Deep Rock Galactic: How to Disable Swarms with Custom Difficulty

Combat Summary

• The Custom Difficulty mod (by trumank, on mod.io) gives you control over enemy waves in Deep Rock Galactic, including the ability to remove timed swarms entirely.
• The relevant settings are EnemyWaveInterval and EnemyNormalWaveInterval — wave timers, not a simple “swarm frequency” toggle.
• A swarm-free setup always falls into the Sandbox mod category, which means achievements are locked while it is active.
• The host must install and enable the mod; joining players are automatically prompted to install it too.

Miners looking to refine their skills, test experimental loadouts, or simply explore the treacherous caverns of Hoxxes IV without the constant threat of a Glyphid swarm can do so by leveraging specific Deep Rock Galactic Mods. The primary tool is the Custom Difficulty mod, which grants granular control over mission parameters — enemy damage, enemy count, active enemy caps, resupply costs, and critically, the timers that drive swarm waves. This creates a powerful Practice Mode for dedicated training or map familiarity.

How Swarm Control Actually Works

A common misconception is that the mod has a “swarm frequency” slider you set to zero. It does not. Swarm timing in DRG is driven by wave intervals, and Custom Difficulty exposes them as EnemyWaveInterval (the announced, objective-linked swarm waves on missions like Mining Expedition and Point Extraction) and EnemyNormalWaveInterval (the unannounced ambient waves). Community difficulty presets that remove swarms — such as pH-JPEG’s “Send It!” variant — do it by stripping the timed swarm configuration, not by zeroing a slider.

Setting a wave interval to 0 does not disable waves; it removes the delay between them. To get a genuinely swarm-free mission you need a difficulty preset configured with no timed swarms, which is exactly what the community presets provide. If you are building your own config from the schema, study how the existing no-swarm presets are structured rather than guessing at field values.

Best Use Case

Disabling swarms is invaluable for several tactical situations. It is perfect for new Miners learning movement and traversal on complex terrain or veteran Miners wanting to master tricky platforming without being ambushed. It also provides a clean environment to accurately assess weapon damage, recoil patterns, and utility tool effectiveness against isolated targets. Consider using this for:

• Loadout Testing: Experiment with new weapon builds or Overclocks in a controlled setting.
• Map Exploration: Learn biome layouts, hidden paths, and optimal deposit routes.
• Parkour & Mobility Practice: Hone your traversal skills on challenging terrain without interruption.
• Team Coordination Drills: Practice Mission Tactics like resupply efficiency or objective handling with a new team.
• Screenshot and Video Capture: Clean caves make for far better footage when recording build showcases.

Recommended Tools

Two mods from the same author (trumank) cover the testing toolkit:

Mod	What it does	Get it at
Custom Difficulty	Adjusts enemy damage/count, wave intervals, resupply cost, enemy pools; supports mid-mission tweaks	mod.io/g/drg/m/custom-difficulty
Sandbox Utilities	Spawns scripted waves and enemies at your ping, builds a test cage, skips end screens, mid-mission class/loadout swap, experimental freecam, cheat terminal	mod.io/g/drg/m/sandbox-utilities
Swarm Size Control (alternative)	Standalone mod focused on spawn counts, mentioned by players as allowing sub-1 values	mod.io/g/drg/m/swarm-size-control

Sandbox Utilities is the recommended companion: spawn any enemy type at your marker to test single-target damage, build the near-indestructible test cage for controlled experiments, and skip the mission end screen to iterate faster. Note that its mod.io description does not list mineral/resource spawning — for resource needs, the cheat terminal (mentioned in community discussions) is the in-mod route.

Sandbox Utilities needs two dependencies: DRGLib and Mod Hub (the centralized mod settings UI, opened with H). Custom Difficulty lists no hard dependencies but the author recommends the same pair.

Installation (No Mod Manager Needed)

DRG does not use an external mod manager. Installation is built into the game:

1. Press ESC and open the Modding tab.
2. Browse and subscribe to the mods you want.
3. Press Apply and let the Space Rig reload.
4. The host enables the mods before launching; joining players get an automatic prompt to install the same mods.

The third-party tool mint (also by trumank) is an alternative installer some players prefer for stability and offline use. Do not go looking for a “Mod Integration Mod” or “MIM” for DRG — that is a Factorio mod and has nothing to do with this game.

Deployment Tactics

Once installed and enabled:

1. Launch Deep Rock Galactic with the mods active.
2. Open Mod Hub (H key) or the in-game mod settings to reach Custom Difficulty’s options.
3. Load or build a no-swarm preset: either use a community preset with timed swarms removed, or configure EnemyWaveInterval / EnemyNormalWaveInterval per the schema. Most values can be changed mid-mission without reloading.
4. Start a Mission: the announced swarm events are gone. Standard objectives and environmental hazards (cave leeches, exploders from the environment, falling rocks) still apply — this is not god mode.

Community Presets Worth Knowing

You do not have to build a config from scratch. The community has published ready-made difficulty presets on GitHub that you can drop into Custom Difficulty:

• pH-JPEG’s “Send It!” — a high-intensity preset family; the CD1 version removes timed swarms while keeping frequent ambient waves, useful when you want pressure without the announced events.
• pH-JPEG’s CD2 presets — built for the Custom Difficulty 2 beta, including a no-swarm variant.

Browse the preset repositories, read what each one changes, and import the closest match before tweaking it to taste. Starting from a working preset beats editing raw JSON blind.

The Achievement Question

This is the part many guides skip: using either of these mods locks achievements. DRG classifies mods as Verified, Approved, or Sandbox. Only Verified mods (and vanilla) allow achievement unlocks. Approved mods block them while enabled, and Sandbox saves block them entirely. A no-swarm Custom Difficulty setup necessarily falls into Sandbox territory — the official guidelines explicitly forbid Approved mods from reducing enemy spawns below normal — and Sandbox Utilities requires a dedicated Sandbox save. Plan your achievement hunting and your testing on separate saves.

Multiplayer works, with a catch: the host’s mods are authoritative, joiners are auto-prompted to match, and Sandbox saves can only matchmake with other Sandbox saves.

A Note on Maintenance

Both mods were written by trumank, who posted a farewell letter on the mod.io pages in August 2024 and stepped away from the DRG modding scene. The mods still work, but active development has stopped. Community member pH-JPEG is building Custom Difficulty 2, currently in public beta and not yet finished. If you hit a bug on a new game patch, check the CD2 beta or the community Discord before assuming your setup is broken.

Common Pitfalls

While incredibly useful, this method is not without its caveats:

• Not for Standard Play: Missions with modified difficulty do not represent real hazard levels. Do not use swarm-free runs to judge whether you are ready for a Hazard 5 deep dive.
• Achievement Lock: As covered above — separate your testing save from your progression save.
• Habit Formation: Over-reliance on a swarm-free environment builds bad habits. Keep running standard missions to stay sharp.
• Mod Drift: With the original author gone, major game updates can break things until the community patches them. Keep a vanilla fallback in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I disable swarms without mods? No. There is no vanilla setting, console command, or mission option that removes swarm waves. Mods are the only route.

Will my friends need the mods too? Yes. The host enables them, and joining players are automatically prompted to install and enable the same set before they can join.

Does this work on Deep Dives? Deep Dives run on fixed seeds with their own rules; modded difficulty does not apply the same way, and attempting it can cause instability. Use regular missions for testing.

Is Custom Difficulty 2 ready? As of the latest community reports, CD2 is in public beta and incomplete. The original Custom Difficulty still works for most use cases.

Can I get banned for using these mods? DRG has no anti-cheat and Ghost Ship Games officially supports modding through mod.io integration. You will not be banned. Achievements are locked on Sandbox saves, but that is the extent of the consequence.

How This Works in Rogue Core

Rogue Core takes the opposite approach: difficulty is a core mechanic, not something you mod away. The threat level system (Threat 1 to 3) is the game’s built-in difficulty dial — climbing increases enemy density, damage, and rewards, and it is the primary lever for tuning your run’s intensity. There is no mod support and no way to disable waves, because waves are the game. If you are coming from DRG’s sandbox testing mindset, the closest equivalent is running Threat 1 with a beginner-friendly reclaimer to learn mechanics before climbing. For co-op testing with friends, our co-op guide covers how lobbies and scaling work.

Miner’s Chatter

The community treats swarm-free testing as a legitimate training tool, not a cheat — nobody judges you for learning the Refined Liquid Morkite route in peace. The recurring advice: keep your Sandbox save clearly labeled, never mix it with your achievement-hunting save, and remember that the mod scene is community-maintained now that trumank has moved on. Test your builds in the cage, then prove them on Hazard 5.