SkillDrasil

A Valheim mod that replaces the vanilla skill system with a skill tree.

Website: https://rgb-outl4w.github.io/SkillDrasil/ (English / Русский)

Thunderstore package coming with 0.2.0 · Changelog

Vanilla: repeat an action → that skill levels up; die → lose levels. SkillDrasil: actions still earn XP, but into five branches. Full branch XP = one point you choose where to spend.

How it works

• Masteries have 5 ranks. Each rank = 20 levels of that vanilla skill, so all vanilla skill effects still apply. Gear and mead skill bonuses still stack on top.
• Perks add new effects. Tier N needs 3×N points already spent in the branch. Mastery rank R needs 2×(R−1).
• Branch points come from using that branch's skills and are spent in that branch.
• Free points (spend anywhere) come from milestones: each boss defeated in the world, each new biome discovered.
• Death (when vanilla would drain skills): lose part of every branch's in-progress XP. Spent points are never lost. You respawn with Severed Roots for 10 minutes: masteries count one rank lower and tier 3 perks are off. The "Death skills reset" world modifier wipes branch points instead (free points kept).
• Respec: craft a Rune of Forgetting at the workbench (10 Stone, 10 Resin, 5 Greydwarf Eye) and consume it.
• Open the tree with K (configurable) or the inventory's Skills button.

Existing characters and uninstalling

• The mod never writes vanilla skill levels. Tree data lives in its own key inside the character file.
• First load of an existing character: every full 20 vanilla levels in a skill becomes 1 point in that skill's branch.
• Uninstall: your vanilla skill levels are exactly what they were when you installed. Reinstall: your tree is back.
• Exception: Runes of Forgetting in your inventory disappear if you load the character without the mod.

Back up your characters before trying any mod: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\characters_local (local saves) or Steam\userdata\<id>\892970\remote\characters (Steam Cloud saves).

Multiplayer

Every player and the server must run SkillDrasil (same major.minor version). Jotunn rejects mismatched connections. Balance settings (Balance section) are set by the server and synced to clients.

Install

Requires BepInExPack Valheim and Jotunn. Put SkillDrasil.dll in BepInEx/plugins/SkillDrasil/.

Config (BepInEx/config/rgboutl4w.skilldrasil.cfg)

Console (with devcommands): skilldrasil_points <n> adds free points.

Languages

English and Russian. The mod follows Valheim's language setting.

Build

1. Copy Environment.props.example to Environment.props and set your Valheim path.
2. dotnet build -c Release (copies the dll into your BepInEx plugins folder).
3. dotnet run --project tests/SelfCheck runs the core logic checks.
4. Icons: edit tools/icons.py, then python tools/icons.py (also refreshes the website's docs/icons) and tools/render-icons.ps1 (needs Edge) to rebuild assets/atlas.png.
5. Website: static files in docs/, served by GitHub Pages. Preview with python -m http.server 8765 --directory docs.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Changelog

0.3.2

• Active abilities, one per branch, unlocked by a tier 1 perk of that branch: War Cry (you and allies: +20% damage, 15 s), Hunter's Mark (enemies take +25% damage from everyone, 15 s), Völva's Chant (30 eitr: you and allies heal 40% over 10 s), Gale Step (+50% stamina, +20% speed, 8 s), Tireless Toil (no stamina for chopping, mining, building, repairing, 30 s). Cast with Alt + 1–5 (configurable); while Alt is held, number keys don't use the hotbar. Cooldowns show bottom right.
• Faster progression: point n now costs 60 × n^1.25 XP (was 80 × n^1.5): about 5,300 XP for 10 points and 24,000 for 20 (was 10,000 and 57,000). Config files still on the old defaults are updated automatically; custom values are kept.
• Safety: branch XP ignores NaN/infinite amounts and a zero or negative point cost, so a bad config can never hang the game.

0.3.1

• Compatibility: skills added by other mods are no longer frozen at 0. They keep vanilla levelling, death loss and effects, and are listed under the new Other skills button.
• Balance.PerkStrength (server-synced, 0–3, default 1) scales every perk and keystone bonus; drawbacks stay fixed.
• Cursor tooltip on tree nodes: name, rank and what's needed to learn it.
• HUD hint while you have unspent points (Client.ShowPointsHint).
• Learning a node plays the level-up flash and sound.
• Redrawn icons: Polearms, Fists, Wood Cutting, Ghost, Windrunner.

0.3.0

• Deeper trees: every branch now has two perks per tier (15 new perks) and a keystone at 15 points spent.
• Keystones: Bear Shirt, Lone Wolf, Völva's Oath, Endless Road, Homesteader. Big bonus, real drawback, only one in the whole tree. The Rune of Forgetting frees the choice.
• Multi-rank perks: Iron Hide, Battle Fervor, Shadowstep, Keen Eye, Völva's Vigor, Galdr, Seal-Born, Spring Step, Quick Study, Miner's Grit (2–3 ranks).
• Severed Roots now also silences your keystone.
• New icons for every new node; English and Russian text.
• Saves from 0.2 load unchanged (new nodes start unlearned). Multiplayer: everyone needs 0.3.x.

0.2.0

• First Thunderstore release.
• MIT license.
• Package icon; manifest links to the website.
• Not compatible in multiplayer with 0.1.x: everyone needs 0.2.x.

0.1.1

• Tree-shaped UI: one tab per branch; masteries are roots, the trunk fills as you spend, perks form the crown (3 / 6 / 9 points).
• Custom icons for every mastery, perk, branch, the Rune of Forgetting and Severed Roots.
• Detail card: effect, lore, current level, requirement, Learn button, branch XP bar.
• Full Russian translation, following Valheim's language setting.
• Slower progression: point n costs 80 × n^1.5 branch XP (Progression.FirstPointXp, Progression.CostExponent).
• Fixed: wrong "points granted from your old skills" message on new characters; cut-off card text.

0.1.0

• First build: five branches covering all 24 vanilla skills, 15 perks, milestone free points, Severed Roots on death, Rune of Forgetting respec, save-safe install and uninstall, Jotunn-enforced multiplayer.