ValheimAnonymous

A BepInEx 5 Harmony mod that hides player identity across all UI surfaces for anonymous roleplay servers. Players must discover each other through in-game encounters — not menus, maps, or metadata.

Features

All features are enabled by default and individually configurable.

Identity

• Hide player names above heads — recognize others by gear and appearance
• Hide Steam names in chat — character names only
• Hide crafter names from item tooltips
• Hide owner names on beds, wards, and tombstones (your own still visible)

Player Lists

• Hide F2 panel entries and peer count
• Hide ESC menu player list — no way to see who's online
• Hide SteamIDs from the F2 panel

Map & Communication

• Block all pings — map markers and world-space indicators
• Cap shout range to 100m — village-sized, not server-wide (yellow text preserved)
• Configurable normal chat range — default 100m (vanilla 15m)
• Suppress join/leave messages — no login notifications
• Force-disable position sharing and hide the map toggle
• Hide player position markers on the map

Map Discoveries

• Hide trader, Hildir, and bog witch map icons when discovered
• Hide raid/event pins that reveal base locations

Configuration

Config file: BepInEx/config/com.valheim.anonymous.cfg

Setting	Default	Description
AnonymousDisplayName	(empty)	Override all names with this. Blank = use character names.
HideSteamIDs	true	Hide SteamID64 from the F2 panel
HideJoinLeaveMessages	true	Suppress join/leave notifications
HidePings	true	Block all pings
EnableChatAnonymity	true	Replace Steam names with character names in chat
HideMapPlayerPins	true	Hide player position markers on map
HideOwnerNames	true	Hide owner names on beds, wards, tombstones
ForceDisablePositionSharing	true	Force position sharing OFF
DisableShout	true	Cap shout to 100m range
HideLocationDiscoveries	true	Hide trader/Hildir/bog witch map icons
HideRaidEventPins	true	Hide raid event pins on map
HidePlayerLists	true	Hide player lists in F2 and ESC menus
HidePlayerNames	true	Hide names above player heads
HideCrafterName	true	Hide crafter name from item tooltips
NormalChatRange	100	Normal chat range in meters (vanilla: 15)
ServerConfigLocked	true	If true, server enforces its config on all clients. Admin-only.

Installation

1. Install BepInExPack Valheim
2. Drop ValheimAnonymous.dll into BepInEx/plugins/
3. Launch the game

Install on both server and all clients for full coverage.

Compatibility

• Valheim 0.221.12+ (tested on 0.221.12)
• BepInEx 5.4
• AzuExtendedPlayerInventory — automatically hides the player dropdown (soft dependency, works without it)
• Does not use Jotunn (no version sync enforced)

Server Notes

• Patches include dedicated server guards where needed
• Player UIDs are never modified — kick/ban and permissions work normally
• Only display-layer data is changed — no gameplay mechanics are altered

Server Enforcement (v1.7.0+)

When a client connects to a server, the server's config values override the client's local config values. This prevents clients from editing their own config to bypass anonymity features.

• Toggle is ServerConfigLocked (server-side, default true)
• Admins edit BepInEx/config/com.valheim.anonymous.cfg on the server to control settings for the whole crew
• Client edits have no effect while connected to a locked server
• Does NOT kick players without the mod installed — coordinate your rollout so everyone updates together