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For most shared campaigns, start with Normal, leave enemy spawning enabled, use normal enemy health and damage, and enable tree regrowth if your group wants renewable timber. Choose Custom only when you have a specific reason to change combat, building protection, PvP, survival friction, or administrative rules. On a dedicated server, put the selected mode in GameMode; put per-system overrides in CustomGameModeSettings when that mode is Custom.
There is no developer-designated “best” setup. The right configuration depends on whether your group values combat pressure, easier resource and travel loops, protected construction, consensual PvP, or administrative convenience.
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Agree on the server’s purpose before editing a file. A campaign for players who want the intended survival pace needs a different setup from a construction-focused world or a group that expects PvP. Write down the decisions so every player knows what to expect after joining.
- Combat pressure: Decide how challenging enemies should feel and whether enemy armour or aggression should be changed.
- Resource and travel friction: Decide whether tree regrowth, one-hit tree chopping, creative mode, or player immortality fit the experience you want.
- Building protection: Decide whether building destruction is allowed. A shared construction world normally needs an explicit agreement before this is enabled.
- PvP risk: Decide whether player-versus-player damage is part of the rules or should be disabled.
- Administrative convenience: Decide whether cheats and other administrative controls are available to operators.
These are preference axes, not performance measurements. No authoritative statistic establishes one universally superior setting or a universal player preference.
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Recommended baseline for a general co-op world
Use the following as a starting point for a straightforward shared campaign. They are practical defaults rather than mandatory values.
| Setting or control | Baseline | When to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Game mode | Normal | Choose Custom when the group wants separate systems tuned instead of a preset. |
| Enemy spawning | Enabled | Disable only for a deliberate peaceful or construction-only session. |
| Enemy health | Normal | Use the available low or high option when your group explicitly wants less or more combat endurance. |
| Enemy damage | Normal | Adjust when incoming damage is the main source of frustration or when the group wants a harsher fight. |
| Tree regrowth | Enabled when renewable timber is wanted | Leave it off if the group prefers a finite-world constraint. |
| Building destruction | Set by group agreement | Protect a cooperative build when accidental or hostile damage would be unacceptable. |
| Realistic player damage | Set by group agreement | Use the option that matches whether friendly-fire consequences should be severe. |
| PvP damage | Set by group agreement | Enable only when players have agreed that combat between players is part of the server. |
| Cheats | Set by group agreement | Keep them restricted when progression integrity matters; allow them for administration or experimentation. |
Why Normal is the safest starting point
Normal gives a group a shared reference point: everyone begins with the preset’s expected balance instead of learning a collection of hidden exceptions. If the world later feels too punishing or too forgiving, you can identify the specific source of friction and move to Custom rather than changing several unrelated systems at once.
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Why enemy spawning should usually remain enabled
Enemy spawning is a core part of the survival loop. Turning it off can make a construction session calmer, but it also removes the pressure that makes shelter, equipment, and travel decisions meaningful. If a group wants a peaceful building period, treat that as a deliberate mode for that world rather than assuming it is an improvement for every campaign.
Tree regrowth is a supply-chain decision
Enable tree regrowth when players expect to keep expanding or rebuilding over a long-running save and want a renewable supply of cut trees. Leave it disabled when scarcity and route planning are central to the challenge. Tell players which rule you chose: the same build can feel very different when timber is renewable.
Rules that require an explicit conversation
Building destruction, realistic player damage, PvP damage, and cheats can change trust inside a co-op group more than a small enemy-health adjustment. Decide these before inviting players, record the decision in your server notes, and change them only with the group’s knowledge. A technically valid setting can still be a poor social rule if players did not consent to it.
Building a Custom difficulty
Custom mode is useful when the preset is close to what you want but one or two systems need a different value. The game-start settings reference documents controls for enemy spawn, enemy health, enemy damage, enemy armour, enemy aggression, creative mode, player immortality, one-hit tree chopping, PvP damage, and cheats.
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Use one change at a time
- Start from the Normal preset and list the specific problem you are solving.
- Move only the related control first—for example, enemy damage if incoming hits are the issue, or tree regrowth if timber availability is the issue.
- Launch the world and let the group play long enough to experience that change.
- Record the result before changing another system. This prevents a collection of adjustments from becoming impossible to explain later.
Combat controls
Enemy health, damage, armour, and aggression affect different parts of a fight. Lower health can shorten encounters without necessarily making every hit harmless; lower damage reduces the consequence of being hit; armour changes how attacks interact with tougher targets; aggression changes how readily enemies pressure players. The documented choices include low, normal, and high values for relevant controls. Select the combination your group can describe clearly rather than calling a mixture “easy” or “hard” without qualification.
Convenience and experimentation controls
Creative mode, player immortality, and one-hit tree chopping can remove specific survival chores. They are useful for testing a build, recovering from an administrative mistake, or running a construction-focused session. They also bypass progression and resource decisions, so mark them as intentional rules rather than silently enabling them on a campaign world.
PvP and cheats
PvP damage determines whether players can harm one another through the game’s player-damage rules. Cheats are an administrative choice, not a difficulty slider. If either is enabled, publish the rule to every player and identify who is allowed to use administrative commands. The console reference warns that not all commands have been tested, so verify a command in a disposable or backed-up save before using it on a valuable world.
Dedicated-server configuration essentials
A dedicated server uses a JSON configuration file commonly named dedicatedserver.cfg. A public configuration example contains the fields below. The values shown are example values from that configuration, not universal requirements; verify the file generated by your current build and the instructions from your hosting provider.
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| Field | Example value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
GameMode |
Selected preset or Custom |
Chooses the world’s overall mode. |
MaxPlayers |
8 | Sets the player limit in the example configuration. |
SaveMode |
Example configuration field | Controls the server’s save behavior; use the value accepted by the generated file. |
SaveSlot |
Example configuration field | Identifies the world slot used for persistence. |
SaveInterval |
600 seconds | Sets the save interval in the example. |
GamePort |
8766 | Game traffic port in the example. |
QueryPort |
27016 | Query port in the example. |
BlobSyncPort |
9700 | Blob synchronization port in the example. |
IdleTargetFramerate |
5 | Idle target frame rate in the example. |
ActiveTargetFramerate |
60 | Active target frame rate in the example. |
| Logging and timestamp fields | Present in the example | Control diagnostic output and timestamp behavior according to the generated configuration. |
GameSettings |
Object | Holds general game settings in the example structure. |
CustomGameModeSettings |
Object | Holds per-system Custom-mode values. |
How GameMode and CustomGameModeSettings relate
Set GameMode to the selected preset when you want that preset’s rules. When GameMode is Custom, put the individual overrides in CustomGameModeSettings. Hosting documentation describes this relationship. Use the exact key spelling and accepted value spelling from the current generated configuration; JSON keys are not a place to improvise abbreviations or capitalization.
Ports and frame-rate fields are examples, not promises
The example uses game port 8766, query port 27016, and blob-sync port 9700, with idle and active targets of 5 and 60. Another build, provider, or deployment may generate different values or require different firewall and forwarding rules. Copy the values from your current configuration and provider documentation rather than assuming these numbers apply everywhere.
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Safe workflow for creating or changing a world
Most configuration mistakes are save-selection or change-management mistakes rather than difficult game-setting problems. Use this sequence whenever you create a server or alter its rules.
- Select an intentional
SaveSlot. Decide which slot represents this world and write it down. An accidental slot change can make a healthy save appear to have disappeared. - Choose the correct start action. Use New only when creating a new world. Use Continue when you intend to load an existing save.
- Stop the server completely. Do not edit JSON while the process is writing the file or saving the world.
- Back up both the save and configuration. Keep a copy of the world data and the previous configuration so you can restore the last known-good state.
- Edit the smallest possible set of keys. Preserve JSON syntax, exact key spelling, and accepted values from the current generated file.
- Restart the server and inspect logs. Look for rejected keys, invalid values, parse errors, or a message showing that the server loaded a different save slot than expected.
- Verify in game. Test the particular rule you changed before announcing that the new configuration is active.
The documented fields and New/Continue distinction do not establish a universal, version-independent migration procedure for every setting. Some changes may behave differently across builds, so keep the backup until players have confirmed the world is working.
Scenario-based setups
Standard shared campaign
Choose Normal, keep enemy spawning enabled, use normal enemy health and damage, and enable tree regrowth if the group plans a long campaign with repeated construction. Make a separate decision about building destruction, realistic player damage, PvP damage, and cheats. This setup minimizes surprises and gives you a clean baseline for later tuning.
Construction-focused world
Choose Custom if you want to combine lower combat pressure with construction conveniences. Consider whether creative mode, one-hit tree chopping, or player immortality are appropriate for the build phase. Decide explicitly how building destruction is handled, and tell players when the world is switching from experimentation to a progression campaign.
High-pressure survival group
Keep enemy spawning enabled and consider high values for the documented enemy controls only if the group wants more demanding encounters. Enemy health, damage, armour, and aggression create different kinds of pressure; change the control that matches the desired challenge instead of raising every value automatically.
Consent-based PvP server
Enable PvP damage only after the group has agreed on when player combat is allowed. Combine that decision with a clear rule for building destruction and realistic player damage. A PvP toggle alone does not explain the social boundaries of raids, retaliation, or accidental hits.
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Troubleshooting common failures
The server starts with the old difficulty
- Confirm that the server was stopped before the edit.
- Check that
GameModeis actuallyCustomwhen you expect values fromCustomGameModeSettingsto apply. - Verify that you edited the active configuration and not a template or a different instance.
- Read the startup log for rejected keys, invalid values, or a JSON parse error.
- Confirm that the server loaded the intended
SaveSlotand that you used Continue for an existing world.
A custom key is rejected
Restore the backup, compare the key with the current generated configuration, and copy the exact spelling and accepted value format. The dedicated-server guidance specifically emphasizes using the exact key and value spelling from the current guide or generated file. Do not assume that a console command name and a JSON key are interchangeable.
A console command has no effect
Use the documented setgamesetupsetting command syntax from the current console reference, including its required argument order and accepted values. That reference states: “These are the settings that you can change with a custom game, you can use these commands to change these settings without the use of a save editor or editing the text files. Not all of these have been tested.” Test uncertain commands on a backed-up or disposable save first.
Players cannot connect
Check that the ports in the active configuration match the ports opened or forwarded by your provider and firewall. The public example uses 8766, 27016, and 9700, but those numbers are not universal requirements. Confirm the current build’s generated file and provider instructions before changing network rules.
The world appears to have reset
Stop the server, check SaveSlot, and compare the current save with your backup. A wrong slot or an accidental New action can make an existing world look missing. Do not overwrite the backup until you have identified which save the server is loading.
Managed hosting versus self-management
A managed dedicated-server host can be useful when you want a persistent world without running the server process, handling restarts, or maintaining network access yourself. Before purchasing, confirm that the service supports the current Sons of the Forest dedicated-server build, exposes dedicatedserver.cfg or equivalent controls, provides save and configuration backups, and documents how to change ports, player limits, and Custom-mode settings.
Regardless of who runs the machine, keep your own copy of the save and configuration. Hosting dashboards can simplify editing, but they do not remove the need to verify exact key spelling, select the right save slot, stop the process before changes, restart, and inspect logs.
What “best” means for your group
Use Normal as the reference setup, then change only the systems that conflict with your group’s goals. A good configuration is one players understand and have agreed to: combat settings match the desired pressure, resource rules match the intended scarcity, construction is protected when necessary, PvP and realistic damage are consensual, and administrative controls are transparent. Treat every number in a sample dedicatedserver.cfg as an example until the current generated file and server documentation confirm it for your build.
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