How do I take over hosting a Valheim world?

Get the world folder from the current host's worlds_local folder (%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local), put the whole folder into your own worlds_local, and start it from your world list. You are now the host. Since Valheim 1.0 the world is a folder of files, so copy the folder, not single files.

Will I lose my character if someone else hosts?

No. Characters are stored on each player's own PC in characters_local, separate from the world. Your Viking, skills and inventory come with you into whoever's copy of the world you join.

What if the host is offline and never sent the world?

Then nobody else can open it. There is no copy anywhere except the host's PC, unless it is a cloud world on their Steam account, which only they can reach. Groups avoid this by sharing the world before the host disappears, not after.

Can a PS5 or Switch 2 player take over hosting?

No. Console players cannot receive a world file or run a dedicated server, so in a mixed group only PC players can take over a world. Console players join whichever PC player is hosting.

How to Play Valheim When the Host Is Offline

Q: Can you join a Valheim world when the host is offline?

No. A Valheim world you started from the game only runs while the host has the game open. When they quit, the world goes offline for everyone. To keep playing, someone else needs a copy of the world on their own PC, or the world has to run on a dedicated server.

Your crew wants to log on tonight and the host is at work, away for the weekend, or just not answering. In Valheim that normally means nobody plays: the world is on their PC, and when their game is closed, it is offline.

You can’t reach the world on their PC while it’s off. But you don’t need to - you need your own copy of it. Here is how to get one and keep playing.

Can You Join a Valheim World When the Host Is Offline?

No. When you start a world from Valheim’s main menu, your PC is the server. Everyone else connects to it, and it only exists while your game is running. Quit, and the world goes with you.

There are only two ways around that:

Someone else hosts from a copy of the world. The world moves to a different PC, and that player starts it.
The world runs on a dedicated server that stays up whether anyone is playing or not.

For most groups of friends the first is the one that fits - no second machine running all week, no monthly bill. The catch is that the world has to be on the new host’s PC before the old host disappears.

How Do You Take Over Hosting a Valheim World?

The current host sends the world, and you start it as your own. Since Valheim 1.0 (9 September 2026) a world is a folder, not a pair of files, so the folder is what has to travel.

The host closes Valheim fully, so nothing is half-written.
If the world shows a cloud icon, they open Manage saves on the character select screen, go to Worlds, select it and click Move to local first. Cloud worlds are not in the folder below.
They open %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local.
They copy the whole folder named after the world, zip it and send it to you.
You unzip it into your own worlds_local, keeping it as one folder.
You start Valheim, pick the world, and start the server. You’re the host now.

Everyone keeps their own character. Characters live in characters_local on each player’s PC, so the only thing that changes hands is the world.

Both PCs need to be on 1.0. A world converted to the folder format won’t load on a game that hasn’t updated.

Why Does the World Go Backwards After We Swap Hosts?

Because someone hosted from an old copy. The moment two people hold the world, there are two versions of it, and the most recent session only exists on whoever hosted it. If last night’s host doesn’t send it back, the next host starts from whatever they had before - and last night’s building, ore and boss kill are gone.

The manual fix is discipline: after every session, the host sends the world to everyone. It works until someone forgets once.

How SaveSync Keeps Every Copy Current

SaveSync does the handover for you. Share the world once, and after each session the latest copy reaches everyone who has it. Whoever is around tonight starts the newest version, without asking anyone for a zip.

The one-time setup takes a couple of minutes and is covered step by step in the Valheim save sharing guide. SaveSync also keeps a history of every upload - who uploaded it and when - so if a session goes wrong, you can roll the world back.

Would a Dedicated Server Be Better?

If your group plays at all hours, or someone always wants to drop in alone, a server that never goes offline is the cleaner answer. Valheim’s dedicated server is free, but hosting it yourself normally means forwarding ports on your router.

ServerSync, our second app, runs a Valheim dedicated server on a PC you already own with no port forwarding, and it can convert the world you have already been playing. It is free and in beta - ask for a key in ServerSync’s Discord. Valheim co-op without a dedicated server compares the two.

Don’t Wait for the Gate to Open

A Valheim world shouldn’t have a single key holder. Get the world onto more than one PC now, while the host is still answering messages, and the next time they go quiet, someone else can start it.

Mixed group with console players? The Valheim crossplay guide explains why only PC players can take over. Planning to swap hosts on a schedule? See the Valheim host rotation guide.