Valheim patch 0.221.13 public test overhauls the world save system

Iron Gate has pushed Valheim patch 0.221.13 to the Public Test Branch, and the headline change is a completely reworked world save system designed to cut save times and reduce the risk of corrupt files. This is a PTB-only release for now — the studio wants to catch bugs and fine-tune things before rolling it out to the main branch.

The old .db and .fwl file format is gone. Worlds are now stored in dedicated folders, with the .db split into smaller chunks. On each save, only the chunks that have actually changed get written — so saves should be noticeably faster. Backups also move into their own separate folders. When the game loads a world that's still in the old format, it automatically creates a backup first to protect your data against any new bugs. There's also an extra verification pass after each save to confirm everything wrote correctly. Character saves are untouched — this only affects world files.

One new wrinkle: cloud storage. Previously the only limit was total save size, but some platforms also cap the number of individual files. Because the new system generates far more files than before, cloud storage file-count limits could become a real constraint for some players.

Mod users should know the new save system hasn't been tested with mods — Iron Gate doesn't expect issues, but modding is always at your own risk. To access the PTB on Steam, right-click Valheim, go to Properties → Betas, and enter the access code. Back up your saves before jumping in.