How to Reset or Wipe Your Valheim World
Delete your current Valheim world and generate a fresh one. Always back up first.
When to Reset
A world reset deletes the current world and generates a fresh one with a new seed. Common reasons to reset:
The world has been explored for hundreds of hours and lag from accumulated ZDOs is unmanageable.
You want a fresh start with a new map layout.
The current world is corrupted and restores from backup also fail.
You are changing world modifiers and want a clean start.
A world reset is permanent. Always create a backup before resetting in case you want to restore the old world later.
How to Reset
There are two routes. The panel one is easier; the file one lets you keep the old world files on the server.
From the panel: stop the server, take a manual backup from the Backups tab, then open the Admin tab and use "Delete Savegames". It permanently deletes the save data and leaves your game files and settings alone. Confirm, then start the server and a fresh world is generated.
Do NOT use "Wipe Server" for this. That card resets the whole server to a fresh install rather than just clearing the world. Your bundle slot and paid time are preserved either way, but Wipe Server takes far more with it.
By hand, if you would rather keep the old files:
1. Stop the server from the control panel. Wait for it to show as Offline.
2. Create a manual backup from the Backups tab. This is your safety net.
3. Open the Files tab and navigate to the worlds_local directory.
4. Rename (or delete) the WorldName.db and WorldName.fwl files. Also move the .old copies if you want a completely clean slate.
5. Optional: change the World Name in Settings if you want the new world to have a different name.
6. Optional: change the World Preset or individual modifiers in Settings if you want different gameplay settings.
7. Start the server. A new world is generated.
8. Connect and verify the new world is correct.
The permission files (adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt, permittedlist.txt) live at the root of your server folder, not in worlds_local, so a world reset done this way does not touch them. Your admins and bans remain in place.
Generating a New Seed
When you delete the world files and start the server, Valheim generates a new world with a random seed. The seed determines the world layout - biome placement, island shapes, and boss altar locations.
You cannot specify a seed directly through the server settings. The seed is embedded in the .fwl file and is generated automatically.
To use a specific seed, generate the world in singleplayer first (using a seed finder mod or tool), then upload the .db and .fwl files to the server. See the Import World guide.
Different seeds produce vastly different worlds. If you do not like the layout of a freshly generated world, reset again to get a new seed.
Restoring After a Reset
If you reset by mistake or want your old world back:
1. Stop the server.
2. Open the Backups tab and find a backup from before the reset. Only a backup in the "verified" state offers a Restore button.
3. Click "Restore" on that backup and confirm.
4. The server is stopped, restored to its pre-reset state including the old world files, and started again. The restore runs as a job and reports its outcome on the page.
5. Verify the old world is back.
Even if you took no manual backup, the automatic daily one from before the reset is probably still there - automatic backups are retained as the last 7 backups or 7 days, whichever comes first. Do not leave it much longer than that.