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To change the difficulty on a Sons of the Forest server, open Startup in the Game Panel, set Gamemode to normal, hard, hardsurvival, peaceful or custom, set Save Slot to an unused slot such as 0000000002 and restart. The game mode only applies when the server creates a new world, so an existing world keeps its difficulty. With custom you pick each setting yourself in dedicatedserver.cfg.

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Before you start

  • Make a backup in Backups. See how to create a backup.
  • Your current world stays in its save slot. You can switch back to it by setting Save Slot to its number again.

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Sons of the Forest game modes

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How to change the difficulty on your server

1

Open Startup

Open your server and click Startup.
2

Pick a Gamemode

Choose a value in the Gamemode drop-down. The field saves when you click away.
3

Choose a new Save Slot

Set Save Slot to a slot you haven’t used yet, for example 0000000002. The server only uses the game mode when it creates a world.
4

Restart the server

Restart. The server creates a new world with the new difficulty.
Sons of the Forest Startup page in the Game Panel with the Gamemode drop-down and the Save Slot variable

Gamemode and Save Slot on the Startup page

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How to use the custom game mode

1

Set Gamemode to custom

On Startup, set Gamemode to custom.
2

Edit CustomGameModeSettings

Open Files > serverconfig > dedicatedserver.cfg and add your settings to CustomGameModeSettings. For example, a long, cold, tough world:
Separate lines with commas, then click Save Content.
3

Start a new save

On Startup, set Save Slot to an unused slot and restart.
Settings you leave out use their default. Every key and value is listed on dedicatedserver.cfg explained.

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Frequently asked questions

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Can I change the difficulty mid-game?

No. The game mode and custom settings are fixed when a world is created. Only Gameplay.TreeRegrowth and Structure.Damage in GameSettings work on an existing world.

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Is there a creative mode on the server?

The Gamemode drop-down has no creative option. Use custom with "GameSetting.Survival.CreativeMode": true and, if you like, "GameSetting.Multiplayer.Cheats": true.

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How do I go back to my old world?

Set Save Slot back to the old slot number (by default 0000000001) and restart.

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I changed Gamemode but nothing changed. Why?

The server loaded your existing world. Pick an unused Save Slot so it creates a new one.

Sons of the Forest server guide

Every Sons of the Forest page in one place.

Season length

How long winter lasts.

Enemy aggression

Enemy settings for custom worlds.

Save slots

New worlds and uploading your save.

dedicatedserver.cfg explained

Every key of the server config file.
Tested by the FREAKHOSTING team on our Game Panel on 30 October 2026 (Sons of the Forest dedicated server on our Game Panel). Setting names checked against the official dedicated server guide. Steps may differ slightly if the game changes.

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Last Updated: October 2026