Dragonwilds dedicated server not showing up? Fixes
Published on 3 October 2026
If your Dragonwilds server isn’t showing up, search under Worlds, on the Public tab, for the exact name of your world, with the capitals exactly right. Still can’t find it? Then the server and the game are usually on different versions, or the server hasn’t finished starting. If your friends can see the server but can’t get in, the problem is the connection. Below we go through the causes one by one.
Rather have a server that stays online without running it yourself? Have a look at our Dragonwilds dedicated server hosting.
Why isn’t your server in the list?
In RuneScape: Dragonwilds you find a dedicated server by searching for its name. That makes small details matter.
- You search for the world name, not the server name. A server has both. Search for the name of the world the server is running right now. If you uploaded your own world, that’s the name of that world.
- Capitals count. The search is case-sensitive, and since patch 1.0.0.5 the search box says so in a tooltip. To the game, “Ashenfall” and “ashenfall” are two different names.
- The server isn’t ready yet. After a (re)start it needs a moment to create its session. In our game panel the status only switches to online once the console reports that the session has been created.
- Steam invites don’t work. According to Jagex, inviting players to a dedicated server through Steam is a known issue. Have your friends search for it themselves.
After a few seconds of searching, your server should appear. If it doesn’t, check the version.
Are the server and the game on the same version?
The game and the server must run exactly the same version. Jagex notes that a server tends to vanish from the search right after an update or hotfix, and a version mismatch is the first suspect then. Your game’s version is shown in the top left corner of the screen, the server’s at the top of its log file.
On our servers Auto Update is on: the server fetches updates on every start. When a patch comes out, restart your server and ask your friends to update their game. Since version 1.0, the platform matters too. A patch doesn’t land everywhere at once: with patch 1.0.0.4, Jagex reported that players on Nintendo Switch 2 and the Jagex Launcher could only crossplay again once the patch had been processed there too. If a friend on console can’t join right after an update, sometimes waiting is the only fix.
Are your Owner ID and settings right?
A dedicated server only starts when it has an owner. That’s your Player ID, which you’ll find in the game at the bottom of the Settings menu, with a button to copy it. With us you enter it when you order, and you’ll see it again in the Startup tab as Owner ID. Only change it if someone else should become the owner. Without an Owner ID, the console tells you so and the server won’t start.
The other settings in Startup:
- Server name: the name of your server, whatever world it runs.
- World name: the name of the world the server creates when there’s no world yet. This is the name you search for.
- Admin password: anyone who knows it can open Server Management through the pause menu and Settings, and becomes an admin. Leave it empty and the server creates one itself and prints it in the console.
- World password (optional): overrides any password stored in the world itself. Empty means anyone who finds your world can join.
Change these values in Startup, not in DedicatedServer.ini: the panel rewrites that file on every start. Change your server settings under Startup walks you through it. Jagex also warns that changes to that file get lost if you make them while the server is running.
The difference between owner and admin: the owner can ban and unban anyone, including players who are offline. An admin can only ban players who are online, and can’t unban anyone.
Your friends can see the server but can’t join
If your server shows up in the list but joining fails, Jagex says port forwarding has most likely gone wrong somewhere. When you self-host, the server has to be reachable from the internet: on UDP port 7777 by default, and 7778 for a second server. Every router between you and your provider has to forward that port, and some providers don’t allow it at all. Playing on the same network? Since patch 0.11.0.4 you enter the server’s local IP address when you join.
Also check these points:
- The server is full. A dedicated server has room for 6 players.
- A player has crossplay switched off. Since 1.0 (15 September 2026), PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 play together, but crossplay is a setting. Ask a console player to check that crossplay is on in the game.
- Someone is on an old version. Among other things, patch 1.0.0.5 fixed players failing to connect to multiplayer servers that already had more than 2 players. Make sure everyone has updated.
How do you put your own world on the server?
Did your group start in a world on someone’s PC? You can bring it along. Stop the server, back up the RSDragonwilds/ folder and empty it. Then upload your world’s .sav file; on a Windows PC it’s in %LOCALAPPDATA%\. Start the server: it loads the newest world in that folder. From then on, search for the name of that world, not the world name from Startup.
Done with ports and versions? At CakeHosting you get a Dragonwilds server from €4.95 a month. Cancel any month.
When is renting easier?
Self-hosting works, but your PC has to stay on, your router has to cooperate and you update the server yourself after every patch. A rented server is always on, has a reachable port and updates itself on every start. You enter your Player ID when you order, and before you change anything big, you make a backup in the panel. How that works is explained in Create and restore a backup. What else you can do in the panel is on our game panel page, and you’ll find other games in our game server hosting. Beating a dragon is hard enough without your server putting up a fight as well.
