How to Change the Difficulty on Your Core Keeper Server

Core Keeper lets you explore underground biomes solo or with friends, and how challenging that experience feels depends on your difficulty setting. Whether you want a relaxed mining adventure or a punishing fight for survival, you can change the difficulty from the RiverHosting panel without editing any files by hand.

This guide walks you through finding and updating the difficulty setting on your Core Keeper server in just a few steps.

Before you start

• You need an active Core Keeper server with RiverHosting.
• Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com.
• Make sure your server is stopped before changing difficulty settings. Changing settings while the server is running can cause the change to be overwritten when the server saves.

1. How to change the difficulty on your Core Keeper server

The easiest way to change the difficulty is through the built-in Server Config page in your server panel. This page gives you a clean editor for your server's main settings so you do not need to open any files manually.

1. Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com and open your Core Keeper server.
2. In the left-hand menu, click Server Config.
3. Look for the difficulty setting. It is usually labelled something like Game Difficulty or a similar option in the config list.
4. Select the difficulty level you want. Common options include Normal, Hard, and Creative (the exact options available depend on the current version of Core Keeper).
5. Save your changes by clicking the save or apply button on the page.
6. Return to the main server page and start your server.

2. How to verify the difficulty change took effect

After starting your server, you can confirm the difficulty change worked by checking the console output.

1. In the left-hand menu, click Console.
2. Watch the startup messages as the server loads. The difficulty level is often shown in the startup log so you can confirm it loaded correctly.
3. You can also join the server in-game and check the settings from within the game menu if the game supports it.

Troubleshooting

• The difficulty setting does not appear in Server Config. Make sure your server is running the latest version of Core Keeper. Some settings only appear after the server has started at least once and generated a config file. Try starting the server once, stopping it, and then checking Server Config again.
• My change was not saved after restarting. This usually means the server was running when the change was made and overwrote the config on shutdown. Stop the server first, then make your change, save it, and start the server again.
• The difficulty reverted to the previous setting. Check that you clicked the save button on the Server Config page before starting the server. If the change did not persist, try stopping the server, making the change again, saving, and then starting.
• I cannot find the Server Config option in the menu. Make sure you are looking at your Core Keeper server and not a different server in your account. The left-hand menu should show Server Config for Core Keeper servers.

Need help?

If you are still having trouble changing the difficulty or something does not look right after following these steps, the RiverHosting support team is happy to help.