Dragonwilds Server Not Showing in Server List? Here's How to Fix It

You started your server, opened the Public tab in the game, searched, and got nothing. This happens to most Dragonwilds server owners at least once, and the cause is nearly always one of six things. They're listed below in the order we see them most often, so start at the top and work down.

1. The Game Patched and Your Server Is on the Old Version

This is the big one. A Dragonwilds client will only ever see servers running the exact same build. Jagex pushes hotfixes often, and every one of them lands on your game before your server has a chance to catch up. From the moment Steam updates your client, the server is invisible to you until it updates too.

The fix is a restart. Your MintServers server checks Steam for a new build every time it starts, so a Restart from the Console tab pulls the current version and brings it back into the list. To confirm the versions line up, compare the version printed on the first lines of RSDragonwilds/Saved/Logs/RSDragonwilds.log (also shown at the top of the console when the server boots) against the version in the top-left corner of the game's main menu. If they differ, restart. More detail in How to Update Your Dragonwilds Server After a Game Patch.

💡 Pro Tip: If the server was already running when the patch came out, a plain Restart is enough. There is nothing to reinstall.

2. You're Searching for the Wrong Name (or the Wrong Case)

Three traps here. The search wants the World Name, not the Server Name. It only matches the complete name, so searching Mint will never find MintyWorld. And it's case-sensitive, so MintyWorld and mintyworld are different searches. Paste the full name rather than typing it.

The name that actually matters is the .sav filename on the server, not the Default World Name field in your panel. Those two usually match on a brand-new server, but they drift apart the moment you change the field after the world already exists, or upload a save from your PC. To check the real name, open the Files tab and look in:

    📁 RSDragonwilds
            📁 Saved
                    📁 SaveGames
                                📄 Ashenfall.sav (search for the filename without .sav)

Search for exactly what you see there, minus the extension. If that's not the name you wanted, How to Back Up Your Dragonwilds Server World or Start a Fresh One covers renaming by starting fresh.

📝 Note: Some hosts have reported that world names longer than 16 characters don't display or search reliably. If yours is long and nothing else on this list helps, try a shorter name on a fresh world.

💡 Quick Test: Not sure whether the problem is the search or the server itself? Open the Direct tab on the Worlds screen and enter your server's IP and port from the Console tab as IP:PORT. If that gets you in, the server is fine and it's the name you're searching for that's wrong.

3. Owner ID Is Empty or Wrong

The server needs a valid Player ID in the Owner ID field to register itself with the world list. If it's blank, the server typically won't start at all. If it's mistyped, the server may run but never get listed. Open Game Settings and compare the field with the Player ID shown at the bottom-left of the in-game Settings screen. How to Find Your Player ID and Set the Owner ID has the exact steps.

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4. Another Required Field Is Empty

Server Name, Default World Name and Admin Password all come pre-filled on MintServers, but if any of them has been cleared out, the server can fail to register. Open Game Settings and make sure none of the four required fields is blank. Remember to stop the server first, then save, then start.

5. The Server Hasn't Finished Booting

The panel shows the server as running as soon as the process launches, but the world isn't loaded and registered until you see this line in the console:

📄 Console

START SESSION - Success

First boots take longer because the world has to be generated. After that line appears, the world usually shows up in the game within a few seconds. Searching before it appears just returns nothing, so give it a moment and search again.

6. The World Password Is Being Typed Wrong

If the world appears but the join fails, the server is fine and it's the password. Players need the World Password, not the Admin Password. If you've recently changed it, remember the change only took effect if the server was stopped when you saved it.

🛠️ Still Not Showing?

Console shows errors before START SESSION: Read the lines just above the error. A missing Owner ID or a corrupted save file are the usual culprits.
Server disappeared after working fine for days: Almost certainly a game patch. Restart the server.
Friend can see it but you can't: One of you is on a different game version. Check Steam for a pending update on your client.
Nothing works: Download RSDragonwilds/Saved/Logs/RSDragonwilds.log from the Files tab and attach it to a support ticket so we can see what the server saw.

Related Guides

Keep the server on the current build: How to Update Your Dragonwilds Server After a Game Patch
Set the Owner ID correctly: How to Find Your Player ID and Set the Owner ID
Joining, step by step: How to Join Your RuneScape: Dragonwilds Server

Nine times out of ten it's a version mismatch or a capital letter, and both take under a minute to fix. If you run into any trouble, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will gladly help you get it sorted out.