Do You Need a Dedicated Server for Valheim Co-op?
Do you need a dedicated server to play Valheim with friends? No - but here's when one helps, what self-hosting involves, and how to play co-op without one.
The first piece of advice most groups get for Valheim is “just get a dedicated server”. Sometimes that is right. Often it is a lot of setup to solve one problem: the world goes offline when the host does.
Do You Need a Dedicated Server for Valheim?
No. Any player can start a world from Valheim’s main menu and host it, with up to ten players joining. For most friend groups that is how Valheim is played.
What a dedicated server adds is one thing: the world stays online when no one in the group is hosting it. Nobody has to be the host, and anyone can drop in at any hour.
So the real question isn’t “do we need a server?” It’s “does our world need to be up when nobody is hosting?”
What Does Running a Valheim Dedicated Server Involve?
Valheim’s dedicated server is free on Steam and runs on Windows or Linux. Running it yourself means:
- Installing it through Steam or SteamCMD (app 896660) and writing a start script with a server name, world name and password.
- Opening UDP ports 2456-2457 on your router so friends can connect, or starting it with
-crossplayand sharing a join code that changes on every restart. - Leaving a PC on whenever the world should be reachable.
- Copying your existing world into the server’s world folder if you don’t want to start over.
Port forwarding is where most people give up. Some home connections simply can’t accept incoming connections, so no amount of router settings will help. The usual next step is renting a server - which works, and is a monthly bill for a world your group might play two evenings a week.
How Do You Play Valheim Co-op Without a Dedicated Server?
Keep the world on more than one PC. A Valheim world is just a folder in worlds_local, and whoever has the latest copy can host it. If every player has it, nobody is the bottleneck.
The manual way is to copy the whole world folder after every session (%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local) to whoever hosts next. It works as long as nobody forgets.
SaveSync automates that part: share the world once, and the latest copy reaches the whole group after each session. Whoever is around tonight hosts the current world. There’s no server to run and no monthly cost. Setup is in the Valheim save sharing guide.
Want a Dedicated Server Without the Setup? Try the ServerSync Beta
If your group really does want a world that stays online, we built a second app for that.
ServerSync runs a Valheim dedicated server on a PC you already own:
- No port forwarding, no config files. Pick Valheim, name the server and launch it.
- Keep your world. It converts a local Valheim world you have already played, so nothing is lost moving to a server.
- One address that stays the same, instead of a join code that changes on every restart.
- Free, with optional premium features. It’s in beta - ask for a key in ServerSync’s Discord.
Which Should Your Group Pick?
| Your group | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Plays together at set times | Host from the game, keep the world synced with SaveSync |
| Takes turns hosting | SaveSync - see the host rotation guide |
| Drops in alone at random hours | A dedicated server - ServerSync on a PC you already have |
| Ten players, always online | A dedicated server |
Either way, the world shouldn’t depend on one person’s PC being on. If the host is already gone tonight, see how to play Valheim when the host is offline.