Valheim Mastery — Public Beta

20 connected skills. A new combat progression. Slayer contracts. Mastery capes.

Inspired by Old School RuneScape (OSRS): level-based progression, skillcapes, Slayer contracts and long-term mastery, adapted to Valheim's survival and co-op gameplay. Valheim Mastery is an independent fan-made mod, not affiliated with or endorsed by Jagex.

Build a character through combat, gathering, production and exploration. Every Mastery skill progresses from level 1 to 100, with unlocks, milestones and a dedicated skillcape. The Max Cape combines all skillcape bonuses after mastering all twenty skills.

This is an early public beta with German and English gameplay text. Mastery follows Valheim's language setting; other languages currently use English.

What is included?

• Combat styles, accuracy, max hits and equipment requirements. Accuracy failures become 25% glancing hits; successful parries remain damage-free. Immunities and arrows that physically miss are separate from accuracy rolls.
• Base stamina, health and Eitr progression; movement and swimming through Agility.
• Resource tiers, production milestones, material-saving chances, farming grids, additional cultivatable plants and natural ore/tree regeneration.
• Hunter carcass processing and lethal baited traps. Bait attracts nearby wild boars and hares within 18 metres; the trap springs on contact.
• Slayer contracts, two-player shared tasks, completion and streak tokens, prestige upgrades, reward crates, weapons and unlockable helmet styles.
• An Ancient Staff with four Eitr-powered Barrage spells and area effects.
• Twenty skillcapes and eight styles of the animated Max Cape.
• Freeform Construction, building-area projects, work orders and area repair. Prebuilt village blueprints are temporarily disabled. Saved plans remain dormant; already built pieces are preserved.
• The basic campfire is buildable at Construction 1. With BetterUI installed, enable its customSkillUI setting; Mastery then displays its twenty skills in that renderer. The optional Comfort Pack includes this setting.

Install

1. Use a fresh Valheim profile in a Thunderstore-compatible mod manager.
2. Install this package and its declared BepInEx dependency, then launch modded.
3. For the first beta session, use a new character and test world, or back up your character, world and existing mod configuration before loading them.
4. Open the skill window and click a Mastery skill to inspect its milestones.

Tested against Windows / Steam Valheim 1.0.15, using BepInExPack_Valheim 5.4.2350. The plugin also accepts 1.0.14, but the current release checks were run against 1.0.15. Other operating systems are unverified.

The core mod does not require BetterUI, Jotunn or Equipment and Quick Slots. With Equipment and Quick Slots, the quiver can use additional inventory cells. Without it, equip the quiver by right-clicking it; ammunition stays in the main inventory.

For manual installation, install BepInEx separately and copy this archive's plugins/ValheimMastery/ folder into BepInEx/plugins/.

Progression and configuration

Fresh installations use XP x1. All twenty skills share the same thresholds: level 100 requires 1,439,116 XP. Approximately 10 hours of relevant activity per skill is a balancing target, not a measured completion-time guarantee.

After the first launch, close the game and edit BepInEx/config/org.valheim.mastery.cfg:

[Progression]
CombatXpMultiplier = 1

Despite its historical name, this setting controls all Mastery skills and the integrated native/mod skill XP paths. For faster testing, set it to 5. The host controls the multiplayer multiplier. Existing settings are not replaced by this package. The development XP slider is not included in this release.

Anonymous balancing telemetry is stored locally under BepInEx/ValheimMastery/balancing. It records XP sources, active-time windows, outputs, perk procs and resource/combat samples; multipliers are normalized back to x1 for comparison. It does not transmit data or record player/world names, chat, peer IDs or coordinates. Set Diagnostics.EnableBalanceTelemetry = false to disable future recording.

Existing Mastery progress is retained. Compatible existing vanilla and legacy mod skill levels are imported once where a matching migration exists; genuinely new skills begin at level 1. Loading an existing character can perform that migration, so make the backup before the first Mastery session.

Controls

Controls are configurable. The Max Cape keeps the same contextual controls; Q activates only the selected sense. Auto-run is unbound by the mod.

Multiplayer beta

Every player must use the same Mastery release and compatible game version. Internal TEST builds are not interchangeable with public RELEASE builds.

Slayer co-op is explicitly started for two players at the board. Join before the first kill; qualifying nearby participants receive the same Slayer kill XP. Tokens are awarded at completion. Both players must be alive and within the required 70 m completion range to receive the shared completion reward.

Owner changes, reconnects and long sessions still need broader live testing. Dedicated servers are experimental and are not advertised as fully validated.

Slayer's host-side ledger is stored in BepInEx/config/ValheimMastery/slayer-<world-id>.json. Back up this directory along with character and world saves; replacing only the DLL does not reset it.

Compatibility and updates

Do not run the replaced Smoothbrain Mining, Lumberjacking, Blacksmithing, Farming, Foraging, Cooking or Sailing plugins alongside Mastery. Their known plugin IDs are declared incompatible. Back up first, then disable those plugins; Mastery can read supported legacy progress without their DLLs being loaded.

BetterArchery, other combat overhauls, additional skill-replacement plugins and SkillBonusTooltips are outside the supported starting setup. Begin with the core mod and add optional UI/comfort mods only after it works.

Close Valheim before updating. Do not load the same character in a vanilla session as an uninstall test: this mod adds saved progress, items and world objects. Restore a pre-Mastery backup for a clean rollback.

Known limits

• Village blueprint placement and terrain preparation are intentionally paused.
• Bait attracts boars and hares only. Birds can still trigger a baited trap when they land on it, but are not drawn toward it.
• Languages other than German and English currently fall back to English.
• The 10-hour progression target needs real playtime feedback.
• Genuine two-machine long-session, reconnect and dedicated-server coverage is incomplete. Controlled network-handler checks are not equivalent to that.
• Third-party enemy/content mods may need explicit compatibility work.
• An earlier audit identified a conditional incoming status-effect ordering issue; a zero-damage result does not promise removal of pre-existing status effects.

The release includes automated progression checks and isolated in-game checks covering skill windows, equipment sets, recipes and multiplayer-sensitive paths.

Useful beta feedback

Report a bug or balance problem on GitHub Issues. This is the feedback channel for both the standalone mod and Comfort Pack. Public reports are visible to other users, so remove personal information.

Include the Mastery and Valheim versions, XP multiplier, installed mods, whether you were host/client, exact reproduction steps and expected/actual behaviour. For balance feedback, add your skill level, activity and rough duration.

Attach only the relevant log excerpt from BepInEx/LogOutput.log; remove private server details and personal paths first. FEEDBACK.md contains a template.

Deutsch

Öffentliche Beta mit allen 20 Skills, Slayer, Ancient-Zaubern und Skillcapes. Inspiriert von Old School RuneScape (OSRS). Die Spieloberfläche folgt der Valheim-Sprache: Deutsch oder Englisch. Frische Installationen starten mit XP x1; der Host kann den Faktor in der Config ändern. Alle Mitspieler brauchen denselben Release. Dorf-Baupläne sind vorerst deaktiviert, freies Bauen bleibt aktiv. Bitte vor der ersten Nutzung bestehende Charaktere, Welten und die Mastery-Konfiguration sichern. Fehler und Balancing sind weiterhin zu erwarten. Fehler und Balancing-Rückmeldungen bitte über die oben verlinkten GitHub Issues melden.

Unofficial fan-made mod. Not affiliated with Iron Gate, Coffee Stain or Jagex. See NOTICE.md for asset and compatibility attribution.

Changelog

0.16.31 — Prayer offerings and clearer HUD icons

Added

• The vanilla status bar shows the active combat style, every active Prayer and running sense cooldowns. These are display-only entries and do not change gameplay status effects.
• Nine distinct combat-style and sense icons, shared by the selection HUD and status bar, plus a redesigned set of 30 Prayer icons.
• Prayer bonus descriptions and Prayer-point drain in the list and the active status-bar tooltip.

Changed

• The Prayer list is sorted by unlock level from 1 to 90. Saved Prayer IDs and active states are unchanged.
• The altar accepts registered trophies, including Frost Troll, boar and wolf trophies, plus Bone Fragments. Deer offerings grant 300 base XP (1,500 with an XP x5 profile); boar gives 50 base XP, wolf 2,000 and troll 3,000. Bone Fragments give 5 base XP.
• The control guide now covers the R cursor, controller HUD navigation and Prayer list.

Fixed

• Corrected the Frost Troll trophy prefab so the altar accepts the item seen in the live test.
• Prayer Mead recipes can be discovered in the cauldron before the Alchemy crafting gate is met.
• Prayer now uses the Apex Mastery Cape icon in the skills list.

Known limits

• Co-op, every Prayer effect, the complete brewing flow and the updated icons still need broader live testing.

0.16.30 — Correct Prayer skill count

Fixed

• Package description, README, and in-game Apex Cape hints now count Prayer: 21 skills and 21 skill-specific Mastery Capes. New Apex unlocks require all 21 skills at level 100; previously entitled owners keep their saved legacy entitlement.

0.16.29 — Prayer beta and Valheim 1.0.16

Added

• Prayer progression with 30 prayers, offerings, a buildable altar, and visual effects. The catalogue now shows concise German names such as Steinmut, Kampfesmut and Klarer Wille instead of technical IDs.
• Prayer Mead and Prayer Potion. The mead base uses the existing cauldron and fermenter; no new brewing station is required.
• A German Prayer panel with GEBET tab, Gebete heading, points and level display, availability and active states, relief icons, and a larger touchscreen tap area that opens the list directly.
• A compact combat-style and five-sense HUD beneath the minimap, with original relief icons, larger touch targets and controller navigation. The sense buttons use German labels for Sammler, Auftrag, Fokus, Wildtier and Fisch; tooltips show their full names and readiness or cooldown status.
• Passive HUD indicators for the effective combat style and active senses, including remaining sense duration where applicable.

Names and presentation

• Standardized the visible names of all twenty skill-specific Mastery Capes and the Apex Mastery Cape, plus Runebound Sorcery, the Runebound Staff, and the Monsterbane Visor, Helm and Crown.
• Gave all five senses distinct display names: Sammlersinn, Auftragsortung, Slayer-Fokus, Wildtierspuren and Fischortung. Existing saved item, recipe and configuration identifiers remain unchanged.

Fixed

• Enabled loading on Valheim 1.0.16 and stopped runtime updates when the game version is unsupported.

Known limits

• Co-op, every individual Prayer effect, and the full in-game drink and cape flow still need broader live testing.

0.16.28 — XP balance

Changed

• Attack and Strength XP from actual melee damage increased threefold. Defence, Hitpoints, the shared level thresholds and existing character XP are unchanged.
• Smithing work XP and smelting XP increased, with more XP for higher-tier output. Crafting work XP also increased.
• The 1–100 time target remains a balancing target; these changes need long-session player feedback.

Feedback

• Report bugs and balance results at https://github.com/guenthnermarco-afk/Valheim-Mastery-Installer/issues/new/choose.

0.16.27 — Equipment and set bonuses

Fixed

• Any equipped Mastery skill cape or Max Cape completes the four-piece Troll set alongside the three Troll armor pieces.
• Root and Lox set bonuses now improve bow accuracy and damage in Mastery combat. The Fenris set improves unarmed accuracy and damage. These bonuses apply only to the matching weapon type.
• The Harvester set improves cultivated crop yields, and the Fishing Hat improves Fishing skill effects. Their existing native bonuses remain active.

Changed

• Equipment bonuses affect performance only while worn; they do not change saved levels, experience, recipe access, or milestone unlocks.
• The Bronze Axe crafting requirement is Smithing 1; its Attack 10 wielding requirement is unchanged.

0.16.26 — Skill window compatibility

Fixed

• BetterUI integration now keeps the twenty Mastery rows stable when reopening the skill window and removes overlapping native rows.
• Existing BetterUI configurations are adjusted automatically to use the compatible skill renderer.

Changed

• Skill text and progress bars refresh only when their values change. Existing character progress is unchanged.

0.16.23 — Construction and skill window correction

Fixed

• The basic stone campfire now requires Construction 1 instead of 20; other stone structures keep their normal level requirements.
• When BetterUI is installed, Mastery owns the skill rows so BetterUI does not repeatedly destroy and recreate them. Unchanged XP bars are no longer reset during each UI refresh.

0.16.22 — Hunter baited trap lure

Added

• Baited traps now draw nearby wild boars and hares from up to 18 metres using their normal pathfinding; capture still occurs on contact.
• Tamed, farm-bred and cheated animals remain excluded. Birds are not lured.

0.16.21 — Public documentation correction

Fixed

• Documentation now reflects the nominal ten-hour progression target.

0.16.20 — Smooth shared curve and ten-hour balancing

Changed

• Rebalances all twenty skills to a nominal 9–11 active hours at XP x1.
• Uses one smoother level curve from 58 XP at level 2 to 1,439,116 XP at level 100.
• Migrates existing characters while preserving their level and relative progress within that level.
• Applies the configured XP multiplier exactly once.

0.16.19 — Correct bear equipment tiers

Fixed

• Paws of the Bear and the normal Bear Set now use Black Forest Mastery tiers: Crafting/Attack/Defence level 10.
• Undead bear equipment now follows its Plains origin: Smithing 50 and Attack/Defence 40.
• Cooked bear meat and pulled bear now unlock with Black Forest cooking at level 10.

0.16.18 — Bear claw progression

Changed

• Bear claw weapons now use level 70 production requirements, aligned with their level 70 Attack tier, instead of adding a near-mastery level 90 gate.
• Skill-locked production recipes remain out of the crafting list until the required level is reached, then use Valheim's normal one-time discovery flow.

0.16.17 — Local balancing telemetry

Added

• Records all twenty skills' credited XP with source, levels, multiplier and an x1-normalized value.
• Adds 30/120/300-second activity estimates, exact Agility credit time and live session summaries with projected x1 hours to level 100.
• Records yield/material/bonus procs, Slayer completions, sense usefulness, combat outcomes and periodic HP/stamina/Eitr samples.
• Files stay local and exclude player/world names, chat, peer IDs and coordinates.
• Adds a multi-session aggregation tool for skill, source, proc and resource reports.

0.16.16 — Construction floor tracking

Fixed

• New construction no longer inherits a rebuild penalty from unrelated demolition.
• Precise site tracking distinguishes closely stacked floor shelves.
• Rebuilding the same piece at the same site retains reduced XP and no project credit.
• Previously uncredited legacy parts can recover into their still-active project after loading, subject to ownership, area and placement-time checks. Existing XP is not retroactively increased; duplicate receipts and later projects cannot reuse parts.

0.16.15 — German and English public beta

Added

• Public name: Valheim Mastery, with explicit Old School RuneScape inspiration.
• German and English skill windows, milestones, boards, items, tooltips and messages.
• Language follows Valheim; unsupported languages fall back to English.
• Shared network messages are displayed in each recipient's language.
• Existing item identities, saves, progression and XP settings are preserved.

0.16.14 — Initial public beta candidate

Added

• All twenty Mastery skills and their shared level 1–100 progression.
• Combat, production, exploration, Slayer contracts and mastery rewards.
• Includes recent quiver, skill-display, recipe, cape and Slayer equipment fixes.
• Accuracy failures use glancing damage; sensing cooldowns were reduced.
• Quartermaster increases both base completion tokens and streak rewards.
• Baited traps kill wild boars, hares and landed birds on contact; no lure yet.
• Village blueprints are paused while layouts and existing world data are retained.
• Public package defaults to XP x1 on a fresh configuration and preserves existing settings.