BetterBuilding

Drag-build walls and floors, copy entire structures, save blueprints, and build from a free camera.

BetterBuilding expands Valheim's hammer with tools for small renovations and large building projects. Preview your work before placing it, collect materials for a complete blueprint, or use Valheim's free-building mode to place it without costs. The menus use a consistent Valheim-inspired design and the game's own fonts.

Compatible with PlanBuild blueprints. Import .blueprint and .vbuild files and use them with BetterBuilding's preview and construction tools. PlanBuild does not need to be installed, and your original files remain unchanged. See Blueprint files and PlanBuild import below for supported content and import limitations.

Server installation is optional for the core tools, material projects and live ghost sharing. Installing BetterBuilding on the server adds shared rules, protected project recovery, extended loading support for large blueprints and a server blueprint library. See Client and server support below for the differences.

This page describes BetterBuilding 0.14.1, compatible with Valheim 1.0.16.

Features

Drag building

Hold the build button and move your mouse to preview multiple pieces. Move back to shorten the selection, then release to build.

• Build rectangular walls across width and height, or floors across width and depth.
• Extend supported beams and other structural pieces in a line. Angled beams follow their snap points, including 26°, 45° and 67° beams.
• Preview the total material, stamina and hammer durability costs. An invalid or unaffordable selection turns red.
• If you cannot afford the complete selection, nothing is placed or charged.
• Place up to 500 pieces per drag, with a configurable limit and server overrides.

Right-click to cancel before releasing. Drag building applies to supported structural pieces; ordinary placement remains available for other objects.

Selective demolition

Hold the middle mouse button and aim at the pieces you want to remove. Selected pieces are highlighted. Release to demolish them.

• Hold Shift during an active demolition selection to remove pieces from it.
• Press right mouse or Escape to cancel the entire selection before releasing.
• Configure the selection limit and a confirmation prompt for larger jobs.
• The default limit is 10 pieces. Without a server installation, multiplayer demolition has a hard limit of 10 pieces per selection.

Demolition keeps the applicable crafting-station and access checks. There is no undo, and removing supports can cause nearby pieces to collapse.

Select, copy and save blueprints

Equip your hammer and press F4 to open blueprint controls. Select individual objects, or toggle a visible area selector with Shift. Adjust its radius and height to capture the part of a build you want.

• Use Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V to copy a selection and position its ghost preview.
• Rotate the preview, make fine rotation adjustments, change its height and snap its anchor to existing pieces.
• Save a selection directly as a blueprint without copying it first. Choose your own filename.
• Store designs as compact, compressed .bbp files and load them again later.
• Include or exclude natural objects and vehicles using separate checkboxes. Unchecking a category also removes it from the current selection. Both start enabled for each new selection.
• Select up to 100,000 objects by default, configurable up to 250,000. The limit for placing a blueprint is separate from the capacity for selecting and saving one.

Blueprints can contain building pieces, carts, boats, supported trees, bushes, rocks and pickable objects. Natural objects do not need to appear in the hammer menu and have no material cost, including outside free building. Vehicles use their normal construction recipes.

Sign text, items on ordinary item stands, and food, drinks and potions placed with the Serving Tray are supported. Displayed equipment is recreated at quality 1; survival projects require the displayed item as well as the stand materials.

Blueprints copy the design rather than its stored contents or gameplay history: chests and vehicle cargo are empty, doors start closed, portals have no copied connection, and wards start disabled without their old permissions. Selecting and saving a warded building is allowed; changing, placing or demolishing objects still respects ward access.

Position, inspect and repeat

Blueprint and copy previews can follow your mouse to loaded ground or building pieces from a distant or elevated viewpoint, beyond the ordinary hammer aiming range. BetterBuilding temporarily extends build reach for the whole design during checks and construction, and requests additional loaded area for large blueprints. Server loading limits and placement permissions still apply.

• Press P to lock the ghost's current position and rotation. Walk or fly closer to inspect the details without moving the design.
• Press left mouse to confirm the locked location, or P again to make the ghost follow your mouse.
• Enable Keep blueprint after placement in blueprint controls to place the same design repeatedly without reloading it. This is also available under F10 → Blueprints → Keep After Placement and starts disabled.
• After a free build finishes, or a Project Chest is created, the next preview keeps your rotation and height offset and follows the mouse again. Every copy needs a new placement click and its own terrain confirmation when applicable.
• Press F4 or Escape to leave blueprint mode when finished.

Adjustable rotation

Enable Custom Rotation under F10 → Hammer and set Rotation Step Degrees with the slider or number field. Choose any whole number from 1° to 360°, in steps of 1°.

The same setting controls ordinary hammer pieces and Shift + scroll on blueprint or copy previews, so you can use matching rotation increments for both. Regular blueprint scrolling stays at 15° per step. With Custom Rotation disabled, hammer pieces use the game's normal step and blueprint Shift + scroll uses 1°. A locked preview keeps its rotation until unlocked.

Share live ghost previews

Other nearby players with an up-to-date BetterBuilding installation can see your blueprint or copy ghost while you position it, including when it is locked for inspection. BetterBuilding does not need to be installed on the server for this.

Sharing and displaying other players' previews both start enabled. Under F10 → Blueprints, use Share Live Previews, Show Other Previews and Maximum Visible Preview Pieces to control them. Large previews appear progressively; the default limit for other players' previews is 100,000 pieces in total, separate from your own preview.

These are temporary previews. They do not place objects or upload a blueprint file to the server library. Cancelling removes the shared ghost; it also expires after a disconnect. Viewers without a required asset mod cannot see those missing parts.

Blueprint construction and recovery

Without free building, a blueprint becomes a construction project with a ghost preview and a Project Chest. Its floating label shows the project and material progress. Material projects work both with and without BetterBuilding on the server, with different recovery options below.

Deposit materials over several trips instead of trying to carry everything at once. The chest is an interaction point backed by material counters, so its inventory size does not limit the project. Each deposit takes only what is still missing: you cannot overfill a material requirement.

Once all required materials are delivered, the creator can start building the complete project. There are no stamina or hammer durability costs for blueprint construction. The creator can allow other players to contribute. The Project Chest is removed after successful completion and any outstanding material returns.

In free-building mode, construction starts directly after validation, without a Project Chest or material costs. Both modes build progressively and temporarily protect the parts being assembled from structural collapse. Normal structural stability applies after construction finishes. BetterBuilding respects your existing free-building permissions; installing the mod does not grant them.

With BetterBuilding on the server, or in a local world: material projects reserve their materials until completion is confirmed. Unfinished project parts retain their temporary support protection through a disconnect or reload. If construction stops, the Project Chest provides recovery actions:

• Retry construction — clear attempt, keep materials removes the parts from that unfinished attempt and keeps its reserved materials. Choose Build afterwards to start again.
• Finish construction / confirm with server confirms completion when all project parts have already been placed.
• Cancel / close project and return materials clears the unfinished attempt and returns the remaining material balance at the chest.

Server admins can also recover or cancel other players' projects through the chest. Admin rights are checked against Valheim's adminlist.txt. Finished projects cannot be undone with Retry, and recovery does not undo terrain changes. These recovery options apply to material projects; direct free builds have no recovery chest.

Without BetterBuilding on the server: materials are deducted for each placed piece. Unspent materials can be returned on cancellation, but spent materials and incomplete parts have no protected recovery. If you disconnect, incomplete parts may collapse. Continuing a project does not automatically rebuild parts that were already paid for and subsequently lost.

Construction waits and continues automatically while destination areas are loading. If it cannot continue, the message explains why construction stopped; use the applicable project controls to recover or retry it.

Optional terrain profiles

Enable Include terrain when copying/saving to capture the ground shape beneath a selection. When placing a blueprint with a profile, first choose whether to keep the existing ground or check and apply the saved terrain, with a transition into the surroundings. Any approved terrain changes finish before BetterBuilding checks placement and finds a suitable Project Chest location. Without a terrain profile, the existing ground stays as it is.

Terrain adaptation checks loaded areas, access permissions and Valheim's terrain-height limits. It requires a separate confirmation. Applied terrain changes are not undone if you later cancel the building. Structural stability is still governed by Valheim.

Free building camera

Press F3 with the hammer equipped to detach the camera and move up to 75 metres from your character. Select, position, build and demolish from a clearer viewpoint, with normal support colours available when hovering over pieces.

While freecam is active, automatic item pickup follows the camera. Move close to the drops to collect them; inventory space, carry weight and normal pickup restrictions still apply. Blueprint placement can request additional loading as described above, but the camera itself stays within its 75-metre limit and build permissions still apply.

In-game settings

Press F10, or choose Settings in blueprint controls, to configure BetterBuilding.

Choose Blueprint controls / library from F10 settings to browse local files or share blueprints with the server, without equipping a hammer or starting a selection. Local and server libraries use spacious tables, search and pages of twelve blueprints. Equip a hammer when you want to load and position a design. Back to settings returns to your unapplied settings draft.

Adjust building and demolition limits, blueprint options, camera controls, interface settings and keybindings. Independently enable or disable hammer stamina use and hammer durability loss, including ordinary hammer placement, repair and demolition. Free building skips both costs.

Choose Apply and save to keep changes. On a modded server, server-controlled values are shown as SERVER and cannot be overridden by a player's local settings.

Client and server support

Single-player and locally hosted worlds

Your local settings apply. Material projects work in single-player. When hosting a multiplayer world, your installation also supplies the server settings; players using BetterBuilding should use the same version.

Joining a server without BetterBuilding

You can use drag building, the free camera, blueprint selection, saving and loading, material projects, and direct placement when you have free-building permissions.

• Material projects charge per placed piece, without server-backed recovery or support protection after a disconnect.
• Live ghost previews can be shared with other players running an up-to-date BetterBuilding client.
• Demolition is limited to 10 pieces per selection, even if your local setting is higher.
• The shared server blueprint library and admin project recovery are unavailable. Valheim's normal server loading limits still apply to large builds.
• Your local blueprint selection capacity remains available, including large designs.

With BetterBuilding installed on the server

Use the same version on the server and participating clients.

• Server rules override the corresponding local gameplay settings, including hammer costs, range, build limits, demolition and blueprint placement.
• The server can allow more than 10 pieces per demolition selection. Installing the server component alone does not increase the default limit.
• Material projects gain reserved materials, protection for unfinished parts after disconnects, and recovery through the Project Chest.
• Server admins can recover other players' unfinished projects.
• Large blueprints can request an extended loaded area within the supported server limits.
• The optional shared blueprint library becomes available when enabled by an admin.
• Server blueprint limits restrict placement, not a player's local ability to select and save a larger design. For example, a player can save 100,000 pieces while the server limits placement to 20,000.

Personal keybindings, camera preferences, custom rotation, repeat placement, live preview preferences and local selection capacity remain local. An incompatible client/server combination or rejected server policy blocks BetterBuilding actions until valid server settings are available. These controls govern BetterBuilding; they are not a general-purpose anti-cheat system.

Shared server blueprint library

Open F10 → Blueprint controls / library → Server blueprint library to upload, browse and download .bbp designs. Sharing starts disabled and must be enabled by a server admin.

By default, everyone can upload and download once sharing is enabled. Uploaders can delete their own entries; admins can delete any entry or restrict uploads to admins. Downloads are saved as separate local files.

Admins recognised through Valheim's adminlist.txt can use Server settings · admin → Save and apply on server to change sharing permissions and storage limits from their client, without restarting the server. This live editor covers library settings only, not every gameplay setting.

Uploads are validated as blueprints, and limits control file size, storage and upload counts. The library also performs scheduled maintenance and offers an admin validation scan. Other files must not be stored in its dedicated server Files directory: non-.bbp files there are removed during maintenance, and invalid blueprints are quarantined.

Default controls

All BetterBuilding shortcuts can be configured. Mouse actions follow Valheim's bindings unless overridden.

Installation

Requirements

• Valheim. Compatible with Valheim 1.0.16.
• BepInEx 5 for Valheim. Use the BepInExPack Valheim package and its platform-specific installation instructions.

PlanBuild, Infinity Hammer and Jötunn are not required. To include modded objects from a blueprint, install the mods that provide them. Otherwise, those missing objects are skipped for review during import.

With a Thunderstore-compatible mod manager

1. Choose your Valheim profile and install BetterBuilding together with BepInExPack Valheim.
2. Launch the game through the manager's modded launch option.
3. Equip a hammer. Press F4 for blueprint controls or F10 for settings.

Manual installation

1. Close Valheim and install BepInExPack Valheim using its instructions for your operating system.
2. Download and extract BetterBuilding.
3. Place BetterBuilding.dll at BepInEx/plugins/BetterBuilding/BetterBuilding.dll inside your Valheim installation. If the archive includes a BepInEx folder, merge that folder into the game directory.
4. Start the game with BepInEx enabled. The first launch creates BepInEx/config/icecub.BetterBuilding.cfg.
5. Equip a hammer and open the controls with F4. Configure your preferences with F10.

Keep only one installed copy of BetterBuilding.dll and remove the older ValheimDragBuild mod if you still have it installed. For mod-manager installations, use the active profile's folders rather than the base game's folders.

Optional server installation

1. Stop the server and install BepInEx 5 for Valheim on it.
2. Install the same BetterBuilding version at BepInEx/plugins/BetterBuilding/BetterBuilding.dll in the server directory.
3. Start the server once to generate BepInEx/config/icecub.BetterBuilding.cfg. Configure server gameplay rules there, restarting after manual file edits unless your setup explicitly reloads them.
4. Have participating clients install the matching version. To enable blueprint sharing, a Valheim server admin can open the server library from their client and use its admin settings.

Update both sides together when using the server component. Before updating, preserve your configuration and blueprint files.

Blueprint files and PlanBuild import

Local blueprints live in a Blueprints folder beside BetterBuilding.dll. With the manual layout above, this is BepInEx/plugins/BetterBuilding/Blueprints. A mod manager may use a different plugin folder; the storage location follows the DLL.

To import from PlanBuild, place a .blueprint or .vbuild file in that folder, equip a hammer, choose Local blueprint library → Load, and review the import summary. Accept the import to use BetterBuilding's preview and construction tools. Save it as a new .bbp to keep or share the converted design. The original PlanBuild file is never replaced or modified.

Missing and unsupported prefabs are skipped and listed for review, so you can accept the remaining supported parts. This also applies when loading BetterBuilding .bbp files and legacy .json blueprints. Missing items on stands leave the stand empty. Install the relevant asset mods before importing if you want to retain those objects; BetterBuilding does not supply their assets.

Files with no usable objects, invalid data on supported objects or designs above the active placement limit can still be blocked. An existing paid construction project is never silently stripped of parts.

Overlapping pieces, including layered PvP walls, are preserved and count separately towards material costs. Construction accounts for intentional overlaps within the same blueprint attempt while retaining checks against existing objects and protected areas. PlanBuild-specific snap points, terrain commands, armor-stand equipment/poses, thumbnails and creator/category metadata are not imported.

Placement and compatibility notes

• Blueprint previews do not simulate structural stability. Valheim's support system still decides whether the completed structure stands.
• Blueprint placement does not require a nearby crafting station. This does not remove the applicable station requirements from ordinary building or demolition.
• Large designs get temporary blueprint build reach and loading requests, but still need a loaded destination and must meet server and placement limits. On an unmodded server, its native loading limit may prevent a very large design from fitting. The selection ceiling is not a performance guarantee, and very large designs may exceed a material project's separate storage capacity.
• Blueprint selection and the free camera are designed for keyboard and mouse; full gamepad support is not included.
• The whole-building support overlay remains experimental and disabled by default. Normal hover support colours remain available.

When reporting a problem, include your Valheim and BetterBuilding versions, whether the server has the mod, other installed mods, reproduction steps and BepInEx/LogOutput.log. For blueprint-specific problems, include the affected file if you are comfortable sharing it.

Join the Discord to report issues, suggest features and discuss the mod:

Icecub's Valheim Mods