ValhallaPerformance

All-in-one performance optimizer for Valheim. Ten independent systems covering smoke physics, lighting, AI culling, building piece optimization, memory management, networking, rendering, and more.

This mod is in beta, and I am testing its features and debugging. Please email me with any tips ([email protected])

Inspired by these mods:

• ValheimPerformanceOverhaul (Skarif)
• Smoke_Collision (JereKuusela)
• VBNetTweaks (VitByr)

Works as both client-side and on dedicated servers. Every system can be individually toggled.

Part of the Tootsalot's Valhalla Overhaul modpack. Also see ValhallaBiomes, my vanilla-only biome vegetation overhaul.

Systems

Boot Optimizer

Skips Iron Gate / Coffee Stain logo screens. Pre-compiles critical game methods (Player, Character, Inventory, AI, etc.) on first spawn to eliminate first-use JIT stutter.

Smoke System (replaces Smoke_Collision + VPO smoke)

Lightweight upward-drift smoke physics with simple roof collision via upward spherecast. No inter-particle physics, no volume simulation. Per-source particle cap and distance culling. Smoke still rises, fades, and stops at roofs at a fraction of vanilla's CPU cost.

Light System

Caps maximum active dynamic lights by distance. Strips shadow casting beyond a configurable range while keeping lights visible. Freezes fire/torch intensity at base value to prevent per-frame shadow map rebuilds. This is the biggest GPU win on large bases.

Culling System

Pauses Update logic for distant creatures and building pieces. Throttles MonsterAI for mid-range creatures to run at reduced frequency with staggered timing. Caches line-of-sight check results to avoid redundant raycasts.

Piece Optimizer

Caches WearNTear.GetSupport results with configurable TTL. Spreads WearNTear initialization across multiple frames during scene load to prevent the freeze when loading large bases.

Memory System

Forces GC during natural pauses (scene loads, pause menu). Monitors heap pressure and triggers cleanup at a configurable threshold. Periodic unused asset sweeps when player is safe. Audio source pooling to reduce allocation churn.

Network System (replaces VBNetTweaks)

Distance-tiered ZDO sync rates. Near objects at full rate, far objects throttled. Skips sending ZDOs whose data revision hasn't changed. Always prioritizes player ZDOs. Reports sync reduction percentage every 5 minutes.

Render System

LOD bias, soft particle/vegetation toggles, particle raycast budget, shadow distance, grass density, detail object distance. Minimap update throttling was planned but I kept on breaking it. Frame budget guard that prevents physics death spiral by capping Time.maximumDeltaTime during heavy spikes.

Tar Pit Fix

Periodically scans for orphaned tar pit VFX (bubbles, splashes, drips) that vanilla instantiates but never destroys, and cleans them up to reclaim memory.

Log Filter

Deduplicates identical log messages within a time window. Suppresses known noise patterns (shader warnings, asset errors). Mutes verbose Harmony patching logs during startup. Essential for 50+ mod setups where console becomes unreadable.

Key Settings

Compatibility

Will almost definitely cause issues if in your modlist when using ValhallaPerformance:

• Skarif-ValheimPerformanceOverhaul - ValhallaPerformance implements its own versions of similar features
• JereKuusela-Smoke_Collision - ValhallaPerformance includes its own smoke collision system
• VitByr-VBNetTweaks - ValhallaPerformance's network system replaces this entirely

Contact

[email protected]

Credits

Built by Tootsalot for Tootsalot's Valhalla Overhaul.