V Rising Server Hosting

What is a V Rising dedicated server and who is it for?

The V Rising dedicated server is the official server application Stunlock Studios publishes for its vampire survival game, running the world independently of players. Private sessions started in-game depend on the host’s PC, while a dedicated server stays online 24/7, so castles, clans and blood sources live in a persistent world.

Typical groups that rent their own V Rising server:

• Groups of friends: Small PvE-focused servers where everyone logs in on their own schedule to grow their castle.
• Clan communities: Competitive PvP servers where castle raids open at set times.
• Regional community servers: Mid-sized servers run with their own rules, away from the crowds and language mix of official servers.

The biggest advantage of a dedicated server is freedom of configuration: you decide dozens of values such as blood drain rate, resource multipliers, castle limits, clan size and raid hours through ServerGameSettings.json.

How many resources does a V Rising server need?

A small V Rising server runs comfortably with 4–6 GB of memory and 2 cores, while busy PvP servers above 40 players need 12–16 GB and 4–6 dedicated cores. The values in the table are estimates; the number of castles and how much of the world is built up determine the real requirement.

Load in V Rising comes from:

• Castles and structures: Every castle with its crafting stations, servants and storage is a set of objects the server tracks. The world gets heavier as the game progresses.
• Player spread: Players scattering across the map means more regions are simulated at once.
• Saving: Autosaves cause brief CPU and disk spikes; NVMe storage shortens them.

The official instructions give 128 as the technically supported maximum number of connected players, but in practice community servers mostly run in the 40–60 range. Watching current usage for a few days before raising the player limit is the best way to see the real need. If you run the server on Linux with Wine, account for the extra memory the compatibility layer uses.

On Windows Server the operating system itself uses part of the memory, so add a few GB for it on top of the table values. Dedicated vCPUs keep the server responsive at moments like castle raids when many players fight at once. Load is low when the world is wiped at the start of a season and rises as castles and servants multiply; planning resources for the final weeks of a season reduces the need to change plans mid-season.

Game package or VDS for V Rising?

At LIONFIN you run a V Rising server on a VDS; this page shows VDS plans for the game. You can install the server yourself or open a support ticket after ordering the VDS and ask for the setup.

Because the official V Rising server software is released only for Windows, a VDS that leaves the operating system choice to you makes sense:

• With Windows Server: The server software runs natively, in line with the official instructions, and you edit config files easily over Remote Desktop. An operating system licence is required.
• With Linux and Wine: No licence needed and common in the community, but not officially supported by the developer.

Dedicated cores absorb the sudden load spikes of raid hours without interference from neighbouring servers. You can also run a test server on the same VDS and try settings before applying them to the live server. Compare the general differences on our game server package vs VDS page; current plan values are listed in the plan table on this page.

How do you install a V Rising server?

The V Rising server is downloaded with SteamCMD from ID 1829350 and started with VRisingServer.exe; the official repository ships a sample start script with the files. According to the official instructions, the server uses the client app ID from the bundled steam_appid.txt while running.

The basic workflow on Windows Server:

1. Install SteamCMD and download the files:

   steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\vrising\server +login anonymous +app_update 1829350 validate +quit

2. Set a persistent data folder. The official instructions recommend keeping saves and settings outside the install folder with the -persistentDataPath parameter, so updates do not overwrite your settings.
3. Copy the default settings files from VRisingServer_Data\StreamingAssets\Settings into Settings in the persistent data folder and edit them there.
4. Start the server and check the log for errors.

Editing the files in the default template folder directly is a common mistake: those files are replaced on updates and your settings are lost.

What do ServerHostSettings and ServerGameSettings control?

V Rising server settings are split into two files: ServerHostSettings.json defines the server’s identity and network settings, and ServerGameSettings.json defines the gameplay rules. This split lets you change a port or password without touching game rules, and vice versa.

According to the official instructions, these files can be kept in the persistent data folder either as full copies or with only the values you changed. Writing only changed values means new defaults introduced by updates take effect automatically. Changing SaveName starts a new world; to return to the existing world, simply write the old name back.

PvP or PvE? How do you choose the game rules?

The basic decision on a V Rising server is PvP versus PvE, set with the game mode option in ServerGameSettings.json. On PvP servers players can attack each other and raid castles; on PvE servers the fight is only against the world’s enemies.

Common rule sets depending on your community:

• Relaxed PvE: Raise resource and crafting multipliers and reduce item loss on death. Ideal for groups of friends with limited time.
• Timed PvP: Open castle raids only during set evening hours. Castles of sleeping players are protected and competition stays fair.
• Full PvP: Raids are open at all hours; a low clan size limit stops large clans dominating the server.

Castle limits and castle structure limits affect both balance and server performance: allowing unlimited castles makes the world heavy quickly. Announcing rule changes at the start of a season and avoiding sudden changes in an advanced world keeps the community’s trust. Always copy the settings file before each change.

Set raid hours in your community’s main time zone, for example weekday evenings and weekend afternoons, so they coincide with when most players are online. Check the server’s time zone setting too: if Windows Server’s time zone is wrong, raid windows can open at unexpected times.

How do you set up admins and RCON?

On a V Rising server, admins are defined by writing their SteamIDs, one per line, into Settings/adminlist.txt in the persistent data folder. According to the official instructions the file is read without restarting the server; an admin opens the console in-game and activates their rights with the adminauth command. Bans issued in-game are written to banlist.txt in the same folder.

RCON is supported for remote administration and is disabled by default. The Rcon section in ServerHostSettings.json contains these fields:

"Rcon": {
  "Enabled": true,
  "Port": 25575,
  "Password": "a-long-and-unique-password"
}

RCON runs over TCP and the password cannot be empty. Rather than opening the RCON port to everyone, allowing only your own IP address in the firewall is the most effective way to protect the server’s management channel. Choose a port number that does not clash with the game and query ports. With RCON tools you can make announcements, shut the server down cleanly and manage players.

Which ports need to be open, and how does the server appear in the list?

A V Rising server uses two UDP ports, one for game traffic and one for queries, defined in the Port and QueryPort fields of ServerHostSettings.json. In the bundled template these are 9876 and 9877, while the example in the official instructions uses 27015 and 27016; open whichever values you set in the firewall.

sudo ufw allow 9876/udp
sudo ufw allow 9877/udp

Whether the server appears in lists depends on the ListOnSteam and ListOnEOS settings. According to the official instructions, the game client searches the EOS (Epic Online Services) list by default, so keeping EOS listing enabled matters on a public server. For a private friends’ server you can disable listing and give players the IP and port directly.

If you use RCON you must also open its TCP port, but restrict it to admin IPs only.

Can mods be installed on a V Rising server?

V Rising has no official mod or Workshop support; mods are made by the community, mostly on the BepInEx plugin framework, and distributed through community repositories such as Thunderstore. Some server-side mods give players extra commands, economy systems or admin tools.

If you are planning a modded server, keep in mind:

• Update fragility: After big game updates, mods may stop working for a while. You can delay updating until compatible versions of your mods are released.
• Client-side requirement: Some mods require players to install the same mod, which makes it harder for new players to join.
• Source: Download mods only from known community repositories and developers you trust.

For many communities, an unmodded server customised only through ServerGameSettings.json is the most trouble-free route. Trying mods on a test server first removes the risk of breaking the live world.

Even without mods you can offer a distinctive experience: by tuning resource multipliers, blood essence consumption and crafting times you can design a fast-progress “boost” server or, the opposite, a long and challenging one. Stating these multipliers clearly in the server description attracts the right players and reduces complaints from mismatched expectations.

How do you back up and migrate V Rising saves?

A V Rising server’s world is stored in the Saves subfolder of the persistent data folder, under the name set in SaveName. According to the official instructions, the default persistent data location on Windows is %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Stunlock Studios\VRisingServer\; you can move it to a location of your choice with -persistentDataPath.

The server keeps several save points according to the autosave count and interval settings in ServerHostSettings.json. They are useful for short-term rollbacks, but because they sit on the same disk they are no substitute for a real backup. A recommended routine:

1. Archive the whole persistent data folder (Saves and Settings) daily and copy it off the server.
2. Take a manual backup before game updates and major rule changes.
3. When migrating from another provider, copy the same folder structure to the new server and check that the SaveName value matches.

To automate backups on Windows Server, add a small PowerShell script to Task Scheduler that compresses the persistent data folder and copies it to another location. Schedule it for the hours with the fewest players, such as early morning; timing it just after the server’s autosave interval makes it easier to get a consistent copy.

How is a V Rising server protected against DDoS and attacks?

Competitive PvP servers can be targeted by deliberate connection attacks, especially during raid hours; protection combines network-level DDoS filtering with correct server configuration. On LIONFIN infrastructure the RouteFence firewall filters at the network level and traffic is monitored 24/7 by our NOC and SOC teams; see our data center for details.

Measures to take on the server:

• Open only the game and query UDP ports to everyone; restrict RCON to admin IPs.
• If you use Windows Server, protect Remote Desktop with a strong password and, where possible, IP restrictions.
• Review adminlist.txt regularly and remove the SteamIDs of admins who have left.
• Apply operating system updates regularly.

On PvP servers some attacks are social rather than technical: a rival clan trying to take the server down during raid hours, attempts to take over admin accounts, or cheating complaints. Keeping the number of admins small, logging what each admin does in a channel such as Discord and publishing the rules clearly at the start of a season all matter. When the server goes down players worry about losing castles; a sensible autosave interval and daily off-site backups limit any loss to a few minutes of progress.

What are the most common V Rising server errors?

Most V Rising server problems come from settings files in the wrong folder, closed ports or a version mismatch.

If you cannot solve a problem, open a support ticket from the customer panel.