ChestUpgradeMod

v1.2.1·Updated 2026-09-19

Upgrade chests in place with a keypress, or hammer-click to swap one for any chest tier (up or down). Downgrades refund the old chest materials. Issues/suggestions: comment on my Steam profile with th

About this mod Author’s original text

Chest Upgrade Mod

Upgrade your chests in place instead of building new ones. Two ways to do it:

  • Chain upgrade: hover a chest, press the hotkey, it turns into the

next tier (same spot, same contents) for a fixed material cost.

  • Hammer replace: select any chest piece on your Hammer (any tier —

including going down a tier), aim at an existing chest so it's

highlighted, and left-click to place like normal. Instead of trying

(and failing, since it collides) to place a new chest next to it, that

chest is replaced in place, at the normal build cost for the piece you

selected. If the new chest is smaller and some items don't fit, they

drop on the ground next to it instead of vanishing.

Both features can be turned on/off independently.

Upgrade chain (feature 1)

| From | To | Default cost |

|---|---|---|

| Wood Chest | Reinforced Chest | 10 Fine Wood, 2 Iron |

| Reinforced Chest | Black Metal Chest | 10 Wood, 2 Tar, 6 Black Metal |

How to use

Chain upgrade: look at an eligible chest, press U (default). The

hover text shows the key and materials needed, green if you have enough.

Hammer replace: equip the Hammer, select any chest piece in the build

menu, aim at an existing chest, left-click (the normal build/place click) —

it's swapped for whichever chest you had selected, at that piece's normal

build cost. Works for upgrades and downgrades alike, no hotkey needed.

Downgrading (e.g. Black Metal -> Reinforced) drops the OLD chest's own

build materials on the ground, since replacing it destroys that value —

toggle with RefundOnDowngrade.

If both apply at once (you have a chest selected on the hammer while

hovering a chest that could also chain-upgrade), the hover text only shows

the hammer-replace hint to avoid clutter — clicking replaces, or switch to

an empty spot / unequip the hammer and press the upgrade key instead.

Configuration

After first launch, edit BepInEx/config/yumi.valheim.chestupgrade.cfg:

  • UpgradeKey — the key to press (default U)
  • ShowHoverText — show/hide the hover hint (default true)
  • EnableHotkeyUpgrade — turn the chain upgrade on/off (default true)
  • EnableHammerReplace — turn hammer replace on/off (default true)
  • WoodToReinforced / ReinforcedToBlackMetal — chain-upgrade material

costs, in the format ItemPrefabName:Amount,ItemPrefabName:Amount

(hammer replace always uses that piece's own normal build cost instead)

Notes

  • Runs client-side. Works fine in singleplayer or when everyone in your

group has the mod installed.

  • Requires BepInExPack Valheim.
  • Hammer replace doesn't block/cancel Valheim's own placement click — it

just also runs its own replace logic on that same click. In the normal

case (aiming straight at the old chest) the old chest's own collider

already stops a real new placement from succeeding there, so only the

replace happens. Edge case: if a much smaller chest's ghost somehow

validates as placeable while still overlapping the old one, you could in

theory get both a replace and a real placement on the same click. If

you ever see that happen, let me know and I'll harden it further.

  • Hammer replace works even if Valheim shows "invalid placement" for the

ghost — it doesn't care about that indicator at all, so a chest still

gets replaced (materials charged, upgrade or downgrade) as long as

you're aiming at it, blocked-looking ghost or not.

  • Downgrading with hammer replace: the old chest's own build materials

drop on the ground next to it (since replacing it destroys that value),

and if an item in the old chest doesn't fit in the new (smaller)

chest's inventory, it drops on the ground too instead of being lost.

Feedback

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Comment on my Steam profile:

Please mention the mod name (ChestUpgradeMod) plus your issue or

suggestion.

Install & use Install: BepInEx plugin

  1. The archive from playbuff is the mod itself — usually a BepInEx plugin (a .dll or a plugin folder once unzipped).
  2. Recommended: use a community mod manager (such as r2modman) — pick this game, import the mod, and the manager sets up BepInEx and its dependencies for you.
  3. Manual route: install the BepInEx loader in the game folder, then drop the unzipped .dll or plugin folder into BepInEx/plugins/.
  4. Launch the game — the BepInEx console logs every plugin it loads; seeing this mod in the log means it is installed.

Mods with listed dependencies need those installed too, or they will not load. Options are usually changed in-game or in the plugin's config file. In multiplayer, the host and every client need the same mods installed.

Dependencies

Install these first, or the mod will not work:

denikson-BepInExPack_Valheim

File & checksum

Filename
ChestUpgradeMod-1.2.1.zip
File size
137.1 KiB