Goo's Combat Overhaul is a configurable Valheim combat-feel overhaul focused on making weapon classes more distinct, responsive, and satisfying while preserving the structure of vanilla combat.
The mod adjusts combat behavior by weapon category rather than simply inflating damage numbers. It can tune hyperarmor, counter damage, stagger power, hit-stop, animation speed, attack movement, attack rotation, knockback resistance, PvP damage, stamina behavior, movement behavior, blocking, and other combat values for different weapon types and attack types.
The default install uses Goo's curated combat-overhaul preset. Players can also reset the config back to vanilla/no-op behavior or manually tune each weapon category.
This mod pairs very well with a configuration manager because most of its balance options are intended to be adjusted, tested, and reset in game.
Supported weapon categories include:
Goo's Combat Overhaul changes combat behavior by weapon category.
Most weapon settings are split into:
Each weapon category can have different values for:
The goal is not to make every weapon stronger in the same way. The goal is to give different weapon classes stronger identities.
Goo's preset is the default combat-overhaul setup. It applies my intended balance changes automatically on a fresh install.
The preset is designed to make weapon classes feel more distinct while keeping Valheim's combat rhythm intact.
In general:
Goo's v1.0.1 preset also includes these player-system defaults:
-50 stamina floor.1.2x.Vanilla.450.0.5x.0x.10m.You can reapply Goo's preset at any time with:
ApplyGoosSettings = true
This rewrites the config back to Goo's intended values, saves the config, and then turns itself back off.
The mod includes a vanilla reset option:
ResetToVanilla = true
This resets combat and balance values to vanilla/no-op behavior while keeping the mod installed.
Use this if you want to start over, compare vanilla behavior, or manually rebuild your own preset.
This reset affects combat/balance settings. It does not wipe every general/debug option.
ApplyModOptions = true
This is the master runtime switch.
When enabled, the mod reads and applies the current config.
When disabled, the mod stops applying its combat changes and clears active runtime effects.
This does not rewrite the config. It only turns the mod's functionality on or off.
Balanced is the main hyperarmor mode used by Goo's preset.
Hyperarmor means an attack can resist interruption while it is being performed. Depending on the weapon settings, hyperarmor can affect:
Balanced hyperarmor is designed to protect the committed part of an attack without protecting the full recovery.
In practice:
Attack begins
-> Balanced hyperarmor starts
Swing / hit event happens
-> Balanced hyperarmor ends
Recovery frames
-> no hyperarmor
This makes heavy attacks more reliable, but still punishable if they miss.
Balanced mode is different from full-animation hyperarmor:
FullAnimation:
Protects windup, swing, and recovery.
Balanced:
Protects windup and swing, but not recovery.
Full-animation hyperarmor can make whiffed attacks too safe. Balanced mode gives commitment protection without removing punishment.
Hyperarmor has separate values for damage, stagger, and knockback.
Example:
DamageTakenMultiplierDuringHyperArmor = 0.70
StaggerTakenMultiplierDuringHyperArmor = 0
KnockbackTakenMultiplierDuringHyperArmor = 0
This means:
A value of 1 means vanilla/no resistance.
A value of 0 means full immunity for that specific effect.
Some one-handed heavy attacks in Goo's preset only receive knockback resistance. That means they are harder to physically shove out of the attack, but they do not get free damage reduction or stagger immunity.
Counter damage rewards hitting an enemy during its attack animation.
If counter damage is enabled for your weapon attack, the mod checks whether the target is currently in a real attack state. If so, your hit receives a counter-damage multiplier.
This is meant to reward timing and spacing, not random damage spam.
Counter-damage sound playback was removed in v1.0.1 for stability. Counter damage still works, but it no longer creates a separate ding sound effect.
Valheim briefly freezes the attacker's animation when a melee hit connects. This gives attacks impact, but it can also make some weapons feel sticky or sluggish.
This mod can preserve, reduce, or remove that hit freeze depending on the weapon category.
In Goo's preset, hit freeze is kept where it improves impact and removed where it makes the weapon feel worse.
Goo's preset gives melee attacks better turning control during windup.
This means you can aim an attack more naturally before the swing is released.
However, once the attack trigger happens, rotation is locked through recovery. This prevents unrealistic mid-swing correction.
In simple terms:
Before the swing releases:
You can turn normally.
After the swing releases:
You cannot turn until recovery ends.
This makes attacks feel responsive without becoming too forgiving.
Dual axes heavy attacks and atgeir heavy attacks are excluded from this specific rotation behavior by default, because their attack identity depends more on commitment and positioning.
Attack movement is separate from normal walking or running speed.
The attack-movement options control how much a character can move during the configured attack window. In Goo's preset, attack movement is used carefully so weapons can feel less stiff without removing commitment.
By default, attack movement timing uses the attack windup and restores at the attack trigger. This avoids the old arbitrary short active window and keeps recovery frames punishable.
Goo's preset gives one-handed axe heavy attacks a stronger identity.
By default, the one-handed axe heavy attack has:
This makes axe heavy attacks better at creating stagger pressure without making them overly defensive.
Version 1.0.1 adds configurable player-system options.
These include:
Negative stamina lets stamina-consuming actions overdraw stamina down to a configured floor. Actions are only allowed when current stamina is strictly above 0, so you can commit to an action while barely positive, but you must regenerate back above 0 before acting again.
The stamina bar displays 0 while internal stamina is negative.
The stamina regen curve can be:
Vanilla = Valheim's normal curve.Constant = constant 9 stamina per second before the recovery-rate multiplier.Reverted = vanilla-style curve with high/low stamina behavior reversed.Version 1.0.1 adds movement-penalty toggles for equipment.
Goo's preset disables armor movement penalties while preserving weapon movement penalties.
For this feature:
Version 1.0.1 adds basic ranged and blocking options.
Bows can tune:
Crossbows can tune:
Blocking can tune:
Dundr-specific tuning is intentionally not included in this patch.
Valheim's armor system is highly sensitive to incoming damage size. When enemy damage is multiplied too aggressively, many attacks pass key armor breakpoints. Heavy armor then loses value, and melee defense scales poorly on higher difficulties.
Valheim's melee combat also depends on stagger thresholds. Blocking, parrying, and weapon stagger create safe punish windows. Raw enemy damage scaling disrupts this rhythm by making more attacks break through blocks and stagger the player. At the same time, player damage penalties make it harder to stagger enemies back.
For these reasons, difficulty is better increased through enemy density, aggression, raid pressure, and progression pressure rather than heavy enemy damage multipliers. This preserves Valheim's melee rhythm while still making combat harder.
Almost every feature is configurable.
You can:
The main general controls are:
ApplyModOptions = true
ApplyGoosSettings = false
ResetToVanilla = false
Recommended use:
ApplyModOptions:
Use this to enable/disable the mod's effects.
ApplyGoosSettings:
Use this to restore Goo's preset.
ResetToVanilla:
Use this to return the config to vanilla/no-op behavior.
For consistent behavior, all players in a multiplayer session should use the same mod version and preferably the same config.
This is especially important for:
Recommended multiplayer setup:
All clients install the same version.
Host/server and players use the same config.
Install with a mod manager such as r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager.
Manual install:
Install BepInExPack Valheim.
Place GooCombatOverhaul.dll into:
BepInEx/plugins/GooCombatOverhaul/
Launch the game once to generate the config.
Edit the config if desired.
A configuration manager is strongly recommended because this mod has many balance options and one-shot preset/reset buttons.
This mod is highly configurable. If you dislike a specific balance choice, you can usually change it directly in the config.
Fresh installs use Goo's combat-overhaul preset by default. If you want vanilla behavior while keeping the mod installed, use:
ResetToVanilla = true
If you later want to return to the intended preset, use:
ApplyGoosSettings = true
The mod has been tested over a hundred times, but bugs can still exist. Feel free to share your feedback with me and I will update this mod within my abilities.