hollow points.
• Renamed Forest Shotgun to Pump Action, Swamp Assault Rifle to M16, and Rifle Cartridge to 556. Existing prefab IDs and config sections remain stable for upgrades.
• Updated the rifle model and icon to an M16 silhouette with polymer stock, carry handle, ribbed handguard, front sight tower, flash hider, and gently curved magazine.
• Added two-part pump reload audio at actual reload start/completion, with local volume/enable settings and cancellation-aware completion behavior.
• Expanded regression coverage for special ammo damage, pump reload isolation/completion, and closed pistol mesh topology.

0.4.0

• Added configurable Black Forest Forest Shotgun: 15 Bronze/15 Tin, 12-pellet buckshot and dragon's breath, whole-shot damage normalization, quality upgrades, and fire bonus (25% by default).
• Added configurable Swamp Assault Rifle with timed automatic bursts, dedicated rifle cartridges, per-round ammo consumption, and iron-based crafting.
• Added detailed procedural long-gun models, supporting hand pose, shell/rifle/weapon icons, flame trails and wisps, and original synthesized gunshot sounds with networked effect prefabs.
• Added server-synchronized damage, spread, reload, projectile counts, crafting costs, and ammo output settings; local audio and flame settings.
• Extended Epic Loot tier patch; preserved existing pistol prefab names and configuration. Long guns equip through the two-handed path to avoid DualWield's one-handed branch.
• Added damage regression harness, asset-generation provenance, configuration reference, and explicit in-game validation checklist.

Changelog

0.3.2

• Corrected right-hand aiming to account for the equipped pistol model, hand socket, and equipment rotation offsets.
• Added a relaxed empty-left-arm pose during aiming and firing; equipped off-hand items retain their normal pose.
• Restore the animated bone rotations before each frame and when the pose controller is disabled, preventing pose overrides from accumulating.
• Added named-bone fallback for rigs without a humanoid avatar mapping.
• Preserved firing, reload timing, ammunition, damage, recoil settings, audio, tracers, recipes, Bow compatibility, and Epic Loot integration.
• Added a repeatable build and packaging script, a Thunderstore package icon, and separate installation/source archives.

0.3.1

• Forced EpicGuns Bow-category firearms through Valheim's right-hand equip path while preserving their Bow type, Bows skill, and Epic Loot classification.
• Added a short glowing orange tracer to .45 ACP projectiles.
• Added local CFG controls for enabling tracers and adjusting tracer lifetime and width.

0.3.0

• Added a right-arm-only pistol aiming controller and returned the left arm to the normal one-handed pose.
• Changed the firing animation to a one-handed trigger so crossbow arm movement no longer takes over the shot.
• Added BepInEx/config/com.triston.epicguns.cfg with configurable fire rate, damage, projectile speed, stamina, audio, recoil, and aim-pose tuning.
• Made gameplay and recoil settings synchronize from the server while keeping audio and pose adjustments local.
• Disabled inherited crossbow firing pushback by default without removing knockback dealt to enemies.

0.2.1

• Resolved assets relative to the loaded DLL so Thunderstore's package folder layout cannot hide the icons or gunshot audio.
• Forced the custom 1911 and .45 ACP sprites onto the cloned item data.
• Changed to an aimed crossbow body stance while retaining the pistol's one-handed visual attachment.
• Moved the gunshot hook to the public attack trigger and required successful ammunition consumption.
• Corrected the projectile material selection so the brass bullet visual replaces the inherited bolt reliably.

0.2.0

• Fixed the invisible 1911 by selecting the weapon mesh material instead of the Arbalest particle material.
• Added a clean, simple 1911 model and one-handed carry state.
• Removed inherited crossbow firing and reload effects so only the pistol report plays.
• Set the base reload to one second and removed the visible crossbow reload animation.
• Changed the ammunition recipe from 1 Bronze to 1 Copper.
• Simplified the 1911 inventory icon.

0.1.1

• Rebuilt the 1911 report with a sharper muzzle crack, compact .45-style punch, and subtle slide noise.
• Reduced the in-game volume and audible range for a convincing pistol report without excessive boom.

0.1.0

• Added the 1911 pistol.
• Added craftable .45 ACP ammunition.
• Added custom icons, projectile visual, bounded pistol model, and gunshot audio.
• Added Bow category and Bows skill integration.
• Added Epic Loot Black Forest item-info patch.
• Added multiplayer version enforcement and a visual scale safety fallback.