Valheim Dedicated Server: How to Setup And Run A Dedicated Server

Here's a detailed guide on how to run a Valheim Dedicated Server.

If there is any survival game that millions of people are currently talking about, it is Valheim. It has been a week since it released on Steam and it has already taken the gaming world on fire. Considering the popularity of the game, there are tons of fans who want to set up or run their own Valheim Dedicated Server on Steam.

Do you want to run your own Valheim Dedicated Server? If yes then don’t worry it is quite easy. There are multiple ways to set up Valheim Dedicated Server such as using SteamCMD. Since the developer of the game, Iron Gate has made it a lot easier, everyone can run their own dedicated server on Steam.

Also Read | Valheim Cheats And Console Commands

If you don’t know how then keep reading this guide…

Download The Valheim Dedicated Server Application

Those who have purchased Valheim can download a standalone Dedicated Server application. What all you need to do is search for Valheim in your Steam library and you will find it listed along with the game. You simply need to download the Valheim Dedicated Server app in Steam to get the process started.

Once downloaded, click on it to convert your PC into a persistent Valheim server. There are certain things that you should not forget to do before firing up the Dedicated Server app to ensure everything is working nicely.

  • Open Installation folder for the server, accessing the file you will have to tweak.
  • This is the path, which you will need to follow Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > Valheim dedicated server.
  • If you have installed your Steam Games manually then you go to that drive and find your Steam Folder and follow the rest of the path as we mentioned above.

Edit the “start_headless_server.bat” file

When you open the folder, you will find a file named “start_headless_server.bat”. Make sure to copy it some other folder on your PC before editing it.

What all you need to do is right-click on the file  “start_headless_server.bat” and select Edit to open it on Notepad.  Once opened, you will need to search for a line 7, starting with “start valheim_server…”. This line has everything that needs to be adjusted to run your own Valheim Dedicated Server steadily.

Here are the properties:

  • -name “My Server”
    • Enter a name of your own Valheim Dedicated Server. Make sure the name does not have any duplicate words from your password or World name.
  • -port 2456
    • Change this default port to the port that your router is using for Port Forwarding. To know what port your router is currently using, you will have to log into your router and select the Port Forwarding setting. Make sure this port is open in Firewall.
  • -world “Dedicated”
    • Enter the name of your world.
  • -password “Secret”
    • Enter your server’s password. If you don’t enter the password, you will run an open server.

After saving the file, fire up the Valheim Dedicated Server application. Valheim Dedicated Server would not be running until you see “Game Server Connected” at the bottom of your screen. In order to shut down your server, you will have to press Any Key. Yes, closing the Command window would not shut your Server down.

If you are finding it hard to set up your own Valheim Dedicated Server then I highly recommend renting a server from Citadel Server. They will set up everything for you and offer you more than 20 locations across the globe.

That’s everything you need to know about how to set up your own Valheim Dedicated Server on Steam. For more details do not forget to visit our Valheim Wiki Guide for cheats, boss fights, rare resource locations, etc.