Do something to rifts...

[Depsyy]

I am slowly losing my mind with the rifts in this game. I'm trying to explore the map and prospect possible spots for iron only to get constantly harassed by random monsters spawning from the rifts. Also why is there an enemy like bowthorn in the game to begin with? I am completely fine with getting attacked by wolves and bears but getting bombarded by needles in the DARK while not being able to see anything is not acceptable. I would like to see an option or console command to tone down the rifts aggressively spawning more enemies. 

Pic related happened right in my house when I opened a wall for a split second to add cobblestone walls in... Please developers, this is not fun. Its tedious and wasting my time and progression.

[Forceous]

You can use this command to disable rifts, which will in turn lower drifters spawn rate

/worldconfig temporalRifts off

 

[Depsyy]

17 minutes ago, Forceous said:

You can use this command to disable rifts, which will in turn lower drifters spawn rate

/worldconfig temporalRifts off

 

I'll use it, thanks.

[marmarmar34]

I've disabled surface spawning for rust enemies as well. I've found that it's always more of an annoyance than an actual threat. I absolutely loved bumping into a group of drifters whenever I did literally anything.

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, Depsyy said:

Also why is there an enemy like bowthorn in the game to begin with?

Prior to 1.20, drifters were the only monster that the player would regularly encounter, given that mechanical monsters are primarily confined to the underground. Drifters, while still dangerous, aren't particularly hard to fight, and it was quite possible to skip armor entirely and just run around throwing flint spears and bandaging as needed(there was no delay on bandaging either). The introduction of shivers meant there was now something fast enough to catch the player, and the bowtorn filled the role of dangerous ranged opponent. Any of the monsters by themselves are still easy to deal with, but when combined together they can make for a pretty tough challenge since the player will need to strategize a little.

[Steel General]

At the bottom of your info panel, it says "Current Rift activity: Apocalyptic" - that should be a temporary condition that is supposed to be troublesome when it happens. If it's staying that way throughout your play then it's a bug.

[ArgentLuna]

something something slight horror themes

 

Also get more light in your place and the only times you'll have guests is in a storm

[Monsota]

I do feel like there should be some kind of limit to the amount of enemies that a single rift can churn out, or at the least they should give you a sound cue something along the lines of, "Hey pal, I'm gonna spawn three Bowtorn and a Shiver now, and maybe a couple Drifters if I feel like it. Good luck." Maybe a louder sound so you can hear if a rift has opened up nearby to you?

While I believe that rifts are a part of Vintage Story's progression challenges (building something that qualifies as a room and getting permanent light sources to help prevent their spawns) I can't deny it would be really nice if there was some early game way of handling the rifts—I imagine just by killing enemies spawned by the rift so you're still handling it manually (don't Drifter-type enemies restore stability when you kill them?). This would also make a more interesting (and potentially rewarding) option compared to the alternative of getting out of render distance to forcibly despawn them.

It would also be nice if Drifters and Shivers weren't often dead silent when they decide to throw down with you. For Shivers maybe it could be turned into a mechanic that they'll stalk you (which could lead to some pretty decent spooks), but some of the annoyance comes a bit from how little warning there is beyond "oh dang, I was doing something unrelated and I got hit by a rock."

At the same time, there's no accounting for what the game decides to do to you rift-wise what with apocalypse levels of spawn rates—full disclosure, I think this is just terrible luck. I think it would be perhaps more enjoyable if the game advertised how to keep them from invading your home and better preparing for temporal storms and the like—such as that drifter-type enemies don't like the light and are liable to flee from it, which has saved my hide once or twice from the use of a torch in the offhand. Anything to change the thinking of "okay there's just nothing I can do about this and I'm about to be made like a witch trial" which isn't a fun one.

While it is still some fairly risky business to bust open holes in the wall when there's enemies spawning outside and you can at least make sure you see your opponents with a torch or lantern in your off-hand (a shield will likely block a good few projectiles even passively), I fully agree that the rifts should have at least a couple difficulty settings and some more warning as to what's about to come your way given how close you have to be to hear the rift creaking. As it stands, if you're close enough to hear the rift ambience, it's probably already too late to avoid or prepare for whatever's around it.

Granted, a lot of this is coming from my disdain for completely dead silent enemies that just hit you out of nowhere, so maybe I'm biased in that way. Why do Drifters make no footsteps sounds? Shivers move that quick and you're gonna tell me I can't at least hear rustling in the bushes? Going on a walk through a forest only to take half my health in damage from a brown bear that just happened to be nearby, dooming me to a chase I have very little chance of escaping? At least Bowtorn make their cool shrieking sounds and you can probably react in time.

[Entaris]

On 1/23/2026 at 5:37 PM, Monsota said:

 I can't deny it would be really nice if there was some early game way of handling the rifts

You mean, like staying inside at night?

Keeping an eye on your Sanity wheel?

Tracking the Rift activity in your menu?

Staying on the move and keeping your head on a swivel?

Keeping your sight lines open?