BeastTribes Compat Shim

Makes BeastTribes work again on Valheim 1.0.12 and later. Install it next to BeastTribes and you're done. Nothing in BeastTribes.dll is modified.

Works with BeastTribes 2025.11.1 (BeastTribes-Originals.dll, Thunderstore and Nexus builds) and 1.2.0 (BeastTribes.dll). The species menu and body swapping work on both. The 2025.11.1 models come with tail and ear physics; the 1.2.0 models do not, so the shim can add it for them — see "Optional: tail and ear physics" below.

The problem it fixes

Valheim 1.0.12 added optional parameters to two game methods that BeastTribes calls. BeastTribes was compiled before that, so three of its methods now throw MissingMethodException the first time they run. One of them runs while your character loads, which is why the game sits on the loading screen forever with BeastTribes installed. Your log shows:

MissingMethodException: Method not found: void .MessageHud.ShowMessage(MessageHud/MessageType,string,int,UnityEngine.Sprite,bool)

Install

Mod manager (recommended): install this package like any other. It goes into its own folder under BepInEx/plugins.

Manual: copy BTShim.dll into BepInEx/plugins/BeastTribes_CompatShim/.

BeastTribes and Jötunn must be installed as usual. Load order is handled automatically.

Check that it worked

BepInEx/LogOutput.log should contain a line like:

[Info   :BeastTribes Compat Shim] BeastTribes_Originals 2025.11.1 (BeastTribes-Originals.dll): 3 broken method(s), 3 stale call(s) rewritten, 3 call site(s) redirected, 0 Harmony patch(es) re-registered.

If it says all game method references resolve; nothing to repair, your BeastTribes build doesn't have the problem and the shim does nothing.

How it works (short version)

Those three methods can't be patched the usual way: Harmony needs to compile the original method first, and compiling it is exactly what fails. Instead, at startup the shim reads the BeastTribes assembly with Mono.Cecil, finds every method that calls a game method that no longer exists, copies that method's own code with the call corrected to the new overload, compiles the copy in memory, and redirects the callers to it. No BeastTribes code is reimplemented and nothing is written to disk.

Because nothing is hard-coded to BeastTribes' method names, one DLL covers both BeastTribes versions and would also cover the same kind of change in future game patches.

Also fixed: A-pose flicker with animation mods (BeastTribes 1.2.0)

If your character snapped into an A-pose several times a second with BeastTribes 1.2.0 and a mod that adds player animations (Better Archery 2.0 for example), that was the two mods fighting over the animation controller. The shim stops BeastTribes 1.2.0 from replacing the other mod's controller with its own default one. This is automatic, needs no configuration, and does nothing for players who don't run such a mod.

The dragon's flight animation is the one case where BeastTribes has to win. With Better Archery installed the shim handles that too: its crouch-bow-draw overlay is held back while the flight controller is active, so flying dragons don't flicker either. Known limitation: other animation-overriding mods are not covered for the flight case yet; a flying dragon can still flicker next to them.

Also fixed: the Beast menu after deaths and in multiplayer

BeastTribes bound its menu (B) to whichever player object appeared last. In multiplayer that could be another player, so clicking a species did nothing; and once that player, or your own dead character, was destroyed the menu opened on a dead controller: no button worked, it could not be closed and your input stayed blocked until you relogged. The shim keeps the menu bound to your character, ignores the hotkey while you are dead, cleans up menus orphaned by a death and stops the NullReferenceException flood BeastTribes logged during the respawn screen.

Also fixed: species lost on login and respawn

A species chosen in the Beast menu was never written to your save, so every time you entered the world (or respawned after dying) you were a Viking again and had to pick it once more, even though the character-selection screen showed the beast correctly. The shim now re-equips the remembered species right after you spawn. Choose "none" in the Beast menu to stay human.

Also fixed: camera zoom flicker with camera mods

If the camera went crazy the moment you became a beast, flickering between a normal view and a smeared, extremely zoomed-in close-up of the ground (often a greenish mess filling the screen), but looked fine while the game was paused or as a Viking, that was BeastTribes forcing the camera's field of view back to a value it remembered once, against a camera mod such as Customizable Camera. The shim keeps BeastTribes' remembered value in step with the live camera, so camera mods keep control of the zoom while you walk, and BeastTribes' own flight zoom still works when a fox or dragon flies. With Customizable Camera installed the shim also holds its camera update back during a flight so the two don't fight in the air. Automatic; nothing changes for players without a camera mod.

Optional: tail and ear physics for BeastTribes 1.2

The 1.2 models ship without any tail or ear physics, so tails hang rigid. The shim can attach the same kind of physics BeastTribes 2025.11.1 had, using the physics script that is already inside BeastTribes 1.2, with tuning taken from the 2025 models. It is off by default: open the in-game settings menu (F1 with Configuration Manager), find this mod and tick Enabled under "TailPhysics". It applies at once, also when you switch species. Tails swing and lag behind when you move, ears twitch with your head and hold their pose when you stand still. Every value is a live slider, separately for tails and ears, including how firm the base is compared to the tip. Purely visual and local; nothing changes for players on 2025.11.1. Since 0.4.1 the dragon's tail no longer bends sideways at the base while standing still.

Configuration

BepInEx/config/community.beasttribes.compatshim.cfg

Setting	Default	Meaning
TargetPluginGuids	both known BeastTribes GUIDs	Plugins to scan and repair. Add a GUID if a future BeastTribes changes its.
VerboseLog	false	Log every rewritten instruction. Turn on when reporting a problem.
AnimatorCompat.Enabled	true	The A-pose flicker fix above. Only turn off to rule it out when troubleshooting.
MenuTargetFix.Enabled	true	The Beast menu fix above. Off = BeastTribes' original behaviour.
RespawnRestore.Enabled	true	Re-equip your species after a spawn when BeastTribes did not. Off = BeastTribes' original behaviour.
CameraCompat.Enabled	true	The camera zoom fix above. Only turn off to rule it out when troubleshooting.
TailPhysics.Enabled	false	Tail and ear physics for BeastTribes 1.2 (see above). Ignored on 2025.11.1. Sliders for both chains live in the same menu.

Troubleshooting

• No target plugin found — BeastTribes isn't installed or failed to load, or it uses a GUID not in TargetPluginGuids.
• ... NOT fixable (see errors above) — a broken call had no compatible replacement. Please report the error lines with VerboseLog = true.
• Beast menu opens but no button works / cannot be closed — the shim prevents this from 0.3.0 on (look for MenuTargetFix: active in the log). A menu that was already stuck disappears on the next respawn or relog.
• Camera flickers / extreme zoomed-in close-up as a beast, fine when paused — fixed from 0.4.1 on (look for CameraCompat: active in the log). If it still happens, tell us which camera or FOV mod you use.

Notes

This mod contains no BeastTribes code. It only copies three method bodies out of the BeastTribes assembly already installed on your machine, corrects two instructions, and keeps the result in memory.