How much skill do you lose when you die in Valheim?
Each death removes a percentage of every skill’s level and resets the progress bar towards the next level to zero. Example: a Run skill of 37 at 5% loss becomes 35.15, shown as 35. The progress loss is not changed by world modifiers.What does “No skill drain” mean in Valheim?
No skill drain is a status effect you get when you die. It lasts 10 minutes. If you die again while it is active, you lose no skills. It does not turn skill loss off for good; for that, change the Death penalty modifier.How to change the death penalty on a dedicated server
Option 1: set Death Penalty in Startup
1
Open Startup
Log in to the Game Panel, open your Valheim server and click Startup.
2
Choose the death penalty
Set Death Penalty to
casual, veryeasy, easy, hard or hardcore. default leaves it at Normal (5%) unless the world already has another value saved. See startup variables.3
Restart the server
Restart your server. The new penalty applies when it starts, also on an existing world, and is saved with the world.
Death Penalty and the other world modifiers on the Startup page
Option 2: change it in the game as an admin
Admins can change world modifiers on a running server from the console. Add your SteamID64 on Admins and bans (admin list), join, press F5, type the command and check the result withlistkeys.
Option 3: upload a world created with the modifier
The modifiers you choose when you create a world on your PC are saved with that world. Create it with the Death penalty you want, then upload it on Worlds and set World in Valheim settings to its name.How to go back to the normal death penalty
Setting Death Penalty back to default does not undo a penalty already saved in the world. To return to Normal, runsetworldpreset default in the console as an admin; it resets every world modifier. To change to another level, set that value in Startup and restart.
Frequently asked questions
Can you turn off skill drain completely in Valheim?
Not with the built-in modifiers. Casual and Very easy are the lowest at 1%. Some mods change skill loss; players and the server need any such mod. See mods.What is the difference between Casual and Very easy?
Both lose 1% of skills. On Casual you keep your equipment when you die; on Very easy you drop it with the rest of your inventory.Does changing the death penalty affect other settings?
No. It only changes item and skill loss on death. Other modifiers, such as raids and combat, stay as they are. See all world modifiers.Is there a death penalty setting in the Game Panel?
Yes. Death Penalty is on the Startup page, with the other world modifiers. Valheim settings covers the server name, world, password, crossplay and saving.Related guides
Valheim server guide
Every Valheim page in one place.
All world modifiers
Combat, resources, raids, portals and more.
Upload a local world
Bring a world from your PC.
Raid frequency
More, fewer or no raids.
Console commands
Admin commands and devcommands.
Tested by the FREAKHOSTING team on our Game Panel on 30 October 2026, and checked against the Valheim Wiki world modifiers page, the skills page and Iron Gate’s dedicated server guide. Values may change if the game changes.
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Last Updated: October 2026