How to Change the Difficulty of Your Enshrouded Server

Published 13 August 2026 · By Host Havoc Technical Support Team

You can adjust the difficulty of your Enshrouded server by changing the preset and gameplay settings in the enshrouded_server.json file.

Changing the Difficulty Preset

  1. Log in to the Game Control Panel.
  2. Stop your Enshrouded server.
  3. Click Configuration Files from the game panel menu.
  4. Open the enshrouded_server.json using the Config Editor.
  5. Change the value of the Game Setting Preset to your preferred difficulty.
    • Default - All difficulty setting values are set to default.
    • Relaxed - Fewer enemies with more loot and resources. Recommended for beginners.
    • Hard - More aggressive enemies with tougher combat.
    • Survival - Similar to hard mode but with added survival mechanics.
    • Custom - Fine-tune all the difficulty and gameplay settings to your liking.
  6. Click Save & Exit to apply the changes.

Once you start your server, your selected difficulty settings will be in effect.

Note: The Custom difficulty must be selected if you would like to customize the other gameplay settings found in the configuration file.

Custom Game Settings Options

Choosing the Custom game setting preset option lets you customize the other difficulty and survival/gameplay settings in the enshrouded_server.json file that are listed below:

SettingDescriptionValues
playerHealthFactorAdjust players' maximum health.Min: 0.25
Max: 4
Default: 1
playerManaFactorAdjust players' maximum mana.Min: 0.25
Max: 4
Default: 1
playerStaminaFactorAdjust players' maximum stamina.Min: 0.25
Max: 4
Default: 1
playerBodyHeatFactorControls available body heat and how long players can withstand very cold areas. Higher value means higher cold resistance.Accepted:
- 0.5 (Low)
- 1.5 (High)
- 2 (Max)
Default: 1
playerDivingTimeFactorControls initial oxygen and how long players can stay underwater (diving). Higher value means longer time underwater.Min: 0.5
Max: 2
Default: 1
enableDurabilityDetermines whether weapons can lose durability and break. A true value means weapons can break.Accepted: true / false
Default: true
enableStarvingDebuffEnables hunger and starvation, including periodic health loss while starving. A false value means hunger will not cause health loss or death.Accepted: true / false
Default: false
foodBuffDurationFactorAdjusts the duration of food buffs. Higher value means longer buff duration.Min: 0.5
Max: 2
Default: 1
fromHungerToStarvingSets how long the hungry state lasts before starvation begins, in nanoseconds. Lower value means quicker starvation.Min: 5 minutes (300000000000)
Max: 20 minutes (1200000000000)
Default: 10 minutes (600000000000)
shroudTimeFactorAdjusts how long players can remain in the Shroud. Higher value means longer time in the shroud.Min: 0.5
Max: 2
Default: 1
enableGliderTurbulencesDetermines whether air turbulence affects gliders. A true value means turbulence will affect gliders.Accepted: true / false
Default: true
weatherFrequencyControls how frequently new weather phenomena appear.Accepted:
- Disabled
- Rare
- Normal
- Often
Default: Normal
randomSpawnerAmountControls the number of enemies present in the world.Accepted:
- Few
- Normal
- Many
- Extreme
Default: Normal
fishingDifficultyControls fish strength and the duration of the fishing minigame.Accepted:
- VeryEasy
- Easy
- Normal
- Hard
- VeryHard
Default: Normal
miningDamageFactorAdjusts mining damage, affecting terraforming and resource yield per hit. Higher value means more mining damage and resources.Min: 0.5
Max: 2
Default: 1
plantGrowthSpeedFactorAdjusts plant growth speed. Higher value means plants grow faster.Min: 0.25
Max: 2
Default: 1
resourceDropStackAmountFactorAdjusts the number of materials in loot stacks from chests, enemies, and other sources. Higher value means more loot items.Min: 0.25
Max: 2
Default: 1
factoryProductionSpeedFactorScales workstation production times. Higher value means production in workstations are faster.Min: 0.25
Max: 2
Default: 1
perkUpgradeRecyclingFactorControls the proportion of Runes returned when salvaging upgraded weapons. Higher value means more Runes get refunded.Min: 0
Max: 1
Default: 0.500000
perkCostFactorAdjusts the Rune cost of upgrading weapons. Higher value means more Runes are required when upgrading.Min: 0.25
Max: 2
Default: 1
experienceCombatFactorAdjusts XP earned through combat. Higher value means more XP is earned.Min: 0.25
Max: 2
Default: 1
experienceMiningFactorAdjusts XP earned from mining resources. Higher value means more XP is earned.Min: 0
Max: 2
Default: 1
experienceExplorationQuestsFactorAdjusts XP earned through exploration and quest completion. Higher value means more XP is earned.Min: 0.25
Max: 2
Default: 1
aggroPoolAmountControls how many enemies may attack simultaneously.Accepted:
- Few
- Normal
- Many
- Extreme
Default: Normal
enemyDamageFactorAdjusts damage dealt by non-boss enemies. Higher value means enemies deal more damage. Does not apply to bosses.Min: 0.25
Max: 5
Default: 1
enemyHealthFactorAdjusts the health of non-boss enemies. Higher value means enemies have more health. Does not apply to bosses.Min: 0.25
Max: 4
Default: 1
enemyStaminaFactorAdjusts non-boss enemy stamina, affecting how difficult they are to stun. Higher value means enemies are more difficult to stun. Does not apply to bosses.Min: 0.5
Max: 2
Default: 1
enemyPerceptionRangeFactorAdjusts how far non-boss enemies can see and hear players. Higher value means enemies have farther detection range. Does not apply to bosses.Min: 0.5
Max: 2
Default: 1
bossDamageFactorAdjusts damage dealt by bosses. Higher value means bosses deal more damage.Min: 0.2
Max: 5
Default: 1
bossHealthFactorAdjusts bosses' health. Higher value means bosses have more health.Min: 0.2
Max: 5
Default: 1
threatBonusAdjusts the attack frequency of non-boss enemies. Higher value means enemies attack more. Does not apply to bosses.Min: 0.25
Max: 4
Default: 1
pacifyAllEnemiesPrevents non-boss enemies from attacking until a player attacks them. A false value means enemies will attack immediately once a player is detected.Accepted: true / false
Default: false
tamingStartleRepercussionDetermines how much taming progress is lost when wildlife is startled.Accepted:
- KeepProgress
- LoseSomeProgress
- LoseAllProgress
Default: LoseSomeProgress
dayTimeDurationSets daytime length in nanoseconds. Higher value means longer days.Min: 2 minutes (120000000000)
Max: 60 minutes (3600000000000)
Default: 30 minutes (1800000000000)
nightTimeDurationSets nighttime length in nanoseconds. Higher value means longer nights.Min: 2 minutes (120000000000)
Max: 60 minutes (3600000000000)
Default: 12 minutes (720000000000)
curseModifierDisables the Shroud curse or changes the chance of receiving it from relevant enemies.Accepted:
- Easy (disabled)
- Normal
- Hard (double chance)
Default: Normal
tombstoneModeDetermines whether you lose items upon death and which items from your inventory will be lost. AddBackpackMaterials means only your backpack items will be lost and stored in the tombstone. Everything means backpack, hotbar, and equipped items will be lost and stored in the tombstone. NoTombstone means you don't lose anything upon death.Accepted:
- AddBackpackMaterials
- Everything
- NoTombstone
Default: AddBackpackMaterials