Valheim Server Hosting
Viking survival, hosted properly — our own GameGrid Bridge for a live map rendered from your seed, a shop and kits, crossplay, mods, and every world modifier in the panel.
What's Included
- ✓GameGrid Bridge, our own plugin, installed on every start
- ✓Live map rendered from your world seed, with fog over unexplored ground
- ✓Bases, ships, portals, graves, traders, boss altars and dungeons on the map
- ✓World timelapse, activity heatmap, map notes and pings that reach the game
- ✓Per-wipe leaderboard and boss progress
- ✓Shop and kits with Discord /buy and /kits, delivered by spawn with no client mod
- ✓Coins for playtime, raids survived and bosses felled
- ✓Discord linking with !link, and in-game chat to and from Discord
- ✓Every world modifier in the control panel, and on a schedule with the Event Manager
- ✓Command Manager: 8 schedulable bridge commands
- ✓Crossplay between Steam and Xbox
- ✓BepInEx mods from Thunderstore, Nexus Mods and Hexium, in a backed-up BepInEx directory
- ✓Admin, whitelist and ban lists
- ✓Live server console
- ✓Discord bot with 52 commands, and the Customer API
- ✓Automatic backups every 24 hours, plus Valheim's own world backups
- ✓Full file manager, FTP and SFTP access
- ✓Instant deployment and DDoS protection
Server Details
Valheim dedicated servers on GameGrid, deployed in minutes and configured entirely from the control panel.
Valheim has no RCON, telnet or web API of its own, so we wrote one: the GameGrid Bridge, our own plugin, put in place in your server before every start. Your players install nothing for it, on any platform.
The live map is rendered from your world seed, in three terrain styles with contour lines, and fogged over the ground your players have not walked. It shows the players who choose to be seen, their bases, ships, portals, graves, beds and wards, and the spawn, traders, boss altars and dungeons. Add map notes and pings that reach the game, play back a timelapse of the world, look at an activity heatmap, and follow each wipe's leaderboard and boss progress. A public share link shows the terrain and the server's status.
Run an in-game economy: a shop and kits your players buy with /buy and /kits in the GameGrid Discord bot, delivered by spawn with no client mod, from a catalogue of the server's own items. Players link their Discord account with a !link code in game chat and earn coins for playtime, raids survived and bosses felled, and your in-game chat can be bridged to a Discord channel.
The Event Manager runs the world modifiers on a schedule, a raid-free weekend or a week of harder combat, and puts them back afterwards; the Command Manager schedules any of 8 bridge commands.
Every one of Valheim's world modifiers is here as a normal setting: combat, death penalty, resources, raids and portals, plus the switches for no build cost, player-based raids, passive enemies and no map. Pick one of the seven presets or set each modifier yourself. Every setting comes with an explanation of what it does — no editing a batch file, and nothing hidden behind a support ticket.
Crossplay is on by default, so Steam and Xbox players join the same world. Server visibility is yours to choose: leave the server off the public list and share the password, or list it and let people find you.
Mods run on BepInEx. The BepInEx directory is writable and included in every backup, so you can install plugins through the file manager or FTP, and browse Thunderstore, Nexus Mods and Hexium from the Mods tab. The server restarts itself, and the loader announces its version in the live console so you can see it actually took effect before you install anything on top of it.
Admins, whitelist and bans are 3 editable lists in the panel, keyed by platform ID — a Steam ban and an Xbox ban are separate entries, because they are separate accounts.
Worlds are backed up automatically on two intervals, and the server is stopped gracefully so Valheim writes the world out rather than losing it. Full file manager and FTP if you want to get at the files yourself.
Also Included
Every slot on a plan in this group can run any of these games at the same price. To change games, delete a server and create another game in its slot. Save its world to your Vault first to load it back when you return to that game.
Valheim Server Hosting FAQ
How many players can join a Valheim server?
Valheim itself stops at 10, and offers no setting or launch argument to change it. Raising it needs the BepInEx mod loader plus the MaxPlayerCount plugin, which run on the server only — your players do not install anything. The plugin is not self-serve: open a support ticket to have GameGrid install it, then a Max Players field appears in Settings (up to 64; GameGrid supports up to 16). Note that Valheim was built around small groups: the further past 10 you go, the more you should expect the world to strain.
Does Valheim support crossplay between PC and consoles?
Yes. With crossplay enabled (the default on GameGrid), players on Steam, Xbox, Game Pass, Mac, and Linux can all join the same server. Console players connect using a 6-digit Join Code shown on your dashboard, while Steam players can use direct IP. PS5 and Nintendo Switch are not currently supported by Valheim.
Do I need to own Valheim to run a dedicated server?
No. The Valheim dedicated server software (Steam App 896660) is free and does not require a Valheim license on the host. However, every player who connects to your server must own Valheim on their platform.
What ports does a Valheim server use?
Valheim uses two consecutive UDP ports: the game port (default 2456) and the query port (default 2457, always game port + 1). On GameGrid, ports are assigned and firewalled automatically - you do not need to configure port forwarding or Windows Firewall rules.
Is a password required for my Valheim server?
Yes. Valheim requires a password on all dedicated servers. It must be at least 5 characters and cannot be a substring of the server name. For example, if your server is named "Odin Server", the password cannot be "Odin" or "Server" - the server will silently refuse to start. On GameGrid, set the password from the Settings tab.
Can I install mods on my Valheim server?
Yes. GameGrid supports BepInEx mod installation from the Mods tab. Browse and install mods from Thunderstore, Nexus Mods and Hexium on the Mods tab. Note that game-changing mods can cause desync for console (crossplay) players, so run a vanilla server if your group includes Xbox players. Always back up your world before installing or updating mods.
How do I become an admin on my Valheim server?
Add your Platform User ID to the admin list from the Player Management tab in the control panel. For Steam players, this is your SteamID64 (a 17-digit number). For crossplay players, it is the [Platform]_[UserID] format shown in the Console tab when you connect. Changes take effect immediately without a restart.
Can I upload my existing Valheim world?
Yes. Stop your server, upload both the .db and .fwl files to the worlds_local directory using the File Manager, set the World Name in Settings to match the file name, and start the server. Both files must have the same base name. See our Import World guide for step-by-step instructions.
How do I reset or wipe my Valheim server?
Stop the server, create a backup from the Backups tab, then delete the .db and .fwl files from the worlds_local directory using the File Manager. Restart the server and a fresh world with a new seed will be generated. Your admin and ban lists are preserved. Always back up first in case you want to restore the old world.
Why is my Valheim server lagging?
The most common cause is building piece count. A single base with 3000+ building pieces will cause lag for everyone who enters the area. Other causes include too many tamed animals, excessive terrain modification, and long-lived worlds with many tracked objects. For large groups (8+ players), the Better Networking BepInEx mod significantly reduces desync by raising the data rate cap.
How do I change the world difficulty?
Use World Modifiers in the Settings tab. Presets range from Casual (easy, no raids, more resources) to Hardcore (very hard, permadeath penalties). You can also set individual modifiers for combat, death penalty, resource rates, raid frequency, and portal rules. Changes require a server restart to take effect.
What is the Valheim progression order?
Meadows (Eikthyr) then Black Forest (The Elder) then Swamp (Bonemass) then Mountains (Moder) then Plains (Yagluth) then Mistlands (The Queen) then Ashlands (Fader). Each biome unlocks the gear needed for the next. See our Progression Guide for full details.
How much RAM does a Valheim server need?
4 GB is recommended for most groups. Large, long-lived worlds with extensive building can use more. GameGrid does not cap a server's RAM, and the Resource Monitor shows what your server is using. If memory keeps climbing, the causes are usually the same as for lag: very large bases, many tamed animals and heavy terrain modification.
What happens when Valheim releases a game update?
GameGrid detects the update via SteamCMD and, by default, applies it for you. The control is on the Admin tab in the Game Updates card: a switch called "Automatically apply game updates" (on unless you turn it off), a badge when a newer build is available, and an "Update now" button. Updating is not something you trigger by restarting - it runs as a separate job that stages the new build, takes a pre-update backup, stops the server, applies the update, and starts it again. If you are running mods, wait until mod authors have updated their mods for the new version before updating. Always back up before updating.
Can console players run a Valheim dedicated server?
No. The Valheim dedicated server software runs on PC, Linux, and Mac only. Console players (Xbox) can join a dedicated server but cannot host one. This is why a dedicated server like GameGrid is required for crossplay groups with console players.