How to Change the Difficulty on Your The Forest Server

The Forest lets you tune how tough survival is for everyone on your server. Whether your group wants a brutal hardcore experience or a more relaxed adventure, you can change the difficulty setting quickly from the RiverHosting panel without editing any files by hand.

This guide walks you through where to find the difficulty option and how to apply it so the change takes effect when your server next starts up.

Before you start

• You need an active The Forest server with RiverHosting.
• Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com.
• Your server should be stopped before saving changes to avoid any conflicts. You can stop it from the top of your server page using the Stop button.

1. Open the Server Config page

The difficulty setting for The Forest is found inside the Server Config page, which is a built-in editor for your server's main settings.

1. Log in to the RiverHosting panel.
2. Click on your The Forest server from the server list to open its management page.
3. In the left-hand menu, click Server Config.
4. The Server Config page will load and show you the main settings for your server.

2. Change the difficulty setting

Once you are on the Server Config page, look for the difficulty option. It is usually presented as a dropdown or a selectable field.

1. Find the Difficulty option in the list of settings.
2. Click the dropdown or selector next to it to see the available difficulty levels.
3. Choose the difficulty that suits your group. The Forest typically offers options such as:
   • Peaceful - No enemies, great for building and exploring.
   • Normal - The standard experience with enemies and survival mechanics.
   • Hard - Tougher enemies and more punishing survival.
   • Hard Survival - Maximum challenge with very limited resources and aggressive enemies.
4. Once you have selected your preferred difficulty, click Save to apply the change.

3. Restart your server to apply the change

After saving, the difficulty change will take effect the next time your server starts. If your server is currently running, you will need to restart it.

1. Go back to the main page for your server.
2. Click the Restart button at the top of the page, or click Start if the server is currently stopped.
3. Wait for the server to come back online. You can watch the progress in the Console tab.
4. Once the server is online, connect to it and confirm the new difficulty is active.

Troubleshooting

• The difficulty does not seem to have changed. Make sure you clicked Save on the Server Config page before restarting. If you closed the page without saving, the change will not have been applied. Go back to Server Config and set it again, then save and restart.
• I cannot find the Difficulty option in Server Config. Try scrolling through the full list of settings on the page, as options are sometimes further down. If it is still not visible, contact RiverHosting support for help.
• The server crashed after changing difficulty. Restore from a backup using the Backups tab, then try setting the difficulty again. If the problem continues, reach out to support.
• Players are reporting the difficulty feels wrong even after the change. An existing save may carry over its original difficulty state. Starting a new save slot from the Save Slots page can give a clean starting point with the new difficulty applied correctly.

Need help?

If you run into any issues or are not sure which difficulty setting is right for your group, the RiverHosting support team is happy to help.