Valheim 1.0 on a Dedicated Server: What Changes and What to Check

What 1.0 brings

The new biome, Deep North, with its boss, weapons, armor, creatures and building pieces. Achievements for the first time. And crossplay across every platform: Steam, Microsoft Store, Mac App Store, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2.

What doesn't change: it's still a game for 1 to 10 players, and the dedicated server is still the free Steam program, Valheim Dedicated Server.

Worlds are now folders

1.0 brings a new save system (it was tested earlier on the public test branch, with patch 0.221.13). Each world is a folder with its name inside worlds_local, and what used to be the .db is split into chunks. When saving, only the chunks that changed are rewritten, and the game then checks that the save went through. Automatic backups go in separate folders.

An old world (the .db and the .fwl) still works: the first time 1.0 loads it, the game makes a backup and converts it. Characters don't change format.

For a server, the practical consequence is that a world no longer moves as two files: you have to take the whole folder. On a panel that can't upload folders, you zip it and unzip it there. Step by step in how to move your Valheim world to a server.

Do you need to start a new world?

No. According to the official 1.0 FAQ, your world gets the new content even if it's old, but the new biomes only generate properly in areas nobody has explored yet. Iron Gate recommends starting fresh for the best experience, without forcing anyone.

If you've already explored a lot, there's an admin mod, Upgrade World (on Thunderstore), made to add new content to areas that have already been explored. It really changes the world: make a backup before using it.

Mods: many broke with 1.0

Valheim has no official mod support, and Iron Gate itself warned that after 1.0 mods would take a while to catch up. There are no mods on console and no Steam Workshop either.

Before installing or updating, check on Thunderstore the date of each mod's latest version: if it's before 9 September 2026, it wasn't made for 1.0. Many authors tag the ones that already work with the “Deep North Update” category. BepInExPack Valheim, the loader they all need, is up to date: its latest version is from 24 September 2026. The ones we checked for group play are in Valheim mods for playing with friends.

Achievements and cheats

Achievements count from the moment you download 1.0: anything you did before doesn't count. Using most devcommands cheats (spawn, for example) permanently marks your character and the world, and they no longer earn achievements; the game asks for confirmation first. A few, like freefly, don't mark you. Items created with cheats are marked, and whoever picks them up can't earn achievements until they get rid of them.

Hammer mode (the hammer preset, one of the world modifiers) counts as a temporary cheat and blocks some achievements. Since patch 1.0.12 there's a console command to become eligible for achievements again even if you've used cheats or mods. Which cheats exist and why they don't work on a dedicated server, in Valheim commands.

Admins, bans and whitelist: the new IDs

adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt and permittedlist.txt hold one player ID per line, with its platform in front. 1.0 shows IDs in a new format that starts with V_. At launch, the ban and permitted lists only accepted that format; patch 1.0.12 fixed it and the old ones work again, like Steam_ followed by the number.

If after 1.0 someone on the list can't join, update the server and copy their ID exactly as the game's F2 panel shows it (it's case-sensitive). How to use the three lists, in Valheim private server.

The 1.0 patches that affect a server

1.0.12: items on item stands and armor stands no longer lose their level when converting an old world. If you converted yours before that patch and noticed, Iron Gate suggests (in the 1.0.15 notes) going back to the backup the game made when converting it, losing whatever came after, or loading a copy of that backup, grabbing the items and bringing them to your world.

1.0.14: fixes a bug that could stop you joining other people's servers and another that kept your character from saving properly when saving manually while playing on someone else's server.

1.0.17: fixes a rare bug that could delete every item in parts of the world when splitting a large save file into smaller ones. That's one more reason to keep the server up to date.

1.0.20: the dedicated server no longer eats CPU without limit if a game with vertical sync turned on is running on the same PC. It matters if you play and host on the same computer. It also removes the cheat mark from items that a 1.0 bug marked for no reason.

On NapNodes

1. Updates on its own

   With “Update the game on start” turned on in “Settings” (it comes that way), the server downloads the new version when it starts. If someone gets “incompatible version”, they should update their game and you restart the server.

2. Back up before big changes

   Before moving an old world or touching mods, create a backup in “Backups”.

3. Worlds as .zip

   The world folder is uploaded compressed in “Files” and opened with “Decompress” inside worlds_local, in .config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim.

4. Mods up to date

   In “Mods”, check each mod's date before installing it. If the server won't start with one, remove it from “Installed” and restart.

Frequently asked questions