Ready to play?
Your Server Is
One Click Away.
Pick your game, choose a plan, and start playing in under 60 seconds. No lag, no excuses.
Woof! Let's go!
Ready to play?
Pick your game, choose a plan, and start playing in under 60 seconds. No lag, no excuses.
Woof! Let's go!
If your Valheim server is not showing up, check crossplay first. A server with crossplay on (the default on BruceNode) does not appear in Steam's server browser, so players join with its six-digit join code instead. After that, check the server finished starting, the password rules, the game version and the port.
A Valheim server that will not show up is frustrating because players see nothing at all, just an empty space where the server should be. That sends most people straight to their firewall, where the problem almost never is. This guide works through the real causes in the order that saves the most time.
Without the -crossplay launch argument, a Valheim dedicated server runs on Steamworks and lists itself in Steam's server browser. With it, the server runs on PlayFab, which every platform can reach, and Steam's browser does not see it at all. That is expected, not a fault. It may still turn up in the in-game Community list, but that list is slow, and the join code is the reliable route.
On BruceNode crossplay is on by default, so check this first:
The code changes on every restart, so a code that "stopped working" usually means someone shared an old one. This is also how Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 players get in, so if a console friend cannot find the server, send them the current code.
If your whole group is on Steam and you want the server in the browser, switch Enable Crossplay off in the Startup tab and restart. It then lists in Steam through its query port, ready to find.
A server that is still booting is not in any list yet. The first start takes the longest, because the server downloads the Valheim dedicated server files and generates the world before it accepts anyone.
Keep the Console tab open. Iron Gate's manual names Game server connected as the message that means the server is up, and on a crossplay server the join code line is the one to wait for.
Memory matters too. The world has to load completely before the server comes up, and 1 GB is not enough to load a Valheim world, which is why our Valheim plans start at 2 GB. Give it the room and the world loads cleanly.
A public Valheim server checks its password when it boots, and two rules stop it cold:
When either rule fails, the server writes Error bad password to the console and exits, which looks like a crash from the outside. Players just see a server that never appears.
On BruceNode the password field already enforces 5 to 20 characters. The world name rule is on you, so give the server name, world name and password three clearly different values. All three live in the Startup tab; change them there and restart. Self-hosting, they are the -name, -world and -password arguments on your launch line. It is a two-minute fix.
The server and every player have to be on the same build. A player on a newer build gets turned away with an incompatible version error, and after a patch it can look like the server vanished overnight.
Steam updates players' games automatically, while the server keeps running the old build until it restarts. A player who opted into the public test branch in Steam is on a different build too.
Restart the server after every update. On BruceNode auto update is on, so a restart from the Console tab pulls the current build. Self-hosting, run your SteamCMD update and validate before starting, and everyone is back in step.
Iron Gate's dedicated server manual is clear: Valheim uses the port you set and the port above it, both UDP. The game port carries gameplay and the port above it answers the Steam server list. The defaults are 2456 and 2457 (many self-hosting guides forward 2458 as well).
Two mistakes cause most port problems:
address:queryport there. Inside Valheim, Add server takes the game port.Self-hosting behind a router, forward both ports as UDP. TCP only is the same as nothing. For a friendlier address, our free subdomain tool gives you a bruce.lat name for your server, so players type a name instead of an IP.
If your server runs BepInEx mods, every player needs the same BepInExPack Valheim release and the same plugins at the same versions. One person on a newer build of one plugin is enough to break joining, and the error rarely names the mod, so it is easy to blame the server.
Valheim has no official mod support, so plugin authors update on their own timelines after each patch. If the server broke right after an update, move BepInEx/plugins aside, confirm it boots clean, then add plugins back one at a time. Consoles cannot run mods, so a group with console players should run vanilla. Our Valheim dedicated server setup guide covers installing BepInEx and keeping versions in step.
Start a Valheim server on BruceNode and use code BRUCE20 for 20% off your first month. Your group can be back in the world tonight.
Usually crossplay is on, and crossplay servers do not appear in Steam's server browser. Join with the six-digit join code instead.
Look for Error bad password in the console. The password needs at least 5 characters and cannot be part of the world name.
UDP on the game port and the port above it, 2456 and 2457 by default. On BruceNode both are assigned for you.
Yes, when the server runs with crossplay on. They choose Add server under Join Game and enter the join code, and the whole group plays on one world.
In the server console once the session registers, and in the pause menu in game. It changes on every restart, so pin the new one where your group can grab it.