Don’t get me wrong; I still have some fond memories of popping mutated pig cops while chewing bubblegum and swinging a crowbar in Half-life. But I’ve always found the majority of single-player games very rigid and linear in gameplay, and killing endless waves of predictable NPC (non-playing characters) becomes quite tedious. Multiple-player games are what captured my heart and mind. There is nothing more enjoyable than knowing you have out-smarted another human being, even if it usually is a squeaky spot-ridden teen. In the early days of the FPS Counterstrike, you could play on public/privately owned servers, give a 2-player (1vs1) head-to-head challenge, and eventually enjoy playing with a massive 64 players, 32 on each side. There was nothing quite like jumping on your favorite server for an evening, slowly making good friends, and laughing into the early hours of the morning. Playing with others is where the true fun lies, and there is nothing like the feeling of having full control of your own game server environment. In recent years, the online open-world survival genre has grown in popularity. A fully open world to explore and survive, scavenging for food cans while outrunning zombies in Dayz to taking on a T-Rex with only a spear in ARK Survival. A virtual death is so much scarier when you have the prospect of respawning naked on the other side of the world, knowing you now have to point your character in the right direction and hold down ‘W’ for 15 mins. Now, you are a bare, unarmed character who has to run across miles of open terrain to regroup with your friends. The incentive and thrill of surviving, along with the pain and anguish of death, become a little bit more real. The latest installment in the survival genre is Valheim. I will delve into this game and try and explain why you need to jump in head first, along with the advantages of having your own server hosting.
What’s Valheim all about?
It is an open-world survival game in the realm of Valheim, the tenth Norse world. You play a Viking, a recently defeated warrior whose body is carried and dropped into the realm of Valheim by a giant crow. Your main objective is to appease Odin by returning an order to the realm, that mythical beasts have taken over. Starting with nothing but your bare hands, your job is to survive the unforgiving environment by finding, mining, building, and crafting your way to success.
Why I personally love this Game?
A lot of people see ‘early access’ and picture a rushed / poorly developed husk of a game, unplayable due to crash after crash. Usually, I would agree and stay clear, but with 2 million downloads in just under 2 weeks, the reviews and mass hysteria have caught the gaming world by surprise, shooting it straight to the top spot. Although classified as a survival game, Valheim is a lot more easy-going and forgiving. Instead of the constant worry and focus of searching for food and water, the game’s focus is on building and improving. You no longer have to look at hunger or thirst bars and endless statistics, trying to guess what resource is needed next. Instead, the stomach acts as an inventory location. Placing different types of food in your stomach affects your stats in different ways, i.e., increasing stamina, health, etc. Another feature I love is the simplicity of repairing machines, tools, and buildings. They have achieved this by removing the resources that are usually required. Once you have built something, you can instantly repair it with the aid of a workbench. It leads to more time to enjoy crafting new tools and expanding buildings and bases. This game has brought me back to enjoying the survival genre. Some of its features include the following:
Massive procedurally-generated world – explore new worlds with unlimited possibilities, forests, mountains, and sea are all with their own unique wildlife. Workbench crafting, machines, armor, food, and drink Build ships and buildings, from rafts to Viking warships, wooden shacks to castles Summon and defeat epic bosses from Norse mythology and lore Co-op 2-10 players – Play alone or with up to 10 friends Dedicated and player-hosted servers, allowing full control of your virtual world, mods, and online players
Benefits of your own server hosting?
Valheim is aimed at players who enjoy investing time in crafting their own worlds or a shared vision with friends. If quick action is what you desire, stick to CS/COD. Below are some benefits to playing on your own server: Good control Nothing quite like playing god. Having your own server to modify and run as you please, as opposed to putting up with others’ laws and will. Their maps, their mods, their rules. Your maps, your mods, and your rules always sound better! Smoother experience It has never been easier to set up and launch your own server on your local PC. Usually, a single button click, and wooooosh, a console window opens with commands streaming down the window as you’ve just entered the matrix. The only issue is that most home computers cannot handle the added CPU/Memory/IO load of running a game server. Ultimately, it leads to online gamers’ worst nightmare… LAG!!! And that’s before you even launch your own instance of the game to play. This is where the benefits of paying for a dedicated server from a hosting service shine through. Playing on a reliable hosted server gives you the freedom and control to play uninterrupted with the players/friends/family you actually want to play with. Below I’ve collated what I believe are some of the current best Valheim server hosting platforms out there.
GTXGaming
Offering an impressive nineteen data center locations worldwide, GTXGaming can truly be called a global player now. It was formed in 2008, making them almost 13 years old. They have Valheim configured and ready for day one of release, with instant setup. They shine in their control panel; a new build was released recently, which improved vastly from the 2020 iteration. They have a built-in file manager for the upload and download of server files. They also offer a backup system that zips up your server, sends it to one of their “offsite” backup machines, and keeps up to 7 days of backups if you mess something up. Perform backup and restore with one click. You get enterprise-level intel CPUs from robust E3 processors to the latest i7 or i9 CPUs and include AMD Ryzens. You can schedule tasks to enable your server’s auto-update, wipes, mods, backups, server restarts, and plugins. You can also manage your server features yourself by learning the available step-by-step guides. GTXGaming data centers are protected with industry-standard DDoS protection with high server uptimes. Other features included are steam workshop support, easy-to-use web links, rocket plugins, a built-in XML validator, and MySQL database. All this with their 24-hour support and on CP (control panel) live chat, and you should never get stuck on what to do if your server dies or you need to switch services. One-click mod support is also included in the hosting service. Besides, the mod “ValheimPlus” is available as a one-click install. Steam update buttons and stop, start, and restart as standard with any game hosting company. Price is in line with other large providers out there.
ScalaCube
Enjoy your gameplay with friends hassle-free with ScalaCube’s Valheim hosting service. The control panel they offer is effortless and comes with an instant setup and a free domain. It also allows you to access files, plugins, and mods. Their lag-free servers are protected with DDoS protection. In addition to this, you don’t need to be an expert when it comes to technicalities for server administration due to its simple interface. And even if you face any difficulties, they are always there to help you. Their servers are fully customizable, and you are allowed to change their in-game mechanics the way you want to without trouble. They have 4 data centers located on 4 continents of the world, including the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Other features in ScalaCube’s Valheim hosting service include support for FTP access, mods, 24/7 uptime, easy modification of settings, and more. You can expect top-notch performance with SSD drives and quality hardware components. ScalaCube charges $14 for 10 player slots per month. You can easily test their Valheim hosting service for free and understand its efficacy without involving your credit card.
Sparked Host
Sparked Host offers you both Valheim Vanilla & Valheim Plus, which gives you the flexibility of having a pure vanilla experience & a modded experience. Sparked offers 3 plans, the most popular one being $8.80/mo for 5-6 recommended players. They provide you with a wide variety of 8 server locations for you and your players to ensure your adventures can be done properly without any issues. Sparked also provides you with the ability to create a subdomain for your service. Tired of using a boring old IP:PORT? They’ve got you covered by giving you the flexibility of using their subdomain creator, which is a simple 1 step feature. Valheim has been one of the customer favorites at Sparked, with them offering both Budget & Premium options with truly accurate player recommendations for their hardware. Transparency is key when looking for a host; Sparked will for sure not disappoint when it comes to this key feature. In addition, the service is backed by a 48-hour money-back guarantee refund policy – this will ensure you have a flexible timeframe to test and use the service to ensure it’s up to your expectations.
GPORTAL
GPORTAL is a game server hoster, with a very wide range of products for everything that has a name in the gaming industry, as well as smaller games. For Valheim, the hoster offers a total of 14 server locations spread all over the world, from Los Angeles to Frankfurt all the way to Tokyo. All locations offer super-fast SSD server hardware and the best performance. Players are guaranteed 99.9% availability for network and data center operations. To achieve this, 2 separate data centers are used at the main sites with an additional network hub. Network and data center are operated by GPORTAL itself. Rented Valheim servers are basically online immediately and can be used straight away. Further settings are not necessary in most cases but can be made very quickly via the easy-to-use web interface. Valheim Plus is also included with every server to provide an even better gaming experience. GPORTAL also supports the use of additional mods, which can be easily uploaded if necessary. The security of its players is very important to GPORTAL, which is why self-developed DDoS protection is used, which is further improved by cooperation with the provider Corero. In case of questions and problems concerning the full range of services, GPORTAL offers friendly support that can be reached at any time via telephone, forum, a wiki, e-mail, and ticket system. All features and benefits of the GPORTAL servers are available for Valheim starting at 14$ per 30 days.
Indifferent Broccoli
Indifferent Broccoli is a server hosting company for gamers who enjoy having fun with friends. Their quirky brand is backed up by quality hardware (i.e. minimal lag), a custom-built control panel, and top-notch customer service. Their simple designs reflect the simplicity of their service. Setting up a server takes one click. And since they offer a two-day free trial, you can start the server without entering any payment info. While Indifferent Broccoli makes it simple to get set up and add mods (one-click Valheim Plus install), if you run into issues, their support team is friendly and quick to respond. The personality and dedication of the support team shine through on their website. Give Indifferent Broccoli a try if you’re looking for a friendly, helpful, and effective server host for your Valheim servers. They offer a two-day free trial, followed by $14 per month for a 10-player Valheim server.
XGamingServer
If you want to experience mind-blowing Valheim gameplay, try XGamingServer. It is one of the best Valheim game server hosting providers packed with useful features such as cloud backups, file manager with single click launch, the option to create schedules and invites users, MySQL databases, Bepinex,UMod, and Valheimplus Mod support, and many more. Xgamingserver is unique as it offers Virtual Dedicated Game Servers (VDGS) with all their VDGS plans, you can use 100% of the resources (CPU allocation, RAM, and storage) you purchase for your server. XGamingServer is designed to give you the best performance experience. Once you place an order, your account will be activated, and you can start setting up your server within five minutes. Its intuitive control panel is also easy to use and helps you manage the server. With the dedicated Valheim sever, you will get smoother yet quality gameplay and high FPS performance. XGamingServer knows about the attacks and hence, secures your servers from DDoS attacks without hampering the performance. XGamingServer uses Intel i7 7700k and AMD Ryzen 7 CPUs and hosts the Valheim server on a 1Gbps network interface sufficient to run any game. Their VDGS plans are from 2GB to 8GB of RAM, Dedicated CPU cores, NVMe SSDs, no fixed game slots, and more. Choose your plan from $8/month and experience the high-speed Valheim gameplay.
Dathost
Dathost brings 24 globally spread locations in 19 countries to deliver a top-notch Valheim multiplayer experience. Besides, you get one-click modding, auto-updates within 15 minutes of release, and daily backups to keep your inner viking always entertained. On the security front, Dathost Valheim servers are DDoS protected and are extremely simple to configure. Moreover, the world manager features effortless uploading and storing of multiple worlds with the most recent progress without losing a minute of gameplay. The best thing? Its flat pricing structure doesn’t limit RAM and CPU usage. Finally, you can try Dathost with its 7-day money-back guarantee to see if it fits your bill.
Survival Servers
Survival Servers offers a dedicated Valheim game server hosting service with all the features you require to indulge in immersive gameplay. Their powerful in-house control panel lets you customize and configure your server. You can also install supported mods, plugins, and maps, change settings with an easy one-click form, and switch locations. They offer instant server setup, full FTP access, automated or custom server restarts, and automated notifications. Survival Servers delivers high performance as a result of its highest single-thread benchmark CPUs by Intel and AMD in addition to ultra-fast SSD drives and NVMe drives. All of their 7 data centers located in the US, Europe, and Asia are DDoS protected, so your data is safe from intruders. Furthermore, they increase security with server passlocking. Other features included are an option for custom launch parameters, accessing admin commands, 3rd-party tool access, and checking server status and start, restart, or stop it. Its pricing starts at $1.40/slot.
LOW.MS
Choose LOW.MS to be your Velheim hosting provider and play with friends and community members online. Wherever possible, they work with the developers of Valheim – Iron Gate AB to provide up-to-date and stable servers. In addition to this, they integrate it with Steam Workshop as well. At present, 4806+ recommendations are available on Steam, and people love them. LOW.MS takes care of all the technical stuff and offers multiple tools to help you manage, and install mods, and server backups. They provide an instant server setup so you can start playing your games sooner. LOW.MS hosts their servers on the latest hardware with Intel E & i9 processors and SSDs and DDR4 RAM for high speed. Your servers are protected with high-end DDoS protection that can handle attacks of 10 Gbps and more. They have servers in various cities and countries, including the US, UK, and Germany. LOW.MS facilitates secure payment processing and protects your details as they partner with FCA-compliant services such as PayPal and Stripe. Their pricing starts at $13.70/month, and you can also add extra resources for CPU, IP address, SSD type, and RAM.
HostHavoc
Avail of the premium Valheim game server hosting by HostHavoc and enjoy an uninterrupted gaming experience. Currently, it supports up to 10 players, and they are working to increase it in the future with custom slot selections. All their game servers are hosted on their modified TCAdmin v2 control panel, a reliable and powerful suite. It is easy to use, includes file management, and 2-step authentication, and you will soon be able to install built-in scripts. They uphold and maintain your game servers, so it exhibits a high network uptime of 99.9% by hosting their infrastructure in high-quality data centers with reliable links. HostHavoc has got you covered with free DDoS protection to safeguard you from UDP floods to search engine query attacks. As a result, your application, as well as bandwidth, is safe from getting exploited. They empower you to self-manage your server with FTP access along with a file manager that helps you install and maintain your server. But if you face any issue, you can always contact their support team, which responds within 15 minutes. HostHavoc has data centers in 10 global places with true redundancy, reliability, and consistent performance. They charge $15/month for 10 slots and offer a 72-hour money-back guarantee.
Gaming Deluxe
The oldest company on the list is Gaming Deluxe, with 14 years of experience so you can expect decent service and reliability. I remember using it for a Battlefield 2 server back in 2010, and they were good then and still are good now. They offer all the usual functions, such as FTP, file manager, web-based GUI for administering your server, and fast setup (ours was set up in 2 minutes). They value across the board and also host an amazing assortment of titles accumulated throughout the years. Support from an older company is expected to be efficient, to the point bordering on blunt, and can be quite witty, as we found. If you aren’t satisfied with their service, you can issue a refund within 24 hours. Gaming Deluxe offers a mod manager, supports almost all maps, and offers DDoS protection and offsite backups.
Bisect Hosting
Host your Valheim game server and play with your friends without lags or worries by choosing Bisect Hosting. They offer all the premium features at affordable rates and are determined to make each second of your gaming time phenomenal. After you make the payment, they provide an easy and quick setup so you can start playing within a few minutes. They allow you to fully access your dedicated server, which helps you install server mods like ValheimPlus. Bisect Hosting’s team performs daily backups and keeps them secure for 7 days so you can restore the data if anything goes wrong. They will maintain your server for its optimum performance and keep it updated to mitigate troubles and security issues. A total of 10 data centers maintained by Bisect Hosting are located in the US, Canada, France, Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, and Brazil. The pricing starts at $12.99/month for 4 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe SSD, and unlimited slots.
1GServerHost
With impressive features and exceptional performance, 1GServerHost is one of the best you can go for. Manage your servers effortlessly using their user-friendly control panel by TCAdmin with easy configuration editors and customization options. They offer an automated onboarding system to set up your server once you have made the payment. However, you can ask for a refund in 24 hours if you don’t like their services. Avoid frustration and save time by leveraging their game-switching option. Get full server access with FTP programs like FileZilla FTP client. Their servers are hosted on top of high-performing hardware with cutting-edge server specifications to derive maximum power. They back your server up every hour and restore your data for emergencies. Your servers will be hosted in their state-of-the-art data centers protected by enterprise-level DDoS protection. No matter your present location, they ensure you get the lowest ping and fastest connections with 16 high-quality server locations worldwide in Europe, Canada, and the US. Valheim server hosting by 1GServerHost starts at $14/month with add-ons if you need them.
Conclusion
Video games like Valheim have become even more popular these days to play with anyone located in any part of the world with an internet connection. And to play it with high speed and without interruptions or frequent lags, choose a decent Valheim server hosting provider like the ones I have mentioned in this article. Playing other games? Sure, check out Rust, Minecraft, Terraria hosting platforms.
