The game allows players to buy their own server and host games for players up to 10. If you are planning on purchasing the server and hosting your own games this guide will help you. The guide to setting up a dedicated server for Valheim was originally posted by Gaston LeGume on the Steam forum. Follow the below steps to set up a dedicated server for Valheim.
Valheim – How to Set Up a Dedicated Server
SteamCMD and installing content
Download SteamCMD from here. Extract it to any location. I keep my SteamCMD on my desktop.
Create a .bat file named “update.bat” and paste the following in it:
C:\Users\USERNAME\Desktop\SteamCMD\steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir C:\Valheim +app_update 896660 validate +exit
- Change C:\Users\USERNAME\Desktop\SteamCMD\steamcmd to where you extracted SteamCMD.
- Change the +force_install_dir C:\Valheim to where you want to install the server.
Save the .bat file and run it. When it has finished it should look like this in the folder you specified:
Move your “update.bat” to the installation folder to keep it organized and run it when you want to update the server.
Configure server
Make a copy of the “start_headless_server.bat” in your server folder and rename it to “start.bat”. Open “start.bat” with any text editor.
I’ve marked the text you need to change with “CHANGEME” below, change them to what you want. When you’re done, save and exit.
@echo off
set SteamAppId=892970
REM Tip: Make a local copy of this script to avoid it being overwritten by steam.
REM NOTE: Minimum password length is 5 characters & Password cant be in the server name. REM NOTE: You need to make sure the ports 2456-2458 is being forwarded to your server through your local router & firewall.
start valheim_server -nographics -batchmode -name "CHANGEME" -port 2456 -world "CHANGEME" -password "CHANGEME" -public 1
echo Server started
echo.
echo Press ANY KEY to stop server
pause > nul
echo 1 > server_exit.drp
echo Server exit signal set
echo You can now close this terminal
Make sure ports 2456-2458 are open in your firewall on your router and PC. You can now start the server with the “start.bat” file. The server is ready when it says “Game server connected”. To close down the server properly, open the CMD prompt that is open (see picture below) and input any key.
Save location
You can find your world in AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim. You can move your Singleplayer saves over to the dedicated server if it’s on another PC, just make sure you name it the same in your “start.bat”.
Direct Connect
Go to Steam > View > Servers > Favorites > Add a server
Put your machines IP and then port 2457 (default port +1 if you changed it), example: 192.168.1.20:2457
You can now direct connect through the steam server browser. If you’re connecting from the outside, put your exterior IP.
It might show for a second and then disappear, make sure to double-click it instantly after refreshing. Not sure why this happens for me.
If you follow the steps exactly, you should be able to Set Up a Dedicated Server for Valheim.