SkillScale
Scale the leveling grind to how employed you are.
About this mod Author’s original text
SkillScale
Valheim assumes you have infinite free time.
SkillScale assumes you might not. You pick how fast each skill levels up, and how much you lose when you die.
What it does
Pick an employment preset, or set your own rates:
| Preset | XP rate |
| --- | --- |
| Giga Unemployed | 0.75x |
| Unemployed | 1x (normal, default) |
| Part-time | 1.5x |
| Full-time | 2.5x |
Global dial sets the rate for every skill that is still on that value. Per skill is the final XP rate for that skill (not multiplied on top of global). Example: global 2.5x, then set Farming to 5x - Farming is 5x, everything else stays 2.5x. No math.
Death skill loss uses the same kind of multiplier (1 = normal, 0 = none).
On a dedicated server, settings can sync to players and the config can be locked. Players without the mod are not kicked.
How to change settings
In-game panel (built in): press \\ (backslash, the \ / | key) by default. The mouse unlocks while the panel is open. Backslash or Esc closes it; opening inventory or the pause menu also closes it so you do not click through. Hotkey is ignored while chat, console, map, or text prompts have focus. Change it under 6 - In-Game Menu if you want.
Config file:
BepInEx/config/com.ljindustries.valheim.skillscale.cfg
The in-game panel covers presets, global, death loss, and a scrollable per-skill list. The.cfg shows the same values.
Settings overview
General - lock config, enable scaling
Rates - employment preset, global dial
Per Skill - final XP rate per skill (default matches global)
Death - death skill loss multiplier (default 1)
Notifications - optional XP progress toasts (throttled; Run skipped by default). Toggle in the in-game menu.
In-Game Menu - enable panel, choose hotkey (not synced; each player can pick their own)
Note for existing installs
1.1.0 uses real multipliers (1, 1.5, 2.5) instead of the old percent-style numbers (250 = +250%). Check your config after updating. Per-skill values are final rates, not stacked on global.
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: