How to Upload an Existing World or Use Custom World Settings on Your Dragonwilds Server

A RuneScape: Dragonwilds dedicated server can only create one kind of world on its own: a Standard world with default rules. If you want to keep playing a world you started in singleplayer, or you want Creative or custom difficulty settings on your server, the answer is the same in both cases. Create the world on your PC, then upload the save file. This guide covers how the server picks which world to load, then both workflows.

How the Server Chooses a World

On every start, the server looks in RSDragonwilds/Saved/SaveGames and loads the newest .sav file it finds. If the folder is empty, it generates a fresh Standard world named after the Default World Name field. That's the whole rule, and it explains everything else in this guide: to make the server load your world, your .sav needs to be the only (or at least the newest) file in that folder.

📌 Don't Rename the Save: The world's in-game name comes from the .sav filename, and that's what your friends search for in the Public tab. Don't rename the file. Jagex specifically warns that renaming a save can lose progress on the next restart.

Workflow A: Move a Singleplayer World to Your Server

Step 1: Find the Save on Your PC

Dragonwilds keeps local saves in a hidden AppData folder. Paste this into the File Explorer address bar and press Enter:

📄 File Explorer address bar

%LocalAppData%\RSDragonwilds\Saved\SaveGames

Inside you'll find one .sav file per world, named after the world. If you aren't sure which is the right one, sort by Date Modified; the world you played most recently is at the top.

💡 Pro Tip: Load the world in singleplayer one last time and exit cleanly before copying the file. That guarantees the save on disk is current.

Step 2: Prepare the Server

⚠️ Important Warning: Stop your server on the MintServers panel before touching the SaveGames folder or Game Settings. Dragonwilds writes to its save and config files on shutdown, so changes made while it's running can be overwritten. Why Your Dragonwilds Server Settings Aren't Saving.

Log into your MintServers panel and open your Dragonwilds server.
On the Console tab, click Stop and wait for it to go offline.
Click the Files tab and browse to the SaveGames folder:

    📁 RSDragonwilds
            📁 Saved
                    
                        📁 SaveGames (upload your .sav here)

If there's already a .sav in the folder, download it first as a backup. Then delete everything in the folder so the server can't accidentally pick the old world as the newest file.

Step 3: Upload and Start

Drag your .sav file into the SaveGames folder in the file manager, or use the Upload button. Wait for the upload to finish completely.
Go to Game Settings and set Default World Name to match the filename without the extension. The server will load the file regardless, but keeping the field in sync avoids confusion later.
Save, then go to the Console tab and click Start.
Watch the console for START SESSION - Success, then search the Public tab in-game for the world name.

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Workflow B: Custom or Creative World Rules

The dedicated server has no settings for difficulty, Creative mode, or any other world rule. Those are baked into the save when a world is created, so the only way to get them onto a server is to create the world locally with the rules you want and upload it. It's a short detour:

Launch RuneScape: Dragonwilds on your PC and create a new world.
Pick the world settings you want: Creative, custom difficulty, whatever the server should run. Give the world the name you want players to search for.
Enter the world once so the game writes the save file, then exit to the main menu.
Follow Workflow A above to find the new .sav and upload it.

The rules travel with the file. Once it's on the server, everyone who joins plays under the settings you chose.

📝 Note: If you later decide to change the rules, the process is the same again: create a new local world with the new settings and replace the file on the server. There's no in-place edit for world rules on a dedicated server.

🛠️ Troubleshooting Upload Problems

Server generated a new world instead of loading mine: Another .sav in SaveGames was newer than yours, or the upload didn't finish. Stop the server, make sure only your file is in the folder, and start again.
Can't find the world in-game: Search for the full .sav filename without the extension (case-sensitive, no partial matches), not the Default World Name field if they differ. You can also skip the search and use the Direct tab with your IP:PORT. Dragonwilds Server Not Showing in Server List? has the full checklist.
Singleplayer world had a password: The World Password field in Game Settings overrides it. Set one there, or leave it blank for an open world.

Related Guides

Keep a copy of your world before making changes: How to Back Up Your Dragonwilds Server World or Start a Fresh One
Get everyone into the uploaded world: How to Join Your RuneScape: Dragonwilds Server

Whether you're carrying over a singleplayer world or building one with custom rules, it all comes down to putting the right .sav in the SaveGames folder. If you run into any trouble, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will gladly help you get it sorted out.