Windrose gives server owners direct control over how demanding combat and encounters feel for their crew. The difficulty setting is stored inside each world’s WorldDescription.json configuration file, which you can reach through your Apex server’s FTP panel. This guide covers the exact steps to change it, plus how to configure individual combat parameters when using Custom difficulty.
Windrose Difficulty Settings
Four difficulty options are available in Windrose: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Custom. Easy, Normal, and Hard are presets that apply a fixed set of combat values across the world with a single change. Custom gives you access to seven individual multipliers so you can tune specific aspects of gameplay to your preference, such as how much health mobs have or how intense boarding encounters become.
The table below shows the exact values each preset applies to the five combat parameters:
| Parameter | Easy | Normal | Hard |
|---|---|---|---|
MobHealthMultiplier |
0.7 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
MobDamageMultiplier |
0.6 | 1.0 | 1.25 |
ShipsHealthMultiplier |
0.7 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
ShipsDamageMultiplier |
0.6 | 1.0 | 1.25 |
BoardingDifficultyMultiplier |
0.7 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
The two co-op scaling parameters — StatsCorrectionModifier and ShopStatsCorrectionModifier — are not adjusted by presets and remain at their defaults regardless of which option is selected. These only come into play when using Custom difficulty.
The difficulty setting is tied to each individual world. If your server uses multiple worlds, you will need to update each world’s WorldDescription.json file separately.
How to Change World Difficulty on Your Windrose Server
To change the world’s difficulty, follow the steps below:
- Open your Apex control panel and stop the server; otherwise, changes won’t take effect. Then, press “
FTP Files Access” on the left side options and log in using your FTP password. - Once logged in, open the
R5folder on the file tree. - There, locate and open the
Savedfolder, then open theSaveProfilesdirectory. - Locate the
Defaultfolder and then open theRocksDBfolder. - Once there, open the folder with a version number, for instance
0.10.0, then theWorldsfolder. - Once in the Worlds folder, locate the currently active world. The world name is an ID with random numbers and letters.
- Once opened, locate the
WorldDescription.jsonfile and find the optionWDS.Parameter.CombatDifficulty.Normal. To change it to a different one, such as Easy, Hard, or Custom, change the last part. For example:WDS.Parameter.CombatDifficulty.Hard - Once changed, press save and restart the server to apply changes.
Custom Difficulty Parameters
Setting the difficulty to Custom allows each of the following parameters to be adjusted individually inside the same WorldDescription.json file:
| Parameter | Default | Range | What It Controls |
|---|---|---|---|
MobHealthMultiplier |
1.0 | 0.2–5.0 | Health pool of enemy mobs. Below 1.0 makes mobs squishier; above 1.0 turns them into damage sponges |
MobDamageMultiplier |
1.0 | 0.2–5.0 | Damage dealt by enemy mobs. Increasing this alongside MobHealthMultiplier creates a significantly more punishing experience |
ShipsHealthMultiplier |
1.0 | 0.4–5.0 | Durability of enemy ships. Useful for making naval combat more forgiving without removing the challenge entirely |
ShopsDamageMultiplier |
1.0 | 0.2–2.5 | Damage output in shop-related combat. Has a lower ceiling than mob damage since ship cannons already deal heavy hits at default |
BoardingDifficultyMultiplier |
1.0 | 0.2–5.0 | Intensity of boarding encounters. Controls how many enemy sailors must be defeated to win a boarding action |
StatsCorrectionModifier |
1.0 | 0.0–2.0 | Co-op scaling for enemy health and posture based on player count. At 0.0, enemies do not scale with more players; at 2.0, scaling is aggressive |
ShopStatsCorrectionModifier |
0.0 | 0.0–2.0 | Co-op scaling for enemy ship health based on player count. Disabled by default; increase this if naval encounters feel too easy with a full crew |
All parameters accept float values within the ranges above. The difficulty must be set to Custom for individual parameter changes to take effect.
Additional Notes
This change applies only to the world you edited. If you switch to a different active world on your server and need the difficulty adjusted there too, follow the same steps for that world’s WorldDescription.json file. Keeping this in mind before switching worlds saves time when your crew plans to explore multiple worlds on the same server.
For more on managing your Windrose server with Apex, visit the Windrose server hosting page.
