STORY
For players who want to focus on exploration, base-building, and narrative.
- Daytime Curve
- C Temperature Curve Daytime Story
- Hunger Penalties
- 0.5
- Movement Penalties
- 0.5
- Rest Depletion Rate
- 0.7
- Frostbite Penalties
- 0.5
- Exhaustion Penalties
- 0.5
Permafrost Difficulty Settings
The 3 presets (CUSTOM, STORY, SURVIVAL) share 18 tunables; 18 of them differ between presets. Custom lets you set each one yourself.
- Presets
- 3CUSTOM, STORY, SURVIVAL
- Tunables
- 18per preset
- Differ
- 18between presets
Presets
Game data
CUSTOM
For players who prefers more personalized experience, matching own preferred playstyle.
- Daytime Curve
- —
- Hunger Penalties
- —
- Movement Penalties
- —
- Rest Depletion Rate
- —
- Frostbite Penalties
- —
- Exhaustion Penalties
- —
SURVIVAL
For experienced survivors who want a demanding challenge. Scarcer resources, harsher conditions, tougher consequences.
- Daytime Curve
- C Temperature Curve Daytime Normal
- Hunger Penalties
- —
- Movement Penalties
- —
- Rest Depletion Rate
- —
- Frostbite Penalties
- —
- Exhaustion Penalties
- —
Data: Permafrost Early Access preview build 0.44.2.4552-playtest — refreshed at the Oct 9 launch. How we source this
What differs
Game dataOnly the settings that change between presets.
| Setting |  CUSTOM |  STORY |  SURVIVAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daytime Curve | — | C Temperature Curve Daytime Story | C Temperature Curve Daytime Normal |
| Hunger Penalties | — | 0.5 | — |
| Movement Penalties | — | 0.5 | — |
| Rest Depletion Rate | — | 0.7 | — |
| Frostbite Penalties | — | 0.5 | — |
| Exhaustion Penalties | — | 0.5 | — |
| Minning Cost Modifier | — | 0.7 | — |
| Chopping Cost Modifier | — | 0.7 | — |
| Max Stamina Multiplier | — | 1.25 | — |
| Taken Damage Reduction | — | 0.8 | — |
| Weather Modifiers List | — | Temperature Modifier 1.1, Weather Condition Type Blizzard; Temperature Modifier 1.05, Weather Condition Type Storm | Temperature Modifier 1.3, Weather Condition Type Blizzard; Temperature Modifier 1.1, Weather Condition Type Storm |
| Nutrition Depletion Rate | — | 0.5 | — |
| Durability Decline Cloths | — | 0.5 | — |
| Starvation Damage Modifier | — | 0.25 | — |
| Stamina Sprint Cost Modifier | — | 0.5 | — |
| Cold Zone Difficulty Modifiers | — | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Stamina Regeneration Modifier | — | 1.5 | — |
| Temperature Around Player Modifier | — | 0.8 | — |
All settings
Game dataThe remaining settings are identical in every preset (18 tunables in total).
Values are the raw multipliers and flags from the preset data assets; 1 means the default rate.
Permafrost ships 3 difficulty presets: CUSTOM, STORY, SURVIVAL. They share 18 tunables and differ in 18 of them. Custom exposes every tunable, so any mix of story pacing and survival pressure is possible.
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Difficulty FAQ
Which difficulty should I pick in Permafrost?
Story for the narrative with gentler hunger, rest and damage; Survival for the full depletion rates; Custom to set the 18 tunables yourself. The table above shows exactly which values change.
What changes between Story and Survival?
18 settings differ, covering nutrition and rest depletion, damage taken, stamina and weather or cold-zone modifiers. Everything else is identical.
Can I change difficulty mid-game?
The preview build exposes the presets at world creation; Custom lets you tune each setting individually there.