HotbarDeathKeeper
Keeps vanilla hotbar (slots 1-8) items on your character after death instead of losing them to the tombstone. Complements ExtraSlots, which only covers its own extra slot categories.
About this mod Author’s original text
HotbarDeathKeeper
Keeps your vanilla hotbar items (slots 1-8: weapon, shield, tool, torch, etc) equipped
after death, instead of losing them to the tombstone.
Fully standalone - does not require ExtraSlots or any other mod to work. It only
depends on BepInEx. If you happen to also use ExtraSlots, the two are compatible and
complement each other: ExtraSlots keeps its own extra slots (Equipment/Quick/Food/Ammo/
Misc), while this mod covers the vanilla hotbar, which ExtraSlots does not touch. Neither
mod requires the other to be installed.
Client-side only. Must be installed on your client to affect your character (the
character owner is the client, not the server). Does not need to be installed on the
server.
Source code:
Why this mod exists
This is not an "inventory prevention" mod. The idea came from a specific need: not losing
your equipped items - the ones on your hotbar (weapon, shield, tool, torch) - when you
die. On its own, this mod already covers that need completely by itself. If you also run
ExtraSlots (which keeps its own equipped items: Equipment/Quick/Food/Ammo/Misc), the
coverage extends to those slots too - but that's an optional bonus, not a requirement.
In other words: the only thing protected is what's equipped (hotbar, plus ExtraSlots slots
if you have that mod installed). The rest of your inventory still goes to the tombstone as
normal, with no protection at all.
The goal is not to remove the tombstone from the game or take away the death penalty -
that stays exactly the same. What changes is that, on respawn, you don't have to reforge
your weapon and armor from scratch before heading back to recover the rest. This mainly
helps early game, where losing your whole gear can grind you to a halt; with the mod, you
respawn, walk back to your tombstone, recover the rest of your inventory, and you're
already geared up to make the trip back.
Requirements
- Valheim (client)
- BepInExPack 5.4.2202 or newer
Installation
Via r2modman Mod Manager: install normally, it resolves the BepInExPack
dependency on its own.
Manual: extract the zip into your client's BepInEx/plugins/HotbarDeathKeeper/ folder.
Configuration
After running it once, edit BepInEx/config/hdk.valheim.hotbardeathkeeper.cfg:
- Enabled (default: true)
- Keep equipped state (default: true) - automatically re-equips whatever was in your
hand when you died.
Licensing
MIT License - see LICENSE.txt. Free to use, modify, and redistribute.
Changelog
1.0.1
- Fixed broken source code link in documentation.
1.0.0
- First version published.
- Keeps vanilla hotbar items (slots 1-8) equipped after death.
- Option to automatically re-equip the item that was in hand when you died.
Full changelog: CHANGELOG.md
Install & use Install: BepInEx plugin
- The archive from playbuff is the mod itself — usually a BepInEx plugin (a .dll or a plugin folder once unzipped).
- 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.
- Manual route: install the BepInEx loader in the game folder, then drop the unzipped .dll or plugin folder into BepInEx/plugins/.
- 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.
Install these first, or the mod will not work: