Valheim Server Seed: How to See It, Choose It and Change It

What the seed is

It's the code the game uses to generate the map: the shape of the islands, where each biome falls and where the boss altars and other locations are. Same seed and same game version, same map. What you do afterwards (bases, roads, what you chop down) doesn't depend on it: that's saved in the world.

It's at most 10 characters long and case-sensitive: “Vikings12” and “vikings12” are different worlds. Always copy it exactly.

The seed and the world name are separate things. The name is just what the world's folder is called; two worlds can have the same seed with different names.

Why the server won't let you choose it

The Valheim dedicated server has no startup option for the seed. When you start it, it loads the world whose name you've given it and, if it doesn't exist, creates a new one with that name and a random seed.

So, for a specific seed, you create the world in the game, on your PC, where there is a field to type it, and then upload it to the server. It takes five minutes.

On NapNodes, the name of the world the server loads is the “World” setting, in “Settings” (the world's folder in worlds_local). If you change it to one that doesn't exist, the server creates a new world on restart and the previous one stays saved.

Creating a server with the seed you want

1. Create the world on your PC

   In the game, pick a character and, in “Select world”, create a new one. Give it a short name with no odd spaces (on NapNodes, the “World” setting allows 20 characters), and in the seed field delete the random one and type yours.

2. Join once

   Load the world, wait until you spawn and leave from the menu: that way the game saves it to disk. You don't need to play.

3. Modifiers? Not here

   Create it on “Normal”. Difficulty and the other modifiers are set later on the server, in “Settings” → “World difficulty and modifiers” (why it's better that way).

4. Zip the world's folder

   On Windows, in %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local, right-click the folder with the world's name → “Compress to ZIP file”. Since 1.0 the world is that whole folder (what changed).

5. Upload it to the server

   With the server stopped, in “Files” go into .config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local, upload the .zip and, in its menu, “Decompress”. The folder has to end up directly inside worlds_local. If there was already a world, make a backup in “Backups” first.

6. Put its name in “World”

   In “Settings”, type the exact folder name in “World”, capital letters included, and start the server. In the console it has to load that world, not create another. If an empty one appears, see if a new world was created.

Seeing your world's seed

On your PC it's easy: in the game, the “Select world” list shows the seed next to each world's name.

A dedicated server doesn't show it in any menu. The simplest way is to bring a copy of the world over: in “Files”, in worlds_local, “Compress” the world's folder and “Download” the .zip. Unzip it into your worlds_local folder and the world appears in “Select world” with its seed. It's only a copy to look at: if you play on it, what you do doesn't reach the server.

If your world is from before 1.0 and is still a .db and a .fwl, the .fwl is what matters, since it holds the name and the seed: put both in your worlds_local and you'll see it in the list just the same.

Changing the seed of a world you've started

You can't: the seed is what made the map you've already explored, and changing it would be another world. What you can do is start a new one without losing the current one.

With a random seed, just change “World” in “Settings” to a new name and restart: the server creates the new world and the old one stays in worlds_local, with its name. To go back to it, set its name again. With a specific seed, follow the steps above with another world name.

Watch the disk: each world takes up its share, and on the free server it's 5 GB. If you're not going to play an old world again, download it as a .zip and delete it from the server.

Before switching, create a backup in “Backups”: if you change your mind, you go back in one click (how to restore it).

Looking at a seed's map before playing

There are map viewers online that draw a seed's map: biomes, altars, the trader. They help you pick one with everything close by, at the cost of losing the surprise of exploring. Check the viewer says it's for 1.0: if the game changes how it generates the world, the same seed can give a different map.

“Best seeds” lists are often for old versions for the same reason. Before setting up the server with one, create it on your PC, take a walk around and check it's what you expected.

Frequently asked questions