ModernArpgControllerGameplay
Reworks the vanilla hotbar into a diamond UI with dedicated slots for cycling between your weapons, tools and consumables, with macros for quick shield, torches and utility. QoL features for easily re
About this mod Author’s original text
ModernArpgControllerGameplay
Controller gameplay for Valheim, built like a modern action RPG. Your hotbar becomes the Tool Diamond: one d-pad direction for each kind of item. Your shield, light and belt get shortcuts of their own, and after a death your gear goes back on in one press.
- One d-pad direction per kind of item. Weapons up, ranged left, food and meads right, tools down. No more scrolling through the whole hotbar mid-fight.
- Shortcuts on the guard button for your shield, sheathing and belt items. Holding d-pad left turns on your light.
- Your gear back after a death. Loot your grave, press one combo, and your armour, cape and belt go back on.
- Spears that work like ammo. Throw one and the next is already in your hand.
- Settings in the game's own Settings screen, with a Controls page that shows every button for your layout.
- Client-side. Nobody else needs it, and it works on vanilla servers.
Formerly DiamondHUD. This is the same mod under a new name. DiamondHUD is deprecated and gets no more updates. Your DiamondHUD settings and saved data carry over on the first launch, and if DiamondHUD is still installed this mod turns it off for you.
Why I made this
My friends have been playing with a controller for years. After trying it myself I was shocked at how much it holds you back compared to mouse and keyboard. Moving through the hotbar is a minigame of its own, and not being able to move with the inventory open adds a lot of small annoyances. This mod tries to give controller players the same freedom of action they'd get on m&k.
Quick start
- Install the mod and start the game with your controller connected. The Tool Diamond replaces the hotbar in the top left corner of the screen.
- Put your weapons, bows, food and meads on the hotbar as usual. Tools and arrows can stay in your inventory: the diamond finds them there.
- Tap a d-pad direction to pick an item from that slot. It gets equipped a moment after your last tap, so you can scroll past several items and only pay for one equip animation.
- Hold guard and press X to put your shield on or take it off.
- Open Settings → Tool Diamond → Controls to see every shortcut with your controller's button icons.
That's all you need to start playing. The rest of this page explains each part in detail.
Controls
Guard is your block button: LB on Alt1, LT on Classic and Alt2. The mod reads the gamepad layout you picked in the game's Controls settings and puts the shortcuts on buttons that layout leaves free. If you change layout while playing, the shortcuts follow without a restart.
The d-pad
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| d-pad up | cycle weapons: melee and elemental magic |
| d-pad left | cycle bows, crossbows, spears and blood magic |
| d-pad right | cycle food, meads and bombs |
| d-pad down | cycle tools |
| hold d-pad left | turn your light on or off |
| hold d-pad right | jump to the first food or mead, skipping any bombs |
| hold d-pad down | sit down or stand up |
A hold takes one second. Up has no hold, so you can keep it pressed to scroll through your weapons.
Shortcuts
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| X (Classic) / B (Alt1, Alt2) | eat or drink what the food slot is showing |
| heavy attack | change ammo, or change bait with the rod out |
| guard + X | put your shield on or take it off |
| guard + Y | sheathe your weapons, or draw them again |
| both left shoulder buttons | cycle your belt items, or put your gear back on after a death |
| L3 + R3 (Classic) | forsaken power |
Holding guard also stops weapon and tool swaps, so you can't change weapon by accident in the middle of a block. Food and ammo still work.
Crouch and lock-on
On its own, this mod leaves crouch alone. You crouch with the game's own button: the right stick click on Alt1 and Alt2, the left stick click on Classic. A short tap of the holster button (LT on Alt1, LB on Alt2, the right stick click on Classic) still sheathes your weapons as in the game, and guard + Y does the sa
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: