Configuration
Server owner guide to customization
Admin UI
The fastest way to configure common settings is via /mmoadmin:
- Disable XP in Creative - Toggle whether creative mode players gain XP
- Skill Permissions - Toggle permission-based skill access
- Item Rewards - Enable/disable item rewards at milestones
- Boost Stacking Limits - Configure max multiplier, active boost caps, and stack mode
- Allow Skill Tree Reset - Toggle whether players can respec their reward choices
- Max Levels - Set a default max level for all skills (shipped default: 200) and override it per-skill. XP stops being awarded once a skill reaches its cap
- Milestone Announcements - Run commands when players reach configurable level milestones (e.g., broadcast achievements with
/say) - Award Boost - Grant boost permissions or tokens to players
- Mob Kill XP - Configure per-mob XP values and weapon scaling for kill-only combat mode
- Edit XP Maps - Visually edit XP values per skill
- Edit Rewards - Visual editor for command rewards per skill and level
- Edit Skill Tree - Customize skill tree reward tiers, levels, and choices
- Edit Tokens - Browse and modify XP token and boost token values
Changes made via /mmoadmin are saved immediately to the config files.
Two different numbers: content cap vs. configurable ceiling
The shipped skill tree is designed and tuned through level 100 - every default reward tier and node stops there. The
defaultMaxLevel a fresh server actually ships with is 200 (CustomSkillsConfig.DEFAULT_MAX_LEVEL), leaving headroom above the designed content for a server owner who wants to author further tiers. There is no hard-coded upper limit above 200 either - defaultMaxLevel and per-skill overrides only floor-clamp to 1.In-Game Help Guide
Every admin page has a ? button that opens a contextual help card for that specific feature. Each card has an Overview, How It Works, Examples, and Tips section, plus a link to the full online docs. The help content is localized through the standard language files so translated servers get a fully localized guide.
Config Files
All configs are located in mods/mmoskilltree/ (30 files plus the quests/, achievements/, and optional localization/ folders):
| File | Purpose | Type |
|---|---|---|
skill-config.json | Core settings: leveling formula, default language, permissions, placed-block tracking, combat-XP mode + blacklist, boost-stacking limits, damage cap, dodge timing. Detailed guide | Traditional |
database.json | Player-data backend selector + tunables (ecs default | postgres | mysql): pool, flush, connection timeout, dbDownPolicy; holds no credentials. | Standalone |
ability-settings.json | Server-wide ability toggle plus dodge/counterattack timing (dodge window, armed-slot duration). Detailed guide | Override |
ability-overrides.json | Per-ability owner tuning layer over the pack-authorable Server/MMOSkillTree/Abilities/*.json assets; a partial body (e.g. just Cooldown) overlays per-leaf onto the folded ability instead of replacing it wholesale. Replaced the retired abilities.json. Detailed guide | Override |
power-level.json | Owner overlay for the Power Level formula (pillar weights, clamp range, per-mode COMBAT_ONLY/BALANCED/COMPLETIONIST tuning) over the jar-bundled defaults; folds defaults < pack < owner per leaf. | Override |
mastery.json | Ability-mastery node definitions: costs, stat bonuses, and respec rules. Detailed guide | Override |
currencies.json | Currency definitions (item-backed or counter-backed balances) and their display. Detailed guide | Override |
combat-text.json | Colored floating combat text (red crit, gold level-up): master and per-event toggles plus a configurable color per event. | Override |
feedback.json | Sound + optional camera-shake cues per moment (crit, finisher, kill, level-up, bounty); combat sounds ship off by default. | Override |
bounty-board.json | Bounty board schedules: rotation, selection, slot / difficulty mix, reroll cost, per-board and global on/off, per-difficulty combat-level gate. | Override |
token-shop.json | Token Shop catalog + global on/off; offers ship in a content pack with cost, reward, and optional gates. | Override |
spawn-hub.json | The Adventurer's Guide hub NPC at world spawn: toggle, role, offset / facing, and the worlds list it spawns in. | Override |
quest-givers.json | Quest-giver NPCs: placement (beside the world-spawn guide, on zone discovery, or by hand), role, and the dialogue or quest list each opens. | Override |
dialogues.json | Branching NPC dialogue trees: progress-aware greetings, option branches, conditions, and actions; drives TALK_TO_NPC objectives. | Override |
world-rules.json | Per-world rules matched by name (four wildcard forms: Foo_* prefix, *_Foo suffix, *Foo* contains, bare *, needed for instanced worlds that carry both a prefix and a random suffix): XP multiplier, combined abilities + HUD toggle, weapon-combat toggle, per-world disabled skills, and the StatBonusesEnabled switch (strips/restores persistent stat rewards on world entry/exit, independent of the combat-time-only CombatBonusesEnabled). | Override |
xp-maps.json | XP per block / item / weapon for each skill. Detailed guide | Override |
luck-loot.json | Luck bonus loot tables for bonus resources when gathering. | Override |
skill-tree.json | Milestone levels, reward choices, multi-select tiers, and ability-unlock placement. Detailed guide | Override |
command-rewards.json | Item rewards and commands granted at skill milestones. Detailed guide | Override |
mob-kill-xp.json | Per-mob base XP for kill-only combat mode. Detailed guide | Override |
mob-drop-commands.json | Opt-in command-based mob drops (dropList key) with chance, delay, and notifications; ships with zero default pools, off by default since 1.5.0. Detailed guide | Override |
xp-tokens.json | XP token amounts, boost multipliers / durations, and enable / disable. Detailed guide | Override |
item-requirements.json | Skill-level requirements for items, weapons, and blocks. Detailed guide | Override |
action-requirements.json | Tool-type requirements for blocks and weapon-type requirements for mobs. Detailed guide | Override |
boost-templates.json | Permission-based boost definitions (multiplier, duration, cooldown). Detailed guide | Override |
custom-skills.json | Custom skill definitions and built-in skill enable / disable. Detailed guide | Override |
elite-mobs.json | INERT since 1.5.0: the built-in Elite Mobs system was removed entirely (MMOSkillTreePlugin setup() reads nothing from this file); a legacy copy left on disk from an older install does nothing. Mob difficulty now comes from the separate, optional MMO Mob Scaling companion mod. Kept in this list only so an admin who finds the file on disk knows it is dead, not because the mod still reads it. | Override |
white-label.json | Server branding (name, description, logo) on UI pages. | Override |
reward-icons.json | Per-skill / per-target / per-reward-type icon overrides. | Override |
integrations.json | Enable / disable / prioritize mod integrations (auto-generated). Detailed guide | Override |
quests/ | Per-quest definition files: objectives, rewards, categories, prerequisites. Detailed guide | Folder |
achievements/ | Per-achievement definition files: criteria, milestones, server-first claims. Detailed guide | Folder |
localization/ | All display text in any language (overrides the jar-bundled .lang files). Detailed guide | Folder |
Config Types
Override-Based Configs
Most config files (ability-settings.json, ability-overrides.json, power-level.json, mastery.json, currencies.json, combat-text.json, feedback.json, bounty-board.json, token-shop.json, spawn-hub.json, quest-givers.json, dialogues.json, world-rules.json, xp-maps.json, luck-loot.json, skill-tree.json, command-rewards.json, mob-kill-xp.json, mob-drop-commands.json, xp-tokens.json, item-requirements.json, action-requirements.json, boost-templates.json, custom-skills.json, elite-mobs.json, white-label.json, reward-icons.json, integrations.json) use an override system:
- Files store only your customizations, not all defaults
- Your changes are preserved across mod updates
- New defaults are added automatically
- Use
/mmoconfig diffto see what you've changed - Use
/mmoconfig trimto remove redundant entries
Traditional Configs
Other configs store all values and may be regenerated on version updates. Your old config is backed up automatically.
Quick Config Examples
# Set diamond ore to 150 XP
/mmoconfig mining --args=Ore_Diamond_|150
# All ores give 25 XP (wildcard pattern)
/mmoconfig mining --args=Ore_|25
# Disable a default pattern
/mmoconfig disable --args=mining|Wood_Log
# View your customizations
/mmoconfig diff --args=mining
# Remove a customization (revert to default)
/mmoconfig remove --args=mining|Ore_Diamond_
# Harder early game
/mmoconfig basexp --args=400
# Easier endgame
/mmoconfig scale --args=150Detailed Guides
- XP Values Configuration - Customize XP per block, item, and weapon
- Leveling Formula - Understand and tune the XP curve
- Anti-Exploit Features - Placed block tracking, entity blacklist
- Skill Tree - Customize reward tiers, choices, and combat targeting
- Command Rewards - Customize item rewards at skill milestones
- Mob Kill XP - Configure per-mob XP values and weapon scaling for kill-only combat mode
- Mob Drop Commands - Trigger console commands or native item drops on mob kills, gated by chance and delay
- Quests - Create quests with objectives, prerequisites, and rewards
- XP Tokens - Configure consumable XP tokens and boost tokens
- Achievements - Player achievement system with points, meta-chains, and server-first claims
- Power Level - Multi-pillar power formula for the optional MMO Mob Scaling companion mod
Notification Tuning
Combat can produce a lot of floating notifications - damage numbers, XP gains, crits, defense blocks, combo finishers. Two knobs control the noise level:
- Notification batching -
notificationBatchMsinskill-config.json(100–5000ms, default 1000) aggregates same-type notifications into one combined number. - Per-type toggles - players can silence individual notification channels (critical hits, lifesteal, defense blocks, fall damage, combo damage) from the Settings page, while keeping everything else on.
Reference Files
The mods/mmoskilltree/_reference/ folder contains read-only files showing all default values:
defaults-xp-maps.json- All default XP valuesdefaults-luck-loot.json- All default luck loot entriesdefaults-skill-tree.json- All default skill tree tiers and reward choicesdefaults-command-rewards.json- All default item rewards per skill and leveldefaults-mob-kill-xp.json- All default mob kill XP valuesdefaults-xp-tokens.json- All default XP token definitions
Hot Reload
Most config changes can be applied without restart:
/mmoconfig reload- Reload all configs from files/mmoconfig reloadlang- Reload language files/mmoconfig reloaddefaults- Reset to built-in defaults
Backup & Recovery
- Configs auto-backup when mod updates (look for
*_backup.json) - Player data is stored in the world's entity data (ECS components) by default, unless
database.jsonselects apostgresormysqlbackend instead - in that case player data lives in that shared database and should be backed up there, not with the world save. - Leaderboard cache in
leaderboard-cache.json