Getting Started with Valheim Modding

Valheim modding is one of the cleaner BepInEx-based scenes in PC gaming because the community converged early on a single mod manager (r2modman) and a single mod hub (Thunderstore). You don't manually install BepInEx; r2modman does it. You don't track mod dependencies; r2modman does that too. You don't coordinate mods across a multiplayer server by hand; you share a profile code.

This guide walks the standard install on the current Valheim release.

Step 1 — Install r2modman

r2modman (Thunderstore Mod Manager) is the community-standard mod manager. Originally built for Risk of Rain 2, it now supports Valheim, Lethal Company, and dozens of other BepInEx-based games.

Download from Thunderstore. Run the installer. Pick Valheim as your target game on first launch.

r2modman creates a default profile for Valheim. You can have multiple profiles (one for solo, one for each server you join). The active profile determines which mods load on next launch.

Step 2 — Install BepInEx (r2modman handles it)

On first profile setup, r2modman prompts to install BepInEx into your Valheim folder. Accept. r2modman places winhttp.dll (the BepInEx loader) and the BepInEx folder structure into Valheim's install directory.

No further BepInEx setup is needed. r2modman manages the loader's version going forward.

Step 3 — Install your first mod

In r2modman, click Online. The browser pulls from Thunderstore's Valheim community.

Three solid first picks:

Jotunn (the Valheim Library) — the foundational framework most content mods depend on. Install this first.
Equipment and Quick Slots — adds equipment slot UI and quick-use slots. UI-only, no balance changes.
Plant Everything — lets you plant most resources in your base. Quality-of-life.

Click Download on each. r2modman resolves dependencies (Jotunn, HookGenPatcher, BepInEx if needed) and installs them.

In the Installed tab, your mods appear with toggle switches. Make sure they're enabled.

Step 4 — Launch

Click Start modded in r2modman. This launches Valheim through r2modman's wrapper, which sets up the environment for BepInEx and your active profile's mods.

The Valheim main menu should show a BepInEx initialisation log briefly in the bottom-left, then the normal main menu. If you see a "Modded" tag or BepInEx readout, you're set.

Step 5 — Server play with mods

Two scenarios:

Dedicated server

The server needs the same mods installed as the client. r2modman supports server profiles — install BepInEx and your mods into the dedicated server folder via r2modman's "manage server" mode. All clients then need the same mod set.

Steam P2P (in-game host)

Same rule: everyone has the same mods. Easiest coordination: the host exports their r2modman profile to a code (via the Settings → Export flow), shares the code with friends, who import it before joining.

Step 6 — Save handling

Valheim worlds live in %AppData%/../LocalLow/IronGate/Valheim/worlds/. Back up before installing content-adding mods.

Removing a mod from a save mid-playthrough generally just makes the mod's items disappear — the world doesn't typically corrupt. But large biome-adding mods can leave map regions unreachable; back up before removing.

Common gotchas

r2modman says "BepInEx outdated". Re-run the BepInEx install through r2modman's prompt. Usually after a Valheim major patch.
Mod loaded but no effect. Most often a missing dependency. r2modman normally catches this, but Jotunn or HookGenPatcher missing is the most common culprit.
Multiplayer disconnects on join. Mod-set mismatch. Compare profiles between host and joiner — usually a version mismatch on one mod.
Major patch broke everything. Wait a week. Iron Gate's patches break a lot temporarily; the mod community catches up fast.
r2modman won't detect Valheim. Re-point it at the Valheim install directory via Settings → Locations.

If you've modded Risk of Rain 2, Lethal Company, or another BepInEx-based Thunderstore game, this is exactly the same workflow. The skill transfers directly across the Thunderstore ecosystem.