How to Host a Valheim Server: Vanilla, ValheimPlus or BepInEx

Hosting a Valheim server means running a persistent Viking world that stays online for your whole crew, whether or not your own game is open. Loafhosts runs Valheim in three flavours — plain Vanilla, the ValheimPlus gameplay-tweak mod, and the BepInEx mod loader for Thunderstore mods — and gives each one its own set of in-panel tools: a one-click flavour switcher, a config editor that understands valheim_plus.cfg, a world manager for your .db and .fwl saves, and a Thunderstore mod installer. This guide explains what each flavour is, how to set up the basics, and how to use every Valheim tool the panel adds. By the end you will know which flavour to pick and how to run, tune, mod, and back up your world without ever touching a raw file unless you want to.

The Three Valheim Flavours

A Loafhosts Valheim server is always one of three flavours, and the flavour decides which tools appear in your sidebar. Vanilla is the unmodded dedicated server with no mod loader — the cleanest, most compatible option. ValheimPlus ships the ValheimPlus mod, which adds hundreds of configurable gameplay tweaks (gathering rates, skill XP, carry weight, stamina, building, and more) that you edit from the Config Editor. BepInEx installs the BepInEx mod loader, which is what you need to run community mods from Thunderstore through the Mod Manager. All three share the same core server settings, so picking one is not a permanent decision — you can move between them later with the Modloader Switcher, and your world comes with you.

Note: Vanilla has no mod loader — choose it for the most compatible, lowest-maintenance server

Note: ValheimPlus is for gameplay tuning through a config file, not for adding new content

Note: BepInEx is the mod loader you need to install Thunderstore mods on the server

Setting Up the Basics on the Startup Tab

Every Valheim flavour shares the same handful of core settings, and you edit them on the server’s Startup tab. The ones you will use most are Server Name (what shows in the in-game browser), Server Password (required by Valheim — players must enter it to join), World Name (which save the server loads, passed to the game as the active world), and Public Server (whether the server is advertised in the public list or kept community/IP-only). You can also toggle Enable Crossplay so PC and Xbox/Game Pass players can join the same world, leave Auto Update on so the server pulls Valheim updates, and tune the built-in backup schedule with Backup Interval, Backup Count, Backup Shorttime, and Backup Longtime. After changing a startup value, restart the server so it boots with the new settings.

Tip: Valheim requires a server password — set a real one in Server Password before going public

Tip: The World Name value is the active world the server loads; the World Manager uses it to mark which save is live

Tip: Turn on Enable Crossplay if you want Xbox or Game Pass players to join your PC crew

Note: The backup settings here drive Valheim’s own scheduled saves, which the World Manager later lists as restore points

Switching Flavours with the Modloader Switcher

The Valheim Modloader Switcher lets you move a server between Vanilla, ValheimPlus, and BepInEx in one click instead of deleting and rebuilding it. It shows all three flavours with a short description and marks which one is currently installed; you pick the target and confirm. Behind the scenes the panel snapshots your worlds first, then changes the mod loader and reinstalls the server — but it deliberately keeps your shared settings, so the server’s name, password, active world, crossplay, and backup schedule all carry over. Your worlds are not touched. The one thing that does reset is installed BepInEx mods: switching into or out of BepInEx clears the mods folder, so you reinstall those afterward from the Mod Manager. Because a switch reinstalls the server, it uses the same permission as a manual reinstall.

Note: A switch reinstalls the server but preserves the name, password, active world, and other settings — and your worlds

Note: Switching to or from BepInEx resets installed mods; reinstall them from the Mod Manager afterward

Tip: Use the switcher to start simple on Vanilla, then move to ValheimPlus or BepInEx once your group wants tweaks or mods

Tip: Give the server a moment after a switch — it shows as reinstalling while the new flavour installs

Tuning Gameplay with the Config Editor

The Valheim Config Editor works on all three flavours, but its headline feature only appears on a modded server: the full ValheimPlus valheim_plus.cfg, presented as a grouped, searchable form. Every one of the roughly 368 settings is shown under its section (Gathering, Experience, Stamina, Building, Inventory, and dozens more) with the file’s own inline comment as a tip and the right input type for each value. When you save, the panel patches the file in place, so your comments, ordering, and formatting stay byte-for-byte intact. The form only shows up once valheim_plus.cfg exists, which happens after you install the ValheimPlus or BepInEx loader and start the server once. Restart the server after saving for changes to take effect.

Note: The ValheimPlus form appears only after the mod loader has generated valheim_plus.cfg — start the server once first

Tip: ValheimPlus values are percentage bonuses — Gathering.wood = 50 means +50% wood, and each section needs its enabled flag on to apply

Tip: Use the section search to jump straight to Gathering, Experience, or Stamina instead of scrolling the whole file

Note: Saving patches only the values you changed — comments and ordering in the file are preserved

One-Click Optimization Presets

If you do not want to set hundreds of values by hand, the Config Editor includes three curated presets you can apply in one click. Relaxed / Quality of Life softens the grind — about +50% gathering and skill XP, heavier carry weight, crafting from nearby chests, and a larger personal inventory — which suits casual or co-op servers. Hardcore Grind goes the other way with reduced yields and XP and faster gear wear, and is flagged as a riskier change. Reset to Vanilla turns off every ValheimPlus multiplier for a back-to-baseline feel while keeping the mod loaded. A preset only writes settings that actually exist in your file, so it can never inject something new, and like any save it takes effect after a restart.

Tip: Start with Relaxed / Quality of Life for a friendlier co-op server, then fine-tune individual values in the form

Note: Reset to Vanilla disables the multipliers but leaves ValheimPlus installed, so you can re-enable tweaks later

Note: Presets only change settings present in your config — they never add new keys

Admin, Permitted, and Banned Lists

The Config Editor also edits Valheim’s three permission lists — adminlist, permittedlist, and bannedlist — as simple lists of player IDs (a SteamID64 or a crossplay ID, one per line). Admins get in-game admin powers, the permitted list gates who may join when you run a whitelisted server, and the banned list keeps players out. For anyone who would rather edit by hand, there is also a raw-text mode for the allowlisted config files, including BepInEx.cfg. A banned player is dropped on their next connection attempt; other list changes apply on a restart or when the player rejoins.

Tip: Add yourself to the admin list by SteamID64 to use in-game admin commands

Note: A newly banned player is disconnected the next time they try to connect — you do not have to restart for a ban

Tip: Prefer the form and lists over raw mode unless you specifically want to hand-edit a file

Managing Your Worlds

A Valheim world is a pair of files — <name>.db (the world data) and <name>.fwl (its metadata) — and the Valheim World Manager gives you a proper view of all of them. It lists every world on the server with its size, marks which one is currently active (the world named on the Startup tab), and shows how many backups each has, including Valheim’s own rolling .old saves and the scheduled automatic backups your backup settings produce. From the list you can download a world as an archive through a signed link, create an on-server backup snapshot in the worlds folder, restore a world from one of its backup points, import a world archive you uploaded through the file manager, or delete a world you no longer need.

Note: A world is a .db plus .fwl pair — the manager keeps them together so you never restore a half world

Tip: Use download to pull a full copy of your world to your own PC for safekeeping or to move it elsewhere

Note: The active world is the one set on the Startup tab — you cannot delete the active world until you switch away from it first

Restoring, Importing, and Deleting Safely

The operations that change your live files are deliberately careful. Restore rolls a world back to one of Valheim’s previous or automatic backup points, import extracts a world archive you uploaded via the file manager, and delete removes a world and all of its backups. Each of these requires the server to be stopped first, so nothing is overwritten while the world is in use, and the panel takes a fresh snapshot of the current world before a restore or delete in case you need to undo it. Deleting also asks you to type the exact world name to confirm. After importing a world, set it active on the Startup tab and start the server.

Note: Stop the server before you restore, import, or delete — these need the world offline

Tip: A snapshot of the current world is saved automatically before a restore or delete, so a mistake is recoverable

Note: Deleting a world asks you to type its exact name to confirm — there is no accidental one-click wipe

Tip: After importing a world archive, point the Startup tab’s World Name at it, then start the server

Installing Thunderstore Mods on BepInEx

If you run the BepInEx flavour, the Valheim Mod Manager installs community mods straight from Thunderstore — no manual uploading. Paste a Thunderstore page URL or a namespace/name identifier and the panel resolves the mod, showing you its name, version, description, icon, size, and any dependencies before you commit. Installing downloads the latest release and drops it into the BepInEx plugins folder; BepInEx scans that folder, so the mod loads wherever its files sit. The manager lists everything you have installed, lets you enable or disable a mod (disabling moves it aside so BepInEx skips it without deleting it), and lets you remove one entirely. After any install, toggle, or removal, restart the server to apply the change.

Note: The Mod Manager is BepInEx-only — switch to the BepInEx flavour first if you do not see it

Tip: You can paste either the full Thunderstore page URL or just namespace/name to find a mod

Note: After installing, the panel surfaces any extra dependencies a mod still needs so you can add them too

Tip: Disable a mod to troubleshoot without losing it — disabling parks the mod so BepInEx ignores it, and you can re-enable it later

Note: Every server mod needs a matching client mod for players — install the same mods locally so people can connect

Putting It All Together

A good Valheim server starts simple and grows with your group. Spin one up, set the Server Name, Server Password, and World Name on the Startup tab, and you have a Vanilla world your crew can join. When people want gentler progression or building tweaks, switch to ValheimPlus with the Modloader Switcher and dial it in through the Config Editor — or just apply the Relaxed preset. When they want real mods, switch to BepInEx and install from Thunderstore. Through all of it the World Manager keeps your saves backed up, downloadable, and restorable, and the flavour switcher means none of those choices are one-way doors. That is the whole point of hosting on Loafhosts: the tools understand Valheim, so you spend your time playing rather than wrangling files.