You can play Valheim in co-op in various ways. We’ll tell you how to do it and how to set up a dedicated server.
In Valheim you can not only fight for survival alone in the Nordic world, but also in co-op with friends. There are several ways to do this. Depending on how large your group of friends is, you can either host a local game, set up a dedicated server or rent a corresponding Valheim server. But beware: since Hearth & Home, the health and strength of the enemies scales dynamically and adapts to the size of your hero troop.
How to host your game locally
The easiest method is to simply host a game on your own PC. This is very simple and works well if you are only playing with one or two other friends. The person with the best PC and the most stable internet connection is best to host the world.
- Create a character
- Select the “Start Game” tab in the main menu
- Click on “New “
- Give your world a name
- Select the “Start Server” option
- Alternatively, “Community Server” allows all players to see your server
- Allocate a password if necessary
- Start the game
- Alternatively, your friends should be able to see your game under the “Join Game” and “Friends” tab
Dedicated servers for Valheim
If you are playing with a larger group, it makes sense to set up a dedicated server on a PC. Ideally, you should use a separate computer whose only function is to run the Valheim server. However, setting everything up is much more complicated than just hosting a local game.
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- Find the tool “Valheim Dedicated Server” in your Steam library and install it
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- Now you have to create a new world or copy an existing one to the server. This will be saved in the folder C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds
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- Goes to the order \Steam\teamapps\common\Valheim Dedicated Server
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- Opens the file “start_headless_server” in a text editor
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- Here you have to enter your desired information. Your server name comes after “-name”. Your world name after “-world” and your password after “-password”. After “-public” you can specify with a 0 or 1 whether the server should be publicly visible or not.
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- The server name and the world name must be different. Your password must also not contain your server name or world name.
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- Save the file and back it up, as it will be deleted after each game update.
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- Open the ports TCP/UDP 2456-2458
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in your router and firewall.
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- Start the server with a double click on “start_headless_server “
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- If your server is not public, players will have to join it through Steam’s server browser via IP.
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- Your server’s IP address is its external IP followed by :2457.
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If you cannot provide sufficient resources for a dedicated server yourself, then there are offersthrough which you can rent a Valheim server.
Join a dedicated server in Valheim
At the moment, due to Steam limitations, a large part of the more than 40,000 available servers cannot be found directly in the game. You can therefore only join a dedicated server if you have the IP and port of the server. You will receive the data from your game server provider or from the creator of the dedicated server. In the game itself, select “Join game” and then click on “Join IP”. You can paste the data from the clipboard. Since Hearth & Home, the last IP address entered is also saved.
Find the right server
Even though sites like ValheimServers.net already list size, location, mods and ratings very well, we still recommend the official Valheim Discord Here, in the channel “valheim-servers”, new users are solicited several times an hour and you also have the opportunity to ask all your questions in private chat.
Since most Valheim servers are hosted internationally, the “connection quality” is an important parameter in addition to the “size of the server”. However, Valheim is frugal here, which is why we were still able to play properly on Australian servers with an average ping of 130 ms in our test. However, this should no longer be higher.
But even more important is the size of the servers: Because with more than five players – at the same location – the game starts to jerk. Then either only the change of location and smaller, isolated villages will help or, if you build all your houses a little further apart right at the beginning.
But larger vanilla servers have another disadvantage: Despite the guardian stone in the game, which is supposed to protect your base from PvP raids, “griefing” is a widespread problem. The stone itself can be buried underground and is thus safe from possible attacks, but it is not your home. Hostile Vikings can beat up wooden/stone walls or chests until the material gives way under their destructive rage and all the treasures inside are at their mercy.
To avoid frustration and ragequit in multiplayer, we recommend either smaller, well-administered servers where the players know each other and destructive characters are immediately banned by the administrator, or a modded server that at least runs “Valheim Plus” to prevent such griefing right from the start.
God in your own world
Even though devcommands are very limited on a dedicated server, you can be omnipotent on your own locally hosted Valheim server if you wish. Not only do you have control over who can play on your world, but you can also influence the rules of the game.
For example, you can become invulnerable, increase your skills at will, kill all enemies with a console command or start certain events on command.
