---
title: "How to Install V Rising Mods"
description: "Install BepInEx and VampireCommandFramework on your V Rising server, place mod DLLs in BepInEx/plugins, and pick from the maintained Thunderstore mods."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/vrising/how-to-install-mods/"
category: "V Rising"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/vrising/"
published: "2026-07-02T22:17:43.419Z"
updated: "2026-08-19T04:21:45.633Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# How to Install V Rising Mods

This guide covers installing mods on your V Rising server. For first boot and connecting, see [Getting started with your V Rising server](/knowledge-base/vrising/getting-started-with-your-server/).

V Rising has no official mod support, so everything here is community tooling. The current stack is **BepInEx** as the loader plus **VampireCommandFramework (VCF)** as the command framework that nearly every server mod builds on. The hub is Thunderstore: `thunderstore.io/c/v-rising/`.

> [!WARNING] Wetstone and Bloodstone are not the current stack
> Older guides — including our own earlier version of this page — point at **Wetstone** or **Bloodstone**. Install neither. Wetstone's last release is `1.2.0` from **September 2022**, it still targets the `1.0.0` BepInEx pack, and no mod updated since 2023 depends on it. Bloodstone is flagged **deprecated** on its own Thunderstore page. VampireCommandFramework is what replaced them.

## The Current Stack

| Package | Thunderstore path | Role |
|---|---|---|
| **BepInExPack V Rising** | `BepInEx/BepInExPack_V_Rising` | The loader. Everything else depends on it |
| **VampireCommandFramework** | `deca/VampireCommandFramework` | Command framework. Required by most server mods |

Both are *pinned* on Thunderstore, which is the site's own marker for the packages the community treats as canonical. At the time of writing the BepInEx pack is `1.733.2` and VCF is `0.11.0`, and the maintained V Rising mods declare those as their dependencies — a mod whose page lists a much older BepInEx pack has not been touched in a long time, which is a useful thing to notice before you install it.

## Step 1: Install BepInEx

> [!TIP] Check the Startup tab before installing by hand
> If [your managed V Rising server](/games/v-rising/) exposes a modding variable, set it to `bepinex` in Startup and let the panel place the loader for you.

Otherwise, install manually:

1. Download **BepInExPack V Rising** from `thunderstore.io/c/v-rising/p/BepInEx/BepInExPack_V_Rising/`.

2. Extract the archive somewhere outside the server folder.

3. Move the **contents** of the `BepInExPack_V_Rising` folder — not the folder itself — into the server root, the folder that holds `VRisingServer.exe`.

4. You should now see `BepInEx/`, `dotnet/`, `winhttp.dll`, `doorstop_config.ini` and `.doorstop_version` sitting beside the executable.

5. Restart the server.

BepInEx writes `BepInEx/LogOutput.log` the first time it loads. If that file never appears, the loader is not running and no plugin will load either. The first boot after installing also takes noticeably longer than usual while BepInEx generates its interop assemblies — that is expected, not a hang.

## Step 2: Install VampireCommandFramework

Download `deca/VampireCommandFramework` and put its `.dll` into `BepInEx/plugins/`. The package's own note to server operators is to install it there and keep it up to date: mods built against a newer VCF do not register their commands on an older one, and that is the most common reason a freshly installed mod appears to do nothing at all.

VCF commands are typed in the **chat box** with a `.` prefix, not in the `~` developer console — `.help` lists everything currently registered. The vanilla console command set is separate, and is covered in [V Rising Admin Commands](/knowledge-base/vrising/how-to-add-admins-and-commands/).

## Step 3: Install Mods

1. Download the mod from Thunderstore.

2. Install every dependency listed on its page first. Most server mods need the BepInEx pack and VCF; some need a third library as well.

3. Put the mod's `.dll` files in `BepInEx/plugins/`.

4. Restart. Most mods write a config file into `BepInEx/config/` on their first run, so stop the server, edit the file, and start it again.

Some mods ship extra files or expect a folder of their own. The mod's Thunderstore page is the authority on that, so read it rather than assuming every mod is a single DLL.

## Server-Side or Client-Side?

Every Thunderstore package carries category tags, and the tags tell you where the mod belongs.

| Tag on the package | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| **Server** | Server only. Players join with an unmodified client |
| **Client** | Each player installs it themselves. Nothing to do on the server |
| **Server** and **Client** | Both sides, and the versions need to match |

> [!IMPORTANT] `ServerLaunchFix` is not a dedicated-server mod
> Despite the name, ServerLaunchFix exists so that *server* mods can run on your own machine in single-player or Host & Play. A dedicated server does not need it, and it has not been updated since 2023.

## Popular Mods

Every path below is `thunderstore.io/c/v-rising/p/<path>/`.

| Mod | Path | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| **KindredCommands** | `odjit/KindredCommands` | Admin and moderation commands, plus server information. Pinned on Thunderstore |
| **Bloodcraft** | `zfolmt/Bloodcraft` | Leveling, expertise, legacies, professions, familiars, classes and quests |
| **KindredLogistics** | `Kindred/KindredLogistics` | Inventory management — stashing, craft-pulling, finding chests |
| **BloodyBoss** | `Trodi/BloodyBoss` | Custom V Blood world bosses with scaling and mechanics. Also needs `Trodi/BloodyCore` |
| **KindredSchematics** | `odjit/KindredSchematics` | Build, save and load structures as schematics |
| **XPRising** | `XPRising/XPRising` | Trades gear-level progression for an XP levelling system |

Two of those have a companion piece worth knowing about. Bloodcraft's in-game interface is a separate **client** mod, `zfolmt/Eclipse`, which your players install and you do not; BloodyBoss will not load at all unless BloodyCore is on the server first.

> [!IMPORTANT] Some mods need a client-side install as well
> Check the tags on each mod's Thunderstore page before you announce it. A mod tagged both Server and Client has to be installed by everyone who connects, and telling players that only after they have failed to join makes for a poor first impression.

## Keeping Mods Working

V Rising patches break mods. The pattern is always the same, so plan for it:

- **Snapshot before you patch.** The panel **Backups** tab covers your saves; also keep a copy of `BepInEx/plugins/` and `BepInEx/config/` so you can put a known-good set back.
- **Read the log first.** `BepInEx/LogOutput.log` names the plugin that failed and why. A missing dependency, a version mismatch and a mod that is simply too old for the current game build all look identical from inside the game.
- **Update the whole set, not one mod.** VCF and the mods that depend on it move together. Updating one mod and leaving the framework behind is what produces a mod that loads but whose commands do not exist.
- **Remove cleanly.** Deleting a plugin DLL leaves its config behind in `BepInEx/config/`, which is usually harmless but occasionally not.
- **Test with an empty plugins folder** when something is badly broken. Move everything out, confirm a vanilla boot, then add mods back a few at a time.

## What to Read Next

- [Getting started with your V Rising server](/knowledge-base/vrising/getting-started-with-your-server/) for first boot and the basics
- [V Rising Configuration](/knowledge-base/vrising/configuration-overview/)
- [V Rising Admin Setup](/knowledge-base/vrising/how-to-add-admins-and-commands/)

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