V Rising Server Troubleshooting: Common Issues and Fixes

Before We Start

Running a V Rising dedicated server is generally pretty smooth, but things do go sideways sometimes. Here are the most common issues we see with V Rising servers and how to fix them.

Two things to try first, no matter what's going on:

Restart the server through the LOW.MS control panel at control.low.ms. You'd be surprised how many transient issues just clear themselves.
Check for game updates — an outdated server won't appear in the server browser and clients will fail to connect. Use the Steam Update option in your control panel to verify and update your server files.

Connection Issues

Players Cannot Find the Server in the Browser

This is probably the most common support ticket we get. Your server's running, but nobody can see it.

Is it actually fully started? Check the Web Console in your control panel. The server needs to finish its entire startup sequence before it becomes visible — look for the message saying it's ready for connections.
Check your listing settings — In ServerHostSettings.json, make sure "ListOnSteam": true and/or "ListOnEOS": true. If both are false, well, that's your problem right there.
Give it a minute. Seriously, after starting or restarting it can take 2–5 minutes to propagate to the server lists.
Version mismatch — If your server's running an older version than the client, it won't show up. Run a Steam Update from your control panel.
Try direct connect — Use the IP and port from your control panel to connect directly. This tells you whether the issue is with the listing or the server itself.

Players Cannot Connect (Timeout or Refused)

Players are getting timeouts or "Connection refused" errors when they try to join.

Check if the server is actually running. Look at the status in your control panel. If it crashed, check the Log Viewer for error messages and restart it.
Right port? Make sure players are using the game port (not the query port or RCON port) when direct connecting. The game port is the main UDP port shown in your control panel.
MaxConnectedUsers — If the server's full, new connections get refused. Check this value in ServerHostSettings.json.
Password mismatch — Passwords are case-sensitive. Double-check that players have it exactly right.
Version mismatch — Both server and client need to be on the same version. Have players verify their game files through Steam (right-click V Rising > Properties > Local Files > Verify Integrity).

Intermittent Disconnections

Players connect fine but keep getting dropped with "Connection Lost" messages. This one's annoying.

Check server performance first — high CPU or RAM usage causes connection instability. You can monitor resource usage through the Current Activity & Stats page in your control panel.

If resources look okay, try increasing AutoSaveInterval. Frequent autosaves can cause brief lag spikes that knock off players with shaky connections — bumping from 120 to 300 seconds usually helps.

Also worth checking: are you running at or near max capacity with lots of active castles? That combination puts serious strain on the server. Consider upgrading your plan if this keeps happening — check current options at /game-servers/v-rising.

Have a look at the Log Viewer in your control panel for repeated error messages that might point to the cause.

Performance Issues

Server Lag and Low Server FPS

Everyone on the server is experiencing rubber-banding, delayed actions, or general sluggishness. The server console may report low Server FPS values.

V Rising uses "Server FPS" (the ServerFps setting) rather than TPS, so that's what you're looking at in the console output. Here's what to check:

Castle count is the big one. V Rising server performance is directly tied to the number of loaded castle territories. Even castles belonging to offline players consume resources, so a server with 20 abandoned castles is going to chug.
Review CastleLimit — If it's set to 3+, players can build multiple large territories that really strain things. Consider lowering it.
ServerFps setting — If you've cranked ServerFps above the default 30, try bringing it back down. Higher values need proportionally more CPU.
Enable LowerFPSWhenEmpty — Reduces CPU usage when nobody's online, giving the server more headroom during active play.
RAM check — If you're running close to your RAM limit, V Rising can start struggling, especially with many castles and high player counts. Consider upgrading.
Clear abandoned castles — Use CastleDecayRateModifier to make sure abandoned castles decay in a reasonable timeframe. This frees up resources over time.

Lag Spikes During Autosaves

You're getting brief but noticeable lag spikes at regular intervals — and they line up perfectly with the autosave frequency. Classic.

Increase AutoSaveInterval — Going from 120 to 300–600 seconds reduces how often the server hitches. The tradeoff is you lose more progress if the server crashes between saves.
Reduce AutoSaveCount — Fewer save files means less disk I/O during saves.
Configure AutoSaveSmartKeep — This is a string-based configuration that controls tiered save retention intervals (e.g., how many saves to keep per time window). It's a bit involved — check the V Rising Server Configuration Guide for the full details on how to set it up.

Configuration Issues

Settings Not Taking Effect

You've edited a config file, restarted, and... nothing changed. I've been there.

First, make sure you edited the right file. V Rising loads settings from the persistent data path, not the installation directory. Edit through the Configuration Files or File Manager in your control panel to be safe.

Second, check your JSON syntax. Invalid JSON causes the server to silently fall back to defaults — no error, no warning, just your changes ignored. Common mistakes:

Missing or extra commas
Missing closing braces } or brackets ]
Single quotes instead of double quotes
Trailing commas before closing braces

Copy your config into an online JSON validator if you're not sure. Then restart — changes only apply on restart, never while running.

Also watch out for setting overrides: some values in ServerGameSettings.json get overridden by difficulty presets. Your custom settings might be getting stomped.

Game Mode Changes Not Working

You switched from PvE to PvP (or vice versa) but the server's still running the old mode.

Some fundamental settings like game mode require a fresh world. Back up your current save, delete the save files, and restart. The setting you want is "GameModeType": "PvP" or "GameModeType": "PvE" in ServerGameSettings.json — capitalisation matters.

Mod-Related Issues

Server Crashes After Installing Mods

The server won't start or crashes right after startup. If you just installed mods, that's almost certainly the cause.

Check mod compatibility — After major V Rising updates, mods often break. Check Thunderstore or the mod's page for version compatibility.
BepInEx version — V Rising mods require BepInEx as the modding framework. Make sure you've got the right BepInEx version for your server version. The BepInExPack for V Rising is on Thunderstore.
Isolate the culprit — If you installed several mods at once, remove them all and add them back one at a time, restarting between each. Tedious but effective.
Check BepInEx logs — BepInEx generates its own log files with detailed error messages about why a mod failed to load. You can find these through the File Manager in your control panel.
Dependencies — Some mods need other mods to work. Check each mod's documentation for required dependencies.

Mods Working on Server but Not for Players

Server-side mods are active but players aren't seeing the effects.

Many V Rising mods need to be installed on both the server and the client. Let your players know they'll need matching mods and BepInEx on their end too. Some mods are server-side only (like admin tools) and don't require client installation — the mod's documentation will tell you which is which.

Save and World Issues

Save Corruption

The server fails to load with errors about save data, or the world loads in a weird state.

Restore from backup immediately — don't try to run the server on a corrupt save, as that can make things worse. Use the Cloud Restore option in your control panel to roll back to a known-good save. If your cloud backups are also affected, check the autosave directory through the File Manager for older save files that predate the corruption.

World Reset After Update

After a game update, your world looks like it reset or players have lost progress.

Check that your save files are in the right location first — updates sometimes change the expected path. If that's not it, restore your pre-update backup and wait for a hotfix from Stunlock Studios. It's also worth checking the official V Rising patch notes — major updates occasionally require world resets, and they'll say so in the notes.

Server Not Starting

The server process starts but immediately stops or never reaches a ready state.

Check the Web Console or Log Viewer in your control panel — the error that caused the failure is almost always in there.

If the logs don't make it obvious:

Verify file integrity — Use the Steam Update option in your control panel to verify and update your server files.
Disk space — V Rising saves can grow large over time. Make sure you haven't exceeded your allocation.
Undo recent changes — If it was working before, roll back whatever you changed last. Configuration edits are the usual suspect.

Getting More Help

If you've worked through the steps above and you're still stuck:

Check the Web Console or Log Viewer in your control panel for error messages — sometimes the answer is right there in the logs.
Contact LOW.MS support by opening a support ticket. Include your server logs and a description of what you've tried.
Search the V Rising community forums for known issues.
Check the official V Rising server documentation from Stunlock Studios.

More V Rising Guides

Getting Started with Your V Rising Dedicated Server — Complete setup and connection guide.
V Rising Server Configuration Guide — Detailed reference for all server settings.
How to Set the Maximum Clan Size — Quick guide for clan settings.