Goo's Combat Overhaul
Goo's Combat Overhaul is a configurable Valheim combat-feel overhaul focused on making weapon classes more distinct, responsive, and satisfying while preserving the structure of vanilla combat.
The mod adjusts combat behavior by weapon category and attack type. It can tune hyperarmor, counter damage, stagger power, hit-stop, animation speed, attack movement, lunge/root-motion scaling, attack rotation, base damage, backstab damage, PvP behavior, stamina behavior, movement behavior, blocking, and equipment values.
Fresh installs use Goo's curated preset by default. Players can reapply Goo's preset, reset the mod back to vanilla/no-op behavior, or manually tune each weapon category.
A configuration manager is strongly recommended because most of the mod's balance values are intended to be adjusted and tested in game.
Core Features
- Weapon-specific combat tuning
- Separate Primary1 / Primary2 / Primary3 / Secondary melee attack settings
- Base damage multipliers with tooltip updates
- Backstab damage-rate tuning with tooltip updates
- Per-attack airborne damage, stagger, and rotation multipliers
- Running-attack support for supported melee weapons with selectable attack slots
- Special jump-attack support for supported melee weapons
- Per-attack chop and pickaxe damage-channel tuning
- Lunge/root-motion tuning
- Attack movement and attack rotation control
- Balanced hyperarmor system
- Counter-damage system
- Hit-stop / hit-freeze control
- Stagger, knockback, and PvP modifier tuning
- Armor base-armor multipliers with tooltip updates
- Equipment movement modifier overrides
- Shield, timed-block, block stamina, and block-break tuning
- BetterFreeAim support for attacks and blocking
- Negative stamina system
- Stamina regeneration curve options
- Player movement, stamina, carry weight, fall damage, and base-stat tuning
- Bow and crossbow tuning options
- Goo preset reapply button
- Vanilla reset button
- Master runtime enable/disable switch
Supported weapon categories include:
- One-handed swords
- One-handed axes
- Clubs and maces
- Knives
- Spears
- Atgeirs
- Two-handed swords
- Two-handed axes
- Sledges
- Dual axes
- Bows
- Crossbows
- Magic weapons
- Unarmed
- Other mod weapons that share a supported internal category
What's New in 1.0.5
Version 1.0.5 expands running attacks, jump attacks, airborne attack tuning, utility-damage control, sledge tuning, and player/enemy feel controls while keeping the public config reset/preset flow clean.
Highlights:
- Running attacks now have configurable
RunningAttackMinimumVelocity speed gates. Goo's preset uses a 3.0 gate for supported running attacks.
- Running attacks can choose which attack slot they use through
RunningAttackUsed: Primary1, Primary2, Primary3, or Secondary.
- Running attack movement uses
BeforeHitbox by default, meaning movement is available from attack start until the hitbox emerges, then forced to 0 during recovery.
- Running attack damage defaults are retuned: two-handed swords, one-handed swords, one-handed axes, and clubs/maces use
0.7x running-attack damage by Goo preset.
- Supported weapon categories now have configurable jump attacks. Jump attacks can use their own damage, stagger, stamina, animation speed, rotation, PvP, knockback, adrenaline, and lunge settings.
- Special jump attacks require at least
0.4s of airborne time by Goo preset, preventing tiny ground gaps from accidentally triggering them.
- Airborne bonuses now include separate damage, stagger, and rotation multipliers. Categories without a Goo-enabled special jump attack receive
1.3x airborne damage by Goo preset.
- Chop and pickaxe damage now have per-attack-slot multipliers. Goo's preset disables airborne chop damage so airborne axe attacks do not accelerate tree chopping.
- Sledges are retuned as a single-primary-attack heavy weapon:
1.5x base damage, 2x stagger, 1.5x animation speed, 0.9x knockback, 0.9x PvP knockback, 1.5x stamina consumption, and an -8% movement penalty by Goo preset.
- Two-handed swords, two-handed axes, one-handed axes, and clubs/maces receive stronger stagger identity, with one-handed axe secondary attacks retaining
3x stagger.
- Two-handed axe base damage is back to
1.0x by Goo preset while its Primary1 attack keeps its dedicated attack-damage modifier.
- Attack movement config keys now use
AttackMovementModifier / RunningAttackMovementModifier for the attack movement multiplier values.
- Added player jog-speed, player base-rotation, player size, player/enemy poise, stagger-decay speed, and non-staggering-hit stagger-decay cooldown controls.
- Added enemy controls for stagger dealt, knockback dealt, attack animation speed, movement animation speed, size, generic rotation, and attack rotation.
- BetterFreeAim now also affects blocking: if movement input is held while blocking, the mod suppresses Valheim's crosshair-facing block rotation and keeps the player facing movement direction without moving the camera/crosshair.
SetToGooRuleset is now the one-shot control for reapplying Goo's ruleset.- Configs older than
1.0.5 are refreshed to Goo's current ruleset once, and stale entries are cleared.
How Weapon Tuning Works
Most melee weapon settings are split into:
- Primary1 = first normal/light attack in a chain
- Primary2 = second normal/light attack in a chain
- Primary3 = third normal/light attack in a chain
- Secondary = heavy/special attack
Running attacks and special attacks are configured inside their corresponding weapon-category sections.
Weapon categories can tune:
- Base damage
- Backstab damage rate
- Attack-slot damage multipliers
- Stagger multipliers
- Stamina multipliers
- Animation speed
- Attack movement
- Lunge/root-motion scaling
- Attack rotation
- Hyperarmor mode
- Damage, stagger, and knockback taken during hyperarmor
- Counter-damage eligibility
- Hit-stop behavior
- PvP damage, stagger, and knockback scaling
- Block power and deflection force
- Block stamina consumption and block-break threshold
The goal is not to make every weapon stronger in the same way. The goal is to give different weapon classes stronger identities.
Goo's Preset
Goo's ruleset is the default combat-overhaul setup. It applies the intended balance values automatically on a fresh install.
In general:
- Heavy weapons receive stronger commitment tools.
- Some heavy attacks gain hyperarmor or knockback resistance.
- Some weak or clunky attacks gain animation-speed improvements.
- Some attacks gain stronger stagger identity.
- Counter damage rewards well-timed attacks against enemies during their attack animations.
- Melee attacks use smoother
2.0x attack rotation before the hitbox trigger.
- Rotation locks after the attack trigger so attacks still require commitment.
- Hit freeze is preserved or reduced depending on weapon feel.
- Negative stamina allows committed actions to overdraw stamina, but only while current stamina is still above 0.
- Player stamina and movement systems are tuned without turning the mod into a raw-stat cheat mod.
Preset system defaults include:
- Negative stamina enabled with a
-50 stamina floor.
- Stamina recovery rate set to
1.2x.
- Stamina regen curve set to
Vanilla.
- Max carry weight base value set to
450.
- Jump stamina consumption set to
0.5x.
- Crouch stamina consumption set to
0x.
- Fall damage start height set to
8m.
- Running-attack speed gates set to
3.0 for supported running attacks.
- Running attacks use
BeforeHitbox movement by default, so recovery does not keep sliding movement.
- Sledges use
1.5x base damage, 2x stagger, 1.5x animation speed, 0.9x knockback, 0.9x PvP knockback, 1.5x stamina cost, and an -8% movement penalty.
- Special jump attacks require
0.4s of airborne time by default.
- Two-handed axe base damage is
1.0x; two-handed sword base damage remains 1.25x.
- Airborne chop damage is disabled by default.
- Armor movement penalties removed by default.
- Weapon, shield, pickaxe, and hammer movement penalties preserved unless configured.
You can reapply Goo's preset at any time with:
SetToGooRuleset = true
This rewrites combat/balance config values back to Goo's preset, saves the config, and then turns itself back off.
Reset to Vanilla
The mod includes a vanilla reset option:
ResetToVanilla = true
This resets combat and balance values to vanilla/no-op behavior while keeping the mod installed.
Use this if you want to start over, compare vanilla behavior, or manually rebuild your own preset.
This reset affects combat/balance settings. It does not wipe every general/debug option.
ApplyModOptions
ApplyModOptions = true
This is the master runtime switch.
When enabled, the mod reads and applies the current config.
When disabled, the mod stops applying its combat changes and clears active runtime effects.
This does not rewrite the config. It only turns the mod's functionality on or off.
Base Damage, Attack Damage, and Tooltips
BaseDamageMultiplier changes the weapon category's displayed and runtime damage baseline. It scales the full damage package, including elemental damage and utility channels such as chop or pickaxe damage when present.
Attack-slot damage multipliers such as Primary1DamageRateMultiplier are runtime attack modifiers. They do not directly rewrite the weapon's tooltip damage.
This separation lets the tooltip represent the weapon's base damage while individual attacks can still have different motion values.
Chop and Pickaxe Damage
Combat damage, chop damage, and pickaxe damage are controlled separately.
Each attack slot can tune its chop and pickaxe damage channels. Goo's ruleset preserves vanilla-style utility channels by default: axes keep chop damage, pickaxe/tool-style attacks keep pickaxe damage, and weapons without vanilla utility damage keep those channels at 0.
Goo's ruleset also disables airborne chop damage, so airborne attacks do not make axes overpowered for tree chopping.
Backstab Damage
BackstabDamageRate is a final displayed value by weapon category.
For example, knives can keep a 6x backstab value while other melee categories can use lower values. The tooltip backstab line reflects the configured value.
Airborne Attacks
Airborne attack bonuses are evaluated when the attack is initiated. If a player starts a supported melee attack after meeting the configured minimum airborne time, that attack can receive its configured airborne damage, stagger, and rotation multipliers even if the player lands before the hitbox connects.
Goo's ruleset requires 0.4s of airborne time for airborne bonuses and special jump attacks. Swimming does not count as airborne for this mechanic. Tools and the Other category do not receive the airborne bonus by default.
Weapon categories without a Goo-enabled special jump attack receive 1.3x airborne damage by default. Weapon categories with a Goo-enabled special jump attack generally keep airborne damage at 1.0x because the special jump attack itself is the reward.
Running Attacks and Jump Attacks
Supported melee weapons can have running attacks with their own modifiers, including configurable minimum horizontal velocity gates and configurable attack-slot selection through RunningAttackUsed.
RunningAttackUsed can select Primary1, Primary2, Primary3, or Secondary. If the chosen attack slot does not exist for that weapon, the running attack does not trigger.
Supported weapon categories can also have special jump attacks with their own damage, stagger, stamina, animation, rotation, PvP, knockback, adrenaline, and lunge settings. Goo's ruleset gives special jump attacks 0x lunge and requires 0.4s airborne time.
If both running attack and jump attack conditions would apply, the jump attack takes priority.
Balanced Hyperarmor
Balanced is the main hyperarmor mode used by Goo's preset.
Hyperarmor means an attack can resist interruption while it is being performed. Depending on the weapon settings, hyperarmor can affect:
- Incoming damage
- Incoming stagger
- Incoming knockback
Balanced hyperarmor is designed to protect the committed part of an attack without protecting the full recovery.
Attack begins
-> Balanced hyperarmor starts
Swing / hit event happens
-> Balanced hyperarmor ends
Recovery frames
-> no hyperarmor
This makes heavy attacks more reliable, but still punishable if they miss.
Counter Damage
Counter damage rewards hitting an enemy during its attack animation.
If counter damage is enabled for your weapon attack, the mod checks whether the target is currently in a real attack state. If so, your hit receives a counter-damage multiplier.
This is meant to reward timing and spacing, not random damage spam.
Hit-Stop / Hit Freeze
Valheim briefly freezes the attacker's animation when a melee hit connects. This gives attacks impact, but it can also make some weapons feel sticky or sluggish.
This mod can preserve, reduce, or remove hit freeze depending on the weapon category.
Attack Rotation and Movement
Attack rotation controls how much the character can turn during an attack. Goo's ruleset uses faster rotation for responsive attacks, slower rotation for heavier commitment attacks, and rotation locks after the attack-trigger/hitbox event.
Attack movement controls how much normal movement is retained during attack animations. AttackMovementModifier and RunningAttackMovementModifier are multipliers over the selected attack's vanilla movement factor, not percentages. FullAnimation keeps the configured movement multiplier for the full attack animation. BeforeHitbox keeps it only until the hitbox emerges, then forces attack movement to 0 through recovery.
Lunge/root-motion settings control attack-driven movement separately from normal input movement. In Goo's preset, these tools are used to make attacks feel committed without making them unresponsive.
Player Stamina and Movement Systems
The mod includes configurable player-system options:
- Negative stamina
- Stamina recovery rate
- Stamina regen curve
- Jump force multiplier
- Jump stamina consumption rate
- Jog speed multiplier
- Run speed multiplier
- Walk speed multiplier
- Crouch speed multiplier
- Run stamina consumption rate
- Crouch stamina consumption rate
- Roll stamina rate
- Roll animation speed
- Max carry weight base value
- Player base health
- Player base stamina
- Player base armor
- Fall damage start height
- Fall damage per height
- Fall damage cap
- Player base rotation factor
- Experimental player size multiplier
- Player poise multiplier
- Player stagger decay speed and non-staggering-hit cooldown
Negative stamina lets stamina-consuming actions overdraw stamina down to a configured floor. Actions are only allowed when current stamina is strictly above 0, so you can commit to an action while barely positive, but you must regenerate back above 0 before acting again.
The stamina bar displays 0 while internal stamina is negative.
The stamina regen curve can be:
Vanilla = Valheim's normal curve.Constant = constant 9 stamina per second before the recovery-rate multiplier.Reverted = vanilla-style curve with high/low stamina behavior reversed.
Armor, Shields, and Blocking
Armor can be tuned by base-armor multipliers for light, medium, and heavy armor. The armor tooltip reflects the configured value.
Shields can tune:
- Block power
- Deflection force
- Timed-block / parry bonus
- Block stamina consumption
- Block-break threshold
- Movement modifier
Weapons can also tune block power, deflection force, block stamina consumption, and block-break threshold by weapon category.
Ranged Options
Bows can tune:
- Bow draw speed
- Bow spread
Crossbows can tune:
Dundr-specific tuning is intentionally not included.
Configuration
Almost every feature is configurable.
You can:
- Use Goo's default ruleset.
- Reapply Goo's ruleset after editing.
- Reset everything to vanilla/no-op behavior.
- Disable the mod's runtime effects without changing your config.
- Tune individual weapon categories manually.
- Adjust attack-chain slots separately.
- Disable individual systems you do not want.
Main controls:
ApplyModOptions = true
SetToGooRuleset = false
ResetToVanilla = false
Multiplayer
For consistent behavior, all players in a multiplayer session should use the same mod version and preferably the same config.
This is especially important for:
- Damage
- Stagger
- Hyperarmor
- Counter damage
- Animation timing
- Attack rotation
- PvP behavior
- Player stamina behavior
- Player movement behavior
Recommended multiplayer setup:
All clients install the same version.
Host/server and players use the same config.
Installation
Install with a mod manager such as r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager.
Manual install:
-
Install BepInExPack Valheim.
-
Place GooCombatOverhaul.dll into:
BepInEx/plugins/GooCombatOverhaul/
-
Launch the game once to generate the config.
-
Edit the config if desired.
A configuration manager is strongly recommended because this mod has many balance options and one-shot preset/reset buttons.
Notes
This mod is highly configurable. If you dislike a specific balance choice, you can usually change it directly in the config.
Fresh installs use Goo's combat-overhaul ruleset by default. If you want vanilla behavior while keeping the mod installed, use:
ResetToVanilla = true
If you later want to return to the intended preset, use:
SetToGooRuleset = true
Bugs can still exist. Feedback and testing notes are welcome.
Leave your feedback on this reddit page for now:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ModdedValheim/comments/1toleqf/about_combat/
