Rusty Heathens ModGuard

Rusty Heathens ModGuard is the approved-client-mod checker used by the Heathens' Haven Valheim server.

Player install

Use Thunderstore Mod Manager or r2modman and click Install with Mod Manager.

That is it. You do not need to browse to the Valheim folder, BepInEx folder, or plugins folder manually.

The mod must be installed on the server and on connecting player clients.

What it does

• Reports loaded BepInEx plugin IDs and versions to the Heathens' Haven server.
• Checks the player's plugin list against the server's approved-mod policy.
• Supports a separate admin-only list for approved server administrators.
• Can optionally include SHA-256 hashes of readable plugin DLLs in reports.
• Starts in Audit mode by default, so failed reports are logged without automatically disconnecting players.

Heathens' Haven policy

The server owner controls the actual approved-mod and admin-only lists through the server configuration. Players do not need to edit that policy.

Important

This is a controlled-profile compatibility/mod-policy guard for normal BepInEx clients. It is not tamper-proof anti-cheat attestation; a deliberately modified client can falsify a client-side report.

Version 0.1.2

This release includes the tested client/server reporting handshake and DatHost-friendly admin recognition used on Heathens' Haven.

Changelog

0.3.0 - 2026-10-07

• Added controller/gamepad audit reporting inside the ModGuard Thunderstore package.
• Reports Unity legacy joystick/controller names.
• Reports Unity Input System device details when available: display/product name, manufacturer, interface, layout, device ID, vendor/product IDs.
• Reports whether controller activity was observed.
• Added server log output beginning with [RHCA] CONTROLLER_AUDIT.
• Does not block or kick for controller use yet.
• Does not collect controller serial numbers.
• Preserves ModGuard 0.2.2 approved-mod admission behavior.
• Requires com.rustylasergaming.controlleraudit in the server AllowedForPlayers policy.

0.2.2 - 2026-10-04

• Start admission deadlines when peers are ready for routed RPC.
• Retry client reports until the connected server acknowledges them.
• Snapshot the peer list before enforcement to tolerate disconnects during iteration.
• Change the default timeout to 60 seconds and upgrade the old 20-second default.
• Preserve configured allowlists, admin IDs and intentional pins after the earlier migration.
• Update the package dependency to BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2351.

0.2.1

• Removed the packaged player allowlist from Plugin.cs.
• Removed the packaged admin-only plugin list from Plugin.cs.
• Removed packaged fallback admin account IDs from Plugin.cs.
• Server com.rustylasergaming.modguard.cfg is now the only policy source.
• Bare plugin GUIDs allow any version so normal Thunderstore updates do not cause version-lock failures.
• Exact guid@version pins remain supported when intentionally configured.
• Kept Enforce/Audit/Disabled behavior, optional approved mods, admin-only handling, duplicate-plugin detection, report hashing, and server-side admission checks.