TrollCompanion 0.2.6

Summon friendly trolls with the Trollstaff, keep their progress, and give them combat orders. Your companions always carry a club. Wild trolls remain unchanged.

Development release: full singleplayer, co-op, and dedicated-server testing is still in progress. Version 0.2.6 fixes package timestamps that could leave BepInEx using old plugin metadata after an update. Gameplay is unchanged from 0.2.5. The update and dedicated-server synchronization still need an in-game retest.

Features

• Ashlands trolls by default, with forest trolls available as an alternative.
• Native Trollstaff arrival and impact effects, without impact damage or terrain damage.
• A persistent roster for each character and world, including kill progress and current health.
• Attack-move, focus attack, hold position, follow, and recall commands.
• Configurable limits, progression, costs, combat stats, cooldowns, and protection settings.

Installation

Install the same TrollCompanion version on the server/host and every client. Client-only installation is not sufficient for multiplayer.

Dependencies:

• BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2351 or newer.
• Jotunn 2.30.2 or newer.

1. Stop Valheim and the server before replacing mod files.
2. Install through Thunderstore Mod Manager, or use Settings > Profile > Import local mod to import the ZIP into a test profile.
3. For a manual server installation, extract plugins/TrollCompanion.dll into the server's BepInEx/plugins/TrollCompanion folder. Keep only one copy of the plugin. When switching from a manual installation to the manager, remove the old manually copied DLL and its PDB first.
4. Start the server, then launch the client with mods enabled. Check both startup logs for Loading [TrollCompanion 0.2.6].

Keep your existing configuration and companion data when updating. The startup log still uses the message TrollCompanion geladen.

Controls

Equip the Trollstaff to use these commands. Menus and text input block command hotkeys.

Input	Action
Left mouse button	Summon one available companion
Middle mouse button	Recall all your active companions
J while aiming at the ground	Move to that point, fight enemies along the way, then hold position
J while aiming at an enemy	Focus that enemy, then hold position when the order ends
H	Cancel the current order and follow you again
Right mouse button	Block as usual

Orders affect all your active companions. A new J command replaces the previous order. During attack-move, focus attack, and holding position, companions do not automatically catch up to you. H restores following and catch-up behavior.

Key bindings are configurable on each client. G remains available for Valheim's radial menu.

Default settings

Setting	Default
Companion type	Ashlands; Forest is optional
Active companion limit	2 at Blood Magic 0, 3 at 50, 4 at 100
First star	25 total eligible kills
Second star	75 total eligible kills
Maximum stars	2; configurable
Blood Magic XP bonus	0.25 native skill-XP factor per eligible companion kill
Death cooldown	30 seconds at Blood Magic 0, falling linearly to 5 seconds at 100
Summoning costs	Native Trollstaff costs, with separate health and Eitr multipliers
Command range	80 meters
Combat and pursuit radius	25 meters
Follow catch-up distance	100 meters

Both troll variants use the forest troll's base combat stats. Eligible kills belong to the companion that lands the final blow. Players, tamed animals, and other companions do not grant kill progress.

Recall is free and preserves identity, progress, and current health. Recalled companions do not heal in storage. After a companion dies, its identity and progress remain; once the death cooldown expires, it can return at full health. Recall produces no loot, and actual death loot is disabled by default.

Companion attacks protect players, tamed animals, player structures, trees, and rocks by default. Protection settings are configurable. An axe is not included yet.

Configuration

Configuration file:

BepInEx/config/de.steve.valheim.trollcompanion.cfg

In multiplayer, gameplay settings come from the server/host. Change troll type, limits, progression, costs, stats, cooldowns, and protection there. Key bindings, messages, and markers remain local to each client.

Configuration keys currently use German names. Useful entries include:

Entry	Meaning	Default
Begleiter / Trolltyp	Companion variant	Ashlands
Begleiter / LimitNachBlutmagie	Blood Magic level and companion limit pairs	0:2,50:3,100:4
Eingabe / Zielbefehl	Attack-move or focus command	J
Eingabe / Folgen	Follow command	H
Eingabe / Rueckruf	Recall command	Mouse2

Existing configuration values are preserved during updates. Change Trolltyp or key bindings explicitly if an older configuration still uses Forest or G. Variant changes apply on the next summon.

Save data

The server/host stores companion data separately for each character and world:

BepInEx/config/TrollCompanion/worlds

Include this directory in server backups. Keep it when updating the mod.

Multiplayer troubleshooting

Version 0.2.6 gives ZIP entries a deterministic timestamp that changes with the plugin version. Previously, identical timestamps could make BepInEx reuse cached 0.2.4 metadata despite an installed 0.2.5 DLL. Update the server/host and every client to 0.2.6, then restart them. Keep existing configuration and companion data; no reset is required.

Version 0.2.5 fixes a player-identity lookup that could leave clients at Begleiterbestand wird synchronisiert (companion roster synchronizing). Update the server and all clients together.

After connecting, check BepInEx/LogOutput.log for:

• Server: TrollCompanion-Handshake bestaetigt
• Client: erste Bestandsantwort vom Server empfangen

The first response may still report that the player's network object is arriving. If the wait persists, check the server log for TrollCompanion-Handshake wartet and its reason.

Changelog

See the Changelog tab on Thunderstore or CHANGELOG.md in the package for version history.