Short answer
Why does nothing change after I edit gameSettings?The server only reads the gameSettings block when gameSettingsPreset is set to "Custom". With Default, Relaxed, Hard or Survival it loads the bundled template and ignores your values without a word.
The one line almost everyone misses
gameSettings holds every value that actually changes your game — but the server only reads it when gameSettingsPreset is set to "Custom". With Default, Relaxed, Hard or Survival in that line, Enshrouded loads the bundled preset and skips your entire block. No error message, nothing in the log.
Order matters: set "gameSettingsPreset": "Custom" first, then tune the values. Do it the other way round and you spend half an hour editing numbers nobody reads.
The four bundled presets are still worth using: if you only want things "a bit gentler", pick Relaxed and leave gameSettings alone. Switch to Custom only when no preset fits.
| Preset | Who it is for |
|---|---|
Relaxed | Building and exploring come first, fights should not slow you down. |
Default | The game as Keen Games intended it. |
Hard | Enemies hit harder, mistakes cost more. |
Survival | Hunger, durability and death penalties fully active. |
Custom | Everything in your hands — and the only setting where gameSettings counts. |
Player values
Every field ending in Factor is a multiplier: 1 is normal, 2 is double, 0.5 is half. That lets you nudge things without bending the whole game out of shape.
| Field | Effect | Normal |
|---|---|---|
playerHealthFactor | Player health | 1 |
playerManaFactor | Mana pool | 1 |
playerStaminaFactor | Stamina for running, climbing and fighting | 1 |
playerBodyHeatFactor | How quickly cold gets to you | 1 |
playerDivingTimeFactor | How long your breath lasts underwater | 1 |
enableDurability | Gear wears down (true/false) | true |
enableStarvingDebuff | Hunger weakens you rather than just nagging | false |
foodBuffDurationFactor | How long food effects last | 1 |
shroudTimeFactor | How long you survive inside the shroud | 1 |
enableGliderTurbulences | Turbulence on the glider | true |
For groups with mixed skill levels: instead of weakening enemies, set playerHealthFactor to 1.5. Fights stay tense, but one mistake does not end the evening.
Enemies, bosses and the shroud
| Field | Effect | Normal |
|---|---|---|
enemyHealthFactor | Enemy health | 1 |
enemyDamageFactor | Damage enemies deal | 1 |
enemyStaminaFactor | Enemy stamina | 1 |
enemyPerceptionRangeFactor | From how far they notice you | 1 |
bossHealthFactor | Boss health — tuned separately | 1 |
bossDamageFactor | Boss damage | 1 |
threatBonus | How quickly you draw attention | 1 |
pacifyAllEnemies | All enemies peaceful — pure building mode | false |
randomSpawnerAmount | How many enemies populate the world (named level) | Normal |
aggroPoolAmount | How many attack you at once (named level) | Normal |
Named levels instead of numbers: fields such as randomSpawnerAmount, weatherFrequency, fishingDifficulty and curseModifier expect a word in quotes, not a number. The in-game custom difficulty menu shows which levels exist — those names match the file.
Resources, experience and bases
| Field | Effect | Normal |
|---|---|---|
resourceDropStackAmountFactor | How much you get per find — the lever against grinding | 1 |
miningDamageFactor | How fast you dig through stone | 1 |
plantGrowthSpeedFactor | Growth speed of your plants | 1 |
factoryProductionSpeedFactor | Speed of production stations | 1 |
experienceCombatFactor | Experience from combat | 1 |
experienceMiningFactor | Experience from mining and crafting | 1 |
experienceExplorationQuestsFactor | Experience from exploring and quests | 1 |
perkCostFactor | What skills cost | 1 |
perkUpgradeRecyclingFactor | How much you get back when respeccing | 0.5 |
Day, night and all those zeros
Day length trips people up because Enshrouded counts in nanoseconds. The default 1800000000000 looks wild but is simply 1800 seconds — a 30 minute day. Night defaults to 720000000000, or 12 minutes.
Converting without thinking: minutes × 60 × 1,000,000,000. A one hour day is 3600000000000, a five minute night is 300000000000. Count the zeros once — nine after the seconds.
Three ready-made examples
All three assume "gameSettingsPreset": "Custom". Copy only the lines you want to change; anything you leave out keeps its normal value.
Relaxed building
More materials, less pressure, long bright days: for groups who are here to build.
Balanced for evening sessions
The core stays intact, but two hours in an evening add up to visible progress.
Hard but fair
For groups who know Embervale and want to respect the shroud again.
Applying changes properly
Stop the server
Enshrouded rewrites the config on shutdown. Edit it while the server runs and your changes are overwritten on the next stop.
Edit the file
Through the file manager in the panel. Watch the commas: no comma after the last value in a block — one wrong place and the server will not start.
Start and check the log
If the server reports a problem reading the file, it is nearly always a comma or a bracket. The live log in the panel shows it in the first lines after start.
Everything you built stays. Settings apply from the next start onwards to combat, loot and time — your world, your bases and your progress are untouched. So you can re-tune whenever the group finds things too easy or too grindy. For opening the file in the first place, see setting up an Enshrouded server.
Frequently asked questions
Why does nothing change after I edit gameSettings?
Which presets does Enshrouded have?
How do I change day length in Enshrouded?
How do I get more resources per drop?
Can I change the settings later?
How do I make the server easier for a mixed group?
Personal support for our customers
Rent a Enshrouded server with us and you get real people, not a ticket system. Sebbo and Langnesi help you personally on Discord — with setup, mods and troubleshooting. We run these servers ourselves every day, so we know the pitfalls.
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Rent Enshrouded ServerLast updated: 2026-09-16 · Written by the Agrar Chaoten team