Valheim seed map: view seeds and use them on your own server

A seed in Valheim is the code the game uses to build your entire world. The same seed gives the same world in the same version of the game. With a seed map, such as the Valheim World Generator at valheim-map.world, you can preview that world: biomes, bosses and traders. On a dedicated server you can’t choose a seed: you create the world in the game first and upload it. Checked on 7 October 2026.

What is a seed in Valheim?

Every world gets a seed when it’s created. According to the Valheim Wiki, the seed decides how the world is generated: where the islands are, which biomes go where, and where bosses and traders can appear. You can see the seed of your own worlds in the main menu, next to the name in the world list.

Be careful with seed lists online. The same seed only gives the same layout in the same version of the game, so an old tip may turn out differently in 1.0. The Valheim Wiki itself marks a few as outdated.

How to create a world with your own seed

1. Start Valheim, pick your character and create a new world.
2. Enter a name for the world. The seed field is already filled in with a random seed: replace it with your seed.
3. Start the world once so the game creates the files, then quit the game.

Viewing seeds with a seed map

The best-known seed map is valheim-map.world, which calls itself the Valheim World Generator. It’s a free fan site, not made by Iron Gate; the Valheim Wiki links to it. You see the full map of a seed, with biomes, boss altars and dungeons. Here’s how it works:

1. Type your seed into the seed field. Use the seed, not the name of your world.
2. Pick the game version in which you created the world, not the version you’re playing now.
3. Let it generate the map and look for the places you want.

Don’t know the seed of your server world? Drop the small metadata file of your world, such as _main.4.fwl2, onto the seed extractor on the same site. For a world created before 1.0, upload the metadata file and the database file together: according to the site’s creator, locations were reshuffled in the update.

No seed yet? With Seed Search on the same site, your browser tests random seeds against your wishes, such as traders close to your starting point. A seed map does spoil everything, so if you want to explore yourself, only look for what you need.

What to look for on the map

Most players look for the three traders first. According to the Valheim Wiki, each one has up to ten possible locations. The first location you get close to becomes the permanent one; the others disappear. That’s why a seed map shows several spots per trader.

Haldor sells the Megingjord, which lets you carry more, and since 1.0 also inventory upgrades. From the Bog Witch you buy the spices and serving tray you need for feasts.

The bosses also each have several possible locations in their biome. In the game you find them through runestones; on the map you see them right away: Eikthyr in the Meadows, The Elder in the Black Forest, Bonemass in the Swamp, Moder in the Mountain, Yagluth in the Plains, The Queen in the Mistlands, Fader in the Ashlands and the final boss in the Deep North.

The site doesn’t show ore, Finewood, Thistle or the Sea Serpent: according to its creator that takes too much computing, and the Sea Serpent spawns at random.

What did Valheim 1.0 change about the world?

• The Deep North is a complete biome at the northern edge of the world, with its own final boss.
• Alternative biomes: further from the centre, a patch of Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, Mountain, Plains or Mistlands can get extra features, such as more raspberries, extra objects like large bones or tar pits, or more starred enemies.
• Faster generation and a new save system: according to the patch notes, world generation is much faster, and a new save system stores the world in chunks.
• Older worlds only get the new content in areas you haven’t explored yet, according to the official FAQ. Iron Gate recommends a new world.

How to put your world on your own server

A dedicated server creates a world with a random seed for a new world name, and the official launch options have no option for a seed. That’s why you upload your own world.

Since 1.0, every world is a folder named after the world, and you need every file in it. Before 1.0 a world was two files, name.fwl and name.db, with backup copies ending in .old. Uploading just those two won’t work for a 1.0 world. Your worlds are here:

If you use Steam Cloud for your worlds, the Valheim Wiki names the folder worlds instead of worlds_local. Then, in our game panel:

1. Stop your server and make a backup, as in Create and restore a backup.
2. Upload the whole world folder to saves/worlds_local. With SFTP you drag the folder to your server in one go. File managers works too: zip the folder on your PC, upload the zip to saves/worlds_local and choose Unarchive.
3. Check the folder. The files must sit directly in saves/worlds_local/ plus the name of your world, not one folder deeper.
4. Set World Name under Startup to exactly the name of the folder, with the same capital letters. More in Change your server settings under Startup.
5. Start your server and join. If the area doesn’t match your seed map, check the name and location of the folder.

Friends playing on Xbox, PlayStation 5 or Switch 2? Set Crossplay to 1; they join with the join code from the console. More in Valheim crossplay server: PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch 2.