balrond MonsterMayehm
Monster and Event Extension for Balrond Absolute OverhaulBalrond Monster Mayhem — BETA
Current development version: 1.1.36
Game: Valheim 1.0
Status: BETA — gameplay, boss encounters, network behavior and newly authored assets still require in-game verification.
Monster Mayhem is now an essential component of the Balrond Absolute Overhaul (BAO) experience. It is the creature, spawning, event, drop, taming and boss-combat module of the BAO mod suite. The BAO package also contains documentation covering Monster Mayhem and the larger mod-suite integration.
THIS MOD DOES NO LONGER WORK ON IT OWN AND REQUIRES Balrond Absolute Overhaul (BAO)
Required dependencies: Balrond Absolute Overhaul and Balrond Humanoid Randomizer. Both are declared as hard BepInEx dependencies. Install compatible versions on the server and on participating clients.
BETA notice: Back up worlds and characters before updating. Features involving new boss attacks, networked VFX, new spawns and world transitions may still have bugs. A successful source check is not a substitute for gameplay and dedicated-server testing.
What Monster Mayhem changes
Monster Mayhem expands Valheim's creatures and combat encounters while keeping separate ownership for BAO's world locations and item/content systems.
- Creatures and variants: additional animals, monsters, juveniles and dangerous biome encounters; new creature spawner prefabs and stat/resistance profiles.
- World spawns and events: a curated SpawnSystem overhaul, biome-specific encounters, raid/event changes and preservation of vanilla Deep North persistent-event gates.
- Boss fights: HP-gated new attacks, Enrage effects, modest nearby-player scaling, disengaged regeneration and reactive damage.
- Taming and breeding: vanilla-based taming, diet and feeding behavior, offspring, incubation, growth and creature-control stances.
- Minor Mutations: optional, lightweight, per-creature traits with synchronized ZDO state.
- Multiplayer-first systems: server-synchronized gameplay configuration, owner-authoritative runtime changes and dedicated development diagnostics.
Creature item/prefab IDs and actual content availability depend on the matching Monster Mayhem and BAO assets. The _bal suffix is common in the Balrond suite and does not by itself prove that the object belongs to Monster Mayhem.
Installation and dependencies
- Install Balrond Absolute Overhaul (BAO) and Balrond Humanoid Randomizer before Monster Mayhem. They are required dependencies, not optional recommendations.
- Install Balrond Monster Mayhem 1.1.36 and its matching AssetBundle. Server and clients should use matching compatible mod versions.
- Launch the game once to generate configuration files. For multiplayer, configure gameplay values on the host/dedicated server.
- Test on a backed-up world. New worlds can generate new content naturally; existing explored areas may require world-upgrade procedures described in BAO's documentation. Monster Mayhem does not own Troll Cave / Bear Cave world-location edits.
Monster Mayhem does not replace Humanoid Randomizer: Humanoid Randomizer owns humanoid variants, variant equipment/attacks/animators and star-display presentation; Monster Mayhem owns creature gameplay rules, HP/resistances, final drop handling and its own boss attacks.
Configuration and ServerSync
Monster Mayhem now has a real configuration system. The earlier README statements that the mod has no config or ServerSync are obsolete.
Config file (BepInEx standard location):
BepInEx/config/balrond.astafaraios.BalrondMonsterMayhem.cfg
Gameplay configuration is synchronized through ServerSync. The server is authoritative when Lock Configuration is enabled (default: true). Debug/reporting controls are local developer settings and are not gameplay-authoritative.
| Section | What it controls |
|---|---|
00 - Server |
Server config lock |
10 - Creature Systems |
Creature stat/drop and resistance rules; spawns, random events, generated spawners, egg hatching and growth |
20 - Boss Combat |
Boss scaling, regeneration, reactive damage, phase gates, Enrage and optional developer test overrides |
30 - Creature Taming |
Taming, feeding from containers and stance behavior |
31 - Deer |
Deer taming/breeding configuration |
32 - Hare |
Hare taming/breeding/growth configuration |
33 - Seal |
Seal taming/breeding/growth configuration |
34 - Kvastur |
Buildable decorative Kvastur and its behavior |
35 - Creature Performance |
Safe idle/far-AI throttling for tame creatures |
40 - Minor Mutations |
Mutation chance, stat bonuses and exclusions |
90 - Diagnostics |
Local Debug Mode, verbose logs, report generation, identity checks and filters |
Some registration, prefab, spawning and scene-level changes require restarting the game/server; editing a config entry does not necessarily rebuild ObjectDB, ZNetScene or existing world lists live.
Production logging vs. developer diagnostics
Normal mode is intended to show a concise startup summary and actionable warnings/errors, not individual AltBiome/SpawnData rows, routine creature spawner registrations or verbose attack registration details.
[90 - Diagnostics]
Debug Mode = false
Verbose Diagnostic Logging = false
Developers can enable Debug Mode (and optionally Verbose Diagnostic Logging and report generation) for detailed runtime information. Read-only reports are written under BepInEx/config/BalrondMonsterMayhem-diagnostics/. Do not enable extensive diagnostics on a normal live server unless investigating an issue.
Boss combat and phase progression (FIX15)
Boss skills use the Valheim ItemDrop attack definitions and native AI health-range gates. The code registering an attack is not the same as verifying that its Unity prefab and complete behavior exist. Unavailable authored attacks are disabled instead of replaced with a fallback.
| Boss HP threshold | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 75% HP | First available new attack becomes eligible; Enrage for 6 seconds (default) |
| 50% HP | Further authored attacks become eligible; Enrage for another 6 seconds |
| 25% HP | Permanent Enrage until the boss dies; no further new attack is required |
Enrage adds +10% outgoing damage by default (server configurable); transient and permanent bonuses do not stack. The final transition displays “Boss is now angry” to participating nearby players. The VFX uses vfx_bmm_boss_enrage and should remain attached/scaled with the boss. The same VFX is used by the short and permanent status, so a fixed six-second lifetime on the shared Unity prefab is not suitable. Verify cleanup on death and network-owner changes in runtime tests.
| Boss (vanilla prefab) | New attack at 75% | New attack(s) at 50% |
|---|---|---|
Eikthyr (Eikthyr) |
Thunder Orbs | Lightning Marks |
The Elder (gd_king) |
Entangle Field | Spore Cloud, Interruptible Heal |
Bonemass (Bonemass) |
Globules | Sludge Fields |
Moder (Dragon) |
Freezing Wind | — |
Yagluth (GoblinKing) |
Flame Pillars | Solar Swarm |
Seeker Queen (SeekerQueen) |
Large Egg | Flies Debuff |
Fader (Fader) |
— | — |
Not yet supplied / inactive: BMM_Moder_GlacialStormColumns_Attack, BMM_Bonemass_DecayAura_Attack, BMM_SeekerQueen_AcidGround_Attack and BMM_Fader_SoulfirePressure_Attack. These have no active attack rules until their proper assets are added. Other attack effects, projectiles and special mechanics remain subject to in-game verification.
There are two startup-registered status effects for Enrage: SE_BMM_BossEnrageBurst (short duration) and SE_BMM_BossEnrage (permanent). They are registered during ObjectDB initialization rather than generated mid-fight. Monster Mayhem also supports a central list for custom monster status assets, including SE_Elder_heal_bal; registering a status does not automatically make a boss apply it.
Creature features and taming
Tameable control stances
The current stance model is capability-based. Alt + Use cycles through the actions available to the creature:
| Stance | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Roam | Normal local wandering; defensive retaliation only |
| Stay | Remain near the current position; defensive retaliation only |
| Follow | Follow the player without proactively hunting enemies |
| Guard | Defend an anchored area and return to it |
| Protect | Follow and support the player in combat; only for combat-capable tames |
Not every species supports every stance. Eggs and juvenile animals have restrictions appropriate to their movement type. Monster Mayhem extends vanilla Tameable behavior rather than replacing it wholesale.
Breeding, incubation and growth
The original Monster Mayhem breeding guide covers pairs such as Neck/Neck Brute, Boar/Hog, Deer/Stag, Leech/Primal Leech and Seeker/Seeker Brute, along with eggs and juvenile growth chains. Exact timings, population limits, food lists and availability may change with the current synchronized configuration and prefab setup; the historical README tables should not be treated as authoritative values for 1.1.36.
Some examples of supported or authored growth paths include:
| Juvenile / egg | Possible result |
|---|---|
DeerFawn_bal |
Deer or Stag |
Bunny_bal |
Hare |
| Neck Tadpole | Neck or Neck Brute |
| Piglet | Boar or Hog |
| Serpentling | Serpent |
| Leech Larva | Leech or Primal Leech |
| Seeker Brood | Seeker or Seeker Brute |
| Crow Nestling | Giant Crow |
Breeding/hatching must not be confused with taming: several hatched creatures are deliberately not tameable. Deer, Hare and Seal have explicit configuration sections. Goat resource production, diets and creature-specific growth remain part of the broader animal system.
Minor Mutations
Mutations are optional and chosen once per creature instance, then stored in ZDO. A creature receives at most one natural mutation:
- Robust: more maximum health (default +20%).
- Ferocious: more outgoing damage (default +10%).
- Swift: increased movement speed (default +5%).
- Resistant: improves one eligible normal damage resistance by a single step.
Default chance is 5% plus 5 percentage points per displayed star; both are configurable. Mutated creatures may have a subtle visual-only scale increase. Boss mutations are allowed only after that boss has been defeated at least once. FrozenKing (FrozenKing, FrozenKing_p2, FrozenKing_p3) is explicitly excluded from mutations.
World spawns, Deep North and drops
- The global Golden Master defines 281 spawn entries (81 edits and 200 authored additions). Later supplemental additions are kept separate from this historical baseline.
- Existing vanilla rows are edited in place; native list/index identity and persistent-event requirements are preserved.
- Deep North persistent events (such as
jotun_invasion) remain separate from legacyRandomEventraids and should not be flattened into them. - Custom generated
Spawner_<CreatureId>prefabs are registered at scene startup, not spawned or re-registered ad hoc during ordinary gameplay. CharacterDropuses in-place edits and append-only additions. Missing referenced item prefabs are skipped without replacing them with unrelated resources.TrollMother_balhas a supplemental rare Mountains spawn entry. Its special Heart and future Trophy depend on those assets being supplied; do not assume they are in the bundle.
Developer tools and troubleshooting
Useful terminal commands (with developer/debug requirements where applicable):
mm_help
mm_status
mm_diag
mm_monster <prefabId>
mm_spawn <prefabId|spawnName>
mm_event <eventId>
mm_boss <bossPrefabId>
mm_mutations
mm_boss_test <bossPrefabId> <attackPrefabId> on|off
mm_boss_test status
mm_boss_test clear
mm_boss_test is a host-only development override. It removes the HP gate for the chosen attack, but still respects normal AI target selection, range, animation and cooldown conditions. It is not a production cheat/forced animation command. Runtime reports and full verbose audit logging are intended for developers.
Translations: JSON language files are stored in BepInEx/config/BalrondMonsterMayhem-translation/. Copy English.json to a supported locale name (for example Polish.json) and translate string values while keeping their keys unchanged. Translation files are client-local and are not automatically synchronized as gameplay config.
Existing worlds: Back up the world. New unexplored zones generally generate content under the current world rules; already generated areas may need world maintenance. Use the BAO documentation for currently supported world-location upgrade guidance; old README commands attributed to Monster Mayhem for Troll Cave relocation are no longer the appropriate ownership boundary.
Performance: The mod includes tame-AI throttling and avoids routine verbose logs in production. FPS, allocations and network performance must still be profiled under actual large farms and multiplayer workloads; static tests do not guarantee stable frame times.
Build/developer note: Source-only packages may omit the real balrondmonsters AssetBundle and local publicized assemblies. Passing static validations does not prove that the DLL builds or that missing content is available in game.
Current prefab registry
The following monster prefab IDs are declared in the latest supplied source's NameList/MonsterList.cs. This is a load registry, not a guarantee that each asset is present in the released AssetBundle or has an active natural spawn.
Show creature prefab IDs (74)
BonemassWisp_balYagluthWisp_balTentaRootSlow_balGhost_balSkeletonElite_balGiantBat_balBlobAcid_balMossRootStatic_balGoleming_balFrostDrake_balWildWisp_balElk_balCorruptedWisp_balCorpseCollector_balBunny_balAshlandsGolem_balDeerFawn_balNeckTadpole_balFenring_Brute_balFox_balPenguin_balEll_balLostSoul_balLeechLarva_balBjornCub_balVoltureNestling_balCrowNestling_balCrabSea_balCrabStone_balDarkBat_balHabrok_balHabrokBirb_balTrollOutcast_balTrollBrute_balFrostbjorn_balFrostbjornBrown_balDeathsquito_balGhostYagluth_balGiantCrow_balGoatKid_balGoat_balgoblin_skeleton_balGreydwarf_Crusher_balGreydwarf_Frozen_balGreydwarf_Moss_balGreydwarf_Scorched_balGreylingBeeKeeper_balGreylingElite_balHog_balLeechPrimal_balMossRoot_balMoth_balNeckBrute_balSerpentling_balShark_balStagGhost_balStag_balStormdrake_balTrollUndead_balFox_cub_balPolarBear_balBullFrog_balSerpentBlood_balSerpentlingBlood_balDeepSeaSerpent_balElkCalf_balGiantSnake_balBoarUndead_balWolfUndead_balHatchlingUndead_balTrollMother_balBloodling_balCrabForest_balSeekerSpitter_bal
Community and support
- Community: Balrond's Den (Discord)
- Support: Ko-fi
- Companion documentation: refer to the current Balrond Absolute Overhaul (BAO) documentation for the full mod-suite integration, related content and world-location ownership.
- Release history: see
CHANGELOG.md, newest version first.
Monster Mayhem is a BETA release and remains under active development. Please report reproducible issues with the version, relevant configuration, world/server type and logs.